I Am One With The Force, and The Force Is With Me.

Ok, so having seen "Rogue One" twice now, I can definitely say my favorite line in the movie is, "I am one with The Force, and The Force is with me."  (Admittedly, "It's high...It's very high."  is a close second - thank you Alan Tudyk!)  Fear not, there are no spoilers below!

In the film, a blind, former [servant of a Jedi temple] is also a man with deep faith in The Force.  He believes all things are connected through The Force, and he proves to be not only a fearsome warrior, but also a wise companion, friend, and guide.  His faith in The Force guides him through the darkness, removing his fear, as he continually seeks to align his will with that of The Force. 

Sound familiar?  For anyone who is a disciple of Jesus, it sounds very familiar (although, we have our faith in, you know, Jesus).  For me, watching this film and hearing the blind man's repeated prayer, having faith in Jesus is having faith in The Force.  Not that I'll be able to use a lightsaber or move things with my mind.  Rather, the belief that all of life is connected, that we can navigate through the darkness of life by aligning our wills with that of the creative force which made and binds all things...for me, that creative force is Jesus. 

In the last couple of days, I've been praying the prayer from Rogue One.  "I am one with The Force, and The Force is with me."  At first I was thinking "Jesus" when saying "The Force", and later, I began saying "Jesus" rather than "The Force".  I'm not a big fan of taking everything cool and trying to Jesusize it (usually in an effort to make Christianity cool for some unknown others).  In this case, the prayer from the movie and the idea behind it fit well with my faith in Jesus (and seemed cool to me, being the big Star Wars dork that I am). 

So, "I am one with Jesus and Jesus is with me" has become my new prayer.  It's been a helpful and empowering refrain while engaging in the daily struggles of life, that I am one with all that is, and the creative force behind everything is with me.  The prayer has brought me peace and a more continual desire to be a force for peace. 

...imagining myself as a blind guardian with a bow staff doesn't suck either. 

May The Force be with you.

Brad+