THE THEOLOGY OF HOPE IN “LORD OF THE RINGS”
One of my favourite stories is The Lord of the Rings. I was 9 or 10 when first was introduced to it – and I’ve re-read many times in the years since.
I’m not the only person to love it – it’s been consistently voted one of the best books in history and its author JRR Tolkein voted “the author of the century”. Perhaps the reason for this book’s popularity is because it has echoes, reminders and pointers to the true story that all our hearts are longing for: God’s story. You see, J.R.R. Tolkien was a Christian!
Today I want to share with you as a Christian why I love this book so much and how it can give us hope. This is a message about the hope of Jesus that we can carry with us in the darkest of places – or as the elf queen Galadriel puts it: “a light to shine when all other lights go out”.
WHY DID TOLKIEN WRITE LOTR?
For the last 18 months all of us have been living through dark, difficult times, when our lives and families have lived under the shadow of the fear of death.
The Lord of the Rings was written at an even darker time. Tolkein had fought and been severely wounded in the trenches of World War 1. He knew first-hand the reality of evil in this world. After the publication of his popular novel The Hobbit in 1937, Tolkein was asked to write a sequel, which would become LOTR. However, with the outbreak of World War Two the writing was interrupted and not completed until 1954. The intervening years witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust and invention of the Atom Bomb. So Tolkein knew first-hand about the reality of the Shadow of evil in this world. But his Christian convictions meant that he was assured that good and God would ultimately triumph!
Tolkien’s story is framed around what he called: “the good catastrophe” - the sudden joyous turn when victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat, when good triumphs against all the odds, when life overcomes death. We see the eucatastrophe throughout LOTR, for example: at the battle of Helms Deep when the people of Rohan are saved from annihilation by the evil orcs of Saruman; at the battle of the Pelennor Fields when the people of Gondor are saved from the Lord of the Nazgul by a woman and a hobbit; at the battle of the Black Gate when the last free peoples are saved from the hordes of Mordor by the destruction of the Ring.
Tolkein said that this pattern of good catastrophe, which leads to a happy ending, is the pattern of the gospel. Tolkein deeply believed that the story of our lives in this dark and difficult world are part of God’s Bigger Gospel Story – which will end happily ever after with the victory of God and good over evil, eternal life triumphing over death
Although LOTR is just a fictional story, in the gospel we have the true story, the good catastrophe that has really happened in the birth, death, resurrection and future return of Jesus!
WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT SIN AND EVIL IN LOTR?
Like the real world in which we live, Middle Earth is a world that is beautiful but broken, marvellous but marred by evil.
The series title – “The Lord of the Rings” – refers to the evil villain of the story: the angel, turned demon: Sauron. His desire is to dominate all life. He is powerful, but he is not God – he has the power to destroy the good things that God has made but not create. That’s why Sauron’s forces are made up of men corrupted into the Ringwraith Nazgul, dwarves corrupted into trolls, and elves corrupted into Orcs.
Sauron uses deception in an attempt to conquer the whole world – forging rings of power, given as gifts to the lords of men, dwarves and elves. But in secret he also forges a master ring: “One ring to rule them all… and in the darkness bind them”. When Sauron puts on this master ring, he can control and corrupt the minds of all the other ring wearers.
Tolkein wants to teach us about the nature of sin and evil through the Ring. The Ring tempts and corrupts people through their desires. The Ring manifests the desire to become like God – to have absolute power and control over others and the world. The Ring has the power to give you long life and to make you invisible (so that you can do whatever you want invisibly and anonymously and get away with it without facing any consequences). We see this in a conversation between Frodo and Gandalf early in the story as they decide what to do with the ring:
“You are wise and powerful. Will you not take the ring”. “No!” cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. “Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself.. I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe”
Gandalf rightly sees there's a potential little Sauron inside each one of us, who demands to be centre of universe, able to get our way and what we want when we want it, expect others to serve us
Tolkein wants us to understand that evil cannot be defeated by us – because it is in us too. It cannot be overcome by the strength of great armies (like Rohan or Gondor) or great wisdom (like Gandalf or Elrond). The forces of good instead are described as having “fought the long defeat”. Nevertheless there is still the hope of ultimate victory – just as Jesus appeared defeated on Good Friday but emerged from the grave in victory on Easter Sunday. That’s the reason that the date given for the destruction of the Ring is March 25th – the traditional date for Easter!
Let’s spend the rest of our time thinking about the true hope that the Bible brings in the face of evil and darkness in our lives in this world – illustrated from the story of the Lord of the Rings.
WHY DO CHRISTIANS HAVE HOPE IN THE FACE OF EVIL?
