The Two Towers And The Prince Of Peace And Light
Children's sermon
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Preaching
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(Originally published for December 29, 2002)
Whether or not you've seen The Two Towers, the new Lord of the Rings movie, you can bet a fair number of your parishioners have, especially (but not limited to) the teens and young adults. The late J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of the books on which the Rings movies are based, was a Christian, and wrote Christian themes into his books. This new Rings movie provides a good opportunity to talk about the mission of Christ, using the movie as a starting point.
So for this installment of The Immediate Word, we have asked team member George Murphy, who is a pastor, a scientist, and an author who has written about the role of religion in science fiction and fantasy, to discuss the movie and the possible sermonic connections it affords, using the week's lectionary text from Galatians as a basis.
There are also team comments, worship resources and a children's sermon. And this week, we also include some support materials on the Rings trilogy as well as a sermon by Carlos Wilton, written last year when the first of the three Rings movies was released.
The Two Towers and the Prince of Peace and Light
By George L. Murphy
Galatians 4:4-7
It's no secret to clergy that church attendance is generally low on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year's. But this year, thanks to Hollywood's practice of releasing blockbuster (they hope) movies during the holiday season, there may be a way to catch the attention of people for a sermon on the First Sunday after Christmas, especially if you can announce your sermon topic ahead of time. The Two Towers, the second film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, provides some intriguing parallels that can help to illumine the Second Lesson for this Sunday, Galatians 4:4-7.
In the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, the hobbit Frodo started out with his companions on a mission to destroy the One Ring, which years before had happened into the possession of his uncle. This was the ring into which, thousands of years ago, the Dark Lord Sauron had placed much of his power, and Middle Earth would be doomed if he recovered it. The hobbits in the fellowship have no great physical strength or wisdom, and are accompanied by more powerful humans and other beings. But it is the task of the "halfling" Frodo to reach Mount Doom in the land of Mordor and cast the ruling ring into its fires.
Now, as the second film begins, Frodo and the hobbit Sam have been separated from their companions and must travel to Mount Doom alone -- though they are alternately stalked and led by the pitiful creature Gollum, who once possessed the ring and is consumed by desire for it. And Frodo more and more feels the lure that the ring is exerting on himself. There is a growing temptation to put the ring on, to use its powers.
Tremendous battles rage through Middle Earth as humans, elves and dwarves fight against the hordes of evil. Those who are fascinated by "action movies" will love the elaborate battle scenes and special effects in The Two Towers. They may even be bored by the parts in which the quite ordinary ring bearer struggles through the wilderness and struggles for his own soul. But that is just where it may be most helpful to explore a connection with the biblical text.
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children" (Galatians 4:4-5). Nothing in Paul's letters indicates that he knew anything about the details of Jesus' birth. Here he draws our attention to the "sending" of Christ, of which his birth is only one part. As a reading for the Christmas season, this helps us to focus on the redemptive purpose of the birth of Christ. (Of course, this was not absent from texts for Christmas Eve and Christmas such as Titus 2:13 and Luke 2:11 with their "savior" language.)
The language of "sending" suggests the pre-existence of the one sent, a belief that Paul certainly expresses in Philippians 2:5-11.The one who is sent is the one who ?gwas in the form of God,?h the one whom later theology would speak of as the eternal Second Person of the Trinity. We cannot then think of this mission for the redemption of the world as one in which a child is sent to do an adult?fs job.
But he was "born of a woman, born under the law," born as all of us are and under the conditions of a fully human life in an occupied territory in the Roman Empire some two thousand years ago. As an adult he got a good deal of attention locally, but he certainly created no big stir on the world stage. We have no evidence that any Roman emperor or prominent Greek philosopher ever heard of him until decades later when the Christian church had begun to grow.
What was the major historical event that happened 2,000 years ago? As far as anybody could tell then, it certainly wasn't the birth of some obscure Jewish baby. The annihilation of three Roman legions by the Germans in the Teutoburg forest in A.D. 9 seemed vastly more significant -- an event that stopped the expansion of the empire and has had a tremendous historical impact even down to our own day.All the battles and palace intrigues during Jesus?f life quite overshadowed him.
Jesus was not simply God disguised as a human but the Word who "became flesh" -- and there sarxmeans not some idealized humanity but our real human nature with all its weakness and frailty. And yet he was the one sent to save the world. He was the only one who couldsave the world.
Jesus is involved in conflict during his ministry, but his major activity is not one of achieving an obvious victory over external forces. Paradoxically, his mission is to get to Mount Calvary to die! But he is pictured in the gospels as involved in a very human struggle to remain faithful to his mission.
That is seen most clearly in the stories of Jesus' temptations -- which should be seen as real temptations, not simply a charade that God goes through.He is tempted to use his power for his own advantage, to test God, to rule the world, and finally to abandon the way of suffering by coming down from the cross. (Note in Matthew 27:40 the echo of ?gIf you are the Son of God?h from 4:1-11.) As a real human being Jesus would have liked to satisfy his hunger, know for sure that God would protect him, have the power to do good in the world -- and avoid suffering and death (Mark 14:36 and parallels, Hebrews 5:7).
Some similarities between this mission of Christ and that of the ring bearer can hardly be missed. Both are to be carried out by individuals who, as far as their appearance to the world is concerned, are fairly insignificant. Their lives are overshadowed by events that seem to be more earth-shaking -- politics, battles, and the discoveries of philosophers or wizards. Their missions require them to rid themselves of the things that would seem to assure victory -- for Frodo to destroy the ring of power and for Christ the kenosis, the "emptying," of Philippians 2:5-11. For both there is the temptation instead to seize hold of an obvious guarantee of victory, and resistance to that temptation means suffering.
Tolkien's story is about more than the mission of the ring bearer. I've emphasized that that is where the crucial world-saving action takes place, but all the other characters and their actions are far from irrelevant. Friendships must be forged, plans must be made, evildoers must be subdued, songs must be sung, and cities and lands must be restored. Those are not the things that determine the fate of the world, but in a sense they arethe world. The Lord of the Ringsis not a gnostic redeemer myth in which people are saved from the world, but the story of salvation of the world.
And at this point in film history there is another point that may be useful: We are still in the middle of the mission. The current movie ends with Frodo still on the way to Mordor, still weighed down by the burden of the ring. Battles have been fought and won, but the war for Middle Earth isn't over. And after the celebration of Christmas, we have to remind ourselves that that was just the beginning of the mission of Christ. In the weeks ahead our lessons will tell us of his manifestation to the world, and then he will "set his face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 10:51).
Having set out some of the parallels between the sending of Christ and the mission of the ring bearer, it's important to point out that the idea of reading Tolkien's epic from a Christian standpoint, and even using it as homiletical material, is hardly new. The Lord of the Ringswas first published in America in 1965 and immediately became very popular. It was clear that it was more than a mere adventure story (though it is that).
The book's author, an Oxford professor of Anglo-Saxon, was a quite conservative Roman Catholic who took his faith very seriously. He always insisted that The Lord of the Ringswas not an allegory like Pilgrim's Progress, with the ring standing for one thing, the hobbits another, and so forth. Nevertheless, the whole structure of the work and many of its details are certainly influenced by Tolkien's Christian worldview.The imagery of light and darkness, for example, that pervades the work reminds us of the Gospel of John. It is not surprising that theologians who have been interested in ?gstory preaching?h in recent decades have often been influenced by Tolkien?fs work.One of my Immediate Word colleagues has included a sermon based on the first Rings movie and another has provided some support material (see below).
There are at least a couple of ways in which a preacher might use the parallel between the mission of the ring bearer and the sending of Christ on this Sunday. The most ambitious would be to develop a story sermon. One might, for example, use a kind of stripped-down and condensed version of The Lord of the Ringsthat focuses on the mission of Frodo and leaves out most of the surrounding epic. The preacher will need to have read the book in order for this to work. Others who have read it, or seen the first two films, will recognize the story but, if the condensation is done well, it will also seize the interest of those who aren't familiar with Tolkien's work.
Or you might work out a different short story involving the elements of mission, rejection of the obvious source of power, and the ongoing temptation to use that source. The "ring bearer" might, for example, be a scientist who has made some discovery that might have revolutionary military applications. (Some people have thought that the Ring of Power was supposed to stand for the atomic bomb, though Tolkien himself said that he had not had that equation in mind.)
With either of these possibilities, the story should be tied clearly to the "sending" of the Galatians text. And if the congregation has not heard story sermons before, it's probably a good idea at the beginning of the service to tell your hearers briefly what you'll be doing. Otherwise some people may be rather baffled.
On the other hand, one might use the movie as essentially an illustration of the Galatians text. This will work best if the congregation is one in which a lot of people are likely to have seen the film.
Or the preacher who has seen the movie, and especially those who may be more deeply interested in Tolkien's work, may simply try to let their understanding of this epic inform the way in which the sending of Christ is described. This latter topic, which ultimately requires some serious trinitarian reflection,needs to be presented in a way that avoids dry theologizing.
And there is a somewhat different theme that might be pursued. It is easy for ordinary Christians to think that what they do is of little importance in comparison with the work of weapons inspectors in Iraq, soldiers in Afghanistan, senators in Washington, and scientists exploring the human genome. But if the mission of Christ is really the central -- though often hidden -- theme of history, then perhaps the simple things we do as we try to follow the example of Christ are more important than they seem. Maybe the word of consolation or encouragement, the time spent at the food pantry, or the decision not to get even have a significance we can't see. Perhaps the preacher can be reminded that as Christ is proclaimed, he continues to go forth in the power of the Spirit to redeem those who are to become God's children.
Notes
For discussion of this important passage see Gordon D. Fee, Paul's Letter to the Philippians(Eerdmans, 1995), 191-229.
See, e.g., Lewis H. Lapham, "Furor Teutonicus: The Teutoburg Forest, A.D. 9" in Robert Cowley (ed.), What If? (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1999), 57-60.
Some Christians were offended by the film The Last Temptation of Christ, based on Nikos Kazantzakis' novel of that name, and there certainly were some things that could be criticized about the movie. But its basic theme of the reality of Christ's temptations and the idea that the last one was the temptation to come down from the cross are profoundly right.
One discussion is Clyde S. Kilby, "Mythic and Christian Elements in Tolkien" in Myth Allegory and Gospel(Bethany Fellowship), 1974, 119-143.
E.g., Richard A. Jensen, Telling the Story(Augsburg, 1980).
E.g., Jurgen Moltmann, The Trinity and the Kingdom(Harper & Row, 1981), Chapter III.
Team Comments
Carlos Wilton responds: Nicely done, George. I especially like your ending, as you connect with the situations of worshipers who are, in their own way and according to their own sense of calling, seeking to be faithful in unspectacular but important ways.
Carter Shelley responds: I see many connections between George's work and The Lord of the Rings. Herod fits easily into the evil category and Frodo to the category of innocent and struggling against the forces of evil. The temptations of Jesus are a helpful reminder that it wasn't easier for Jesus than the rest of us to remain a child of light.
I am planning to use George's insights and some of my own, particularly the theme of light and darkness, hope and despair, and the contrast between the innocent, vulnerable babe born in a manger and the dangerous and treacherous King Herod afraid of losing his power and willing to sacrifice his humanity to do it. We are all born into the world with the potential for goodness and for evil (can you tell I'm a Calvinist?). It's what we do with that potential and in whose name we act and serve that determines who we become.
A Sermon Using The Lord the Rings
Fellowship of the King
By Carlos E. Wilton
"But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;
God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong..."
-- 1 Corinthians 1:27
Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
The first time I read those words, I had just become a teenager. They offered me a portal into a new and fascinating world, a world of fantasy. It was a world where the good were good and the evil were truly evil. Not that the good didn't have their flaws, of course -- but they somehow managed to win the battle within themselves and triumph in the end.
Many of you recognize those words too, I'm sure. They come from J.R.R. Tolkien's classic trilogy of novels, The Lord of the Rings. And how could you not know, in these days before Christmas, that they also herald the coming of a long-awaited Hollywood movie?
What's nearly lost amidst all the hype is the fact that J.R.R. Tolkien, who started off this whole phenomenon, was a deeply committed Christian. A professor of ancient languages at Oxford University, he was close friends with a colleague in the English department, C.S. Lewis -- whose name you may know as one of the greatest apologists for Christianity in modern times.
Tolkien was a shy man, who began writing his first novel, The Hobbit, as a story for his own children. Little did he know that this would lead to a greater effort on his part, The Lord of the Rings; and that those three books, in turn, would make him almost a cult figure by the 1960s. He never quite knew what to do with those hippies who would show up on the doorstep of his home outside Oxford, looking for the man who had given them hobbits and elves and magical rings of power.
Such is the power of story in our lives. Read a good novel, or watch a thrilling movie, and you enter into a world that seems, somehow, to have a life of its own. Tonight we've come to hear, once again, a small but beloved chapter of the greatest story of them all -- only this tale is no mere fantasy. It is truth. It is thetruth.
J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were once talking with each other about truth and fantasy, and Tolkien said something to his friend Lewis that I think is very significant. He said that, yes, the Christian story is a myth, like other great myths. It is a spiritual story that holds within itself the values of the people who tell it, and which points them beyond the things of this world to things spiritual. The difference with Christianity, Tolkien said to Lewis, is that it is "a truemyth."
Jesus really lived. He taught and healed. He led people to God. In the end, he went to the cross, then astounded friends and enemies alike by returning from the dead. The world has never been the same since.
When J.R.R. Tolkien set out to write his own myth, a tale of the land he calls "Middle-Earth," he knew he wasn't replacing the great story of Christianity. Rather, he was constructing another story that's parallel in some ways. For running as a deep and powerful current underneath The Lord of the Ringsare themes and ideas that come straight out of the Christian story. They're hidden -- but not so hidden that you can't find them.
Not all of you have read these books, or read them recently -- nor have all of you seen the movie -- so let me take a moment to set the scene.
A mysterious darkness has descended over the lands of Middle-Earth. Hobbits -- furry-footed little half-sized people who live in a land of rolling green farmland called "The Shire" -- have been noticing that mysterious "black riders" are lurking about, searching for something.
What they are searching for is a magical ring, a ring of power -- the "one ring to rule them all" of the poem I quoted at the beginning. Not only does whoever wears this ring become invisible, but he or she enters into a sort of parallel world where evil forces can quickly overcome the mind. The wearer of the ring of power can pop into and out of sight at will, and also stops aging, so as to live forever; but that person's mind will quickly be seduced by the power of evil. Those who dare to wear the ring are no longer Lord over it, but the ring is Lord over them.
But back to the Shire. The good wizard Gandalf entrusts the ring to the hobbit Frodo. He becomes the ring-bearer -- not the one who wears it, but the one who carries it, on a chain around his neck, to the distant volcano that is the only place where it can be destroyed -- or, as Tolkien says it, "unmade."
Around Frodo are gathered a company of nine fellow travelers: three additional hobbits, an elf, a dwarf, a man, and the wizard Gandalf himself. This unlikely band of traveling companions must somehow get Frodo to the place where the ring can be unmade before the creeping cloud of evil can destroy Middle-Earth.
This is no mean trick, for everyone who comes close to the ring, which has been missing for 2,000 years, covets it. The longer a person carries the ring, the more deeply he or she comes to desire it -- and to distrust others, fearing that they are after the ring too. The hobbit Frodo has tremendous strength of mind, but also a kind of innocence. He too is affected by the ring's seductive power, but of all the members of the Fellowship of the Ring, he is the only one with any hope of getting it to Mount Doom, where it can be destroyed.
I like to think of the ring in The Lord of the Ringsas symbolic of our human nature -- and in particular, that part of our human nature that leads us to sin. There's a part of you and me that imagines we can beat sin on our own terms -- that, like a moth, we can flutter close to the fire without getting burned. Sin is seductive that way. It whispers into the ear, as the serpent in that oldest tale of all whispered to Eve in the Garden. Sin tells lies; that's its nature. (The Bible calls Satan "the father of lies.") Sin promises you and me that we can have everything we ever wanted, and that it will cost us nothing.
Do any of us have the inner strength to bear our sinful human nature completely on our own? Are any of us able to live our lives with absolutely no faith and with no God? Dare any of us slide the ring of power onto our finger and risk falling under its spell?
What we need is a ring-bearer: someone pure and innocent ... someone small and insignificant, living perhaps in an out-of-the-way place ... something whom the seething eye of evil is not likely to notice, or once it has noticed, to take seriously. What you and I need is someone to take our sin upon himself and bear it to the place where it can be destroyed.
Friends, the good news of Christmas is that you and I have such a person. He is neither wonder-working wizard nor warrior-king. He is neither general, nor president, nor media hero. He is "a child, wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."
Only he has the power to bear this burden of sin and death all the way to its destination. As the child grows older, he will feel the dreadful weight of the burden he's called to bear. The devil will take him out into the wilderness and offer him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time ... the power to turn stones into bread ... the power never to die. But Jesus will reject those treasures. Even at the last, when he's kneeling in prayer in a garden -- not Eden this time, but Gethsemane -- he will implore, "Take this cup away from me." Yet when everything is said and done, he will drink it. He will give up his own life, that others may come to know life abundant.
Listen to these words of J.R.R. Tolkien, as he describes the journey of the hobbit Frodo:
The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.
The eyes of the great -- the eyes of King Herod in his princely palace -- are upon three richly clothed travelers from the East. These three have come seeking "a child born King of the Jews." And so Herod, shrewd as ever, directs them to Bethlehem, the royal city from of old -- instructing his spies to watch out for the arrival of these three among the homes of the rich and famous. Herod never dreams these wise men will discover the child they're seeking not in a palace, but in a stable.
