To me, what they did with Luke was the ultimate way to honor him.
He could have easily just been there as window dressing, with his legendary/hero status taken for granted and just passing the torch in the way we'd all envisioned/expected when the ST was announced.
Instead, they delivered a big, emotional arc where he reclaims his role as hero and legend and goes out with a nonviolent, awe-inspiring victory, inspiring the galaxy in the process. There's nothing more Jedi-like then the way Luke's story concluded in this film. And he is the namesake of the movie. That's powerful stuff, made all the more powerful BECAUSE this is Luke freakin' Skywalker.
To me the movie was a giant love letter to Luke. That's just how I see it. I understand why people didn't care for it, but for me his arc worked like gangbusters and for everyone saying that this new movie was all about sacrificing the old for the sake of the new...well, I highly disagree for the reasons above. We all knew this trilogy would deal with passing the torch, but we didn't know that Luke would have such a compelling emotional journey in the process. That's not something they had to do, but they took the risk and went for it. For me, it payed off and I'll always appreciate it for that.