Readings for the Day:
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In C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle, the last of The Chronicles of Narnia series, we get to see the Pevensie children, the 4 children from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, for one last time. All 4 of them, except Susan, the second oldest.
Susan, we are told, is no longer focused on the land of Narnia and the lessons the Pevensies learned over the years. She is, instead focused on the sort of invitations she receives for the right kind of parties to go to. Susan’s focus now is on what the world wants and not on the world beyond in Narnia. In fact, she no longer even believes Narnia is real, thinking it was merely a story they concocted as children.
Susan’s plight is one we all fall prey to from time to time. We give more focus to the needs of the world instead of to the glory of God. We all are, at times, more focused on how we appear to others and our social standing than our spiritual lives. We all, at times, need to reconnect with God and to turn back from our old ways and follow our Lord once more.
There are times when we really need to stop and take stock of where we are. We all find ourselves in moments where, if we’re really honest with ourselves, we think, “how could I stray this far away? How is it that I am so far from God at this moment?”
We all need moments where we can take stock of our spiritual well-being and turn back from our worldly status and return to God once more. Thank goodness for us that we have the season of Lent to do so.
As we hear in our readings today, this is the time where we are being called back to our Lord. This is the time we need to reflect on where we are, what we are doing, and how we can turn back to God once again.
This is the time where we can reflect on why we do what we do. Are we like the hypocrites, praising God only so that we in turn might be praised for our piety, or are we, instead, practicing our piety in order to strengthen our relationship with God?
The truth is that God wants that intimate relationship with you. God wants you to go into your room and have a conversation with Him, just the two of you. God wants you to know Him and love Him.
God also gives us the opportunity to come back. God gives us the chance to rebuild that relationship with Him so that it will never be lost, but that it will, instead, continue to grow.
There is a lot of speculation as to why Lewis had Susan be the one who fell to the influence of the world instead of retaining the joy of Narnia. One of the explanations I love best is that Lewis was planning another book where Susan’s children found their way into another world like Narnia. I like this idea because it keeps things open for Susan to return from the world back to Aslan. It holds open that hope for us to return to God too.
If you feel lost or separated from God, this time of Lent is your call to return. Our readings make clear that God is reaching out to us and providing us a way back. They make it clear that God still desires a relationship with us. This season of Lent is the opportunity we may desperately need to turn back and follow God anew. This may be our chance to turn back to God once again.