Sunday Meditation: Two or Three Gathered in His Name

For Year A’s Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Gospel reading breaks into the fourth of Matthew’s discourse, the Discourse on the Church.   One can read this Gospel passage in a very castigating way, but the Church, who matches this reading with the “love-thy-neighbor” commandment as articulated in St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans and St. Matthew himself in this chapter surrounds this passage with Parables of the Lost Sheep and Unforgiving Servant and the direction to Peter to forgive an infinite amount of times.  Whatever exclusion that sinner is faced with, in no uncertain terms are we not to forgive and be charitable. 

I’m always curious to see what Gina Hens-Piazza from America Media has to say on the Sunday Gospel passages, and on this she has the same perspective as I have just stated.  She cites various gentiles Jesus shows compassion to, and she cites the various passages where Jesus is compassionate to tax collectors: Mt 9:9-13, Lk 19:1-10, Mt 9:10-13. 

What’s curious to me, and frankly I haven’t heard anyone mention this, is that Matthew himself was a tax collector.  He would be the last person to condemn all tax collectors as inexpiable, but he would also be conscious of the separation of those not in communion.  As to gentiles, Matthew just three Sundays ago (20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time) gave us the healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter.  Matthew the apostle was there to witness it.

Gina sums up her exegesis with this:

 

Therefore, when Jesus invites us to treat resistant wrongdoers like a Gentile or tax collector, he means for us to continue recognizing them, never to close the door on them or anyone. He urges us never to justify excluding or ending our outreach to them. Finally, we must resist deciding that they are unreconcilable. Such verdicts are the sole prerogative of our God, the Great Judge, whom Jesus taught us in the parable of the unforgiving servant, forgives even those who can’t pay their debts. And, perhaps, each one of us, at some time in our life, can be grateful for that.

 

 

 

Today’s Gospel:

 

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

"If your brother sins against you,

go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.

If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.

If he does not listen,

take one or two others along with you,

so that 'every fact may be established

on the testimony of two or three witnesses.'

If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.

If he refuses to listen even to the church,

then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.

Amen, I say to you,

whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Again, amen, I say to you,

if two of you agree on earth

about anything for which they are to pray,

it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name,

there am I in the midst of them."

~Mt: 18:15-20

 

 

Fr. Joseph Mary of the Capuchin Friars, one of my favorite homilists, provides a very good exegetical homily.

 

Fr. Joseph:

There's perhaps no greater antithesis to the divine nature of the church than the divisions and hostilities which have splintered the body of Christ. In this Sunday's gospel, Jesus gives his disciples a clear mandate for dealing with divisions and especially with a brother who sins. Now, at first glance, this passage seems like an enumeration of the rules of an institution. If a brother sins against you, go and speak to him personally regarding his transgression. he refuses to listen, take two or three others to act as witnesses. If he still refuses to listen, take the matter to the church.  And if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a gentile or a tax collector. In other words, excommunicate them from the fellowship of the Christian community.  Again, these seem like juridical regulations for dealing with obstinate sinners, laws governing the punishment for heretical obstinacy.  And that's a fair reading.

 

Jesus begins by saying, "If your brother sins against you, go and try to convince him of his error between you and him alone." Now, if your brother sins against you, Jesus is reminding us the members of the Christian community are truly brothers and sisters. The catechism teaches that we're united more intimately by the bonds of our baptism than we are by our blood relations.  Within the Christian community, we should truly see in the other a brother and a sister before God. This first sentence sets the tone for everything that follows. It's not simply if a man sins against you or a lawyer sins against you or a brick layer sins against you. It's if your brother sins against you. Everything that follows has to be understood from the perspective of the unity of the Christian community.

This is an outstanding point.  It’s a brother who is being wayward, and so there are certain bonds which cannot easily be dissolved.  The passage is first and foremost addressing Chrisitan community.

