Lesser-Known Lewis: Christian Reflections on C. S. Lewis's Essays and Short Works S2E16 Lent — "Miserable Offenders" (Part 1)
Exploring C. S. Lewis' 1946 sermon, "Miserable Offenders," where he defends the language of the Anglican prayer book, referring to ourselves as "miserable offenders," asking for God to give us "contrite hearts," and confessing that the burden of our sins is "intolerable." Lewis is adamant that this has nothing to do with how we feel, but is a statement of fact and one we, as Christians, must come to grips with if we are to be honest and to be saints. His message is challenging but leads us straight into the loving arms of Jesus during the season of Lent.
You can read "Miserable Offenders" here. To read ahead, links are here: "The Trouble with 'X'," and "On Forgiveness," or audio versions can be listened to on YouTube, here: "The Trouble with 'X'," and "On Forgiveness."
The music for this episode is a song called "Collect for Lent," performed by David Stroeve, composed by Jordan Duncan and David Stroeve, from the Collect for the Second Sunday in Lent from the Episcopal Prayer Book. David Stroeve's album The Cathedral Project, is on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Music. See especially "The Jesus Prayer," and "God of Mercy" as excellent meditative worship songs for Lent.
The lyrics for the song, "Collect for Lent" are: "Oh God, whose glory it is to have mercy, be gracious to all who've gone astray from Your ways, lead us again with penitent hearts, and steadfast faith to hold fast and embrace the unchangeable truth, Your Word: Jesus Christ, Your Son, who with You and the Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Have mercy, have mercy, have mercy."
Links to resources Jordan mentioned for understanding the secular age we live in:
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