TITLE: Narnia: Finding Hope in Christmas
TEXT: Matthew 1:20-2:23; Galatians 4:1-7
PREINTRODUCTION:
I don’t know about you, but somehow Christmas never lives up to my expectations. Perhaps I’ve seen “Miracle on 34th Street” too many times, or heard the song “Holly, Jolly Christmas” once too often. It’s not that I don’t believe in miracles or the wonder of Christmas. It’s just that I look at my own Christmas experiences and find that they are all together different from the fantasy that has been painted since I was a child.
The reality of Christmas in my lifetime has included Christmas trees with sparkling lights and packages wrapped in bright paper, but it has also included sad and difficult times. I remember many Christmases when Jessica was little that she was so sick that we couldn’t attend programs, and the highlight of the season was wrapping her in warm blankets and taking her on a drive to see Christmas lights. I remember the year that Linda’s mother suddenly died just a few days before Christmas. We didn’t get a chance to do most of our shopping until Christmas Eve. The bright spot was that most of the family was together for the funeral and stayed on until Christmas to be with her Dad. We got several of the gifts months later when Dad found where her mom had hid them.
And of course, we can’t forget the Christmas Eve 13 years ago when Janelle was born. Linda missed all of the activities that year. We had dinner at the hospital, and spent Christmas night worrying about a jaundiced little baby that wouldn’t eat. Somehow, the hope of Christmas carried us through that and every Christmas.
Today I want to look at the idea of finding hope. I’d love to have an interactive lesson on hope, where we could use a large white board or “power-point” projection system and discuss the topic.
• How do you define hope?
• How is hope demonstrated?
• What brings you hope?
According to 1 Corinthians 13, hope, along with faith and love, are key elements of Christian character. My desktop dictionary defines hope as a confident desire that something will be fulfilled.
Is there more to hope than a confidence that something will happen? And what does all of this have to do with Narnia and the Christmas story? Christ is the object of our hope. It is because of Christmas that we have hope. Yet, The Chronicles of Narnia were written to help us realize that through Christ we will always have hope.
Today I want to look briefly at prophecy and hope. When applied to the Christmas story they are like siblings, sharing the same event from different angles.
READ TEXT:
INTRODUCTION:
Have ever in your lifetime made a mistake? . . . I know that’s a dumb question. We all have, but God hasn’t. God has never made a mistake. Unlike our lives, God never does anything by accident.
This is what Galatians 4:4-5 says. God had a plan. It was not an accident. He fulfilled his plan. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Have you ever thought about that phrase, “when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman”? God’s timing was and is perfect.
God’s plan began in the beginning as he prepared prophecy. Jesus came into the world “when the time was right.” The Roman roads provided great travel for the gospel message. The Greek language provided a common link in terms of communication. The world was watching for him. The Jews were waiting for the Messiah. The wise men knew to follow the star because of prophecy. The scribes in the palace of Herod knew where to send them to look because of the prophecy. In all, there were over 600 prophecies fulfilled in the life of Jesus. It was all planned before by a higher power, God almighty.
All the prophecy concerning Jesus begins with finding hope in the Christmas story.
I. Finding hope in the Christmas story
The core of the Christmas story is grounded in prophecy. It is not a series of random events that happened 2000 years ago.
C. S. Lewis tied in the prophesies of Jesus into the story of Narnia and made them an integral part of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
The children found their way into the wardrobe not by seeking it, but because it was arranged by “fate” or a higher power. In escaping from the housekeeper, they go into Narnia because they have a purpose there. The four thrones at Cair Paravel were set in prophecy long before the Pevensie children were born. The White Witch knew of the “sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve” and feared them because she knew that a power greater than her had called them for the purpose of destroying her.
As we start through the Christmas story in Matthew, we see that in verses 1:22-23 that the angel delivers a message to Joseph; a message that makes it possible for us to be finding hope in the line of David.
A. Finding hope in the line of David (Matthew 1:20-21 // Isaiah 11:1-2)
The angel called Joseph, “son of David.” Isaiah 11:1 says, “a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” What follows is a list of fruits, like wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Jesse was David’s father. This prophecy is concerned with the genealogical makeup of the Jesus. He would be a descendent of David, and both Mary and Joseph were decedents of David.
Joseph was engaged to Mary, and he learns that she was carrying a child that he knew wasn’t his. We can only imagine how he felt. Then an angel appeared and delivered a message that came straight out of the prophet Isaiah.
