Quote from Forum Archives on December 14, 2005, 10:33 am

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

 

ADVENT 2005 #2/5

 

ASLAN IS ON THE MOVE

December 11, 2005

 

Text: Luke 1:26-38

 

 

“Aslan is on the move.” You have seen that as this morning’s sermon title. Some of you, though, may not know what or who an “Aslan” is. So let’s begin there.

Aslan is a character in the children’s fiction story introduced in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which is the first book of the “Chronicles of Narnia” series written by C. S. Lewis. Aslan is not just any character. He is a lion and is the character through whom power is given and redemption is received. For most readers, Aslan represents a Christ figure throughout all of the books.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is also a new movie that opened on Friday, December 9^th. There have been some previous television dramatizations of this C. S. Lewis book and a couple of others in the series, but this movie is a major production complete with quite modern special effects. I have not seen it yet, but it appears to capture the intent of the story from the original book.

Amazingly, some of the movie’s actors and releasing company, Disney, are claiming that the movie is not a Christian story. Rather, it is just a fantasy that was made into this particular movie. Some have said that C. S. Lewis never claimed it to be a Christian allegory, and that he just wrote it as a series of children’s stories.

Anyone who knows much about C. S. Lewis, though, should be puzzled by such claims. After becoming a Christian, C. S. Lewis became one of modern Christianity’s most significant apologists among English higher education culture. An apologist is a person who argues in favor of a selected belief. To attempt to convince readers and viewers today that C. S. Lewis made no connection between the Christian faith and his children’s stories is to ignore the central importance of the Christian faith in Lewis’s life. In fact, in a London Times article from last Sunday, December 4^th, Christopher Morgan writes, “An unpublished letter from the novelist C. S. Lewis has provided conclusive proof of the Christian message in his Narnia children’s books. In the letter, sent to a child fan in 1961, Lewis writes: ‘The whole Narnian story is about Christ.’” (Christopher Morgan, “Narnia's lion really is Jesus,” TimesOnline, December 4, 2005) [1] I hope that the letter will be validated as true; regardless, many studies of Lewis’s stories indicate the connection they make with the Christian faith. That a major secular production studio, Disney, which has in recent times demonstrated somewhat of an anti-Christian bias, would produce a high quality movie of a story associated with Christianity is amazing. God is on the move. Or, as the “Chronicles of Narnia” put it: Aslan is on the move.

Exciting things began to happen in Narnia when Aslan was on the move. The animals who lived there had been suffering “winter without Christmas” for many generations. But a new spring was beginning to appear as talk of Aslan on the move continued in the story. And an interesting description of Aslan appears when Mr. And Mrs. Beaver talk to three of the human children about Aslan. “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 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.” (C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, New York: Collier Books, 1950, pp. 75-76)

God was on the move when the angel Gabriel appeared to a young Jewish maiden named Mary. “The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.’” Mary, somehow, “found favor with God.” The angel thought this was good news; Mary was less certain. The angel went on to try to calm her, to ease her fears, and to reassure her that this was indeed good news. Mary was blessed; the Lord was with her.

When I think of blessings, I usually think of some activity of God that will bring me comfort or that will bring someone else comfort. This is not all bad thinking; God does bring comfort to His faithful. The Psalms are full of hymns about God’s protection. They even include promises of prosperity. Paul writes about a “peace that passeth all understanding” that comes from the Lord. God does bring comfort. A problem creeps in, though, because I have been taught -- and am still being taught -- that comfort equals comfortable. When God shows up, that ain’t necessarily so!

Mary was blessed by God -- and became pregnant. That’s hardly comfortable, especially for a young, unmarried Jewish maiden. Later on, somewhere near her due date, she had to load up on a donkey and travel around seventy miles. Not much of a trip in our day. What -- less than two hours? It took Mary and Joseph twenty days. When they arrived at their destination, “she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Not very comfortable at all, but God was on the move.

