The Code
The Jedi have been guardians of the peace in a galaxy far, far away. The Jedi separate themselves from all emotion as they use the Force to have peace for themselves and keep the peace in the galaxy.
The Sith are agents of chaos. They unlock the power of the Force through extreme emotion. They allow their feelings of fear and anger to make them powerful wielders of the Force.
Both the Jedi and the Sith live by their own codes. The Jedi live by a very strict code of discipline, selflessness, and lack of emotion. This is very difficult to master. That’s why those very few who are adept in the Force become Jedi Knights, and even fewer become Jedi Masters.
The Sith also live by a code. But their code is built upon passion, strength, and power. Their passion for strength and power leads to having only two Sith at any time – a Master and an Apprentice.
Light vs Dark
It is a common misconception that the light side of the Force is good and the dark side is evil. But that is a simplistic way of categorizing the two sides of the Force.
The essence of the Sith’s power is in passion, not evil. Passion may take the form of joy and love or anger and hatred. Sith are typically evil because they are blinded by their passion and corrupted as they seek more power.
The Jedi’s lack of emotion can often be a weakness. The Jedi are less powerful than the Sith. There are many more Jedi than Sith, yet the Jedi very rarely defeat the Sith in battle.
The Jedi have their code of stoicism, while the Sith have their code of passion. Jedi are warned not to stray from the light to be seduced by the dark. Is it possible to remain in the light and use the power of the dark? Is it possible to move away from the light and not be engulfed by the darkness?
Star Wars canon speaks a great deal about a “balance” in the Force. At the end of Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi yells at Anakin on Mustafar, “You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!”
By thinking of the Force not in terms of good and evil, but rather stoicism and passion, you can see why it is good to be in the middle – in the gray area between the light and the dark sides of the Force.
Gray Area
In between the Jedi and the Sith are the Gray Jedi. There isn’t much reference to the Gray Jedi in Star Wars canon. However, Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace is thought by some to be a Gray Jedi.
Ahsoka Tano, the former padawan of Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars TV show, leaves the Jedi Order because she doesn’t fit with the Jedi Code. She later appears in the Rebels TV show as a Gray Jedi. As she faces Darth Vader she says that she will avenge Anakin’s death. Vader says, “Vengeance is not the Jedi way.” She replies, “I am no Jedi!”
The Gray Jedi believe that the Sith’s passion for power will lead to a civilization’s destruction. They also believe that the Jedi’s stoicism will lead to a civilization’s complacency. The Gray Jedi feel that both sides should be examined and used, without favoring one over the other.
In Christian terms, we would call this gray area, The Middle Road. Professor Daniel Deutschlander has written a wonderful and insightful book on this subject entitled The Narrow Lutheran Middle. Because we are natural born sinners, we often find ourselves swerving all over the road of life. We can easily fall into the ditch of stoicism on the right side of the road. So we over-correct and swerve into the ditch of passion on the left side.
During Attack of the Clones, we learn that part of the Jedi’s unwritten code is that emotional attachments to people are strictly forbidden for Jedi. This causes a problem though, because Anakin is very attached to his mother. Later he becomes attached to Padme Amidala, whom he secretly marries.
When Anakin is discussing his feelings with Obi-Wan, his Jedi Master, Obi-Wan tells him to “bury your feelings.” This fits with the first line of the Jedi Code: “There is no emotion, there is peace.”
However, because of this code of no emotional attachments, the Jedi never properly address Anakin’s attachment to his mother. So when Anakin learns his mother has been captured by the Tusken Raiders, he flies to Tatooine and slaughters the entire tribe of sand people – even the women and children. This outburst of passion is leading him to the dark side.
In Revenge of the Sith, it is Anakin’s passion for his secret wife Padme that completes his fall to the dark side. This fits with the first line of the Sith Code: “Peace is a lie, there is only passion.”
The Gray Jedi Code admits: “There is passion, yet peace. There is serenity, yet emotion.” The Gray Jedi would have allowed Anakin to be passionate for his mother and wife, and still find serenity and peace within that passion.
