As many of you know, I am not only a servant of God, but have also sworn an oath as a Jedi. As such, I typically have the hilt of my light saber hanging from my belt. Before I get a million emails telling me that light sabers aren’t real, I already know. The light saber hilt identifies me as a Jedi and I feel it puts peace in the hearts of those I try to assist every day. Once they see I have the saber, I can tell by looking in their eyes that they know everything will be just fine.

One of the problems of carrying a light saber is that it makes a Jedi a target. Usually people just yell rude things at me, though once I was assaulted by a group of teenagers and my light saber was stolen. It was a frustrating loss as I had that one custom milled from aluminum and it was quite expensive. I now carry a commercially-available replica. It cost me a few hundred dollars, but it’s easier to replace and also has some lights and sounds that make it more realistic.

But I digress. My point is that even though I’m trying to use the Force to do good in the world, I’m often not accepted because of the Jedi path I’m on. Before people get to know me, they see my light saber and assume I’m crazy or mentally retarded. They judge me even before they get to know me. Usually the people that do this are idiotic teenagers with their pants hanging down below their underwear—usually they are Mexican or a similar minority.

Every Christmas I try to remember that we all need to look at each other as humans and accept each other for our differences. The Jedi is a friend to all, and the sooner other people realize this, the sooner I will be able to help them when I see they are in trouble.