Into the Darkness

How Samwise Gamgee Shows Us to Stop Being Spiritual Wimps

Gardener. Bodyguard. Companion. Mayor of the Shire. And (from what I hear) cooks a mean stewed rabbit.

The son of Hamfast himself: Samwise Gamgee the hobbit.

In the Peter Jackson-helmed film version of The Return of the King (2003), Sean Astin’s turn as Sam stole the show — and with good reason. An airtight argument could be made that Samwise showing up to face down Shelob is a top-3 highlight in the entire corpus of Middle Earth. [Maybe the best one? Fight me.] The second he emerges from the Torech Ungol (“tunnel of the spider”)¹ to save Frodo from her creepy clutches, Astin delivers the lines:

“Let him go, you filth. Let him go! You will not touch him again. Come on and finish it!”

Dude. Chills.

I mean, if you don’t get a knot welling up in your throat from an epic moment like that, you just might be a cave troll.

Sam and Shelob by John Howe (1989)

The glass phial gleams in his hand like a silver flame. Sting glimmers in the moonlight. Sam lunges, parries, and rolls with unearthly reflexes, hardly knowing what he’s doing. His devotion pushes him forward. He feels helped in battle in ways he can’t quite describe. He outwits the beast. He emerges battered, but victorious. And in the end, the story doesn’t have a good ending without him.

That is because Sam is the real hero of The Lord of the Rings.

You read that right. It’s true.

J.R.R. Tolkien seemed to indicate that more than Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf or any other character from the beloved Fellowship, the “chief hero” of the trilogy is Samwise.² Having served in WWI, Tolkien was struck by the selfless bravery of low-ranking soldiers and especially batmen he witnessed. In a letter he described the inspiration behind Mr. Gamgee as follows:

My ‘Samwise’ is indeed (as you note) largely a reflection of the English soldier—grafted on the village-boys of early days, the memory of the privates and my batmen that I knew in the 1914 War, and recognized as so far superior to myself.³

So, we have a selfless, humble hero.

Against all reasonable odds, going into the darkness to save his friend.

Sound familiar?

Sacrificial tendencies don’t tend to be natural to us.

When Christ came, He modeled what this kind of life looks like. “Greater love has no one than this,” He taught, “that one lay down his life for his friends.”⁴ Though He was (and still is) the King of All Things, He humbled Himself and climbed the dark stairway of Sin, stared into the eyes of Death, and took it all head-on for us. His devotion pushed Him forward in Gethsemane. He was helped with supernatural love we can’t quite describe. And He outwitted the beast.⁵ He emerged battered, but victorious.

And in the end, our story doesn’t have a good ending without Him.

Now forever administrating justice throughout the cosmos, Jesus has commissioned us to make disciples of the deceived nations of the world. As Christians, we get to share in the missio Dei that Jesus clues us in on: “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved tale, Frodo gets lost in the dark, bone-filled labyrinth of Shelob’s lair. He ends up captured — wrapped up in the webs of the great spider, paralyzed by her venom. Shelob thinks she’s won, and then…

… Samwise enters the chat.

Bravery in spades, nothing stops Sam from trying to rescue his friend, despite the odds. One essay on Sam’s character brings his selfless motivations to the fore:

It is a quiet, noble sort of courage that Sam holds in foreseeing danger and choosing to go on the journey anyway because of his dedication to Frodo and knowing what is on the line for all of Middle-Earth.

Don’t you wish you had a friend like that?

A top highlight of Sam’s story, going after Frodo and facing the spider is one of the most powerful symbols illustrating the role of the Church in bravely going into dim places to rescue those wrapped up in darkness. It requires bravery. A refusal to bow to cultural coercion. Willingness to step into the uncomfortable. Like Sam, as disciples we should be people who:

1. Have a quiet, noble courage regarding God’s plans

2. Are wise enough to see danger, but brave enough to go on the journey

3. Step into fierce dedication to the mission of God for the lost

4. Understand the days we live in and know what is on the line: Eternity

Looking around should provide clear reinforcement that our day is an evil one (Ephesians 5:16). There’s not a moment to lose.

