In 1953, C.S. Lewis preached a sermon called “Weight of Glory” in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford. This and several other pieces by Lewis were combined in the book also called The Weight of Glory.
In arguably the most famous section of the sermon, Lewis laments that people far too often settle for passing pleasures instead of lasting treasures:
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Lewis in general, and in this passage in particular, has been a weighty influence in my thinking and living. Let’s not settle for less. Let’s not find ourselves too easily pleased.
Welcome to my online journal of striving for more.
To paraphrase Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
“Holiday at the Sea is very unevenly edited and contains many passages that simply seemed to its editor like a good idea at the time.”
I hope you enjoy.
Brent Thomas
You can hear an audio recording of Lewis’ sermon at the Internet Archive
You can also read the sermon for yourself at the Internet Archive
Purchase the book at Amazon
Purchase Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy at Amazon