The Weight of Glory - C.S. Lewis

Video from Lamp-Stand

The Weight of Glory - C.S. Lewis

"Working on Part 35 of the Seven Mountains series brought back memories of this essay by C.S. Lewis which I read during my teens. I took a break from Part 35 to put together this reading of The Weight of Glory. Hope people find it edifying!" from video introduction.

The Weight of Glory: C. S. Lewis’s Remarkable (and Surprising) Sermon

"Seventy-five years ago (June 8, 1941) C.S. Lewis ascended the pulpit at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford and delivered “The Weight of Glory,” one of the most insightful sermons of the twentieth century.

At the new Evangelical History blog I will give a historical overview of that presentation—with photographs—and some of the influence that it has had as a subsequent publication. I look at who drove him to the sermon, the weather outside, who attended the sermon, how long it lasted, where it was published, and how it was popularized for Reformed evangelicals in particular.

I suspect that this celebrated address is more “sampled” than read straight through and understood in full. Many of us know the famous opening, where Lewis observes that we have settled for mud pies in the slum, ignorant of a holiday at the sea, and that we are far too easily pleased. Or we might know his section observing that we have never met a mere mortal. But what is the argument of the piece as a whole? Do we know that Lewis takes some surprising turns in this address, such as focusing more upon the glory we will receive from God than upon the glory that we will render to his name?

If you have to choose between reading this post and reading the original, by all means go back to Lewis! But if you could use some motivation or guidance, or simply want a substantial overview of the whole thing, I’ve tried my best to summarize the whole thing, tracing the various places Lewis takes us in this profoundly and edifying meditation.

The Highest Virtue? Love vs. Unselfishness

Almost all good men today would identify the highest virtue as unselfishness in contrast to love, which is how Christians of old would answer. But that means that something negative has replaced something positive, as unselfishness is foregoing good for ourselves, while love is securing good for others..." from the article: The Weight of Glory: C. S. Lewis’s Remarkable (and Surprising) Sermon

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