Judge me by my size, do you?

So here’s a weird conflation of unlikely topics: Star Wars and the Bible. Okay, so maybe there have been books written on it. But the other day I realized the connection between one of Yoda’s comments and the “Great Commission.”

I have a picture I have of my grandson wearing a t-shirt that says, “Judge me by my size, do you?”  It hit me in the midst of preparing a Sunday school lesson on Matthew 28:18-20. As I looked at the passage for the umpteenth time, I saw a “therefore” I had not really considered before. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore… make disciples.” I have the authority, so you go make disciples. How does that work? Your “size” does not matter, Jesus said. I have all authority (which can be translated “power”), so you need to get out there and let people know about me.

Paul may have had something like that in mind when he told the Corinthians that his message to them was not important because of its worldly-wise words, but because of its power.  (1 Cor. 2:1-4) Paul’s “size” didn’t matter; it was his power that counted. When Moses at the burning bush said he felt impotent at the thought of facing the most powerful man on earth, God told him to stop feeling puny; it would be a God-sized response when the time came.

I don’t think I am alone in occasionally feeling kind of small when I have to confront the world’s bullying of Christian thinking. How do you stand up to the “outdated myth” attack? Or the “opium of the people” charge? Or the “benighted simpleton” portrayal? They think they have it all figured out, yet all authority was not given unto them; it was passed on to us. That is what the “therefore” in Matthew 28:19 is there for. The Way, the Truth and the Life is not Karl Marx or Carl Sagan; it’s Jesus of Nazareth.

Yoda said, “Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.”  Change the line to, “my ally is the Creator of the universe… you must feel the Creator around you…”

So I go back to Yoda’s challenge: judge me by my size, do you? If I remember the scene where he said that, he proceeded to lift a 20 ton space craft out of a bog with his mind – telekinesis. I am not suggesting that Christians should take up that sort of paranormal activity. But yes, I am suggesting some type of paranormal activity. If we understand the importance of “all authority/power” being delegated to believers (I think that’s what Jesus meant) then we are all equipped for some heavy lifting, metaphorically speaking.

“Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter” – another great quote to take to heart. Paul told the Philippians we are to shine like stars in the sky. We shouldn’t just be in the spotlight; we should be the spotlight. Size doesn’t matter – it’s the size of who’s got your back that matters.