Music and Mortality

I found myself inspired today to re-read the Narnia series again. I had a wonderful time reading - and blogging about - the series a couple of years ago, but it's the kind of reading feeding material that deserves a regular visit I think.

So I sat down - or rather lay down - this afternoon with the Magician's Nephew. I'm a quick reader, but I forced myself to slow down, almost reading aloud, for the many beautiful passages describing the creation of Narnia. I could almost hear Aslan's voice singing Narnia into being, then the stars joining in, and the shear fruitfulness of the ground that cannot help but respond. My whole mind and body responds even to the thought of that singing, with recognition and joy, like a forgotten memory. Singing, yes - Jesus! O to have been there - but then we will be next time!

Speaking of heavenly music, a recent discovery has been 'Spem in Alium' by Thomas Tallis (listen to it sung by the Tallis Scholars on YouTube). A truly beautiful choral piece, it requires 8 choirs of 5 parts each (40 singing parts in total) and is designed for a cathedral. Rich and complex yet pure and simple, the interweaving melodies are haunting then joyful; completely wonderful. I would absolutely love to go to a live performance of this - and would travel a fair distance - so if anyone hears of a performance anywhere, please let me know!

But back to the Magician's Nephew. There's a moment at the beginning of Narnia when Aslan 'calls' the Cabbie's wife and she suddenly appears, whisked away from the Earth in the middle of her laundry! I was shocked to discover my reaction to this event - what, give her no warning? but what if she wanted to bring something? say goodbye? - and forced to reflect on my own silliness (even as the questions raced through my mind, I was simultaneously appalled and amused!). But actually it was not the mortality question necessarily that rocked me, the fact that of course we can't take anything when we die, but actually the conviction that I am too attached to 'things'.

What 'thing' left on Earth could possibly matter when brought to this wonderful new place of Narnia - why should she need or miss anything when Aslan himself is there? I know this will be true when we meet Jesus and live with him on the new Earth, so why do I have this attachment to 'things' that have no lasting value? I couldn't even think of anything particular I might have wanted to pick up had it been me whisked away - it was a general sense of disattachment. I have had the general sense for a number of months now that I want to 'lighten the load' and get rid of some stuff, because I have too many things, so this was an encouragement to me that that's true. I want to lose some of the excess weight, tone up, lighten up, be more flexible, temporary, ready to leave... So it's going to be 'give away' season! (feel free to help out! :)

No Neutral Ground?

“There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan.”

CS Lewis

The Cosmic Trilogy

I've finally got around to re-reading CS Lewis' Cosmic Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength.

Overall, I'd best describe the trilogy as Very Odd, although not necessarily in a bad way! Not science fiction as you'd know it, but fantasy as Lewis does best, with talking beasts and fantastic creatures, only set this time in space. As in the Narnia stories he has woven in the 'Deeper Magic', the Story above - and below - all stories, while creating a cosmology entirely his own.

The Trilogy tells the story of a man called Ransom, a Christian professor who finds himself quite unexpectedly taken to Mars (or Malacandra), and then later to Venus (Perelandra). His journey out of the 'Silent Planet' (that is, Earth) leads to some remarkable discoveries about the universe, and a radical perspective change in his theology and cosmology.

My favourite book was the second. It's thoroughly fantastic, functioning as a myth in the way that Lewis does best. Ransom goes to Venus and witnesses the birth of a new race and its first temptation. Will this Eden also fall?

One of my favourite pieces of dialogue in the book is the conversation between the Green Lady and Ransom about why she is human and why fantastic creatures occur only on the more ancient worlds.

She is bewildered by his question and asks him, "How could they come again? Since our Beloved became a man, how should Reason in any world take on another form? Do you not understand? That is all over. Among times there is a time that turns a corner and everything on this side of it is new. Times do not go backward." Jesus is the turning point of all history. Nothing will ever be the same again.

