Strangers in the Night

First Lesson: Exodus 1: 8 - 2:10
Responsive Reading: Psalm 124
Second Lesson: Romans 12: 1-8
​Gospel Lesson: Matthew 16: 13-20

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Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
C.S. Lewis[1] tells the tale of a sister and a brother named Lucy and Edmund.  Lucy and Edmund lived in Britain during World War 2 and they were forced to leave their home for the countryside to stay safe in the presence of German bombings[2].  Moving to the countryside was just the beginning of change within Lucy and Edmund’s life.  Lucy was the youngest of four children.  Lucy was known for having such a wild imagination that the other children often wouldn’t know what to make of her.  They thought Lucy was often not old enough to know any better.  Lucy one day finds a giant wardrobe in the house that she was living.  Lucy peeks behind the dresser to a see a door into the world of Narnia.  What Lucy sees in Narnia no one was going to believe: talking animals along with all sorts of other seemingly make believe creatures.  No one believes Lucy’s story at first until she takes the other children there also[3]. 

Lucy’s brother Edmund was her opposite in every way: Edmund didn’t get along with any of his brothers and sisters especially Lucy[4].  Edmund made fun of Lucy every chance he got for her silliness[5].  Edmund was known for being unable, to tell the truth.  Edmund would pick on smaller, weaker, children every chance that he got[6].

So here’s what you should know about Narnia where Edmund and Lucy travel[7].  Narnia was the world that had perpetual winter.  Snow, ice, the wind, freezing temperatures every day of the year.  Worst of all a wicked witch rules Narnia. When Edmund is in Narnia, he is willing to turn his back on his brothers and sisters at the first chance he gets, all so he can follow the Wicked Witch instead[8].  Edmund worst of all was negative, believing places like Narnia or even people were capable of being transformed.  His Sister Lucy, in contrast, was known for her strong faith and belief that things would ultimately work out in the end. 

Here’s the thing about Lucy and Edmund in Narnia, the silly Lucy was right, the change would soon come to Narnia in the form of Aslan the Lion.  Aslan would transform nasty into kind.  Aslan would transform the selfish into the selfless.  The greatest change of all would take place in the life of young Edmund.  You see Edmund had just done the worst thing that you could do in Narnia, Edmund had betrayed his loved ones.  The punishment for Edmund’s crime is he was going to die.  Edmund was going to be sent to the Wicked Witch’s grasp seemingly unable to escape.  Only Aslan the Lion dies in Edmund’s place instead.  Edmund and Aslan would seem to be forever separated from this point; only Edmund gets to see Aslan rise from the dead!![9].  Edmund was transformed every day of his life from this point forward.  Edmund became trustworthy[10].  Edmund stopped making fun of his silly sister for her foolish beliefs.

Now here’s what I want everyone to do.  I want you to picture the seemingly silly Lucy who perpetually lived with strong faith even when others thought it was silly versus Edmund who only judged life by the evidence of who was stronger?  Edmund believed that things could never change all that much.

Picture Edmund and Lucy now hear the words from our Romans lesson for Today:
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind[11].”

The Apostle Paul speaks these words with a specific purpose in mind.  Paul doesn’t speak them to think like we normally do about transformation[12].  Not as a way of beginning your journey no different than the couch potato decides to become a marathon runner.  Paul’s intentions are to change instead of the perspective on the world that is around you.

For example, when I was in 4th Grade the most popular type of pants were called “Zubaz”  Zubaz were like a striped, sweat pants that had been made popular by professional wrestlers and weightlifters.  Zubaz were bright and always attention grabbing.  Here’s the thing about Zubaz they had a popularity shelf-life of about two years.  What was previously cool quickly became uncool.  Although ironically enough I will still frequently see Zubaz at Vikings games as they’ve made a bit of a comeback. 

Here’s the problem with though with finding our identity in the trends of others[13].  Like Zubaz they are always changing in and out of style. Zubaz were cool in 4th grade, but uncool in 6th grade.  Culture often represents repression on what you can wear, say, or even believe.  Culture fails to offer hope when it comes to lasting transformation since the judgments of the world around us are always changing.