(1) There is hope because evil is self-destructive and self-defeating
Unlike in the Star Wars universe, the world of Middle Earth is like the real world in that there are not two equal and opposing forces: Light and Dark Sides. Rather the ultimate reality is The Good God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit united in love – who made a good world and filled it with people to enjoy being the children of God.
Evil doesn’t exist on its own – rather only exists in people who turn away from God and His good ways. Like a cancer, evil consumes a person, ultimately killing them and destroying itself in the process.
Tolkein illustrates this throughout the story as the forces of evil are their own undoing. That’s summed up by one character’s reflection:
“Strange powers have our enemies, and strange weaknesses. But it has long been said: oft evil will shall evil mar”.
For example: Ironically the Dark Lord Sauron’s greatest weakness and ultimate downfall is his own making: his own Ring.
After Frodo is captured by Orcs, Sam is able to free him from the prison of the Tower of Cirith Ungol because the hundreds of orcs on guard fight and kill each other in jealousy over Frodo’s belongings.
And in a final instance of evil’s self-defeating nature, at the climax of the novel – as Frodo fails at the end of his quest, overcome by the temptation of the Ring and unable to destroy it in the fire. Suddenly he is attacked by Gollum, who bites off Frodo’s finger in his “devouring desire” for the Ring, and then falls into the lava destroying himself and the Ring.
In each of these scenes Tolkein wants to reassure us that evil cannot prevail in the end – it is self-destructive. The Bible agrees.
One of the things that makes sin so dangerous to us, is that it promises the same things that God promises. It tempts us with the offer of happiness, freedom, purpose, success, comfort and security in life. However, sin cannot deliver – instead it gradually takes over our lives, like an addiction, leading us into darker and darker places. We see that in the tragic stories of some of the famous celebrities who have made it to the very top of fame and riches – think the singer Amy Winehouse or the presenter Caroline Flack – but who took their own lives in despair. These sad stories show us the truth that sin and evil promise to lead us on the road to life but instead only can lead us down the road to death and destruction. This is why the Bible says: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) – both now and forever. However, the verse continues with the good news of the gospel: “but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord”.
(2) There is hope because there is a providential pattern to history
We do not live in a world of chance or governed by fate. Human history is in fact His (God’s) Story. He has a good plan for this world and its people, which evil cannot thwart.
Although Tolkein never explicitly mentions God in LOTR he gives countless hints that the providential plan of God is at work. There is a divine design behind the seeming coincidences in the story.
For example Gandalf often detects the hidden hand of God in events. In reflecting on how the Ring was found accidentally by Bilbo decades before under the Misty Mountains while fleeing from Gollum:
“It was the strangest event in the whole history of the Ring so far; Bilbo’s arrival just at that time, and putting his hand on it, blindly, in the dark. There was more than one power at work….Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought”
Then at the Council of Elrond, the master elf begins and ends proceedings:
“What shall we do with the Ring… That is the purpose for which you are called hither. Called, I say, though I have not called you to me, strangers from distant lands. You have come and are here met, in this very nick of time, by chance as it may seem. Yet it is not so. Believed that it is so ordered that we, who sit here, and none others, must now find counsel for the peril of the world…”
“… I think that this task is appointed for you, Frodo; and that if you do not find a way, no one will.
Lastly as Sam carries Frodo up the steep slopes of Mount Doom – while simultaneously far away the forces of Mordor are about to destroy the last army of free people at the Black Gate, we read:
“Suddenly a sense of urgency which he did not understand came to Sam. It was almost as if he had been called: Now, now, or it will be too late!
Behind all these events, Tolkein has veiled the presence and providential plan of God. Likewise, the Bible tells us that we live in a world in which God is firmly on His throne and working all things together towards the very good ending He has planned. We read the promise: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good ” (Romans 8:28). Like when baking a cake, God is able to take all the nasty tasting ingredients (flour, egg, vanilla extract) and bake them together into a tasty end dessert. We can trust Him with all the hard things – looking to the example of the Lord Jesus, who Himself trusted His Father with the events of His betrayal, arrest and crucifixion. Evil will not have the last word in your story or the story of this world of which God is the good author!
(3) There is hope because there is a champion to fight against evil for his people
Unlike in the Chronicles of Narnia stories, where the Christ-figure is the lion Aslan – in The Lord of the Rings, there are three characters who are little pictures of the Saviour Jesus Christ.
There is Gandalf – the character with unparalleled wisdom and knowledge, who returns from death. At the completion of the quest, Sam exclaims:
“Gandalf! I thought you were dead. But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?” Gandalf replied: “A great Shadow has departed”
There is Aragorn, the returning king whose hands bring healing after the battle of the Pelennor Fields.
