[He came] to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the
forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which
the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the
shadow of death,
to
guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Luke
1:77-79
I.
Lucy and Thom and the Old Man, Photius were chained to the Dusk-Pillar,
and they awaited the coming of what they knew would be the Judgment of Day. For
the Light-Light would come, and all would be laid bare before the Great Eye of
the Upper World. Though they had heard the songs and the prophecies from the
Old Man to whom they were bound, Lucy and Thom had never been Upside when the
Light-Light came.
The children did not know a time when anyone had lived above
the world in the Land of the Light and Night. As long as they could remember
they had lived under the Blue Mountains in the cave-kingdom of the Silver Queen.
The Upper World was a brutal place to live. There was the
oppressive heat of the summer and the freezing cold of winter and there was the
terror of darkness and the stark brightness of day. You know how hard it can
be, and at this time and during this age in the world, it was hard and harsh
and cruel. Kings came and went, and armies conquered and were driven out, and life
in the Upper World took its toll on the people who lived in hope of The Day
when things would be made right by the Sun-King. But the waiting became
difficult.
The cruelty of evil oppressors and tyrants was not the only
darkness they battled. Each person in the Kingdom themselves was given to a
lightness and darkness in their heart. Like the moon, the people’s hope in THE
HOPE and their love for one another and their zeal to do the will of the Father
of Lights waxed and waned in phases from devotion to indifference, to betrayal,
to despair and on and on and round and round.
In this way, the people were relieved by the darkness of the
Night-Night because in the Night-Night they could not see nor could they be
seen. And if one was clever enough, one could not see themself. Some believe in
the comfort of ignorance, and in the Night-Night they could not see the
terrible things that their enemies did to their loved ones, and they could not
see the disappointing things that their friends did that hurt them so, but most
of all they could not see the awful things that they themselves did which
surprised and saddened them so greatly that they could not sleep. All this
light they thought, meant heavy hearts. It seemed to the people that it was
better to live in comfortable ignorance rather than live in the un-filtered
heaviness of the Light and the interminable waiting for the Ever-Day when the
Sun King would come. That was about the time that She came.
Moons ago the Silver Queen came to the people. And what with
the people’s willingness to be ignorant and together with the heaviness in their
hearts about their own darkness, the Silver Queen was able to enchant the
people with the spell of a song by which she sung them into a waking-sleep.
When Night-Night is o’er and yellow is east,
Flee to the Great Door to find your relief.
The Great-Light sees all, his arrow flies true
And pierces the heart, and changes the hue
Of dull to bright, of secret to fright
All lies in the open, at the end of Night-night.
First comes the thrum of dindle and drum.
Next cuts the scissor sword of light and heat
With the ray his eye your judgment comes
To drive you to the dust in defeat.
In the Light do not stand
Seek the Silver Queen’s relief
Submit to her hand
And to the darkness retreat.
And that is how they came to follow her up into the caves of
the Blue Mountains, past the Pillar of Dusk and through the Great Door into her
Dark Kingdom. The Great Door kept the Light out, and it did. But as is
often the case with doors that keep things out, they also serve to keep other
things in. And so, the people became the Silver Queen’s slaves, and they served
her blindly and ignorantly.
The enchantment of the cave hung like a foggy dream, and it was
eerily silent except for the drip, drip, drip of water falling from stalactites
hundreds of feet above. There was no laughter nor sounds of children playing
nor of neighbors talking, and there was no music except the kind that made you
drowsy. Even though the people were enchanted, all this dampness had an even
greater effect their outlook. You know people, I do not doubt who are a wet
blanket because their view of things is rather dreary and damp. Well the people
who lived with the Silver Queen, were just that—all wet.
Now as much as one might want to live without light, one
cannot live in a complete darkness of ignorance. And so, the Silver Queen
taught the people how to mine and light moonstone. The moonstone glowed a
silvery-blue and served to provide light for the World by which the people
would be able to see, but not too much. At her command, the people dug mines
deep into the mountains in order to find moonstones for the light-bearers who
were called Lunatars. Each month, the Lunatars would take the mined moonstone
out beyond the Great Gate to the Pillar of Dusk and leave the stones exposed to
the Light of The Day. When they returned the next night, the moonstones glowed
a bright silvery blue. The Lunatars would put the stones in lamps and mount
them on staffs, and In this way they provided the people with a light to see as
they mined more moonstone.
