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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visible and invisible

It's Halloween season.

The time when people think of and imagine invisible things like ghosts and ghouls and goblins.

What do you think of when you think of invisible things?

Rich Mullins was a singer, songwriter, and poet of my generation. Here is what he thought of -

"There are invisible things. Like the light behind the earth that casts a shadow that we call night, like the sap that runs with life in the veins of trees that we think are dead, like the silence behind all the noise.

Like the great beyond, too great to be fit into the lenses of our high-powered telescopes. Like the atmosphere for birds, the ocean for fish, too present to be discovered, which we are a part of, and apart from which we cannot have life. Invisible things.

Things cut off from our senses - like Eden barred from our first ancestors - guarded, hedged in, kept away. The Spirit, the angels, the hidden realm, the secret kingdom, God's hidden work and his mysterious ways. The things we dream of and imagine we remember, things we yearn for and curse and deny and yet hope for in spite of ourselves. As if a part of our true selves belonged to a real world and not the one our lesser selves have settled for and surrendered to ... or would surrender to if not for the persistence of those invisible things.

The things the visible world points to and grasps at, but cannot quite reach, cannot quite escape. And just when our smug, agnostic selves settle into some comfortable, manageable despair, something goes bump in the night, something hums in our hearts and sweeps us up out of the numbness and into a great longing, the unquenchable hope that we would just as well live without, if only life was possible without invisible things."  (Release Magazine, 1994)

In the creed we confess, “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.” In this secular world of naturalism and materialism, many people think that the only things that are real are the things that you can see and hear and touch. There are no spiritual or supernatural powers at work, only natural, only what you can see and experience around you. This leads to some bad ideas and even worse consequences. Like the idea that you've only got one crack at this thing, only one go-around, so you better look out for #1 and go for the gusto and get yours while the gettin' is good. So what if you have to knock off a few people along the way, you know, crack a few eggs to make the omelet. Hey, that's life, because you only live once, right? 

But if we are only living in a natural material world where we're just fighting to survive, there is no concept of God and what it means to live in God's good creation, let alone the new creation that is to come. There is so much more to this life than just what we can see, taste, and touch - what we can collect, earn, accumulate, and put in our bank account. We need a better idea, a better image.

Paul says in Colossians 1 that "the Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created - things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

The image of the invisible God. The original icon, the eternal logos, the creator of the cosmos, the one who came from beyond the great beyond. The Incarnate One, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, and in whom all things hold together. All things. That includes invisible things, like goodness, truth, beauty, and love. In him we see what love really is and where it comes from - the very heart of God. For God so loved the world, that he sent his one and only Son, for you, for me, for all. 

Rich Mullins could have had it all. He was on his way to being the #1 recording artist in Christian music. But the invisible things of God kept gnawing away at him. So he left his status and celebrity and went back to school for a music degree, and then on to New Mexico to live on a reservation so he could teach music to children and share God's love with them. 

Some say Christians are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good. But the opposite is actually worse - to be so earthly minded that you are no heavenly good. 

"Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you have died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.'  (Col. 3)

We thank God for all that we see - all the visible things our senses can perceive. But we thank God most of all for His Son, without whom we would be deaf, dumb, and blind to the invisible things of this world and the world to come. For God, who said, 'let light shine out of darkness,'has made his light to shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

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stone table

 

Stone Table, Merton College, Oxford

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Dead Sea Scrolls at 75

 

"They won't let me cross the border. Ibrahim will have to lead you. See you in a few days."

Those were the words of our tour guide as we prepared to leave Israel and spend the weekend in the country of Jordan. We were on a tour of the Holy Land a few years back with Pastor Nabil Nour, originally from Israel but also an American citizen. Though he did have his US passport, he had forgotten to bring his Israeli passport, and so was denied entry into Jordan. After no small amount of sweating, negotiating, and hand wringing, it was finally decided. One of the local guides named Ibrahim would be the one to lead us. 

After the initial confusion at the border, we settled into our usual travel routine and everything went pretty smoothly. That evening at our hotel the Dead Sea Scrolls came up in conversation for some reason, and Ibrahim made an off handed comment about being there at the time they were discovered. My antennae immediately went up, and I determined to find out more about what he knew. So the next morning en route to Petra, I made sure to sit right next to him on the bus. I'm so glad I did. 

