Through Aslan’s work in the previous chapter, not only has victory come to Old Narnia, the ways of the land will never be the same again. With this change, there is a need to let go of the old. This, of course, is what we see in our Faith. Through the death of Jesus, all has been changed and will never be the same. That is a good thing, though. It allows us to put away sin and death and walk a new path in God’s light, as we celebrate in Baptism. The first thing to be put behind is dignity. Reepicheep, after being brought back to life, finds his tail didn’t make it. He asks Aslan if anything can be done, to which the Lion replies: “I have sometimes wondered, friend, whether you do not think too much about your honour.” The first thing to note is that Reepicheep has not met Aslan before, yet Aslan approaches him like an old friend. The same is true for us with God. We may not always know or see God, yet God knows us, as the Lord tells the Prophet Jeremiah from the start of his ministry. We should also note that Aslan does give in to Reepicheep’s request, but not for the sake of Reepicheep’s dignity. The other mice are ready to cut off their own tails if, as they say “our Chief must go without his.” Aslan tells Reepicheep his tail will be restored because of “the love that is between you and your people.” It is love in the end, not pride, that Aslan looks for. The same is true with God as we see in the Two Great Commandments. Here we see that Aslan could have originally acted to heal Reepicheep, yet chose to allow Lucy to do so. This is a reminder of the responsibility God gives over to us. After all, Jesus ascends into Heaven at the end of Luke (and the start of Acts), giving the Apostles responsibility to spread the Gospel. This is similar to how Aslan leaves once Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are coronated as Kings and Queens of Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We also learn that the talking mice gained their intellect after they helped cut away the bonds around Aslan on the Stone Table during Aslan’s sacrifice in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The love Aslan feels for them now stems from the gratitude the Lion feels for their help in Aslan’s darkest moment. It shows that Aslan lives in solidarity with the talking animals, just as Jesus lived in solidarity with us as humans. Reepicheep is not the only one who needs to let go. The Telmarines must do so as well. It is declared that “Narnia would henceforth belong to the Talking Beasts and the Dwarfs and Dryads and Fauns and other creatures quite as much as to the men.” There’s an equality that is needed among the citizens of Narnia, not unlike that which has been needed in our own world as witnessed through events like the Civil Rights Movement. This equality comes from our status of all being one in Christ Jesus as Paul states. Some see the need for this and even take joy in it. Others do not. These are primarily those who have been in power before: the older men and those who served under Miraz. Aslan could tell these men they must live in the new order or else. Instead Aslan, like God, chooses to show mercy. He gives them an out, a way back to where their people originally came from. I once heard someone say that the economy of Heaven is not fair, and that is a good thing for us. If it were fair, Jesus would not have offered us a way out from our sins. Aslan is the same. Instead of leaving the mice tailless, he restores Reepicheep’s. Instead of granting the older Telmarines’ their due, he offers them a merciful way out. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy give up something to help the Telmarines come to trust Aslan and his magical offer to return the Telmarines to the world they originally came from, the same world of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. They give up their continued time in Narnia and choose to return home. This is a big loss for Peter and Susan as this is their last adventure in the land of Narnia. However, out of kindness they make this sacrifice. Caspian must let go as well, although one of these instances isn’t really much of a sacrifice for him. Aslan tells Caspian that his rule as King will be under Aslan and the High King Peter. Caspian, however, didn’t immediately see himself as sufficient to rule. Aslan applauds him for this and tells Caspian if he had felt sufficient, he would have proved himself unworthy to the task. In this, we must remember Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:9, that the power of God “is made perfect in weakness.” In addition, we must not forget what we learn from the story of Jesus’ birth, that “the power of God is found in the village, not in the palace.” I would also say this is not much of a sacrifice for Caspian because of his respect for Old Narnia, including the High King. For the same reason, we as Christian ministers do not call ourselves Apostles because we respect of the ministry of the first leaders of the church. It is worthy noting that Peter is named for one of the greatest among those first Apostles. What Caspian must actually let go of is his lineage. He learns that all the Telmarines, including him, come from Earth. This is how he is even able to rule over Narnia, for it is according to what Aslan set up at the beginning of creation in The Magician’s Nephew that the children of Adam and Eve are meant govern in Narnia. The Telmarines it turns out, though, are descended from pirates, which is upsetting to Caspian. Aslan states this, concerning the lineage of Adam and Eve: “It is both honor enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth.” Aslan refers to a concept pioneered by Christian thinker and mathematician Blaise Pascal, who spoke of the greatness and wretchedness of man. We are great in that we are created by God, yet wretched due to our sin. We must never forget either as Christians, but hold these concepts in tension as Pascal reminds us. Aslan even, in a very loose sense, does some letting go. While the Lion left soon after they saved the day in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Aslan now stays and has a feast with all the Narnians. Aslan is not above spending time with the subjects of Narnia. It also serves as a reminder to us that Jesus is present with us in the feast of Eucharist we celebrate every Sunday. We should also note that Bacchus is present in the feast, as he has been before now. This is a nod to Lewis’ love of classics and mythology. For the recent film adaptation of Prince Caspian, Bacchus was taken out as a character. However, we should not be insulted by Bacchus’ presence. After all, Bacchus is subservient to Aslan always. This is a reminder that Jesus is the head of the feast. In Matthew, the leaders of the Pharisees and Scribes chastise Jesus for taking for not fasting. Jesus points out that it is not possible to fast when the bridegroom is present. Jesus isn’t there to keep us from life, but to help us enjoy it more fully in the best and most responsible way. Finally, Edmund is forced to let go of his torch (flashlight) because he leaves it in Narnia. This is an amazing gift though. No longer having it after just a second on the train platform is a wonderful proof that their journey to Narnia wasn’t just something that happened in their heads, but was indeed real. GSH will return in 3 weeks!
