A Cat, A Crone, And A Closet
INTRODUCTION:
Clive Staples Lewis, better known as CS LEWIS, was once quoted as saying “You’ve given up smoking once: I’ve given it up a dozen times!”
Perhaps this is why people do not make many resolutions.
We give things up only to return to them, and perhaps, re-vow to give them up again.
The quote was actually taken from an essay that Lewis wrote where he was really teaching about forgiveness and had only quoted an often repeated bit of humor. In context, the passage reads,
“There is no use in talking as if forgiveness were easy. We all know the old joke, ‘You’ve given up smoking once: I’ve given it up a dozen times.’ In the same way I could say of a certain man, ‘Have I forgiven him for what he did that day? I’ve forgiven him more times than I can count:’ For we find that the work of forgiveness has to be done over and over again.”
Maybe we should take this attitude when it comes to resolutions and resolve to do right, to forgive, and to live biblically always and to keep doing so even on the likely occasion that we will fail.
Living biblically, however, requires knowledge of the Bible. Have you wondered why we spend time studying the Bible?
There are several reasons, of course, and here are just a few:
First, we want to grow in our knowledge of God and deepen our spiritual relationship with Him. After all, what is it to be a Christian, than to know and do what Christians are supposed to do according to the One who orders our lives?
Secondly, by studying Scripture we come to better understand God’s world, how to live in it, and how best to represent Him. We are not left in the world to do nothing, but to make a positive impact here, guiding others to the very Source of our salvation.
Thirdly, studying God’s word is not only commanded by God, but He offers us a blessing when do so.
Revelation 1:3 NIV, for example, promises a divine blessing in its very first chapter:
“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take
to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”
This is not a sermon on Revelation, but I just wanted to apprise you of one of the great benefits of reading and abiding the Bible, and filling your life with its contents.
SEGUE:
A man whose life was steeped in the Bible and who has had an impact on the lives of thousands of people was the late CS Lewis, who we previously mentioned.
Perhaps you caught the movie about one of the painful times in his life. It was released in 1993 and was titled, “Shadowlands.” This might be something you would be interested in seeing after today’s message.
Lewis was a prolific author, having written numerous books, many of which aptly defend the Christian faith. His book “Mere Christianity” comes to mind, and most certainly has aided many in their personal understanding and in their Christian witness.
Lewis also wrote many articles discussing a great many issues such as the one in the opening quote, but today we are interested in Lewis because of his fiction writing. He did not write without purpose, but with a biblically driven creative impulse.
Today’s focus is on the current movie craze caused by an adaptation of Lewis’ children’s fantasy, “The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe.”
How many have seen this movie? How many of you have read the book?
I have done both, and so I felt it good to contribute some thoughts regarding this culturally accepted Gospel presentation.
While I do not presume to know all of his theology, and while I am aware that some have stated concerns regarding some of Lewis’ views, I am not here to go into all that. I merely want to look at what seems to me to be a spiritually stellar contribution to our life and time, by recognizing the message of this movie adaptation of his book (which is quite faithful).
SERMON TITLE:
This morning’s sermon message follows the title of the movie in its three points. We’ll call ours,
“A CAT, A CRONE, AND A CLOSET!”
MOVIE SET UP:
To begin, and I don’t mean to be a spoiler, but perhaps this will fuel your desire to catch the movie as I tell you something about it. The story is presented as a fantasy, but it is based on the reality of the Gospel message. I do believe that the message is so obvious that one would be hard pressed to miss it, yet some have, and that concerns me because some of those that have not seen the blatant correlation between the two have been professing Christians.
I do believe that Christian and non-Christian alike will enjoy this film, as will both adults and children. Since so many will be watching this movie, it provides a wonderful, positive opportunity for witnessing to others. Perhaps you have felt uncomfortable or even defensive as other Hollywood productions have made their way to the silver screen and have become fuel for conversation around the water cooler at work. The Da Vinci Code, and any of the Harry Potter movies spring immediately to mind. With these we must provide correctives and defend the truth of our faith. But with The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe we my relax into a fruitful discussion with anyone, and simply point out the connection between the movie’s storyline and the Bible which prompted it.