The apostle Paul has it exactly right:
God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
When Joseph learns that his betrothed, Mary, is to have a child, the angel tells him this boy will be called Emmanuel, "God with us." How many of us have come to this place thinking exactly the opposite? It's so easy to come in here, sit down, and say, "Look at us -- we're with God! We're not like those godless, materialistic hordes who trek up and down the shopping mall, but never darken the church door. We're not like those poor, misguided souls who miss the spiritual nature of this holiday, who think it's all about Frosty and Rudolph and the Grinch -- oh, and by the way, Jesus too. We've got it! We're the ones -- we know how to put Christ back into Christmas!"
I've got news for you: we don't need to put Christ back into Christmas, because he never left. It's not nearly so important that we're with God, as that God is with us. Without that lowly, insignificant child, born in a manger, you and I would be, even now, slaves to dark powers, destructive powers whose influence we can only imagine.
For he is our sin-bearer. His journey to destroy that dreadful burden is no longer before him; it is completed. On Calvary, he cast the golden ring of power into the very Crack of Doom itself. The residual shock-waves of Evil's destruction are still with us, but their power is waning.
What you and I are, gathered here tonight, is the Fellowship not of the Ring, but of the King. The ring, symbol of our slavery to sin, is no more; what remains is the King, the one who has accomplished his quest, whom God has now exalted to the heavenly places. It is him we honor, in worship. It is him we praise, in the singing of carols. It is him we are privileged to serve, in gratitude and in love.
Related Illustrations
Christianity does not buy black magic or the occult, but it does teach that, on the cross, the powers of evil were beaten, once and for all. Some remnants of evil are still active in the world, but they're fighting what is, essentially, a last-ditch, rear-guard action. God's victory is near.
The great Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton had a similar view. In a chapter in his famous book Orthodoxy, called "The Ethics of Elfland," Chesterton claims that his own journey to Christian faith began with his childhood fascination with fairy tales. As one commentator has summed up Chesterton's views on the subject:
From fairy tales he learned that the world is precious but puzzling, coherent but mysterious, full of unseen connections and decisive truths. The fantasy tales taught him that the world is "a wild and startling place, which might have been quite different, but which is quite delightful." In their own way, the Harry Potter books are teaching that lesson too.
(Editorial, "Wizards and Muggles," in The Christian Century, December 1, 1999, 1155.)
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Key points in Reinhold Niebuhr's Children of Light and Children of Darknessthat are pertinent to The Lord of the Ringsand to Jesus of Nazareth's incarnation and salvation:
1)
naiveté about humans by humanist and Christian liberals leads to their being unprepared for the evil and power of children of darkness (such as Hitler)
2)
people in groups and institutions are without conscience and capable of committing evil acts they never would entertain as individuals (genocide, torture, etc.)
3)
the "good" must acknowledge the power of the "bad"
4)
it is not possible to name or control evil in others or one's self without acknowledging its power.
Although Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic raised and educated by a priest after he was orphaned at a young age, his Lord of the Ringspresents a Calvinist view of good and evil, right and wrong, free will. "The inner fantasy of these works throbs with grace."
Support Materials
By Carter Shelley
CHARACTERISTICS OF FAIRY TALES
1)
Stories that take place in a secondary world in which nature is alive in a nearly human way and the laws that govern men and nature are not the same as ours. For example, animals may talk, magic may happen, and people come back to life or live extraordinarily long lives.
2)
Heroes tend to be the small and weak: the youngest brothers or sisters; people who are thought to be dullards possessing virtues that make it possible to overcome the strong and powerful: good nature, kindness, cunning, and quickness.
3)
Good and Evil are presented in black and white
4)
Simple, linear structure to the tale. There's a chronological order for episodes and a repetition of incidents in order to have three wishes, three tasks, etc. Sometimes there are refrains that are repeated:
Little pig, little pig, let me come in.
Not by the hair of your chinny chin, chin.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MYTH OR LEGEND
1)
Hero tends to be godlike, if not a god. We know we can't be like him or identify with him. We don't try to be like him.
2)
Christianity based on God in humankind: Jesus of Nazareth so imitation is possible as well as emulation.
Tolkien began to write his sequel to The Hobbitin 1936, which his publishers hoped would be another children's book, it actually did not appear in print until 1954-55, and its audience was not strictly children. It is an epic fantasy in three volumes. Each volume contains two books which trace the adventures of Bilbo's nephew Frodo and his friends as they struggle to beat back and destroy the evil Sauron and to restore peace to Middle-Earth.
Theme -- again good vs. evil, but it's more complex, because it entertains the idea that a range of goods as well as a range of evils is possible in the world
Both The Hobbitand The Lord of the Ringspresent the vision of the whole life of man as a QUEST
Quests are marked by two great events:
The coming of adulthood with all the rights and privileges
The coming of death
The Hobbit deals with the first half; it's sunny and comical
The Lord of the Ringstakes the hero completely through the cycle to the point of his essentially sacrificial death
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
coming to adulthood
coming to adulthood and death
common, ordinary folk
higher social order
elves silly and nonsense
elves glorious, responsible, poetic
affairs of humans not important
affairs of humans get half of book time
quest as personal & individual
quest as individual & social, broad issues
issues
languages reflect and create culture
"Each language represents centuries of tragic efforts on the part of human beings to find an adequate expression for their feelings and thoughts about the universe. Indeed, every language is a unique mirror of the landscape, of the air, of the sky -- of all the natural surroundings in which it has developed." (Waclaw Lednicki)
FAIRY TALE
Similarities:
vision of life as a quest
dialectical structure with a world of happiness, security, peace vs. world of humiliation, loneliness, and pain
cyclical pattern that depicts a movement from the bright world into the dark one and back again
MYTH
more majestic
more spiritual
more concerned with life as it ought to be lived than as it could be.
"A myth, like a fairy tale, may express an inner conflict in symbolic form and suggest how it may be solved -- but this is not necessarily the myth's central concern. . . [In myths] the divine is present and is experienced in the form of superhuman heroes who make constant demands on mere mortals. Much as we, the mortals, may strive to be like these heroes, we will remain always obviously inferior to them." (Bruno Bettelheim)
The Lord of the Ringsoccupies a medial ground between fairy tale and myth. Superhuman heroes are present in the form of the elves and wizards, but the main focus is on the fortunes of men and hobbits. Social issues and hierarchical social structure mark it as having mythical concerns as well.
The emergence of these heroes in Tolkien's second work mirrors his growing preoccupation with his own myth of a golden age.
The Lord of the Ringsis not a golden age story; it is the story of a lull in the decline of a world that already looks back to a golden age and mourns its lost grandeur and nobility.
The inevitability of man's death is one of the most important facts of his existence. The heroic men of the trilogy occupy a medial position between the everyman heroes, Bilbo of The Hobbit,and the divine heroes of the golden age.
Hierarchy of Hobbit hero possibilities
Frodo- not stronger or braver than other hobbits
terrified of taking risks and succumbs to the ring
enough of a hero to meet situations he encounters:
commitment to the quest
selfless love for companions
feels pity for Gollum and Saruman
accomplishes by sacrifice what can't accomplish by strength
capable of carrying on when there is no hope
Frodo's heroic qualities:
1) reverence for the past and its values
2) willingness to sacrifice himself to preserve those things he values
3) courage that transcends mere physical bravery -- he feels the fear, acknowledges it, and then does what he has to do. In Middle-Earth the shame is not in losing hope but in letting despair immobilize one. Instead of giving in or giving up to despair, Tolkien's heroes must continually move forward. Tolkien's heroes are partially the traditional conquering hero, but they are preeminently suffering heroes who persevere.
4) These heroes are also merciful. In The Lord of the Rings mercy seems to mean the refusal to accept any being's less than perfect state as his essential nature. Justice would pay each according to what he might do -- according to the ideal. The evil ones fail to live up to the inherent good in themselves. Mercy is a creative act, it leaves the possibilities for a re-creation of the self open, as does any healing process.
5) The ability to feel pity separates heroes from villains (pity = piety-- Pity in the general sense of "a feeling of compassion" did not exist as separate from its specific religious sense of piety until well after 1600: until then the ability to feel pity was a mark of piety)
6) Selfless in their love for their companions. Illustrates the power of love freely given over slavery and fear.
EVIL
1) Evil is closely associated with the quest for power and ultimate control -- control over being
2) Evil is destructive. Won't create, but will destroy. Won't set free, will enslave. Won't heal, will harm. The desire of Sauron to make everything in Middle-Earth less than it is capable of being is clear in his repeated threats to "break" captives, in the ruined and desolate lands that were once fertile and productive.
3) Evil is enduring. Sauron's title, The Lord of the Rings, also suggests the enduring quality of evil, the quality that makes a final victory impossible. Evil can be temporarily defeated, it can be set back, but it cannot be finally removed from the world.
