C.S. Lewis Quote #5

Just a short quote today - one on offerings.  The picture is of The Kilns, the house that C.S. Lewis owned and lived in from 1930 until his death in 1963.  It is located in Headington, a suburb of Oxford.

All our offerings, whether of music or martyrdom, are like the intrinsically worthless present of a child, which a father values indeed, but values only for the intention.

from "Christian Reflections - On Church Music"

C.S. Lewis Quote #4

The greatness of C.S. Lewis is measured by his words and the impact they had on many, many lives.  However Lewis was wary of greatness as evidenced in today's quote.  When reading these words of Lewis I thought of the many extremists functioning in our world today, as well as the terrible behaviour of many human leaders throughout history.  Humility is the essential balancing agent needed. 

It seems that there is a general rule in the moral universe which may be formulated "The higher, the more in danger." The "average sensual man" who is sometimes unfaithful to his wife, sometimes tipsy, always a little selfish, now and then (within the law) a trifle sharp in his deals, is certainly, by ordinary standards, a "lower" type than the man whose soul is filled with some great Cause, to which he will subordinate his appetites, his fortune, and even his safety. But it is our of the second man that something really fiendish can be made; and Inquisitor, a Member of the Committee of Public Safety. It is great men, potential saints, no little men, who become merciless fanatics. Those who are readiest to die for a cause may easily become those who are readiest to kill for it.

  from "Reflections on the Psalms"

The above picture is of the very typewriter that most of Lewis' books and letters were hammered out on - not by C.S. Lewis himself, but most often by his brother Warnie, who functioned as secretary, turning Lewis' handwritten manuscripts into typed pages.

P.S.  The Committee of Public Safety mentioned in the Lewis quote refers to a group that functioned within the French Revolution.

C.S. Lewis Quote #3

Ever since the infamous 13th man debacle at the end of the 2010 Grey Cup I must admit that I have a certain amount of anxiety whenever the Saskatchewan Roughriders are playing a significant game.  Thankfully by the end of the Grey Cup game yesterday, the Riders had the game thoroughly in control, and my anxiety was minimal.  In honor of the great Grey Cup win by the Roughriders yesterday today's quote from C.S. Lewis is about anxiety.  The picture in the post is an exterior shot of Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry, where Lewis worshiped regularly.

The first thing, when one is being worried as to whether one will have to have an operation or whether one is a literary failure, is to assume absolutely mercilessly that the worst is true, and to ask What Then? If it turns out in the end that the worst is not true, so much the better: but for the meantime the question must be resolutely put out of mind. Otherwise your thoughts merely go round and round a wearisome circle, now hopeful, now despondent, then hopeful again – that way madness lies. Having settled then that the worst is true, one can proceed to consider the situation.

from "The Letters of C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves"

The One Sunday that I Hoped No One Would Come to Church

The date was November 26th 1989.  I was in my fourth year of ministry at Christ Lutheran Church in Regina, Saskatchewan.  At that time our church was holding three worship services each Sunday, two in the morning and one in the evening.  The evening services were intended to provide an opportunity for those who couldn’t make it to the morning services to still worship on a Sunday.  These evening services were more informal by nature and, truth be told, not that well attended.  The responsibility for presiding at these evening services simply rotated between the three pastors on staff.  Sunday November 26th was my turn in the rotation.

When the preaching schedule was drawn up for November I didn’t anticipate any conflicts, however that month the Saskatchewan Roughriders went on a tear through the playoffs, beating the Calgary Stampeders in the Western Semi-final, and then surprising everyone with their defeat of the dominant team of the league that year, the Edmonton Eskimoes (who were 16 wins, 2 losses in the regular season) – thus advancing to the Grey Cup game as the best of the west.  November 26th was the Grey Cup game!

It must be mentioned at this point that prior to 1989 the Saskatchewan Roughriders had only won the Canadian Football League championship once, in 1966 – even though they had been in existence since 1910.  They had not advanced to the Grey Cup game since 1976, they hadn’t even made the playoffs between 1978 and 1987 – this happening in a 9 team league where only the absolutely worst teams in a division don’t make the playoffs.  Thus to be playing in the Grey Cup game in 1989 was cause for great excitement in the province of Saskatchewan, it was a rare event in those years.

