Surprised By Jack

As a child, I knew Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy. I knew Reepicheep, Puddleglum and Mr. Beaver. More importantly, I knew Aslan, the Lion King of Narnia. But I still didn't know Jack. It wasn’t until college when I stumbled upon a book in the library entitled, Surprised By Joy. That’s when I really got to know the creator of all of these characters, C. S. Lewis.

Surprised By Joy is known as Lewis’ spiritual autobiography, with the subtitle being, The Shape of My Early Life. He wrote it toward the end of his life in 1955, after most of his other books had been written. The title comes from a line by Wordsworth, “Surprised by joy - impatient as the wind.” It spoke to the desire and longing in Jack’s heart for something more in life, a sense of “joy.” 

Jack spent his early years living with his family in Belfast, Ireland. He had a happy and carefree childhood with his brother Warnie, until his mother died of cancer when he was nine years old. It was a traumatic loss and was compounded by his father’s own despair and melancholy. Unable to function after his wife’s death, Mr. Lewis sent the boys off to boarding school.  

Those were difficult years for the Lewis boys. After boarding school came college, and soon after, they were sent off to fight in World War One. The harshness of life and horrors of war led them away from God and the church. Jack later wrote that he was “very angry with God for not existing”.

Thankfully, “the harshness of God is kinder than the softness of men.” During this time, Jack was introduced to the writings of George MacDonald and G.K. Chesterton, whose Christian worldviews influenced him without even knowing it. “A young man who wishes to remain atheist cannot be too careful of his reading”.

Back at Oxford after the war, one of the most important friendships of the century began when C.S. Lewis met J.R.R. Tolkien. Jack and Tollers (Tolkien’s nickname), as it turned out, had a lot in common. They were both English professors who shared a love of Norse mythology. They both had lost their mothers at an early age. They were both veterans who had fought and lost friends in the War. These experiences brought them together and strengthened their bonds of friendship and fellowship. They would go on to establish the writers group known as “The Inklings,” which met each week at a local pub to read and discuss their literary work.

After several years and many conversations with Tolkien and fellow Inklings, Jack became convinced in the existence of God and the claims of Christianity, and eventually returned to the joy of his childhood faith. The moment was far less emotional than he had expected. “It was more like when a man after a long sleep, still lying motionless in bed, becomes aware that he is now awake”.

In Mere Christianity, Lewis talks about the deep desire he always had for something more, which nothing in this world could ever satisfy. He finally realized that it was because he was made for another world, the heavenly place where true joy could be found:

"But what, in conclusion, of joy? For that, after all, is what the story has mainly been about. To tell you the truth, the subject has lost nearly all interest for me since I became a Christian. I cannot complain, like Wordsworth, that the visionary gleam has passed away. I believe the old bittersweet stab has come to me as often and as sharply since my conversion as at any time of my life. But I now know that the experience, considered as a state of my own mind, had never had the kind of importance I once gave it. It was valuable only as a pointer to something other and outer. When we are lost in the woods, the sight of a signpost is a great matter. But when we have found the road and are passing signposts every few miles, we need not stop and stare. We would be at Jerusalem." 

This has been my experience as well, and why getting to know Jack by reading “Surprised By Joy” has meant so much to me. 

(Interestingly, Jack was surprised by joy in more ways than one. A year after publishing his autobiography, the self-proclaimed bachelor was married to an American writer. Her name? Joy.)

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Beren and Luthien

Once upon a time, a boy was born to a British couple living in South Africa. A few years later  the boy’s father died, and the mother moved back to England with her two sons. They lived with relatives out in the country, and the boy enjoyed roaming around the area, looking at all the flowers and studying the trees. He especially liked going to his aunt’s farm, which was called “Bag End.”

The boy began reading at an early age, and soon his mother was teaching him Latin, instilling in him a love of language that would last a lifetime. After an idyllic few years in the countryside, the mother died, and the boy and his brother had to face the future as orphans. Thankfully their mother left them in the care of a friend who was a priest, and he faithfully looked after them and brought them up in the church.

Young Ronald was a good student and continued in his pursuit of learning languages, even creating some languages of his own. Along with some of his friends, he created the T.C.B.S. - the Tea Club and Barrovian Society. They met to chat and drink tea in a nearby department store and (secretly) in the school library. This group was one of the predecessors to The Inklings of Oxford.

At the age of 16, Ronald met Edith, another orphan in need of affection. They soon fell in love, but were not allowed to date one another until he was 21. After a long five year wait, he proposed and they were married. Ronald later spoke of his admiration for Edith’s willingness to marry a man with no job, little money, and few prospects except the likelihood of being killed in the Great War.  

The Great War, World War One, was supposed to be the war to end all wars. Some even called it the war to usher in the kingdom of heaven. But it didn’t quite work out that way. It was more like ushering in the kingdom of Mordor.

By this time you probably realize that young Ronald is none other than John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Tolkien’s experience in World War One was pivotal in his life in so many ways. I have written about that in a previous article, “I’m Glad You’re With Me”, which details his friendship with CS Lewis and the many life experiences that they shared.

https://www.1517.org/articles/im-glad-youre-with-me-tolkien-lewis-and-the-not-so-great-war

While back in England recuperating from trench fever, Tolkien began writing an improbable love story between a man named Beren and an elf named Luthien. Together they took on the evil of Morgoth and triumphed against overwhelming odds. Their relationship would be the cornerstone, “the kernel of the mythology, of Tolkien’s prodigious work in Middle Earth. It is the basis for the later story of Aragorn and Arwen found in the Lord of the Rings. 

