Return of the King: An Ash Wednesday Reflection

I have now seen these films many times – more times than I have bothered to count, certainly. Add that unknown number (it’s high, whatever it is) to the number of times I’ve read the books (also unknown; also high), and you have a vast portion of my life spent with this story.

Even so, I cannot keep from weeping when the tower of Barad-dûr comes crashing down.

Every. Time.

I weep often throughout that film, but that is one part that always speaks deeply to my soul. This unyielding edifice of terror – this monstrous monolith of darkness, which has wrought so much suffering upon the world – crumbles to ashes, all in a moment.

That, my spirit whispers, is what is coming. That is your hope.

Rescue.
Renewal.
The end of evil and the redemption of all pain.

It had particular significance on this viewing, as we celebrated Ash Wednesday this week. (For a beautiful explanation of Ash Wednesday – and Lent – read this reflection from pastor/author Andrew Arndt. You can also check out my brief thoughts in this R. A. Nelson post from last year.) Lent has begun – and, though the Lenten road is just as dark and ominous as Frodo’s road through Mordor, it leads to Easter.

Resurrection. Reclamation. The end of death and the promise of new life for all creation.

I don’t look forward to Lent – it’s not really a fun time – but, as I watched Sauron’s tower crumble on the brink of this forty-day preparation, a poem for Ash Wednesday began to emerge in my mind. I am praying that this vision of hope – the light at the end of the tunnel – will inform my Lenten journey, transforming me and bringing us all through into the joy of Easter morning.