I gave up listening to music for Lent, but to celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation, I switched on WQXR during my morning stretches today. One of my favorite hosts, Jeff Spurgeon, announced “Tolkien Reading Day,” established in 2003 by the Tolkien Society to promote readings from Middle Earth. Why March 25th? Mr. Spurgeon explained that it was on March 25th that Frodo cast the Ring of Power into fiery chasms on Mordor’s Mount Doom, undoing its dark powers and thus freeing both Frodo and all of Middle Earth from Sauron’s tyranny. Mr. Spurgeon might not know that today is also the Solemnity of the Annunciation, but it is certain that J.R.R Tolkien knew it. As a devout Catholic, Tolkien knew that March 25th is the day eternity stepped into time and the infinite God became a little baby—a very little baby indeed! March 25th is the day God’s Word became Flesh, thus undoing the Will to Power through the Power of Love. On becoming a human baby, our Divine Messiah and King freed all the earth from the tyranny of Satan. Today the most high God, through his emissary Gabriel, asked the maiden’s hand in marriage, and today the highest honor of our race assented without reserve to God’s holy will. Thus were God and Earth finally reconciled.
Mr. Spurgeon perhaps does not know the significance of Tolkien’s placing the salvation of Middle Earth on the same day that Catholics celebrate the salvation of all the earth. Tolkien, unlike his dear friend Lewis, did not write Christian allegories, which draw a one-to-one correspondence between literary figures and biblical figures. In Lewis’ Narnia series, the lion Aslan is obviously a figure of Christ, but Tolkien’s Rings trilogy is much more subtle. Gandalf has some Christlike attributes (his ageless wisdom, his death from the evil Balrog, and his resurrection as Gandalf the White), but so does Aragorn (his rightful kingship, his mighty defense of the people from the orcs, his healing powers), so does Frodo (his self-sacrifice for all of Middle Earth), and so does Sam (his readiness to die for his friend).
Tolkien’s mythology is multivalent and textured while Lewis’ obviously Christian literature is more black and white. Both forms of literature wonderfully achieve the purpose for which they were written, but while Lewis’ Narnia series thrills Christian readers, Tolkien’s trilogy portrays more true-to-life nuances, appealing to a wider audience. Tolkien’s literature, as well as Peter Jackson’s cinematography and Howard Shore’s orchestral score, have conveyed a Christian perspective to millions who would never think to open a bible.
Case in point: Jeff Spurgeon, the much-loved WQXR host who must eschew any hint of religion on his morning show, read a line from The Lord of the Rings this morning in which Tolkien quietly teaches us to accept God’s will in all things. Departing from his usual lighthearted wit, today Mr. Spurgeon paused to quote Tolkien in a hushed and reverent tone:
“I wish the ring had never come to me,” Frodo said. “I wish none of this had happened.”
“So do all who live to see such times,” Gandalf replied. “But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
Thank you, Mr. Spurgeon, for daring to utter such true and beautiful words on the air. I can’t think of a better way for WQXR to celebrate “Tolkien Reading Day,” and for secular New Yorkers to celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation.
Mr. Spurgeon perhaps does not know the significance of Tolkien’s placing the salvation of Middle Earth on the same day that Catholics celebrate the salvation of all the earth. Tolkien, unlike his dear friend Lewis, did not write Christian allegories, which draw a one-to-one correspondence between literary figures and biblical figures. In Lewis’ Narnia series, the lion Aslan is obviously a figure of Christ, but Tolkien’s Rings trilogy is much more subtle. Gandalf has some Christlike attributes (his ageless wisdom, his death from the evil Balrog, and his resurrection as Gandalf the White), but so does Aragorn (his rightful kingship, his mighty defense of the people from the orcs, his healing powers), so does Frodo (his self-sacrifice for all of Middle Earth), and so does Sam (his readiness to die for his friend).
Tolkien’s mythology is multivalent and textured while Lewis’ obviously Christian literature is more black and white. Both forms of literature wonderfully achieve the purpose for which they were written, but while Lewis’ Narnia series thrills Christian readers, Tolkien’s trilogy portrays more true-to-life nuances, appealing to a wider audience. Tolkien’s literature, as well as Peter Jackson’s cinematography and Howard Shore’s orchestral score, have conveyed a Christian perspective to millions who would never think to open a bible.
Case in point: Jeff Spurgeon, the much-loved WQXR host who must eschew any hint of religion on his morning show, read a line from The Lord of the Rings this morning in which Tolkien quietly teaches us to accept God’s will in all things. Departing from his usual lighthearted wit, today Mr. Spurgeon paused to quote Tolkien in a hushed and reverent tone:
“I wish the ring had never come to me,” Frodo said. “I wish none of this had happened.”
“So do all who live to see such times,” Gandalf replied. “But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
Thank you, Mr. Spurgeon, for daring to utter such true and beautiful words on the air. I can’t think of a better way for WQXR to celebrate “Tolkien Reading Day,” and for secular New Yorkers to celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation.
Photo credit: Peter Jackson via Tumblr
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