In this chapter our man sees a procession of sorts honoring a lady. A bunch of boys and girls prance around her left and right. Our man is told that these weren't her biological children, but that she opened her heart to all the children that came across her path. These children received her love and loved their own parents more as a result. There were cats and dogs also, as she must have been kind to every cat or dog that came to her door. She shines like she abides in joy and love. She is truly happy in this place. The book says of her:
"The abundance of life she has in Christ from the Father flows over into them (the animals that were dancing around). It is like when you throw a stone into a pool, and the concentric waves spread out further and further. Who knows where it will end? Redeemed humanity is still young, it has hardly come to its full strength. But already there is joy enough in the little finger of a great saint such as yonder lady to waken all the dead things of the universe into life." Wow.
She soon encountered an "oddly shaped phantom," who must've been her husband on earth. He is a weird creature: a tall Ghost that was horribly thin and shaky, who led on a chain another Ghost "no bigger than an organ grinder's monkey." The lady apologized to the former mate for "all I ever did wrong and for all I did not do right since the first day we met, I ask your pardon."
It's interesting that she talks about the right things she didn't do. Not many people talk about that anymore. Sure, you can find people talking about doing wrong things, and find contrition over those sins, but how often do you hear about people confessing or repenting for not doing the right thing? Maybe this is indicative of our culture. Maybe we have somehow shifted into focusing on doing the bare minimum and avoiding the mistakes and wrongs ... and somehow neglected the thought of our responsibility to do the right thing. In many a context there is a choice. Sometimes the right thing might be going out of our way to help someone else, giving of ourselves, our time, or our money. Sometimes it might mean telling the truth about something embarrassing, where keeping quiet serves our needs but misses doing the "right thing." This concept is so rare to hear that it kinda pops into my brain when I hear it.
The two-pronged Ghost seems unwilling to forgive the lady -- to intent on focusing on themselves. They wonder aloud why she does not praise them for their acts of unselfishness, as if they'd been "keeping points," but she had not. She has experienced true freedom and joy and wants to invite her husband to drop the baggage, loose the chains and join her. But they seem unwilling. The entire book seems to show one Ghost after another that is holding on to something and unwilling to surrender to God and fully receive His love. Quite a powerful lesson.
It's all kind of hard to follow at times. We are at the cusp of the last two chapters (13 & 14), and seem a long distance away from resolution and clear explanation of what this book is about. I find myself longing for a clear explanation -- where I won't have to "figure it out" on my own, giving meaning to symbols and metaphors. It'll ultimately be a guess if it's left up to me to explain the book, the place our character is at, and the purpose of his journey.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at April 24, 2007 09:50 PM