C.S. Lewis and the Delightful, Diabolical Daring of Lent:
A Lenten Companion to “The Screwtape Letters”
The 40 days of Lent poetically evoke the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness being “tested by the devil” – and in one of his most beloved works of fiction, C.S. Lewis turned a satirical eye on the idea of such “testing.”
The result was “The Screwtape Letters,” a playful, perceptive study of human life and struggle through the eyes of two fanciful characters: Wormwood, a young demon-in-training, and Screwtape, his uncle and mentor. Through 31 letters – by turns comic and devastating – Screwtape advises his nephew about how best to sabotage a human being’s attempts to live a faithful, fruitful, beautiful life.
And so this Lenten season, what better way to participate in Jesus’ 40 days of being “tested in the wilderness” than to walk with C.S. Lewis, leaning into the power of literature to provoke thought and inspire action. With humor, wit, and imagination, Lewis explores an array of familiar, everyday struggles – and thereby helps us chart a way forward, into the delight and renewal of Easter morning and beyond.
So grab your favorite Bible and a copy of “The Screwtape Letters” (it’s available as a free pdf online, as well as from booksellers for less than $10; there’s even an audiobook read by John Cleese, of Monty Python fame!). Week by week, we’ll travel through these 40 days with C.S. Lewis as our guide, making us laugh, reflect, and prepare for the joy of Easter in a whole new way.
We will have printed copies of the daily devotional available at church on February 11, and will mail out e-book files for those of us who prefer e-readers over paper with the e-news on February 8.