PITY THE FOOL:

Like Scrooge, Gollum is possessed by his possessions. In Gollum's case, having been possessed by his possession of the Ring, he is possessed by his desire for its re-possession after the Ring is taken from him. Like Scrooge, he is a slave to the darkness of sin to which he is addicted. "A slave," writes the philosopher, Thomas S. Martin, "is a person who cannot restrain himself before the appetites of the body and the excessive desire for external possessions." Such a person can either be held in scorn and contempt, or he can be pitied. What, therefore, is to be done with Gollum? More to the point, what is to be done with all those gollumized souls who have enslaved themselves narcissistically and pridefully to themselves? What is to be done with those who are so addicted to their own self-empowerment, that they no longer have the power to give themselves to others in the love that will set them free? Are they to be scorned or are they to be pitied? Do we loathe them or do we love them? The hobbits in The Lord of the Rings learn to pity Gollum and to show him mercy. They know "the agony of Gollum's shrivelled mind and body, enslaved to that Ring, unable to find peace or relief ever in life again." They know his affliction and they pity him for it, showing him mercy. In doing so, they love the miserable sinner, even as they loathe his miserable sin. This is the spirit of giving ourselves to others which is the spirit of Christmas. May we all be blessed with it this Christmas.

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