 

And if this last attempt should fail, Jesus says, treat the offending brother as you would a gentile or tax collector.  Again, juridically this can mean excommunication. But even excommunication is never intended simply for the sake of punishment. It's medicinal, intended to bring the obstinate brother to his senses.  After all, how did Jesus Christ treat the Gentiles and the tax collectors? He answered the prayer of the gentile woman, and a tax collector was among his apostles. Jesus sat down and ate with sinners, hoping through merciful love to draw them to himself. There's an undeniable undercurrent throughout this gospel, a plea for unity. It's an echo of the prayer that Christ will utter to the father at the last supper that they may all be one father as you are in me and I am in you.  That they may be one in us. So authentic unity must be rooted in Christ, rooted in charity, and rooted in truth.

That is quite a fascinating take on this passage.  Ultimately it is a call for unity despite the need for separation.

 

For the pastoral homily, I’m going to go to someone new, Fr. Yamil Samalot Rivera, O.P. with the “Word of Hope” sermon from Dominicans of St. Albert Province.

 

 

Fr. Yamil Samalot Rivera:

This Sunday's gospel brings us a message full of love and hope.  On one hand, we can feel Jesus' immense desire to save us.  Offering opportunity after opportunity, for us to turn our lives around.  First, he sends someone from the community to help us.  If that isn't enough, he sends more brothers and sisters to support us.  If we still need more guidance, he calls upon the whole community, the church.  And if we still refuse to set our paths straight, he leaves us to live without belonging like Gentiles

That’s a bright and sunny way to view this passage that so many see as stern. 

 

On the other hand, and this is perhaps the most beautiful and rich theological aspect of this text, Jesus reveals the power present in the life of the community.  It is worth recalling the words the master spoke to Peter two Sundays ago, in the 1st part of chapter 16 of the gospel of Matthew.  The power given to Simon Peter, the rock of our church.  Jesus now grants to the entire community of faith, of which Peter is to be leader and shepherd.  Amen.  I say to you, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

 

Our Lord assures us that a life of communion in the community makes him truly present.  For where 2 or 3 are gathered together in my name. There I am in the midst of them.  It is almost an Eucharistic power.  Coming together in agreement and faith makes him present.  Jesus has given immense power to the church as a community of faith so that we will not be lost, so that miracles may happen so that his saving presence continues in the world.  And mind you, this applies to each and every one of the baptized to all of us who strive to love our brothers and sisters as Jesus loves us.  Let us make a commitment, not only to live in community, but to live in communion in our communities.

This brings it again to community and communion.  The Eucharistic element here is rather interesting, but “Communion” is another name for Eucharist. 

I also urge to go back to three years ago where I embedded a video of Dr. Brant Pitre’s exegesis of this passage.

 

 

 

Sunday Meditation: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

 

 

This is one of the most beloved of Catholic hymns, “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!” performed by Catholic Music Initiative.

 

Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! His the scepter, his the throne;

Alleluia! His the triumph, his the victory alone;

Hark! The songs of peaceful Zion thunder like a mighty flood;

Jesus out of every nation has redeemed us by his Blood.

 

Alleluia! King eternal, You the Lord of lords we own.

Alleluia! Born of Mary, Earth your footstool, heaven your throne:

You within the veil have entered, robed in flesh, our great High Priest;

Here on earth both Priest and Victim in the Eucharistic feast.

 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory be to God on high;

Alleluia to the Savior who has won the victory;

Alleluia to the Spirit, Font of love and sanctity;

Alleluia! Alleluia! To the triune majesty.

 

His the victory!

Handmaids and Warriors Newsletter: September 2026

This is Alice’s September newsletter.  I explained Alice’s monthly newsletter here.  This month focuses on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Before the newsletter, let us pray: For Pope Leo XIV

Hail Mary, full of grace…

Hail Mary, full of grace…

Hail Mary, full of grace…

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

 

 

Handmaids of Mary

St. Michael’s Warriors

 

September 2026 Newsletter

 

 

CELEBRATING THE NATIVITY OF MARY

8th September

 

Prayer: HOLY CHILD MARY, mystical dawn, gate of heaven, thou are my trust and hope.