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In the previous chapter, we saw that Peter was left to take his own action while waiting for Aslan. That work continues in Chapter 14 with Peter’s duel versus Miraz. However, Aslan does not leave Peter and Caspian’s army completely alone. We witness "Dryads and Hamadryads and Silvans" that Aslan woke surrounding them just as Trumpkin and Trufflehunter comment on their wish that Aslan would act. However, Peter still must do the work he’s been given to do. These beings are a reminder of Aslan’s presence, and they are there to ensure that the Telmarines, in the end, will not betray their agreement to honor the results of the duel. They are a reminder that even when we must act on our own for our Lord, God is still there to give us aid and protection when we need it. Unfortunately Aslan’s allies are needed. Though Peter acts like a perfect gentleman the whole fight, even allowing time for Miraz to get up after he falls, the Telmarines claim treachery while they are the ones being treacherous. They claim Peter has dishonourably felled Miraz when they themselves are the ones to actually kill him. It is a common trick for the enemy to claim falsehood when it is evil one who is actually untrue. This activity worms its way into humans as well. We see this in Potiphar’s wife in Egypt, who in Genesis 39 accuses Joseph of attacking her after he spurned her advances. God takes this action and uses it to save all of Egypt as wells as Joseph’s family. Aslan too uses all the bad from before for the good of Old Narnia now. During all this time, Aslan has been doing the work to free Narnia. Not only does he free the Ford of Beruna and the animals, he frees the Telmarines as well. This mirrors God’s own work to free us from the bondage of sin by bringing us to new life in Christ Jesus.
Jesus sends Seventy of His followers to spread the Good News to the towns around Him, just as the Apostles later go to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Aslan does the same thing in the towns they pass now. Just as with the Seventy, some listen to Aslan and come, while others do not. It might seem strange that Aslan is coming to set the Telmarines free. After all, they are the ones who enslaved Old Narnia. Rather, we should say, the leaders of the Telmarines did the enslaving, and they enslaved their own people as well. Aslan cares for all in His lands, and so he does the work to free everyone who will listen to Him. Like Jesus, Aslan also takes the time to heal those who need, specifically Caspian’s former nurse. This is a reminder of what Aslan’s true work in the world is. Aslan is there to bring healing and freedom to those who need it, not to simply lead armies off into war. After all, the war against true evil has long been over, and it is simply humans who fight among themselves now. Aslan in Narnia, like God in our world, is there to help heal us from our strife, not to lead to more of it. First and foremost, the work of spreading the Good News, setting the captive free, and restore us to wholeness is important and necessary in Narnia as on Earth. After coming together in the previous chapter, Peter, Edmund, and Caspian must now figure out their next steps. As Peter points out, and as we’ve seen before, it is not always certain when Aslan will act, except in “his own time, not ours.” The same is true for God. As we hear in Isaiah 55:8, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways says the Lord.” We don’t know when God will act, or how. We only know that God will act, in “his own time, not ours.” This can be a frustrating thing for us. All we can do is what Peter does: try to act in a befitting manner while we wait for the Lord. Peter does so in a way that is honorable and tries to avoid bloodshed. He also does so in a way that is tactically sound, for as Jesus reminds us in Matthew 10:16, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” We too must act in a way that is pleasing to our Lord while we wait for Him. In doing so, we must have our eyes and ears open so that we may behold God’s action when it comes. Miraz gets caught up in his own pride when accepting Peter’s challenge. He is a warning and reminder to us of why we are called to wait on the Lord. When we make our actions merely about ourselves, we fall. We must remember, sin is anything that separates us from God. Our pride and ego can do just that. Miraz’s pride not only causes him to forget all logic and reason; it also leads him down the path to become one of the wolves Jesus warns us about. It is worth noting that Glozelle and Sopespian, Miraz’s advisors, nudge him in the direction of fighting, hoping it will be his downfall. They do so as the men who convinced him to take the throne and out of spite that Miraz has not rewarded them more. Despicable men often are attached with other despicable men, who in turn lead to their destruction. Once again we see great examples of why to trust in something higher than ourselves and why to listen and wait for the Lord to guide and help us. Finally, we are told that Edmund had a “kind of greatness” that “hung about him” after Aslan breathed on him. This is similar to the Holy Spirit coming on the Disciples in Pentecost. In John 20:22, Jesus is even depicted as breathing the Spirit upon the Disciples. It is through this gift of the Spirit that we gain our greatness as members of the Body of Christ. It is also through this gift that we turn from being wolves like Miraz, Glozelle, and Sopespian and gain the insight to wait for the Lord in God’s own time.