Our identity as Christian people is rooted in something must different than the external means like Zubaz.  Any transformation that takes place within our lives often comes from that which we can’t see or measure.  We don’t grow more right with God by our earthly accomplishments.  We are instead defined by our identity with the Risen Lord.  Christ does promise transformation like what happened to Paul when he was blinded on the Road to Damascus.  Christ promises a transformation though even beyond this.  Christ promises that he will transform us once and for all in the Resurrection that is to come.  Transformation shall come as the old world is behind us as we come into the presence of our savior.

Let me close this morning with the following story[14].  One night a nurse working in the ICU looks out into the hall.  She sees a man who appears to be tired and stressed.  She figures that this must be the son of one of her elderly patients.  The nurse escorts the young man into the room proclaiming to the dying man “Your son is here.”  She had to repeat the phrase several times before the dying man could summon the strength to open his eyes.  The dying man was heavily sedated because of his condition, and his eyesight wasn’t all that good, so he could barely make out the young man standing outside the tent.

The dying man reached out his hand; the young man proceeded to grab it wrapping his fingers tightly around it, he then begins to speak encouraging words to the man dying[15].  The nurse brought a chair to the bedside.  The young man never left the dying man’s side clinging to his hand all night long, continually speaking words of hope.  The dying man would say nothing in response, merely holding out to the young man’s arm.  As the dawn approached, the patient died.  The young man then placed the dying man’s hand on the bed.  He got up to notify the nurse. 

The young man waited as the nurse followed necessary protocol on the deceased man.  When the nurse was finished, she began to offer words of comfort over the young man’s loss[16].

The young man finally interrupted the nurse, “Who was that man[17]?”

The nurse was stumped “Wasn’t he your father[18]?”

The young man replied, “I have never seen him before in my life[19]?”

“Then why didn’t you say something when I brought you to his room[20]?” asked the nurse.

He replied “I knew he needed his son and his son wasn’t here.  When I realized he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, I knew how much he needed me[21].”

You see the young man was doing for the dying man what Jesus does for us.  You see Jesus transforms people, no different than Aslan the Lion transformed Edmund.  Jesus takes us when we are at our lowest, at our weakest, and guides us into a whole new world of “hope”.  Edmund became a King of Narnia regardless of how nasty he had previously been in life, just as Paul became the Christian Church’s greatest preacher after previously being its greatest enemy.  Grace transforms people. Forgiveness transforms people.  Hope transforms people.   Resurrection transforms people, even if we can’t identify the stranger we meet in the night, right before all these things take place.  Amen


[1] The following is the plot of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. 
[2] Otte, John. “Narnia: Changing in the Wardrobe.” Sermon Central. 9.Dec.2005. Web. Aug.10.2017. 
[3] Otte, John. “Narnia: Changing in the Wardrobe.”
[4] Otte, John. “Narnia: Changing in the Wardrobe.”
[5] “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation.5.Aug.2017. Web. Aug.10.2017. 
[6] Otte, John. “Narnia: Changing in the Wardrobe.”
[7] Otte, John. “Narnia: Changing in the Wardrobe.”
[8] Otte, John. “Narnia: Changing in the Wardrobe.”
[9] Otte, John. “Narnia: Changing in the Wardrobe.”
[10] Otte, John. “Narnia: Changing in the Wardrobe.”
[11] Romans 12:2. 
[12] Reasoner, Mark. “Commentary on Romans 12:1-8” Working Preacher.. 24.Aug.2008. Web. Aug.10.2017. 
[13] Molin, Steve. “Rearranged or Changed?” Sermon Writer. 2002. Web. Aug.10.2017. 
[14] Unknown Source. “A Son to a Dying Man.” Stories for Preaching.  Web. Aug.10.2017. 
[15] Unknown Source. “A Son to a Dying Man
[16] Unknown Source. “A Son to a Dying Man
[17] Unknown Source. “A Son to a Dying Man
[18] Unknown Source. “A Son to a Dying Man
[19] Unknown Source. “A Son to a Dying Man
[20] Unknown Source. “A Son to a Dying Man
[21] Unknown Source. “A Son to a Dying Man