O powerful advocate, from thy cradle stretch out thy hand, support me on the path of life.

Make me serve God with ardor and constancy until death and so reach an eternal  crown.

 

The feast of the Nativity has two aspects.

The first shows us Heaven’s view: it enables us to enter into God’s plan for the salvation of the world.

The second shows us what happens on earth; it has the freshness of dawn and of a first morning.

SEEN FROM HEAVEN

 

It is a Trinitarian Feast:  it is the first moment in the preparation of the Alliance which will unfold between heaven and earth.

-Mary is the privileged daughter of the Father who prepares Her for Her heavenly destiny.

-She is the future Mother of the word of God who will make His home in Her.

-it is she who at the Annunciation will pronounced the decisive “YES” to the coming of the Holy Spirit.

 

SEEN FROM EARTH

 

First and foremost Christians who are able should share in the Eucharist which the church celebrates on the birthday of their heavenly mother, and bring others along with them.

At a family level, the feast should be prepared and celebrated in the heart of our Christian family.

So the feast of the Nativity of Mary is a feast of hope for the renewal of the church.  It inaugurates the plan of the Trinity for the salvation and happiness of humanity. For that reason, this date in the liturgy should be especially dear to us.

“Lord may your church renewed in this holy Eucharist be filled with joy at the birthday of the Virgin Mary, who brought the dawn of hope and salvation to the world” (L.J. Cardinal Suenens)

 

Alice Desmond
A special letter for the Nativity of Mary

Sunday Meditation: Take Up Your Cross

For the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time in Year A, we get the famous follow-up to the handing of the keys to Peter, the rebuke where Jesus tells Peter “to get behind me Satan.”  There are two parts to this passage.  The first is the rebuking part: Peter rebuking Jesus and Jesus counter rebuke of Peter.  The second is the discourse Jesus provides on discipleship.  Exegesis of this passage relies on the subtlety of several words.  First, “Satan,” then “get behind me” as we will see in one of the embedded homilies, and also “deny yourself” in another homily.

Whether Jesus identifies Peter as Satan or whether He is using the word Satan in its etymological sense could be up for debate.  From Wikipedia:

The Hebrew term śāṭān (Hebrew: שָׂטָן) is a generic noun meaning "accuser" or "adversary", and is derived from a verb meaning primarily "to obstruct, oppose".

Either way, Jesus is identifying the obstructive nature of Peter’s rebuke.  Gina Hens-Piazza in America Media’s Scripture Reflections identifies three more subtleties.  She points out:

 

First, Jesus says “Whoever wishes to come after me.” Following Jesus is a choice. Though he extends the invitation, we must be the ones to choose, to say yes.

 

Second, Jesus’ invitation also summons us to take up our cross. He says, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross…” (Mt 16:24). We are being asked to take up our cross, not Jesus’ cross. He invites us to embrace, with a Christ-like trust in God, all the crosses that all our lives entail.

 

Finally, Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to come after me, must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt. 16:24). By “follow me,” Jesus does not mean for us to do exactly what he did or live our lives exactly as he lived his…following Jesus involves an entirely individual and unique way of conformity both to what he taught and to the ways he taught it. It means capturing with our own circumstances and creativity the very essence of who Jesus was and how he lived.

I think Gina’s second observation—“to take up our crosses””—is the one that resonates the most to me.

 

 

 

 

Today’s Gospel:

 

 

Jesus began to show his disciples

that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly

from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised.

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,

"God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."

He turned and said to Peter,

"Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

 

Then Jesus said to his disciples,

"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world

and forfeit his life?

Or what can one give in exchange for his life?

For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct."

~Mt: 16:21-27

 

 

 

Fr. Cajetan Cuddy O.P. explains the subtlety of what it means to “deny yourself.”

