Discover the Meaning in the Message
In ‘The CoN’ readers or viewers - recognize characters like themselves who’ve had to put up w/ bullying, betrayals, bad schools, & the overall cruelty that we and children often show each other. lewis’ stories also show children having to make hard choices, coming to terms w/ their moral responsibility, and undergoing spiritual trials and victories.
Just as we do in real life.
Tell story - Children left London due to the air raids of WW2
end up in a Professors large home - trying to entertain
themselves in any way possible, play hide n seek - Lucy
discovers the Wardrobe
As she enters she discovers it goes deep - she sees some light - she finds herself in Narnia.
Returns home - bros and sis don’t believe her - Edmund is quite vicious in teasing and tormenting his sister - Lucy feels unbelievably miserable - another way we can relate.
A few days later - Edmund discover Narnia w/ Lucy - he doesn't tell - Ed actually bitter that he was wrong and would have to apologize so he denies it.
This is the beginning of a nasty downward spiral for Ed.
The moral degradation of Ed is one of the story’s most
important issues. His rel. w/ the Witch is a symbol of his
sinful condition in this world.
Some sins are twisted and unlawful attempts to gain
something good, something that benefits them - thief/stereo
a drug addict who wrecks his body & life for a moments pleasure. Those sins are bad enough -
But there are others where the perpetrator gets nothing in return - Vandalism, Cruelty, Pride, Anger, Revenge, purposely hurting someone who loves us - again we can relate
The LWW is about sin, and it is about salvation from sin
Lewis makes it quite clear that sin is very ordinary. It does not have to be dramatic, breaking out into some monstrous crime to be deadly and soul-killing. It is in our nature
While sin can break out into action, it’s home is in our thoughts and feelings and attitudes, in the deepest recesses of our heart.
What a segue to discuss the White Witch (vid) - In the LWW, the witch symbolizes Satan. The story explores in symbol what the Bible says about Satan’s reign in a fallen world; how he tempts us; how he enslaves us; and how he is
defeated by Jesus Christ, who frees us from his bondage.
When Lucy was with Tumnus she asked him, “who is the white witch?” He tells her, she is the one who has all Narnia “Under her thumb” b/c of her, it is always winter and never Christmas - those simple words are charged w/ symbolism -
The Bible tells us Satan has the world, “under his thumb”
1 John 5:19 … the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
When Ed meets the the White Witch he is struck by how beautiful she is. This is important to remember about the
appearance of Satan. Satan and the witch in reality are hideously gruesome in their true inner selves, but they
appear attractive, persuasive, even good.
Evil generally presents itself as something good. We don’t just go out and say, “Hey, let’s do something evil today
today” Temptations and evil often come in disguise -
Sex. immorality masquerades as love, Cruelty pretends to be justice, Rebellion insists that it is freedom.
false in appearance
The witch with Ed becomes nice, inviting him onto her sleigh,
wrapping her fur mantle around him - She conjures up something warm to drink, She asks him, “What’s your fav. treat?”
Turkish Delight, he says
Ed starts gobbling up all the TD, as any young child would
then when the TD runs out, Ed wants some more, but the witch doesnt give him any - instead bring bro/sis get more
Ed craves the TD so much he’ll do anything to get more.
You see those who taste it once will want more and more - if they could, they’d eat, eat, eat until it killed them.
Ever heard of anything like that before?
Ed becomes addicted to the witch’s TD, hmm, drug addicts develop such cravings that they will lie, steal, even kill in
order to get another hit, another drag, sniff, snort, anything?
A drug addict will even keep taking drugs until they kill him.
The one addictive behavior leads to more and more, more.
Alcohol can have the same effect - Sexual sins can be just as addictive and destructive.
One characteristic of an addiction is that as the craving grows, the actual pleasure grows less, requiring more and more stimulation to achieve the desired affect.
This leads to overdose, destruction of self, and family.
But less dramatic sins also have the quality of TD. We can gorge ourselves on hatred, as well, or on envy or greed or pride. All of these are egotistical pleasures, which we come to crave more and more and more.
TD symbolizes the sense in which sin is enslaving.
Everything we just discussed ties us down, we are not free -
It may start with an exhilarating sense of freedom, or
rebellion against the norm, but these sins make those who
indulge in them slaves.
Addicts cannot just chose to stop their habits. If they were free they could, but even when the want to stop, they cannot, as their desires drag them deeper and deeper into self-destruction.
All sin is like that.
Contrary to the popular assumption that sin is liberating, the truth is that sin destroys freedom. As Jesus said himself, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” Jn. 8:34
point of TD: now Ed bondage to witch, as sinners are in bon. to Satan.
