You Must Choose between Orders and the Life of Faramir

Beregond is one character that I am upset they did not include in the film version of The Return of the King. We first meet him as Pippin’s tour guide around Minas Tirith, but he becomes much more prominent during the insanity of Denethor.

Denethor, due to the visions he had seen through the palantir, concluded that there was no hope for his city, and as a result he was going to burn himself and his injured, yet still alive, son Faramir before they fell into the hands of the enemy. Pippin witnessed these events unfolding as a guard of the Citadel, and he ran to find Gandalf, thus deserting his post which was forbidden for soldiers of Gondor.

Beregond tried to warn him against doing this because of an obligation to his duty to the Steward. Pippin, however, does not have time for this interruption.

“‘Well, you must choose between orders and the life of Faramir,’ said Pippin. ‘And as for orders, I think you have a madman to deal with, not a lord. I must run. I will return if I can.’”[1]

At this point, Pippin runs off, and you are left to wonder what happened to Beregond. There is a several chapter hiatus until we come back to the scene, and we find that Beregond made a decision.

“For there were the servants of Denethor with swords and torches in their hands; but alone in the porch upon the topmost step stood Beregond, clad in the black and silver of the Guard; and he held the door against them. Two of them had already fallen to his sword, staining the hallows with their blood; and the others cursed him, calling him outlaw and traitor to his master.”[2]

He knew that he was committing treason and violating the rules of his commander, but he had to do what was right. He even stood against his former comrades because he did not want to allow Denethor to act on his madness and kill himself along with his son.

You can only imagine how difficult this must have been. He was one man standing between life and death. Specifically, he was protecting Faramir from his murder at the hands of his father who had lost his mind. He was violating the law to do what he knew was right.

I am not calling for anarchy obviously, but I am saying that there are times where there is a higher standard than human institutions. Beregond knew that it was important for him to do that which was right in this very difficult situation. I personally have not been in any type of situation like this, but you think about people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He had a decision to make. He could either continue being faithful to the word of God, or he could follow Nazi law.

He chose what was right over what was legal. Ideally, he would have never had to make this choice if the law itself was right.

“However, when the law conflicted with his Christian faith and his understanding of that which was right, he had to follow the higher calling of what was right. It is hard to do, but that is how Christians need to see the world.”

[1] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002), 827, Kindle Edition.

[2] Ibid., 851

Deeds Will Not Be Less Valiant Because They Are Unpraised

Eowyn, shield maiden of Rohan, sat out most of the action in The Two Towers, so as we come into The Return of the King, she is ready for action but is again advised to stay home. Aragorn tries to help her understand that it is still important for her to remain at home and lead her people.

“Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defence of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.”[1]

I think that we all have this mindset. When we do something important, we want people to notice it. We might not say that we want praise, but on some level, we at least want recognition. We at least want people to appreciate our efforts. I can understand where Eowyn is coming from, but she is driven by honor. She defies her King and decides to ride to battle with the rest of the army.

She does indeed find her place in the battle and proves pivotal as she confronts the Witch King, the general of Sauron’s army. He is remarkably powerful, and no living man is able to kill him.

“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.”[2]

She triumphs in the conflict in a way that no one else on the battlefield would have been able to. Had she not been there, it is difficult to tell how the battle would have progressed. Clearly, none of the other men, even the remarkably powerful ones like Aragorn, would have had a way to ultimately kill this enemy. She gained the honor she was looking for, and her honor was specifically derived from being who she was. Had she not been a woman, she would not have been able to perform this great deed.

It is easy to want to be different than we are. It is easy to wish for the gifts and abilities that somebody else has. However, I am convinced that people are put exactly where they are for specific reasons. Had she not been left behind in the first battle, perhaps she would have been injured and not been in the position to rise to Minas Tirith to slay this tremendous enemy. What she saw as an affront to her pride actually guaranteed that she would be in a position to actually fight and make a difference that nobody else could make.

“She had a characteristic that no one else on the battlefield had, and it was vitally important for the victory on that day.”

We don’t always understand why things are the way they are, and it is okay to be frustrated. It is okay to go and do what is right like Eowyn did when she rode to battle contrary to orders. Those things do need to happen at times. However, we can never lose sight of the overarching picture. As Christians, we believe that God is sovereign, and we believe that God does not make mistakes. There are places that you are going to be put, and there is a reason you specifically are there. We are put there because we are the ones who can make a difference in a special way. We need to look for those opportunities.

[1] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002), 784, Kindle Edition.

[2] Ibid., 841.

Leave Your Trowels and Sharpen Your Swords

The Return of the King presents a truly hopeless scenario. The dark forces of Sauron are massing in the East, and it seems evident that the forces of men in Gondor simply are not going to be able to hold out. Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith, the capital of the realm, and they find some men working to repair the wall. Gandalf offers some advice.

“Courage will now be your best defence against the storm that is at hand – that and such hope as I bring. For not all the tidings that I bring are evil. But leave your trowels and sharpen your swords!”[1]

Gandalf is generally regarded as a bearer of bad news in the city, but notice that he recognizes the necessity of sharpening swords. In my mind, I would think that if you are preparing for an attack, repairing the walls would probably be important. If the wall does its job, you will not need your sword as much. You will be protected by the wall.

“It is fascinating to have this paired with courage as well because it does not take very much courage to hide behind a wall, but it takes a great deal of courage to stand up and fight with a sword. ”

This is clearly not the time to just attempt to weather the storm. The fight is coming, and although Gandalf and Pippin would certainly not know this at the time, Galadriel sent a message to Aragorn who was still in Rohan at this point.