When the angel comes to Joseph telling him to take Mary as his wife, we see the union of two worlds: the spiritual world and the physical world. When the children go through the door in the wardrobe, they enter the world of Narnia. Susan and Peter, in their talk with the Professor, question if there could really be two separate worlds, and he states, “Nothing is more probable.” In fact, we know that we live in both the physical and spiritual worlds. Jesus came from the spiritual into the physical, and then returned to the spiritual. In the book of Revelation, he says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20)
Prophecy doesn’t come true in the ways that we expect it to. Often, what has been predicted comes with pain and sorrow. When Lucy first appeared in Narnia, Mr. Tumnus knew that he was supposed to watch for any human he might see and turn them over to the White Witch. But after he met Lucy, they became friends and that friendship was not at all what he had expected.
Bringing hope in the middle of crisis is the way God works. It is how He has to work because sin has caused our world to be in continual crisis. Joseph accepted the hope the angel delivered and we need to accept the hope that we are offered as well.
As we continue through Matthew’s account we see that Jesus will be declared Immanuel.
B. Jesus will be declared Immanuel (Matthew 1:22-23 // Isaiah 7:14)
Verse 23 says, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
God became man and dwelt among us. He didn’t just send a message, or make an appearance. He became one of us, living in the middle of our crisis, suffering the insults, pain and sorrow that we face.
When Jesus came as “God with us” it was juxtaposition of two worlds into one, the spiritual and the physical. The children who entered Narnia left the world we know and entered into a fantasy world and learned to look on the talking animals as friends. They didn’t see them as storybook characters, but lived in the middle of them. And even Aslan lived among the beasts of Narnia.
Hope comes from the fact that God is not distant, he knows us. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, God is even part of us, guiding us, comforting us, and praying for us.
In Matthew 1:24-25, Joseph did what the Lord commanded.
C. Joseph did what the Lord commanded (Matthew 1:24-25 // Isaiah 7:13-14)
Joseph “took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” This all fulfilled what Isaiah wrote in 7:14, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Hope actually gave Joseph a reason for doing what God had commanded. Hope gave Joseph reasons for purity as well. Lucy was the youngest of the children and had a special childlike purity in her life. She wanted to share what she had seen and heard yet others thought she was lying even though she had never lied before.
The text we read from Galatians this morning told that the law had come first to teach us while we were children. It held us in slavery, but now we are adults and we know right from wrong, and because we love Christ we desire to do what is right.
Hope in who Jesus is and what he has done should cause us to live pure lives and do what God asks of us.
As the Christmas story continues, we see Herod was disturbed.
D. Herod was disturbed (Matthew 2:1-4 // Isaiah 9: 7)
Herod was a puppet king ruling under the authority of the Roman government. When the Magi came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him” Herod would have been more than disturbed. He was probably furious. His throne was threatened and he knew he would be displaced.
In the land of Narnia the White Witch felt the same emotions. She was not the rightful ruler. She had kept Narnia under her control through deception. She knew the prophecy concerning the “sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve.” When the children came to Narnia her leadership was threatened and she responds with revenge.
The next prophecy is when the place is determined. Herod was disturbed and he had to ask the chief priests and teachers of the law where the Christ was to be born.
E. The place is determined (Matthew 2:5-6 // Micah 5:2)
They replied, “In Bethlehem in Judea.” Then they quoted the prophet Micah, “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”
Bethlehem was a little town just south of Jerusalem. It wasn’t a place of importance to man, but it was to God.
In the land of Narnia there is a similar place of prophecy. When the children want to meet Aslan, the Beavers tell them they must go to the Stone Table and Aslan would meet them there. It wasn’t like he was always there, but it was the place appointed in prophecy.
The White Witch knew that Aslan and the children both appearing meant that prophetic events were happening, but she had to learn the place of prophecy from Edmund.
Today, we are told to watch for the return of Christ. Even if you know very little about Christian prophecy you would understand that Jerusalem and Israel play major roles. The very fact that Israel is a nation again after a period of almost 2000 years is a fulfillment of prophecy.
This past week the Prime Minister of Iran said the Nazi holocaust was a myth that never happened, and the Jews had no right to Palestinian land. If I were in Narnia, I would be whispering that Aslan is on the move. The question we must ask is, are we ready to meet Jesus at his return?
Every Christmas nativity set includes the Magi who delivered gifts.
F. Magi delivered gifts (Mathew 2:7-12 // Psalm 72:10-11)
Herod tried to deceive the Magi when he called them aside secretly to find the exact time the star had appeared. He then sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
The Magi gave their “gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.” This was a fulfillment of a prophecy in Psalm 72:10-11 where it says,
“The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
will bring tribute to him;
the kings of Sheba and Seba
will present him gifts.
All kings will bow down to him
and all nations will serve him.”