Thanks to Aslan in the previous chapter, the children and Trumpkin are finally present and ready to meet Prince Caspian. The passage from when we last saw Caspian till now has almost occurred in real time since they have been long waiting, even fearing that Trumpkin is dead. As a result, Nikabrik has come up with another possible solution. Since it seems that neither Aslan nor the ancient Kings and Queens are going to show up, he decides to turn to the White Witch instead. She was good to the dwarves after all, as he claimed earlier. What Nikabrik is looking at is power. Yet as Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 12:9, the power of God is “made perfect in weakness.” We shouldn’t look at life the way Nikabrik does. To defeat one evil, he would unleash a greater evil upon it. This is not a life worth living. It is not even a life at all as Nikabrik shows from his own death in this chapter. The great issue Nikabrik and his allies have is patience. This is not an issue for Trufflehunter the Badger. Throughout he advocates for waiting. Throughout this ordeal, he never gives up hope or faith. Patience is considered a virtue in part because it stems from Faith. We wait in hope that God will come, even when we do not know that the Lord is coming. We do so because we know that God is worth waiting for, just as Trufflehunter knows Aslan is worth waiting for. At the end of the chapter, Trufflehunter suggests the beasts don’t change. One hopes this is not the case, for as Jesus shows with Simon Peter and even Thomas called the Twin, we all need to change at some point in our lives. This is the very point of Baptism: that we reject the ways of the world and turn instead to Christ Jesus. What I think, or hope, Trufflehunter truly means instead is that the old Narnians have remained faithful, even when it has seemed all is lost. Peter advocates returning Nikabrik’s body to his people. This is a recognition that while the dwarf turned enemy on them, there is sadness due to their opposition. It is always sad in the community when one walks away. We don’t wish ill on the other. Instead we mourn at the loss of a member, as the Prodigal’s father would have when his son walked away. While this hope is not present for Nikabrik, we do hope that others in our lives might be like the Prodigal and eventually return. Peter, on the other hand, shows no concern over the bodies of the hag and the werewolf. It might seem harsh to make this differentiation. However, these two characters bear semblance to wolf Jesus warns of in the Good Shepherd sermon in John 10. They are creatures who have, sadly, turned irredeemably towards evil and mean us harm. There was never hope for them in the same way there was for Nikabrik. A thread throughout the book has been the purpose of blowing Susan’s horn. Does it call Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, or does it call Aslan? Perhaps the two are connected since the former rulers of Narnia executed their reigns in service Aslan. Maybe the horn merely alerted Aslan, who then brought the children back to Narnia Himself.
After Aslan's call for Lucy to follow Him in the previous chapter, the rest of the party have to make a choice. They themselves cannot see Aslan, so they must trust that Lucy does and follow her. This is not unlike Moses leading the Israelites in the Wilderness. While they had signs, such as the pillar of fire at night, going before them along the way, God often spoke directly with Moses alone. The people had to trust Moses to know what God wanted. Sometimes they trusted Moses, even pleading with Moses to handle talking with God on his own. Other times, even in the next moments, they would get bored and do their own thing. Yet to follow where God would have them go, the Israelites had a leader, whether Moses or those who followed after him, to help guide them. Lucy is taking that role for her siblings and Trumpkin. Until they can see Aslan for themselves, they have to trust her to guide in the right direction. This is the case for us as well. As the Faithful, we need good people to guide us, those who can see God on the way ahead of us. As with Lucy, these people need to be those that we trust. For us, this can come through our past experience, which Edmund uses in his decision to follow his sister even before he knows Aslan is there. Susan is an interesting case in this chapter. While she later admits that she did believe deep down, she still chose not to side with Lucy in moving forward to Aslan. When she finally sees Aslan for herself, the Lion tells her that she has let her fear rule over her. This is not unlike the Apostle Peter’s denial of our Lord. While Peter was the one to declare Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, he was afraid of the authorities and that they might put him on trial as they were doing to Jesus. Susan reflects the sticky situation we can find ourselves in sometimes when we are Faithful yet unfaithful. It is for this reason that in Baptism we have a threefold renunciation of the spiritual forces of darkness, the evil of this world, and all sinful things that draw us away from God. These are the same fears that Aslan speaks of. As we reject these things, we take on turning back to God in our Lord Jesus Christ, Trusting in Him, and following and obeying Jesus as Lord. For us, this is the way we keep our fears from preventing us in following God, as they prevented Susan from following Aslan. Trumpkin, throughout Prince Caspian, has been a skeptic and non-believer in Aslan or magic. He has remained so even after all he has seen with the former kings and queens of Narnia. Yet Aslan loves him regardless. Trumpkin is a sign that God loves us no matter whether we believe or not. The hope is that we will come to believe, and God, as with Aslan, puts every circumstance before us so that we will believe. We just have to be ready to listen. Aslan does have a little fun at Trumpkin’s expense, catching him in His mouth and flinging him in the air, as seen in the illustration for this chapter. This is a reminder of God’s wildness, as we learned back in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Chapter 8. The children on seeing Aslan feel, as glad as anyone can who feels afraid, and as afraid as anyone can who feels glad. This is a familiar sense to anyone who has had a close encounter with the Divine. On one hand, “God so loved us that He gave His only Begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in Him should not perish, but have ever lasting life” as we hear in John 3:16. On the other hand, this is the Creator of the world we are approaching who both made us and can unmake us. We shouldn’t forget that bit of wildness in our Lord either, as Aslan demonstrates with Trumpkin. It is therefore not at all unusual, or unexpected, to feel both fear and gladness at the same time when approaching the Lord. As we see at the end of the chapter, God can make some feel one way or the other too. On hearing Aslan’s roar, the Telemarines quiver in fear. At the same time the trees seek after the Lion. This is a sign of how those who work against God, as well as those who seek to follow our Lord, react in the face of the Divine. It is interesting that Lucy, the youngest, is the one who can see Aslan first. This goes against our supposedly educated norms of wisdom with experience. Yet Jesus Himself disproves that theory. It is as a young boy that Jesus marvels the learned and the scholars in the Temple. According to Tradition, Jesus’ ministry only lasted 3 years, from the time he was 30 until 33. One could argue where this placed Jesus age-wise in His day and age, though this is often considered young by our modern standards. Yet Jesus, as a youth and an adult, is the wisest person to have walked this earth.
The point is that wisdom does not come with years. It comes with being open to God’s presence with us. Lucy was open to Aslan’s message in Narnia in a way her siblings weren’t ready for yet. When God approaches us, will we be open to listening in the same way? 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.
In the previous chapter, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy proved themselves to the dwarf Trumpkin and got ready to join Caspian’s crew. Now, after all the changes Narnia has endured over time, they find themselves lost. It is in their moment of moving forward that Lucy catches a glimpse of Aslan, telling them to go a different way. The problem is that Peter, Susan, and Trumpkin don’t quite believe her. In our own lives, it can be tempting to choose the way we have been going instead of following the path God is laying out before us. That is because our way is the way we know. It takes courage to follow God, especially when we only catch a glimpse of God’s presence. The interesting occurrence here is that Edmund votes to follow Lucy. He remembers back on how Lucy was the first to spot Aslan. He remembers how much he himself has changed. He has learned from his experience to trust, to have faith, in Aslan. He knows that if any of them will see the Lion, it will be Lucy. We are called to be like Edmund too and realize where we have had a lack of Faith in the past and use it to have the Faith we need now. It is only through God we can find the right path for us to travel again. On seeing so many of the animals in Narnia losing their intelligence, Lucy asks an interesting question: “Wouldn’t it be dreadful if some day, in our own world, at home, men started going wild inside, like the animals here, and still looked like men, so that you’d never know which were which?” When we look through the great course of history, Scripture, and even our experience, our reason has no other path than to ask Lucy’s question about ourselves seriously, whether it is about ourselves or the age we live in. Susan disregards the question in an attempt to focus on the practical, immediate concerns. We do not have that same luxury, for if we fail to ask ourselves that question now, whatever time we find ourselves in, then it may be too late before we can ask the question again. Last time we saw how the modern Narnians are in great need of learning. Now we see one of their number, Trumpkin, face-to-face with some of the greatest legends of their past.
