The Nashville Covenant School shooting is still a painfully fresh wound for many, especially the families of the three children whose lives were senselessly taken by a woman identifying as a transgender man. The manifesto of the shooter has yet to be released so it’s currently unclear why this woman targeted this school specifically, but for the Covenant Presbyterian Church, to which the school belongs, this atrocity isn’t deterring faith.
Rev. Billy Barnes took the stage at the church for the first sermon after the shooting took place and began speaking. While he alluded to the shooting, his focus was on one fact; that God was still in control.
To relay this, he referenced “The Chronicles of Narnia,” specifically “The Magicians Nephew,” the first story in the tale’s chronology.
The theme was that Jesus had already rescued us due to his sacrifice but people don’t understand this or want to hear it due to their unwillingness to embrace His message. He appropriately references the children’s story, detailing the moment when Aslan creates Narnia through a “creation song” that can be heard by everyone but a few including the character “Uncle Andrew” who didn’t hear because he refused to.
“In that book, they talk about Aslan’s creation song when he speaks and Narnia comes into being,” said Barnes. “And C.S. Lewis talks about Uncle Andrew. He said ‘now the trouble with making yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed’ and Uncle Andrew did.”
“He soon did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan’s song,” continued Barnes, quoting Lewis. “Soon he couldn’t have heard anything else, even if he had wanted to. And when at last the Lion spoke and said ‘Narnia awake!’ he didn’t hear any words. He heard only a snarl.”
“We all heard a lion roar,” Barnes said to the congregation. “And we’re here to tell you today that God is in control and that he’s sovereign.”
Barnes elaborated by telling a story about the “Road to Emmaus” where Jesus, going unrecognized, comforted Cleopas and Simon who were extremely troubled due to the events of Jesus’s crucifixion and the disappearance of his body from the tomb. Christ admonished them for being slow to believe the prophets, and that His suffering was necessary to bring about his kingdom.
The point Barnes was making was that we should be comforted because despite all this tragedy, Christ has already won; you just have to have ears to hear it and eyes to see it.
"We're all on the road to Emmaus together right now, and we're all longing to hear: 'Narnia, Awake.'" pic.twitter.com/0Ruf5L2I8Z
— Dope Preacher Clips (@WPCButGoodGuys) April 3, 2023
This sermon is probably one of the best that could have been given in this day and age. Things do seem incredibly lost and irreparable. Christians are being targeted both in body by wicked people and in name by mainstream society. It’s easy to lose sight of the victory that was already obtained by Christ’s crucifixion, especially when something as precious as a child is taken from you.
What you’re seeing today from the enemies of Christ is the useless flailing against the inevitable. While killing and wounding can inflict great pain against those who believe in and worship God, it doesn’t take away from that victory. At some point, the Kingdom will come and all those who were killed will return— while those who did the killing will be made to answer for it.
It’s very important to never turn yourself away from Him, so you can hear Him when he calls. A lot of people and things will try to drown Him out, but you don’t have to listen to them, even when they threaten you with death and suffering.
Don’t lose faith.
You can watch the full sermon below.
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