Here's the thing, I feel C.S. Lewis was an inspired man with an understanding of humanity. He had incredible comprehension of human thought, emotion, and perception. Including Christ himself, which is something I struggle with at times: understanding that Chris was human and suffered similar depressions, heart aches, physical pains, anxieties, and what ever other name you put to your trials. He suffered these things AS a human. I've never thought about that until this last time reading through The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
(This post contains spoiler material for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe)
When reading in the chapter "The Triumph of the Witch" (pg. 179) He starts walking towards the stone table, Susan and Lucy notice "He looked some how different from the Aslan they knew. His tail and head hung low and he walked slowly as if he were very, very, tired." Or, as some might say now. Depressed, Sorrowful, or maybe even reluctant or anxious.
In this moment, he understands that even he cannot bear all sorrow alone, that he cannot be an impenetrable fortress of solitude. He admits that he is "sad and lonely" and asks the for the comfort of the girls laying their hands upon his mane.
These things to me are reminiscent of both Christ's journey up Calvary and his stay in Gethsemane. In Matthew it specifically talks about how heavy with sorrow Christ is at Gethsemane. "Sorrowful, even unto death" (Matthew 26:28) He cannot share his duty, but he knows his duty and goes willingly, but is humble enough to accept and ask for that help while it is available to him. Asking Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to "Tarry ye here, and watch with me"(Matt 26:28) Coming back to find them asleep he then asks Peter "Could ye not watch with me one hour?"(Mat 26:40) In this scripture is says nothing of him emotion but I cannot imagine anything but pain in his voice when he says that. Pain and fear, when you understand a task that is so insurmountable that it cannot be conceived without the full potential of both human and Godly understanding that you ask for your dearest friends and followers to just watch and pray for you, but they cannot. Christ in his understanding was able to forgive instantly, but that doesn't mean that the pain wasn't there.
But, we continue on through the stories of Christ and Aslan(who is Christ though but "known by another name so that we come to know him better")
As Aslan continues to the top of the hill "A great crowd of people were standing all round the Stone Table...In fact here were all those who were on the Witch's(evil) side and whome the Wolf had summoned at her command. Right in the middle, standing by the Table, was the Witch herself"
"The fool!" Cried the Witch."The fool has come. Bind him fast." - These remarks to me resonate with evil and the very thoughts of Satan himself as Jesus approached both Calvary and Gethsemane.
(As I understand in Mormon doctrine(and unknowing as to the rest of "Mainstream Christianity" view of the situation.) Satan before the world was created and we were just spirits residing in what I will call the "Nether" (I'm a fantasy geek and don't know what else to call it besides pre-existence, which is what it's called in Mormon Doctrine but not as fun) Both Satan(Lucifer) and Christ were spirits as well, both of whom were great leaders among us. Christ brought forth this plan that we are currently living of pain, suffering, trials, and where we could lose our way. Satan/Lucifer brought forth a plan of Utopia, his plan was rejected and he and his followers were thrown out of Heaven/The Nether after reacting unpleasantly to news of the plan's rejection.)
With that explained I will continue on my merry way of thought. Those remarks resonate with what I feel Satan must think(he himself having only the mind of a man, if perhaps, unhindered by this earthly veil) because he believes in all of humanities' worst traits, which coincides with his plan. Having neither faith nor hope in himself or us he asks that we all achieve the same level of happiness with the same level of tests(or lack thereof) aka, Utopia. That fear and despair makes him think Jesus a fool for having faith in this plan, for marching towards incomprehensible pain and suffering leading only to his death. As such, he cries "The Fool! The Fool has come! Bind him fast!"
Only, Satan like the hags and witches from Narnia fear Christ/Aslan. They hold their breath, waiting for "Aslan's roar" which never comes. In Narnia they bind him with ropes, shave him, muzzle him and berate him. In the Gospels we hear of how they strip him, put on him a scarlet robe, place a crown of thorns upon his head a reed in his and and mock him, saying "Hail, King of the Jews!" While continuing to spit upon him, striking him and after all that strip him again to take him off to his death. These are Satan's last attempts at binding Christ, trying to use fear, pain, and humiliation to trap him down and manipulate him for his own means; but as Lucy notices after the first shock was over "The shorn face of Aslan looked to her braver and more beautiful, and more patient than ever." This is exactly how I have pictured Christ's face while reading about his trials.
