If you know me, you will know that I am a big J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings fan! I particularly love the movie series because it beautifully transforms and brings his imaginary universe and vision to life. I had written a few reflections, especially on Gollum and Frodo, but I would like to focus on a very important and unsung hero, Samwise Gamgee! As a matter of fact, I would even go as far as saying that Frodo would not be able to complete his mission without the help of his friend, whom he doubted and pushed away at times, but continued to be faithful and supportive of him and his mission to save Middle-earth. Therefore, I would like to invite everyone to find their own Samwise in their spiritual journey, also being Samwise to others as well, because we cannot overcome evil and life’s hardships alone.
First, I believe the casting team did a good job in finding a good Frodo and Gollum, resembling each other to portray their inner struggles to do the right thing. Frodo pushes his friends away, especially Samwise, when he becomes more possessive of the ring. He isolates himself and begins to be paranoid about those who are around him. He is constantly worried that they will steal the ring away from him. Thus, he acts like Gollum when he begins to call the ring, “My Precious!” There is a great interplay of free will and greed in the very plot of the series, especially between the two characters. They both struggle with the ring of power, especially with the selfish and insidious desire to control and possess it personally, and at times, at all costs, too! Nonetheless, Frodo never really loses his humanity, even though he has been overtaken by its power from time to time. On the other hand, Gollum is locked up in his own miseries because he is possessive and obsessive about the object. He lusts for it and wants to have it at all costs, hence losing his own self-worth.
Smeagol tries to establish a friendship with Frodo, but his fear of losing the ring makes Gollum, the obsessive and selfish alter ego, become stronger and ultimately take over control. It tries to sow division and deception to ultimately get the ring back! The friendship between Frodo and Samwise was tested and tried, especially when Frodo listened to Gollum. The series beautifully shows the impossibility of true friendship when one is so controlled and obsessed with what they want, and how true friendship overcomes all trials, hardships, doubts, and obstacles, and encourages each other to focus on the truth.
At the end of The Two Towers, Samwise beautifully encourages Frodo to complete his mission even though he wants to give up. Frodo has grown tired and paranoid because of the ring, and it seems like the battle against evil is too much to handle. Nonetheless, Samwise, since the beginning, has always remained faithful to Frodo to support him in carrying the heavy burden of the mission to destroy the ring.
Frodo: I can’t do this, Sam.
Sam: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.
I love the dialogue because it shows Samwise‘s true character, faithfulness, humility, and hope in the midst of overwhelming evil and hopelessness. For me, he is the unspoken and real hero who makes the mission possible! He never gives up on his friend, even when he is questioned and doubted. He was hurt by Frodo’s words at times, but he loves and cares for him beyond the hurts. He is a great example of that sacrificial, self-giving, self-emptying, and genuine agape love.
Like Frodo and Samwise‘s journey, our spiritual journey is hard because it is messy and way beyond our control! It stretches and challenges us to go beyond our comfort zone to embrace and learn to co-exist with people who might be challenging to love. It humbles us because we are called to see Christ in them and love them for who they are instead of who we think they should be for us. It is personally tiring at times because we are asked to love those who are way different than us, but yet not to let our own particular wants and desires be the only controlling and determining factor. Sometimes, we are called to forgive and love; other times, we are called to be courageous in having the hard conversations with those who are around us. Sometimes, we are called to go and accept; other times, we have to stand up for ourselves. Sometimes, we are called to be firm; other times, to be flexible in going beyond our comfort zone and humble ourselves to see things beyond our own myopic mindset.
Especially as Christians, His disciples who bear His name, we are called to receive and put into practice the same sacrificial love in words and actions, life and deeds as well. To love others is not always easy, especially if they have done things that hurt us personally, yet true love gives us freedom and liberation from hatred and the things that kill us from within. It is not easy to forgive those who have done us wrong or choose to give ourselves to those whom we have deemed unfit or worthy of our love. It is extremely hard to choose to love and forgive because they are all personal, intimate, and life-giving actions both for ourselves and others. In the midst of many wrongs, we can choose to go along with what everyone else is doing, give up because we cannot change the course of actions, and become part of the game of manipulation… or we can choose to act with prudence and wisdom, respond with both justice and truth, especially to offer what others cannot dare to dream of as Christians in light of our Savior‘s own love.
The love of God gives us consolation and strength to bear all wrongs, injustices, pains, and sufferings of this world because we are not alone in our struggles, wrong bearings, and misunderstandings. Our world tells us to spend so much time focusing on things that do not matter, but never takes the time to learn how to change ourselves and grow in greater love of God. We spend so much time talking about other people while neglecting the call to grow in holiness, humility, obedience, and love as we first received from God. Obedience begins by listening to God in prayer, so what we receive in truth is practiced with genuineness and humility through a life of service.
Sufferings are simply an inevitable part of our human weaknesses caused by the Fall. In itself, it is neither intrinsically good nor bad — many times, just a result of other people or our very own failures — because we can still hurt others even with our best intentions. However, because of our Lord‘s example of redemptive suffering as He embraced all wrongdoings and misunderstandings for the love of us through the Paschal Mystery, our very lives and their mysteries (what is happening beyond our control and understanding) are not meaningless or useless if we unite everything we have out of love for Him.
Choose Christ! Choose to love and remain in love in good times and in bad. Choose to give ourselves in sickness and in health. Choose to care and to be faithful through our perseverance now and for the rest of our lives. Please remember that when we speak of God‘s for us, we are reminded and called to understand and commit our love to Him as well. When the temptation to not love is strong, personally choose to give and stay in love with God, for God is love! When the Lord Jesus Christ spoke about love, especially in the hard times, He spoke about agape and caritas — self-donating, giving, willing the good of the other, persevering, faithful, personal, intimate, and everlasting — love. As a matter of fact, He did not just speak about love with empty words or short-lived passion. He chose to love even when He was betrayed, forgotten, abandoned, ignored, handed over to die, suffered tremendously, and ultimately rejected by His own people!
True love changes us deep from within, for we no longer live for ourselves or expect things to only go our way, but to give ourselves in total, complete, personal, and loving ways to the One who first loved us. Love, indeed, changes us because we know WHO we are and WHY we love! We are who we are because of His grace, because He first loved us in spite of our unworthiness; therefore, let us not be afraid in loving Him and changing our lives to be conformed to this wondrous and life-giving love. May this love be experienced and radiated through our genuine, humble, and life-giving ways so we no longer live ourselves but the One who lives in us. Once we know who we are and our mission in love, for love, and out of love, may we choose to be Samwise Gamgee for others who are struggling on their spiritual journey so we can get rid of evil and its obsession, free ourselves from its enslavement, and seek the greater good for all.
— (The pictures of the characters “Samwise,” “Frodo,” and “Gollum” are taken from The Lord of the Rings movie series by New Line Cinema) —
You must be logged in to post a comment.