The 'black archon' of Earth, whom Maleldil has blockaded on the planet (thus, 'the Silent Planet') has found a way to travel to Perelandra in the body of a twisted physicist called Dr Weston. In some of the most interesting scenes in the book, Ransom is forced to watch as the 'Un-man' uses every trick in the book to tempt the Lady to disobey Maleldil. Until finally, the Presence himself turns up.

Much to Ransom's dismay, there will be no supernatural intervention. He is Maleldil's representative on Perelandra and, not only must he 'do his best', in fact the very outcome of the battle is in his mortal hands. Literally in his hands, for the struggle he must have with the Tempter is a physical one, to destroy the human body that he inhabits. This is not what he expects, for "no such crude, materialistic struggle could be what Maleldil really intended...it would degrade the spiritual warfare to the condition of mere mythology." But he comes to realise that in the Incarnation, the spiritual has been bound up with the physical to such a degree that they can no longer be separated. He cannot draw a parallel between Eden and Perelandra because "What had happened on Earth, when Maleldil was born a man at Bethlehem, had altered the universe for ever."

It is Lewis' high view of the nature of humanity and his reflections on the universe-shattering nature of the Incarnation which is the most distinctive theme in the book. His use of Ransom reflects his understanding that God has chosen to effect his redemptive purposes through men and women:
"When Eve fell, God was not Man. He had not yet made men members of His body: since then He had, and through them henceforward He would save and suffer."

The task has come to this man, Ransom, to save a world from a fall. But, in one of the most thrilling lines in the book, the Voice tells him, "My name is also Ransom". He comes to understand that if even he fails "this world also would hereafter be redeemed. If he were not the ransom, Another would be...Not a second crucifixion: perhaps - who knows - not even a second Incarnation... some act of even more appalling love, some glory of yet deeper humility... her Redemption was beyond conceiving".

The outcome of the story I'll leave to you to find out!

Lewis' creations are always memorable, his fantasies tend to stick around in your consciousness, invading your worldview. You're left having to remind yourself that no, Mars really is just a cold and barren rock. And there's almost a sadness in coming back to reality and remembering the facts. Yet at the same time, it's a short-lived sadness, for his re-telling of the Big Story leaves me with a deeper, wider view of the real story. For, however fantastic the universes that Lewis creates, the reality is infinitely more glorious! Who can comprehend the mind of God, the intricacies of his plan, the delights he has in store for us?

(I've lots more I could say about That Hideous Strength, but that will have to wait for another day.)

I'd certainly recommend the first two books of the trilogy, for although they don't represent Lewis' best writing, they'll unsettle and stretch your worldview and that's never a bad thing!

CS Lewis on Time

We are so little reconciled to time that we are even astonished at it. "How he's grown!" we exclaim, "How time flies!" as though the universal form of our experience were again and again a novelty. It is as strange as if a fish were repeatedly surprised at the wetness of water. And that would be strange indeed; unless of course the fish were destined to become, one day, a land animal.

CS Lewis in Reflections on the Psalms

CS LEWIS on Divine Humility

"I call this Divine humility because it is a poor thing to strike our colours to God when the ship is going down under us; a poor thing to come to Him as a last resort, to offer up 'our own' when it is no longer worth keeping. If God were proud He would hardly have us on such terms: but He is not proud, He stoops to conquer. He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him, and come to Him because there is 'nothing better' now to be had."

(from The Problem of Pain)

Evenor

On arriving at Seymour and Katherine's house the other day I was handed a pile of books - an excellent selection and what a fab way to be greeted! Seymour has picked out some gems for low-key bedtime reading and I will be making my way through them steadily!

The first to be picked from the pile was George Macdonald's 'Evenor'. How could I resist a short story collection so lovingly introduced with quotes from CS Lewis and GK Chesterton?

Evenor contains three stories - the last of his 'Adult Fantasy' I'm told. The first and longest of these is 'The Wise Woman' - really a novella in its own right and definitely my favourite of the three. Like all good allegorical fiction it forces you to consider something that might have become 'ordinary' from another perspective.

