My thoughts are on “The Lord of the Rings” as we ponder the readings the Church gives us today. For those few people who may not be familiar with the story, “The Lord of the Rings” follows the grand adventures of Frodo, a member of a race of little people known as hobbits. Frodo comes into possession of the ring of power, a ring designed to give great earthly power to whomever possesses it, allowing that person to rise above and rule all others. This ring was made by a dark Lord named Sauron, who wants to wield the ring himself in order to dominate all other races in the world: humans, elves, dwarfs, hobbits and the rest. The story follows Frodo as he bears the ring toward Mount Doom, where it can be destroyed by being cast into the fires there. Frodo is accompanied by various different people on this journey, but I want to focus on two: Boromir and Samwise Gamgee.
Boromir is a leader amongst one of the great families of men. He joined Frodo as part of a group known as the Fellowship of the Ring which included men, a dwarf, an elf and several hobbits. Boromir is a good man, but he comes under the spell of the ring. The thing about this ring of power is that it is a black hole, pulling in those within its orbit and pitting them against each other. The ring of power tempts all who find it to put it on their finger and wield its mighty power. Thankfully, Frodo, the hero of the story, possesses a humility which allows him to withstand the pull of the ring, but at great cost. He hears it around his neck on a chain. At one point, Boromir finds himself alone with Frodo and tries to persuade him that he should bear the ring in order to use it against its maker. Here is a short excerpt from that part of the book:
‘It is by our own folly that the Enemy will defeat us,’ cried Boromir. ‘How it angers me! Fool! Obstinate fool! Running wilfully to death and ruining our cause. If any mortals have claim to the Ring, it is the men of Númenor, and not Halflings. It is not yours save by unhappy chance. It might have been mine. It should be mine. Give it to me!’
Frodo did not answer, but moved away till the great flat stone stood between them. ‘Come, come, my friend!’ said Boromir in a softer voice. ‘Why not get rid of it? Why not be free of your doubt and fear? You can lay the blame on me, if you will. You can say that I was too strong and took it by force. For I am too strong for you, halfling,’ he cried; and suddenly he sprang over the stone and leaped at Frodo. His fair and pleasant face was hideously changed; a raging fire was in his eyes.
Here we can sense the destructive power that the ring was wielding in Boromir’s heart. He gave into the temptation presented by the naked power of the ring and thus tried to take it by force from Frodo. Thankfully, Frodo escaped his clutches.
Next, let’s turn our attention to Samwise Gamgee, Sam for short. Sam was a hobbit and gardener who became Frodo’s best friend in his journey to destroy the ring. Countless times, Sam selflessly chose to help his friend along the way. As they got close to Mount Doom, where Frodo was to destroy the ring, a creature called Gollum betrayed them. Frodo was attacked by a gigantic spider and left unconscious, unable to continue the journey to destroy the ring. So Sam takes the ring in order to destroy it himself, promising to return to Frodo when it is done.
Here is a little snippet of the story during the time Sam is bearing the ring of power for Frodo:
Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason. Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call as he marched to the overthrow of Barad-dur. And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit. He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be.
In that hour of trial it was his love of his master that helped most to hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense: he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough to bear such a burden, even if such visions were not a mere cheat to betray him. The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command. “And anyway all these notions are only a trick,” he said to himself.
I love the image of the ring in these books. It is such a powerful symbol of the way that sin works in our hearts. We are constantly bombarded with false promises by the different sources of temptation in our lives: the world, the flesh and the devil. The fallen world doesn’t do us any favors. Everywhere we look, the idols of fame, money, influence and worldly glory are propped up as the ultimate good. Our flesh, our weak human nature, is only too ready to turn toward the selfishness that cuts off our lives from the true life God has made for us. And of course, our ancient foe the devil, and all his fallen angels, put thoughts into our minds to encourage us to question the goodness, beauty and truth of our Heavenly Father. Truly, our whole life is a battlefield.
We all walk that battlefield every day, and some days are probably better than others. Before us, there is the choice to either be like Boromir or like Sam. On our worst days, we give into the siren call of those rings of power we call sin. We buy into the lies that we can be our own god and that this or that sin can’t really be that bad after all. We tell ourselves, in fact, that this thing isn’t a sin at all, but something good. By giving into this lie, by steps and sometimes by leaps, we bring death to ourselves and become distorted versions of who the Father made us to be.
We become victorious when, in humility, we take after the example of Sam in the presence of the ring of power. When those visions of self-sufficiency and being our own god come calling, we lean into the love of our Divine Master, the One who made us for Himself and gives us a share in His own life through the Sacraments. We humbly realize that God didn’t make us to dominate others, but to serve Him and others and thus find joy. The humility that God offers each of us allows us to realize our own weakness and need for Him, and also helps us recognize the lies that the world, the flesh and the devil push upon us.
This is the crux of Jesus’ response to the Scribes and Pharisees in the Gospel passage we just heard. He shows them that they are fighting the wrong battles. They are so wrapped up in the outward observance of the religious customs of their people that they have abandoned the fight within!
Jesus solemnly reminds them and each of us: “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”
Brothers and sisters, the challenge of Jesus is clear this Sunday: look within and recognize the battles happening there. It’s all too easy to excuse ourselves and tell ourselves that we aren’t really that bad. The truth is that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Father calls us daily through His Son to recognize our need for His help in order to be free of those sins that defile us. The Holy Spirit can give us great clarity, if we allow Him. With His light, we can cut through our self-excusing attitude and humbly pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This isn’t a cry of hopelessness, but rather a cry for help from a child to the Father who is always ready to help. As we heard in the first reading: “For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?” God our Father wants to be our help in the battle, let’s recognize that battle and use his weapons, those of the Holy Spirit, to be victorious: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity.
+ Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of victory that you give us in the battle against sin. Jesus, thank you for waking us up to the battle against those temptations inside which lead to death. Holy Spirit, open us up daily to conquer sin through the new life you bring. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. +