One of the last events Jordan and I attended together was a Lecture on C.S. Lewis given by renowned Irish Christian apologist, Dr. Alister McGrath, at LCU in Lubbock in April, 2013, one month before Jordan passed away. Jordan loved C.S. Lewis and all things Narnia. In fact, Jordan’s world took on a Narnian vibe, of sorts.
The evening we spent together listening to McGrath was magical. Lewis, a former atheist, was Jordan’s favorite “defender of the Christian faith,” and McGrath did a brilliant job of giving insight into Lewis’ literary & theological world. At the conclusion of McGrath’s lecture, during a “Q & A” moment, someone asked McGrath, “Of all of Lewis’ writings, what is your favorite?” Without hesitation, McGrath replied,”It is Lewis’ sermon entitled, ‘The Weight of Glory.” (Lewis first delivered this sermon on June 8, 1941, in Oxford, England, to a packed church.)
As soon as I could, I purchased a copy of Lewis’ “The Weight of Glory”, and found it was about a believer’s entrance into heaven. In the introduction, Oxford professor, Walter Hooper, writes, “Lewis has probably accomplished as much as any modern writer, both in fiction and in his sermons, to make Heaven believable.”
I can picture in my mind right now Jordan asking Lewis about “all things Narnia” as they stroll the unfathomable beauty of Paradise together.
nw