I don’t often do this, but it would mean a lot to me if you would not simply read, but read, think and pray about this entry.
“I’ve always been impressed that we are here, surviving, because of the indomitable courage of quite small people against impossible odds.” ~On the English people
Of course, said Gandalf. And why should not they prove true? Surely you do not disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!
–(J.R.R. Tolkien’s character) GandalfThe Lord of the Rings is about how men, including the humblest of men, choose to act in the face of moral urgency and engulfing peril. It is about the power of humility, the wisdom of mercy, the glory of self-sacrificial valor, the false glamour of evil, the workings of grace, and above all, the necessity of faith. Put more plainly, LOTR screenwriter Phillippa Boyans says it’s about goodness — an idea that leaves many moderns skeptical and confused. “We come from a generation that has never had that question put to us,” she said in an interview. “It was put to the generation of World War I. It was put to the generation of World War II. ‘What are you prepared to do?’ ‘Are you going to hold on?’ ‘Are you going to keep going?’ ‘Do you have to live?’ ‘Is this a world worth fighting for?’ All of this is in there.”
–Rod Dreher
I will take comments, but only ones that wrestle with the content here and its call for courage, faith and hope. Many thanks–KSH
Poignant stuff and it begs the bigger question of how we little ones stand up for goodness in the dace of evil? Is it by faithfully hanging in or by bravely walking out? After many years of discernment I feel it is time for Anglo Catholics to be faithful by walking…what else is the gracious offer of an ordinariate but Gods hand opening one door where another is being slammed in our faces? But God will doubtless also need those who will stay behind tending the ravage sheep who could not or would not leave for safer pasture
A line from the Articles of Religion has continued to come to mind the past year or so–since we were called out to start a new parish: “…whereas Christ saith plainly, When ye have done all that commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable servants” (Article XIV [i] Of Works of Supererogation). [/i]
The full statement of our Lord concludes, “‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty” (Luke 17:10).
I have Psalm 124 taped in front of me (also since about the time we started church planting): “If the LORD himself had not been on our side…they would have swallowed us up alive….”
There is something quite liberating in smallness. When we see that the stone the builders have rejected is now becoming the chief cornerstone, it can truly be marvelous in our eyes.
William Shontz
[url=http://theleca.org ]The Lake Erie Confessing Anglican[/url]
Unless she is speaking only of the current generation of young adults, I think Boyans is incorrect in asserting that the question of goodness (virtue, “what are you prepared to do?”, “are you going to hold on?”, “Is this a world worth fighting for?”) has not been put to us.
It has been my experience that it has most certainly been not just “put to” at least one significant subset of us, but [i]inculcated into[/i] much of that subset . Born in October of 1945 I am not of the generation of WWII, but of the first generation that followed it, yet still a pre-baby boomer. But, having served voluntarily in the U.S. Navy, I had that question, at least in essence, and the others quoted in your excerpt, put to me from the very beginning of that service. And it was reiterated by my duties time and again for a bit over 20 years of my service. Enough such that it became an ingrained part of who I am. And I would have to state that a fair number of my comrades in arms, as well as our successors, would share my response to her assertion—[i]i.e.[/i], I don’t think that I am in any way exceptional among those who have served honorably in this nation’s military.
Pax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer
One of my favorite lines from the LOTR trilogy was the following one, just prior to the Riders of Rohan moving to relieve embattled Gondor:
This represents self-sacrifice, doing what is right against all the odds, and faith. It also means stepping up to the plate to do what is right even when you don’t know what the end result will be.
When growing up, all my friends were reading “Lord of the Rings”. I never did. Then the movies were made. I never saw the movies. And yet, after reading the post, I am intrigued.
Even so, for me, courage, faith, hope — these are the things that make my life worth living. I wonder what the reason for living would be without courage, faith, and hope. I am but one little person in a great big world but I have been blessed to serve God in some of the farthest reaches of that great big world. It is there, in those places, far removed from my home town and the comforts that I enjoy there, that I have experienced the greatest courage, the most abundant faith, and the deepest sense of hope. All this because of the One who died on the cross.
If we are taking favorite lines form FOTR, one of mine is:
Frodo: “I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.”
Gandalf: “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.”
