On the eighth day after Jesus’ birth a prophecy laced with further torment was spoken to Mary: “A sword will pierce your own soul”–a pain for her to ponder and dread for over thirty years. During that waiting time, Jesus directed some of his hardest sayings to his gentle mother–words that must have wounded. But the culmination of all her anguish was at the cross, under its very arm, as she watched her beloved son die a slow and brutal death.
But hers was not the kind of dead-end pain that has no meaning. She was privileged to be caught up in the life of the One who fought the fierce battle between light and darkness. We can understand that mix of pain and joy only as we carry Christ in our hearts, birthing him into a hostile world. That may mean suffering; we may be as misunderstood as Mary. But there is a reward: Because eternity was closeted in time, he is our open door to forever. -Luci Shaw
“The One who fought the fierce battle between light and darkness.”
When I read this passage, that particular line jumped out at me. I’ve been thinking about why, at this time of year, I crave fairy tales more than anything else. I don’t think I’m alone, either: think about the blockbuster Christmas movies of the past few years. The Lord of the Rings; Harry Potter; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; and, this year, The (controversial) Golden Compass. Mike and I read The Christmas Mystery, our Advent book about traveling back in time to the moment when Christ was born. I am drawn to fantastic tales like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (or anything from the series listed above) in November and December. I want to see good triumph over evil.
Many of those stories are, of course, just an echo of the one true story of good battling evil, but they carry those sparks of truth in them. Fairy tales are one way of bringing the light of truth into the darkness of this world, and I am thankful for authors who take that responsibility seriously as they write about the big questions of good and evil.
I think that the passage I quoted is much more deep than what I have pulled out of it, but I also think that stories are one of the ways that we can understand the truth about Jesus and the mystery of Incarnation. And so, in their own way, stories that are about the truth of that battle, whether they are explicitly about Jesus or not, point us to that open door that Jesus brings.
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3 Comments
Dear Kari,
I stumbled across your blog a couple of years ago and I have been a faithful, but silent, reader ever since. From a distance, I have watched you grow through matters of a loved one dying, coming to terms with yourself, your love for your husband, getting better at baking desserts, and Harry Potter. A week ago Friday I went to an Over the Rhine concert here in Ohio, thanks to your writing about them long ago, and I am giving “Everyone’s Beautiful’ by Waterdeep to several people for Christmas. And since I am the age of your parents, I relate much of what you say to my own beautiful daughter who is a bit older than you are.
My first encouragement is that surely there are others like me who check your blog almost every day. You have an audience way beyond what the Comments section shows.
But what really sent me to the computer this morning is your Advent series. I don’t know why there are not more comments flying around cyberspace; it must just be that we readers are pondering your thoughts in our hearts (like Mary) and are stunned into silence. Before heading off to church, I must thank you for revealing perspectives that I have never considered about all the key players, including (I say humbly) about the Trinity themselves.
Yesterday I read Psalm 144 and a verse jumped out at me… “Praise be to the Lord my Rock who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.” Imagine… people like you are using your fingers on the keyboard in His service (and also flat out just giving your readers pleasure)! Thanks!!
“I want to see good triumph over evil.”
Then here’s a friendly warning, if it’s not too late – DO NOT see “No Country for Old Men.”
Thanks, Judy, I appreciate that.
I like hearing from the lurkers!