THE STORY:
The story is about four Children being sent away for safe keeping to a professor¡’s home, far away from the danger of the city which is the focus of German bombing in WWII Britain. After a brief time at the professor’s home, the discovery of a room which contains only a wardrobe is made. The children hide in the wardrobe and find themselves falling out the backside, and into another world, something like Alice In Wonderland with her looking glass.
The place they land is called “Narnia,” and it is a world of mythical figures where everyone has a great adventure; where evil and good are at odds and evil is eventually vanquished. The children are subsequently crowned as kings and queens and everyone lives happily ever after; sort of.
OUTLINE:
The most important character in the movie is “The CAT;” The Lion named Aslan.
From what I understand, Aslan is simply a word that means “lion” and is of Turkish origin. Lewis must have had some interest in things Turkish, because their also appears a dessert food in the story called “Turkish Delight.”
In any event, Aslan was a special kind of individual, and one of the final lines in the movie stated that he wasn’t a tame lion, or a safe lion, but as the little girl Lucy noted, nonetheless, Aslan was a good lion.
His presence is spiritual. He is reverenced by all, and he is good and kind, but also dangerous.
Aslan’s role in the movie is that of Christ. There is no doubt that Jesus is good, and that Jesus is love incarnate,
but he will also to return some day to be the judge of the whole earth; receiving those that are his, and casting away those that are not.
In James 4:12 NIV it states that “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy.¨
God alone is able to both save or destroy, and Christ is God incarnate, the one who is good and kind to the saved, but will represent danger to the unbelieving haters of God, come the day of final judgment.
To use a lion to depict Christ is appropriate because the Bible uses that image for him. Revelation 5:4-5 NIV
reads, “no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll.¨
How do we usually think of lions? A lion is king of the jungle, is he not? In the story he is king of Narnia, the whole world there. He is king over all, and Revelation 19:16 says that Jesus Christ is also king over all, king of the whole world. It says that Christ is “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.¨
Aslan was positively rumored, and everyone had heard of him and knew of him and was looking forward to his appearing in the story. Before you meet him, however, you hear of prophecies being fulfilled in the arrival of the children which the movie repeatedly refers to as sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. This is done because no one else in Narnia is human, and only the humans will fulfill the prophecies to sit on the thrones there secured by the great lion.
Again, the Bible commentators say that Revelation 20:4 may well refer to all Christians as Christ places them, or us, on thrones in His fulfilled kingdom. John the revelator said, "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge." NIV
Whether this passage refers to all Christians or a select group, we know that Revelation 1:6 most certainly says that Christ “has made us [all] to be a kingdom and priests.¨ It is the Lord’s kingdom, and we serve as his royal ambassadors. The King James Version of the Bible translated the passage that God has “made us kings and priests.”
What Aslan ends up doing, which is where the Christ element really plays into the story, is this:
Aslan refuses to give up Edmund, whom he has forgiven for his various treasons, and instead, offers himself to satisfy justice. You see, Edmund was the one child of the four who was prone to be more mischievous, less truthful, and in fact, ran into the White Witch who beguiled him into ratting out his family and various friends they had made along their adventure in Narnia.
While most of us want to identify with the good characters in the movie, and there are many, it is Edmund with which we all should most identify. Edmund had shown himself faithless, and faulted. He was a true son of Adam, fallen, sinful, and deserving of punishment. But he is redeemed through his encounter with Aslan who saves him from the evil one (the witch), and then satisfies the law of Narnia by giving his own life as a sacrifice for Edmund’s.
Just as the cross put the sinless Christ to death, and he rose from the dead, so Aslan is pierced and slain, and rises again because he alone is innocent. This is especially where the Gospel message is seen, and it amazes me that some Christians have missed it, saying they saw no spiritual significance to the movie.