If you ever find yourself in Oxford at the Wolvercote cemetery where Ronald and Edith are buried, you will see the names engraved in stone, Beren and Luthien. It is a story of good and evil, of faith overcoming fear, of love conquering hate. Ultimately it is the Christian story - God in Christ loving his bride so much he would endure anything to get her back. Pain, suffering, loss, death, even hell. There and back again.

As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Tolkien’s death this week, we thank God for his life and his work. For by it we see more clearly the beauty and evil of this world, that there are good things still worth fighting for, and that we need each other as we await the return of the King.

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fields of gold

Fields of gold as far as the eye can see. That’s the first thing my brother and I noticed last month after renting a car in Frankfurt and hopping on the autobahn. Fields of gold as far as the eye can see. Germany has many wonderful things to offer travelers, such as gardens, palaces, castles, and cathedrals. But on this particular week in late spring, it turned out to be millions and millions of yellow flowers. (They are harvested and used in the making of canola oil). Everyone told us that we came at the perfect time, and after one drive through the German countryside, we heartily agreed.

We were there to see relatives and to tour the Luther Lands, areas which had been closed off to us in previous years. My family and I had lived in Northern Germany in the late 70’s when East Germany was still verboten for Western visitors. Since we were unable to see the Lands of Luther back then, we were very much looking forward to finally visiting these historic sites.

We were able to stay several days in Wittenberg, and it definitely did not disappoint. From the Castle Church to the City Church and everything in between - Luther’s house, Melanchthon’s house, Cranach’s house and studio, the Wittenberg 360 museum, the Marktplatz. Later we were also able to visit Erfurt, Eisenach, and the Wartburg Castle. There is so much to see and learn.

500 years later, it’s plain to see how Luther’s impact and influence went far beyond the church and extended into politics, business, economics, philosophy, language, education, and technology, But at the center of the Reformation was Luther’s rediscovery of the Gospel - the good news message that we are saved by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Justification by grace through faith, the doctrine upon which the church stands or falls, still forms and informs what we believe today.      

As pastors, we were of course engrossed and engaged by the history and theology of the lands of Luther, but what really entranced and enchanted us this trip was the natural beauty of the landscapes and the countryside that surrounded us. It reminded us that, while a cross and heart are at the center of Luther’s Seal, they are set in the midst of a white rose, and encircled by a golden ring. A sign and symbol of the new creation. A brief yet beautiful glimpse of eternity. Fields of gold as far as the eye can see.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." - 1 Cor. 2:9

"Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf of spring.”  - Martin Luther

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the white rose

The Christian life begins and ends with a promise. It begins with the words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It ends with, "I will be with you always, to the very end of the age."

As we embark upon the Christian life this Epiphany season, we do so with the promise, presence, and peace of mind that the Almighty and All-powerful God of all creation is also our God. He is Yahweh Immanuel, God with us and God for us. He is the God who makes promises and keeps them. He is the God who loves us and cares for us and is never going to let us go. He is the God who, by grace through faith in his Son, makes us his baptized, beloved, blood-bought believers.

Hans and Sophie Scholl were young Lutheran university students in Munich who were growing up in the midst of Nazi Germany. As teenagers in the 1930’s, things seemed to be going pretty well. They were members of youth organizations that promoted health, citizenship, and the great outdoors. But through a series of events they began to get wise to what was really going on. And in 1942, along with some of their Christian friends, they created the Resistance of the White Rose. They got together to share information, promote freedom, and to warn people of what was to come.

They wrote, published, and sent out leaflets - first in Munich, then in Bavaria, and eventually all over Germany. They were quite creative with their efforts and were successful in getting their message out. But they were finally caught in the act while dropping leaflets from a second floor balcony at the University of Berlin. They were arrested, charged, and sentenced to death.

What courage and commitment young Hans and Sophie displayed in the face of great evil. What was behind it all? What gave them such strength and resilience? No one knows exactly why they named their group “The White Rose.” But I have a pretty good idea. Hans and Sophie were baptized Lutheran Christians, and they no doubt knew about Luther’s seal, or Luther’s rose.

Here is how Luther himself explained it …

There is a black cross in a heart that remains its natural color red. This is to remind us that it is faith in the Crucified One that saves us. Anyone who believes from the heart will be justified. It is a black cross, which mortifies and causes pain, but it leaves the heart its natural color. It doesn’t destroy us, it does not kill us but keeps us alive, for the just shall live by faith in the Son of God.  The heart should stand in the middle of a white rose. This is to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace. It puts the believer into a white, pure, and joyous rose. Faith does not give peace and joy like the world gives. This is why the rose must be white and not red. White is the color of the spirits and the angels. This white rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that a joyful spirit and faith is a beginning of heavenly joy, which begins now, but is grasped in hope, not yet fully revealed. Around the field of blue is a golden ring to symbolize that blessedness in heaven lasts forever and has no end. Heavenly blessedness is exquisite, beyond all earthly joy and better than any temporal possessions, as gold is the most valuable of all precious metals.

As baptized believers by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, Hans and Sophie had a promise and a peace and a presence that was always with them no matter what. We too are God’s baptized, beloved, blood-bought believers. And no one can ever take that away from us. 

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