By this time I had become a fan of the Riders. Perhaps this was because I liked cheering for the underdog, and in those years the Saskatchewan team was a perpetual underdog, or perhaps there is something in the air in Regina, and the Riders simply get into your blood. For whatever reason by 1989 this Alberta boy was a true Saskatchewan Roughriders fan.

I was frustrated that I had to lead the service that evening, and I would have to miss the end of the Grey Cup game because of that, but I told myself that my call to ministry was more important than any activity of a sports team.

In the early part of the game the Roughriders fell behind, and I consoled myself by saying “Well maybe it’s better to have a reason to miss the end of the game, and not have to suffer through watching a heartbreaking loss”.  That feeling was replaced with rejuvenated hope when just before half time Saskatchewan scored their second touchdown of the quarter, drawing within a touchdown to the Hamilton Tigercats.  In the first minutes of the second half Dave Ridgway kicked a field goal pulling the Riders within 2 points of the Tigercats.  This was about the time I had to head over to the church to get ready for the service.

On the drive over to the church the streets were absolutely quiet, everyone was glued to their television sets, no one was going anywhere… except me!  I got to the church where the first thing I did was place a radio in the pulpit so I could listen to the game while setting up for the service.  The game was getting more exciting by the minute, and I was getting more frustrated that I had to miss it.  Five minutes before 7:00 PM the church was still empty, no one was showing up for the worship service. Secretly I hoped that no one would – I wanted to go home and finish watching the game.  I felt a little guilty about this, shouldn’t a pastor want people to come to worship?!  But not that night, I wanted people to stay away!  At the appointed hour still no one had come through the doors, and I became hopeful that I would indeed be able to watch the end of the game.  I couldn’t leave yet, there might be late-comers, so I set a deadline – if no one showed up in 10 minutes I would assume no one was coming and I could leave my responsibility with a good conscience.

A few minutes after the hour a car pulled into the parking lot, and my heart sank. I was going to have to lead a worship service after all.  I began to resign myself to missing the rest of the game. It was not a good feeling.

Into the church walked a woman with her teenaged daughter.  They looked around a little and spotted me at the front of the sanctuary.  The mom called out “Isn’t there any youth group tonight?”  My heart leapt up!  They weren't here for worship after all.  “No, not tonight!” I cheerfully replied.  And with that they waved goodbye, and walked out again.  I was free, by this time it was 10 minutes after the hour and no one had shown up for worship.  I quickly packed up, locked up the church and drove home.

As any Saskatchewan Roughrider fan knows, 1989 the second time in franchise history that the Riders won the Grey Cup.  It was quite a game, with the winning points coming on a field goal with no time left on the clock.  Many CFL fans have identified the 1989 game as the best Grey Cup contest ever.  There was much rejoicing in Riderville that night, and maybe even lots of prayers of thanksgiving.  It may be only a game, but in Saskatchewan the Roughriders are almost like a religion, even for pastors.

Dave Ridgway kicks the winning field goal with no time left on the clock in the 1989 Grey Cup game.

C.S. Lewis Quote #2

The picture I share today is of the pew in Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry that C.S. Lewis and his brother Warnie sat in every week for many years.  Once Lewis moved into The Kilns this was the church he attended, this was the church he prayed in Sunday after Sunday. He rarely missed a service here, except when he wasn't home.  This pew allowed Lewis both some privacy (since only 2 or 3 people could sit in it, and it was partially hidden behind the pillar) and yet gave Lewis full view of the pulpit and altar.  Lewis didn't want his attendance at this church to distract from worship - they were there to give God the honor, not to have people fawn over this celebrated author.  When I sat in this pew I had an unexpected range of feelings wash over me, everything from grief to awe - it brought me to tears. It was the most mystical, surprising and powerful moment in my visits to Oxford.