As the Witch bows down readying for the sacrifice of Aslan she whispers to him, "And now, who has won? Fool, did you think that by all this you would save the human traitor? Now I will kill you instead of him as our pact was agreed. But when you are dead what will prevent me from killing him as well? And who will take him out of my hand then? Understand that you have given me Narnia for ever, you have lost your own life and you have not saved his. In that knowledge, despair and die."
The last of Satan's bonds, despair and fear. When one loses both faith and hope how can you continue to act according to God's will when things are aligned against you? For Aslan what was required was to be a willing to victim in order to save both Narnia and Edmund. For Christ it was that what he was doing was right. It was that though it may be the most difficult thing ever faced in this universe. It is in fact right. It is as it is supposed to be. It is all a matter of faith.
I guess what I'm saying is that really, Christ is a lot like the rest of us. As long as we are able to endure through Satan's attempts at undermining our faith and hope, we can make it through whatever trials it is that lies before us. We may not always know what lies before us, but we believe and endure what is set against because of our hope that lies on the other side. I believe that Christ had no more sure knowledge of what lies beyond this world than any of us; but he had a hope and faith so strong that he walked on water, that he cured the sick, that he suffered through ALL of our pains, ALL of our sorrows, ALL of our heartaches, he died, and then he rose again for US. This is why those two pages of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe made me cry. This is why I LOVE C.S. Lewis. Because he had a profound faith and hope in God and Christ, such a love that he bent his will power and thoughts on Christ, understanding him as both a God and a Man, then he was kind enough to write down his thoughts in ways that both children and adults alike can understand and appreciate.
Thanks again for coming on my journey with me, This path along the way was brought to me through C.S. Lewis, but I still learned something and it made my life better.
(This post contains spoiler material for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe)
When reading in the chapter "The Triumph of the Witch" (pg. 179) He starts walking towards the stone table, Susan and Lucy notice "He looked some how different from the Aslan they knew. His tail and head hung low and he walked slowly as if he were very, very, tired." Or, as some might say now. Depressed, Sorrowful, or maybe even reluctant or anxious.
In this moment, he understands that even he cannot bear all sorrow alone, that he cannot be an impenetrable fortress of solitude. He admits that he is "sad and lonely" and asks the for the comfort of the girls laying their hands upon his mane.
These things to me are reminiscent of both Christ's journey up Calvary and his stay in Gethsemane. In Matthew it specifically talks about how heavy with sorrow Christ is at Gethsemane. "Sorrowful, even unto death" (Matthew 26:28) He cannot share his duty, but he knows his duty and goes willingly, but is humble enough to accept and ask for that help while it is available to him. Asking Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to "Tarry ye here, and watch with me"(Matt 26:28) Coming back to find them asleep he then asks Peter "Could ye not watch with me one hour?"(Mat 26:40) In this scripture is says nothing of him emotion but I cannot imagine anything but pain in his voice when he says that. Pain and fear, when you understand a task that is so insurmountable that it cannot be conceived without the full potential of both human and Godly understanding that you ask for your dearest friends and followers to just watch and pray for you, but they cannot. Christ in his understanding was able to forgive instantly, but that doesn't mean that the pain wasn't there.
But, we continue on through the stories of Christ and Aslan(who is Christ though but "known by another name so that we come to know him better")
As Aslan continues to the top of the hill "A great crowd of people were standing all round the Stone Table...In fact here were all those who were on the Witch's(evil) side and whome the Wolf had summoned at her command. Right in the middle, standing by the Table, was the Witch herself"
"The fool!" Cried the Witch."The fool has come. Bind him fast." - These remarks to me resonate with evil and the very thoughts of Satan himself as Jesus approached both Calvary and Gethsemane.
(As I understand in Mormon doctrine(and unknowing as to the rest of "Mainstream Christianity" view of the situation.) Satan before the world was created and we were just spirits residing in what I will call the "Nether" (I'm a fantasy geek and don't know what else to call it besides pre-existence, which is what it's called in Mormon Doctrine but not as fun) Both Satan(Lucifer) and Christ were spirits as well, both of whom were great leaders among us. Christ brought forth this plan that we are currently living of pain, suffering, trials, and where we could lose our way. Satan/Lucifer brought forth a plan of Utopia, his plan was rejected and he and his followers were thrown out of Heaven/The Nether after reacting unpleasantly to news of the plan's rejection.)