The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned.” All means all, and that includes you and me, and Edmund. The Bible continues down the path of the Romans Road as it informs us further that “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
We are all sinners, whose debt of sin was paid for us by our savior Jesus, the lion of Judah, just as it was for Edmund by Aslan, the lion of Narnia. So there we are. Identifying with life in Narnia. Narnia, by the way, is named for an ancient city in Italy called “Narni,” which CS Lewis just happened to like the sound of.
Next in our story is:
THE CRONE:
From the Pentateuch to the Apocalypse, witchcraft is condemned by God as something evil, awful and forbidden by god. There is nothing good in it. In Deuteronomy 18:10-12 God commands his people saying, “Let no one be found among you who … engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD¨(NIV).
The last book of the Bible says that the craft of witches is still present. Revelation 9:21 reads “Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.¨
The crone, or witch of Narnia is evil. She is called the “White Witch,¨ presumably because of the snow and ice she has caused all over the land, but it is her heart that is just as cold as the stone into which she turns the various innocent creatures of Narnia. Witchcraft is never “White¡¨ as so often we hear today. Modern witches do, however, think of themselves as good.
ILLUSTRATION:
I worked the entrance of a posh Beverly Hills restaurant when I was in my twenties, and there was this witch I met that was very attractive, very nice, and was well to do because she owned the local occult paraphernalia shop.
People would go to her to acquire love potions or candles and whatever they needed to do their supposed white magic, but as pleasant as she seemed, and as nice a person she might have been, her witchcraft was already condemned by God thousands of years ago (Deu 18:10-12).
Witchcraft is very interested in nature, because that is the focus of its worship. Witches often give homage to female deities and the earth goddess, but every expression of it denies the one true God of the Bible, the incarnate Christ, and the gospel of salvation from sin. Even if you know a nice witch, she is but a sinner like all of the rest of the world that does not know God.
THE WHITE WITCH OF NARNIA:
The witch in Narnia was deceptive; she captivated young Edmund with delectable desserts and promised Him power.
Satan in the Garden did the same to Eve.
Edmund told her where to find his brother and sisters, and it caused the capture of the fawn, the attack on the Beavers, and the near capture of his family.
All of it was the act of a traitor, and yet, every time we, ourselves, entertain the devil’s offerings, or choose to act contrary to the known will of God, are we behaving any differently than Edmund? No we are not. We are Edmund.
The witch orchestrated the death of Aslan, and we know that Satan was hard at work when Christ was killed.
The witch brought the death of winter, and as the line in the movie went, “it is always winter, but never Christmas.¨ Without Christ, it was always bleak.
I like the fact that the witch was a bad character and not the hero in the movie, as with the Harry Potter films.
God opposes witchcraft of any kind, and we should hold His opinion if we serve him in his kingdom, don’t you agree????
THE OTHER CHARACTERS:
Lewis uses a lot of mythology in his Narnia story; there are fawns, and minotaurs, griffins, and unicorns, centaurs and talking animals. But this is a place of fantasy, a parallel universe, so to speak, and Lewis was bringing the Savior into a world not ours, though certainly applicable to ours and obviously with ours as a referent since all of these were imagined here.
The creatures of Narnia, like people in the world, aligned themselves on one of two sides, either that of the witch, or that of Aslan; darkness or light.
In the movie, Aslan providentially triumphs, the wicked old witch is dead, and the dead of winter turns to thriving spring. And just as “you were dead in your transgressions and sins¨ (Ephesians 2:1 NIV), so in Christ, all things become new, and you are alive forevermore!
Again, John’s vision in Revelation 21:5-6 NIV says “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new! …I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.’”
We must be mindful of the fact that God is all powerful and the devil is limited. He is a mere creature, while God is the mighty creator. In the movie, you will see that there are opposed forces, but you may be tempted to think them opposite and equal. I do not believe Lewis would want you to walk away with that impression, because just as certainly as evil is present in this current world, one day it too will be no more, and Satan will be done with (just as the witch in Narnia). Once again, Revelation 21:4 informs us that Christ “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” The day is coming when Christ will return for his church, judge the wicked and usher in the heavenly kingdom. What a day that will be, that Last day!!!!