It's fascinating to read and see the influences on CS Lewis as well, although Lewis is still as much a genius in my eyes! I didn't find this collection as thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking as my encounters with Lewis' worlds, but it did leave me with a desire to read more by Macdonald. Someone who has played such an important role in British literature, especially the fantasy variety, over the last two centuries, deserves more reading. Onto Phantastes.

End of the story..?

I finally got to the Last Battle the other night, and it just blew me away. Far too much to talk about here - ask me about it if you see me though!
I'm still reflecting on some of the things it brought up in me so I might write something in a few days...

Overall I've found reading the books again has had far more impact on me than I'd have expected. I'm still reeling, from the last book especially. My times reading them have had almost a devotional quality and left me praising God and reflecting on my life. Lewis' genius is in painting a picture so spot-on in its representation of the truth of the Gospel, and the mysteries of a spiritual universe, that it leaves you with a bigger picture of reality, rather than a reduced one. For example, the picture of Jesus as a Lion has not reduced him to such in my mind, rather it has expanded my expectations and my praise. For in the end it's the Truth underpinning the stories and images that hits you between the eyes, rather than anything about the stories themselves.

There's something in Lewis' imagery that has helped me to articulate truths in myself, to give vocabulary to ideas lying unformed and to expand my view of the Universe. Behold the power of a story.

The Silver Chair

I love this book, I'm left with so much to think about. The journey that Jill and Eustace take reminds me somewhat of the Pilgrim's Progress. It's a story about life, about failure, grace and redemption.

They're given instructions for their quest, which they more or less fail to carry out correctly, but Aslan hasn't abandoned them entirely and turns up to nudge them back on track. Interestingly, the only challenge they do not fail is the last, and most important. At this point, it is in their acknowledgement of their previous failures that they have the strength to carry out this last - and most dangerous - instruction: "They had muffed three already; they daren't muff the fourth." When it really counts, they remember the command and understand they must obey whatever the consquences.

One of my favourite moments of the whole series occurs at the beginning of this book, when Jill first meets Aslan. The following conversation is one of the longest conversations Aslan has in the books. It reminds me of the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) - similarly one of the longest conversations Jesus has with a single individual in the Gospels. Like the Samaritan woman, Jill is after some water. And Aslan is in the way.

He offers her a drink from the stream: "If you're thirsty, you may drink."
Jill is not convinced, too fearful to drink while a lion watches.
"Will you promise not to - do anything to me, if I do come?" she asks him.
"I make no promise" says the Lion.
Jill asks him if he eats girls and his reply is not terribly comforting:
"I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms"
She does not dare drink.
"Then you will die of thirst," says the Lion
"...I suppose I must look for another stream then," she tells him.
"There is no other stream."
I love this dialogue. The strength of the Lion, unchanging and dangerous, giving her the facts, refusing to budge or to be less than he is. There's an unmoveable sense about him, despite Jill's fears, asking him to step out of the way. And of course she does drink from the stream in the end.

There's also a nice bit towards the end, when Puddleglum stamps on the enchanted fire.
"the pain itself made Puddleglum's head for a moment perfectly clear and he knew exactly what he really thought. There is nothing like a good shock of pain for dissolving certain kinds of magic." The enchantment the witch was weaving was one of forgetfulness, forgetting the reality they had known of sky and sun and Aslan. Pain does indeed have the power to jolt us out of a daze.

Puddleglum goes on to explain to the witch that even if this remembered reality were a dream.."Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things - trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself"...then he prefers the dream to the 'reality' of the sunless lands below.
"We're just babies making up a game if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow."

And his best line yet, one that rings so true for me,
"I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia."

Voyages

I enjoyed The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and all the different adventures they have on their way to the edge of the world, but I have to admit it's not been one of my favourites so far. I have the feeling though, that perhaps there are further depths to some elements of this story than occured to me on this reading. Do you know the feeling that there might be more beneath that you're not seeing...?

