I thought as we close I’d carry on from this morning (minus the foot fun at church), and talk about travel – life’s journey, in a way.
Both J.R. R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were Christian writers who lamented the gradual loss of values in society, and set out to write stories which would instill those values in young people. Tolkien particularly was concerned about the damage and destruction of Creation, and the move towards only profit, greed and war. In “The Fellowship of the Ring”, Frodo Baggins lives in a beautiful world – all that is green and good, all things bright and beautiful, the beauty of the earth – and he thinks that is all the world is. He cannot conceive of a world in which people have no value, in which power and wealth take precedence even over creation. His life changes dramatically, and on his journey he learns how naive and protected he has been.
Lord of the Rings is about life’s journey, constant change, who we are, and who we become, in that journey.
When I left Glen Ayr United in Scarborough, three years ago, the congregation put together a farewell CD – in the background was Willie Nelson singing “On the Road Again”, and a car travelling the highway.
So, feeling a little whimsical as we close this week’s journey on CASA, Willie Nelson – and “On the Road Again”. Making music with my friends in CASA….and in the words of the incomparable Hobo (Red Skelton), “Good night, and God bless.”