In conjunction with this picture I offer this quote from C.S. Lewis on prayer:

"There are, no doubt, passages in the New Testament which may seem at first sight to promise an invariable granting of our prayers. But that cannot be what they really mean. For in the very heart of the story we meet a glaring instance to the contrary. In Gethsemane the holiest of all petitioners prayed three times that a certain cup might pass from Him. It did not. After that the idea that prayer is recommended to us as a sort of infallible gimmick may be dismissed."

from "The World's Last Night and Other Essays".

The Legacy of Lewis

50 years ago today a great man died, but his passing went unnoticed by most simply because it coincided with the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  The man I am referring to has been on the cover of Time magazine, he has been one of the world’s most popular and best-selling authors (in many genres), he is acknowledged by many as the most significant Christian writer of the English speaking world in the past century.  This man has had some of his books made into successful Hollywood movies, and together with his friend J.R.R. Tolkein he created a resurgence of interest in fantasy literature.  By now many of you reading this entry will recognize that I am referring to Clive Staples Lewis, or C.S. Lewis as he is better known.

I was first introduced to Lewis’ writings by Pastor Dan Berg.  While tagging along with the Berg family on a trip to Kinasao camp at Christopher Lake in Saskatchewan I was able to enjoy the nightly reading sessions when a chapter or two from the Chronicles of Narnia were read out loud to the whole clan.  I remember being captivated by this imaginative world with its unforgettable characters, especially Aslan the lion.

In college I found others who appreciated C.S. Lewis, and we would often talk about what we had read, and how that had opened our minds to new understandings, new perspectives and new questions.  It was at this time that I first read Lewis’ space trilogy, having become a Science Fiction fan in High School, and once again I was drawn into Lewis’ world of layered meaning and Christian significance.

C.S. Lewis was never trained as a theologian, and never claimed to be one, yet his way of discussing matters of theology and spirituality shaped my theological thinking. Thus while Lewis was never referred to in my Seminary training I find that whenever I  attempt to discuss matters of the Christian faith with another person it is significant how often I  will refer to an example, or quote from Lewis.  This is not to say that I always agree with Lewis – there are plenty of points of contention, but these areas of disagreement are only a small percentage of what Lewis has set forth, and most of them are created by a cultural difference that comes from living over half a century apart.

Over the years C.S. Lewis has become so significant to me that when my wife and I travelled to Europe a few years ago, to celebrate our 25 years of marriage, it was important to me to include Oxford in the itinerary.  While in Oxford we took a C.S. Lewis Tour with Ron Brind, who was a childhood friend of Lewis’ step-children. We got to see Magdalen College where Lewis taught, the Eagle and Child pub where Lewis met weekly with a group of friends known as the Inklings, Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry where Lewis worshiped every Sunday for most of his adult life, and most significantly The Kilns, the home of C.S. Lewis from 1930 until his death in 1963.

Three years later the whole family went to Europe, and again we made our way to Oxford where I took in a week long course at Wycliffe College and the family took in the sites of Oxford.  Once again I was able to visit these significant sites for C.S. Lewis.  Also on that trip we visited Westminster Abbey in London, and I was surprised to discover that C.S. Lewis was not commemorated in Poet’s Corner – an oversight that is happily being rectified this very day.

Thus today, 50 years after his death, in honor of Lewis’ memorial being dedicated in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, and in my small way to help Lewis’ significance not get totally lost in all the hype and nostalgia around J.F. Kennedy’s assassination (conspiracy theories et al.) I intend to daily post a quote from C.S. Lewis, along with a picture from Oxford related to Lewis’ history for the remainder of this year.  I thought it appropriate today to post a picture of Lewis’ grave along with this quote from Mere Christianity:

There is no need to be worried by facetious people who try to make the Christian hope of “Heaven” ridiculous by saying they do not want “to spend eternity playing harps.” The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them. All the scriptural imagery (harps, crowns, gold, etc.) is, of course, a merely symbolical attempt to express the inexpressible.  … People who take these symbols literally might as well think that when Christ told us to be like doves, He meant that we were to lay eggs.

Thank you C.S. Lewis for your wit and wisdom, your imagination and insight – may your legacy continue to flourish for fifty more years and beyond.