Email from my sister Lynne: I thought you might be interested in this. I found it in a little booklet of devotions for Advent that was given out at church today.
Note from me: You know I am a big fan of C.S.Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. (Feel free to roll your eyes and think, “There she goes again.”) I thought it interesting that this appeared in a booklet of devotions given out at a Catholic Church on Marco Island, Florida, where my sister and brother-in-law own property and attend church weekly.
Message of Hope
Seventy-five years ago, renowned writer and theologian C.S.Lewis whisked readers away to the land of Narnia. His book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, was published on 1950 and is considered a classic. Twenty years ago, the film version premiered, bringing Narnia to life for a whole new generation.
Although C.S. Lewis was not Catholic, many of his friends were, including The Lord of the Ringsauthor J.R.R. Tolkien, who helped Lewis return to Christianity after falling away from his faith. Lewis is considered one of the greatest defenders of the Christian faith of all time.
In The Chronicles of Narnia, the story of the gospel is told in a masterful way. The devil -who has wrongly taken control of the world – is represented by the White Witch, who has trapped the land in a hundred years of winter. Jesus Christ is represented by Aslan, the great lion who sacrifices his own life to free Narnia and release it from darkness.
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 its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
The quote above, from the novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, symbolizes the Christian truth that good has the ultimate victory over sin and death. It is the same message of hope that has been moving hearts for more than two thousand years.