4) Evil is insidious -- the good characters can be influenced by the evil of the ring and of other people and events as well. Tolkien suggests that every man contains the seeds of evil and that the seeds may be brought to germination by exposure to evil -- the Ring is inherently evil because it was born of evil and cannot be made good. Frodo is in danger not only of his physical life but his spiritual life when he gets the ring---The ultimate defeat in The Lord of the Ringsis not simply to lose the battle with evil, but to become incorporated into it.
5) He believes that evil must conquer or be conquered. Tolkien is dealing with the concept that man as a creature is strong enough to stand but free to fall. He does not believe that evil can be transformed into good.
EVIL'S WEAKNESSES
lack of imagination -- can't imagine what it's like to be good
everything is imitative or derivative, nothing is original
the Free People creative in evocation or celebration of nature
the servants of the Dark Lord create in an industrial mode which intends to distinguish among parts of the world by setting some elements above others
the Free People produce from Love, Morgul production results from Hatred
SOURCES
Christian Mythmakers: C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L'Engle, J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, G.K. Chesterton & Others by Rolland Hein
Tolkien: Man and Myth, A Literary Life by Joseph Pearce
The Lord of the Rings: The Mythology of Power by Jane Chance
"Traveling the one road: The Lord of the Ringsas a Pre-Christian Epic Fantasy"
Vol. 110, Issue 6, p 208, copyright Christian Century Foundation, Feb. 24, 1993
The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness: A Vindication of Democracy and a Critique of its Traditional Defense by Reinhold Niebuhr
Tolkien section in Something about the AuthorVol. 32
Tolkien section in Dictionary of Literary Biography
Worship Resources
By Chuck Cammarata
CALL TO WORSHIP
LEADER: He lies like a rag doll in the corner of his crib.
PEOPLE: CURLS RING HIS HEAD.
LEADER: Little huffs and puffs,
PEOPLE: WIGGLES AND ROLLS,
LEADER: Unconscious smiles and coos.
PEOPLE: HE IS MY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE BOY.
LEADER: And as I watch a smile comes to my face.
PEOPLE: AND ALL THE DIFFICULTY OF LIFE,
LEADER: All of the pain,
PEOPLE: ALL OF THE DARKNESS AND DREAD
LEADER: Fade away in the light of this little life.
PEOPLE: DARKNESS AND DEATH MAY BE REAL,
LEADER: But they are overcome
PEOPLE: BY THE POWER OF THE LIFE OF THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM.
LEADER: Let us praise the God who sent him.
PEOPLE: AMEN.
For a more traditional call to worship, try this:
LEADER: In the beginning was the Word,
PEOPLE: AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD,
LEADER: And the word was God.
PEOPLE: HE WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD.
LEADER: And all things were made through him,
PEOPLE: AND WITHOUT HIM NOTHING WAS MADE.
LEADER: In him was life, and the life was light for humanity.
PEOPLE: AND THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS,
LEADER: But the darkness shall not overcome it.
PEOPLE: LET US PRAISE THE ONE WHO IS LIGHT!
LEADER: Amen.
Additionally, you might use a symbolic action type call to worship -- something like this:
A few months ago a friend in the church suggested that we really get people's attention at the start of the service by beginning with a trumpet blast. We did it. He dressed in robes and entered the sanctuary while people were still visiting with one another. He slowly raised his trumpet to his lips and let out a blast -- da-da-da-daaa! People got quiet. He did it again, then lowered his instrument and announced, "The King is here. Let us worship." He then exited as our organist began playing the opening hymn. We used "Great Is the Lord," but anything celebrating God's power and majesty would work.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
LEADER: For knowing that death is defeated,
PEOPLE: BUT LIVING IN ITS SHADOW.
LEADER: For knowing that the light has come,
PEOPLE: BUT CHOOSING BLINDNESS.
LEADER: For knowing that we are more than victors in Christ,
PEOPLE: BUT LIVING AS THE DEFEATED.
LEADER: Lord, forgive us that our lives are no match for our beliefs.
PEOPLE: AND SHOW US THE WAY
LEADER: To the place where words and lives are in harmony.
PEOPLE: AMEN.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
LEADER: Father, we feel so small up against the darkness.
PEOPLE: THE PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS
LEADER: Make us shake with fear.
PEOPLE: WHO ARE WE TO STAND AGAINST THEM?
LEADER: What can we do?
PEOPLE: WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN WE MAKE?
LEADER: Forgive us for living in fear of powers that are no powers at all.
PEOPLE: MAY WE KEEP OUR EYES ON JESUS,
LEADER: And be filled with the confidence that in Christ we are more than conquerors.
PEOPLE: IN THE NAME OF JESUS WE PRAY.
LEADER: Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
LEADER: God. The ultimate being.
PEOPLE: CREATOR.
LEADER: The one who knows all things,
PEOPLE: SEES ALL THINGS,
LEADER: Rules all things,
PEOPLE: SUSTAINS ALL THINGS.
LEADER: And this God loves us.
PEOPLE: LET US REJOICE!
LEADER: God is above all!
PEOPLE: AND GOD IS GOOD.
HYMNS
Victory in Jesus
Greater Is He That Is in Me
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Musician Michael Kelly Blanchard has written a song entitled "Love Lives On." The lyrics are marvelous to use liturgically as a reading, or it could be used as part of a sermon. The lyrics are printed here by permission of Michael Blanchard.
There is this little girl
Playing on a neighbor's back lawn
An oriental pearl smuggled from some night to this dawn
So beautiful and small, so precious to behold
Though nations rise and fall, the truth does not grow old
And I see her as a seed,
From two lost refugees, who later died at sea
But love lived on
(Chorus)
Love lives on, if there's one thing that I know love lives on
The only legacy we show, love lives on.
Though our hope be set adrift
And our faith a faded wreath
And our history seems a myth merely mocking our belief
Love lives on
There was this friend of mine, so sick he could not move
Just dying on the vine, and O so very little we could do
His lover standing by
Frozen in her grief
Just bracing for goodbye
And praying for relief
And then one day he died,
And the suffering and the sighs were gone, but to our surprise
Love lived on
(Chorus)
There was this holy man, so old and almost God
Who while praying head in hands
Heard a child crying out like a song
And rushing to the babe, he drew him to his breast
"Sad world," he cried, "You're saved. Now I can take my rest."
And the tears ran down his face
Joy and sorrow interlaced
"O God, O God, such grace!"
O love lives on.
(Chorus)
PASTORAL PRAYER
A good emphasis on this last Sunday of the year -- especially if the year was a tough on your congregation as it was on ours -- might be to name some of the difficulties of the past year specifically. Name names. Speak of jobs lost, spouses lost, financial crises, confessed moral failures, whatever might have happened, and then pray your way from the troubles to the victory that began to be unfolded in the manger of Bethlehem.
Naming specifics gives a much greater sense of actual victory. Talking in generalities often leaves people with the sense that we are just talking about other people out there somewhere. Name their pain, and proclaim the victory, maybe not yet fully realized -- but real nonetheless -- in Jesus Christ.
Children's Sermon
By Wesley Runk
Galatians 4: 4-7
Text: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children." (vv. 4-5)
Object: Pictures of the The Two Towerscharacters including a blowup of Frodo. (One source is . Another is .)
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever heard of Frodo? (let them answer) Have any of you seen the movie The Two Towers, the second Lord of the Ringsmovie? (let them answer) Many of you have heard of Frodo, and I suppose most of you will see the movie at some time or another. It is an exciting story about heroes and bad guys. I brought along some pictures of the people in the movies and each of you can have a copy if you would like one.
I don't know if Frodo thought he would be a hero, but he seemed destined to do right and try to save his people by destroying the Ring in Mordor. Frodo and his eight companions struggled against all of the evil ones until he overcame The Cracks of Doom.
It was quite an adventure.
The Bible is also filled with adventures and there are many heroes. But of all the heroes there is only one person who is the greatest of all. We call him the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Most people did not pay any attention to the baby that was born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary. A few shepherds and some travelers from the East came to a manger. The innkeeper did not even think this baby was important enough to have a room in his inn. But what the rest of the world did not know was that God had sent himself into the world in a human form. This was a real baby boy -- but a very special child. God even told Mary to name him Jesus. God also told Mary that Jesus would become someone so special that at the very mention of his name people would fall to their knees and praise his name.
Jesus came to destroy the evil in the world so that people like you and me would not have to live in fear of evil things and evil people. God knew that Jesus would be the greatest hero of all. From the very beginning Jesus knew that someday he would die for your sins and my sins so that we would be one with God.
The story in The Two Towerstells us how good heroes win over bad people. Sometimes it seems like the bad people are stronger and have all the weapons to make good people afraid. But Frodo shows us how a good heart filled with love is stronger than all of the evil in the world.
Jesus is greater even than Frodo. His goodness is more powerful than the strongest wickedness. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. When we hear his name we bow on our knees and thank God for his great courage and his wonderful love. When we choose imaginary heroes it is good to choose someone like Frodo. But when we need the real thing it is great to know that because we love Jesus he has chosen us to be his brothers and sisters now and forever.
