The Last Battle
We just finished reading The Chronicles of Narnia to Kieren and even now, days later I'm still thinking about how The Last Battle ended and how amazing the imagery is. The last time I read these books was about 11 or 12 years ago when we went to Thailand (for my first time). There was a lot of travel time that I had to read and I saw them much differently then I had as a child when my Mom read them to me. Years later, reading them to Kieren I have seen things I hadn't noticed before. Just a warning in case you haven't read the Narnia books, spoilers ahead...
In The Last Battle the children and the Professor and Polly had gathered together and were visited by King Tirian. They realize that they are needed in Narnia and make a plan to get back but they don't go back the way they used to, there was a train accident and they die. This isn't something they realize fully until the end of the book. This book is mostly about Puzzle and Shift, a well meaning donkey who is controlled and manipulated by a monkey. Shift convinces Puzzle to wear a lion skin and pretend to be Aslan, who had been out of the picture for a while and many people had thought he had abandoned them. Puzzle is forced to live in a stable and only come out at certain times, where Shift speaks for him. Eventually Shift conspires with the Calormen leader and the (fake) Aslan becomes Tashlan, a sort of combination of Aslan and Tash. Tash was the god that the Calormen people worshiped. The Narnians and Calormens become completely confused, scared and doubtful of everything they ever believed in.
The deceitful "Ginger" cat goes into the stable and comes out a terrified, "dumb" cat who can't speak. At this point we know Puzzle isn't in there because he's with the children so we don't really know exactly what is in there. At another point a Calormen volutneers to go in and doesn't come out. Finally Tirian, the children and Professor and Polly, along with some faithful Narnians attack and make their way through the stable door. What they discover little by little on the other side is Aslan's country. They find a group of dwarves huddled together that think they are in the dark stable and although the sky is bright and sunny, they do not see it because they don't believe. Aslan comes and begins to decide who will stay and who must leave. We find the Calormen who went through the stable door,
“Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honour) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him. Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him. But the Glorious One bent down his golden head and touched my forehead with his tongue and said, Son, thou art welcome. But I said, Alas Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash. He answered, Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. Dost thou understand, Child? I said, Lord, though knowest how much I understand. But I said also (for the truth constrained me), Yet I have been seeking Tash all my days. Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek.”
This part really intrigues me. It makes me think about Christians and Muslims, each serving their one true God, both doing good and evil in His name...
At one point when they're talking about the Stable,
“Yes,” said Queen Lucy. “In our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”
I find it fascinating that Lewis uses the Stable as the entrance to Aslan's country just as Jesus, born in a stable, is the key to eternal life.
Aslan beckons them repeatedly to "come further up and further in!" They begin to run incredibly fast and not get tired and the further they go the bigger and more beautiful everything becomes. They begin to see things they recognize from Narnia and from England and come to realize that what they knew in their own world and in Narnia were mere shadows of Aslan's country.
"The dream is ended, this is the morning."
Psalm 30: "Weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning"
This story is just so beautiful, hopeful and encouraging to me right now when everything seems so dark and scary in the world. My hope is in the Lord and I know I was created for something more than this. I can't wait for the day I get to see the far green country and meet the One I have been seeking and serving all my life.
In The Last Battle the children and the Professor and Polly had gathered together and were visited by King Tirian. They realize that they are needed in Narnia and make a plan to get back but they don't go back the way they used to, there was a train accident and they die. This isn't something they realize fully until the end of the book. This book is mostly about Puzzle and Shift, a well meaning donkey who is controlled and manipulated by a monkey. Shift convinces Puzzle to wear a lion skin and pretend to be Aslan, who had been out of the picture for a while and many people had thought he had abandoned them. Puzzle is forced to live in a stable and only come out at certain times, where Shift speaks for him. Eventually Shift conspires with the Calormen leader and the (fake) Aslan becomes Tashlan, a sort of combination of Aslan and Tash. Tash was the god that the Calormen people worshiped. The Narnians and Calormens become completely confused, scared and doubtful of everything they ever believed in.
The deceitful "Ginger" cat goes into the stable and comes out a terrified, "dumb" cat who can't speak. At this point we know Puzzle isn't in there because he's with the children so we don't really know exactly what is in there. At another point a Calormen volutneers to go in and doesn't come out. Finally Tirian, the children and Professor and Polly, along with some faithful Narnians attack and make their way through the stable door. What they discover little by little on the other side is Aslan's country. They find a group of dwarves huddled together that think they are in the dark stable and although the sky is bright and sunny, they do not see it because they don't believe. Aslan comes and begins to decide who will stay and who must leave. We find the Calormen who went through the stable door,
“Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honour) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him. Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him. But the Glorious One bent down his golden head and touched my forehead with his tongue and said, Son, thou art welcome. But I said, Alas Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash. He answered, Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. Dost thou understand, Child? I said, Lord, though knowest how much I understand. But I said also (for the truth constrained me), Yet I have been seeking Tash all my days. Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek.”
This part really intrigues me. It makes me think about Christians and Muslims, each serving their one true God, both doing good and evil in His name...
At one point when they're talking about the Stable,
“Yes,” said Queen Lucy. “In our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”
I find it fascinating that Lewis uses the Stable as the entrance to Aslan's country just as Jesus, born in a stable, is the key to eternal life.
Aslan beckons them repeatedly to "come further up and further in!" They begin to run incredibly fast and not get tired and the further they go the bigger and more beautiful everything becomes. They begin to see things they recognize from Narnia and from England and come to realize that what they knew in their own world and in Narnia were mere shadows of Aslan's country.
"The dream is ended, this is the morning."
Psalm 30: "Weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning"
This story is just so beautiful, hopeful and encouraging to me right now when everything seems so dark and scary in the world. My hope is in the Lord and I know I was created for something more than this. I can't wait for the day I get to see the far green country and meet the One I have been seeking and serving all my life.
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