A Very Lord of the Rings Advent Pt. 4

The Fourth Sunday: Peace // The Undying Lands

This post is part of a guide that has taken us through the four Sundays of Advent following along with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you’d like to attempt an epic LOTR Christmas Eve marathon, or would just like to reflect on the past four weeks, here’s parts I, II and III.

So I know what you’re thinking. There are four Sundays in Advent and there are only three Lord of the Rings movies/books. What am I playing at here? Well, I think it actually worked out perfectly, especially since this year our fourth ‘week’ is really one day. That’s right - this email is hitting your inbox on the morning of Christmas Eve. Somehow the Winter Solstice has come and gone. The darkest day has already past. The Baby is in the Manger, Christ is born. There’s no time for another movie even if we wanted one! And if you're like us, there is a lot still to do, and a tummy bug/fever combo has taken down the toddler and the baby's new favorite wake up time is 4AM. It's a weary world, indeed. (Ready to skip ahead to the Rejoicing part!)

So today we’ll be reflecting on the final scenes of Return of the King, when Frodo makes the decision to join Gandalf, Bilbo, and the Elves leaving Middle Earth. This will give us a chance to ponder our own journeys - the ones we have taken, and the ones we still have left before us.

“Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.”

- J.R.R. Tolkien, Return of the King

The one time we consistently went to Church growing up was on Christmas Eve and we usually went to the midnight service. Carols would start at 10:30 and the service would end right around 12AM, awash in candles and goodwill. It was always the most delightful thing to turn to family and friends and strangers as the last church bells chimed - Merry Christmas! As a kid staying up extra late, it was a true thrill. It’s midnight, it’s Christmas Day, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Sucking on candy canes in the backseat we’d drive to the barn and try to sneak up on the ponies - my mother told us they all could talk at midnight on Christmas Eve.¹ We never were able to hear them talking, but it didn’t matter. The night was magic and I believed it. Then we’d head into the house for a final reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas before collapsing into our beds, looking forward to a full day of merrymaking and feasting. My goodness what a gift Christmas is.

Yet, as we all know, Christmas is complicated for many people. An intact family round the holiday turkey is a rare thing, indeed.² So if your holiday memories aren’t quite as rosy (and believe me I have plenty of non-rosy memories too), know that this day is also very, very much for you.

Advent, the martyred pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote, is most similar to a prison cell.³ One waits and waits, ultimately impassive - there is nothing you can do to escape, to seek the moment of grace. One must feel in true desperation to know one’s very real need for a miracle.

Good tidings of Great Joy.

It has happened. The door is unlocked, the miracle is here.

As we have traveled through this season alongside our motley crew of hobbits, Elves, and Men, marooned in Time with all its hurts and Joys, we have grown in understanding of what it means to trust in the ultimate Goodness of the Story we are living.

How many times did the Fellowship face despair? How many times was there so very, very little reason to Hope or Believe? How much stronger, how much greater was Sauron’s Army? What courage was demanded of us, and not just on battlefields, but in our hearts - to go on believing in the face of so much ugliness, so much loss? Well some might call it a foolish belief - But I call it courageous. Lord of the Rings taught me this.

In the face of despair, we bring you a baby in a manger. We bring you a family and a choir of angels. We bring you Peace.

WEEK FOUR (DEC 24-25):

THE UNDYING LANDS

At the end of The Return of the King, Gandalf, many of the Elves, Frodo, and Bilbo, leave for a distant shore - the Undying Lands. There is sadness with their leaving - Sam cannot fathom it - but Frodo reassures him:

“Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.”

Frodo, no longer a part of the world, leaves for something deeper, truer, and more lasting. He leaves for wholeness and Joy - but Time still exists - and Separation still Exists - so this leaving will always be filled with Melancholy.

Advent is a Season of Joy and Hope - candles burning in the darkness - a Promise Fulfilled - and yet, we know there is Sadness to Come. We know that the Birth is simultaneous with the Cross, and that here, on this side of Heaven, all is 'mingled now with grief.'

Yet through all the trials and tribulations of this world, we are promised a Peace that surpasses all understanding.

Journal / Discussion Questions:

1. The final Advent candle we light is the last purple candle, symbolizing Peace. Known as “The Angel’s Candle” it reminds us of the message of the angels - “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.” How can we cultivate that peace which surpasses all understanding? How can we find peace amidst all the tribulations of the world?

2. Whether we are close to the Undying Lands or, like Sam, have ‘so much more to enjoy and be and do,’ how can we celebrate the Incarnation in a spirit of Confidence, knowing Hope has, at last, been fulfilled?

3. Gandalf tells us “a great Shadow has lifted,” but there are many trials still to come for Middle Earth. How can we joyfully celebrate the end of Advent and the Start of Christmas with Joy in spite of the trials ahead?

4. Meditate on how the moment we are born, we are dying. Every breath we take is one less we have left on Earth. When Christ entered into Time, as a vulnerable human child, he also Entered into Death. How does Lord of the Rings honor the reality of sacrifice, redemption, and resurrection?

“And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise.”

I wish you a very Merry Christmas, dear readers.

I wish you so much Joy, and most of all Peace, Dona nobis pacem.

Thank you so much for following along with this Lord of the Rings Advent Guide⁴ I hope its been an enjoyable, meaningful way to enter into the beauty of this season through one of the greatest stories.

We’re approaching my other favorite ‘season’ - New Years. I love fresh starts and resolutions. I love reflecting on the year and feeling like I have a good reason to take stock, start anew.⁵

In this spirit, I’m going to start working on compiling 23 things I’ve learned/realized in 2023⁶. I am also going to be working through this great list of New Years reflections shared by

Tsh Oxenreider

. I’d love to hear about your realizations and resolutions, too.

But for now, rest.

Christ is born, Merry Christmas, God bless you!

x Katie

1. I was wondering if this was just a delightful story my family made up about talking animals on Christmas Eve, but it turns out it’s a pretty old folktale.

2.

Kerri Christopher

shared a sad and true essay on this topic recently. Worth the time to read: Christmas is Complicated.

3. “A prison cell like this is a good analogy for Advent. One waits, hopes, does this or that—ultimately negligible things—the door is locked and can only be opened from the outside.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letter from Prison, November 21, 1943

4. And if you’re still not convinced Lord of the Rings is a Christmas movie, read this from

JRR Jokien

. Brilliant.

5. If you missed it: “Christmas is All About Second Chances”

6. Inspired by my friend

Gina

- read her list here.