 

Fr. Cajetan:

In the 16th chapter of St. Matthew's gospel, our Lord speaks the truth to us, but he says things in such a way that it almost sounds like he is taking away with his left what he gives us with his right. Because today he says, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." And then he says, "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." What does this mean?  It's a perplexing thing to think of the fact that we preserve our life through the very loss of our life. As if we gain something through giving that something up. We retain something by giving it away. We earn something by losing it.

 

If we understand that our Lord is speaking not of our life in and of ourselves, in and of itself, but rather our life as one with his life. In other words, all of those united to Jesus are not no longer themselves alone. They don't find their identity in, through, and because of themselves. They find their identity in Christ's identity. This is the essence of the Christian life. This is the essence of the gospel. Namely, that we are not our own, that we are not alone, that we are not distant from the Lord, and in fact, that everything that the Lord has and is is ours. He has told us all things. He has given us his entire self. His life is ours. And this is where the paradox, the mystery, the ambiguity, the rhetoric dissipates and the gospel clarity becomes clear. If we lose our life, which is to say our attempt to find ourselves in and through ourselves, but really to find ourselves in his our Lord's divine life, then we don't lose anything when we lose our life and we gain everything.

In simpler words, we lose our life when we unite our lives to Jesus, but then we gain in exchange of Jesus’s life.

 

For the pastoral homily I once again turn to Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger of Detroit who here focuses on the words, “follow me.” 

 

Archbishop Weisenburger:

What is unfolding in this gospel passage is Peter is being asked to change his understanding of what kind of Messiah Jesus is. Indeed, recall that as Peter hears Jesus explain that he will be more of a sacrificial lamb led to the slaughter than a triumphant military leader.  Peter can't quite wrap his brain around that. It's not what he expected. Certainly probably not what he wanted. And so Peter actually rebukes Jesus.  No doubt motivated by love for Jesus, Peter says, "Absolutely not, Lord. You're wrong. May that never happen." But brothers and sisters, whenever we rebuke God, we're not in a good place. And the same Jesus who just moments before had promised Peter the keys of the kingdom, must now correct Peter. Note the words of the gospel in Greek do not translate perfectly into English. When we read Jesus saying to Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan." That get behind in the original Greek might be translated fall back in line. You see, a  disciple was a follower, one who walked behind the master. Jesus, we do not believe, is expelling Peter from the 12 or wanting him to go away forever. Moreover, that word Satan, Shatan, could refer to a stumbling block. And in that moment, had Jesus listened to Peter and changed the will of the father for himself, then Peter indeed would have been a great stumbling block. Instead, Jesus  is now rebuking Peter's incorrect understanding, his incorrect belief in the kind of Messiah Jesus would become on the cross.

 

I find this gospel quite powerful in my own life because while I have known some great joys, blessings, and even what felt like a few triumphs in life, I also have known setbacks, hardships, and sufferings. And I suspect that's equally true for each of you hearing these words.  But being a follower of Jesus means falling in  line and following being a disciple, a follower, not only to his cross, but to our own. And to be honest, I suspect this is a gospel passage that challenges us today, probably no less than it challenged Peter. Please forgive my mild sarcasm, but there are plenty of popular religious leaders today, as there have been in every age, who claim to be Christian, but promise if you do  everything just right, you'll only know happiness and blessings. They typically also want your credit card number. But that's not Christianity.  And as long as that misunderstanding of the kind of Messiah Jesus is remains in our brains, we will never really grasp the heart of the gospel. If we can accept no role for suffering or hardship in life, then perhaps today we are the stumbling stones between the feet of our Messiah. 

 

Okay, one final point from this gospel concerns the timing of this revelation.  Jesus explains the kind of Messiah he will be only as he and his disciples are now approaching Jerusalem with the cross drawing near on the horizon. Surely if some of those disciples had known what awaited them from the very start of the journey, they would never have joined Jesus as disciples. It might have been too daunting.  But when you think about it, perhaps it was a real grace, a blessing from God. After all, when you think about it, whether it's marriage, parenthood, priesthood, religious life, or any chosen career, we often times don't realize what we're getting into at the beginning, but we're given strength along the way to endure, and even more than endure to triumph over whatever challenges lay ahead. Could it be that God reveals his will for each of us at the right time when we most need it? For today, let us remain firmly in line, walking behind Jesus as a disciple, a follower. 

