Lewis: The Great Divorce
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.”’
—C. S. Lewis in The Great Divorce (Geoffrey Bles, 1945).
The Great Divorce is Lewis’ classic take on the difference between dwelling in heaven and living in hell. In hell, people become more and more isolated and separated from each other until all communication is lost. Before the great distances develop, there is a bus stop where groups of people in hell are given the opportunity to go to heaven on a tour bus ride, to decide if they might like to live there instead. Spoiler alert! Only one person decides to stay in heaven. The rest return to their life in hell. It is a choice.
With each character that appears, Lewis describes what keeps them in hell. My favorite is the bishop whose intellect dictates that must go back to hell because he is scheduled to give a lecture that he does not want to miss. Some characters remain in hell because they cannot recognize joy; others see all the difficulties in life as someone else’s fault; some stay connected to their material goods since they mean the most to them; others find people “beneath them” in heaven. One sees heaven as a trick; and an artist must return to hell to preserve his reputation.
The Great Divorce is a wonderful choice for a book study group, especially in Lent, which will soon be upon us. It can be insightful for people to share with each other which of the characters they most identify with. Lewis hands us a mirror to show us that we do not recognize that we are making choices that result in a hell, a life where we have forsaken the gifts of heaven on this earth.
Rebecca Spooner is leading a morning retreat about the Enneagram at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Saturday February 29th from 9 to 1. The Cost is $15. Sign up on St. Mark’s website lovesaintmarks.org. Go to What’s on, then Events.
Joanna . joannaseibert.com