The Immediate Word, December 29, 2002, issue.
Copyright 2002 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
Whether or not you've seen The Two Towers, the new Lord of the Rings movie, you can bet a fair number of your parishioners have, especially (but not limited to) the teens and young adults. The late J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of the books on which the Rings movies are based, was a Christian, and wrote Christian themes into his books. This new Rings movie provides a good opportunity to talk about the mission of Christ, using the movie as a starting point.
So for this installment of The Immediate Word, we have asked team member George Murphy, who is a pastor, a scientist, and an author who has written about the role of religion in science fiction and fantasy, to discuss the movie and the possible sermonic connections it affords, using the week's lectionary text from Galatians as a basis.
There are also team comments, worship resources and a children's sermon. And this week, we also include some support materials on the Rings trilogy as well as a sermon by Carlos Wilton, written last year when the first of the three Rings movies was released.
The Two Towers and the Prince of Peace and Light
By George L. Murphy
Galatians 4:4-7
It's no secret to clergy that church attendance is generally low on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year's. But this year, thanks to Hollywood's practice of releasing blockbuster (they hope) movies during the holiday season, there may be a way to catch the attention of people for a sermon on the First Sunday after Christmas, especially if you can announce your sermon topic ahead of time. The Two Towers, the second film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, provides some intriguing parallels that can help to illumine the Second Lesson for this Sunday, Galatians 4:4-7.
In the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, the hobbit Frodo started out with his companions on a mission to destroy the One Ring, which years before had happened into the possession of his uncle. This was the ring into which, thousands of years ago, the Dark Lord Sauron had placed much of his power, and Middle Earth would be doomed if he recovered it. The hobbits in the fellowship have no great physical strength or wisdom, and are accompanied by more powerful humans and other beings. But it is the task of the "halfling" Frodo to reach Mount Doom in the land of Mordor and cast the ruling ring into its fires.
Now, as the second film begins, Frodo and the hobbit Sam have been separated from their companions and must travel to Mount Doom alone -- though they are alternately stalked and led by the pitiful creature Gollum, who once possessed the ring and is consumed by desire for it. And Frodo more and more feels the lure that the ring is exerting on himself. There is a growing temptation to put the ring on, to use its powers.
Tremendous battles rage through Middle Earth as humans, elves and dwarves fight against the hordes of evil. Those who are fascinated by "action movies" will love the elaborate battle scenes and special effects in The Two Towers. They may even be bored by the parts in which the quite ordinary ring bearer struggles through the wilderness and struggles for his own soul. But that is just where it may be most helpful to explore a connection with the biblical text.
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children" (Galatians 4:4-5). Nothing in Paul's letters indicates that he knew anything about the details of Jesus' birth. Here he draws our attention to the "sending" of Christ, of which his birth is only one part. As a reading for the Christmas season, this helps us to focus on the redemptive purpose of the birth of Christ. (Of course, this was not absent from texts for Christmas Eve and Christmas such as Titus 2:13 and Luke 2:11 with their "savior" language.)
The language of "sending" suggests the pre-existence of the one sent, a belief that Paul certainly expresses in Philippians 2:5-11.The one who is sent is the one who ?gwas in the form of God,?h the one whom later theology would speak of as the eternal Second Person of the Trinity. We cannot then think of this mission for the redemption of the world as one in which a child is sent to do an adult?fs job.
But he was "born of a woman, born under the law," born as all of us are and under the conditions of a fully human life in an occupied territory in the Roman Empire some two thousand years ago. As an adult he got a good deal of attention locally, but he certainly created no big stir on the world stage. We have no evidence that any Roman emperor or prominent Greek philosopher ever heard of him until decades later when the Christian church had begun to grow.
What was the major historical event that happened 2,000 years ago? As far as anybody could tell then, it certainly wasn't the birth of some obscure Jewish baby. The annihilation of three Roman legions by the Germans in the Teutoburg forest in A.D. 9 seemed vastly more significant -- an event that stopped the expansion of the empire and has had a tremendous historical impact even down to our own day.All the battles and palace intrigues during Jesus?f life quite overshadowed him.
Jesus was not simply God disguised as a human but the Word who "became flesh" -- and there sarxmeans not some idealized humanity but our real human nature with all its weakness and frailty. And yet he was the one sent to save the world. He was the only one who couldsave the world.
Jesus is involved in conflict during his ministry, but his major activity is not one of achieving an obvious victory over external forces. Paradoxically, his mission is to get to Mount Calvary to die! But he is pictured in the gospels as involved in a very human struggle to remain faithful to his mission.
That is seen most clearly in the stories of Jesus' temptations -- which should be seen as real temptations, not simply a charade that God goes through.He is tempted to use his power for his own advantage, to test God, to rule the world, and finally to abandon the way of suffering by coming down from the cross. (Note in Matthew 27:40 the echo of ?gIf you are the Son of God?h from 4:1-11.) As a real human being Jesus would have liked to satisfy his hunger, know for sure that God would protect him, have the power to do good in the world -- and avoid suffering and death (Mark 14:36 and parallels, Hebrews 5:7).
Some similarities between this mission of Christ and that of the ring bearer can hardly be missed. Both are to be carried out by individuals who, as far as their appearance to the world is concerned, are fairly insignificant. Their lives are overshadowed by events that seem to be more earth-shaking -- politics, battles, and the discoveries of philosophers or wizards. Their missions require them to rid themselves of the things that would seem to assure victory -- for Frodo to destroy the ring of power and for Christ the kenosis, the "emptying," of Philippians 2:5-11. For both there is the temptation instead to seize hold of an obvious guarantee of victory, and resistance to that temptation means suffering.
Tolkien's story is about more than the mission of the ring bearer. I've emphasized that that is where the crucial world-saving action takes place, but all the other characters and their actions are far from irrelevant. Friendships must be forged, plans must be made, evildoers must be subdued, songs must be sung, and cities and lands must be restored. Those are not the things that determine the fate of the world, but in a sense they arethe world. The Lord of the Ringsis not a gnostic redeemer myth in which people are saved from the world, but the story of salvation of the world.
And at this point in film history there is another point that may be useful: We are still in the middle of the mission. The current movie ends with Frodo still on the way to Mordor, still weighed down by the burden of the ring. Battles have been fought and won, but the war for Middle Earth isn't over. And after the celebration of Christmas, we have to remind ourselves that that was just the beginning of the mission of Christ. In the weeks ahead our lessons will tell us of his manifestation to the world, and then he will "set his face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 10:51).
Having set out some of the parallels between the sending of Christ and the mission of the ring bearer, it's important to point out that the idea of reading Tolkien's epic from a Christian standpoint, and even using it as homiletical material, is hardly new. The Lord of the Ringswas first published in America in 1965 and immediately became very popular. It was clear that it was more than a mere adventure story (though it is that).
The book's author, an Oxford professor of Anglo-Saxon, was a quite conservative Roman Catholic who took his faith very seriously. He always insisted that The Lord of the Ringswas not an allegory like Pilgrim's Progress, with the ring standing for one thing, the hobbits another, and so forth. Nevertheless, the whole structure of the work and many of its details are certainly influenced by Tolkien's Christian worldview.The imagery of light and darkness, for example, that pervades the work reminds us of the Gospel of John. It is not surprising that theologians who have been interested in ?gstory preaching?h in recent decades have often been influenced by Tolkien?fs work.One of my Immediate Word colleagues has included a sermon based on the first Rings movie and another has provided some support material (see below).
There are at least a couple of ways in which a preacher might use the parallel between the mission of the ring bearer and the sending of Christ on this Sunday. The most ambitious would be to develop a story sermon. One might, for example, use a kind of stripped-down and condensed version of The Lord of the Ringsthat focuses on the mission of Frodo and leaves out most of the surrounding epic. The preacher will need to have read the book in order for this to work. Others who have read it, or seen the first two films, will recognize the story but, if the condensation is done well, it will also seize the interest of those who aren't familiar with Tolkien's work.
Or you might work out a different short story involving the elements of mission, rejection of the obvious source of power, and the ongoing temptation to use that source. The "ring bearer" might, for example, be a scientist who has made some discovery that might have revolutionary military applications. (Some people have thought that the Ring of Power was supposed to stand for the atomic bomb, though Tolkien himself said that he had not had that equation in mind.)
With either of these possibilities, the story should be tied clearly to the "sending" of the Galatians text. And if the congregation has not heard story sermons before, it's probably a good idea at the beginning of the service to tell your hearers briefly what you'll be doing. Otherwise some people may be rather baffled.
On the other hand, one might use the movie as essentially an illustration of the Galatians text. This will work best if the congregation is one in which a lot of people are likely to have seen the film.
Or the preacher who has seen the movie, and especially those who may be more deeply interested in Tolkien's work, may simply try to let their understanding of this epic inform the way in which the sending of Christ is described. This latter topic, which ultimately requires some serious trinitarian reflection,needs to be presented in a way that avoids dry theologizing.
And there is a somewhat different theme that might be pursued. It is easy for ordinary Christians to think that what they do is of little importance in comparison with the work of weapons inspectors in Iraq, soldiers in Afghanistan, senators in Washington, and scientists exploring the human genome. But if the mission of Christ is really the central -- though often hidden -- theme of history, then perhaps the simple things we do as we try to follow the example of Christ are more important than they seem. Maybe the word of consolation or encouragement, the time spent at the food pantry, or the decision not to get even have a significance we can't see. Perhaps the preacher can be reminded that as Christ is proclaimed, he continues to go forth in the power of the Spirit to redeem those who are to become God's children.
Notes
For discussion of this important passage see Gordon D. Fee, Paul's Letter to the Philippians(Eerdmans, 1995), 191-229.
See, e.g., Lewis H. Lapham, "Furor Teutonicus: The Teutoburg Forest, A.D. 9" in Robert Cowley (ed.), What If? (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1999), 57-60.
Some Christians were offended by the film The Last Temptation of Christ, based on Nikos Kazantzakis' novel of that name, and there certainly were some things that could be criticized about the movie. But its basic theme of the reality of Christ's temptations and the idea that the last one was the temptation to come down from the cross are profoundly right.
One discussion is Clyde S. Kilby, "Mythic and Christian Elements in Tolkien" in Myth Allegory and Gospel(Bethany Fellowship), 1974, 119-143.
E.g., Richard A. Jensen, Telling the Story(Augsburg, 1980).
E.g., Jurgen Moltmann, The Trinity and the Kingdom(Harper & Row, 1981), Chapter III.
Team Comments
Carlos Wilton responds: Nicely done, George. I especially like your ending, as you connect with the situations of worshipers who are, in their own way and according to their own sense of calling, seeking to be faithful in unspectacular but important ways.
Carter Shelley responds: I see many connections between George's work and The Lord of the Rings. Herod fits easily into the evil category and Frodo to the category of innocent and struggling against the forces of evil. The temptations of Jesus are a helpful reminder that it wasn't easier for Jesus than the rest of us to remain a child of light.
I am planning to use George's insights and some of my own, particularly the theme of light and darkness, hope and despair, and the contrast between the innocent, vulnerable babe born in a manger and the dangerous and treacherous King Herod afraid of losing his power and willing to sacrifice his humanity to do it. We are all born into the world with the potential for goodness and for evil (can you tell I'm a Calvinist?). It's what we do with that potential and in whose name we act and serve that determines who we become.
A Sermon Using The Lord the Rings
Fellowship of the King
By Carlos E. Wilton
"But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;
God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong..."
-- 1 Corinthians 1:27
Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
The first time I read those words, I had just become a teenager. They offered me a portal into a new and fascinating world, a world of fantasy. It was a world where the good were good and the evil were truly evil. Not that the good didn't have their flaws, of course -- but they somehow managed to win the battle within themselves and triumph in the end.
Many of you recognize those words too, I'm sure. They come from J.R.R. Tolkien's classic trilogy of novels, The Lord of the Rings. And how could you not know, in these days before Christmas, that they also herald the coming of a long-awaited Hollywood movie?
What's nearly lost amidst all the hype is the fact that J.R.R. Tolkien, who started off this whole phenomenon, was a deeply committed Christian. A professor of ancient languages at Oxford University, he was close friends with a colleague in the English department, C.S. Lewis -- whose name you may know as one of the greatest apologists for Christianity in modern times.
Tolkien was a shy man, who began writing his first novel, The Hobbit, as a story for his own children. Little did he know that this would lead to a greater effort on his part, The Lord of the Rings; and that those three books, in turn, would make him almost a cult figure by the 1960s. He never quite knew what to do with those hippies who would show up on the doorstep of his home outside Oxford, looking for the man who had given them hobbits and elves and magical rings of power.
Such is the power of story in our lives. Read a good novel, or watch a thrilling movie, and you enter into a world that seems, somehow, to have a life of its own. Tonight we've come to hear, once again, a small but beloved chapter of the greatest story of them all -- only this tale is no mere fantasy. It is truth. It is thetruth.
J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were once talking with each other about truth and fantasy, and Tolkien said something to his friend Lewis that I think is very significant. He said that, yes, the Christian story is a myth, like other great myths. It is a spiritual story that holds within itself the values of the people who tell it, and which points them beyond the things of this world to things spiritual. The difference with Christianity, Tolkien said to Lewis, is that it is "a truemyth."
Jesus really lived. He taught and healed. He led people to God. In the end, he went to the cross, then astounded friends and enemies alike by returning from the dead. The world has never been the same since.
When J.R.R. Tolkien set out to write his own myth, a tale of the land he calls "Middle-Earth," he knew he wasn't replacing the great story of Christianity. Rather, he was constructing another story that's parallel in some ways. For running as a deep and powerful current underneath The Lord of the Ringsare themes and ideas that come straight out of the Christian story. They're hidden -- but not so hidden that you can't find them.
Not all of you have read these books, or read them recently -- nor have all of you seen the movie -- so let me take a moment to set the scene.
A mysterious darkness has descended over the lands of Middle-Earth. Hobbits -- furry-footed little half-sized people who live in a land of rolling green farmland called "The Shire" -- have been noticing that mysterious "black riders" are lurking about, searching for something.
What they are searching for is a magical ring, a ring of power -- the "one ring to rule them all" of the poem I quoted at the beginning. Not only does whoever wears this ring become invisible, but he or she enters into a sort of parallel world where evil forces can quickly overcome the mind. The wearer of the ring of power can pop into and out of sight at will, and also stops aging, so as to live forever; but that person's mind will quickly be seduced by the power of evil. Those who dare to wear the ring are no longer Lord over it, but the ring is Lord over them.
But back to the Shire. The good wizard Gandalf entrusts the ring to the hobbit Frodo. He becomes the ring-bearer -- not the one who wears it, but the one who carries it, on a chain around his neck, to the distant volcano that is the only place where it can be destroyed -- or, as Tolkien says it, "unmade."
Around Frodo are gathered a company of nine fellow travelers: three additional hobbits, an elf, a dwarf, a man, and the wizard Gandalf himself. This unlikely band of traveling companions must somehow get Frodo to the place where the ring can be unmade before the creeping cloud of evil can destroy Middle-Earth.
This is no mean trick, for everyone who comes close to the ring, which has been missing for 2,000 years, covets it. The longer a person carries the ring, the more deeply he or she comes to desire it -- and to distrust others, fearing that they are after the ring too. The hobbit Frodo has tremendous strength of mind, but also a kind of innocence. He too is affected by the ring's seductive power, but of all the members of the Fellowship of the Ring, he is the only one with any hope of getting it to Mount Doom, where it can be destroyed.
I like to think of the ring in The Lord of the Ringsas symbolic of our human nature -- and in particular, that part of our human nature that leads us to sin. There's a part of you and me that imagines we can beat sin on our own terms -- that, like a moth, we can flutter close to the fire without getting burned. Sin is seductive that way. It whispers into the ear, as the serpent in that oldest tale of all whispered to Eve in the Garden. Sin tells lies; that's its nature. (The Bible calls Satan "the father of lies.") Sin promises you and me that we can have everything we ever wanted, and that it will cost us nothing.
Do any of us have the inner strength to bear our sinful human nature completely on our own? Are any of us able to live our lives with absolutely no faith and with no God? Dare any of us slide the ring of power onto our finger and risk falling under its spell?
What we need is a ring-bearer: someone pure and innocent ... someone small and insignificant, living perhaps in an out-of-the-way place ... something whom the seething eye of evil is not likely to notice, or once it has noticed, to take seriously. What you and I need is someone to take our sin upon himself and bear it to the place where it can be destroyed.
Friends, the good news of Christmas is that you and I have such a person. He is neither wonder-working wizard nor warrior-king. He is neither general, nor president, nor media hero. He is "a child, wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."
Only he has the power to bear this burden of sin and death all the way to its destination. As the child grows older, he will feel the dreadful weight of the burden he's called to bear. The devil will take him out into the wilderness and offer him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time ... the power to turn stones into bread ... the power never to die. But Jesus will reject those treasures. Even at the last, when he's kneeling in prayer in a garden -- not Eden this time, but Gethsemane -- he will implore, "Take this cup away from me." Yet when everything is said and done, he will drink it. He will give up his own life, that others may come to know life abundant.
Listen to these words of J.R.R. Tolkien, as he describes the journey of the hobbit Frodo:
The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.
The eyes of the great -- the eyes of King Herod in his princely palace -- are upon three richly clothed travelers from the East. These three have come seeking "a child born King of the Jews." And so Herod, shrewd as ever, directs them to Bethlehem, the royal city from of old -- instructing his spies to watch out for the arrival of these three among the homes of the rich and famous. Herod never dreams these wise men will discover the child they're seeking not in a palace, but in a stable.