So “get behind me” is not just a put down, but an actual calling to be a follower.  How many times has Jesus rebuked me?  Every time I refused to get behind Him.

 

 

 

Sunday Meditation: " You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

 

 

Today’s hymn is the lovely and most appropriate, “Take Up Your Cross.”

 

 

Take up your cross, the Saviour said,

if you would my disciple be;

Deny yourself, the world forsake,

and humbly follow after me.

 

Take up your cross; be not ashamed!

Let not disgrace your spirit fill;

For God himself endured to die

upon a cross on Calvary's hill.

 

Take up your cross, which gives you strength,

which makes your trembling spirit brave:

'Twill guide you to a better home

and lead to vict'ry o'er the grave.

 

Take up your cross, and follow Christ,

nor think till death to lay it down;

For only they who bear the cross

may hope to wear the glorious crown.

 

Lately it feels like I’ve been carrying that cross.  May I be following Jesus.

 

LOTR, The Fellowship of the Ring, Post 6

This is the sixth post of a series of posts on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.  This series focuses on the first volume of the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring.

You can find the first post here. 

The second post here.

The third post here.

The fourth post here. 

The fifth post here.

 

 

 

Summary: Bk1 Ch 10_11

 

Chapter 10: Strider

Frodo, Sam, and Pippin made their way back to the Inn’s parlor, and when they lit a fire noticed that Strider was among them.  Strider reminded Frodo he needed to speak to him.  Strider said the information he was to provide would cost Frodo something, that is Frodo must take Strider as a companion.  Reluctant, Frodo said it depended on the information.  Strider said that Frodo and the hobbits had been too talkative and careless with information.  Strider himself had heard the hobbits use the name of Baggins as they made their way to Bree.  He then warned Frodo that the pursuers were close and they would need to leave in the morning.  Strider could take them through less known paths.

Frodo, suspicious, asked Strider who he was and what did he know of Frodo’s business.  As Strider was explaining that Frodo had no choice but to trust him, there was a knock and Barley the landlord came in with a letter for Frodo.  The letter was from Gandalf and that Barley had promised to deliver to the Shire some three months before.  But he had forgotten.  The letter explained that Gandalf had an urgent matter, had to rush off, and would not be able to meet up with him.  There would be a man named Strider, whose real name is Aragorn, that would help the hobbits get to Rivendell.  He included a poem in the letter that the real Strider would know.

Frodo read the letter silently, and, when Strider mouthed off a few lines from the poem, Frodo knew before him was the real Strider.  Strider laid out a plan to get to Weathertop, a flat hill half way to Rivendell. 

Suddenly Merry burst into the room and slammed the door shut.  He had come across Black Riders.  Strider explained the Black Riders have not all assembled together yet, and that there is a little time to escape them.  They went to bed for the night with the plan to leave immediately in the morning.

 

Chapter 11: A Knife in the Dark

In the middle of the dark night, back at Buckland at the house at Crickhollow, there was a blow to the door, and when no one responded there was another blow to the door and the locked gave way and the door flipped open.  Fatty Bolger, who had remained at the house, screamed in fear.  The Black Riders announced themselves “in the name of Mordor.”  Fatty escaped and ran out to the nearest neighbor.

Back at Bree, Frodo was disturbed in his sleep.  At daybreak, Strider roused them and prepared them to leave.  The landlord came upon them to announce their ponies had vanished; someone had let them out of the stable.  By the time they could round a few ponies up and get others, three hours had passed.  Finally they had breakfast and set out on the road.

At a particular point on the road, they broke off and headed north and by a circuitous route in wild country headed for Weathertop.  By the third day from Bree they came upon a marsh land, and on the fourth day camped they saw a series of mysterious flashing lights in the distance.  On the fifth day they came upon a series of hills with the tallest one being Weathertop. 

