Episode IV: A New Hope, but for Whom?

Posted on by Father Albert
A long time ago
 On a Blog not that far away
The Ephesian began his journey through Star Wars
His path has taken him through temptation and the value of confession.
Today we join him on that journey where he meets Luke Skywalker and
discovers that it really is possible for people to change, that there is hope after all.
{Spoiler Alert for IV, V, & VI}
A New Hope! Who exactly is finding new hope? The movie suggests that it is the rebels who find a new hope, but I want to suggest a slightly different take: Han Solo and Darth Vader. But first, I just wanted to point out that one of the coolest pieces of Catholic Music finds its way into this iconic movie. Incidentally, this is the week that monks, nuns, and priestshave the option to sing the Dies Irae when the pray the Liturgy of the Hours in the morning and in the evening.
Anyway, back to the point. When we first meet Han Solo, he’s a bit of a cocky criminal who will do a lot just to make a quick buck. Within minutes of meeting him, the audience is shown that he is in debt to a dangerous crime lord, Jabba the Hut. On top of that, men are after his life to collect a bounty and he’s the kind of man who actually shoots first.
“Sorry about the mess.”
Now, we can’t really blame him, Greedo had just told him that he was looking forward to killing Han, so self-defense seems to apply. Still, Han is clearly a man who looks out only for himself. By the end of the movie, however, Han seems to have a change of heart. We know that he saves Luke’s life right at the end, but what changed him? Probably his exposure to people genuinely interested in the good of others…
First he meets Obi-Wan and Luke. Luke’s a good kid, but Obi-Wan is traveling across the galaxy to get involved in a conflict that would probably never affect him if he just let it alone. In addition to that, this Obi-Wan fellow introduces him to an entire spiritual world he’s never known. Later, he meets Leia, who is totally invested in bringing freedom to the Galaxy even after her home planet (as far as she knew anyway) was destroyed and none of her family could benefit from it. This kind of selflessness seems foolish to him and he mocks it a few times, but he cannot seem to avoid being changed by it.
Boom! Conversion!
Not only does he come back to risk his life to save Luke, but the drama of the scene really drives home the point that his change of heart is a big deal. If he doesn’t come back, Luke dies, the Death Star continues, the rebel base is destroyed, and there is no hope for freedom in the Galaxy or even that whole planets can even remain in existence. Riffing on that a bit, we can see Solo as a kind of “everyman,” a symbol of the basic struggle in all of us. To overcome a world filled with evil requires individuals to overcome their own inner struggle with selfishness, greed, pride etc… When Solo wins against himself, the whole Galaxy benefits.
But what about Darth Vader, who became a veritable icon of evil in the 20th century? We don’t see any improvement in this first movie, but there is something that creates hope in him without him fully realizing it. It’s hard to tell how Vader felt or what we’re supposed to think about his feelings when he said this, but it’s nonetheless significant that there is some nostalgia in Vader’s voice when he says:
“I sense something… a presence I haven’t felt since…”
The presence of his old master, of his old friend, has an impact on him. Nonetheless, he hunts him down and seeks to kill him, probably still filled with the pride from the last time he fought him and a desire to prove that he was now indisputably more powerful. Last movie, I reflected a bit on the struggle between good and evil for a Christian and that sometimes, violence is the answer. Obi-Wan violently resisted Anakin because there was no reasoning with him. He acted as a soldier under orders and protected the innocent. I noted then, and would like to recall now that “A Christian, and especially a priest, ought to not only resist the wicked man in his witness to the Truth, but also willingly accept death in imitation of Christ.” In the last movie, Obi-Wan played the role of protector, but in this movie…

He takes on the role of priest and victim. He willingly lets himself be killed, knowing that he has done all that he can. I don’t know if Lucas intended this, but to a Catholic this kind of attitude looks an awful lot like a martyr who dies loving the very person who killed him. Indeed, the very first martyr of the faith was Stephen, who died praying for his attackers. Not long after, St. Paul, who was part of the group that killed Stephen, is radically converted. The Church Fathers were quick to argue that Stephen’s prayer and sacrifice is what led to the conversion of St. Paul. Well, here we have a very similar paradigm. Obi-Wan is serene just before he is killed and actually vanishes entirely (an interesting alternative to Stephen’s vision of heaven as he died). By the end of VI, this and the influence of Luke, his son, actually cause Vader to make a final turn away from the Dark Side and die reconciled to Good.

So what is the New Hope? Is it for the Galaxy as a whole or a couple of less-than-good men who encounter something good in the form of Obi-Wan and Luke? Indeed, hope for the first really kind of depends on hope for the second. So, set your hopes on what is good and live accordingly. Do you know someone who needs conversion? Be Obi-Wan (minus all the pantheism stuff of course)!

Keep on hoping and join me again next time for the Empire Strikes Back! Until then…

Vive a Lumine!
– The Ephesian