Narnia: Adventures with God in a Foreign Land

2/5/06

      Today I am beginning a new sermon series centered around the recent hit movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Each week we will be focusing on a different aspect of the movie and the Christian lessons it teaches.

  Some of you have seen the movie. Others have read the book. The rest of you have probably at least heard of the movie. It is interesting that this work by C.S. Lewis, a Christian Apologist and Author, is getting such attention. Underlying all of the special effects in the movie and the wonderful story that is told, is the symbolism Lewis uses to impart various Christian themes and images.

  As the story is told a group of children are sent to their uncle’s house because of the war. As the children get adjusted to the house they decide to play hide and go seek. Lucy, the youngest child finds a room containing a wardrobe cabinet which looks like a good hiding place.

  Lucy amazingly enters the land of Narnia through the wardrobe and is just as startled to meet a faun as the faun is to meet Lucy. A faun is a mythical creature who is half man and half horse or goat  
 Lucy is scared and hides behind the lamppost, while the faun hides behind a tree. When they finally get over their initial fright, they try to discover what type of being each is. Mr. Tumnus explains to Lucy that he is a faun. He wants to know if Lucy is "a beardless dwarf." When Lucy corrects him, saying that she is a girl, Mr. Tumnus' eyes narrow a bit and he asks if she is "a daughter of Eve...you are, in fact, human?" Lucy admits that she is. Then Mr. Tumnus wants to know how she came to be in Narnia, and Lucy says it was through the wardrobe. Mistaking the wardrobe and spare room for countries, Mr. Tumnus treats her as a visiting dignitary to Narnia. 
 Lucy does not know what Narnia is, so Mr. Tumnus explains that its borders extend from the Western Woods to the Eastern Shore. Surprised at its size, Lucy is amazed that it is all "in" the wardrobe. Mr. Tumnus and Lucy exchange names, shake hands (a new experience for the faun), and then Mr. Tumnus invites Lucy to tea. At first, Lucy is unsure, thinking she should be headed back, but Mr. Tumnus insists and off they go.  
 Once inside the faun's home Lucy remarks on a picture of Mr. Tumnus' father and asks if Mr. Tumnus is like him. Almost sadly, Mr. Tumnus admits that he is not like him at all. They sit down and have tea while Mr. Tumnus explains about Narnia's endless winter. Then he tries to help her imagine how things were before the winter came. He offers to play some music for her, and she agrees. 
 But the music is enchanted and magical figures dance in the warm firelight. Lucy falls asleep. When she awakens, Lucy calls out for Mr. Tumnus. But he is across the room with a look of great sorrow on his face. He tells Lucy that he is "a terrible faun." Lucy disagrees, saying that he is "the nicest faun I've ever met!" But he admits to her that he is kidnapping her this very moment on orders of the White Witch -- the one who makes it always winter, but never Christmas.   
 Startled, Lucy says, "But you wouldn't. I thought we were friends." This awakens bravery in Mr. Tumnus, who rushes her out of his home and back toward the lamppost. He tells her that "the woods are full of her spies. Even some of the trees are on her side." He asks if Lucy can find her way back and she assures him that she can. He is crying and she gives him her handkerchief. He tells her, "I'm so sorry" and then hands the handkerchief back. But Lucy tells him to "keep it. You need it more than I do." Mr. Tumnus tells her that "no matter what happens" she has made him "feel warmer than I've felt in 100 years." And then he sends her off.

 Mr. Tumnus was fearful of the White Witch's power, and so that is why he determined to hand Lucy over to her. He invited Lucy to his home and then lulled her to sleep so that he can delay her until the witch arrived. It is only when Lucy confronts him, and challenges him to be a good faun, like his father, that Mr. Tumnus not only repents, but aids Lucy in her escape. 
    The apostle James writes these words: “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown gives birth to death.”  

 Sin progresses from desire to thought to plan to deed. At any point in sin's progression you can always choose to stop. We need to repent while there is still time. It always helps to have some accountability from a friend. Lucy was completely in Mr. Tumnus' power, but she appealed to his friendship and that love ultimately overcame the evil he planned. If we are struggling with a certain sin, perhaps we should follow the model of Alcoholics Anonymous who urge its members to call a member of the group when they are tempted to drink. In the same way, we should find a trusted brother or sister in Christ and ask them to help us if we are tempted to commit a certain sin.

 There were three pastors who were meeting together. One pastor said, “I think we need to confess our sins to each other like the Bible tells us to. The others agreed and so the first one led off, “I am guilty of the sin of lust,” and he began to describe his lusts in great detail. The next pastor said, “I am guilty of the sin of lying to my congregation on a number of occasions,” and he began to describe all of the lies he has told. After he had finished confessing, he and the first pastor both looked at the third expecting him to begin his confession, but he said nothing. They said, “Hey, what gives, we confessed our sins, now it is your turn.” He resisted, but finally he said, “I am guilty of the sin of gossip, and I can’t wait to get out of here.”

      If you are looking for someone to turn to when you are tempted, make sure it is a Christian you can trust.

      St. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians that, “No temptation has seized you except that which is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

      I saw a bumper sticker a while back, “Sin now, Repent later.” Truth is, as blasphemous as that sounds, it’s what most of us do anyway.

      I’ve heard people say that sin sneaks up on them. Sin hardly ever sneaks up on me. I had a dog as a kid, Archibald Corkimus the Third. He would decide to run away when I said, “come,” to chase something when I wanted him to heel, and to go in the opposite direction with the ball that I wanted him to bring to me. Sometimes, when he was thinking about chewing up someone’s shoe or worse, I would yell at him, “Corky,” I would shout, “don’t even think about it. If you do that you are going to get a big spanking!”

      He would stop for a moment, look at me, look in the direction that was wrong or the shoe he was going to eat, think about it – and then do it anyway.

      I know what was going through his head: “I’m in trouble if I do this – big time trouble. But it’s worth the price and, besides, Roger really likes me and, after I pay the price, he’ll scratch my stomach and give me a treat. Besides, what I’m getting ready to do isn’t all that bad.”

      I know Corky did that, because I do it with God.

      I’ve recently learned something that I think, while it may not be profound, is about as profound as I get.

      Do you know the biggest problem with the church and with individual Christians? It isn’t a lack of knowledge. The problem isn’t our lack of obedience either. As a matter of fact, we were never all that obedient, and God seemed t do okay with the universe anyway. The problem isn’t about tithing, or prayer, or evangelism.

      The problem with Christians is that we don’t feel free to repent. We can’t repent to one another because we know that, if we repent, “they” will know, and we will no longer be a respected part of the church. And we can’t even repent within ourselves, because we wouldn’t be able to live with ourselves. So we lie. It’s the only option we think (usually subconsciously) we have. Lying to God, to our friends, and to ourselves may make us feel comfortable at first, but it rubs us of our power.

      Repentance isn’t change – it’s God’s methodology for changing us. It’s knowing who you are, what you’ve done, who God is and turning away from whatever it is that is occupying your mind and heart and turning to him and agreeing with his assessment of the matter.

 If you are thinking about sinning, stop. If you are planning to sin, quit. If you are a true friend, persuade others to do what is right. But most of all I want to give you the freedom and permission to repent and turn back to Jesus. If you have never repented and turned to Jesus Christ, why not do it today. He will send His Holy Spirit to live inside you. The Spirit will give you more of an ability to live the way God wants you to live, and will quickly move you to repent and return to an unbroken communion with Jesus when you have sinned.