On the sixth day from Bree they found a path that seemed to lead all the way to the top of Weathertop.  Strider told them historical stories about Weathertop and the region, about how Elendil stood at the top waiting for Gil-galad from the west.  Then Sam started singing a song about Gil-galad, who was an Elven king, a song Bilbo had taught him when young. 

When Strider, Frodo, and Merry got to the top of Weathertop, they found a ring of crumbling, ancient stone-work and signs of a great fire that had once occurred.  On some of the flat stones, they found markings that were runes.  From the top Frodo let out a cry when in the distance he saw two black riders meeting.  They hurried back down to meet with Sam and Pippin.

Strider explained that the Black Riders cannot see in the light, where they use their sense of smell predominantly, but they have other senses which accentuates their ability to sense.  Their horses however can see in the daylight, and Frodo’s ring draws the Black Riders as well.

It was extremely cold that night and Strider continued with his tales of Gil-galad and Middle Earth.  He chanted a poem of the tale of Beren and Tinúviel and their love and her rescue of Beren.  After the poem and with the moon shining, Frodo felt a chill, and when they looked up on top of a hill they could see four Black Riders staring down on them and their camp.  In the fear, Frodo slipped on the ring and he could now see there were five Black Riders.  Three of them advanced toward him, and he felt a stabbing pain in his left shoulder.  Falling down, Frodo caught in his sight Strider with a flaming club repelling the Black Riders.  Frodo then slipped the ring off his finger, clutching it in his hand.

###

I don’t really have much to comment on in this section.  The one thing that came to mind as I read the Strider chapter was how much that chapter reminded me of a detective novel, something like The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett.  It reminded me of that one scene where everyone is huddled in a room, each character full of suspicions and a letter comes in that turns the screw of the plot.  Here we have the hobbits suspicious of Strider, Barley suspicious of the hobbits, and Strider, hard boiled and detached, controlling the situation similar to a central detective character.  Suddenly a letter from Gandalf shows up that alters the stability of the situation and clears up allegiances.  Suddenly Merry bursts in the room to inform them all of the outside terror, tightening the tension further.  Tolkien superbly plotted the chapter. 

###

Here’s an interesting detail mentioned in the “A Knife in the Dark” chapter.  On the sixth day from when the companions left Bree, it mentions that the date is the fifth of October.  Well, if you remember that the hobbits left the Shire on Frodo’s birthday, which was September 22^nd, that would make the hobbit’s journey now two weeks.  It feels like it’s been a lot longer, doesn’t it?

###

I just realized there are a few more interesting details in the “A Knife if the Dark” chapter.  We learn about the nature of these dark riders.  After spotting a number of the horseman from on top Weathertop, the hobbits ask Strider about their nature.

 

‘Can the Riders see?’ asked Merry. ‘I mean, they seem usually to have used their noses rather than their eyes, smelling for us, if smelling is the right word, at least in the daylight. But you made us lie down flat when you saw them down below; and now you talk of being seen, if we move.’

 

‘I was too careless on the hill-top,’ answered Strider. ‘I was very anxious to find some sign of Gandalf; but it was a mistake for three of us to go up and stand there so long. For the black horses can see, and the Riders can use men and other creatures as spies, as we found at Bree. They themselves do not see the world of light as we do, but our shapes cast shadows in their minds, which only the noon sun destroys; and in the dark they perceive many signs and forms that are hidden from us: then they are most to be feared. And at all times they smell the blood of living things, desiring and hating it. Senses, too, there are other than sight or smell. We can feel their presence – it troubled our hearts, as soon as we came here, and before we saw them; they feel ours more keenly. Also,’ he added, and his voice sank to a whisper, ‘the Ring draws them.’

 

‘Is there no escape then?’ said Frodo, looking round wildly. ‘If I move I shall be seen and hunted! If I stay, I shall draw them to me!’