“Either our hope cometh, or all hope’s end.”[2]

There is going to be a fight of epic proportions, and that fight is going to determine the fate of the world. The stakes could not be higher, so when Gandalf is so insistent that the swords be sharpened and the men rise in courage, it is because this is such an important mission. This is not a time when hiding will be appropriate.

I think we can see this in our own world at times. We know that there are some issues that are too important to hide away from. When people want to diminish the value of life, we need to fight against that. When people want to call evil good and good evil, we have to stand up for that which is good. We can hide away and let the evil roll into us, but that is not the courageous path. The courageous path is to prepare for the conflict and to be ready to stand up for that which is right.

It is true that not every issue in my life will have earth shattering consequences by any means, but there are plenty of issues that do have consequences nonetheless, and they can be important. We need to make sure that we do not diminish little issues either. Truth is truth, and we need to stand up for it. It takes courage, but we need to be those courageous people.

[1] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002), 749, Kindle Edition.

[2] Ibid., 775.

You Are the Last of All the Company. The Errand Must Not Fail.

Leadership is hard. Decisions have to be made, and they are not always great. As we come to the end of The Two Towers, Sam finds himself in a situation where he genuinely believes that Frodo is dead. We find out very soon after that he is not, but at the time, Sam does not realize that, so he is faced with a dilemma. The ring was never meant to be his burden, but he did not really see many alternatives.

“And the Council gave him companions, so that the errand should not fail. And you are the last of all the Company. The errand must not fail.”[1]

This is the type of mindset I would expect to hear from someone in the military. Our brave countrymen are committed to the mission at hand, and they understand how the mission transcends the individual. Sam did not want to take the ring, but in this situation, the alternative was to allow the enemy to eventually stumble upon it and bring all of Middle Earth crumbling down.

He made the obvious decision and took the ring, but it is obvious that the consequences of that decision were truly heavy. He even put the ring on immediately to hide from the orcs that were on their way to find him.

“The world changed, and a single moment of time was filled with an hour of thought.”[2]

Naturally, part of this change was because Sam had never put on the ring before. He did not understand the type of alternative reality someone with experience by wearing the ring, but this is also I think the larger statement about his life. It is different to be the companion of the ring bearer than it is to be the ring bearer. As the only member of the fellowship so actually accompanying the ring, he had to make decisions. He had to do what he could to again support the mission. The mission was of utmost importance. Yes, his perception of the world was altered by wearing the ring, but the world itself was also altered by the simple fact that he now had to make decisions he was never faced with before.

This new role of leadership was not accepted immediately however. One of my favorite lines of the book shows how Sam felt about his own intellectual capacities.

“Don’t trust your head, Samwise, it is not the best part of you.”[3]

We are not always ready to make decisions, but we are occasionally put into leadership positions where that needs to happen. Sam could not rely on anyone else at this point because there was literally no one else with him. Even though he didn’t want to trust his head, he had to because there is no other head to put his trust in.

Many people are not comfortable with leadership, but decisions have to be made, and sometimes we all have to make decisions. The world is going to feel like it changed, but like Sam, if we did nothing, great evil might happen. If we see that coming, we have to do what we need to. We have to prevent evil if we can even if we are uncomfortable carrying the flag.

[1] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002), 732, Kindle Edition.

[2] Ibid., 734.

[3] Ibid., 740.

It Shall Turn to His Good, If It Is in My Power

Left to its own devices, evil will continue to corrupt everything around it until it is utterly crushed. Frodo’s mission to destroy the ring will ultimately bring that deliverance to Middle Earth if successful, but because that deliverance has never come before when he meets with Faramir in The Two Towers, if few are looking for that ultimate deliverance.

“‘What hope have we?’ said Faramir. ‘It is long since we had any hope. The sword of Elendil, if it returns indeed, may rekindle it, but I do not think that it will do more than put off the evil day, unless other help unlooked-for also comes, from Elves or Men. For the Enemy increases and we decrease. We are a failing people, a springless autumn.’”[1]

The irony of course is that he is saying this to the only one who carries any sense of hope in Middle Earth. The entire world is going to either be renewed or be brought to inevitable destruction by the fate of Frodo or more specifically the ring. The hope of course lies in the fact that the mission is still in motion and there is still a chance that it will be destroyed. Until the mission fails, there is hope, but aside from that, there is no remaining hope in Middle Earth.

Faramir, the brother of the fallen Boromir, eventually did learn of their true mission, but his response is much different than that of his brother.

“For strange though it may seem, it was safe to declare this to me. It may even help the master that you love. It shall turn to his good, if it is in my power. So be comforted. But do not even name this thing again aloud. Once is enough.”[2]

He recognizes now what has to be done. He does not desire to possess the ring, and he doesn’t even want to talk about it. He realizes that the mission is the most important thing, and he vows to provide whatever support he can. He wants to turn this meeting into a good thing which it does ultimately turn out being since he helps provide additional supplies and temporary safety to the hobbits.

Thinking about this in the perspective of our world then, we do believe that there is one great hope of humanity. That hope is one day going to put an end to all evil. Until that time, our mission is to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ on earth. We are not called to overthrow Satan; we cannot bring an end to all evil by ourselves. However, we are to serve the world we find ourselves in.

“Like Faramir, we have to realize that we are not the one who is going to finish the mission. We’re supposed to support that mission. We’re supposed to align ourselves with the mission of Jesus Christ in the world today and act as we can to be on the team.”

Evil is going to be destroyed one day, and that will be a joyful day indeed. However, in the meantime, let’s make sure that we are aligning our purposes with Jesus Christ. We might not be able to destroy evil by ourselves, but we will be a force for good that will make a difference. I don’t know about you, but I am okay with doing my part.

[1] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002), 677, Kindle Edition.

[2] Ibid., 681.