Vatican II at 50: Take the Adventure!
The holiday movie season begins this weekend with the opening of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first of three films adapting the great fantasy epic The Hobbit by J.R. R. Tolkien.
The book The Hobbit follows the journey of Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim lost treasure. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, the home-loving Bilbo reluctantly joins a company of dwarves and heads out on a Middle-earth adventure which takes him through the Wilderland of the Misty Mountains and treacherous terrain swarming with Goblins, giant spiders, Wargs and Wood-elves.
The author, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was an English writer and university professor.
Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic whose friendship with C.S. Lewis is said to have influenced the atheist Lewis to convert to Christianity. Tolkien was not a fan of the changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council. Ironically, the fundamental themes in The Hobbit were the same themes which would be played out by Vatican II some twenty-five years later.
Bilbo Baggins lived in a hole in the ground. He was rich, comfortable and spent most of his days eating.
When asked by Gandalf to go on an adventure, Bilbo exclaimed, “We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!” Prior to Vatican II, the Church lived somewhat like Bilbo--in a fortress mentality, insulated from and defensive against the modern world. The council sought to change that as expressed in the document Gaudiem et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution in the Modern World. Gaudium et Spes reveals a Church in dialogue with, instead of in conflict with the world.
Bilbo accepted the invitation to adventure, not knowing what would happen as a result. He gained much more than he risked. At Vatican II, the Church opened itself up to a world it eschewed, unaware of what that might bring, the results of which continue to unfold. As we prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ at Christmas, it’s worth noting that God took on the greatest adventure—that of becoming human. In doing so, God reclaimed his own lost treasure: The Human Race! Amen.