Noah was blessed by God. He had to build an ark and stay cooped up in it for months. Abraham was blessed by God. He had to leave the land he knew and travel to unknown places filled with prospective enemies. Moses was blessed by God. He had to leave his father-in-law’s flocks and return to Egypt to lead his people out of bondage. Hosea, Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Joel, and numerous others were blessed by God. They had to leave flocks, herds, and homes to take God’s message to a blind, deaf, and stiff-necked Israel. John the Baptist was blessed by God. He was sent into the wilderness to preach God’s prophetic word; he was arrested and executed because his preaching offended a queen. Twelve disciples were blessed by God. They left businesses to follow a man who was harassed by Jewish and Roman authorities alike. Paul was blessed by God. He left behind a promising career in the Sanhedrin to be beaten, tossed by wild seas, thrown into prisons, and turned over to Roman authorities. God’s blessings don’t end there. Church history is full of men and women blessed by God and called to respond to difficult circumstances. That’s why we’re here today.

In his commentary on Luke, Walter R. Bowie has written, “God’s favor for a nation or for the world may be more richly bestowed not in easy or piping times, but in a great challenge when a people’s real faith is winnowed and put to a costly test. Lives that might think themselves fortunate because they have never been called upon to face great difficulties may end with nothing to show but feebleness. It is the lives which have been given something great to do and to bear, even though they may have been bruised in the process, which have truly known the favor of God.” (The Interpreter’s Bible, v. 8, p. 37) To be reluctant to pray for these kinds of blessings is our common human heritage as well as our misfortune, because we may fail to recognize that God is on the move.

We have read the accounts in Matthew and Luke numerous times; we have heard and seen radio dramas and movies retelling the story of Joseph and Mary; we have heard sermons from the first few chapters of Matthew and Luke. Even with all of this, it is difficult to imagine what massive sacrifices were being made in order for the prophecies to be fulfilled. Joseph and Mary had to endure difficult travel to be enrolled in the census, but so did thousands of others. I doubt that Mary was the only pregnant woman on the roads those days.

All of this trouble so that the prophecy about a Messianic birth in Bethlehem could be fulfilled? Joseph and Mary had both already been visited an angel; could they not have had one more visit? “Hey, Joseph. I know you like Nazareth and all, and Mary is, well, a little pregnant, but, you see, God’s Son really needs to be born in Bethlehem. It’s one of those prophecy things, you know. So, since you’ve already been such a sport, I was hopin’ you wouldn’t mind takin’ a little trip. Besides, Bethlehem’s nice this time of the year.”

Certainly that would have been less disruptive than what actually happened. But it would certainly be less verifiable. After all, any follower of Jesus could claim afterwards that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Who could verify it? But when everyone had to head for their town of ancestry by decree of the Roman emperor, well, it becomes a bit more historical. It also prepared the hearts of some to be able to recognize that the way was prepared for the Messiah. Those who recognized that God was on the move were rewarded with the certain knowledge that the promises of redemption were just around the corner; that they were real. God was on the move.

God is still on the move. That’s not a difficult conclusion for Christians to make, I hope. But there seem to be rather unique sequences of events occurring. It’s not quite as comfortable to be a Christian as it has been before. As I mentioned last Sunday, lawsuits and marketing strategies are attempting to replace “Christmas” with “holiday.” People who are offended by Christian prayers in public places can take their complaints to court… and often receive favorable hearings. The Christian faith is mocked and put down in the name of entertainment on an almost daily basis. Christians are finding it more difficult to simply live in peace in a culture that is marching away from God and toward a pit.

Yet, all this creates more evidence that God is on the move. As the use of Christian displays is challenged in the courts and in the marketplace, secularists are getting a clear message that the Christ of Christmas is still important to Americans. As Christian values are devalued in every entertainment venue available, secularists are getting a clear message that Christian testimony still reaches Americans. The Passion of the Christ produced by Mel Gibson continues to impact the lives of viewers with its powerful portrayal of the suffering Messiah. Now, even though they may not have realized what they were doing, secular Disney is providing a significant avenue in which the Gospel of Jesus can be the topic of public and casual discussions. Christians can connect with children and teens and young adults who have seen this movie with questions like, “Do you remember when Aslan did this or did that?” They will answer, “Yeah, that was cool!” Christians have been given an opportunity to say, “That’s what Jesus did for us!” God is on the move.

In spite of her fears, Mary told Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” With that commitment to God, Mary encountered many discomforts, challenges, and dangers. She also encountered God; the God who is still on the move in His world and in our lives. “But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end… I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

 

[1] http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14929-1903338,00.html

 

Rev. Charles A. Layne, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN

 

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