The Royal Award Ceremony

After the Battle of Yavin, at the end of A New Hope, there is the Royal Award Ceremony. It is held in the Great Temple of Yavin 4. Princess Leia Organa presents a medal of honor to Luke Skywalker for firing the shot that destroyed the Death Star from his X-Wing Fighter. Han Solo and Chewbacca are also given medals – Solo during ceremony and Chewbacca after – for helping Luke by hitting Darth Vader’s Tie Fighter and sending it spinning into space.

C-3PO and R2-D2 are there on the side, looking very polished and shiny. Soldiers, pilots, and other personnel in the Rebel Alliance line the Great Temple.

After receiving their medals, Luke, Han, and Chewbacca turn to face the crowd. There is soaring celebratory music by John Williams as the screen darkens and the credits roll.

The Rebel heroes are honored for their faithful duty to the Rebel Alliance. They did something. They made a difference. They all played a part in winning the victory of Yavin 4.

Doing something, fighting the good fight of faith, being faithful in our service to God and people is important for Christians to understand. All too often, we think and act like Christianity is a purely passive experience. We know that Jesus has won the victory over sin, death, and the devil. We believe that we are saved completely by the work of Jesus on the cross and out of the grave. We trust that we are justified by God through Jesus Christ.

We focus so much on justification that we forget about our sanctification. We are so certain in believing the work of Jesus in saving us that we neglect to behave like we are saved by Jesus. We ignore that Christianity is also an active experience.

God uses physical – even violent – language to describe our sanctification.

Jesus teaches: “Strive to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:24). “Strive” means to struggle, to labor, to go all out. We strive to enter through the narrow door of salvation that Jesus has opened for us through his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection.

St. Paul liked to use pictures of physicality to demonstrate our Christian efforts. He tells us that we are in a wrestling match against the devil and his demonic forces. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV).

He compares our Christian effort to running a race to receive a prize. “Do you not know that when runners compete in the stadium, they all run, but only one receives the prize? Run like that—to win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable victor’s wreath, but we do it for an imperishable one. That is why there is nothing aimless about the way I run” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26a).

In the very next verse, Paul compares Christian self-discipline to training our body for a boxing match. “There is no pummeling of the air in the way I box. Instead I hit my body hard and make it my slave so that, after preaching to others, I myself will not be rejected” (1 Corinthians 9:26b-27).

All of this violent striving may be something we are not used to. All of this physically aggressive language may make us uncomfortable. But it is certainly the way that the Holy Spirit describes our walk with him.

And it is an active walk.

The very language of Scripture is holy physicality.

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Everyone loves the sports metaphor, until they realize it means they need to be active.

We rightly put the emphasis on the truth that Jesus Christ has won the final, ultimate battle over the Emperor of this world – who is the devil (John 12:31-33).

Then we need to emphasize that Jesus commands, directs and expects us to be active in the fight. To get up from the sofa. To move away from the pew. To get in the ring. To start running. To be in training. To strive and struggle.

As Sabine Baring Gould states powerfully in his hymn:

Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war,

With the cross of Jesus Going on before.

Christ, the royal master, Leads against the foe;

Forward into battle See his banners go!

At the end of the battle, when this world is destroyed in fire, we will stand at the Royal Award Ceremony. Though the victory was won totally by Jesus Christ, he still wants us to share in his victory ceremony.

Instead of a medal around our neck, he will place a crown on our head. He will give us a reward for our faithfulness. Jesus promises: “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

We will hear Jesus say these beautiful words, commending us for our faithful service: “Well done, my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

As great as John Williams’ music is, that will be nothing compared to what we will hear coming from the gathered saints and angels.

They won’t be singing our praises. We are blessed to receive the benefits of Christ’s victory. We are given the reward of faithfulness because Jesus was faithful to us. The uncounted angels and incalculable saints will be filling the halls of New Jerusalem with this song: “Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might belong to our God forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 7:12).

Right now, we are living in the Church Militant. We are at war. Fight the good fight. Strive to enter through the narrow door. Wrestle against demonic forces. Run the good race.

Get up. Get physical. Get in the fight. Follow Jesus’ justification with the Holy Spirit’s sanctification.

Be faithful unto death and you will receive the crown of life at the Royal Award Ceremony.