I love the summer. I know feeling are very subjective, and quite in contrast to Marks last post on science. Summer makes me feel good. Summer reminds me of great residentials with young people, detached work when it is too hot to play football so you sit in the sun and talk, days out with young people who have never seen the sea, and chilling out with them as friends.
I love the evocative feeling that CS Lewis writes about Aslans recovery and his joy at rising again, but what is even better is how Aslan includes the children in the joy and journey ahead.
‘Oh, children,’ said the Lion, ‘ I feel my strength coming back to me. Oh, children, catch me if you can!’ He stood for a second, his eyes very bright his limbs quivering, lashing himself with his tail. Then he mad a leap high over their heads and landed on the other side of the Table. Laughing, though she didn’t know why, Lucy scrambled over it to reach him. Aslan leaped again. A mad chase began. Round and round the hill-top he led them, now hopelessly out of their reach, now letting them almost catch his tail, now diving between them, now tossing them in the air with his huge and beautifully velveted paws an d catching them again, and now stopping unexpectedly so that all three of them rolled over together in a happy laughing heap of fur and arms and legs. It was such a romp as no one has ever had except in Narnia; and whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind. And the funny thing was that when all three finally lay together panting in the sun the girls no longer felt in the least tired or hungry or thirsty.
‘And now,’ said Aslan presently, ‘to business. I feel I am going to roar. You had better put your fingers in your ears.’
And they did. And Aslan stood up and when he opened his mouth to roar his face became so terrible that they did no dare to look at it. And they saw all the trees in front of him bend before the blast of his roaring as grass bends in a meadow before the wind. Then he said,
‘We have a long journey to go. You must ride on me.’
i can certainly relate to that joy at ‘rising again’ and recovery. In fact over Easter one of my reflections was how amazing must Jesus have felt to wake up after being dead for three days?
I like your reflection about how Aslan included the children in his joy at rising again. It goes without saying that we should include our friends in our joy at a miracle, a new relationship, recovery from a long term illness, whatever. To what extent though is it professional to include those we work with in that? How should we do that coz it’s a very intimate thing to include someone in our deep joy.
And how should we include our communities and churches in our joy and celebration that ‘The Kingdom of God is near’ The sense when we were fed up, dissilusioned and tired until suddenly we catch a glimpse of the Kingdom and that life a vision is re-born in us. How do we involve young people in that ressurection?
the first point with the professional thing is still a massive struggle. I was discussing the other day with someone how the many people approach to sharing pain is only after someone else has done so. Personally I think there is great value in openess but we need to bear in mind why are we being open and what are our motives? Is it about some intinsic need or a desire to grow community? I think perhaps more openess to sharing the joy without going into the pain (except where appropraite and with correct motives) could be the start point.