I enjoyed the island of the Dufflepuds and the wizard Coriakin. As he says, they are a stupid people but he is rather fond of them, and "impatient, waiting for the day when they can be governed by wisdom instead of this rough magic."
"All in good time," Aslan says, explaining that he will not show himself to them yet because he would frighten them out of their senses!

I love the last section of the book, when they reach the end of the world. The imagery is so beautiful and unexpected. I love the sea of lilies and the water that sustains them, then the way the Sun gets bigger and brighter until they can see the mountains of Aslan's country behind. Reepicheep's final voyage into the unknown is one of my favourite character moments in the books - his desire for a last great adventure knows no doubts or fear.."he was quivering with happiness".

And then they're invited to a breakfast of fish with the Lamb.. who of course turns out to be Aslan. I love the way this echoes the risen Jesus inviting his disciples to breakfast on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (John 21). Lewis excels in picturing these moments in such a way that it enriches my understanding and appreciation of the original story without adding anything extra to it. Here, the children having breakfast with the pure white Lamb makes my image of Jesus by the lake stand out so much clearer!

Lucy asks Aslan whether he will tell them how to reach his country and he answers in his usual style: "I shall be telling you all the time...it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder." What a great description!

Prince Caspian

This book didn't have much of an impact on me and I find I don't have much to say.
As ever, I find myself waiting for Aslan to turn up..and indeed he does, but in a slightly mysterious fashion! I like the way Edmund sticks up for Lucy this time, despite pressure from the others.

There's also the slightly bizarre section after they meet Aslan and the girls join him for a 'Romp'. Bacchus and Silenus turn up and it's all pretty crazy, (and pagan!). As Susan says, "I wouldn't have felt safe with Bacchus and all his wild girls if we'd met them without Aslan."

One of the most interesting sections of the book is when Nikabrik the dwarf, becoming impatient with the lack of action and with waiting around for the children to come (or not) decides to take matters into his own hands.
"Either Aslan is dead or he is not on our side...anyway, he was in Narnia only once that I heard of, and he didn't stay long. You may drop Aslan out of the reckoning. I was thinking of someone else."
He argues that Aslan didn't stay very long ("he just fades out of the story") and the Kings and Queens he established didn't last, but the Witch "ruled for a hundred years...there's power if you like. There's something practical!"
Caspian points out that she was a worse tyrant than Miraz but Nikabrik is not to be dissuaded, arguing that she got on ok with the dwarfs. Then he makes his most foolish statement yet: "We're not afraid of the Witch."

To the reader his naiveté, (in thinking he can control the Witch) is obvious, but how often do we play games with the enemy, or dabble in sin, thinking we can keep the reins and stay in control? At this point I hear Pete M. adding 'Do not underestimate the power of the Dark Side'!

The Horse and His Boy

This is one of my favourite of the Narnia books - the tale of two children and two talking horses making their way to Narnia. In terms of stories, this adventure - and the characters in it - has always appealed to me, providing some real food for thought in terms of life journeys and 'destiny'. And Aslan's appearance at the end provides some of my favourite moments of 'revelation' in the books:

Shasta meets Aslan and learns that all the lions (and a cat) he has encountered on his travels were in fact just one lion. Shasta asks him "Who are you?" and the lion replies, three times, "Myself".

Bree's comments about how Aslan couldn't possibly be a real lion, but maybe just 'as strong as a lion' or 'as fierce as a lion'.. "quite absurd to suppose he is a real lion. Indeed it would be disrespectful. If he was a lion he'd have to be a Beast just like the rest of us." and then Aslan tickles him with a whisker!

The mare, Hwin, on meeting Aslan:
"..you're so beautiful. You may eat me if you like. I'd rather be eaten by you than fed by anyone else."

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Well, what to say about a classic?!

It's difficult enough to narrow down my favourite bits..