With that explained I will continue on my merry way of thought. Those remarks resonate with what I feel Satan must think(he himself having only the mind of a man, if perhaps, unhindered by this earthly veil) because he believes in all of humanities' worst traits, which coincides with his plan. Having neither faith nor hope in himself or us he asks that we all achieve the same level of happiness with the same level of tests(or lack thereof) aka, Utopia. That fear and despair makes him think Jesus a fool for having faith in this plan, for marching towards incomprehensible pain and suffering leading only to his death. As such, he cries "The Fool! The Fool has come! Bind him fast!"
Only, Satan like the hags and witches from Narnia fear Christ/Aslan. They hold their breath, waiting for "Aslan's roar" which never comes. In Narnia they bind him with ropes, shave him, muzzle him and berate him. In the Gospels we hear of how they strip him, put on him a scarlet robe, place a crown of thorns upon his head a reed in his and and mock him, saying "Hail, King of the Jews!" While continuing to spit upon him, striking him and after all that strip him again to take him off to his death. These are Satan's last attempts at binding Christ, trying to use fear, pain, and humiliation to trap him down and manipulate him for his own means; but as Lucy notices after the first shock was over "The shorn face of Aslan looked to her braver and more beautiful, and more patient than ever." This is exactly how I have pictured Christ's face while reading about his trials.
As the Witch bows down readying for the sacrifice of Aslan she whispers to him, "And now, who has won? Fool, did you think that by all this you would save the human traitor? Now I will kill you instead of him as our pact was agreed. But when you are dead what will prevent me from killing him as well? And who will take him out of my hand then? Understand that you have given me Narnia for ever, you have lost your own life and you have not saved his. In that knowledge, despair and die."
The last of Satan's bonds, despair and fear. When one loses both faith and hope how can you continue to act according to God's will when things are aligned against you? For Aslan what was required was to be a willing to victim in order to save both Narnia and Edmund. For Christ it was that what he was doing was right. It was that though it may be the most difficult thing ever faced in this universe. It is in fact right. It is as it is supposed to be. It is all a matter of faith.
I guess what I'm saying is that really, Christ is a lot like the rest of us. As long as we are able to endure through Satan's attempts at undermining our faith and hope, we can make it through whatever trials it is that lies before us. We may not always know what lies before us, but we believe and endure what is set against because of our hope that lies on the other side. I believe that Christ had no more sure knowledge of what lies beyond this world than any of us; but he had a hope and faith so strong that he walked on water, that he cured the sick, that he suffered through ALL of our pains, ALL of our sorrows, ALL of our heartaches, he died, and then he rose again for US. This is why those two pages of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe made me cry. This is why I LOVE C.S. Lewis. Because he had a profound faith and hope in God and Christ, such a love that he bent his will power and thoughts on Christ, understanding him as both a God and a Man, then he was kind enough to write down his thoughts in ways that both children and adults alike can understand and appreciate.
Thanks again for coming on my journey with me, This path along the way was brought to me through C.S. Lewis, but I still learned something and it made my life better.
One of my favorite scriptures that reflects some of what you're saying is Luke 22:42 where the Savior says, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
ReplyDeleteI think it is so powerful, because at that point he is pleading to be let out of this task. In a similar passage in Mark he address the Father as "Abba", basically, daddy. But in both passages he says "not my will but thine."
I feel like this is such a powerful example for us. He did feel great pain, he did want to get out of it. But, ultimately, he gave his will to the Father. We can pray to have our pains taken from us, and sometimes they will be. But other times we will grow the most by surrendering our will to the will of the Father.
Thanks for sharing this. You shared some excellent thoughts and insight that got me thinking.
Both Christ and Aslan understood what was required of them to complete the plan/save the traitor and had the choice whether or not to go through with it. I like how you pointed out the similarities between Lucy and Susan walking with Aslan and Peter watching and praying for Christ. They were going through the greatest trial anyone could go through and still appreciated a friend at their side.
ReplyDeleteI have often thought how the witch is so afraid of Aslan but when she thinks she has him bound and under her control she gets cocky and delights in telling him how she is going to thwart all his plans. It makes me wonder a little at Satan and how he gets cocky and thinks he can thwart all of God's plans. It's all very thought provoking. I love C.S. Lewis and the insight he has, and you have added so much to it. Thanks.
I really enjoyed reading this post. You have great insights and I liked your comparisons. You really made me think, and don't tell but I may have gotten a little teary eyed. I love you Bud! Thanks for sharing. I wish I was as insightful as the rest of my family. :)
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