Nov. 27 Always Winter - Never Christmas
Today we begin a 3 week series based on C.S. Lewis’ best selling book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Narnia stories have sold over 85 million copies in 29 languages over last ½ century.
Lewis was accused of trying to find ways to preach Christianity to children, but what he really wanted to do was to tell stories and his faith was so ingrained in his life that it bubbled out. If you’re not familiar with the book, that’s OK - we’ll fill you in enough on the story to make sense out of each message. If you are familiar with the story, or if you are reading it to your children, use this chance to talk about Jesus in Lewis’ books.
Narnia trivia questions
Summary - Siblings, Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter live in World War II England and enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of ’hide-and-seek’ in the rural country home of an elderly professor. There the children discover Narnia, a land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants that has become a world cursed to eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Under the guidance of a noble and mystical ruler, the lion Aslan, the children fight to overcome the White Witch’s powerful hold over Narnia in a spectacular, climactic battle that will free Narnia from Jadis’ icy spell forever.
Fantasy is a huge part of Christmas -
Songs - Over the river and thru the woods - I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Memory - Ever try to buy a turkey as big as the one your mom cooked when you were a kid?
Endless cookies supply- food - dessert - presents
Images - lights - trees, all the senses set aflame
Our world is fascinated with other worlds, Harry Potter, Star Trek, always looking always searching for other worlds
We want to know that there is something beyond,
that there is something out there (x files)
We were custom built to appreciate wonder and mystery - the Bible speaks of the mystery
See I Cor. 2:6-10 and Duet. 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law."
Some people are very much aware of this other world, and live in holy anticipation
But the world - and all too often, even the church, seems to throw cold water on our hunger for mystery.
I don’t know what’s scarier - to go to church week after week without feeling the presence of God or to stay home week after week without longing for His presence
Over and over again, Jesus said that the kingdom of God is at hand. John 10 Jesus talks about himself as the gate/door - the portal to another realm - another Kingdom.
This fascination hints that it may be true, that there is another world
1. We were Created to hunger for another world
The passage from our world into Narnia was a wardrobe. The children were playing hide and seek when Lucy discovers upon the Wardrobe. It wasn’t something Lucy was searching for, she stumbled upon it, and once she got to the other world of Narnia - she wasn’t clear on how to return.
Isn’t that just like our life with Christ? We don’t know how we got here or how to get back - we may not have even been looking for Him. We could never have predicted all that we found.
While Lucy wasn’t looking for another world, she was looking - she was curious
Gift of second sight, the Bible calls it faith - Allow your curiosity to lead you into the mystery
She discovers Narnia is beautiful overflowing with magic and wonder - filled with incredible creatures - and suffering under a spell. It makes Narnia worth saving - not unlike earth
Narnia is not a Christian allegory. But it is a Christ-infused story. C.S. Lewis called it "supposals." He explained that when he wrote the story he simply asked himself, "Suppose there were a world like Narnia and it needed rescuing, and the Son of God went to redeem, as He came to redeem us. What might it, in that world, all have been like?" Lewis’ faith journey began by reading fantasy stories dripping with truth, written by George MacDonald. So he decided to write some of his own
What Lucy stumbles onto is a cold winter world - a world that is always winter and never Christmas, a world ruled by a stern ruthless white witch.
Audio clip "Always winter never Christmas"
2. Jesus meets us in our dark world Matt. 1:18 - 2:18 into a dark world came baby Jesus
Listen carefully to the following well known Bible verses - listen this time for Mystery and for Danger
Jesus was born at a crucial time in history, though it seems so unimportant to us
In the darkest times, the ruthless king who killed his family - into that dark night Jesus was born Days of Herod the king
In the world of Narnia - Aslan - the Son of the Emperor - returns and brings with him Spring! More importantly - he brings Life to those turned to stone by the white witch. That’s what happens when Narnia intersects Aslan - what do we call it when the world intersects Jesus?
3. The world calls that intersection Christmas!
Into this winter of Jewish history, prophets have been silent for hundreds of years, life itself has been dominated by the Babylonians, Assyrians, Greeks and now Rome. How did Jesus enter history - as a baby, helpless, vulnerable
There will always be bleak times, cruel rulers, but into those times enters Christmas
Celtic and Nordic tribes invented Yuletide because it was the darkest times of the year and they wanted to introduce brightness. Symbolism is beautiful and powerful and we don’t dismiss it because it has some pagan background
In the book, Father Christmas in the book comes bringing gift, so does Jesus, and after he brings the gifts, he gives them tea - to the English it was a reminder of home
Even in a world where they knew not Jesus they had to invent a Christ
What does winter symbolize?
Why would God make it - don’t go marking trees to be cut down in winter
We don’t know what is ultimately useful in our lives during the hard times.
Listen to the advent of Christ into the life of Lewis - it didn’t happen all at once. Lewis was an atheist. What he wanted most was to write poetry that would live beyond himself. To do that, he aimed for a career in academia.
Lewis: I was at that time living like many atheists; in a whirl of contradictions. I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with him for creating a world. Why should creatures have the burden of existence forced on them without their consent?
1929 Lewis became a theist: "In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed..." Albert Lewis died on September 24.
1931 Lewis became a Christian: One evening in September, Lewis had a long talk on Christianity with J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson. That evening’s discussion was important in bringing about the following day’s event that Lewis recorded in Surprised by Joy: "When we set out [by motorcycle to the Whipsnade Zoo] I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did."
C. S. Lewis said - "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
Next Step
Always winter and never Christmas - that’s the life of many, we plan for a vacation or cruise once a year hoping to make up for 51 weeks of desperation, colorlessness, emptiness
If we really think that home is elsewhere and that this life is a "wandering to find home," why should we not look forward to the arrival?
Chesterton said that the strangest thing about being human is that we are strangers on earth
HEB 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
Maybe your next step is to embrace life in this new world by letting go:
1 Pet. 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Or could be your next step be taking a risk - stepping out in faith?
Make plans today to invite a friend to attend the film with you opening week, and make sure you invite that friend to come and worship with you. - Name that person on your connection card and I promise to join you in prayer for that person this week.
Music plays while people think about their next step and fill in their Connection card - close with prayer
