For my younger self, holidays were often Star Wars themed, as Star Wars was my favorite movie series. I would decorate the tree with Star Wars ornaments, retire to my bedroom after unwrapping presents to begin my newest Star Wars novel, and a few days later I would time my viewing of A New Hope so that I could ring in the new year with the explosion of the Death Star. While it may seem strange, Star Wars has become a holiday tradition for many Americans, especially since Disney purchased Lucasfilm and began releasing new movies in late December rather than in May, which was once customary.
While as a child and teenager, I loved Star Wars and knew its lore in depth, I confess I know much less about its older brother, Star Trek. It is probably no exaggeration to say that I can count the number of things I know about Star Trek on one hand, even if that hand were performing the Vulcan salute.
The Vulcan salute, one of the few things I do know, is a gesture in which the hand is held up, palm out with the thumb extended and the four fingers parted in the middle, so that your hand makes three points: one created by the thumb, another by the index and middle fingers, and another by the ring and pinky fingers. It is usually accompanied by the benediction, “Live long and prosper,” often followed by the reply, “Peace and long life.”
While Vulcans and their accompanying salute are original to Star Trek, the gesture is not. In fact, Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in the original television series, took inspiration from the priests at his local synagogue, who made the gesture when they recited the priestly blessing from Numbers 6:
“May the Lord bless you
and keep you;
May the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
May the Lord turn his face toward you,
and give you peace” (vv. 24-26).
Why, though, would Jewish priests perform the Vulcan salute? The priests made the hand gesture because it resembles the sacred Hebrew letter shin. While it looks more like the English letter “W,” shin makes the “sh” sound, and is the first letter of many important Hebrew words, including Shaddai (“Almighty”), a sacred name for God; Shema (“Hear”), Judaism’s most sacred law (Deuteronomy 6:4); and shalom (“peace”), a Hebrew benediction and the last word of the priestly blessing.
However, as is so common when translating to English from any Eastern language, “peace” is an imperfect translation. The Hebrew word shalom means much more than nonviolence, which we might consider the default position for any party not at war. While this is a necessary condition, shalom implies also a presence of completeness, good health, and all-around favorable conditions. It might be fair to say that shalom comprises all the elements of the Vulcan benediction: peace, prosperity, and long life.
The prospect and theory of war are so often part and parcel of our culture: We speak of culture wars and cola wars, and our favorite games are often those that bring us into conflict with one another. Indeed, Star Wars sounds far more interesting than Star Peace. But why are we so fascinated with war? Perhaps, and I speculate, it is because we recognize, even if only subconsciously, that we are always at war. Paul tells us that the natural mind–that is, the one that is under the control of the flesh rather than of the Spirit of God–is hostile to its creator (Romans 8:7; cf. 5:10). So, humans, by their very nature, are at war with God: War, not peace, is our default.
War with God should be a terrifying concept to anyone who considers it. We are hopelessly outmatched, even more so than the Rebel Alliance battling the Galactic Empire. A war with God is one that humans could never hope to win.
But, if we are at war with God, is God therefore at war with us? To any God-worshiper living under Emperor Augustus in the nascent Roman Empire, it would not be unreasonable to believe so. A thousand years prior, God was clearly on Israel’s side: Faithful and just kings like David and Solomon sat on the throne; Israel was wealthy, it had few enemies, and its borders were at the largest they had ever been. But, successive kings became more and more unfaithful; the once united kingdom became divided and its people repeatedly spurned God’s prophets until the pagan empire of Babylon sacked the Holy City of Jerusalem and destroyed its Temple. While the Temple would be rebuilt seventy years later, Israel would never again enjoy the glory it once had, becoming instead a colony of pagan, polytheistic empires like Greece and Rome, who regularly stripped faithful monotheists of their autonomy and suppressed their religious practices. The average God-fearing individual could only guess how God felt about them, as Israel had not heard from God in centuries, since its last prophet Malachi died four hundred years earlier. It seemed that God had, at the very least, abandoned Israel, or even declared war on them.
That is, until, one night in the town of Bethlehem, God broke through the silence and announced heaven’s stance toward Mankind. To a group of trembling shepherds, a host of angels declared: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14 NKJV). Despite centuries of rebellion against God, followed by centuries of silence from heaven and oppression by foreign powers, the message from the angels was clear: God desires not war with Mankind, but peace. But this is not merely a “lack-of-violence” peace in which heaven agrees not to take up arms, but rather, a loving relationship of goodwill: shalom. God desires peace, prosperity, and long life for his creation which had for so long been declaring war on him and on each other.
To accomplish this, God sent his shalom into the world in the person of his Son. He would grant peace with God to those once at war, spiritual prosperity to the poor in spirit, and eternal life to those once dead in sin. Jesus would not only declare and ensure this shalom from heaven, but he would also teach his followers how to have it with one another. As the carol goes, “Truly he taught us to love one another; his law is love and his gospel is peace.”
What, then, is our response to heaven’s peace proposal? Our response, first, is to accept it. While the natural man is at war with God (Romans 8:7), the man that is governed by the Spirit is at peace with God. Paul tells us, “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). Ending our rebellion and believing in the Son of God grants us peace with God and with heaven.
Secondarily, our response is to live as Jesus lived, and so to extend the Spirit of Peace to others. When we declared war with God, a war that we could not possibly win, God’s response to us was, not to defeat us, but to offer peace. Our duty, then, is to bring peace to those who declare war against us, even when we cannot possibly lose. Paul gives these instructions to his readers in Romans 12: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (vv. 14-18).
Our command, our duty, and our joy as Christians, governed by the Spirit of God, is to live in peace and harmony with one another, to humble ourselves, and to do right to everyone. There is perhaps no better way to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace than to lay down our arms against those who have wronged us and, rather than cursing them, to bless them, as God did for us.
How, specifically, we are to bless our enemies, Paul does not say. But, it is probably safe to pray over them what the priests of Israel have prayed for three thousand years or more:
“May the Lord bless you
and keep you;
May the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
May the Lord turn his face toward you,
and give you peace.”
But, if that is too much to remember, you might just raise your hand, part your fingers, and say, “Live long and prosper.”
May God grant peace, prosperity, long life, and good health to you and yours this Advent season. I hope to see you in church on Sunday, and I look forward to celebrating Christmas Eve with you. Please invite your friends, your family, your neighbors, and even your enemies to one of our two services at 10AM or 6PM!
In Christ,
Pastor Larry
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