When employees obey their boss, they get work accomplished and make for valuable employees. When spouses submit to each other, they enjoy a stronger union. When children heed their parents’ instructions, they prove themselves virtuous, and they make their parents proud. When someone adheres to the recommendations of a spiritual director, she can grow closer to God. When we follow God’s Will, we become saints. When Jesus submitted His Will to the Father’s, a universe cast down was renewed.
Our will gives us the ability to make choices or decisions. Both from a worldly view and from a spiritual lens we see that submitting our own will to that of another has benefits. It’s how people work together and get stuff done. A willingness to work with others whose way of thinking differs from our own can lead to openness toward the Will of God, whose thoughts are not our thoughts.
My parish priest has repeated throughout his homilies that grace builds upon nature. Expanded, that means that, if we live a virtuous lifestyle on the natural level, it’s easier for the life of God to take root in us. So, in submitting to the wills of those around us, especially when it feels burdensome, it can open our minds and fashion our hearts to, ultimately, be in touch with a Will far more powerful than ours: God’s.
This self-denial is at the center of Christian life. As always, we have the best example in Christ. Before entering into His passion, Jesus prays, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done” (from Luke 22:42).
Our crosses of self-sacrificial love might not look as severe as the wood of Christ’s Cross. But our little crosses are just as significant for us in our journey to Heaven. For many of us, these crosses sprout up within family dynamics. We make sacrifices for those we love. I shouldn’t necessarily do what I want but rather what my family needs or even simply prefers. This is often a mortification – sometimes small, sometimes pretty weighty. My choices must not always be based on what I want but on what is good for the one I love. Sometimes it’s a sacrifice.
A fine example of this comes in the Book of Boba Fett series when Din Djarin, or the Mandalorian, shows up seeking to reunite with Grogu, the Yoda-like foundling he rescued from mutilation and experimentation. On a planet covered in rich foliage, Din Djarin catches a glimpse of Grogu in the midst of his training, courtesy of Luke Skywalker. He also confronts Ahsoka Tano, who makes him question his motives and what the best path forward might be.
The Mandalorian has brought a special set of armor as a gift to the foundling. He stands at a distance, unseen by Grogu and his Jedi master. He intends to walk out of the jungle and into the clearing where they are seated, but Ahsoka asks Mando if he wishes to see Grogu. Somewhat dodging the question, the bounty hunter says that if he goes to see Grogu, it will be his choice. Indeed it would. But, Ahsoka adds, seeing an old friend would disrupt his training and leave Grogu only more conflicted. So, Din Djarin resorts to having Ahsoka bestow the armor on the foundling in the Mandalorian’s absence. And, just like that, he leaves.
It’s not easy. It’s not enjoyable. But, based on what he knows, Din Djarin chooses not to intervene even though he would have preferred to see the Child, the little foundling he had fought and cared for like a father. In effect, he is saying Not my will, but another’s will be done. It is a sacrifice done for the good of the one he cares for.
So…is that the last time the Mandalorian will see the Child? For all he knows, it very well could have been. But, upon receiving the little chainmail armor for Grogu, Luke Skywalker forces Grogu to make a choice of his own.
Luke gives him two options: a) Take the armor and return to the Mandalorian or b) Take the lightsaber of Master Yoda and be trained in the Jedi way. Grogu must exercise his will in choosing which path he will take. As we learn, he decides to return to his friend the Mandalorian. The story doesn’t have to end happily, but it does.
Even then, Din Djarin’s sacrifice is not in vain. It allowed Grogu to think clearly and come to a decision as to what kind of a life he would live. He chose companionship over self-defense training. The life of the Jedi comes with sacrifices, but so too does life in a community or family. Like the commitment to the Jedi, it often takes many years of training – training of the heart and the will – to live a life of selfless love for those around us.
*Dedicated to Ellen Friede.