(Now, you must
remember that in the Queen’s realm, the night was day and the day was night.
So, when it was light in the Upper World, it was time to be asleep below. But
each evening of the Upper World, was the time that the people arose and went
about their dreary work, until just before Great Light came up over the Eastern
Sea.)
When time allowed, Lunatars would spend time studying the
lights that shone on the ceiling of the Upper Land during the Night. They
learned all the shapes these lights made and they watched wandering stars as
they appeared each night and disappeared for a season. The Lunatars became
experts in the meanings of the stars and the signs they foretold.
Every now and then, a Lunatar would go light-headed. After
having learned so much about the lights of the Great Ceiling, they would begin
to be curious about the Day, and the Light-Light, and they would ask whether
someone could really live in the Light-Light. This sort of talk was very
dangerous and was considered treason. If news of this sort of talk reached the
others, the offending Lunatar would be cast out of the realm, and taken and
tied to the Pillar of Dusk, where they would await the Judgment of The Day when
at The Dawn all the secrets of the heart would be exposed, and they would see
themselves and the world in all its hard reality.
The Old Man, Master Photius was an aged Lunatar to whom Lucy
and Thom were apprenticed. Mostly they spent their days learning about the
different kinds of rocks and soils and gems, where moonstone was likely to be
found and which minerals were good for making tools and which were best for
jewelry. But at the end of their day, after Thom and Lucy had cleaned up from
supper, Master Photius would sit in his study and smoke his pipe. Seated in his
chair he would tell them of the stories of the Upper Lands.
Master Photius would tell them about the Ceiling Lights which
shone each night out beyond the cover of the Misty Valley. He described their
shapes and order and recalled their names, He also told them how some believed
in a Ruler greater than the Silver Queen, the Father, who made all the Lights of
Heaven above and set them in place and called them by name. Photius told them
that the Father of the Heavenly Lights had made a promise that he would bless
the world and call his children out of the darkness. And late in the Night when
the smoke-cloud of his pipe hung low in the room and the sweet smell of the
pipe smoke swirled and drifted up toward the ceiling, Master Photius would sing
parts of a forbidden song about how the Father of Lights would send His Son, the
Sun-King, in a chariot with sword and bow to break all the enchantments of all
the world’s Enchanters.
When you see the star on the Lion’s brow
In the heavens of Darkest Night
The Father above, Lord of all Renown
Shall send His Beloved Son of Light
Who shall come with the thrum of thundering drum
In a chariot of golden-bright beam.
From the east he shall rise riding the road of the sun
To vanquish the Silver Queen.
II.
Lucy was the first to discover the transformation. While up
tending to the moonstones with Thom and Master Photius, Lucy misplaced her
silver apprentice bracelet which, being the fidgety girl she was, was not
surprising. While re-visiting one of the collections of moonstone after the
Light Light had shown on them, Lucy found her bracelet. She also found that it was
no longer silver, but that it had been transformed into sunstone (what you or I
would call gold). Sunstone was the most precious of metals in the Underland.
When Lucy realized what had occurred and that she was
wealthy beyond all her imagining (which for an orphan is like a dream come
true), she felt both a great relief and a growing fear. She was relieved because
now she would not be at the mercy of limited resources but would always have
enough to take care of herself and not need to depend on others. For her she
felt that she was, now safe. But with the relief came fear, for safety finally
won, can be just as soon lost. However, in the excitement of her new security,
she shared the news with her brother, Thom.
Thom was very excited too. For Thom the news of this
discovery meant that he would no longer be looked down upon by the other
apprentices, that they would now respect him, and that he could finally have
the sorts of things he thought he had deserved. But he was more pleased to see
himself as the envy of the other apprentices.
Later, Lucy and Thom shared their discovery with Master
Photius. When he saw the sunstone bracelet, he saw in it a breakthrough into
the recognition and honor of all the other Masters. Many had come who had spent
their lives trying to make sunstone. This was the secret of all secrets, and
not only would it make him rich, but it would make him the master of all the
Masters. Photius warned them that the should tell no one, and he reminded them
of the Silver Queen’s song and of the punishment of those who became
light-headed.
