[The Queen of Narnia] "isn't a real queen at all," answered Lucy. "She is a horrible White Witch.... She has made an enchantment over the whole country so that it is always winter here and never Christmas."
"I wonder if there's any point in going on," said Susan.... "What about just going home?"
~ C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, p56
Narnia they had been accursed for a hundred years by the White Witch. Everyone new that when Aslan returned, the country would be free from her oppression. But when would Aslan return? His decades of absence resulted in a land where it was always winter and never Christmas. All that the Fauns and Foxes, Beavers and Birds had to go on was that someday Aslan would set things right. And when Lucy showed up, that was the clue that Aslan was on the move.
Do you ever think of yourself as a Lucy? She was a daughter of Eve, and according to the prophecy, when someone like her showed up, the promise was about to be fulfilled. Lucy and her siblings were an answer to prayer. How would you like to be an answer to prayer? Are you a son of Adam? Are you a daughter of Eve? Do you know anyone with whom their soul is "always winter here and never Christmas?"
People believe that God is love, that God is everywhere, that God can do anything, that God knows what is going on within everybody's life, everybody's home, everybody's heart. But if that is the case, why does it seem like it is "always winter here and never Christmas" for so many people? Why does God not seem to answer prayers? Why does God seem far away, absent, not listening, indifferent? Maybe one reason is because the Lucy and Susan's, the Peter and Edmund's don't fully understand what is possible when they show up?
God is always on the move, his Spirit is always at work in the world. The Same Spirit that was on Jesus is the Same Spirit unleashed into the world through the Church. When members of the Church, when Christians, when followers of Jesus love their neighbor, prayers get answered. When the Church listens, when Christians care, when followers of Jesus get involved, God seems near. And when the Church gets self-absorbed, afraid, and mean - well the curse gets stronger on everyone. The grip of Winter only feels tighter.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise.... He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2Peter 3v9 (NIV)
Why hasn't God returned yet? Why does Jesus delay? When will we hear rumors that "Aslan is on the move!" We don't know. But what will we do in the meantime? We know that one of the best definitions of love is: patience. The second is: kindness. While we wait, we love. While we wait with others, we serve. When we hear prayers, we act. When we come across those in whom their hearts and homes it is "always winter here and never Christmas" we get involved in the story.
We may be tempted to walk away, to ask if there is any point in going on. But then we remember, Christmas has come once, and we walk on and into the story. If Christmas has come once, it will come again. Christ came once as an infant King to provide forgiveness of sins for anyone in the world who was convicted of their wickedness and willing to come to repentance. This kind of involvement set in motion a new kind of story, a new kind of opportunity for families and communities.
Someday Christ will come again, this time as a powerful King who will judge the wicked and restore the broken, to set everything right. Someday our winters will end. Someday we will never wonder whether there is any point in going on.
And so we wait. And love.
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