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1925 was the year in which C S Lewis took up
residency at Magdalen College, Oxford as tutor in English Language and
Literature. The writer and biographer Humphrey Carpenter, in his excellent
book The Inklings, describes the difficulties Lewis, a man of formidable
intellect and social instincts, had in finding like-minded people with
whom to share his enthusiasms. In a letter to a friend he penned the
telling lines, "Oh, for the people who speak one's own language." It
was shortly after this that he met JRR Tolkien amongst others who finally
gave him the fellowship he so earnestly sought.
Another companion who would join this happy band of intellectuals during
the war was Charles Williams, a member of the editorial department of
the Oxford University Press. He, with his colleagues, had moved down
from London for the duration and found himself in the company of some
great minds. He expressed his appreciation of such fellowship in a book
he later wrote, The Place of the Lion:
"Much was possible to a man in solitude,
but some things were possible only to a man in companionship, and of
these the most important was balance. No mind was so good that it didn't
need another mind to counter and equal it, and to save it from conceit
bigotry and folly."
We are made for companionship and the absence altogether of that good
fellowship of kindred spirits is one of the greatest emptinesses we
can experience. The Psalmist wrote:
How good and pleasant it is when brothers
live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon
the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling
on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forever
more. (Ps.113)
In this week's passage we find the great apostle expressing appreciation
for the same close fellowship that so often can bring out the best of
who we are.
Tychicus he describes as:
"A Dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord."
Onesimus is:
"Our faithful and dear brother, who is
one with you."
Aristarchus, Mark and Justus are:
"The only Jews among my fellow workers
for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me."
Epaphras is:
"A servant of Christ Jesus…always wrestling
in prayer for you…working hard for you."
Luke, the doctor, and Demas are:
"Dear Friends…"
We see these and other names cropping up through Acts and in others
of Paul's letters just as we find the names of Tolkien, Williams and
others cropping up in the story of that great apologist for the Christian
faith C S Lewis.
I wonder what names crop up in your story? We often hear preachers exhorting
us to choose carefully the company we keep. Much emphasis is placed
in these homilies on the company we should avoid but what about the
company we should actively seek out?
Of course, Jesus is all-in-all to the Christian but so often his provision
comes to us through the companionship of others who seek him as we do.
Whose company will you seek out this week? Who will influence you, keep
you up thinking, send you on your way pondering, spur you on to greater
devotion? The books we read, the conversations we have, the company
we keep, the ideas we entertain - all can be 'dear friends', 'fellow
workers', 'dear brothers' and 'great comforts' as we seek to build God's
kingdom. If we are wise we will, like Charles Williams, appreciate the
balance such fellowship brings to our mental and spiritual lives.
The Bible tells us:
As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens
another (Prov.27:17)
Who will sharpen you this week?
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