The ring is the difficult task we all must deal with, but there is a reason the LORD has meant for us to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.
ELROND: You ride to war, but not to victory. … You’re outnumbered. You need more Men.
ARAGORN: There are none.
ELROND: …There are those who dwell in the mountain….
In the battles between good and evil, even the ones we now face, help can come from unexpected quarters. That is for those who do not flee!
Blessings
seraph
Reading the Lord of the Rings when I was an impressionable teenager had a significant influence on how I viewed and still view the world. I became a Christian maybe a year or so later. I don’t think the two events were related, certainly not in a conscious sense at all, but they certainly reinforce each other.
I suppose I see LOTR as a mythical story, but following Christ is the real Quest, no matter how dark things may seem at times. Certainly, many times we would just like to stay in our warm, comfortable hobbit-holes, but the Lord is calling us to something else. And He will use each of us if we let Him, no matter how unsuited to the task we think we may be. It could very well be hard, dangerous and uncomfortable, but it is necessary. And the simple fact is there is no avoiding it if you wish to be truly engaged with life.
“I will take the Ring,†he said,
“though I do not know the way.â€
Elrond raised his eyes and looked at him………
“This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise
from their quiet fields,
to shake the towers and counsels of the Great.
Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it?â€
I will forgo my favorite LOTR quotation for an apt passage of Scripture I have been working on in our parish’s Bible 201 course: “Rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again, Rejoice!” (Phil 4:4). Remember, Paul wrote this in a Roman prison within a few years of his execution under Nero. Rejoice in the Lord!
As long as we’re going with the LOTR theme, Gandalf to Saruman, “There is only one Lord of the Ring, and he does not share power.” Applied here, it is hard to see what peaceful co-existence means for the orthodox within TEC with the current leadership and trajectory of TEC. And also applied here, and to the valiant who remain in the Episcopal Diocese of South Caroline, it does mean that the fight, when it comes and as it seems to be coming, must be waged tooth and nail with little illusion of a happy compromise….as long as we’re going with the LOTR theme.
And what follows, Brian Vander Wel, is also very appropriate here: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7)
These are words to take to heart at this time.
Make your own lines.
The battle rages.
Draw your swords…and not to the tune of a story once written.
Don’t be so shallow because of life once lived in the valiant.
Step forward and have the arrow pointed at your own heart.
Whether or not you can win should not be a consideration when it comes to fighting for what’s right. You fight for what’s right simply because it’s RIGHT.
And sometimes there exist others, including God, who will rumble for you, as well, even when you least expect them to.
Prayers…
Courage is intertwined with integrity, before God, man, and ourselves. It address the issues “who are we and who do we serve.” Are we here to serve God, ourselves, or others? If we are here to do God’s will, then we follow the course set before us and trust that no matter what befalls, God can use it all to accomplish His purpose. We are too quick to look at our attempts in the briefest of moments and see failure. God see the entire masterpiece and knits it all together. We are called simply to be faithful and trust in him and not in ourselves.
Tolkien knew this well and uses Gandalf to share this truth with Bilbo. There is no chance, only providence. There is no failure for God’s will cannot be thwarted.
So, who do you serve? The answer God desires is simple. As for me an my house, we serve the Lord.
I read the LOTR repeatedly throughout my adolescent. It spoke to me on a deep and profound level that only became more fully understood when I met Christ. Likewise, I read and re-read the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis wishing that they were real and true. Imagine my great joy when it all came together.
I know what it is to be in Mordor. I know the great joy of accepting the end only to discover it is not the end. This is only the beginning much more is to come, but it is not for now. It will come soon enough. Until then, there is work to be done and by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ it will be done and some through us.
[b]14. MichaelSean[/b],
Amen!
Perhaps another passage worthy of pondering when we reflect upon divine means and ends:
[blockquote]Do you remember Gandalf’s words: [i]Even Gollum may have something yet to do?[/i] But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. So let us forgive him! For the Quest is achieved, and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.[/blockquote]
Whenever faced with overwhelming circumstances, it is helpful to step away from the situation and try to see things from the larger perspective. I am currently grappling with this very same problem. I suspect that in the end I will conclude that I cannot fathom God’s purpose. He is working it out. I can only pray that I will follow His will and humbly accept whatever role He gives to me.