Sometimes the temptation to tell a secret overwhelms the
value of the secret one is keeping. Many kingdoms, friends, and families have
found their end in the making public of a private word. In a wavering moment, Thom
boasted of the sunstone he and Lucy had acquired in order to impress some of
the older and more popular students. And when Lucy, tried to stop him from
revealing their secret, he said, “You don’t know about grown up things. Stop
being such a baby.” The telling of the secret was terrible, but Thom’s superior
tone and mocking voice hurt Lucy more deeply. Even as he was speaking the
words, Thom’s conscience noted his betrayal, and he felt things change between he
and his sister.
Over several phases, Thom distanced himself from Lucy. He
ignored her questions, and avoided her company. Thom found himself more
interesting to the others, and they plied him with questions about the sunstone.
Being noticed and listened to and liked and popular was a ‘dizzying’ drink that
Thom could no longer resist, and he finally gave in to the pressure and told the
other apprentices how the silver had turned into sunstone.
Because people are always seeking to find a way further in--into
the center of power and popularity and success and approval, the center from
which they have always imagined themselves excluded, each used the knowledge of
the bracelet’s transformation to impress others. And so just as this was true
of Thom it was true of the apprentices and of their Masters. What had
previously been a secret to keep, became the most important news to share. And
so an apprentice jealous of Thom and Lucy told on them to their Master, and a
Master jealous of Master Photius told on him to the chief of the Lunatars who
in turn took the news to the Silver Queen herself.
III.
Lucy and Thom and old Master Photius were accused and tried
for high treason against the Silver Queen and the laws of the Underland. Bound with
silver cords made by the Queen, and drowsy from their enchantment, the three
were paraded through the moonstone lit city, up the winding road out the Great
Door to the Pillar of Dusk to which they were bound to await the Judgment of
The Day.
All were there to watch their drumming out and punishment.
They mocked the three in their punishment and rejoiced in their being shamed.
After pronouncing the judgment and sentence, the Chief Lunatar read the
inscription on the Pillar:
In the Light do not stand
Seek the Silver Queen’s relief
Submit to her hand
And to the darkness retreat.
In their exhaustion and sadness, a fitful sleep overtook the
three. Each dreamed of the coming of The Day and what secrets the Light would expose.
Master Photius began to see the entitlement of age in his
heart—how having lived long and having worked hard, he had come to presume
honors and comforts and deference. The sad side of his entitlement lay in the
change in his heart--that he had lost a sense of wonder and gratitude in the
beauty around him and above him and in the music and promises.
Thom saw in his dream the ugliness of a heart which would
betray a devoted sister for the scraps of approval of a few others whose
company he didn’t even like. Having scurried around in order to try an get in,
he found himself shut out.
And while Lucy dreamed, she saw that her fear of being
without had led her to keep and manage all that she had: not only what she
owned but her time and kindness. Having been so caught up by what she owned,
she was owned by what she had. She meted out attention and rations with
scrupulous exactness. And in so doing the security that wealth afforded only
made her more fearful and petty.
Now with the coming of the Light Light, would the heaviness
of their hearts and guilt crush them? Would the Father of the Heavenly Lights
hear their cry for mercy and forgive? If even now it was not too late to cry
such a cry. In that moment, something welled up in Lucy’s heart. Maybe it was
the realization that ignorance and darkness and words spun to sound true did
not make for joy or seeing or truth. Maybe it was the admission of the truth
about the darkness in her own heart that it was better dealt with than managed.
Lucy felt she was thinking clearly the first time, and she began to sing,
He shall come with the thrum of thundering drum
In a chariot of golden-bright beam.
From the east he shall rise riding the road of the sun
To vanquish the Silver Queen.
In turn Thom and their the Master joined Lucy and though each was afraid of the changed the Light Light would inevitably bring, they were bolstered by the song’s hope of deliverance. What would become of them? Could there be such a thing as too much light? Too much sight? Would the coming of the Sun-King and his just reality mean their own unmaking? Would they be crushed? Would the beauty of sight only expose their dingy ugliness?
IV.
At the darkest moment of the Night-Night, the breeze
changed. All evening the damp and heavy air of the Misty Valley flowed down to
the Pillar like an enchantment, but now the breeze turned and came from the
East, dry and warm. The cloudy night sky began to break and the Ceiling Lights
came into view. After a while the ceiling was cloudless and the stars shone
bright and clear. There, high above the three, was the Lion and the bright new
star on his brow.