The lack of emotion among the Jedi Order pushed Anakin to the Sith where he could express his passion.
Travel the Middle Road
We can apply this to Christianity in always wanting to travel the middle road so that we don’t fall into the ditches on either side.
As we travel down the road of life, we will experience grief when a loved one dies. We can fall into one ditch of stoicism and think “real men don’t cry” or “suck it up, Buttercup.” Or we can fall into the other ditch of passion where our grief consumes us.
St. Paul presents the middle road for grieving as Christians. He teaches us to grieve, but not like those without hope in the resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
As we travel, we will see all the blessings God has showered upon the earth around us. On one side is the ditch of materialism. We see these physical blessings, and we are consumed by them. But we can also fall into the ditch of monasticism on the other side. We despise the blessings God has given us, close ourselves off from these blessings, and then take great pride in our opposition to possessions.
St. John reminds us of the middle road between worship of God’s created world and the disdain for the things of this world. He writes:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, boasting about material possessions—is not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
In The Phantom Menace, when young Anakin is put before the Jedi Council to determine if he should be trained, Yoda senses great fear in the boy. Yoda famously says, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” After a deep sigh, he adds, “I sense much fear in you.” (Although, in true Yoda-ese it should be “Much fear in you I sense. Hmm.”)
On one side of the ditch is great fear – fear of our children becoming deathly ill; fear of losing our job; fear of losing our independence as we age; fear of violence in our streets, natural disasters in our nation, and wars within our world. We are often overcome and paralyzed by fear.
On the other side of the ditch is the lack of concern for anything or anyone else. We are so consumed with ourselves and our drive for success in everything that we make everyone else fear us.
King David presents the middle road answer to our fears or our lack of concern – trust in God to take care of every situation:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—
Psalm 27:1-3
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers advance against me to eat my flesh,
when my foes and my enemies come against me,
it is they who will stumble and fall.
If an army lines up against me, my heart will not fear.
If war rises against me, even then I will keep trusting.”.
Whether it is possessions or attachments or emotions, Professor Deutschlander helps us recognize the danger of the two ditches: “There is nothing in the world that may be good and a gift of God that cannot be easily corrupted by us with our fallen nature. Is there anything that cannot be used by the devil to push us into a ditch?” (The Narrow Lutheran Middle: Following the Scriptural Road, p. 163)
It was Anakin’s emotional attachments to his mother and wife that led him to become a Sith at the end of Revenge of the Sith. But it was Anakin’s (Darth Vader) emotional attachment to his son Luke that led to his redemption and him becoming a Force ghost at the end of Return of the Jedi.
The Gray Jedi remind us to walk between the codes of the Jedi and the Sith. It is easy to be pulled too far to the light or dark side of the Force. The Gray Jedi have found balance.
Christianity is the middle road between two ditches. It is easy to veer toward one ditch and quickly over-correct to swerve into the other ditch.
We trust God is always in control in all things and at all times. We can be afraid yet trust God to take care of us. We can grieve yet grieve with the hope of the resurrection. We can enjoy God’s possessions but not be possessed by them. We can be passionate yet not be controlled by our emotions.
This is the middle road. The gray area. Balance.
King Solomon presents the wonderful wisdom of following the middle road and finding balance in our Christian life.
“For everything there is an appointed time.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is an appropriate time for every activity under heaven:
a time to give birth and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot plants,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones,
a time to embrace and a time not to embrace,
a time to search and a time to stop searching,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to rip and a time to sew,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.”
Michael Zarling
For the first 8 years of my ministry, I served at Faith Lutheran Church, an exploratory congregation in Radcliff, KY. I presently serve at Epiphany Lutheran Church and Wisconsin Lutheran School (WLS) in Racine, WI. I am also very involved with our youth as the WLS head soccer coach and the head counselor for WELS Training Camp, a youth camp for 3rd – 9th graders. I have been married to Shelley for 20 years. Together we have 4 beautiful daughters – Abigail, Miriam, Lydia and Gabrielle. We also have 2 dogs – Messi and Mia – named after Lionel Messi and Mia Hamm (the Zarling family really likes soccer!)