Until then, we come to our third major element in the movie:
THE CLOSET:
My kids didn’t know what a wardrobe was. A wardrobe is usually a persons collection of cloths, and we in America don’t usually think of the cabinet that houses them by that word. I’d say armoire, but it’s best explained to my kids as a “standing closet.”
In the movie, the kids stumble across this wardrobe, first little Lucy, then Edmund, then the lot. The older kids did not believe the youngest one at first, and why should they? Things like this just were not true, they didn’t happen. Yet Lucy had the experience of having taken the steps. She believed, and though the world thought her daft, she knew in her heart it was real. She had received the truth of it, experienced it, and sought to continually return.
THE APPEAL:
There also comes a time when each of us must investigate for ourselves the truth of the Gospel, and the truth of the Bible. People often meet Christians and feel as these older siblings of Lucy’s. She was playing make-believe, they thought, just as people will judge the Christian and say he or she believes because it is desirable, it is preferable, and it is such nice fantasy that it gets us through our day. But surely it isn’t to be truly believed as real.
Christians just want it to be so, the unbeliever thinks, therefore Christians believe. But this isn’t true at all. The Bible had real prophecies that came true, and Jesus was a genuine person of history who was crucified to death, and whom witnesses testified of his resurrection. Civilization changed on account of the Christian worldview, and our time line is dated from that first Christmas that came in earth’s wintertime, after not 100 years, but 400 years of divine silence between the testaments.
We know that we do sin, err, and fall short on some level (conscious or subconscious) yet God will account us as righteous if we will just accept his having paid the price for sin in our stead. But that is key: we must trust the Lord. and step through from the disbelief of this world, to the true reality of the heavenly one.
We must step into the wardrobe, and be received into Narnia.
The author of Revelation also wrote the Gospel of John. It is there that Jesus is recorded as having said: "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life¡¨ (John 5:24 NIV)
Yes, it is we who are Edmund, and we must heed the word of Aslan and believe. Jesus promises eternal life instead of what we apparently already have, and that is condemnation. We will not be condemned if we only turn and believe. Isn’t that good news? Gospel news? We won’t get our ominous just desserts (our Turkish demise) so long as we hear and believe.
The wardrobe is there before you. Will you enter in, those who have not, and those who have forgotten, will you return?
Will you believe and not doubt? The good news is that God is on the move, and he wants you for his very own. He wants you near him, and he wants to save you from yourself.
Jesus said, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9 NAS). It is contingent. “If” you enter, you WILL be saved! You must be saved. Enter. Why do you disbelieve? Why do you hesitate?
ANNECDOTAL NOTE:
I have already heard of salvations from this movie by people who have been previously exposed to the Gospel but did not understand until they saw the Chronicles of Narnia. It is certainly one seed deposited into the lives of people whom God’s Holy Spirit is calling. God gives the increase, but we plant and water and never know which we are doing. This movie is a tool in the harvester’s hand.
I have also heard Christians say they didn’t get anything out of it, which makes me wonder where they are with the Lord currently. How can such an obvious Gospel corollary be missed? Perhaps these have not genuinely understood the true nature of Christ’s substitutionary atonement; His standing in for us, His satisfaction of justice where we were completely guilty, his life for ours. Perhaps they should see the movie again, or better yet, read the book it was based on. No, not Lewis’, God’s.
RECOMMENDATION:
This movie is excellent; one to own when it comes out on DVD. Take your friends, but make certain you see it.
This is an open door for sharing your faith, and a strengthening of the same. It is a cultural spiritual gimme, and it would be a shame to see it pass without the church taking full advantage. Take whatever God gives, and be faithful to multiply it until the Master returns.
FINAL PRAYER/CALL TO RESPONSE:
