Ray of Light

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  John 1:5 

“There is no darkness so dense, so menacing, or so difficult that it cannot be overcome by light.”Vern P. Stanfill

Today I went to see the last Star Wars movie – the Rise of Skywalker before it leaves my local theater.  As with other movies of my childhood, Star Wars is nostalgic for me from a time when my life was sheltered.  And a reminder how the characters have aged like me, and some have passed on leaving indelible memories in my mind.   Now that I am older, I can look back and see how the conflict between light and darkness, good and evil has affected my life and the world around me.  And it seems today, more than at any other time in my life, a sense of a growing darkness is present and as in the movie we seem on a precipice of doom and there is a need to come together to defeat the darkness.  

In the lead up scene to the climax of the movie, Leia sacrifices her son Kylo and her own life to ensure Rey prevails in a death fight with Kylo. But then Rey shares her life energy with Kylo to save him.  This was an act of love by Rey for Leia, who had always believed in Rey’s soul although Leia knew the Sith Emperor was Rey’s grandfather.  In the climax, Rey draws upon the light sabers of Luke and Leia crossed together to channel all of the Jedi’s energy who had come before her, in order to defeat the Sith Emperor’s unleashed dark force.  Kylo then sacrifices himself transferring his life force to restore Rey who had died channeling the light of the Jedi.  Rey assumes the Skywalker name, a testimony to the life force of Kylo within her, and Luke and Leia who had loved her too.  This is a story of how love between souls can overcome any physical blood ties within a family.  When there is hope, love prevails over evil which seeks to isolate us from each other.  

Although the Skywalker name most familiar to us as the protagonists in the Star Wars movie, it is originally an Algonquin Indian name for someone who walks in the sky with spirits.  The movie is based on an unseen force or spirit within the universe or sky that can be channeled for healing or destruction. The movie asks us, do we have within us and collectively, the ability to transform our world with our thoughts, not solely by our actions? Is it the same life force that pervades the Star Wars universe?

In the end of the movie, Rey buries the blue light sabers of Luke and Leia and unleashes her own saber which is now pure white light.  The movie was a reminder for me that love is indeed the most powerful force in the Universe, and that good will prevail if we come together in a ray of light.