What Shall We Wear?

[Excerpted from The Return Of The King. Frodo and Samwise have just destroyed the Ring of Power and collapsed in the volcanic aftermath. Sam wakes up to discover that they have not died, but are alive, regaining health, and in the care of Gandalf.]

     "...you were brought out of the fire to the King. He has tended you, and now he awaits you. You shall eat and drink with him. When you are ready, I will lead you to him."
     "The King?" said Sam. "What King, and who is he?"
     "The King of Gondor and Lord of the Western Lands," said Gandalf; " and he has taken back all his ancient realm. He will ride soon to his crowning, but he waits for you."
     "What shall we wear?" said Sam; for all he could see was the old and tattered clothes that they had journeyed in, lying folded on the ground beside their beds.
     "The clothes that you wore on your way to Mordor," said Gandalf, "Even the orc-rags that you wore in the black land, Samwise, shall be preserved. No silks or linens nor any armour or heraldry could be more honorable..."

Confession moment: I cannot read the above passage aloud to my children without my voice cracking and a stray tear or two (or three) leaking from my eyes. All hopes of keeping a straight face fail me at about the point where Sam asks what they will wear, and Gandalf answers, "The clothes that you wore on your way to Mordor..."

The kids of course can make no sense of my weepy ways at moments like these, but I have no trouble at all knowing where these tears come from. No trouble at all.

I cry because sometimes I feel like I'm on a weary journey too. Sometimes I feel like I'm wearing orc-rags. And sometimes I feel like my journey is doomed to failure. To be reminded that one day even my orc-rags might prove worthy of honor is unspeakably encouraging.

There must be a thousand reminders of Christian life lurking in The Lord of The Rings, but few for me are more near and dear than the ones so thinly veiled in this passage. What Christian, when reading it, is not reminded of Jesus Christ, his long journey to the cross, and the orc-rags which to this day Jesus wears to commemorate the culmination of his journey through Mordor?

John 20:26b-27a
...Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side...”

When Jesus rose victorious, his first stop was not at the home of a Hollywood make-up artist. Jesus did not undo the evils visited upon his body by evil men. Far from it.

Jesus reigns forever...

...With nail holes in his hands...

...And a gaping spear hole in his side.

To paraphrase Gandalf, "No perfect skin or touched-up beauty could be more honorable..."

Yes, orcs may do what they will do. But God redeems and makes beautiful even the scars from the worst events in our lives. Thanks to the mercy of Jesus Christ, we will one day share in a great victory over evil. One that will far overshadow the epic victory over the Dark Lord Sauron which Frodo and Samwise took part in.

...And on that day, we will wearing the marks and orc-rags we acquired on our own long journeys.

So bear up, Mr. Frodo. Tolkien is not the only one who knows how to bring hope from despair. Tolkien is not the only one who can snatch victory from a death march toward certain doom.

Tolkien is not the only one who can redeem even your orc-rags.

Jesus can do it too.