 

Strider laid his hand on his shoulder. ‘There is still hope,’ he said. ‘You are not alone. Let us take this wood that is set ready for the fire as a sign. There is little shelter or defence here, but fire shall serve for both. Sauron can put fire to his evil uses, as he can all things, but these Riders do not love it, and fear those who wield it. Fire is our friend in the wilderness.’

 

‘Maybe,’ muttered Sam. ‘It is also as good a way of saying “here we are” as I can think of, bar shouting.’

 

So we learn the Dark Riders cannot see in the light but have some other sense that allows them to perceive in the dark.  But while they cannot see in the dark, “shapes cast shadows in their minds.”  Hmm, seems to recall Plato’s allegory of the shadows in the cave.  I wonder if there is a connection.  The Dark Rider’s sense of smell is such that they can “smell the blood of living creatures.”  We also learn the riders are deathly afraid of fire, and that the companions need to use it for defense against them.  But Frodo’s Ring is what really draws them.  To this Frodo is taken aback and has a moment of despair for his safety.  It is interesting that when Strider tries to reassure Frodo, he touches Frodo’s shoulder.  Is there significance in that touch to the shoulder?  I don’t know.  Later in the chapter Frodo will be stabbed by one of the Dark Riders in the shoulder.

###

There is still one more element of “A Knife in the Dark” that I would like to just highlight.  One night as the companions have left Bree now for six days and are making their way eastward, though in jagged directions, Sam asks Strider to tell them a “tale of the old days.”  After Strider recites a poem of Beren and Tinúviel, he goes into a talk of a history.  Here is the passage.

 

Strider sighed and paused before he spoke again. ‘That is a song,’ he said, ‘in the mode that is called ann-thennath among the Elves, but is hard to render in our Common Speech, and this is but a rough echo of it. It tells of the meeting of Beren son of Barahir and Lúthien Tinúviel. Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was the daughter of Thingol, a King of Elves upon Middle-earth when the world was young; and she was the fairest maiden that has ever been among all the children of this world. As the stars above the mists of the Northern lands was her loveliness, and in her face was a shining light. In those days the Great Enemy, of whom Sauron of Mordor was but a servant, dwelt in Angband in the North, and the Elves of the West coming back to Middle-earth made war upon him to regain the Silmarils which he had stolen; and the fathers of Men aided the Elves. But the Enemy was victorious and Barahir was slain, and Beren escaping through great peril came over the Mountains of Terror into the hidden Kingdom of Thingol in the forest of Neldoreth. There he beheld Lúthien singing and dancing in a glade beside the enchanted river Esgalduin; and he named her Tinúviel, that is Nightingale in the language of old. Many sorrows befell them afterwards, and they were parted long. Tinúviel rescued Beren from the dungeons of Sauron, and together they passed through great dangers, and cast down even the Great Enemy from his throne, and took from his iron crown one of the three Silmarils, brightest of all jewels, to be the bride-price of Lúthien to Thingol her father. Yet at the last Beren was slain by the Wolf that came from the gates of Angband, and he died in the arms of Tinúviel. But she chose mortality, and to die from the world, so that she might follow him; and it is sung that they met again beyond the Sundering Seas, and after a brief time walking alive once more in the green woods, together they passed, long ago, beyond the confines of this world. So it is that Lúthien Tinúviel alone of the Elf-kindred has died indeed and left the world, and they have lost her whom they most loved. But from her the lineage of the Elf-lords of old descended among Men. There live still those of whom Lúthien was the foremother, and it is said that her line shall never fail. Elrond of Rivendell is of that Kin. For of Beren and Lúthien was born Dior Thingol’s heir; and of him Elwing the White whom Eärendil wedded, he that sailed his ship out of the mists of the world into the seas of heaven with the Silmaril upon his brow. And of Eärendil came the Kings of Númenor, that is Westernesse.’