There is one issue, though. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are now children instead of the adult kingly forms they had before leaving Narnia at the end of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Trumpkin the dwarf is concerned about how much help they can provide. The children soon prove him wrong. They show their strength, in spite of their age, through the use of their various gifts. Edmund shows his skill with a sword. Susan demonstrates her archery once again. Lucy gives a taste of her healing practice. Peter reveals his intellect by setting up the various contests with Trumpkin. In the end the dwarf shows his wisdom and openness by accepting he has been foolish and that they do in fact know what they are doing. What Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy face from Trumpkin is unfortunately what we often see in the church today. It is hard for people to accept that the young may have something to offer. This not only forgets that we all have gifts of the Spirit to offer, something we have already seen from the start of Prince Caspian, it fails to recall that some of the greatest prophets, such as Samuel, were called when they were very young. Jesus Himself lasted in earthly ministry only from age 30 to 33 according to tradition, although admittedly typical life spans in His day and age are not what they are now. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy also, interestingly enough, provide the knowledge the modern Narnians lack and need. They know parts of the land unknown to modern Narnia. They know the significance of the old places the current Narnians don’t. In their case, they know these things through experience. Yet experience is not the only teacher of such ancient things. If we are to do the work God has given us to do, we must recognize that we cannot judge by age alone. We must instead look at gifts and skill. There is experience to be had, even in youth. God’s gifts come to those of all ages, whether very young or very old. Previously we saw the Narnians gathering together behind Caspian. It took some of the creatures time to accept him, while others did not need much time at all. What we see in their gathering is something new, or at least something that has not happened for a long time.
Because it has been so long since they gathered together, we also see that the Narnians are in desperate need of teaching in who they are. They aren’t aware of Aslan’s How, a revered place in the area where Aslan sacrificed Himself for Edmund in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This would be the same as a Christian who did not know Jesus’ Empty Tomb could be found in The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This goes to show how important it is to understand the teachings of our Faith. Without them, we do not know who we are, and we may fail to possess the knowledge we will need for the future. We see this as the young Narnians struggle to work together and use their gifts effectively against Miraz’s forces. There’s one person who shows us hope, even in this lack of knowledge. It is the Dwarf Trumpkin. Even though he lacks Faith, he knows his role is to show duty and obedience to his king. This is what leads him on the adventure to find Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. This is what will ultimately lead him to witness the Truth and believe. When we find ourselves lacking in the knowledge of Faith, our hope is that we will find the right people around us to teach us. These are the ones who lead not to themselves, but to God. Our hope then is that if we can be like Trumpkin and follow those people, our unbelief will turn to Faith, and our ignorance will turn not only into tried and true experience, but knowledge of our Lord. In the previous chapter, we learned more about Miraz’s plot to gain full control of Narnia. Now we see Caspian and the Narnians gathering to do something about his uncle's tyranny.
For many of the animals and creatures, it takes some time and explanation before Caspian is accepted, yet they do eventually. The slowest group to accept him are the dwarfs. The dwarfs appear to be somewhat agnostic. Nikabrik even states that he’d take “Aslan or the White Witch” in driving out the Telmarines. When Trufflehunter the badger points out that the White Witch “was a worse enemy than Miraz and all his race”, Nikabrik responses back, “Not to Dwarfs, she wasn’t.” There are a lot of similarities between dwarfs and people so far. One common trait is the ability of both races to serve good or evil. Perhaps this is what leads to their agnosticism. At the same time, there is a practical nature to the dwarfs. They are the ones who provide Caspian weapons and armor after all. The ones who accept Caspian the quickest are the creatures with a more spiritual leaning. Centaur Glenstorm accepts Caspian on the spot, while also recognizing the importance of the dwarfs’ craftsmanship for him. Centaurs are creatures that gaze at the stars and see what the future has to bring. The fauns too accept Caspian rather quickly. Their dance afterwards has a almost spiritual dream-like quality to it, as Caspian himself notes in the following morning. Again, this is not to say the dwarfs’ practical nature isn’t important or needed. We all have our gifts, as we have seen before, and we are all called to use them for the glory of God. However, to be open to Aslan, or even God, one must be willing to be open to that which is beyond us. This openness is not only needed to see the importance of one like Caspian, it is also needed to believe. |
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The Rev. Trey KennedyHere is my take on how Superheroes and other characters can help us know God better. Categories
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