Star Wars Episode VII is coming out soon. It's part of our Christmas. My wife and I have purchased tickets in advance for us and her son to see the film on opening day. Although I am a huge Star Wars fan, I have never seen any of the previous six films on opening day. I have seen IV over 100 times, I have watched all six in one sitting both in chronological order and in order of release. I read and love the books that take the universe and story so much further than the films. I have even watched the Star Wars Holiday Special, made horribly for TV, more than once.
There's a Star Wars Holiday Special? Why yes there is. George Lucas once said he wished he had the power to smash every single copy out of existence, but it's out there. And it's the closest thing to seeing a premier I have ever seen. I was visiting my friend Andrew that evening, and we went to our friend Mike's to watch The Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman. I was 7; the year 1978. Star wars had been out a year and a half, and if it had not been for a fourteen month run in the theater, I would never have seen it. I have never admitted this publicly before , but I absolutely loved this horrible little TV special that aired the week before Thanksgiving, preempting Wonder Woman and Hulk. In this era before VHS and long before torrent files and blu-ray, it was my only dose of Star Wars between IV and the release of V in 1980. It is horrible. Even as children we knew it sucked. Mike and Andrew left to go play outside pretty quickly. I don't remember if Mike's parents and sister where there at the start or not, but I know that at some point fairly early I sat alone in Mike's living room, way closer to the TV than my mother let me get at our house, finally seeing where Chewbacca came from.
This show was so bad it ran off nearly everyone who tried to watch it in 1978. It has been ranked number one on the top 100 What Where They Thinking television events and has been called the worst two hours (including commercials) of TV ever produced. And although it stunk, I watched it all the way through. I actually remembered it as being good. I forgot the horribleness of it over the years. I only remembered Chewy and the tree houses.Something about Chewbacca and the houses in the trees stuck in my mind for years. I dreamed about them. I pretended and fantasized about living in one of those awesome tree houses.
Last year I introduced the speed bump in the Star Wars legacy to Leah, who had never seen it, via Youtube. I can't remember for sure if she watched the special in it's entirety, but I know we made fun of it, mocked, Did a decent Mystery Science 3000 on the show (now there's an episode I'd love to watch). She joined the millions of Star War fans who hate this mistake and say Lucas should be ashamed for ever allowing this to happen. I remain one of the few who think it's so bad it's good and whose love and appreciation for Star Wars increased after seeing it the first time. It will forever hold a special place in my heart.
This little show of horrors came to mind this morning, and I realize that my strange experience serves as an example of a fundamental truth that can set us free from fear in sharing our experience, strength and hope with others in need of a touch from Jesus, who is the solution and the way to freedom and a life worth living. I'm sure there are some who watched this special, or part of it, in 1978 who turned it off and never watched anything else in the Star Wars universe. But many have seen it and remain loyal fans to the franchise, while hating and ridiculing this Lucas embarrassment. It didn't change the mind of any true Star Wars fan. And since I am not terminally unique, I am sure that I am not the only one who took the 45 seconds or so of good, forgot the rest and fell deeper in love. Fans stayed fans. And Lucas doesn't have to be afraid of this being out there, because no one is changing their mind about Star Wars or him because of it. Ok it sucks, but Lucas is still a genius. I've heard multiple variations of that over the years.
And we are not going to ruin someone's chances of finding relationship with God by the way we share our story. Sure there are ways to do it well and maximize its benefit, and there are ways to do it poorly that hinder its usefulness and may even embarrass us. But if someone is truly seeking the solution to their problem nothing we can say is going to mess them up or drive them away, even if it's almost as bad as The Star Wars Holiday Special. And if they are not ready, nothing, no matter how good, can bring them to the place where they can get it. There are people who saw Star Wars and didn't like it. I know, I know. It doesn't seem possible, but it's true. And there are those who encountered Jesus and said, "Not for me." That's why Jesus said "Let those who have ears to hear, hear."
Today let us not let fear or poor performance of inability to share well or in some idea of the right way keep us from telling someone who needs to hear it that no matter what their struggling with, no matter what has them bound and trapped, Jesus is the answer and can set them free. The subject matter is so special, so awesome that those who are hungry with catch the one word you say right, hold onto it, and it will help pull them closer to Jesus. The encounter that embarrasses you and makes you remember how you tripped and stumbled over what you said, may forever hold a special place in someone's heart as something that made them love Jesus even more.
P.S. Everyone who calls themselves a Star Wars fan should see the Holiday Special at least once. If you're not a true fan, I'd be wary. It might be painful without the filter of fan love. But for those who want to see what I've been writing about, here's a link. The Star Wars Holiday Special Happy Thanksgiving, and may your hunger for God take everything on the table of life, the tasty and the insipid, and find in it something that nourishes your hunger for Him and brings you to a place of deeper love, understanding and satisfaction of who He is.
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