C.S. Lewis Archives | Mary Jo Sharp

How C.S. Lewis Wrecked My American Christmas

Posted on December 21, 2016February 25, 2022 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

I grew up dreaming of a white Christmas with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. Christmas was about red, green and white. It was about lights on houses, displays in stores and snowy weather. Christmas was a time of stressful hurrying about to make the desserts, see the family, give to charity, wrap up school work, find the perfect presents and watch that newest movie on which I waited all year. It was about parties and friends and church musicals. Oh…and it was also about Jesus. As the slogan reminds me, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Of course “Jesus is the reason,” but there were also so many expectations this time of year. Specifically, and prominently, there were my expectations of the holidays. All of these things seem to stem from traditions to which I have clung from childhood to the present. I wanted to feel a certain way, and I was going to pursue that feeling at all costs.

Yet something unexpected happened this holiday season. I finished reading The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis and his writing interrupted my entire holiday mindset. What did he do? Let me share three ways Lewis wrecked my American Christmas.

1) Lewis made me aware that what I thought I had to do, or had to have, during the holidays was all a pretense; traditions taking the place of real contentment and joy.

Traditions, in of themselves, are not inherently bad, but I hadn’t realized how much I was clinging to American Christmas ideology and visions for my happiness[1] at this time of year. All of these traditions should serve as signposts pointing toward the source of the traditions. Instead, the signposts have been replacing the source of joy. Lewis’ writing helped me to reflect upon my abuse of the traditions in the place of the source. He helped me to understand my humanity in a fallen world. From what or whom, exactly, do humans derive their contentedness? Where can I find real joy? Would I even recognize real joy? Even the human vision of what is beautiful and good has become distorted. Christmas should be a reminder of the pure goodness, beauty and joy found in the nature of God; a momentary vision of restoration.

2) Lewis made me long for an advent that was deeper and more mysterious than my wish to have family, quiet and the perfect gifts.

Every year, I seem to slam into the holidays with my head spinning. I rarely get a moment to process the meaning of Christmas, of the Incarnation of God. This time of year is the time to pull back the curtain of American culture—the heavy veil of individualistic desire—and to gaze upon the real story, salvation history. What was God doing so many years ago? Why did He send the second person of the Trinity as incarnate on earth? How does this act make a difference in my life? Where do I fit into the story of God’s redemption on earth? What does His gift mean for those around me? These are the questions of the Christmas mystery. God gave us the perfect gift of Himself, in a way that we didn’t expect. Nothing else I can procure or produce at Christmastime comes close to the vision of God’s act of beauty and goodness: His gift of peace on earth and His goodwill towards men.

3) Lewis gave me a sense of longing for another world of which I’ve never felt before. Everything else fades before the desire welling up in me for the goodness of His presence.

While I won’t trash all my American Christmas traditions, I will definitely enter into the season with a bit more caution for how I view and participate in those traditions. If I must have anything other than the beauty and wonder of the Lord Jesus in order to fulfill my heart at this time of year (that pumpkin spice latte, family gathering, or pristinely decorated tree), I have made that thing an idol; no matter how innocuous the thing appears.

So perhaps Lewis didn’t wreck my American Christmas but rather salvaged it by reminding me of the source of joy. Therefore, I’ll sing those holiday songs, decorate with red, white, and green, grab that perfect gift for someone I love…and do all things as a reflection of the goodness of God’s redemptive act in human history. Let the love that God has for you affect all those around you. Be reminded that God came into darkness as glorious light. He broke into our kingdom with his own kingdom. This season we celebrate the goodness of God. We celebrate His love of the creation.

[1] Not to mention the problem of seeking happiness, which itself comes with so much cultural baggage.

Can There be Meaning in the Suffering?

Posted on February 21, 2007June 24, 2020 by confidentchristianity@gmail.com

I friend of mine wrote this reflection on suffering just after we started the original Confident Christianity blog together in 2006. I have updated the post with my added response to the reflection (2020).

Horatio Gates Spafford, in 1873 penned the lyrics to It is well with my soul. He wrote theses lyrics after losing his four daughters in an Atlantic Voyage, which came on the heels of losing his fortune in the Chicago fire. He is among the many that journey through the valley of suffering.

All people at some point in life are affected by suffering. It may be one of the most difficult aspects challenging the Christian faith. It can occur in many different forms, such as losing a loved one, battling a sickness, experiencing devastation from nature, losing a job and the list continues. So, where is God in all of this suffering?

“It needs to be said at once that the Bible supplies no thorough solution to the problem of evil, whether ‘natural’ evil or ‘moral’ that is, whether in the form of suffering or of sin. Its purpose is more practical than philosophical.
Consequently, although there are references to sin and suffering on virtually every page, its concern is not to explain their origin but to help us to overcome them.”[1]

Also note that evil was not originally created for this world and it is only temporary. There will be a new heaven and a new earth in which there will be no more pain (Rev. 21:1-4). However, there can be purpose in suffering and pain in the here and now.

Here are a few views to consider.

One of the purposes of suffering and pain is to “Bring Glory and Honor to God”[2]. In the book of John it is written:
As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:1-3).

Secondly, suffering “Reminds Us of the Fragility of Life”[3].
“Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

A Third purpose reveals the heart of a person and “Demonstrates a Person’s Character”[4]. Look at what God allowed in the life of Job.
“The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8). Job ended up losing his wealth and family, but ultimately realized that God truly was his refuge and one he could trust. In the end, he regained his wealth and was blessed with another family. Eventually, Job stated “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5).

At this point the idea must be considered that the ultimate goal in suffering is not a quick recovery, but instead a victory glorifying God. Jesus, himself is not untouched from suffering, but instead suffered for many. ‘For who could believe in God, if it were not for the cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?”[5] It is through the cross that people are able to run the race with endurance and find victory through suffering.

In closing, James put it this way “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing”
(James 1:2-4).

Deanna

Books you can review on suffering:
The book of Job
Philip Yancy, Where is God when it hurts?
C.S. Lewis, Problem of Pain

My response
I would agree with Deanna that there is no thorough solution to moral and natural evil supplied in the Biblical text in some sense; such as in ending all evil here and now. However, I would caveat that there is a thorough solution to the overall problem of evil as found in the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the death of Jesus, we see God Incarnate taking on the devastating consequence of human evil. The resurrection of Jesus shows us that God has effectually put down or “defeated” this consequence of our evil, by reversing its major effect: death. Whereas there was once only the consequence of death, there is now and forever the redemption of life. God has redeemed his good creation through giving it life once again.

At least one of the reasons Deanna offered for why suffering exists at all relates to what is known as a “soul-building theodicy.” Humankind suffers to bring forth virtuous character qualities that may not be achieved without the testing of their character. However, I ascribe to a Plantingian Free Will Defense that there is no possible world that God could logically actualize in which humankind has true freedom and yet never commits any evil.

Some references for my response
– Alvin Plantinga, God Freedom and Evil
– Clay Jones, Why Does God Allow Evil?

[1] Stott, John R. W., The Cross of Christ, Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press, 1986.
[2] Smith M.D., Robert D., The Christian Counselor’s Medical Desk Reference, Stanley NC, Timeless Texts 2000.
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
[5] Stott, John R. W., The Cross of Christ, Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press, 1986.