In 2003, a poll was conducted in
England asking Brits what their favorite fantasy novel of the 20th
century was. Not surprisingly, Lord of
the Rings came up. But they were not
satisfied. Another polling company
broadened the question and asked much of central Europe what their favorite
book of the 20th century was…. And then the reality began to occur
that there was more to this trend than not.
Finally, a third polling agency asked the biggest question to the larger
western world. What is the greatest
storyline of all time. The Answer
startled the publishing world: Over Shakespeare, Beowolf, and even Star Wars,
one series stood above them all.
The Lord of the Rings is considered
thus the most brilliant literary masterpiece of all time. A story written by a man who was part
philosopher, part theologian. A man who
witnessed the horrors of Nazi Germany from his London Flat and spent almost 12
years in fear of what might be if the Germans were to actually invade
Brittain. A simple man who became a
monumental success, J.R.R. Tolkien is now eulogized as the most brilliant
writer of the 20th century who wrote the greatest adventure of them
all.
And that is why we are here. Because of great adventures. Now as a Christian, great adventures come in
many shapes in sizes (perhaps that is a forshadowing for all us all). Lent is a great journey, one where we are
reminded of how Jesus went from being a simple carpenter to his death and
returned from such death to inhabit the earth.
And like we will see throughout our journey, the Lord of the Rings have
much in common with the story of Jesus, even if hobbits are very small.
So let us begin. And to begin, we much understand what happens
at the beginning of the story….
SHOW
MOVIE CLIP
The Will of Men is easily
corruptible….the power of the one ring, can not be undone…
J.R.R. Tolkien in this moment
creates his theology of human beings, in essence telling us whether humans are
naturally good or naturally evil. His
answer…good, but easily turned. The
power of the dark side is more convincing (wait that’s the wrong movie)…you get
what I mean.
The one ring is a brilliant idea,
even if you might consider it a little silly.
The one ring itself is a symbol, a representation of humankind’s longing
for power. The ring grants it’s owners
with unusually long life, in fact some might say a suspenction of death, the power
of invisibility when worn, and what appears to be power and luck in all
circumstances. Within the ring is the
dominion of greed and want, power and influence, knowledge and extended
life. Within the ring is everything that
man kind fears about others and wants for themselves. And because it is so easy for human beings to
become lost in the dreams of this ring, that power of the ring…it can not be
undone by a normal person.
Instead, the ring’s power can only
be undone by someone of great mental strength, and in Tolkien’s tale that falls
to the simple minds of the hobbits, specifically Frodo Baggins of the
Shire. Now there will be a sermon in a
couple of weeks on Frodo as well as the rest of the members who will travel
with him, famously called the Fellowship of the Ring, but for today, what we
should take to heart is that Frodo was not just special because of his status
as a hobbit, but through his unique willingness to do what is needed and to not
fear the consequences.
Jesus and Frodo have a lot in
common. They have been chosen for a
task. And they are very unique
persons. No matter what you think about
Jesus, what we can almost certainly say is that he was unique. To be called Son of God and Messiah for the
Jews required a great person. And they
are each the only person who can finish the task.
The beginning of Lent is always
marked by the reading of Luke’s reference to Jesus in the wilderness. It takes place immediately after Jesus is
“transfigured” in front of and Peter and James and find Jesus standing on a
mountain top being tempted by the devil, or in more correct terminology the
evil one. Jesus is given three
opportunities for power: bread for all that is needed, power over all the
earth, and a dare on his life. In
essence, wealth, power, and temptation of immortality. Jesus turns them all down. Only Jesus could have walked about from that
which was offered. For a hungry
carpenter who was trying to make a point, this would have been very tempting.
The will of mankind if corruptible. If we were offered that which we most wanted
in life, the things we keep silently in our hearts: money, wealth, power,
whatever it is…. We might too fall to temptation. It’s remarkable how those things that we
want, those things that Jesus was offered, how it is embedded all in the power
of the one ring. This is Tolkien’s
brilliance. He plays on classic human
psychy, and his one ring almost always wins.
Even though we are external to the story, we can see the grasp that it
might have on us, that it does have on the rest of the characters in Lord of
the Rings. Frodo and the other hobbits
are the only ones who seem to be able to keep from its power…and as the story
goes, even Frodo can be corrupted in the end.
So let us enter into this
journey. Jesus begins his journey toward
Jerusalem with a test. He overcomes the
temptations and then continues on his way…but you might imagine the temptations
stick with him. There are moment along
Jesus’ journey where he certainly would like the easy way out, where he would
like to avoid that death the criminal receives for speaking out against the
empire. But it is not to be so. Frodo receives the ring from Bilbo when
Bilbo, at 111 years old, decides he is leaving the Shire and it’s time to pass
on his inheritance. And after some long
discussions, the ring is revealed to be the one ring of the Lord Sauren. And in this ring, the destruction of middle
earth may take place unless a journey to destroy is takes place.
This journey could
only be taken by Frodo, as the will of men is easily corruptible much like many
of us fall short of the ideal call of Jesus. And because we as Christians
still fall short, and because we know that many in Tolkien's story are unable
to carry the load, the power of the one
ring can not be undone...
The journey will begin as it always has...upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and all will be lost.
The journey will begin as it always has...upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and all will be lost.
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