Richard Davenport
September 8, 2024 – Proper 18
Isaiah 35:4-7
Even if you aren’t a fan of fantasy stories, with elves, goblins, magic, and so forth, you would still find JRR Tolkien’s works worth reading for their theological insights. Though Tolkien’s work doesn’t connect to the story of Christ quite as obviously as his contemporary and friend, C. S. Lewis’, work does, there’s still a lot to be found if you’re looking for it.
Whether you read the books or watch the movies, the Lord of the Rings is the quintessential fantasy story. Every fantasy story written since is compared to it or draws on its ideas. A slumbering evil stirs, one that had been thought long dead. If the evil regains its full power it will cover the land in darkness and rule in terrible might. The evil one already maneuvers to undermine and destroy the few fortresses and vestiges of strength in the land so it can sweep through unopposed. The evil one sows discord and fear. It tries to pit people against one another and drive them to despair.
At the end of the second book, the evil one, Sauron, has directed his subordinate to unleash a vast army against one of the remaining bastions that stand against him. The heroes have gone to the kingdom of Rohan to seek aid, only to find the evil one had already been at work there, eating away at the kingdom from within. Purging the evil one’s influences helped, but now the king sees the army marching toward him and knows he cannot hope to defeat it where he is now. His capital is no sturdy fortress, capable of withstanding waves of enemies. If he stays, his army will be defeated and his people will be helpless before the slaughter. If he is to survive, he must make for the fortress his ancestors built out of the mountain, Helm’s Deep.
A mighty fortress it is. It sits against a high mountain. The only way to approach is through a valley, where huge, high walls stand to defend it. A handful of soldiers can defend the fortress against thousands. The fortress has never been taken in battle. The king tells his people to gather only what they need and make for the fortress. They’ll be safe there. He tells them they can withstand the onslaught. He reminds them the fortress has never fallen. He speaks confidently to the people so they do not despair, but in his own thoughts he knows even this fortress may not be enough.
Sadly, his doubts prove true. The enemy arrives and breaks down the walls and swarms over the fortress. The enemy does not want merely to defeat, but to utterly wipe out anyone and anything that might stand against him. Five days after the king and the heroes left the capital, just when the enemy was ready to break down the very last defense, when all looked well and truly lost, they remembered something. Their friend, the wizard Gandalf and told them he would ride out alone to find allies. On the morning of the fifth day, they should look to the east and see him riding in to their aid. The heroes make one last charge out of their hidey hole, taking the battle to the enemy and, just as promised Gandalf arrives at the head of a fresh army. Between the two, the enemy is crushed and sent away.
It’s a thrilling scene, an emotional rollercoaster. Valor and courage against blind hatred and malice, hope and despair, light and darkness. It is a fantasy story and doesn’t pretend to be anything else, but that doesn’t mean it has nothing to do with us.
Back in the 1930’s, the French saw Germany building up forces after Hitler’s ascension to power. The patriotic fervor of the Germans seemed like it would boil over and the French chose to take precautions. They built a series of defenses along the border, which they called the Maginot Line. It was intended to be a deterrent, strong enough to withstand any attack long enough for the French to mobilize their army to move in and reinforce. They were very confident in their work and thought it would keep them safe, but they made a couple of bad assumptions. The Germans saw a weakness in the defenses and, much like the outer wall of Helm’s Deep, blasted through with only minor difficulties when they finally chose to invade.
The war for the French changed almost overnight. No longer were they manning the walls looking down on the great evil that was marching against them. Now the evil was through the gates and in the streets. You might pick a fight here or there. You might kill a few soldiers in this city or that, but it wouldn’t change anything. The Germany army swarmed across the land, moving faster than you thought possible, overwhelming your defenses before you can even build them.
For the average French soldier or civilian, it looked very much like nothing could stop the oncoming tide. The British, your allies in the fight, are already on the defensive. They can do little to help you. There’s not much else to do but put up what little fight you can and wait for the enemy to find you and do away with you.
Then comes June 6, 1944. Allied forces land on French beaches by the thousands. Slowly the tide of darkness is turned back, pushing ever forward until the evil is attacked in its own lair and finally destroyed.
Both of those scenarios are huge, affecting whole nations and potentially changing the course of history. This sort of thing happens on much smaller scales as well, different skirmishes throughout the history of combat have seen similar events. But on even smaller scales, the woman who hides behind the couch trying desperately not to make the slightest noise as she waits for the police to arrive to deal with the robbers who have broken into her home. The little girl who hides in the closet as fire consumes her home, hoping and praying to hear the voice of the fireman who searches the house for her. The man walking down the street in his neighborhood, praying someone finds him as he is having a heart attack.
Most of us will probably never be in any of those situations. Terrifying as each may be, they are only the most obvious examples of the kind of problem Isaiah speaks to in the Old Testament reading for today. Isaiah proclaims a message to a people who will soon be experiencing very dark times. In truth, the darkness is already encroaching. Some refuse to believe it will make it to them. Even more believe it will be turned back at the walls of Jerusalem. Isaiah speaks with the wisdom of God. He knows better. The darkness will find them and it will look as though all is lost. They will be carted away, those that survive, and live in a foreign land, with everything that made them feel safe and secure left behind. It will be a very harsh time.
It is to these future Israelites that Isaiah sends his message. When they finally have seen the last of Jerusalem and arrive in Babylon, when the years pass, and they wait, and wait, and wait, for salvation, when they remember how things were when they put their trust in the Lord, they are to remember this message as well. They are to remember who God is.
There are all sorts of images the Bible gives us for God. The Good Shepherd, the loving Father, the wise Teacher, the sacrificial lamb. Here we find a different one. Lord God Sabaoth, the Lord of armies, the commander-in-chief of the angelic host who comes to save his people and destroy his enemies.
When the darkness surrounds us and it looks as though there is no hope, we give up and our faith falters because we forget who it is who has promised to save us. We also confine our attention to the big, scary, life threatening problems, if we think of God as the mighty savior at all.
Laurie and I have had a few instances over the past several months that have been humbling, instances where it didn’t look like there was anything we could do. Life threatening? No. Scary? Not really. Just sad and unfortunate. Nevertheless, God came to our aid and brought a solution we weren’t sure was possible. Did come charging in to defeat death and the forces of Satan in those instances? Perhaps not. But he did come to defeat sin, to defeat fear, to defeat sadness, to defeat mistrust and doubt.
God’s enemies aren’t just out there. They are also in here. He comes to defeat them all. He comes in glory and power to defeat Satan, but also comes to defeat sin and death, freeing us from our own fears, doubts, and shame. The wonder of it all is that this mighty God, who creates the universe with a word, who brought all things to life that have life and who sustains all things would see people like you and I, people who constantly resist him and fight against him, and he would have pity on us and forgive us. But he does and he does so willingly, lovingly. The mightiest warrior in all of creation, the Creator of the very universe has come to forgive you and save you from all enemies.
God planned for your salvation before you even knew there was danger, planned before you were even born. He knew the danger and how to rescue you from it, from all of it. The dangers of body and soul surround us. God sends his champion, his Son Jesus, to rescue us. Luther says in the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed that the Father, “defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil.” Whether he does it here or whether he takes me out of this evil world to await his new and perfect one, we know he is watching over us and taking care of us.
Trust in the might and power of your savior and God. Trust in him to find you even in the deepest darkness. Trust in him to defend you against all evil, whether it be sin, death, or all of the powers of Satan. He will find you and bring you to himself to dwell in peace forever.