Monday, February 27, 2006

Something to ponder about Incarnation

"It is neither idle nor fantastic, I believe , to imagine Iluvatar (Tolkien's version of God) entering Arda (Earth) in the form of a Hobbit.
The average Jew of Jesus' day was perhaps little if any larger than Tolkien's Hobbits. Yet it is the size of their souls rather than their bodies that matters. For it is from such hobbit-souls that the Kingdom of God is truly made--whether we are considering the Lord and Saviour who enfleshes the triune God, or whether we are numbering his lowliest disciples. Elrond the Elflord saw this truth from the beginning, when he not only appointed the members of the Fellowship, but also explained the astonishing nature of their mission: 'This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while eyes of the great are elsewhere.'

In the world of Middle-earth, the Consummation of All Things occurs neither with the fall of Mordor nor the coronation of Aragorn, but with the coming incarnation of Iluvatar. The One who orders the life of Ea and Arda, I have argued, may well take the form of a hobbit--just as God's own incarnation occurred in humble Jewish servant.
For only in such divine lowliness can Arda be unmarred. In our own world, the Kingdom still arrives through this strange strength to be found in self-surrender."

Source: The Gospel According to Tolkien, Dr. Ralph C. Wood,