Embed from Getty Images When I was a kid, I wanted to be Luke Skywalker. He was the closest thing that resembled my life. So I felt there was an instant connection. Along with the battle of light side versus dark side, Star Wars is also a story about personal growth and adulthood.
Luke Skywalker started out as a farm boy and ended up a legendary Jedi. Through dealing with evil, Luke then trying to sort out his own failures he ended up soured into bitter sadness.
Luke Skywalker, once the hero of the Rebellion, built a Jedi school on Jakku. In a moment of part his own guilt and horror and part weakness and fear, he thought about killing his nephew, Ben Solo. Perhaps the evil intent in Ben’s heart hit too close to home who had dealt with a father with some evil in him as well and Luke did not want to go down this path again.
Like many of us who fail at something we want to hide. Luke was driven to Ahch-To in part by his own feelings of unworthiness as a teacher. He would self-distance himself, or in today’s terms social distance himself.
Luke needed Yoda to remind him that he is a very important part of the Jedi Order’s history.
Luke blames his own hype as a “legend” for his actions. Yoda does not deny this, but he does tell Luke to stop focusing on the past, the future, and the dreams of the horizon. Luke’s last lesson is meditative: to live in the moment.
Luke’s arc in the Original Trilogy took him from farm boy with good aim to the Jedi who threw away his weapon when he was offered the opportunity to rule the galaxy.
Luke Skywalker’s legacy is not one of wanting and gaining power, Luke’s legacy is about laying down one’s life for his friends, about being willing to say no to injustice even when there is no hope of a future without a hint of yes.
“The Last Jedi” showed how powerful Luke Skywalker was. Luke understood, his real power was not violent or aggressive. His last act is a trick, a misdirection used to save people. No anger, no hatred, Luke simply projected and won.
In the Bible, Jesus tells us “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13. That is Luke Skywalker’s legacy.
