LOTR and your Weltanschauung

[mark12_30]

Delighted, Joy... thanks.

In "The Mirror of Galadriel", just before Frodo catches sight of Nenya, Galadriel describes how she is percieves the mind of the enemy, even as he strives to percieve her mind but cannot. The analogies/ applicability to spiritual warfare are pretty straightforward, and therefore the need for prayer is like Galadriel's vigilance-- to both protect and advance the kingdom, and protect Lothlorien. Lovely applicability. (Laurelindorinan-- Land of the valley of singing gold... Hmmm, worship. Fun!)

OK, on to Bombadil. Towards the end of Bombadil goes Boating is this section; I'll quote in full:

Songs they had and merry tales the supping and the dancing;
Goodman Maggot there for all his belt was prancing,
Tom did a hornpipe when he was not quaffing,
daughters did the Springle-ring, goodwife did the laughing.

When others went to bed in hay, fern, or feather,
close in the inglenook they laid their heads together,
old Tom and Muddy-feet, swapping all the tidings
from Barrow-downs to Tower Hills: of walkings and of ridings;
of wheat-ear and barley-corn, of sowing and of reaping;
queer tales from Bree, and talk at smithy, mill, and cheaping;
rumours in whispering trees, south-wind in the larches,
tall Watchers by the Ford, Shadows on the marches.

I was struck by a sudden longing to **have** this; both the tight friendships, the merriment and celebration, and all the things-- pleasant and fearsome-- to talk about. And I realized that the first half-- songs, tales, dancing, laughing-- shows up in fellowship and celebration and worship, and the second half-- walkings, ridings, sowings, reapings, queer tales, talk, rumors, wind (!!!), watchers (!!!) and shadows (!!!) turns up in intercession and prayer, etc. This is all standard fare in the Kingdom.

Which brought several aspects of the new work into a sharp focus that otherwise would have been much fuzzier!