Mission Monthly – June 1999

“Theologians are fascinated, and simultaneously a bit worried, that “Star Wars” strikes a deep chord with people who seem to get more out of a movie than they do by sitting in a pew.”

Wisconsin State Journal Editorial, May 20, 1999

The markings of social spiritual confusion and decline are all over the premier of the first episode of the new Star Warstrilogy. In my view one need not be a social analyst (or theologian for that matter) to see the unhealthy symptoms surrounding the anticipation of this long awaited “blockbuster.”

There is relatively nothing new in all the hype. Hollywood has been spewing out this kind of sensationalism for decades. This begs the questions: What, if any, are the differences between today's movie releases and those of 10, 20, 40 or even 60 years ago? What differences could be so great that even an editor of a secular newspaper can recognize a growing and even “religious” personal surrender to the entertainment industry?

I am more concerned for the general public than I am for my Church although we, as Orthodox Christians, are as subject to worldly distractions as anybody! I am concerned about the deepening trend within society that reveals a profound dissatisfaction with life and the inability (or lack of desire) to cope with everyday routine. I am concerned because of the ease with which people, in the “discontent” of their lives, express their need for drama and sensation. With faces glued to the television awaiting the next torrid morsel of information about any current “news” drama or while standing in line for days dressed as a favorite Star Wars character waiting to buy a ticket you ask, “Why, Father, what do you mean?”

Maybe I have these concerns because I'm an ordained Priest and pastor, but I suspect and hope that many of you ask yourselves these same questions. Why is it that after 15 years of marriage and 4 children a spouse decides that he/she just doesn't want to be married anymore? How is it that young teenage boys can take guns to school and coldly kill classmates and teachers? How is it that people can get so lost in themselves and their passions that they completely forget (or no longer care about) any consequences, either to others or to themselves?

The main differences between the entertainment products of today and of years past are technology (the ability to generate much more realistic images) and a militant moral decline. But possibly of even greater significance is the difference in the hearts of the people for whom these products have been designed to entertain. Attempts by some “modern” church denominations to pattern their worship to compete with the entertainment industry reveal some church's surrender to this unfortunate fact. A most distressing aspect of this is that most of us are totally unaware of the weight we are under by needing more explosions, more sex, more violence, more mystery, more competition and more drama to entertain us. Sadly, this surreal reality has made its way into our personal lives, showing us the truth in Jesus' words, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:30). How else could someone claim that they get more out of a movie than they do out of worshiping God?

We need to recognize and zealously pursue the life which God has revealed to us in Christ and in the Church, challenging us at every step to be thoughtful about the state of our heart and our ability to be content with God and the life He has given us. We need to learn over and over how to be renewed by the Spirit of God when our passions flare, attempting to deceive us, claiming that the disciplines and restraints of the Church are an affront to personal growth and development. We also need to guard our eyes, ears and all our senses against the entertainment we subject ourselves (and our children) to, not carelessly thinking we, as Orthodox Christians, are “strong enough” to recognize and not be affected by the evil. If we do not… pity this world and our souls for our indifference and insensibility. Our emptiness will never be filled by the idols and passions of this life; to believe so is a great and terrible deception.

“…we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind… But God, who is rich in mercy… made us alive together with Christ… For this reason reason I bow my knees before the Father… that He may grant you to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man… that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 2 &3).