Always Winter, Never Christmas: Ephesians 1:18-23


The house is old. Full of mystery. Creaky wooden staircases beckon. Paneled doors invite exploration. At the end of an empty room stands a large intricately carved wardrobe.

The handle turns, the door creeks open, and from the interior, a gust of cool air brushes your face and bathes you in a cool distant light. And deep inside you something stirs.


“At the name of Aslan each one of the children feels something jump inside. Edmund feels a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter feels suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan feels as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music has just floated by her. And Lucy gets the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer
.”


Remember the first time you entered the world of Narnia? And came under the mesmerising spell of the evil White Witch who makes it “Always winter, never Christmas”…

But the redemption of Narnia and the end of the White Witch’s reign has been prophesied. And the arrival of “sons of Adam and daughters of Eve”, is a sign that the coming of Aslan as the rightful King is near. But how do you feel about Jesus being portrayed by a lion? In fact, Jesus is described as a lion in the first and last book of the Bible. In Genesis, Jacob makes this prophecy about one of his descendents.

 

“You’re a lion’s cub, Judah, … my son. Look at him, crouched like a lion, king of beasts; who dares mess with him? The sceptre shall not leave Judah; he’ll keep a firm grip on the command staff; Until the ultimate ruler comes and the nations obey him.” (Genesis 49: 9-10)

 

And in the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John, is told, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed." (Revelation 5:5)

 

But why the name Aslan? Simple. Aslan is Turkish for ‘lion’.  Perhaps that’s why Edmund is tempted with Turkish Delight. The abiding message of Narnia, so powerfully re-told in the new film, can be summarised from Ephesians in 3 ways.

 

1. Jesus has the power to deal with my past

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”

(Ephesians 1:18).

 

Even without the newspapers or TV News regaling the trials and tragedies of the day, it does not take long to recognize that our world has gone wrong - badly. But why do we have the idea of “wrong” or “right” at all? With no true examples of perfection, why do we experience dissatisfaction with the world as it is? Because, deep down inside we know that the world has gone wrong. So we channel our best scientific minds, artistic talents, social skills, economic sense, and political will to fix it. But no sooner do we solve one problem than another arises. It feels like we are cursed – and so it should be no surprise to find that we are. We are under the curse of sin – a condition for which we are responsible, and from which we have no power to ultimately deliver ourselves. First, notice:

 

The Slippery Slope of Sin
As the bombs begin falling all about them, Mrs. Pevensie orders her children into their backyard bomb shelter. At the last moment, Edmund disobeys. One of his prized possessions, a photograph of his father has been left behind, and Edmund turns to run into the house to retrieve it. In his zeal to possess a good thing -- this emblem of his father --he unwittingly places himself and his brother Peter, who chases after him, in mortal danger. This small slip previews a much larger authority struggle that plagues Edmund throughout the story. It imperils him and many others.
We can all relate to Edmund. Someone who thinks of himself first. We’ve all done things in our life that we’re not very proud of. The Bible calls that sin and makes it clear that every one of us falls short of God’s expectation. We may ignore it, rationalise it, even appease it but we cannot escape or erase it. The slippery slope of sin.

 

The Roadblock of Unbelief
Where Edmund’s problem is exterior acts of disobedience, Susan has trials of her own. The “smart one” of the Pevensie children, it is Susan that initially disbelieves Lucy’s tale of adventures with a faun in Narnia. Susan and Peter are taken to task by Professor Kirke, who reminds them that the credibility of the witness is more important than the incredibility of the story. Lucy is a truth-teller, so Kirke is willing to believe her. Even when she arrives in Narnia herself, Susan exclaims, “Impossible!”  Though Narnia is full of wonder for the humans that enter, it is a country under siege and not as it should be. The White Witch, has cursed the land so it is always winter, but never Christmas.


Under her icy, evil grip the land perishes because hope is not only denied, but forbidden. Those who struggle against her reign are turned to stone. Indeed, it has been winter so long that many Narnians have known nothing else. What gives them hope is not their experience – how can they fight against such an oppressive foe? Hope comes instead from their belief in a revelation, a prophecy, that help will come from outside Narnia that will destroy the Witch’s power bringing Christmas, and the thaw of Spring.  Rescue is on the way. The children of prophecy have arrived.

 

Aslan is on the move. Such a story rings true with us who live on this side of the wardrobe. The world we inhabit is under a curse. Our best efforts have not abated it. Even in areas where we see progress, it is all ultimately temporary for we all will one day die. We are temporal, finite beings attempting to wage a transcendent war. We need rescue. And, it seems, more willing to recognize the problem and the solution when we encounter it in children’s fiction than organised religion. This is why Narnia delivers. The slippery slope of sin and the roadblock of unbelief lead us into the arms of.

 

Aslan: The Suffering Servant

Edmund must be restored. Rescuing the boy is relatively easy -- just a military raid away. However, getting Edmund truly free of the claims of the White Witch requires more than all of Aslan’s army, can achieve. It requires Aslan. For those whose emotional connection with the Easter story gets little beyond “Jesus died and rose again,” seeing the Great Lion separate Himself from all but a couple of trusted companions and solemnly and slowly climb the steps to the stone table, while the army of the White Witch mock and jeer him, arouses deep sadness. The humiliation of Aslan, as his main is shorn, is deeply moving. The final scene which contrasts the apparent victory of evil over submissive good is one of the finest ever filmed.