The apostle Paul has it exactly right:
God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
When Joseph learns that his betrothed, Mary, is to have a child, the angel tells him this boy will be called Emmanuel, "God with us." How many of us have come to this place thinking exactly the opposite? It's so easy to come in here, sit down, and say, "Look at us -- we're with God! We're not like those godless, materialistic hordes who trek up and down the shopping mall, but never darken the church door. We're not like those poor, misguided souls who miss the spiritual nature of this holiday, who think it's all about Frosty and Rudolph and the Grinch -- oh, and by the way, Jesus too. We've got it! We're the ones -- we know how to put Christ back into Christmas!"
I've got news for you: we don't need to put Christ back into Christmas, because he never left. It's not nearly so important that we're with God, as that God is with us. Without that lowly, insignificant child, born in a manger, you and I would be, even now, slaves to dark powers, destructive powers whose influence we can only imagine.
For he is our sin-bearer. His journey to destroy that dreadful burden is no longer before him; it is completed. On Calvary, he cast the golden ring of power into the very Crack of Doom itself. The residual shock-waves of Evil's destruction are still with us, but their power is waning.
What you and I are, gathered here tonight, is the Fellowship not of the Ring, but of the King. The ring, symbol of our slavery to sin, is no more; what remains is the King, the one who has accomplished his quest, whom God has now exalted to the heavenly places. It is him we honor, in worship. It is him we praise, in the singing of carols. It is him we are privileged to serve, in gratitude and in love.
Related Illustrations
Christianity does not buy black magic or the occult, but it does teach that, on the cross, the powers of evil were beaten, once and for all. Some remnants of evil are still active in the world, but they're fighting what is, essentially, a last-ditch, rear-guard action. God's victory is near.
The great Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton had a similar view. In a chapter in his famous book Orthodoxy, called "The Ethics of Elfland," Chesterton claims that his own journey to Christian faith began with his childhood fascination with fairy tales. As one commentator has summed up Chesterton's views on the subject:
From fairy tales he learned that the world is precious but puzzling, coherent but mysterious, full of unseen connections and decisive truths. The fantasy tales taught him that the world is "a wild and startling place, which might have been quite different, but which is quite delightful." In their own way, the Harry Potter books are teaching that lesson too.
(Editorial, "Wizards and Muggles," in The Christian Century, December 1, 1999, 1155.)
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Key points in Reinhold Niebuhr's Children of Light and Children of Darknessthat are pertinent to The Lord of the Ringsand to Jesus of Nazareth's incarnation and salvation:
1)
naiveté about humans by humanist and Christian liberals leads to their being unprepared for the evil and power of children of darkness (such as Hitler)
2)
people in groups and institutions are without conscience and capable of committing evil acts they never would entertain as individuals (genocide, torture, etc.)
3)
the "good" must acknowledge the power of the "bad"
4)
it is not possible to name or control evil in others or one's self without acknowledging its power.
Although Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic raised and educated by a priest after he was orphaned at a young age, his Lord of the Ringspresents a Calvinist view of good and evil, right and wrong, free will. "The inner fantasy of these works throbs with grace."
Support Materials
By Carter Shelley
CHARACTERISTICS OF FAIRY TALES
1)
Stories that take place in a secondary world in which nature is alive in a nearly human way and the laws that govern men and nature are not the same as ours. For example, animals may talk, magic may happen, and people come back to life or live extraordinarily long lives.
2)
Heroes tend to be the small and weak: the youngest brothers or sisters; people who are thought to be dullards possessing virtues that make it possible to overcome the strong and powerful: good nature, kindness, cunning, and quickness.
3)
Good and Evil are presented in black and white
4)
Simple, linear structure to the tale. There's a chronological order for episodes and a repetition of incidents in order to have three wishes, three tasks, etc. Sometimes there are refrains that are repeated:
Little pig, little pig, let me come in.
Not by the hair of your chinny chin, chin.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MYTH OR LEGEND
1)
Hero tends to be godlike, if not a god. We know we can't be like him or identify with him. We don't try to be like him.
2)
Christianity based on God in humankind: Jesus of Nazareth so imitation is possible as well as emulation.
Tolkien began to write his sequel to The Hobbitin 1936, which his publishers hoped would be another children's book, it actually did not appear in print until 1954-55, and its audience was not strictly children. It is an epic fantasy in three volumes. Each volume contains two books which trace the adventures of Bilbo's nephew Frodo and his friends as they struggle to beat back and destroy the evil Sauron and to restore peace to Middle-Earth.
Theme -- again good vs. evil, but it's more complex, because it entertains the idea that a range of goods as well as a range of evils is possible in the world
Both The Hobbitand The Lord of the Ringspresent the vision of the whole life of man as a QUEST
Quests are marked by two great events:
The coming of adulthood with all the rights and privileges
The coming of death
The Hobbit deals with the first half; it's sunny and comical
The Lord of the Ringstakes the hero completely through the cycle to the point of his essentially sacrificial death
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
coming to adulthood
coming to adulthood and death
common, ordinary folk
higher social order
elves silly and nonsense
elves glorious, responsible, poetic
affairs of humans not important
affairs of humans get half of book time
quest as personal & individual
quest as individual & social, broad issues
issues
languages reflect and create culture
"Each language represents centuries of tragic efforts on the part of human beings to find an adequate expression for their feelings and thoughts about the universe. Indeed, every language is a unique mirror of the landscape, of the air, of the sky -- of all the natural surroundings in which it has developed." (Waclaw Lednicki)
FAIRY TALE
Similarities:
vision of life as a quest
dialectical structure with a world of happiness, security, peace vs. world of humiliation, loneliness, and pain
cyclical pattern that depicts a movement from the bright world into the dark one and back again
MYTH
more majestic
more spiritual
more concerned with life as it ought to be lived than as it could be.
"A myth, like a fairy tale, may express an inner conflict in symbolic form and suggest how it may be solved -- but this is not necessarily the myth's central concern. . . [In myths] the divine is present and is experienced in the form of superhuman heroes who make constant demands on mere mortals. Much as we, the mortals, may strive to be like these heroes, we will remain always obviously inferior to them." (Bruno Bettelheim)
The Lord of the Ringsoccupies a medial ground between fairy tale and myth. Superhuman heroes are present in the form of the elves and wizards, but the main focus is on the fortunes of men and hobbits. Social issues and hierarchical social structure mark it as having mythical concerns as well.
The emergence of these heroes in Tolkien's second work mirrors his growing preoccupation with his own myth of a golden age.
The Lord of the Ringsis not a golden age story; it is the story of a lull in the decline of a world that already looks back to a golden age and mourns its lost grandeur and nobility.
The inevitability of man's death is one of the most important facts of his existence. The heroic men of the trilogy occupy a medial position between the everyman heroes, Bilbo of The Hobbit,and the divine heroes of the golden age.
Hierarchy of Hobbit hero possibilities
Frodo- not stronger or braver than other hobbits
terrified of taking risks and succumbs to the ring
enough of a hero to meet situations he encounters:
commitment to the quest
selfless love for companions
feels pity for Gollum and Saruman
accomplishes by sacrifice what can't accomplish by strength
capable of carrying on when there is no hope
Frodo's heroic qualities:
1) reverence for the past and its values
2) willingness to sacrifice himself to preserve those things he values
3) courage that transcends mere physical bravery -- he feels the fear, acknowledges it, and then does what he has to do. In Middle-Earth the shame is not in losing hope but in letting despair immobilize one. Instead of giving in or giving up to despair, Tolkien's heroes must continually move forward. Tolkien's heroes are partially the traditional conquering hero, but they are preeminently suffering heroes who persevere.
4) These heroes are also merciful. In The Lord of the Rings mercy seems to mean the refusal to accept any being's less than perfect state as his essential nature. Justice would pay each according to what he might do -- according to the ideal. The evil ones fail to live up to the inherent good in themselves. Mercy is a creative act, it leaves the possibilities for a re-creation of the self open, as does any healing process.
5) The ability to feel pity separates heroes from villains (pity = piety-- Pity in the general sense of "a feeling of compassion" did not exist as separate from its specific religious sense of piety until well after 1600: until then the ability to feel pity was a mark of piety)
6) Selfless in their love for their companions. Illustrates the power of love freely given over slavery and fear.
EVIL
1) Evil is closely associated with the quest for power and ultimate control -- control over being
2) Evil is destructive. Won't create, but will destroy. Won't set free, will enslave. Won't heal, will harm. The desire of Sauron to make everything in Middle-Earth less than it is capable of being is clear in his repeated threats to "break" captives, in the ruined and desolate lands that were once fertile and productive.
3) Evil is enduring. Sauron's title, The Lord of the Rings, also suggests the enduring quality of evil, the quality that makes a final victory impossible. Evil can be temporarily defeated, it can be set back, but it cannot be finally removed from the world.
4) Evil is insidious -- the good characters can be influenced by the evil of the ring and of other people and events as well. Tolkien suggests that every man contains the seeds of evil and that the seeds may be brought to germination by exposure to evil -- the Ring is inherently evil because it was born of evil and cannot be made good. Frodo is in danger not only of his physical life but his spiritual life when he gets the ring---The ultimate defeat in The Lord of the Ringsis not simply to lose the battle with evil, but to become incorporated into it.
