2005 Narnia Advent Series – “Narnia: Always Winter; Never Christmas”
Romans 8:18-25
Sermon preached at Curwensville Presbyterian Church – December 24, 2005 (7:00pm)

Prayer Introduction: This Christmas season the sermons have been highlighting some of the Christian truths illustrated in C.S. Lewis first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series – The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe – which has been made into a great movie.

So far we have looked at Aslan, the great Lion; who illustrates Jesus – called the “Lion of Judah” in Revelation 5:5. We then looked at the Deep Magic and Deeper Magic in the world of Narnia, which rescued young Edmund from the evil White Witch, illustrating how the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ saves us from Satan. Last Sunday, we celebrated the faith of the children of Narnia, illustrating the biblical truth of receiving the kingdom of God like children.

This evening we are going to look at Romans 8:18-25 and how it is wonderfully illustrated in C.S. Lewis’ book. Your green insert contains the quotations from the book, as well as the Scriptures, to which I will refer. But before we begin let’s pray…We pray now for the preacher in the pulpit. He is not worthy, but by your grace he is able. And so it is through Jesus Christ that we pray – Amen!

READ Romans 8:18-25.

I. Always Winter, Never Christmas

In Chapter 2 (entitled: What Lucy Found There) the youngest of the Pevensie children, Lucy, is the first to pass through the mysterious Wardrobe into the magical world of Narnia where she meets Mr. Tumnus the faun who tells Lucy about the evil White Witch; and Lucy exclaims – The White Witch? Who is she?” “Why, it is she that has got all Narnia under thumb. It’s she that makes it always winter. Always winter and never Christmas; think of that!” “How awful!” said Lucy.

There are some of you strange people out there who don’t like winter at all. As you know, I love winter; but I also love when winter ends. I love watching the snow fall on a moonlit night. I love making snowmen, snow angels, and snowballs. I also love when it snows on my December birthday. But mostly I love the coming of snow and winter because it also means the coming of Christmas. So I resonate with Lucy at how awful it would be if it was always winter and never Christmas.

What a vivid depiction of how the Jews felt waiting and waiting for the promised Messiah. Sadly, they still wait – not recognizing that Christmas has come. Sadly, there are many people in this world who don’t know what it means that the Messiah, the Christ, has come.

The sure sign that someone lives as though it is always winter and never Christmas is that they remain focused on themselves. Religious people are often the guiltiest of this.

When asked how you are getting to heaven they say, “I try and be a good person and do the best I can.” No! It’s not about you. Jesus the Christ is the way, the truth and the life – He is the way to heaven.

You also hear it in people who say, “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian, I can worship God in my own way.” No! It’s not about you. Jesus the Christ is Lord of the Sabbath and defines how God desires to be worshiped. These are both examples of self-righteousness.

In Matthew 16:24-25 Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

To know that Christmas has come – to know Jesus is the Christ – is to know that it isn’t about your works, but about His saving grace; and that it isn’t about what you want, but about his lordship over you. That is why the Christian calls Jesus our Savior AND Lord.

II. The First Christmas

Before Christ came – 2,000 years ago – the people of God placed their hope in the Old Testament prophecies, which promised the first Christmas would come. This brings us to Chapter 8 (entitled: What Happened After Dinner). All four children – Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy – having passed through the Wardrobe into Narnia meet Mr. & Mrs. Beaver who tell them about two prophecies. The first prophecy says – “Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight/At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more/When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death/And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”

The first prophecy is that upon Aslan’s return, the Witch’s curse of winter will end, and Narnia will see spring again. And it has already been reported that “Aslan is on the move.” Indeed, the children (back in chapter 6) had seen a robin.

            So the first of the two prophecies is already being fulfilled. The children are surprised to discover that the second prophecy refers to them – “Down at Cair Paravel there are four thrones and it’s a saying in Narnia time out of mind that when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sit in those four thrones, then it will be the end not only of the White Witch’s reign but of her life.”

            All of Narnia is filled with excitement because it was reported that Aslan had come, and now four children – of all people – had come to sit on the four thrones at Cair Paravel.

            There was great excitement in Nazareth when the angel Gabriel came to Mary – of all people – and said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:30-33).

            And there was excitement when an angel came to Joseph – of all people – and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20b-21).

            And there was excitement when an angel came to the shepherds – of all people – and said, “‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ  the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests’” (Luke 2:10-14).

            And there was great excitement when the star that guided the Magi – of all people – stopped, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).

            Gifts of myrrh for the Christ child who would be the greatest Prophet. Gifts of incense for the Christ child who would be the great high Priest. And gifts of gold for the Christ child who would be King.

            And so it is that we exchange gifts at Christmas time, remembering the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ – our prophet, priest and king – our Lord and Savior – Emmanuel, God with us.

III. The Second Christmas

But of course that is not the end of the story. It is only the beginning. We celebrate the first Christmas, but we also celebrate the second Christmas that is to come – when Jesus returns to consummate his kingdom.

In Chapter 11 (entitled: Aslan is Nearer) young Edmund is traveling with the White Witch and her dwarf slave – And now the snow was really melting in earnest and patches of green grass were beginning to appear in every direction. Unless you have looked at a world of snow as long as Edmund had been looking at it, you will hardly be able to imagine what a relief those green patches were after the endless white…“This is no thaw,” said the dwarf, suddenly stopping. This is Spring. What are we to do? Your winter has been destroyed, I tell you! This is Aslan’s doing.”

            Aslan brought the firstfruits of Spring to Narnia. Jesus brought the firstfruits of the Spirit to us. In our passage from Romans 8:23 we read that we, “who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

             The first Christmas – the first advent, the first coming of Christ – has set us free from Satan’s grasp; but we are still fallen beings living in a fallen world. There is still suffering. There is still death. There is still decay. Romans 8, beginning at verse 18, says that the glory to come with the second Christmas – the second advent, the second coming of Christ – will make all of our sufferings worthwhile – and then some. Creation will be eternally liberated from decay. There will be no sickness, no sadness, no death.

            The celebration of Christmas isn’t just about what is past, but about what is still to come.

IV. Always Christmas

And that is why for the Christian it is always Christmas – even when it’s winter. The winter cold – the sufferings of this world – should cause us to look forward with great hope for that which is still to come. I love how Romans 8:24 says, “But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?”

            It would be silly to put something you already have on your Christmas list? We don’t need to hope that God will save us – he already has. We don’t need to hope that God will love us – he already has. We don’t need to hope that we can have victory over depression, guilt, anger, anxiety – we already can through the firstfruits of the Spirit. But oh for the return of Christ so that we can have final victory.

            It’s hard to wait. Romans 8:25 says, “If we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” This, of course, comes with spiritual maturity.

            I can remember, as a child, how hard it was to wait for Christmas morning. It seemed to take forever to come. But as I’ve grown, I sometimes wish it would take longer – because there is so much to do to get ready.

            So it is in this life. There is so much to do to get ready for Jesus’ return. There are so many people who do not yet truly understand the significance of the first Christmas – that the Messiah has come to be our Savior and Lord, setting us free from sin’s chains.

            May this Christmas bring freedom from the sin that binds you, and hope in the final freedom to come. May this Christmas remind you that it is always Christmas – even when it is winter.

MAY THE TRUTH SET YOU FREE – AMEN!