How Shall We Travel?

“We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” — Acts 5:28-29

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the kids are on a ship in darkness, facing uncertain times. They are scared, and some shout, “We will never make it!” Lucy cried to Aslan for help (the analogy of Jesus Christ in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia). Suddenly a speck of light appeared ahead, which eventually became a beam of light that lit up the ship in the dark like a spotlight. Lucy looked at the beam of light, and at first thought, she saw a cross, only to see wings whirring. It was an Albatross that circled the ship’s mast three times and then whispered to Lucy, ”Courage, dear heart!”[1]

C.S. Lewis’s Narnia stories are clear about basic Christian symbolism and are also layered with spiritual meaning. In this scene, it is an Albatross, representing the Holy Spirit, who brings courage to Lucy.

In Acts 5:12-32, the apostles are imprisoned, angelically released, and then institutionally pressured by religious leaders to be silent and not “preach in this name. [Jesus]” A threat, which contradicted Christ’s command in Acts 1:8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses…”  Empowered with the Holy Spirit, Peter and the apostles found the courage to boldly proclaim, “We must obey God rather than men.”  The apostles were willing to die rather than be silent about Jesus. The apostles faced cultural and institutional opposition but were not intimidated. Regarding their faith, they courageously stood firm no matter where their journey would take them, including death, which leads us to the Christian journey before us today.

The genocide of Middle East Christians has been internationally affirmed. Christians in China are fiercely oppressed and persecuted with an intensity not seen since Mao. Western civilization has shifted to the most secular, non-religious culture in its history. The move to marginalize Christianity continues unabated where everything is being secularized and religious views considered preposterous.  In this very secular air we all breathe, we find our life’s journey and faith intersecting with historically challenging times. How shall we choose to travel?  Will we courageously proclaim with boldness obedience to God regardless of the consequences? Or will we prefer to weigh the costs where disillusionment awaits in choosing the easy and the pointless paths?

Regarding the moral and spiritual challenges in our post-Christian society, Ralph Wood draws on Tolkien’s Christian analogies in The Lord of the Rings for a decision that confronts believers: ”The Company’s Quest to destroy the Ring — is not unlike the journey of life. The path is full of such perils that our destiny can never be predicted in advance. Legolas, the elf, declares this dark truth: “Few can foresee whither their road will lead them, till they come to its end.” (2.95) The question — and thus the Quest — concerns how we shall travel the road and whether we shall complete our errand… we are called eventually to surrender the bounty… the giving up of our lives.”[2]

What we see in this week’s scripture is not a set of ideas or opinions proclaimed by a group of men. But a way of life, dying to one’s self, giving up of our lives for God regardless of the culture’s objections and ridicule. Which will shape our soul, give us true peace and courage, permeate us with the Holy Spirit, and bring Jesus closer to the heart.

-Dan Nickel

[1] C.S. Lewis, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” The Chronicles of Narnia (New York: Harper Collins, 2001), 510-511.

[2] Ralph C. Wood, The Gospel According to Tolkien: Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-earth (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), 46.