5) He believes that evil must conquer or be conquered. Tolkien is dealing with the concept that man as a creature is strong enough to stand but free to fall. He does not believe that evil can be transformed into good.
EVIL'S WEAKNESSES
lack of imagination -- can't imagine what it's like to be good
everything is imitative or derivative, nothing is original
the Free People creative in evocation or celebration of nature
the servants of the Dark Lord create in an industrial mode which intends to distinguish among parts of the world by setting some elements above others
the Free People produce from Love, Morgul production results from Hatred
SOURCES
Christian Mythmakers: C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L'Engle, J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, G.K. Chesterton & Others by Rolland Hein
Tolkien: Man and Myth, A Literary Life by Joseph Pearce
The Lord of the Rings: The Mythology of Power by Jane Chance
"Traveling the one road: The Lord of the Ringsas a Pre-Christian Epic Fantasy"
Vol. 110, Issue 6, p 208, copyright Christian Century Foundation, Feb. 24, 1993
The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness: A Vindication of Democracy and a Critique of its Traditional Defense by Reinhold Niebuhr
Tolkien section in Something about the AuthorVol. 32
Tolkien section in Dictionary of Literary Biography
Worship Resources
By Chuck Cammarata
CALL TO WORSHIP
LEADER: He lies like a rag doll in the corner of his crib.
PEOPLE: CURLS RING HIS HEAD.
LEADER: Little huffs and puffs,
PEOPLE: WIGGLES AND ROLLS,
LEADER: Unconscious smiles and coos.
PEOPLE: HE IS MY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE BOY.
LEADER: And as I watch a smile comes to my face.
PEOPLE: AND ALL THE DIFFICULTY OF LIFE,
LEADER: All of the pain,
PEOPLE: ALL OF THE DARKNESS AND DREAD
LEADER: Fade away in the light of this little life.
PEOPLE: DARKNESS AND DEATH MAY BE REAL,
LEADER: But they are overcome
PEOPLE: BY THE POWER OF THE LIFE OF THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM.
LEADER: Let us praise the God who sent him.
PEOPLE: AMEN.
For a more traditional call to worship, try this:
LEADER: In the beginning was the Word,
PEOPLE: AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD,
LEADER: And the word was God.
PEOPLE: HE WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD.
LEADER: And all things were made through him,
PEOPLE: AND WITHOUT HIM NOTHING WAS MADE.
LEADER: In him was life, and the life was light for humanity.
PEOPLE: AND THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS,
LEADER: But the darkness shall not overcome it.
PEOPLE: LET US PRAISE THE ONE WHO IS LIGHT!
LEADER: Amen.
Additionally, you might use a symbolic action type call to worship -- something like this:
A few months ago a friend in the church suggested that we really get people's attention at the start of the service by beginning with a trumpet blast. We did it. He dressed in robes and entered the sanctuary while people were still visiting with one another. He slowly raised his trumpet to his lips and let out a blast -- da-da-da-daaa! People got quiet. He did it again, then lowered his instrument and announced, "The King is here. Let us worship." He then exited as our organist began playing the opening hymn. We used "Great Is the Lord," but anything celebrating God's power and majesty would work.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
LEADER: For knowing that death is defeated,
PEOPLE: BUT LIVING IN ITS SHADOW.
LEADER: For knowing that the light has come,
PEOPLE: BUT CHOOSING BLINDNESS.
LEADER: For knowing that we are more than victors in Christ,
PEOPLE: BUT LIVING AS THE DEFEATED.
LEADER: Lord, forgive us that our lives are no match for our beliefs.
PEOPLE: AND SHOW US THE WAY
LEADER: To the place where words and lives are in harmony.
PEOPLE: AMEN.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
LEADER: Father, we feel so small up against the darkness.
PEOPLE: THE PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS
LEADER: Make us shake with fear.
PEOPLE: WHO ARE WE TO STAND AGAINST THEM?
LEADER: What can we do?
PEOPLE: WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN WE MAKE?
LEADER: Forgive us for living in fear of powers that are no powers at all.
PEOPLE: MAY WE KEEP OUR EYES ON JESUS,
LEADER: And be filled with the confidence that in Christ we are more than conquerors.
PEOPLE: IN THE NAME OF JESUS WE PRAY.
LEADER: Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
LEADER: God. The ultimate being.
PEOPLE: CREATOR.
LEADER: The one who knows all things,
PEOPLE: SEES ALL THINGS,
LEADER: Rules all things,
PEOPLE: SUSTAINS ALL THINGS.
LEADER: And this God loves us.
PEOPLE: LET US REJOICE!
LEADER: God is above all!
PEOPLE: AND GOD IS GOOD.
HYMNS
Victory in Jesus
Greater Is He That Is in Me
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Musician Michael Kelly Blanchard has written a song entitled "Love Lives On." The lyrics are marvelous to use liturgically as a reading, or it could be used as part of a sermon. The lyrics are printed here by permission of Michael Blanchard.
There is this little girl
Playing on a neighbor's back lawn
An oriental pearl smuggled from some night to this dawn
So beautiful and small, so precious to behold
Though nations rise and fall, the truth does not grow old
And I see her as a seed,
From two lost refugees, who later died at sea
But love lived on
(Chorus)
Love lives on, if there's one thing that I know love lives on
The only legacy we show, love lives on.
Though our hope be set adrift
And our faith a faded wreath
And our history seems a myth merely mocking our belief
Love lives on
There was this friend of mine, so sick he could not move
Just dying on the vine, and O so very little we could do
His lover standing by
Frozen in her grief
Just bracing for goodbye
And praying for relief
And then one day he died,
And the suffering and the sighs were gone, but to our surprise
Love lived on
(Chorus)
There was this holy man, so old and almost God
Who while praying head in hands
Heard a child crying out like a song
And rushing to the babe, he drew him to his breast
"Sad world," he cried, "You're saved. Now I can take my rest."
And the tears ran down his face
Joy and sorrow interlaced
"O God, O God, such grace!"
O love lives on.
(Chorus)
PASTORAL PRAYER
A good emphasis on this last Sunday of the year -- especially if the year was a tough on your congregation as it was on ours -- might be to name some of the difficulties of the past year specifically. Name names. Speak of jobs lost, spouses lost, financial crises, confessed moral failures, whatever might have happened, and then pray your way from the troubles to the victory that began to be unfolded in the manger of Bethlehem.
Naming specifics gives a much greater sense of actual victory. Talking in generalities often leaves people with the sense that we are just talking about other people out there somewhere. Name their pain, and proclaim the victory, maybe not yet fully realized -- but real nonetheless -- in Jesus Christ.
Children's Sermon
By Wesley Runk
Galatians 4: 4-7
Text: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children." (vv. 4-5)
Object: Pictures of the The Two Towerscharacters including a blowup of Frodo. (One source is . Another is .)
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever heard of Frodo? (let them answer) Have any of you seen the movie The Two Towers, the second Lord of the Ringsmovie? (let them answer) Many of you have heard of Frodo, and I suppose most of you will see the movie at some time or another. It is an exciting story about heroes and bad guys. I brought along some pictures of the people in the movies and each of you can have a copy if you would like one.
I don't know if Frodo thought he would be a hero, but he seemed destined to do right and try to save his people by destroying the Ring in Mordor. Frodo and his eight companions struggled against all of the evil ones until he overcame The Cracks of Doom.
It was quite an adventure.
The Bible is also filled with adventures and there are many heroes. But of all the heroes there is only one person who is the greatest of all. We call him the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Most people did not pay any attention to the baby that was born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary. A few shepherds and some travelers from the East came to a manger. The innkeeper did not even think this baby was important enough to have a room in his inn. But what the rest of the world did not know was that God had sent himself into the world in a human form. This was a real baby boy -- but a very special child. God even told Mary to name him Jesus. God also told Mary that Jesus would become someone so special that at the very mention of his name people would fall to their knees and praise his name.
Jesus came to destroy the evil in the world so that people like you and me would not have to live in fear of evil things and evil people. God knew that Jesus would be the greatest hero of all. From the very beginning Jesus knew that someday he would die for your sins and my sins so that we would be one with God.
The story in The Two Towerstells us how good heroes win over bad people. Sometimes it seems like the bad people are stronger and have all the weapons to make good people afraid. But Frodo shows us how a good heart filled with love is stronger than all of the evil in the world.
Jesus is greater even than Frodo. His goodness is more powerful than the strongest wickedness. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. When we hear his name we bow on our knees and thank God for his great courage and his wonderful love. When we choose imaginary heroes it is good to choose someone like Frodo. But when we need the real thing it is great to know that because we love Jesus he has chosen us to be his brothers and sisters now and forever.
The Immediate Word, December 29, 2002, issue.
Copyright 2002 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
