Jesus Christ and Aragorn: the crownless again shall be King

Where can the hope of people come from? — Perhaps from the least expected place, as we saw in the last post: King David and hobbits, appearances are deceiving. Appearances are deceiving, where the light is least likely. It is like the storm that suddenly ends, and the sun rises overhead to illuminate.

For Christians, Christ is the real hope, from whom all light and truth come. We cannot compare it with corrupt people or characters like Aragorn. However, as seen in the previous post, Tolkien’s work is full of archetypes that represent together and perhaps never alone, Christian personalities or elements. And Aragorn is one of the characters who evoke the figure of Christ, more specifically Christ the King.

Aragorn

A man born in a difficult time, when his race was hunted and decimated by those who wanted to dominate Middle Earth. Descended from kings, but because of the persecutions and the death of his antecedents, he had to hide. Escondido stayed while regents occupied the rightful throne.

Being one of the few Dunedain survivors, he lived as a guardian in secret, walking and wandering through Middle-earth, protecting those who did not even know about the danger that was growing more and more. He traveled on missions for Gandalf’s friendship and was seen as a dangerous bum by many.

In Bri, which is where, in the book The Lord of the Rings — The Fellowship of the Ring, he takes action, many fear him, and see him as a shadowy man or an idle wanderer, aimlessly and destiny. And no one could have imagined that one day he would become a powerful and compassionate king.

Christ

No need for introductions. The King, but who was born poor, in a poor place and from poor parents. He lived in hiding for several years and did not reveal himself as he was until the time came. Thus, he lived a simple life.

But one day, he revealed himself to the world as a new prophet who spoke and healed with authority in the name of God. But many still saw him as a wanderer, as a traveling beggar, or as a madman who claimed to be The Son of God.

He walked among the people and counseled those who were down, brought hope to the discouraged, health to the sick, and a voice to those who were not heard. But there were those who hated him: people who treated him with contempt and armed him to arrest him.

A poor man, son of a carpenter, from Nazaré, “and can there be a good thing from there?” (John 1, 46). But it came, the Messiah came from there. Born of a woman, of the tribe of David, true God of true God, and one day he died and came back to life and saved us from sin and death.

Not all those who wander are lost

At the Prancing Pony salon in Bree, Frodo met Aragorn. She saw him in a dark corner, sitting smoking a pipe, his face half-covered with a hood and wrapped in smoke. He realized that he kept looking at him and was afraid. And who would not have? Even more with the report that the owner of the lodging gave him: “I don’t know for sure… He doesn’t say much… He’s one of the wanderers, the guardians …”

Who the man really was, no one knew, but a letter that Gandalf had left with old Carrapicho, the owner of the inn, addressed to Frodo soon explained everything: “You can find a friend of mine on the Road: a man, slim, dark, high, which some call Strider.”

There was a poem in the letter:

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

He, who was a friend of Gandalf, also became a friend of Frodo. He travels, but not aimlessly, he knows his destination, as does Christ, and he yearns to reach him and fulfill his destiny. They were both going to their “Jerusalem”, to their calvaries, to fulfill each one the mission that had been entrusted to them.

A light from the shadows shall spring

“The people who walked in the darkness saw a great light; the light shone on those who inhabited a dark region.” (Isaiah 9,1)

Like the sun that came up with the hope of a better day. Like the Christ who returns from the shadows of death. Like Aragorn, son of Arathorn, who returned to Gondor to take over his parents’ kingdom, and start the era of men. Thus hope is born! Imagine a countryman who depends on the rain to survive, and who has been waiting for it for days. Suddenly, the rain falls torrentially. Great is his joy, as is the comfort of a people whose King returns.

A people who lived in fear of slavery and the domination of evil returned to hope, and a new day appeared. Like a flash that ends all darkness and heals the sick with the authority of a king. For, as a wise woman said, “The hands of a king are the hands of a healer, and in this way, the true king will be known.”

The true King healed, walked in our midst, and became like us in everything except sin. He suffered and died for us, but he returned. Christ is risen! Here is the Return of the King! Who would have thought?

Like the sun that rises only from the east, our hope comes only from Christ, and from no one else.

And the poem in Gandalf’s letter continues:

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

And Christ, the crownless, is King. Viva Cristo Rei.

Brazilian Portuguese version: Jesus Cristo e Aragorn: o sem-coroa há de reinar