[blockquote]2 Chronicles 16:9a (New Living Translation)
The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
[/blockquote]
[b]For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.[/b] (1 Samuel 16:7)
If we can discern and stay in God’s will, we can persevere wherever directed, with the calm and joy so dramatically displayed by Paul and Silas, who, after being beaten and imprisoned for casting a demon out of a fortune teller, sat heartily praising God amidst the darkness.
Mark Brown
San Angelo, Texas
March 18, 2010
>>>>courage, faith and hope
I have lost all three over the past four years. I am completely insecure where I was once very confident, I have faltered in my faith to the point of declaring God as my enemy, and I have lost almost all of my hope starting from when God abandoned me those four years ago.
The verse that repeatedly comes to mind for me in all these struggles: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then we were like those who dream. Ps 126:1 — this is a reference to the great and surprising deliverance out of captivity. Patrick Reardon has a wonderful write up in Christ in the Psalms.
as to staying and fleeing…..staying in what and fleeing from what?
I will never flee from Christ or my Catholic faith…..but should a politicaly expedient institution abandon the faith then why would that deserve undying loyalty?
Would not the more faithful thing be to seek a pasture for the sheep away from the wolves? For if Anglicanism is intent on allying itself with the world then we no longer have a place within it. It becomes a part of the orcs foul city and we must move to the places where faithfulness is preserved and upheld that we might fight for the kingdom alongside fellow believers
That is a sad situation to be in. It requires nerve, sacrifice, change and courage. But I earnestly believe that we are at the point whereby Gandalf would stare at us and shout
‘flee you fools!’
[rugbyplayingpriest – your posts at 1. above and this one are in breach of T19’s comment policy in suggesting, encouraging or instructing readers to leave one church or join another. You were warned yesterday about this and with regret, if you continue to breach our rules, it will affect your commenting privileges here. We value your participation as we do with all our commenters and hope you will take note and that we do not have to get involved again – thanks – Elf]
But in the lord of the rings I don’t believe thy fled. They stayed and fought, thy stood up for what is right, they even raced to meet evil. To lie down and die is not nearly as noble as to stand and be cut down.[or be thrown out on your ear in this case]
I take great comfort in these postings from each of you. Approaching them in prayer gives much hope; particularly for those of us who stay. Evil does not go away (by itself), we must battle against it.
Frodo speaking with Queen Arwen after the ring has been destroyed is told, ‘For you know the power of the thing which is now destroyed; and all that was done by that power is now passing away.’
The lines that haunt me are:
Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.â€
God has not called us to save the Episcopal Church. God has called us to preach the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Lord of the Rings, as you recall, there is no where to flee. It’s not decision to flee or not flee, it’s a matter of where you choose to stand. No matter what denomination you are in, this particular battle is coming you. Saroun can see everywhere. The battle is not with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers. Remember that the battle for souls will not be won by any of us… Jesus alone is victor.
In 2003 at the GenCon in Minneapolis the AAC held a gathering for prayer in the Lutheran church across from the convention hall on the day before the HoD was to make its vote on Gene Robinson’s consent. Someone, I think it was (now bishop) John Guernsey said: “All of us are very anxious now, but there is one thing we can know for certain. God is not wondering and waiting to find out how the vote will go tomorrow.”
God is not wondering what will happen at the House of Bishops meeting beginning today. He is not concerned about what votes or actions will be taken.
He has South Carolina and its bishop — and our bishop of Albany — in His own Hands, and we are all safe there.
Courage is what you are doing [i]while[/i] you are being afraid. My Dad, who came back from WWii with 6 bronze stars for bravery, told me that — that he was afraid the whole time he was in battle, yet did what needed to be done. And, he saved the lives of his men while doing it.
Know this:
THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMES!! Not by our efforts, but always by His Grace. Yesterday we had Psalm 73: we have only to see the end of the wicked to know that in truth they do NOT prevail.
Kendall, we disagree on methods, but we are on the same page concerning the outcome. Be stouthearted, and wait upon the Lord
You, your bishop and all your diocese are in our prayers now and always.
