Moving On

One of the many things I appreciate about The Lord of the Rings is its ample epilogue.  Generally in books and movies there is little that follows the major climax.  A few minor details may get tied up but it is not substantive in any way.  In Tolkien's opus, there are crownings, weddings, another voyage, a parting of friends (at least twice), a minor conflict and an ensuing battle.  What I appreciate is that we are not forced to immediately move on after Sauron is defeated.

Moving on seems to be a significant imperative for us.  When one thing is completed the next thing is immediately before us.  There is no gracious time to ponder, reflect, appreciate or even learn from the thing completed.  We must move on.  We have miles to go before we sleep, as Robert Frost suggested.  Mustn't dwell on the past.  And we all know that a rolling stone gathers no moss, so let's keep rolling.  In the act of writing this I suddenly wonder what is so bad about moss.

I notice this impetus to move on especially at Christmas.  Coming from a Christian tradition that follows with some care the liturgical calendar, I know that Christmas STARTS on December 25 and then lasts for 12 days (hence the song in which the curious Lords-a-leaping are figured).  But on December 25th we have moved on.  It's over.  On to the next thing which will include post-Christmas sales, New Year's resolutions and all that lies ahead.  Could we not rest in the moment, for just a few days?

This has occurred to me because we have just passed Easter (it was on Sunday) and I had moved on.  We're done with Holy Week, Good Friday and the Feast of the Resurrection.  What's next?  As I was reading the lessons appointed in the lectionary this week, I found myself vaguely annoyed that we were going over the Passover in Exodus, rereading resurrection accounts in the Gospels, and meandering through I Corinthians 15.  Wasn't that last week?  I thought to myself.  Isn't it time to move on?

I come back to Tolkien as I think on this.  His multi-chapter epilogue does us the service of not immediately moving on.  All that follows the climactic victory at the gates of Mordor and in the heart of Mount Doom is a working out of the implications of that victory.  All of the events that follow the climax are results of same climax.  Life, in all of its joys and also struggles, blossoms forth.  The climax and victory allow for all of these other things to happen.  It is moving on, in a way, but a moving on that is deeply rooted in and thankful for the event that permits it.

And thus it is with Easter.  Christmas is 12 days.  Easter is 7 weeks.  On Monday and Tuesday I was annoyed because the lectionary hadn't moved on.  Today I had a change of heart.  I am thankful that these themes and stories are again before me.  The Easter event, Jesus' resurrection from the dead, bears some continued reflection.  I am moving on, but deeply rooted in and thankful for the event that permits me.