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C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis At the beach with Clive Staples
Monday, August 17, 2009 at 10:29AM I’m on vacation this week, and it would be impolite not to invite you along. Imagine you’re at the beach: can you hear the gentle Gulf of Mexico waves coming ashore? Can you feel the breeze—which always feels just right? And of course, a beach companion, C.S. Lewis. Rather than try to write anything useful (I left my brain back in Kentucky), I think I’ll let you look over my shoulder and enjoy what I am reading: Reflections on the Psalms
From his essay, “A Word about Praising,” here are a few choice cuts.
“The most obvious fact about praise escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honour. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. The world rings with praise—lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game—praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had not noticed how the humblest and at the same time the most balanced and capacious, minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least. The good critics found something to praise in many imperfect works; the bad ones continually narrowed the list of books we might be allowed to read.”
And later on:
“I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: ‘Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?’ The Psalmists, in telling everyone to praise God, are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about.”
To complete the thought:
“The praise not only expresses, but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete until it is expressed.”
So whether you are at the beach or on the job, I invite you to join the glad celebration: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, enter into His courts with praise.” It will be the sanest thing you do today. Surf's up, gotta go.
Suppose You Had a Friend
Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 10:00PM One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." ~ Luke 11: 1
When his disciples asked Jesus to teach them about prayer, he shared what has come to be known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” The gospels preserve two versions for us, one in Matthew 6 (in the Sermon of the Mount) and the one the follows in Luke, chapter 11. We are tempted to think that after Jesus shared his template for prayer that he was finished answering their question, but the text reveals that he continued to instruct them about prayer.
He continued with seven simple words that forever changed my heart forever toward prayer: “Suppose one of you has a friend . . .” (Luke 11: 5)
After establishing the priorities of worship, the kingdom of God, daily provision and forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus moved the conversation from the content of prayer to the relationship between God and man. The relationship is that of friendship.
He tells the story of two men who knew each other so well that both were unafraid of the other’s response. It’s a thought-provoking account: one guy receives an unexpected visitor late at night and he’s moved by the need to provide hospitality. This man goes to his friend’s house, even though it’s too late for a polite visit and asks for what he needs to give to others. The friend on the inside of the house is so sure of their relationship that he can say, “Don’t bother me.” Both friends are so comfortable with one another that the relationship is never at risk: one guy can show up in the middle of the night, and the other guy can say, “Are you nuts? Go away!” In fact, the relationship is so strong that on the basis of their friendship alone the first guy can say, “I’m not leaving until I get what I need.”
Some friendships stand on stick-legs. They can’t hold much weight. Every conversation has to be measured carefully to avoid damaging the relationship. Jesus, on the other hand, presents the example of a friendship so strong that both men can say exactly what they think without any worry of ruining the bond between them. (A side note: do you have any friendships so strong? If so, you are fortunate indeed!)
Bible scholars will tell you that Jesus paints this picture to illustrate the importance of persistence in prayer, and of course that’s true. But what changed my heart forever was the revelation that Jesus invites us to imagine prayer as an extension of that kind of friendship. If we approach prayer academically we will rush past Jesus' simple introduction, “Suppose.” Jesus asks us to draw on our experience and imagination to think about the best friendship we have, and apply that kind of security and strength to the way we pray.
For me, the point of his illustration is that the friendship itself is the reason we can persist. The reason we can be bold is that we know our rude behavior will not sever the relationship. We can continue to ask, seek, and knock because we know the heart of the one we are “bothering.” He’s our friend. The kind of friend for whom the rules don’t count.
I’d like to suggest at least five thoughts that may change your prayers:
We don’t have to wait for the “proper time” to come and ask. If the situation calls for it, bang on the door in the middle of the night. That’s what real friends can do.
The friendship door swings both ways: he is comfortable in the relationship, too. So comfortable, in fact, that the first answer might be, “Don’t bother me!” Does my picture of God allow for the possibility that I could press through the first answer?
When my friend does answer, he will give me “as much as I need.” (verse 8) Friends don’t keep score, what’s yours is mine, and vice versa. The basis for the generosity is the relationship, not some rules of etiquette.
I can have the boldness to keep on asking when I’m asking on behalf of someone else. Remember how the story starts? There’s a third party in the picture. They are the ones who will eat the bread; they are the ones in need. Jesus is suggesting that when we pray out of our need to bless others, God is more than generous. But how many times have I limited my prayers to my needs?
Finally, Jesus is unafraid to mix metaphors. Just as the power of this imaginary scene is beginning to sink in, Jesus begins to talk about fathers, children, and the Holy Spirit. Can we turn our imagination in still another direction? Perhaps, but that’s another blog for another day.
Monday's Meditation: The Problem with Seeking
Monday, August 10, 2009 at 09:35AM “Today, being a seeker is almost more acceptable than being a finder. If you've found something you believe in, you are perceived as close-minded.” ~ Dick Staub. This quote is a little bit like the sermon, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming:” once you’ve read the title, you’ve got the idea.
