On the Shoulders of Hobbits by Louis Markos

Author:Louis Markos
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-57567-854-2
Publisher: Moody Bible Institute of Chicago dba Moody Publishers
Published: 2012-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

It is, I believe, passages like this that have helped to make The Lord of the Rings the book of the century, one that is read and reread by millions of fans all over the world. On the simplest level, such passages provide us with the joy of discovery, that electric “aha” moment when the lightbulb flashes and a connection is forged. “Yes,” we think to ourselves, “I can figure out the riddle. The broken sword is Narsil, the hilt-shard of which Isildur used to cut the Ring from Sauron’s finger. And the Ring is itself Isildur’s Bane, for it betrayed him, and he was killed by Orc arrows. That Ring now rests around the neck of Frodo the Hobbit (or halfling), who has, like Boromir, been drawn to Imladris (the Elvish name for Rivendell).” This joy of discovery is then multiplied threefold when we realize that the prophetic poem that speaks of Aragorn—which we have heard before at the Prancing Pony in a letter written by Gandalf, but which is now recited again with greater meaning by Bilbo—can be fitted together perfectly with the prophetic dream of Faramir. Piece by piece the face on the puzzle emerges.

However, I would argue that the deep response that such passages elicit from Tolkien’s fans cannot be explained merely as a function of this thrilling “emergence”—after all, a good mystery novel provides its readers with the same thrill. Behind Boromir’s testimony lurks something else that our modern world is desperately in need of: a sense that we live in a meaningful universe where nothing is accidental and where an overruling providence moves things forward in accordance with a higher plan. This promises as well that history is not merely a succession of unrelated events (“one darn thing after another”), but that it too is imbued with meaning, purpose, and direction. And if both the universe and history are meaningful, then perhaps we are as well. The Lord of the Rings opens our eyes to such a possibility. But if our eyes are to remain open, if we are to perceive the deeper weave, then we need something else.

We need the theological virtue of faith.

Of such faith, Boromir, unlike his brother Faramir, is sadly and tragically lacking. Although he possesses the courage to seek out the answer to the vision and though he has the wisdom to understand it, his lack of faith prevents him from trusting the very promise whose meaning he has fought so hard to find. He knows that the Ring is “Isildur’s Bane,” that it destroys all who seek to possess it, and yet he faithlessly attempts to take it from Frodo. In the end, his fate is identical to that of Isildur: he is killed by Orc arrows. But Faramir, to whom the vision first comes, retains his faith in the promise (as Sir Galahad does in his vision of the Holy Grail), and he alone of his family survives to hail the return of the king.

FAITH AND ULTIMATE

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