I am glad that I heard Aragorn’s exhortation in the film version of The Return of the King before the Black Gate,
[i]“…my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends, and break all bonds of fellowship; but it is not this day! An hour of wolves, and shattered shields, when the Age of Men comes crashing down; but it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!” [/i]
I also think that is it good to recall that when Gandalf’s “Fly, you fools” is cited, it is sometimes forgotten that he did not shout it over his shoulder as he fled. He shouted it as he dropped down into the depths and the darkness to continue the fight until the balrog was dead.
It seems that, in the film, there is another one who advises flight:
[i]Denethor: My sons are spent. My line has ended. Rohan has deserted us. Theoden’s betrayed me. Abandon your posts! Flee, flee for your lives!
[He turns around, and Gandalf knocks him out with his staff]
Gandalf: Prepare for battle! [/i]
It reminds me of the holy priest, Father Alexander Mackonochie, who said, “No surrender. No desertion.”
And know also, there IS Life after TEC
(And it can be quite good)
I am sorry, but I forgot to “sign” my post above.
Father Dean A. Einerson
Rhinelander, Wisconsin
RE: “Would not the more faithful thing be to seek a pasture for the sheep away from the wolves?”
No.
RE: “we must move to the places where faithfulness is preserved and upheld that we might fight for the kingdom alongside fellow believers . . . ”
Okay — when will you be leaving?
RE: “But I earnestly believe that we are at the point whereby Gandalf would stare at us and shout . . . ”
I don’t.
But if you do, have you left yet? Perhaps you could start a blog talking about how you are thinking of leaving and why others should be as well. I’m sure all of those thinking of leaving could go and add comments to it and read it with great interest. It would certainly be an improvement over your using this blog to write the same stuff on every single thread.
Dean Einerson — you would not believe how often I have thought of Denethor over the past six years. Thank you for quoting that piece. One of his many fatal flaws was that he looked into the Palantir and believed that he could see the future, when in reality the Dark Lord simply shaped what he wished for Denethor to see.
He was an arrogant and in the end, murderous, and pathetic man.
#21, I have heard you. Know that I am praying for you. Though you may believe you have lost your faith, God has not lost his faith in you. Though you may have declared God your enemy, he has not done so with you – he loves you and wants more than anything for you to turn to him and turn yourself over to him. I have been where you are. Pray, my friend. It works, though only on God’s schedule and time. But Pray.
I do not know why I have continued to stay in TEC, other than I do not feel a call to go elsewhere and I do feel a call to do whatever I can to help TEC.
“Gamling: Too few have come. We cannot defeat the armies of Mordor.
Theoden: No, we cannot. But we will meet them in battle nonetheless.”
These quotes resonate so much with me. I don’t know if anything I ever do can change TEC from its trajectory. But “nonetheless” I must continue to try. It is in the Lord’s hands.
‘The Lord of the Rings’ is truly an indispensable book as C.S. Lewis says in his essay on ‘Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings’. “Because, I take it, one of the main things the author wants to say is that the real life of men is of that mythical and heroic quality.” (On Stories page 89)
Tolkien, as he states in his preface to LOTR, wrote to try his hand at a really long story that could excite or deeply move his readers. And in that he definitely succeeded probably beyond his wildest dreams. But I think he accomplished more even than that: he managed to strike a chord that resonates deep within the human soul. Because I think deep down people really want to be part of something bigger than themselves, to be part of some grand adventure. If we let it, as the people on this thread appear to have, I believe Tolkien’s book can move us on to a quest of sorts for that which is truly good, noble and true. Too often and too easily it seems we settle for less than we were created for, much less. But there is so much more. People have forgotten – or maybe it’s more like they’ve given up on – the story that’s been going on since the dawn of time.
Ross
Sigh…for what it’s worth, and I think probably needs be pondered deeply and quietly: “”The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.” JRR Tolkien in “The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien”, Houghton Mifflin. Letter no. 142, page 172
Kendall, this is a lovely and powerful set of quotes. Thanks.
