Chewbacca Theology

Star Wars Day may have now passed; but with a new movie coming in 2026, what better occasion is there to consider the heady subject of ‘Chewbacca Theology’!? Order your drink of choice from the Cantina, grab your Ewok-fur blanket and put your feet up (even if you’re not a Star Wars fan!). It’s time for an intergalactic dose of waffle, with spiritual insight buried somewhere deep within…

Two decades ago, back when the Star Wars prequel trilogy was in cinemas (probably Revenge of the Sith, to be specific, so let’s assume that our story takes place in 2005), Burger King released a line-up of Star Wars toys to put in their kiddie meals.

One afternoon, upon having his aunt and uncle buy him a kid’s meal, this author was presented with an R2-D2 rather than Chewbacca, whom he had so desperately wanted. (Awwwww.) Sensing a bit of dejection, a different female relative (who wants her anonymity preserved) went on to craft a bespoke Chewbacca for me from whichever materials lay close to hand.

You can admire the result of her labors in the photo below:

 

Now, don’t be too dazzled by the craftsmanship! If I can tear your eyes away from the celestial beauty that you’ve just beheld, let’s run through where all the parts came from:

 (1) The beige socks that make up his body belonged to my late uncle.

(2) The buttons that make up his facial features belonged to my late aunt, who kept lots of craft supplies.

(3) The hair bobbles that keep his arms together belonged to my primary school friend; originally, they were tied up with pink thread (like the legs) but one day the thread snapped. She gave me the hair bobbles that she was wearing so that I could fix Chewbacca.

(4) The rainbow-coloured hat he’s wearing is a recent addition. It was made by June Carton, a wonderful woman who gives them out at Belfast Pride. As you can see, it fits Chewbacca perfectly!

 And so, Chewbacca was cobbled together (and patched up a few times along the way) with items from four people who mean a lot to me, by a fifth person who means a lot to me. Kids at school might’ve had their Tamagotchis and PS2s, but I was the one with a Chewbacca made of socks!

 Now, perhaps it’s time to turn to spiritual matters and let our friend Chewie take his ease for a while. We’ll catch up with him later…

 We’re all made up of those who have influenced us. Think about how we talk. Whenever I drop a Northern Irish phrase into conversation (‘yer man walked in late, two arms the one length’. Rough translation: ‘he walked in late without a care in the world’), there’s a 99% chance it was my Nanny who said it first.

What about life lessons? I had an English teacher in high school whose wisdom still whispers to me from time to time. She was quick with an Emerson quote, like this one: ‘to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.’

What about love? I have an amazingly supportive family around me. They’re an important part of who I am, too, not just biologically but spiritually. I find spiritual kinship in church, also.

 When, I look at Chewbacca, made up of all those gifts from loved-ones, he reminds me that Christ is made up of people who mean a lot to him: you and I, and everyone else who ever lived: ‘Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it’ (1 Corinthians 12.27, RSV).

 The Eucharist, or Holy Communion, brings this home for us: ‘…as we eat and drink these holy gifts, grant by the power of the life-giving Spirit that we may be made one in your holy Church…’ This is why communicants share a common cup (symbolising our shared life in Christ) in the Anglican tradition.

The process by which Our Lord puts his church together isn’t always neat and straightforward (it’s a bit like stitching together a DIY Chewbacca, one would imagine) but everyone, ultimately, finds their place in the temple that is Christ’s body.

Yes, it’s a messy but ultimately life-giving process. Romans 11 even compares the building of God’s church to the grafting of wild branches onto an olive tree. In terms of gardening experience, I water my spider plant at work; but I reckon attaching new foliage onto it would be beyond my gift.

In the Nicene Creed, we learn that all things, both visible and invisible, are made through the One Lord. Therefore, I believe, no part of creation (whatever some doomsayers might say) can be lost forever. That would be to claim that a part of Christ himself is lost forever, damning Our Lord to a state of everlasting incompleteness. That cannot possibly happen; ‘in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them’ (2 Corinthians 5.19).

So there you have it, Chewbacca the sock puppet has much to teach us about the mysteries of human solidarity. Human connection is, and has always been, a powerful thing.