Preaching is a serious business, in which we try to use human words to help our audience understand and connect with the transformative reality of God. It’s always good to draw on the insights of someone who had mastered the use of words to express the core themes of the Christian faith. So what does C. S. Lewis have to say about ‘joy’, and its relevance for preaching? At many points in his writings, Lewis speaks of ‘an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.’ And having described this experience of a deep yearning for something of ultimate significance, Lewis went on to name it. ‘I call it Joy.’
Several of Lewis’s sermons have been preserved, including a remarkable sermon titled ‘The Weight of Glory’ preached in Oxford during the depths of the Second World War. One of the most important features of this sermon is its engagement with human feelings and longings. We long for something that will really satisfy us, bring us happiness, and allow us to achieve fulfilment. Some seek it in fame, others in fortune, and some in their possessions. Yet time and time again, we find ourselves disappointed and disillusioned. What we thought was our heart’s true desire fails us. From a distance, it seemed to hold the key to the meaning of life. Yet when we finally grasped it, we found it crumbled into dust, leaving us empty and unsatisfied.
Lewis knew this feeling well; his genius lay in expressing it in words, and pointing to its true goal. It is through realising that nothing in this world can ultimately satisfy us that we come to realise that God is helping us to find our true happiness. Only by exposing the shallowness and inadequacy of the pleasure given by this transient world can God open our eyes to where our true delight and goal lie – namely, in embracing the living God.