One commentator describes how the theatre was filled with muted weeping - an appropriate response to an innocent God laying down His life for the guilty - a response just as appropriate though often missing from many a Good Friday services.
In the very same way that Aslan settled the score for Edmund’s wrong doing by agreeing to die in his place, Jesus Christ died on the cross, to pay the price for your sin. It is the cross that gives me the power to face my past.

 

Paul prays, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.” Allow Jesus to deal with the slippery slope of your sin. Deal with the Roadblock of your Unbelief. But there’s more to his power. Jesus not only gives the power to face my past.


2. Jesus has the power to delight in my present

and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 1:19-20)

 

Once the children arrive in Narnia, the power of evil begins to weaken. Not because of their prowess as warriors. They have none. But because they are children of prophecy.
Their role is to be faithful and obey Aslan’s instructions. Initially I was put off by the way the children acted in their shiny armour. But then I thought, “Why not?” They appear uncomfortable in the armour because it is foreign to them. They are fearful because they find themselves in the midst of a very real war. Aslan, the Great Lion, is nowhere to be seen. What is heroic about the children is that they stand and fight anyway, because they have been commissioned by Aslan to do so. Faithfulness is what is required. Victory is God’s role.

 

 Although He does not need any human aid, the Lord still commands our participation in the battle, and never leaves us undefended. As the children flee from the White Witch, they are happily surprised by a providential encounter with Father Christmas. He gives presents to each child but warns that these are “tools, not toys.” Each is designed for use in battle - to defend, to attack, and to heal. Each child is expected to play a role in the inevitable conflict. Even when the battle appears bleak. When winning seems impossible, perseverance in doing what is right, despite the odds, is required of all who serve in Aslan’s army. Though Aslan has the power to overcome evil without them, He desires all to serve and prove their allegiance.

 

The lesson? Never underestimate “his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Jesus has the power to deal with my past, the power to delight in my present and thirdly.


3. Jesus has the power to determine my future

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Aslan conquers death and is raised to life again: Susan asks the question:


“But what does it all mean?” … “It means,” say Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes only back to the dawn of Time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and death itself would start working backwards…”


Before the foundation of the world, God prepared a way to save you, through Jesus death in our place. It was his destiny. And he rose from the dead to show you your destiny. To reign with Him and become like Him.
That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion.” (Ephesians 1:20)

 

In his letter to the Corinthians Paul adds:  “By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.” (1 Corinthians 6:14).

 

One day, every one of us will die a physical death. But the Bible is clear that that is not all there is to life. Every one of us will either live eternally in joyful service in the presence of God, or eternity separated from God. Through His resurrection Jesus conquered death and gave every one of us the opportunity to choose for ourselves which of these two futures we most  desire.  Near the end of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the four children find out what it’s like to live under the power of the King:


“So the children sat in their thrones and sceptres were put into their hands and they gave rewards and honours to all their friends… And that night there was a great feast in Cair Paravel, and revelry and dancing, and gold flashed and wine flowed … answering to the music inside...”

 

This is a beautiful picture of heaven where we will reign with Jesus. J.R.R. Tolkien, a close friend of C.S. Lewis, said that fairy stories work because they tap into our innate desire for the good ending. We are hardwired to believe that, in the end, good will triumph over evil. To abandon this belief is to abandon hope. The knowledge that good will win out comes with a responsibility to act on its behalf.

 

Every battle requires people to choose sides – ignoring the battle will not save you. There’s a moving scene in Narnia when Susan first learns of Aslan, She asks, “Is he quite safe?” Mr Beaver replies, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.” He is indeed. He is the King. “Far above all rule and authority, power and dominion.” (Ephesians 1:20).

 

There is no way to completely describe the feeling you get when you experience a moving passage of music, tremble beneath the array of stars on a dark and moonless night, or even when you bask in the afterglow of an especially wonderful day. Lewis argues that we long “to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as well as with our own.” We were made for awe. None more so than at Christmas. Our own world is filled with wonders; we simply must learn to see them.


Despite our flaws, God loves us, and so provided a way of rescue through the birth, death and resurrection of His Son. He wants us to be a part of His family. To recognize and then receive Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.  He requires we reject our old alliance with evil. He bids us become representatives of His good Kingdom in this foreign land. But this is not just a story -- it is our story. If we want.

 

This chapter of our history will someday come to an end. But we can have the true desire of our hearts, our longings fulfilled, if we acknowledge Him, for who He is. As we approach Christmas and celebrate the birth of the Lion of Judah, I invite you to see the Narnia film and then to read the true story that inspired it. The most incredible true story of all. There are free copies on the table by the door - please take one). The story of which this life is, in the words of C.S. Lewis, but the “cover and the title page”.

 

Because for those who trust and believe, ahead of us lies,

“Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

 

Find out for yourself how Jesus has the power to deal with your past, to delight you in the present and to determine your future.  Jesus is on the move. Jesus makes it always Christmas and no longer winter. May the Lord bless you and those you love this Christmas.

 

 

Inspired, with thanks, by Marc Newman, “Why we yearn for the Good endwww.movieministry.com , Pat Damiani, “Narnia, Encounter the power” and David Sulcer, “Narnia, the bearing of a lionwww.sermoncentral.com and of course, C. S. Lewis, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe