Lewis told of his recurring temptation to just "dabble and splash" with God ("that sea," after the term by St. John of the Cross) and neither "dive nor swim nor float, careful not to get out of my depth and holding on to the lifeline of the temporal" (worldly as opposed to spiritual). Sometime before, he had made a slip of the tongue by exchanging the words "eternal" and "temporal" in a prayer. The whole sermon was Lewis' way of explaining his almost constant battle to separate the spiritual from the worldly in his life, and to not let temporal desires weaken his spiritual life with God.

It is interesting to note that in the first Shadowlands -- the video made in the 80's starring Joss Ackland and Claire Bloom -- there is a scene which illustrates the point Lewis was making in "A Slip of the Tongue." Early in the video, Lewis and his future wife Joy Gresham were walking near Magdalene College. In trying to explain his faith to her, he asked Joy if she "knew how to dive." He then explained that when he first became a Christian he was afraid to "let go"; he was always "holding on to something." He told Joy that he learned what Christianity was really about by "letting go" of himself, and by ending his own desire for self-preservation. In learning "to dive," the same principle held; a person must jump in and let go of his or her fears. So in this sermon, when Lewis told his hearers about his temptation just "to dabble" in God, instead of "taking a leap of faith," he was telling them about something very near to the center of his faith.

C. S. Lewis was a powerful and effective preacher. Although primarily an apologist and "literary evangelist," it is to his credit that he used his versatile gifts well and effectively in the pulpit. He was equally at ease preaching to sophisticated Oxford dons and students as well as to soldiers and laypeople. His creative imagination, wonderful use of language, and great empathy for his fellow human beings produced a Christian who was a powerful and effective communicator of the faith.

Lewis' sermons were not "popular preaching," as noted. But their theological insights and brilliant practical wisdom make their reading and study well worth the effort for the modern preacher.

Perry C. Bramlett is the founder of "C. S. Lewis for the Local Church," a teaching ministry of seminars, retreats, and book studies on the life and works of C. S. Lewis. He can he contacted at 123 Bonner Ave., Louisville, KY 40207, (502) 897-7457.