Narnia: The Curse Of The Witch Series

The Curse of the Witch

Narnia 1

12/11/05

PSCOC

Introduction: Enter the magical and cursed land of Narnia.

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

55 of us went to see the movie on opening night, and it was quite a treat. For two hours we were transported to the magical land of Narnia and saw all kinds of talking animals, an evil witch, and a Lion, who was the King. Over the next three weeks we will continue our journey through C.S. Lewis’ imagined land of Narnia and draw the parallels to the world we dwell in every day. Whether you like fantasy or not, I encourage you to be willing to travel with us all into Narnia. You will be surprised how the story of Narnia is our story.

2. Enter through the wardrobe.

During WW II four siblings are sent away from London to a mysterious old house of a retired professor. They are all children and their names are Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Lucy the youngest discovers a wardrobe during a game of hide and seek. She enters the wardrobe and the next thing she knows she is walking in the woods in the snow! She later learns from a faun that she is in the enchanted land of Narnia, where the Faun, Mr. Tumnus, informs here that it is always winter. Later Lucy would lead her three siblings through that magical wardrobe. I ask you to come through the wardrobe into Narnia, today!

Move 1: The Witch and Narnia

1. Edmund.

Early in the story we find out that the third oldest, a little older than Lucy, Edmund is the least well mannered of the children. He ridicules Lucy about Narnia, but follows her into the wardrobe to tease her, and he, too, ends up in Narnia. This turns out to be a fateful moment for Edmund, because he does not meet a faun first, but the White Witch of Narnia herself, who claims to be the Queen.

2. The White Witch.

When Edmund enters Narnia he encounters a dwarf, and a woman pulled by reindeer on a sled. Her face is as white as the snow itself and she is tall and beautiful, but yet cold, proud, and stern. She feel threatened, because she is the self proclaimed ruler of Narnia and an ancient prophecy says that one day “two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve” will rule Narnia. She decides to destroy Edmund, but changes her mind and entices him with a magical food called Turkish Delight (concoction of sugar syrup, various flavorings, nuts and dried fruits then bound them together with mastic (gum Arabic). Once Edmund eats this food, he will always lust for more. It will enslave him to the White Witch. White does not mean good, but cold and evil. Her goal is to have Edmund betray his siblings to her that she might destroy them all and avoid the prophecy. She makes Edmund promise that he will bring his siblings to her under the pretense that she wants to make them all princes.

3. The spell on Narnia.

Throughout the book we learn a lot about the witch. She calls herself the Queen, but she is not. She is powerful enough to make it always winter and to turn her enemies into stone immediately. She also controls savage creatures to do her evil work. There is nothing good about her. She is totally evil and works for evil results in Narnia. The four children threaten her reign and she tries to kill them.

Move 2: Satan and Earth.

1. The White Witch corresponds to Satan in our world.

Satan has always tried to usurp the true ruler of the universe. Read Rev. 12:7-12.

We learn several things about Satan. He tried to overthrow God through war. He was not successful and he and his angels were thrown out of heaven. The world is cursed because of him. “He leads the whole world astray.” He knows that his days are numbered, but “he is filled with fury.” He is called the “prince of this world” by Jesus (cf. Jn. 12:31). He is called the “ruler of the kingdom of the air” (cf. Eph. 2:2). And he roams the earth “seeking whom he may devour” (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8).

2. Like the White Witch, Satan is cunning.

Remember the story in Genesis. The serpent comes to Eve. He doesn’t tell her to disobey God and eat the fruit now! He tells her what the tree will do for her. It will make her wise like God, but he also lies. He tells she will not die like God said. He speaks in half-truths. Jesus calls Satan the “father of lies,” but they are rarely obvious. Worse…you want to believe them! You have a right to get even because she had no right to do you that way. It is okay to gossip a little, as long as you don’t tell anyone else. You can lust; no one will ever know it and it is natural. Hard work is the ultimate ethic. God will understand, if you don’t as much time for his Kingdom. God wants you to be happy. Your spouse isn’t making you happy, but this other person will. Satan works through the tactic of Turkish Delight. One taste and you want more and you can justify any reason to get it.