Beowulf Reflection

After Beowulf slaughters Grendel’s mother, he presents the hilt of the ancient sword to Hrothgar, upon which Hrothgar gives a speech. In this speech, Hrothgar lauds Beowulf as a great hero, and contrasts him with Heremond, a bad king who estranged himself from his people. Because of the dangers of power, Hrothgar gives a warning to Beowulf. He describes how it is easy to fall into the trap of believing yourself to be invincible. God will grant a man “fulfillment and felicity on earth,” and this man will be lulled into thinking that all is well and his fortune will never let him down. He forgets to be wary of enemies. He “ignores the shape of things to come.” He forgets that one day he will die. “Beware of that trap. Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part, eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride.”

Not many of us are kings, and yet, Hrothgar’s warning is applicable to all, for we are all kings over our souls. Each of our souls is a kingdom (or to a Platonist, a republic!) that has been entrusted to our care. It is easy for us, during a time of spiritual wealth, to become overconfident and proud, and we fail to be wary of the enemy around us. We become like the unsuspecting town that Grendel pounces on. And thus, when the enemy does come, we are unprepared to fight him. Hrothgar describes how he himself fell into this trap, believing that his enemies had “faded from the face of the earth.” It was then that the enemy struck. And not an earthly enemy, either, but a monster too terrible to speak of.

One of my dad’s favorite sayings is, “Be ready to make friends, be ready to meet foes, be ready to escape danger, be ready to overcome challenges, and be ready to paddle hard.” This kind of vigilance, or “being ready,” does not go hand in hand with false pride. The bible tells us about the importance of being vigilant on numerous occasions. We must be vigilant against false prophets disguised as sheep. We must be vigilant against sin. We must “keep your heart with all vigilance; for from it flows the springs of life”

Most importantly of all, we must be always ready and waiting for our Master to come back. For while we are, in a sense, kings of our souls, the buck does not stop with us. We will answer to the mightiest Lord when he comes to claim the kingdom that is rightfully his. Like Grendel in the night, our Master will come, and at that time, we will not have a Beowulf to fight for us as Hrothgar did. We will have to speak for ourselves on that great and terrible day. Will we be ready? Be vigilant.