I visited Oxford this week for a trauma conference- more of that later. When on a tour round the city, we were brought to St Mary’s close, outside the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. We were walking innocently down this close when the guide said- look at the door- does that remind you of anything? We looked round.

On the wooden door opposite the church entrance was the most beautiful and elaborately carved lion. At the sides of the door were faun figures just like Mr Tumnus. There was also a lampost there……….

St Mary’s church was one of the places that CS Lewis worshipped, and coming out of the side entrance, past the coats in the cloakroom was a door near a lamp post beside a lion and a faun. Coincidence? Maybe not.

C S Lewis wrote the children’s fantasy story ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and the many sequels, to try to convey the themes of the Christian faith to children. He did so through the adventures of four children Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy who through a wardrobe enter into a fantasy land where they came into contact with a white witch and meet a noble lion called Aslan.

Lewis did so because he wanted to use his imagination to create a story as a means of explaining the power and beauty of the Christian story for a new generation. Initially, you read that he took evacuees in during the second world war, and he told stories to entertain them. Over time, these fragmented fairy stories developed into something more substantial, and though subsequent generations, these stories have brought much pleasure and insight, and been retold in series and film.

Descriptions of Aslan the lion, symbolising Jesus are especially intriguing- he is described as good but not safe, as a wild lion. When you encounter him, it is as if he knows everything about you. Susan and Lucy’s relationship with Aslan is especially poignantly exptessed when harm seems to come to him.

In another place it says:

‘Wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.’

If you haven’t read the books or seen the film or series recently, it would be so worth doing! Such a richness of story telling, characters and symbolism which is edifying and can inspire our souls.

Dear God, we are so grateful for Christian poets and authors, artists and song writers, who use their imagination to seek to help us connect more deeply with the beauty and goodness of who You are. May we take time to read, explore and appreciate all that tells us of your love Lord Jesus, so we can take time to soak in your grace and kindness. In You may we find our values and identity once more.  Holy spirit inspire us all to listen to your voice, to faithfully and creatively embody your love and truth in our daily lives, with family, friends and neighbours, so we might all shine like stars in the universe, holding out the Word of life to all who seek. Show us how to be and what to do, in Jesus’name, Amen.