The Apostle Paul was pretty hard on continual seekers: “Always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7). When you read from the beginning of the chapter, the whole passage reveals that this attitude is a sign the "last days." And Biblically speaking, we’ve been in the last days since Jesus ascended to the Father.
Yet the Biblical witness is that God does not turn away the hungry. He rewards those who diligently seek him. God has mercy on the bruised; he won’t extinguish a smoldering flame. It’s equally true that God treats us with greater dignity and respect than most of us are aware of. One way he does so is by holding us accountable for that which we know.
Sometimes the Father is kind enough to hide things from us until he knows we are desperate enough to act. He’s a good steward. He doesn’t put pearls before swine because that would be a waste. He does not share information just to satisfy curiosity, because that might bring judgment on those who are unwilling to act—and God takes judgment far more seriously than do we.
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” (Proverbs 25: 2) Really? Is it true that God demonstrates his glory by hiding things from us? I’d like to suggest that one reason may be that the “kingly” are those bold enough to act upon what they find.
This Monday, I need to ask myself: “what has God shown me already?” And then ask the more important question: “Have I sold everything I have in order to lay hold of what he has already revealed?"
Ours to Give
Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 08:58PM The Apostle Paul opened every letter with the words “grace and peace.” Some people might think it a formality, but these words--even if they were formalities--were breathed out by the Holy Spirit.
I believe that Paul gave each congregation grace and peace because they were his to give. Jesus had instructed the original twelve: “Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, ‘peace to this house.’” (Luke 10:5) Jesus had in mind something more than words, because he observed that the greeting of peace could rest upon the people in that house, or return to the one that gave the greeting. This peace Jesus instructed the disciples to give was something real, something tangible, no less tangible than handing someone a loaf of bread. Decades later, Paul, a follower of Jesus, wrote to the churches of God scattered across the Roman world, and his first words are “grace and peace.”
Paul himself possessed grace and peace. He apparently had a surplus: he could give it away. In many cases Paul was the founder of the church to which he wrote. He wrote to encourage what was good in these churches and to offer correction for whatever needed help. I wonder how often look upon correction and teaching as sources of the peace and grace of God. For those who have given it any thought at all, God’s grace and peace should be prized above almost anything else in our lives. Many of Paul’s churches faced persecution from the outside, some experienced disagreements on the inside. All of them needed these eternal gifts. They were so important that Paul presented these gifts up front, just as a guest would before entering a house.
Part of the lesson for me is that Paul wanted his friends to experience God's grace and peace, and when necessary he brought powerful words of reproof. From our perspective twenty centuries later we understand that each letter was the word of God--then and now. Those people who first heard the words of Paul read aloud in the congregation had a choice: they could listen beyond the mere words of the letter and in so doing receive the grace and peace offered them, or, like the householder in Luke 10 refuse to receive the grace of God and the peace of God has it appeared to them.
How often does God’s grace or peace appear to us in some form we may not recognize? Do we receive the words of loved ones as God’s grace in our lives? Do we consider that the instruction we receive from those in authority has the potential to bring God’s peace?
Finally, I think we also need to consider: what is ours to give? Have we received some measure of grace? Of peace? Jesus had straightforward instructions to his followers: “freely you’ve received, therefore freely give.” If we have received any grace from God (and I hope we have!) then we have it to give. Don’t worry, you won’t run out! Paul’s famous words from Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” were not words he claimed exclusively for himself. He was speaking them over those who were listening to his letter. Many believers have quoted this verse on their own behalf in order to fight off guilt and condemnation. Have we ever quoted them on behalf of others?
And if God has given us peace in any area of our lives, well then, we have that to give as well. One disciple may have learned the secret of contentment with respect to financial matters. Another may have learned how to place everyday fears at the feet of Jesus, and so on--do we ever consider that what peace we have received in our walk with God might be the very thing we can teach others? He blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others.
Our everyday lives are just like the times in which Paul wrote his letters. The words, “grace and peace” are not mere formalities, they are ours to give.
Monday's Meditation: Grace and Peace
Monday, August 3, 2009 at 10:38AM 
Lately, though, I’m beginning to think that all of the Bible is inspired, even the “formalities” like greetings and blessings. Here are just a couple of examples: if we took the time to think about the first four verses of II Peter our view of God’s grace and peace wold be forever changed. Or, if we resisted the urge to finish the book of Hebrews too quickly the last six verses in the letter would send us away with enough encouragement to last a month.
Did you ever notice that every one of Paul’s letters open with the words “Grace and peace?” Perhaps Paul was just being nice, and he really didn’t mean those words. Perhaps that’s the way all such letters began and no one took them seriously. Or, perhaps--just perhaps--the Holy Spirit and Paul considered grace and peace as indispensable in the Christian life.
What better day than a Monday to stop and meditate over one simple idea: we need his grace and peace in our lives every day. In practical terms--everyday living--what do God's grace and peace look like in my life? His grace and peace are first steps in a mature walk with God. His grace and peace are abundant enough that we can give them away every time we greet one another. So my greeting to you as we start our week: grace to you, and peace.