I just came across this from Augustine at Pat Dague’s blog Transformations – it ties in so well with what you’ve focused on above:
[blockquote]God of our life, there are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and weigh us down; when the road seems dreary and endless, the skies grey and threatening; when our lives have no music in them, and our hearts are lonely, and our souls have lost their courage. Flood the path with light, run our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; tune our hearts to brave music; give us the sense of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age; and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to Your honour and glory. …Augustine[/blockquote]
Kendall, may the Lord direct your heart, +Mark’s heart and the hearts of all His people in South Carolina into His Love and Christ’s perseverance. (2 Th 3:5)
You may want to check out what Susan Russell has to say about this blog entry on her site. Paraphrasing, she says ‘I finally get it. They (meaning we reasserters) are not about compromise and reaching consensus but they think this is a fight between good and evil.’ I congratulated her with explanation, saying she does finally get it. But I won’t hold my breath that she will post my comment.
Also, I appreciate the comments of Dean and Sarah. The Denethor image is an important one to rememember. If our decisions are marked by despair, then our focus is no longer on Christ but ‘the palantir’ of our times. That said, I was prepared to stand and suffer within and quite surprisingly found myself sent out. Neither is easy.
38. episcoganglican
Why must it be a fight? The Anglican Church and ECUSA have traditionally been a place for differing views to come together, have productive dialogue, and leave with respect for the other party. It seems that if we are members of a denomination that known for the Great Compromise in the Eucharist prayer, we can work together to find a workable solution to any of the issues facing ECUSA today.
Please forgive a typo–“…denomination that is known…”
So, Phedre, are you unaware of the comments by Bp. J. Jon Brüno which implied that anyone who denied consent to Glasspool was violating a canon of TEC? The answer to your question is implicit in your choice of verbs in the second sentence or your comment at [b]40[/b], namely that the two bodies [emphasis mine] “[b][i]have been[/i][/b] a place for differing views to come together….” Given the sheer number of ([b]demonstrably uncanonical[/b] depositions inflicted by the current PB, with the complicity of a majority in the HoB, it can no longer be rationally asserted that The Episcopal Church (the whole body, not some of its individual dioceses and parishes) can still be honestly defined as such a tolerant place.
Your reference to the “Great Compromise” is also inapt. The distance between [i]sacramentalists[/i] and [i]memorialists[/i], is a matter of human understanding of the Eucharist, which is, in turn, a matter of human interpretation. The question of Glasspool’s [i]manner of life[/i] is not open to such ambiguity. Scripture does address it. There are, then, only three possibilities for Scripture’s treatment of whether or not that [i]manner of life[/i] is blessed by God or not: (1) Scripture consistently teaches in all unambiguous citations that it is sinful, (2) Scripture consistently teaches in all unambiguous citations that it is [b]not[/b] sinful, or (3) Scripture’s teaching is ambiguous about the sinfulness in all unambiguous citations. Insofar as I and all others who rely on the unambiguous citations can recall, the applicable answer is the first one. Add to this the New Testament citations on the requirement for επίσκοπος, and one cannot but come to the conclusion that this is an essentially setlled matter, absent the repentance and change in [i]manner of life[/i] which Jesus routinely admonished those to whom he revealed himself (“Go and sin no more”). So your argument from analogy is invalid on its face.
Pax et bonum,
Keith Töpfer
RE: “‘I finally get it. They (meaning we reasserters) are not about compromise and reaching consensus but they think this is a fight between good and evil.’
Yup.
Good ideas and evil destructive ideas.
Of course, the funny part of Russell’s statement is that she and her activist friends aren’t — manifestly — “about compromise and reaching consensus” either. Why? Because for them it’s also about a fight between good and evil too — only of course for them, it’s all about the “bigots”.
Tee hee.
Moving further, though, along the rhetorical trail of Russsell, you’ve got a person who — as it suits her — occasionally admits the whole “battle between good and evil” reality [only of course, with her it’s personal and embittered, and not at all about the ideas], and then on occasion pretends as if — on her side — it’s *not* about good and evil at all, but rather about the Cruel Unkind Conservatives who make it so.
This makes for an interesting psychological analysis.
1) Sometimes she’s willing to admit it’s about good and evil [only *evil* persons, on the conservative side, of course].
2) Sometimes she’s not willing to admit that and instead wishes to imply that it’s the other side that’s about good and evil and her side is about “compromise and reaching consensus” and is only being victimized.
3) The fun thing is to observe when it’s the first option or the second with her rhetoric.
4) And to enjoy noting that on occasions, the progressive activists *fear* acknowledging the good and evil fight that it is and prefer to fall back on the “we leftists are all victims here.”