By: Cam Ray
For all of my childhood, I grew up knowing the Force was a mysterious, amazing, and spiritual presence in the Star Wars universe. You couldn’t see it specifically, but you could see its effects throughout that galaxy far, far away. For some, it was omnipresent and within everyone’s grasp who sought after it. For others, the Force was just an ancient and hokey religion–a mythology created by the simple-minded. Nothing a good blaster of common sense by your side wouldn’t cure. Being a Christian, I very often find great similarities between the Force and God. And like people of various faiths, those who believed in and sought to grow in the Force found themselves blessed with various types and degrees of abilities in and through that Force. As a child, there was a great balance in the Force and my faith. And then there was college. And a prequel trilogy.
In 1999, my interpretation of the amazing and spiritual mystery surrounding the Force encountered a nanoscopic phantom menace known as the midi-chlorian. So now what, the Force can be boiled down to a quick blood cell count? Oh, sorry dude, your midi-chlorian count is so low, the Force doesn’t want anything to do with you, but this kid over here has more midi-chlorians than Master Yoda. Let’s rig a coin toss, risk his life in a death race, and separate him from his enslaved mother in order to train him to control the Force with his overabundance of midi-chlorians. What?!
When I first watched the prequels, I didn’t immediately question the whole midi-chlorian thing, but then as it had to time to marinate, and as I had discussions with fellow Star Wars enthusiasts, I began to feel as if some of the wonder of the Force was gone. The magnificence of the Force’s omnipotence had been reduced to a droplet in a Petri dish. So much for Yoda’s “size matters not” referring to his spiritual focus, dedicated lifelong practice, and determination. It was due to his cells being landlords to tens of thousands of midi-chlorian tenants. It would seem you’ve either got it or you don’t. In my present-day time and galaxy, I was hearing similar messages regarding my beliefs in God and the findings of scientific research. My university professors were speaking of all life stemming randomly from single, microscopic cells–not an all-knowing, all-powerful Creator who saturates every corner of existence with love and forgiveness. While I chose to not waiver from my faith, it also wasn’t possible for me to just ignore scientific data and facts, choosing ignorance over intelligence. The big question that formed for me was: do I have to choose between science and God? Between cells or spirituality? In regard to the Force, do the midi-chlorians reduce its magnitude and meaning?
The biggest punch from the midi-chlorian reveal was that it seemed to be in direct conflict to how I understood the Force. What it did not do, though, is get rid of the Force, hurtling it into nonexistence. In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon tells Anakain that “Midi-chlorians are a microscopic life form that resides in all living cells.” Because the midi-chlorians form a symbiotic bond with their hosts, they help those organisms communicate with the Force. The greater the concentration of midi-chlorians, the greater the connection that being can have with the Force, affecting their Force sensitivity. This scientific data does not change the Force–it merely adds to our knowledge of how the Force works. Likewise, anytime there are scientific discoveries about our universe, our planet, or the microscopic world of cells and atoms, I see this as a glimpse into the magnificence and workings of God, not as a contradiction to the Creator’s existence. We are just looking at two sides of the same coin.
There is a story that Jesus tells in the Bible about a master (who represents God) leaving for a long journey, and he entrusts three of his servants (representing us) with different amounts of money (talents). The first two servants invest the money and double their amounts. The third servant buries his and does nothing. When the master returns, he is pleased with the first two and gives them more responsibilities. He is not pleased with the third servant because he did not use what he was given to improve and grow. While each servant had different amounts of money (talents/abilities), the quantity wasn’t important. What they each did with their talents is what truly mattered. When Yoda says that, “size matters not,” perhaps he was not referring only to his physical size. He could also be saying, “the number of your midi-chlorians matters not, but how you use them is what counts.”
My personal approach to life is to bring people together, not to divide them, and perhaps that influences my conclusions regarding the whole midi-chlorian issue, but I have come back around to being satisfied with a galaxy where we have a broader understanding of the Force–all midi-chlorians welcome. Because I love to apply the stories in Star Wars as life lessons whenever possible, I am encouraged by this in that whether our “midi-chlorians” are many or few, size matters not. Regardless of what we believe about God or the Force, we can all strive to use our unique gifts, talents, and abilities to bring peace, love, forgiveness, and joy to those around us, and like it or not, the Force will be with you, always.
