At the end of the last chapter, Lucy caught a glimpse of Aslan taking them down a different path. Unfortunately only Edmund believed her, and they paid the price by going down the much more difficult path. At the end of their journey, Lucy receives a call again. She gets woken from her dream in much the same way Samuel was by God in 1 Samuel 3. In following the voice, she finds herself face-to-face with Aslan again. She is told that much time has been wasted, so she must hurry. At first, Lucy blames the others, but comes to realize that even if it meant going alone, she still should have followed Aslan. Succumbing to peer pressure is a fair to easy trap for all of us to fall into. However, our Faith teaches us that we are called to follow God’s way, and God’s way alone. The Israelites were called to live in a way that would have appeared odd to those around them, yet it marked them off as different in being God’s own. Jesus also tells the Disciples “you are not of the world” in John 15:19. We are responsibly for following God’s ways instead of the world’s, and we can blame no one but ourselves for the choice we make in which way to follow. If it means we have to go alone to follow God, then that is what we do. Lucy, like all of us, has to learn that the hard way. What is admirable about Lucy is she doesn’t need Aslan to tell her where she went wrong. She only needs His silences. It is for this reason that she is the one who can see Aslan when no one else could. It says a great deal about her perceptiveness and openness to Aslan. We should all strive to be the same way in our Faith. Lucy then is called on to do the most difficult thing any of us as evangelists have to face. She must tell her siblings she has seen Aslan again, even if they do not believe her. It can be hard to preach God’s Word when it feels like no one is listening. We are called to proclaim that Word anyway and to continue to follow God even if no one else around us will. For this purpose, Aslan gives Lucy power to be “a lioness”, though not literally. This is similar to those ordained in the church, no matter the tradition. We are called to be representatives of Christ Jesus in this world. In this way we take on some of the power of Jesus Christ, just as Lucy takes on some of the power of the lion. At the same time, we are not, nor will we ever be, Christ, just as Lucy does not become a true lioness in the literal sense. It is interesting that once again only Edmund believes Lucy. This is due to the sacrifice Aslan made for him. Having a true sense of the gift of Grace Christ Jesus offers us grants a quick path to giving ourselves completely to the Lord. Edmund’s own journey with forgiveness has made him more receptive to Aslan, just as it has made him an overall different and better person. Unfortunately Edmund cannot see Aslan for himself. This happens with us sometimes in our own Faith. Sometimes our connection with God is lacking. In these moments, we need someone else to guide us. Whoever we turn to has to be someone we trust. Edmund has that in Lucy. It is why he is willing to move forward with her even when he can’t yet see Aslan for himself. There are many call backs in this chapter to other portions of Prince Caspian as well as to other books within the series. We see this in the dance of the trees harkening back to Caspian’s dance with the Fauns in Chapter 6. We also see it in the song that emanates from Aslan, recalling the song Aslan sings at the beginning of Narnia in The Magician’s Nephew. There are call backs to Scripture as well. Aslan tells Lucy that “things never happen the same way twice.” It is hard to know why, yet it is what we see throughout Scripture. In Judges, whenever God raises someone up to save Israel, God never has a Judge protect Israel in the same way as before. God even calls on Moses to use different methods to get water for the rocks in the desert. God does so in order that the people will worship the Lord and not a particular method of doing things. Unfortunately Moses, in his case, does not listen. The dance of the trees, at the end of the chapter, is described as bowing to the Lion. This is a sign of respect and worship even. There is a liturgical sense in this action, i.e. it is a ritual. In worship and in liturgy, we not only listen to God, we also praise our Lord with word and song. There is a movement to the liturgy as there is with a dance. In the end, like the trees, our movement is not in-and-for-itself, but it is a sign of our reverence to our God.
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