He told me about how one of the local Bedouin boys had been tending goats near the Dead Sea. After one of the goats had strayed, he looked up to see a cave that he hadn't noticed before. He threw a stone into the cave and heard a strange sound, so he and a friend climbed up to investigate. Inside they found a number of clay jars which had scrolls inside. They weren't sure what they had found, but knew it might be worth something, so they brought the scrolls along with them to the black market in Bethlehem. 

One of Ibrahim's relatives was the dealer that the boys brought the scrolls to in Bethlehem. Like Ibrahim, he was Syriac, and thought that the writing might be ancient Syriac. It definitely was not Arabic. So he had someone he knew from a local monastery take a look. He determined that it was indeed Hebrew writing, and after some bartering and back and forth, bought the first few scrolls for around fifty pounds. Fifth pounds! And the rest, as they say, is history.

One of the many interesting and intriguing things about all of this is that it's happening in the year 1947, when the nation state of Israel is just being established and the war of independence is about to begin. There is so much going on politically, socially, and culturally, that it is difficult to believe that one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time happening at this moment is mere coincidence.

Later in our trip we went to Qumran, the desert community of the Essenes, where most of the scrolls were probably written and placed in clay jars for safe keeping. And then on to Jerusalem and the Museum of the Book, where many of the scrolls are displayed, along with the piece de resistance, the Great Isaiah Scroll, all 66 chapters of it. 

In this 75th anniversary year of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, my hope is that every believer and non-believer alike has the opportunity to enter into that sacred space and make the slow walk around the great scroll. But even if that opportunity never arises, you have something far better awaiting you in the next room or in the palm of your hand. For as you pick up the Holy Bible, God's Word to you and for you in Christ, the words of the prophet Isaiah echo in your ears, "The Word of the Lord Endures Forever."

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Mere Christianity at 70

 

During the NCAA Basketball Tournament several years ago, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship held a competition entitled, “The Best Christian Book of All Time.” Sixty-Four first class competitors went head to head round by round in this epic literary contest. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis was a #1 seed, and easily made the Elite Eight where it handily defeated Augustine’s City of God. In the Final Four it beat out Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship, only to be edged out in the finals by Augustine’s Confessions.

These results ring true for me. And while I would have liked to see Martin Luther make it to the semi-finals, it is indeed difficult to name a book with such great influence and lasting impact than Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. 

This year marks the 70th anniversary of its publication in 1952, but it actually didn't start out as a book. The genesis of this Christian classic was a series of radio talks given by Lewis which were broadcast by the BBC. The director of religious broadcasting had read his book, The Problem of Pain, and asked him if he would be interested in taking part in a radio program. England was knee-deep in the trials and travails of World War 2 at the time, and these talks by Lewis from 1941 to 1944 were quite popular and comforting to the British people. It has been said that the voice of C.S. Lewis became as recognizable as that of Winston Churchill during this time. 

From our vantage point, we might say that the voice of C.S. Lewis was one of the most recognizable in the 20th century. Personally, I began to recognize his voice when I went off to college. Sure, I had read the Chronicles of Narnia as a child and enjoyed them, but like most did not understand the full weight and scope of these "children's" books until later in life. It wasn't until I was in a basic Christian Doctrine class at Christ College Irvine taught by Rod Rosenbladt that Lewis really began to speak to me. Rod not only quoted Lewis often in that class, he actually embodied him in such a way that made me want to read everything I could get my hands on. In short order I had read The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, Surprised By Joy, and of course, Mere Christianity.  

Armed with great analogies, airtight logic, and razor sharp wit, Lewis keeps you spellbound from one chapter to another as you find yourself going further up and further in. Beginning the book with a bang in Right and Wrong as a Clue To the Meaning of the Universe, he goes on to describe What Christians Believe and to detail Christian Behavior, before finishing off with Beyond Personality (First Steps in the Doctrine of the Trinity.) 

One of the more famous passages of the book comes in the What Christians Believe section, affectionately known as the "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord" passage. 

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." 

There are too many great quotes and passages from Lewis to mention, but here is one more which comes at the end of the book.

"The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in."

In the years after Lewis' death in 1963 (on the same day as JFK and Aldous Huxley), many thought his continued impact would be minimal. When Dr. Peter Kreeft considered writing a book about him in the late 1960's, he was told that no one would be reading Lewis twenty years from now. Well, let's just say that the reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated. 70 years later, Mere Christianity continues to be one of the most impactful and influential Christian books of all time.

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