More Than Entertained

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Lent is simply a “period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.” As Christians, we have a profound purpose in our suffering. It was once said that “suffering is itself the way”, and a quick glance at the Gospels will confirm—the Lord only rose after He endured the way of the Cross. Our path to resurrection is the same. To rise, we must suffer and die. 

Everyone on earth experiences the problem of pain and the reality of suffering, but not everyone knows there is hope in the darkness. Not everyone knows the Lord is with them there. Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect on—and enter into—this reality. Below are two of the most iconic movie characters of all time who (we hope) can help make some sense out of suffering. 

Most human beings will have at least a remote knowledge of the Star Wars franchise.  However, what may be lesser known is that George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars films, collectively refers to the first six episodes as The Tragedy of Darth Vader.  It’s an intriguing title to explore.

Vader, one of cinema’s greatest villains, is the instigator of much death and destruction throughout Episodes 4-6 (the first films released).  Viewers were made aware that he was a former Jedi, but many wondered what made Darth Vader turn to the Dark Side of the Force.  They were left to decide for themselves.

With the release of Episodes 1-3 in the late 1990s and early 2000s, that question was answered.  Viewers got the full story behind Anakin Skywalker’s deterioration into Darth Vader in these prequels.

Anakin did not live an easy life prior to his tragic demise.  He and his mother were slaves in his youth.  When the Jedi free Anakin to teach him their ways, his mother stays behind.  Years later, she is taken and tortured by Tusken Raiders, a group of humanoid desert monsters.  In the films, we see a much older Anakin track down his mother, and he arrives just in time for her to die in his arms.  

This moment is arguably the pivotal point in Anakin’s evolution into Darth Vader. He has a choice to make. He can let the bitterness and wrath consume him, or he can pursue a more noble way.  He chooses the former and, in his rage and anguish, Anakin shockingly slaughters the whole village of Tusken Raiders–men, women, and children. Evil gains the upper hand in his heart.

In a later example of his trials, Anakin has visions of the future death of his wife, Padme, who happens to be pregnant.  The visions cause fear to grow within him.  When Darth Sidious, the most powerful member of the Dark Side, offers him a supposed way to save Padme via the powers of the Dark Side, Anakin sways even more toward this path of destruction.  He begins to obey Sidious more and more, and Anakin eventually gives himself over entirely to the path of evil.  In an unsurprising yet tragic sequence, Padme sees Anakin’s demise, rejects the path he has chosen, and dies at Anakin’s hands.  It’s a testament to the foolishness of turning to evil and following the Father of Lies (represented here by Sidious).

Ultimately, Anakin struggles with the fear of loss and the fear of losing control.  It’s a very real feeling that everyone likely experiences.  To make matters more difficult, these fears will be realized in most of our lives.  Things happen that are out of our control–every day in some shape or form.  Difficult circumstances happen in our lives, such as the death of a family member or friend.  In these circumstances, a momentous question comes to the light:  will we choose to be bitter and hate-filled in our suffering, or will we choose to forgive and be a force for good?

Thankfully, examples abound of characters who choose to suffer well and be a force for good.  Look no further than Cinderella.  She certainly claims her fair share of suffering.  After the death of her parents, she is forced to live with her infamous evil stepmother and stepsisters, who treat her as no more than a lowly servant girl.  If anyone has a right to hold onto resentment about her lot in life, it’s her.  Yet Cinderella, particularly in Disney’s 2015 live action version of the film (simply titled Cinderella), gives us an entirely different, and remarkably Christian, response to her circumstances.

At the beginning of the film, Cinderella’s mother is dying, and she gives her daughter one piece of advice as a parting gift: “Have courage and be kind…[I]t has power.  More than you know.”  This principle becomes Cinderella’s guiding rule toward all, even toward her stepmother and stepsisters.  The story that follows is all-too familiar.  The slipper fits, and she’s off to marry the prince of the kingdom!

But here’s the moment for which we’ve been waiting.  In the concluding scene, when she is walking away happily with the prince, she turns to her stepmother and says, “I forgive you.”

It’s an astonishing move.  It’s an example for all of us that are striving to “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God” (Ephesians 4:24).  Again the question arises.  When suffering enters our lives, will we function as our “old self” (Ephesians 4:22), which tends toward resentment and unforgiveness?  Or will we have courage, be kind, and forgive?  As Cinderella’s mother tells us, the latter option “has power.  More than you know.”  It has the power of Christ, the Ultimate Bearer of suffering.

One final point to remember: no matter how much damage we have caused, there is always a place for redemption.  As long as we live, we always have a choice to come back to the light. This is true for Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters as it is true for Darth Vader. And as most of us know, in the end, Vader makes the choice to come back to the light.  The Tragedy of Darth Vader does not end with death. Yes, he does die for his son at the conclusion of Return of the Jedi, but it is the kind of death which brings new life. It is the kind of death which transforms tragedy into triumph. It is the kind of death our Savior died upon the cross so that we all might live. May each one of us find, in this Lenten season, the courage to die alongside our Lord and so receive the joy of His resurrection.