In the epistle for this Sunday Paul tells us to live by the spirit rather than by the flesh (Gal 5:13-25). In the words from the film Return of the Jedi we should trust the power of the force and not go over to the dark side, as Darth Vader father to Luke Skywarker had done. In the film Luke confronts his father but refuses to fight him. When the Emperor attacks Luke, Vader intervenes to save his son and is killed in the process; the good within Vader wins and he is redeemed. Luke’s courage and Vader’s sacrifice is truth speaking to power. It was able to destroy the political structures of the evil Empire that had set them fighting each other. Paul does not tell us to live by the spirit simply so that we can feel better about ourselves but to show that true force does not consist of power and might but courage and love; against these there is no defense.

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