“Too shameful it seems to me that ye should go abroad with our tribute, unfought with, now that ye have come thus far into our land. Not so lightly shall ye come by the treasure: point and edge shall first make atonement, grim war-play, before we pay tribute…”
Byrhtnoth, alderman of Essex, to the marauding Vikings (991 AD)
To begin with full disclosure of one’s Muse is the first and great responsibility of the essayist. Thoreau’s ant-hill, E.B. White’s circus rider, Lamb’s beloved City, C.S. Lewis’ horrid red things; all the greatest writers in history have humbly bowed before the person or item or circumstance which first set their thought in motion, recognizing (as all true storytellers must) that their job is not to create but to reflect; not to construct reality, but rather to pick something up and turn and present it in such a manner that others are enabled to understand something about life they never have before. Much as the painter, the writer’s job is not merely to depict the landscape but to set it up as a medium through which true meaning can be conveyed.
It is therefore incumbent upon me to confess that a Disney movie is the source of this week’s line of thought. If it is not immediately evident why this might be difficult for me, I think I need only suggest that one look over the surfeit of bad storylines, painfully transparent political commentaries disguised as progressive thought, and mercenary (yes, DIS is publicly traded) plots which have been inflicted upon our society by that concern over the last several decades. But excellence must be recognized wherever it arises, and Frozen captured my spirit as effectively as everyone else’s, judging by its performance at the box office and probable assurance of a spot in our cultural mythology as a classic story.
I may perhaps be justified in my astonishment by the fact that the movie’s portrayal of the meaning of love seems to me to be categorically at odds with the nature of just about every other romance they have put their trademark on, but we will let well enough alone and chalk that up to the lasting influence of Steve Jobs and the degree of authenticity (pagan truth though it was) that he brought to the entertainment industry… But I am so hard to please! We will continue without any more judgmental digressions.
When the snowman tells Anna that love looks nothing like what she thought, and that the surly reindeer driver who risked his life so that she could be reunited with the gallant prince she idolized was more her lover than any smooth-talking door-opener could ever be, a new world is opened up for her. She begins to see that love is so much more than a feeling; indeed, that love can mean going against your feelings. It is evident that her nature and spirit has been growing on Kristoff all through the movie and culminates during the song with the trolls, when her real beauty dawns on him for the first time. Is there a guy with a spark of romance in him who cannot identify with that moment? I trace my own flame back to an instant in a theater when I asked a brown-eyed girl whether she minded my arm on the seat back, and the look I got in response utterly destroyed all my pitiful attempts at self-preservation and convinced me that I would either spend the rest of my life becoming one with her or spend it wishing I had.
And there really was a destruction that happened in that moment. Some part of me really did cherish what I called my freedom, my ability to come and go as I pleased and not have to report back to anyone. There was a giving up and a letting go that had to take place in the course of deciding to unite myself to another person in the bonds of love. A part of Jeremy died so that the rest of me could become more truly alive, just like Kristoff willingly took Anna back to the place to which he thought he would never return again, setting an example of love that showed her how to freely lay down her own life for her undeserving sister’s.
There has never in any sacred or secular history existed what may be called love without this aspect of sacrifice. It may be seen in Baucis and Philemon, in Cincinnatus’ return to arms, in Jonathan’s friendship with David, in Jane Eyre’s Very, sir; you always were, you know to Mr. Rochester’s Am I hideous? And in the greatest story of beauty and desire and pursuit and self-giving ever told, it may seen in the story of Christ Jesus and his Church.
For he pursued us when we were indeed unlovely in the eyes of anyone else. He saw us when we were dead in our betrayals and isolation, cut off from the face of God and man, mired in a broken world where by experience we know it is impossible to love without getting hurt. It was toward this desolate waste of relational ruin that he set his face like a flint, willing to give up everything for us, even that relationship which was before all things and was the highest reality in existence: his love for his Father. Think of the tears Jesus shed during his life and why he shed them. He wept for his friend at a lonely grave in the midst of a crowd at Bethany; he wept to gather Jerusalem and her children under his wings, for they would not; and in a forgotten garden he wept most bitterly of all that the poison of sin could ever come between him and the fellowship he had known in the Trinity. But all these things he was willing to undergo, because he loved us.
Love like this is stronger than death, fiercer than the grave. It flings the fetters of a wrecked and damaged existence to the side and lifts us up with a mighty shout, despoiling the claims of the Enemy and setting a new principle into motion that shall accomplish the redemption of heaven and earth through all eternity. It is the idea that we are loved, and not lightly was this treasure come by; that there shall be grim war-play indeed before our Captain will pay tribute to the principalities and powers with which we now wrestle. Brothers and sisters, rejoice in this love! and go and do likewise.
JV
Author: Jeremy Vogan
My name is Jeremy Vogan. I live in Staunton, VA with my wife and four kids. I love to write, and seek to honestly explore the intellectual and emotional implications of following Jesus as a deeply broken person in a twisted, cruel world that is full of veiled beauty and meaning. Writing is part of how I faithfully look for Jesus Christ to someday make all things new. I'd enjoy hearing your feedback! JV