Describing his role model, C.S. Lewis, Markos says, “He brought together reason and imagination in a way that no one has done. As a writer, Lewis believes in the Bible, but he understands that many of his readers don’t. You need to find common ground and then draw them to the Bible. How are you going to tell them about Christ if they don’t believe in God?”
On the last weekend in October we will welcome Dr. Louis Markos to St Mark’s-Shreverpot as a guest lecturer. I am excited to welcome someone who has found a fellow traveler and soul kinship with CS Lewis to visit with our congregation. In my own life of trying to understand the message of Jesus, how Jesus understood himself, as well as how we are called to follow in our own days and times, works by teachers like Lewis and Dr. Markos have become invaluable to me. There are heights and depths toward which the scriptures are pointing that I find my life cannot easily fathom. Those writers and thinkers who study the scriptures looking for the treasure of God’s light and wisdom remind me of the videos of water dowsers that I have seen in the past.
Dowsers are people who walk over the land with rods or sticks in their hands hoping to discover those spots where the forces of gravity, and perhaps other forces, pull upon the instruments in their hands letting them know water is near. Many folks think it is simply a folksy old wives-tale that we can find water beneath the ground by strolling back and forth waiting for a stick in the hand to tremble, indicating that the water is beneath our feet; I am not so sure, some folks swear by it. But I do find that there is something similar at work when gifted individuals peruse the scriptures with an ear and a heart turned toward heaven; people like Lewis and Dr. Markos have this “sense” that when we approach scripture that we are treading over a great ocean of meaning; a world near to us is beckoning. I hope that you will give yourself the opportunity to walk along with us Oct. 29-31 as we unlock some treasures from “Mere Chrisitianity” and the life of faith that Lewis shared with the world.
The promise of Jesus is that there is a meaning for each of us in that ocean that lay just below our feet.
Many Blessings and Godspeed.
The Carpenter's Nail 