Photius had told them of the lights of the Higher Lands, but
they had never actually seen the great expanse of stars in the Night-Night sky.
Because of this they did not know what to think of the stars which seemed to move
from one part of the sky to another and then more and more moved from every
direction across the sky towards them. Dozens and dozens became hundreds, and
then became thousands and thousands of thousands of stars appeared and moved.
And suddenly with the warm breeze came the faint sound of a song. “Listen,” Lucy
whispered.
“What’s that?” said Thom?
“Shhh, listen. Don’t you hear the music?”
Master Photius, spoke for the first time, “It’s the Sky
People.”
“Who?” said Thom
“The people from above the world. The Sky People,” explained
their Master. And then they all could see them, and the song rang clear like
bells.
The Sky People sang the Greatest Song, a song of joy and
triumph and hope and promise. As the Sky People drew nearer, their song became
louder and louder and the weight of their glorious song fell upon their hearts
in tingling joy.
The night is over the day has come.
Awake and rise with the morning sun.
You weary and sad lift up your heads.
The Light arises and darkness has fled.
Look not for the Light in Palace or Hall
The King awaits in a stable’s stall
He comes not in anger to punish or condemn
But in love to drive darkness away from them
And so follow the star, it shall lead the way
To the Sun-King swaddled in manger and hay
The King of all kings comes humble and mild
The Commander now speaks in the cries of child.
For the promise He has kept, He has come as He said
To deliver the fearful and raise the dead.
Highest praise to Father, Spirit, and Son.
And Glory to God--the Three in One.
The song
seemed to clear their heads. Their fear of the coming of the Light-Light and
Charioted Sun-King did now not seem so dreadful.
Photius saw
the folly of hisentitlement—that he had never gotten what he really deserved,
for it he had, his friends (and these children) would’ve long ago stopped
offering forgiveness for his short-temper and impatience.
Thom saw the ugliness of his vanity and the betrayal of his
dearest friend for what they were: a dark marring in the heart of his heart.
“Oh, he thought, if I could only be changed.”
And Lucy too saw the greediness of her heart and the
self-centered pre-eminence of her own concerns over those of others, “As if
were not already wealthy in friends and companionship.” The pressure and weight
of their guilt bore down on each in the same way the Sky People’s song had raised
their spirits.
The sky glowed orange and gold in the east.
First comes the thrum of dindle and drum.
Next cuts the scissor sword of light and heat
With the ray his eye your judgment comes
To drive you to the dust in defeat.
Where bone is broken
And heart is cloven
Unclouded, undone, and un-Queened.
And though they hadn’t noticed, the first rays of the dawn struck
the hill on which they were standing. They heard the thundering noise and for
the first time heard the prophecy in its right meaning. Each in turn,
apologized for their brokenness and the wounding of the other, and through the
tears of their apologies, they began to see. As the first rays of the Dawn fell
upon them, the enchanted silver chords which had bound them to the Pillar
evaporated, and their hearts were filled with the broadening peace of freedom
and joy as they forgave and were forgiven. Noting the direction in which the
star had shown, they went in search of the One of whom the song spoke, saying,
“Let us go and see.”
V.
Since the Dawn of that Day many moons have waxed and waned,
and on one day when the moon was full, the darkness seemed to overtake the sunlit
world as the Sun-King was led on a meandering journey through a city and out
it’s gate. Mocked by his peers and betrayed by his brothers, this King, was
marched to a hill outside the gate, where he was hung on tree. Some believed
that the darkness had overtaken him, but rather as he was shut behind a great stone
door, he took into himself all of the darkness of all our pride and
self-deceit and sin, for he was not a reflection of the Light, but he was himself the
Light, and one dawn a few dawns later, he burst forth from darkness to shine on
our darkness and lead us to peace. This was the end of the beginning, but tonight
we remember the day when the first rays of the Dawn of this Sun-King brought to
light the secret motives of the heart of God. For in the darkness of a stable
in the edge of a province far from the lighted center of imperial power the
Light Light came to announce the tender mercy of the Father of the Heavenly Lights.
