Rethinking the Way Out

Luke Skywalker wants to belong, to be “somebody,” so he asks his uncle for permission to join the Academy, a pilot school run by the Rebel Alliance. He sees this as his “way out.” Are any of the students you know looking for their own way out? Somewhere deep inside, Luke is experiencing the battle between hope and despair. He has no idea who he is and from where he came. Little does he know that his destiny is moving him toward an old desert hermit known as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Just as Telemachus sought King Menelaus of Sparta, Luke finds Obi-Wan. The aged Obi-Wan discloses Luke’s true heritage: He is the son of a brave and valiant Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker! Going even further, Obi-Wan hands Anakin’s light saber over to its rightful heir. Look at this scene through Luke’s eyes. Prior to setting foot into Obi-Wan’s dwelling, he was a moisture-farmer, living with an aunt and uncle who seem to have divorced themselves from any kind of passion. Then in a matter of moments, everything has changed! Now he learns he is the son of a mighty warrior—a warrior who had been killed (later we find this word was used metaphorically) by the sinister Darth Vader. Luke himself was smuggled to the deserts of this remote world in an attempt to hide him from Vader. Luke is now living in a much larger story!