2. The Temptation Of Turkish Delight Series

“Discovering Nania – 2. The Temptation of Turkish Delight”

Gladstone Baptist Church – 5/2/06 am

Based on the Sermon “Narnia: Ten Tasty tidbits about Turkish Delight” by Pat Cook Nov 2005.

Last week if you were with us, we began to look at the real story that lies behind the fiction of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. We compared Narnia to our world and discovered that they weren’t all that different. Both Narnia and our world are not as they should be. They are both held captive under a powerful curse – a curse that affects all that is alive in them and even the world itself.

For Narnia, the curse was in the shape of Winter. The White Witch had held a curse over the whole land and had brought a winter that never ended. She removed all joy and celebration. She banished all hope and replaced it with fear. Her desire was to rule and gain all power and to do this she destroyed all who would stand against her – even the true ruler of Narnia – Aslan, the one who created Narnia in the first place.

For our world, we see pain and suffering everywhere. We see our natural world suffering under our selfishness and exploitation of it. Our world is not as it should be because there is a curse of sin over it. Every single person in this world is sinful and we all deep down have our own concerns as our top priority. We want to do our own thing, satisfy our own desires and as a result others suffer. It is not a witch that holds the curse over our world, but a created angel - a powerful and mighty angel who turned bad. His name – Satan. Just like the white witch though, Satan desires to rule and stands in opposition against the true ruler and owner of this world – God. Satan will do anything to control people in this world. He is the master of deception and the father of all lies.

Tonight I want to talk about one central character in the Story – that of Edmund. Edmund is the sort of kid you just want to give a clip around the ears. He’s rude and arrogant. He has a chip on his shoulder about almost everything. He is jealous of his older brother and loves teasing his younger sister. Generally he is a pain.

I want to start off tonight by showing you a clip from the BBC version of the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe … But to set the scene for you. Lucy discovered Narnia, but no-one believed her and Edmund gave her a hard time. That afternoon, the kids were all playing hide and seek and Lucy found herself in the room with the wardrobe in it and so chose to hide in there. Edmund had been following her and followed her into the wardrobe and thus into the land of Narnia. That is where we pick it up from …

View clip from the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (BBC version)

When Edmund steps through the door, into the snow-covered forest, he is cold. All of a sudden, he hears sleigh-bells. That would normally be a good thing in winter – Father Christmas or someone. But what approaches is a sleigh pulled by 2 small white reindeer, and driven by but is led by a fat little dwarf. And then he saw this … “behind him, on a much higher seat in the middle of the sledge sat a very different person – great lady, taller than any woman that Edmund had ever seen. She also was covered in white fur up to her throat and held a long straight golden wand in her right hand and wore a golden crown on her head. Her face was white – not merely pale, but white like snow or paper or icing-sugar, except for her very red mouth. It was a beautiful face in other respects, but proud and cold and stern.” P. 33 Edmund had met the evil white witch - Jadis.

When she first sees Edmund, she is abrasive and vile, insulting and demeaning. However, once she realizes he is not just a beardless dwarf but rather a human, she changes her tune. You see, there is a prophecy that says 4 human children would come and rule Narnia. So if Jadis, the White witch, can capture one of those children, or better yet all 4, she would not need to afraid of that prophecy.

So she softens towards Edmund. She gives him a hot drink, and then asks if he would like anything to eat. Edmund’s thoughts go to – Turkish delight.

By giving Edmund this Turkish delight, she is able to manipulate him into trying to get his siblings to go to her castle. This Turkish delight is even slightly narcotic, addictive and deceptive. Turkish delight leads Edmund to go places he never imagined.