“It is said in old lore: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer. And so the rightful king could ever be known”…. “At the doors of the Houses of Healing many were already gathered to see Aragorn, and they followed after him… men came and prayed that he would heal their kinsmen or their friends whose lives were in peril through hurt or wound, or who lay under the Black Shadow… And word went through the City: The King is come indeed again”
There is Frodo, the suffering servant, who like a priest carries a great evil burden that isn’t of his own making, and for the sake of others.
Each of these characters capture something of Jesus. Jesus is the true prophet of wisdom, the true king with healing in His nail scarred hands, the true priest who bears our sins away.
The good news is that we have not been left to face the forces of evil and darkness alone. Rather we have a great champion in Jesus, who goes out to fight and win the victory for us.
What we need to know, if we’re followers of Jesus, is that the darkness has already done its very worst against Jesus – and all the schemes of darkness failed! They did not overcome Jesus! That is why in Revelation, as John stands in the light of heaven’s throne room, Jesus announces: “Do not be afraid: I am the first and the Lord, the Living One, behold I was dead and now am alive forevermore. And I hold the keys of death and hades” (Revelation 1:20).
And means that when we are faced with those same forces of darkness, that we can stand strong against them, through faith in Jesus. We can expose the devil’s lies, we can refuse his temptations, we can overcome his schemes, we can withstand his attacks, we do not have to fear his accusations. As we stand in the light of Jesus, we do not have to fear any dark lord - he has been defeated by the Lord Jesus!
(4) There is hope because there is fellowship among God’s people who have their own parts to play
The last thing to notice is that the Lord of the Rings is not a story of lone-rangers, but rather is all about “The Fellowship of the Ring” – another word for friendship and community. Tolkein believed in the importance of friendship – he would never have finished the books without the friendship and encouragement of his fellow writer and university lecturer C.S. Lewis.
The whole quest depended on a group of people brought together by God. They may be small and little in the eyes of the great ones of the world (like Sauron and Saruman) but they have an essential part to play. Similarly, the Christians are often overlooked and dismissed in the eyes of the strong powerful, rich and famous of the world.
The problem is that Hobbits, elves, men and dwarves and wizards don’t get on normally. Nevertheless, they were brought together to work together, care for one another, inspire each other to keep going when it was hard.
For example: Had Legolas and Gimli not put aside their racial differences and historic distrust between their peoples, then the quest would have failed.
Had Aragorn and Gandalf not led the army to the Black Gates to distract Sauron, then Frodo and Sam could never have made it across Mordor to Mount Doom and the quest would have failed.
Had Sam not accompanied Frodo on the long hard road to Mordor, then the quest would have failed. Especially at the end:
“Sam looked at Frodo and wept in his heart, but no tears came to his dry and stinging eyes. ‘I said I’d carry him if it broke my back and I will!’ Come Mr Frodo. I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get… Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go and he’ll go”
In the same way, this is God’s design for the church. We are saved by Jesus as individuals but we are saved into community – the spiritual family of God on earth, gathered together in local churches.
God doesn’t call you to live the Christian life in a hostile non-Christian world alone. Instead, He has given you this youth group to make friends and to have fellowship with other like minded Christians, who can help and encourage you to learn, grow, live and serve Jesus. That’s all the more important if you’re the only Christian in your family or one of the few Christians in your school. You need to help each other, to stand together for God and good against evil.
CONCLUSION
Today we’ve been thinking about having hope in the face of evil. Let me finish with two of my favourite passages about the hope of ultimate victory. Firstly, as Frodo, Sam and Gollum make their way towards Mordor they come to the old crossroads and find a statue of an old king of Gondor:
‘The years had gnawed it, and violent hands had maimed it. Its head was gone, and in its place was set in mockery a round rough-hewn stone, rudely painted by savage hands in the likeness of a grinning face with one large red eye in the midst of its forehead. Upon its knees and mighty chair, and all about the pedestal, were idle scrawls mixed with the fowl symbols that the maggot-folk of Mordor used… Frodo saw the old king’s head: it was lying rolled away by the roadside. “Look, Sam!” he cried, startled into speech. “Look! The King has got a crown again!” The eyes were hollow and the carven beard was broken, but about the high stern forehead there was a coronal of silver and gold. A trailing plant with flowers like small white stars had bound itself across the brows as if in reverence for the fallen king… “They cannot conquer forever” said Frodo.
Lastly, when Frodo and Sam are crawling their way across the depressing and desolate wilderness of Mordor, amid fire, smoke and ashes:
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear, and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach”
LOTR is just a fictional story it points to is the true story that has really happened in Jesus Christ!
