The early church saw the importance of remaining united. Paul speaks of this at the start of 1 Corinthians. The fist council of the church, mentioned in Acts, came together to help keep Gentile and Jewish believers together in the church as one. Chapter 5 of Prince Caspian gives a glimpse into why unity is so important. Miraz, King of Narnia and Caspian's uncle, has laid an effective campaign to drive a wedge between the Telmarines and the Narnians to increase his foothold over Narnia, as we started to see in the previous chapter. Through Caspian's encounters with Narnians on his journey, we see just how successful Miraz has been. The Narnians don't even stop to question Caspian. They assume the worst from the start. This also prevents them from immediately joining forces with Caspian to help right the wrongs of Miraz and come together for the good of all in Narnia. We see that this divide has even shaken the Narnians faith in Aslan. Fortunately, they eventually come to their senses and listen to Caspian later. Caspian also offers them a look at his own faith in Aslan. Miraz is very much like the evil one in our lives. Evil cannot stand seeing the church united because that means we will help ourselves and others come back into relationship with God. Sowing discord is the best way to prevent our being reunited with God. That is what the evil one does in the church, and it is what Miraz has done in Narnia. Our hope is that we will be willing to listen to one like Caspian, who might seem to be an enemy at first but really is united to us in our cause. Only then can we come together to do the work God has given us to do: to bring all, including ourselves, back into relationship with our Lord.
0 Comments
In the last chapter, we saw one way to spread the Gospel through Susan’s kind act to a stranger. In this chapter, we see evangelism occurring in the way we often recognize it in our world: through spoken word. In the time that has passed since Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy ruled Narnia, much of their story is now seen as myth. In fact, it is even being suppressed by King Miraz, Prince Caspian’s uncle. Miraz claims that such tales are only fit “for babies” in an attempt to keep Caspian from seeking the Truth. Miraz and his Telmarine fellows who conquered the Narnia of old have gone so far in their suppression that they’ve even spread lies in order to prevent people from finding anything close to the truth about Aslan. Yet there are many who are dedicated to preserving the knowledge of Aslan and the true Narnia of the past. They have to be cautious, though, since harsh punishment comes to those who tell these truths. Some, like Caspian’s nurse and his tutor Cornelius, are willing to tell the Truth to someone like Caspian who will listen while still being careful about how they go about doing so. This suppression is similar to what the early church faced. We see some of this persecution in Acts of the Apostles by leaders both religious and of the state. Paul himself began as a persecutor of the church before encountering Jesus on the Road to Damascus and converting. There are unfortunately some still that believe the stories of Scripture to be childish superstition the world would be better off without. Still, the power of Scripture inspires many, as the tales of Narnia did with Caspian. We see a world of wonder in Scripture, just as Caspian does in the Narnia of old. After banishing Caspian's nurse for telling him stories about the Old Narnia, Miraz arranges for Professor Cornelius to tutor the prince. Cornelius, in the course of his teaching, reveals that he is part dwarf. The situation of the dwarves parallels the Israelites in exile from their land, as the true Narnians are separated from theirs. Cornelius mentions that if there are any true dwarves left, they would probably look down on him as a half-dwarf. This is sadly similar to how the post-exilic Israelites viewed the Samaritans in Jesus’ time. These were Jews who were able to stay in Israel during the exile. The other Israelites looked down on them because of religious differences as well as the fact the Samaritans had taken foreign wives during the exile. This overlooks that the exiled Hebrews had done the same. Cornelius also tells Caspian he doesn’t want him to feel bad for what the Telmarines did to Narnia in the past. Instead, he wants Caspian to help. We are all called not to be brought low by guilt, but instead to work to make the wrongs of the past right to those who have been hurt by them. We see this clearly when it comes to the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement in America. Caspian clearly has an affinity for what is old. This is an interesting trait he shares with many monastics in the past, Ignatius of Loyola being a great example. These founders of monastic orders became enamored by the Christian life of the past, and they sought to restore that life through the rules of their orders. As time went on, many monastic groups hoped to return to the ways their orders had done things in the past. We see this in the broader expression of Christendom from events such as the Protestant Reformation all the way to the Liturgical Movement of the 20th Century.
A love of the past is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it spurs us forward to live more fully into the love and Grace shared to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, we have to be true to what is right and good in our Faith, as Caspian was trying to be by adhering to the true ethos of Narnia. Please note Encanto is rated PG. In our first Encanto post, we saw Alma Madrigal losing her way, paving the path for the cracks in the house and the loss of the candle. For Alma, the miracle is tied up with losing her husband Pedro. It almost seems that her holding on so tightly also comes from wanting to honor Pedro as the family moves forward. However, as she learns, in honoring the past, it is important to know what the miracle is really for. This tension is something we see in the Burial service too. There's a need we have to honor our deceased loved ones. Doing so means honoring who they were in life, and as Christians that means pointing the way for others back to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, a great Burial service places the emphasis is less on the deceased and more on Jesus Christ and the hope of the Resurrection. It becomes a tool of evangelism for believers and non-believers alike. In this way, we can honor the past while also honoring the way forward! After exploring the area in the previous chapter and discussing what is occurring, the children now find a group of soldiers trying to drown a poor dwarf near their camp. Apparently in the time the children have been away from Narnia, the woods near the ruins of Cair Paravel are now rumored to be haunted by ghosts. Because of these spooky rumors, people now use this spot to dispose of prisoners.
Before the other children can even think, Susan has dispatched an arrow to help this dwarf get free. They know nothing about this dwarf or why he is there. Susan just jumps into action without thinking. This is reminiscent of the Good Samaritan. In that parable Jesus tells, the Samaritan helps the stranger on the side of the road without knowing anything about him. All the Samaritan knows is that this man needs help. Susan does the same for the dwarf. At the end of the parable, Jesus calls the audience to do likewise. The same is true for us. Please note, Encanto is rated PG. In Encanto Alma, the head of the Madrigal family, becomes so worried about the state of the miracle that she inadvertently helps cause the cracks in their house, leading to the loss of the Candle. She's so concerned about maintaining the miracle that she forgets it was really about providing the family what they needed: a new start in their time of trouble.
This is similar to what we see in Numbers 20. There, the Israelites are once again complaining, this time that they have no water to drink. God tells Moses to hold his rod up and command the water to come forth from the rocks. Previously God had told Moses to tap the rock to bring forth the water. God tells Moses to do it differently this time so that the people of Israel can see it is not the method but the Lord who is providing for them. Moses forgets this and, out of his own fear, he disobeys God and uses the old method. It works, yet disobeying God costs Moses the opportunity to go into the Promised Land. When we fear or worry, we can often forget our purpose: to love and serve the Lord. Hopefully we can learn from Alma and Moses and remember whose we are and know that God will watch over us, even in the most difficult of times. |
Please note, there maybe Spoilers in the Posts below!
The Rev. Trey KennedyHere is my take on how Superheroes and other characters can help us know God better. Categories
All
Archives
May 2024
|