(vid)
The figure of Aslan is the soul of all the CoN. Aslan is the center of the stories’ meaning and the main source of their insight. When Peter, Lucy, & Susan come to meet Aslan for the 1st time in attempt to help their brother who is controlled by the witch - they are awed and overjoyed by his presence and comforting voice when they are warmly received by Aslan. Just as God’s Word consoles His people, the sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd -
“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” John 10:3-4
Aslan is Lewis’ symbol for Jesus Christ
The word Aslan is simply the Persian word for Lion.
The bible itself uses the lion as a symbol for Christ.
The earliest reference in scripture comes in Gen. 49
There are other ref. but the most explicit portrayal of Christ as a Lion is in the book of Rev. 5:5
“See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
In a later volume in the CoN titled the “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” another group of children meet Aslan. One of them asks him if he is in their world too?
“I Am,” said Aslan, “But I have another Name.”
Eventually Ed. is rescued, brought back and is repentant.
You may think, well now all is well, but there is a debt that has to be paid - the witch’s claim
The Witch approaches Aslan and announces there is a
traitor in your midst. According to the law every traitor
belongs to her. As a result, she maintains, Ed belongs to her - his life is forfeit - she is entitled to his blood.
You see, sinners in Narnia belong to the witch, just as
sinners in our world belong to the devil.
“He who does what is sinful is of the devil...” 1 John 3:8
The story here turns particularly powerful b/c now we can all relate to Ed and his predicament. We have recognized his spite, his envy, his lusts for pleasure and revenge, his injured pride, b/c we too, if were honest, have given in to such sins ourselves. Ed is in that bondage of sin that leads to death - he stands condemned - the wages of sin must be collected.
The Passion of Aslan
After a private discussion w/ the witch, Aslan proclaims Ed is free and clear - all is well.
There is great joy in the camp - but later that night Aslan leaves his camp off to the Stone Table - foll. by 2 girls
There the witch and her minions are ready and waiting to place Aslan upon the Stone Table to take his life.
On his way he is bound, mocked, his mane is shaven off, he is kicked, hit, and spit upon in humiliation - the scene
parallels the stripping and mockery of Christ.
On the Stone Table the witch kills Aslan, the girls witness his death and stay by his side after the witch and company leave - paralleling Mary and Martha at Christ’s death and at His tomb. (vid)
The Stone Table symbolizes The Cross of Christ
Not only does Aslan die for Ed, he dies in Edmunds place. He takes the punishment Edmund deserved, just as Jesus did for us.
The girls hear this loud cracking noise, they turn to the table and it is broken in 2 and Aslan’s body is gone!
They begin to cry thinking someone has taken his body but then they hear his voice - they turn to see him alive!
It is a physical resurrection of Aslan - Christianity hinges on the physical death of Jesus followed by his physical coming back to life. (1 Cor. 15:12-28)
The Gospels emphasize that the resurrected Jesus is no mere spirit, nor a ghost. He eats, and has the disciples touch Him.
Aslan explaining to the girls the written law, “If a willing victim innocent of treachery died in a traitor’s place, the Stone table would crack and death itself would start working backwards.”
(Ed sac to witch - Old Test. sac.)
You see, there is no longer a need for sacrifice on our part. Christ has been sacrificed once and for all - He did it for us
“Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! ...
By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process.”
Hebrews 10:12-14
In Narnian terms, The Stone table, a place of sacrifice. can be broken, since sacrifices are now finished once for all.
The phrase, “Death works backwards” refers to the message of Easter - Christ’s death brings our life!
We are alive in Christ!
Christmas story - Jesus was born to die so we could live!
The Battle
Justification by faith is not the end of the Christian Life. It is just the beginning - it is the continual energizing force for what comes next. God does not take us out of the world after He has saved us. He sends us back into the world. (Jn.17)
He does not take away all of our problems, trials, and
conflicts.
Instead he turns them into stepping stones - opportunities to grow in our faith - this is known as ‘sanctification’.
This happened to Peter, when Aslan let Peter take on the evil wolf in a one on one combat - we need to notice that in that combat, Aslan was right there - God is always right there. But life is a battle
In this process of Sanct. we live out our life, w/ it’s ups and downs, triumphs and failures - thru it all we grow in holiness.
But it’s a battle (vid)
The battle is symbolic of our everyday journey in life
The battle against the witch and her minions continues even after the death and resurrection of Aslan.
Even after Christ’s death and resurrection, even after He saved us, we too must continue to battle sin, in ourselves and in the world.
The bible uses the imagery of warfare to describe
sanctification.
“For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see
another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.” Romans 7:22-23
But God gives us the resources to fight these battles:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Ephesians 6:10-18
This is how we are protected and engage in the battle
(you may want to do some research on this)
We have a God who loves us dearly. Who sent His Son as the perfect sacrifice so we could live! Live with Him for
eternity - WOW! This offer is for everybody - have you grabbed a hold of it?
No comments:
Post a Comment