Apathy is a powerful thing. And it’s witchcraft has been at work in the Church.

How can we refuse to go after those around us most steeped in darkness? We all know someone in a difficult situation who needs the light of Christ to shine into their hopelessness. Sam gives us an example of what true bravery — the spiritual kind — looks like in the face of formidable odds. Even though he’s a bit nervous, doesn’t know what’s next, and his heartbeat is pounding, he refuses the apathetic call to be a wimp and courageously moves forward.

But what does this look like in our world? What are the Shelobs people face and how do we as the Church practically follow Jesus’ call to seek and save them?

• A friend is in the throes of addiction. Last night he had another relapse. Big time. You wake up to a flurry of voicemails and texts. Instead of passing on the info to a prayer chain, you go find him. Help him get clean. Connect him to resources. Give him a ride. Whatever it takes.

• You know a woman whose husband is abusing her. Instead of telling her who to call or where to go, you physically show up. Give her and her kids a place to stay for a bit. Drive them to church and spend extra time to pray with them. The little things prove to be big things.

• Just down the street, three kids just lost their mom. Their dad is trying to keep it together, but bills piled up during his wife’s illness and he’s working a lot. Money’s tight and he could use a hand, especially with Christmas coming. Instead of nominating their name to a local organization, you take the initiative with your neighbors to step in. You offer to watch his kids, cook meals. Invite them into your home. The small group you lead even puts together a huge effort to make sure their kids have gifts for the holidays. They feel God’s love for them.

• A young person is sitting all by themself on the back row of your church. They seem dejected, sorrowful. Instead of telling the pastor or another leader, you go and sit by them. After getting to know them, you dig a bit deeper and discover they’ve been struggling with anxiety and depression, recently coming off medication. They relate to you a few of the emotional issues and traumas they’re coping with. You follow the leading of the Spirit with words of kindness and wisdom that bless them in the moment. You become family and help them towards healing in Christ.

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else.”

— Charles Dickens

One of Jesus’ most comforting calls to humanity is when he declares “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”⁶ I don’t think it’s a stretch of the imagination to say that many of us have experienced the heavy burdens of life, whether it be sin or guilt or expectations or seemingly impossible obstacles. Christ promises to give relief and rest to the heavy-laden, and Samwise Gamgee is a shining beacon of the selfless attitude of a disciple.

Leaving his life of comfort in the Shire, he chooses to help his friend Frodo, who is heavy-laden and weary with crushing power of the Ring. In the grimmest of moments, Sam determines not to abandon him, but lean into the danger, the unknown and the territory of the enemy and continue the mission.

Will you?

At first, getting into the real battle of people’s lives is daunting. But if you’re faithful to the voice of the LORD and His leading, something will begin to happen. You’ll hardly knowing what you’re doing, but your devotion will push you forward. You’ll feel supernatural help in ways you can’t quite describe. Slowly, you’ll see yourself outwit the beasts. You may be battered, but you’ll emerge victorious; a vessel of God’s goodness to bring life to people around you.

The truth is, their story might not have a good ending without you.

The voice of God is calling us into shadowy places filled with danger.⁷ But He promises us His Presence as we journey on, with the Light of His Spirit and the Sword of His powerful Word both in hand. Generations to come need the Church to leave our comforts and stop being spiritual wimps and cowards for the sake of a lost and captive world. The enemy seeks to paralyze them. This is serious: eternity is on the line. It’s time to venture out into the darkness.

1. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 490

2. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 131, (undated, written late 1951).

3. Collier, P. (n.d.). Important letter regarding the publication of The Lord of the Rings on auction. Tolkienlibrary.com .BE. https://tolkienlibrary.com/press/1142-tolkien-letter-to-cotton-minchin-regarding-publication-of-the-lord-of-the-rings.php

4. See John 15:13.

5. See 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 regarding the divine mystery of the cross and God’s outmaneuvering of the forces of darkness. It’s incredible.

6. See Matthew 11:28.

7. See Matthew 10:16.