Now that is a long discourse of which we the reader are completely disconnected.  At this point in the narrative this is outside our understanding.  It is a very elaborate history.  I’m not sure how this figures into the novel.  Perhaps it will be explained in further exposition.  Or this may be the sort of history that Tolkien will write in future books, such as The Silmarillion.  What is interesting to me is the question of whether Tolkien had worked this pre-history out before LotR or was it something he filled in as he went along?  I get the feeling he generated this history even before he wrote his epic novel. 

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L Comment:

Thank you very much for the summary, Manny, and for the insightful comments. I particularly like your comparison of the strider chapter in Bree with a detective novel. Besides being a brilliant analysis, it helps me to better understand how the comes together.

 

On the point about the history of Middle Earth, a friend of mine wrote this, which could be relevant: 'What I find fascinating is that way every step you take in Middle Earth connects you to some event or person of the past. The past is all around you, yet it’s also gone. Yet it’s also exerting some influence on the present. There is the God of History at work over the ages.'

My Reply to L:

Oh that is a helpful observation, and yes, I am seeing it as I read. Thanks L.

Frances Comment:

If you go to Gutenberg.com. “On Fairie Stories,” J.R.R. Tolkien, you will find several excellent articles there, including one by Word On Fire’s Holly Ordway. She writes eloquently about the joy one would feel if an especially beautiful fairy story is found to be real, its narrative to be history. Holly Ordway not only came to a new understanding of fairy stories when she studied the Gospels, she discovered the one story where “Legend and history met and fused,” and converted to Catholicism. The Gospels are the Story behind the story of LOTR. I think an understanding of Tolkien’s thought is very helpful when reading it.

Michelle Comment:

Manny wrote: "What is interesting to me is the question of whether Tolkien had worked this pre-history out before LotR or was it something he filled in as he went along? I get the feeling he generated this history even before he wrote his epic novel."

He must have. Even the Elven language was conceived beforehand. What an amazing intellect he had!

Ellie Reply:

"Manny wrote: "What is interesting to me is the question of whether Tolkien had worked this pre-history out before LotR or was it something he filled in as he went along? I get the feeling he generated this history even before he wrote his epic novel."

He did, actually! The Silmarillion is his first and also his last book, because it was finished by his son and published after his death. He created the world, the characters, and - most importantly, to him - the languages and then fit the story of The Hobbit and LoTR into the world. I find this so fascinating.

(Last year I had a talk on Tolkien and his work in one of my classes and I'm glad my notes are finally coming in handy HAHA)

And to comment on what Frances said about the Gospels being the core Story behind Tolkien's masterpiece, I definitely want to encourage everybody to read Holly Ordway's book on Tolkien's faith, it's so wonderful and really informative and useful for our discussions as well! Tolkien once said, as Frances pointed out: "The Story of the Gospels is supreme; and it is true. Art has been verified. God is the Lord, of angels, and of men - and of elves. Legend and history have met and fused."

Frances Reply:

Wonderful, Ellie. I hope you can share your notes with us. We’re eager learners.

 

J.R.R. Tolkien had another convert even more influential than the exceptional Holly Ordway. On their long walks along the Oxford grounds he became the evangelist to C.S. Lewis: Tolkien, calling attention to how myths and fairy tales point to an underlying reality — what life should be; Lewis, countering that beautiful as they are, myths and fairy tales are ‘’lies, though breathed through silver . . .’’

 

Then, Tolkien’s brilliant insight: “No, they’re not: Look at the Gospels.

See what you find there. Heroic self-sacrifice; good triumphing over evil; love overcoming death: the Gospel story is the underlying reality to which all other stories point.’’

 

And so, out of centuries of myths and legends and fairy tales, Tolkien gave us this deathless story.

Kerstin Reply:

Jonathan Pageau held a talk entitled "Fairy Tales and the Music of the Spheres". In it he also refers to the Gospels as being the basis of all stories.

 

 

Frances Reply to Kerstin:

Thank you, Kerstin. I'd never heard of Jonathan Pageau before your recommendation. "Fairy Tales and the Music of the Spheres" is beautiful.

Michelle Comment:

I just came across this book (The Theological Landscape of Middle Earth) and thought of this thread.