Who Is Aslan?
Luke 9.18-20, 23
I. Introduction
[begin with a dramatic reading of excerpt from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Chapter 7, “A Day With the Beavers”.]
“Who is Aslan?” asked Susan.
“Aslan?” said Mr. Beaver. “Why don’t you know? He’s the King. He is the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here you understand. Never in my time of my father’s time. But the word has reached us that he has come back. He is in Narnia at this moment. He’ll settle the White Queen all right. It is he, not you, who will save Mr. Tumnus.”
“She won’t turn him to stone too?” said Edmund. “Lord love you, Son of Adam, what a simple thing to say!” answered Mr. Beaver with a great laugh. “Turn him into stone? If she can stand on her two feet and look him in the face it’ll be the most she can do and more than I expect of her. No, no. He’ll put all to rights as it says in an old rhyme in these parts;
Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more
When he bares his teeth, winter meets it death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
You’ll understand when you see him.” “But shall we see him?” asked Susan. “Why, Daughter of Eve, that’s what I brought you here for. I’m to lead you where you shall meet him,” said Mr. Beaver. “Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy. “Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of the Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh!” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” “That you will dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.” “Then he isn’t safe? said Lucy. “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Who is Aslan? That is the question that the children want to have answered, and I would imagine that there are some of you sitting here this morning wondering the very same question– Who is Aslan? Since this book was first released people have been asking this question- who is Aslan? Aslan is the King, is the son of the great Emperor beyond the sea, Aslan is the great lion. He isn’t safe. But he is good. He’s the King.
As you hear this description, I hope that it resounds in your head, that you hear some familiarity to the description. When we look at the character of Aslan, we should clearly see a picture of Jesus Christ, and that brings us back to the question– who is this man we call Jesus. How do we understand Him?
As we continue our journey through Advent towards Christmas, we have lit the second candle of Advent, the candle of Love, this morning, but for us to understand love, for us to experience Christmas, we must answer the question who is Aslan, who is Jesus?
Jesus calls all of us to answer this question. In what is known as Peter’s confession of Christ, there is a call for us all to make a confession similar to that of Mr. Beaver.
Luke 9.18-20, 23
II. What Are Others Saying?
Jesus first ask the disciples who do other people say that I am? The disciples answer that some say he is John, some say he is Elijah or one of the prophets. What many of the people of that time were saying was that Jesus was the forerunner. They were seeing Jesus in the role that we attribute to John the Baptist. In our time there are people that call Jesus all sorts of things. Many would like to refer to him as a moral teacher, a religious teacher. That he is a member of a religious Hall of Fame, but they are not willing to set him up as unique. They are content for him to be a great prophet.
C.S. Lewis in another of his books, Mere Christianity says, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic or the devil of Hell. You must make the choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him, and kill him as a demon: or you can fall at His feet and call him Lord and God.”
You must make the choice.. It really does not matter what the world is saying about Jesus, it matters how you understand him.
III. What about You?
I can almost see Jesus listening to the response of the disciples as to what others say about him, and then he makes it very personal– but what about you, who do you say I am? Of course Peter makes the quick affirmation – You are the Christ of God, you are the Messiah of God. Jesus is calling all of us to affirm who he is, but I am afraid it is not enough for us to simply say simple words, Jesus demands that we make our affirmation with our very lives.
We live in a part of the world where it is fairly simple for us to say that Jesus is the Christ. We live in the Bible belt, and it is acceptable for us to say Merry Christmas rather than happy holidays, we will have a downtown Christmas celebration this week, and we will light not a holiday tree, but we will have a Christmas tree. In this community, you will most likely not be persecuted for celebrating Christmas, but here is the truth, you cannot celebrate Christmas in reality until you have made an open affirmation of Jesus Christ with the life you live. Who is Jesus to you?
Jesus did not allow Peter’s confession to stand alone, but Jesus adds to it. He says if you want to be my disciple, if you want to be my follower, then you are going to have to deny yourself take up your cross daily and follow me. You are going to have to die to self in order to find life.
In the Chronicles of Narnia, Mr. Beaver, did not just make the confession of Aslan, but he then put his confession into work. He had a job to do, bring the children to Aslan, and he did his job. The children do not just enjoy talking about Aslan, but they also learn that if he is their king, then they will do battle for him. They will pick up their weapons and follow him, where ever he leads them they will go.
IV. He is Not Safe.
We must overcome this conception that following Jesus is safe. Jesus, just like Aslan, is not safe, but he is good. Too many people want to imagine God as an old grandfather with a long white beard. They visualize God wearing a white robe and holding a staff while floating on a cloud. We live in a time where we want a passive God who smiles at us and gives us what we want. But that is not the God that is found in the scriptures, Old or New Testament. Our God is a God of action not passivity. He called the disciples to action. He called them to live out their confession. Without action behind a confession it becomes nothing more than words. Who is Jesus?
When we look at the sweet pictures of Jesus laying in a manger, we can easily forget what we are looking at. We are looking at the king of Kings, the Lord of lords, we are looking at the mighty God who has come to save. We are looking at the God who will walk the path to the cross and call others to take the same journey. We are looking at a God that calls us to give up our very lives in order to follow him. We see a God that calls us to radical change. A God that calls us to risk. A God that calls us to step out of our comfort zones.
What is your comfort level in following Christ? Is your comfort level attending Sunday Morning worship? Perhaps it is only talking about issues of faith with people in your Sunday School. Is it only associating with Christian people or people just like you are.
When I read this confession of Christ, I see a God who calls us to shatter our comfort zones. There is not a call to tip toe along the path, but he ask us to completely abandon our comfort zones.
This has always been the manner in which he works. Look at Mosses, go and confront the Pharaoh, do you hear the shattering? David, the shepherd, I want you to be the king– shatter. Jonah, I want you to go to Nivenah, crash. Mary, I want you to give birth to the son of God, shatter. Disciples, I want you to follow me, wherever I will lead you. I want you to give up your lives, and that is the only way you can save them. This is a God who calls us risk, to step out into the unknown, to go on an adventure of a lifetime. God calls us to follow him with abandon.
At Christmas we spend so much time talking about gifts, but the greatest gift that we can give is for us to completely give our selves over to him, and that only happens as we answer the question who is Jesus?
V. Conclusion
This advent season, I challenge you to look deep within your heart, and ask and answer the question– who is Jesus to me? Stop worrying about what others are saying, and in this season make a confession that is more than lip service. Proclaim just like Mr. Beaver, “He is the King. He the unique son of God. He is the lion of Judah. He isn’t safe, but he is good. He is the King I tell you.
