The Dying Lion

This beautiful sculpture is the “Lion of Lucerne,” located in Switzerland.¹ It commemorates Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France. The guards were hired as mercenaries to protect the royal family, and they did so to the point of offering their lives. Mark Twain described the monument in this way:

The Lion of Lucerne [is] the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world. … The Lion lies in his lair in the perpendicular face of a low cliff — for he is carved from the living rock of the cliff. His size is colossal, his attitude is noble. His head is bowed, the broken spear is sticking in his shoulder, his protecting paw rests upon the lilies of France.²

I became familiar with this Lion while, oddly enough, riding bicycle across Missouri. I encountered an imitation in a cemetery for Confederate veterans:

I was moved by that monument as I stood amidst the gravestones. But the original, in Switzerland, is far more beautiful. The photograph alone has moved me.

As I see this Lion, I am not idealizing the Swiss Guard or French royalty. Rather, I am thinking of Mufasa in The Lion King. I am recalling Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In truth, I am pondering Jesus Christ, the prototype of all of these.

The Lion, wounded in His side, dies in a battle against evil. He fought nobly, obediently, and for the utmost of causes, that of saving mankind. He was given a task to do, and he did it without question, out of faith and love, because of Who had given him that task.

The anguish of the Lion’s face fuels my desire to fight the battle. As I stare at the anguish of the Lion’s face I desire to be a better man, stronger in virtue and faith, more free from sinful inclinations, and more willing to offer my life, to the point of death, for Jesus Christ and the People of God.

That sounds dramatic, and it is. But my choice of words is not inappropriate. Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Christ commands us to love one another as he has loved us. And how is that? The Lion is speared in His side. Aslan was offered on the Stone Table. Mufasa gave his life for his son. And Christ died upon the Cross:

-Jason

¹ See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Monument for more details about the Lion of Lucerne.
² Mark Twain (1880). "Chapter XXVI: The Nest of the Cuckoo-Clock". A Tramp Abroad. Retrieved on May 16^th, 2009.