We are not told in detail how these valuable gifts were used, but we can assume that they provided the finances for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to escape to Egypt. We do know that the Magi were warned in a dream to return by another route. We can only try to imagine how the Magi felt after travelling many miles, meeting with Herod, finding the baby, bowing down in worship, giving gifts, then leaving by a different route. We can see how their hope was fulfilled, but how were their lives changed?
C. S. Lewis included the concept of gifts and hope together as well. It was the character of Father Christmas who brought gifts to the children. He did not bring gifts of toys or clothes. He brought gifts to prepare them for battle.
After the gifts are presented and the Magi leave, Joseph is directed to Egypt.
G. Joseph is directed to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15 // Hosea 11:1)
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” We are all called to be prepared. The Parable of the Ten Virgins is focused on the idea of preparedness. What hope would Joseph have if he said, “We’re not ready, we’ll have to wait a couple of days”?
Hope is not only related to prophesy, but it is directly related to preparedness as well. Joseph “took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt.”
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis included the idea of preparedness as they take fight from the Beaver house. Mrs. Beaver nearly ruins the flight over worrying about what will happen to her sewing machine. What are we tied to? Will we go where God wants us to go, and do what God wants us to do?
It seems in novels and in real life the innocent were put to death.
H. The innocent were put to death (Matthew 2:16-18 // Jeremiah 31:15)
“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi” (Matthew 2:16). These children had done nothing wrong. Their parents were not to be blamed for the action of the Magi. Yet, these children under the age of two were about to death to satisfy the evil desires of Herod. Herod had no idea that he was fulfilling prophecy written years before in Jeremiah 31:15 where the Lord says,
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because her children are no more.”
The fact is the innocent suffer. Mr. Tumnus did what was right by not turning Lucy over to the White Witch and he was turned to stone. Numerous innocent Narnians were killed in battle because of the evil desires of the White Witch.
Christ is the perfect example of innocent suffering. He suffered and died because of our guilt. Aslan the lion also suffered for those he loved. The power of innocence is greater than the power of death.
As the Christmas narrative ends Joseph, Mary, and Jesus move to the district of Galilee.
I. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus move to the district of Galilee (Matthew 2:19-23)
Herod dies and an angel tells Joseph to go back to Israel. “Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’”
Warren Wiersbe states,
"We will not find any specific prophecy that called Jesus a “Nazarene.” The term Nazarene was one of reproach: “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) In many Old Testament prophecies, the Messiah’s lowly life of rejection is mentioned; and this may be what Matthew had in mind (see Ps. 22; Isa. 53:2–3, 8)." (1)
It is in humility that we become exalted. The children became the rulers in Narnia, not the professor. An army led by children defeated the White Witch.
We have seen prophecy fulfilled in the Christmas narrative. We have seen it illustrated by C. S. Lewis in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Now we are faced with the question, how does the Christmas story apply to our lives? This is where we should be finding hope in our story.
II. Finding hope in our story
Today, we’re all fighting battles in our own lives. They may be the struggles of relationships, finances or health. We may face disgrace like Mary did, or be away from those we love, like the flight to Egypt. Natural disasters and political unrest tear our world, but it has always been that way.
Lewis wrote the “Chronicles of Narnia” to show a land torn by hatred, oppression and winter. Yet, there was hope because a brighter future was seen. In Narnia, Aslan broke the spell of winter and brought peace to the land under the leadership of the four children. As Christians, we look to an even brighter future, where Christ shall defeat Satan and his demons, and we shall live in peace under the rule of Christ in His Kingdom forever.
We have hope because of Jesus. That hope is celebrated on a day called Christmas, but it should be lived everyday. We have hope because Christ will return. WE watch today for his Second Coming as there were those like John the Baptist, Anna and Simeon who were waiting for Jesus to appear the first time.
We each have a purpose in this world. God has a plan for every believer. It may not be spoken or written as prophecy, but God has a plan. It may only be to carry a candle in the dark, telling those around us about the light of the world. Perhaps we will be like the wise men, looking for the king that was foretold. Perhaps we will be like Mr. and Mrs. Beaver who kept the old traditions and stories alive from generation to generation. Perhaps we will be like Peter and Susan who were given authority in Narnia to rule for a time, administering justice, mercy and kindness. Whatever our purpose, we need to embrace it and step forward to do whatever it is that God calls us to do.
CONCLUSION:
Today, I hope that you will embrace the hope that comes only through Jesus Christ. If you need to ask Jesus to come into your life, or if you need to commit yourself to fellow Christians walking in hope, come forward as we sing #_____, ____________________ _______________________________.
(1) Warren W. Wiersbe. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books 1989), 16.