- the Professor's surprising reaction when Peter and Susan are worried about Lucy: "a charge of lying against someone whom you have always found truthful is a very serious thing; a very serious thing indeed."

- the Beavers explain that Aslan is returning
"...don't you know? He's the King. He's the Lord of the whole wood.."
(it made me think of "Do you not know? Have you not heard that the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth?" Isaiah 40:28)

- the snow melts for Spring has come! "Your winter has been destroyed, I tell you! This is Aslan's doing." says the Witch's dwarf. ('Even the demons know who I am.' The Witch has no power beyond what is allowed her)

- Mr Beaver objects to the Witch calling herself 'Queen of Narnia' but Aslan calms him: "Peace, Beaver..All names will soon be restored to their proper owners. In the meantime we will not dispute about them."
(I love how much this comment reveals Aslan's certainty, for lack of a better word. He knows what the proper order of things is and sees no need to debate it. The Witch has been queen, but only allowed to be so for a time, now nearing its end)

- the Witch's glee at her victory: "And now, who has won? Fool, did you think that by all this you would save the human traitor? ...Understand that you have given me Narnia forever, you have lost your own life and you have not saved his." (How Satan must have gloated at the cross and how gloriously wrong!)

- And, of course, the breaking of the Stone Table and the reappearance of Aslan, alive once more! This is such a wonderful scene, and I love the way it's the girls who witness it as the women do in the Gospels. Aslan tells them of a "magic deeper still" and follows it with a "romp such as no one has ever had except in Narnia". And then he Roars, bending the trees before him like grass in the wind. He's back - and more himself than ever!

The magic begins

I've just finished reading The Magician's Nephew, part of my plan to read all the Narnia books again over half term. I really enjoyed my escape to that magical world and encountering once more the beauty, strength and grace of the Lion..formidable yet impossible to resist. Aslan is so wonderfully real for me in reflecting the character and majesty of Jesus. As an allegory he works on so many levels and I find so many truths in the reflection..definitely someone I recognise! (is that heretical?!) I find there's something in the character of Aslan that helps me to understand (and worship) something more in the person of Jesus every time that I read it, perhaps the slightly unusual perspective helps...?

Anyway, here's a few of my favourite moments:
- the Lion's song
- Uncle Andrew has tried so hard not to hear that he stops being able to..
- Aslan says he knows the Cabby and asks if he recognises him
- Aslan explains why the fruit the witch took from the Tree will give her endless days but neither real Life nor joy. But the apple he gives Diggory as a gift brings life and healing to his mother.

Enjoyable and lots to consider but it's not the best of the books and I'm looking forward to striking on further... onwards and upwards!

Rebuilding the House

I had one or two requests for a copy of this exerpt from Mere Christianity by CS Lewis:

"I find I must borrow yet another parable from George MacDonald. Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurt abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of-throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

"The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were 'gods' and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him - for we can prevent Him, if we choose - He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said."

CS Lewis - Surprised by joy

This passage from 'Surprised by Joy' always reminds me of The Hound of Heaven (i'm not altogether sure why!):

"I am free to take it or not as I choose—like distant music which you need not listen to unless you wish, like a delicious faint wind on your face which you can easily ignore. One was invited to surrender to it. And the odd thing is that something inside me suggested that it would be "sensible" to refuse the invitation; almost that I would be better employed in remembering that I was going to do a job I do not greatly enjoy and that I should have a very tiresome journey back to Oxford. Then I silenced this inward wiseacre. I accepted the invitation—threw myself open to this feathery, impalpable, tingling sensation. The rest of the journey I passed in a state which can be described only as joy."

The Living House

C.S. Lewis says.
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right, and stopping the leaks in the roof, and so on; you know that there jobs needed doing, and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he is building a quite different house from the one you thought of- throwing up a wing here, putting up an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but he is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself ". Mere Christianity p 172

prosperity v suffering

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

This quote makes so much sense to me, as much of Lewis does.