Chapter 13 concludes with a dialog on the power of Joy and whether it can be held captive by pity or manipulation, followed by a glimpse of the Sun rising to the refrain of “Sleepers Awake!”, referencing the Second Coming. The book finishes with Lewis’s being reminded that he has been in a dream and waking up at the table in his office.

As we finish Chapter 12 and begin Chapter 13, we see the Great Lady, Sarah Smith of Golders Green, trying to help the disintegrating person who was formerly her husband to put to death those parts of his identity that were tearing him apart and keeping him from Heaven. It is a sad commentary on the huge price that hypocrisy and masks exact from us when we try to pretend to be something that we are not.

As we begin Chapter 12, Lewis beholds a magnificent procession radiating with light in honor of a great personage who is at its center. He is surprised to learn who is being honored in the procession, and enters into a deep discussion about the difference between earthly fame and heavenly glory.

As we finish up Chapter 11, the new Bright Spirit rides the magnificent stallion up into the high country, as the land itself breaks forth into Joy. Lewis and MacDonald talk about the necessity of putting to death whatever is earthly so that the more glorious Resurrection life may take root and flourish.

As we continue our journey in Chapter 11, we meet the Ghost with the lizard on his shoulder, whose presence is preventing the Ghost from moving into Heaven. The Bright Spirit who meets him makes clear that the lizard must be killed if the Ghost is to enter the heavenly country. As always, Lewis's penetrating insights cut through our cultural veneer and show us that sin is not just unpleasant but deadly.

The Ghost of a domineering mother, who has lost her son to an early death and has enshrined his memory as an idol, berates the Bright Spirit in this chapter about why she cannot see her son. The Spirit tries to explain that her own selfishness is the problem, but she is blinded by her possessive need. George MacDonald and Lewis engage in a discussion of how earthly affection must be transformed into Christ-like love in order to blossom in Heaven.

Lewis encounters a Ghost who is perplexed about how her husband, Robert, has turned up in Heaven while she is down below. The Ghost has sought to control her husband's entire life on earth in order to "make something of him" and is determined to reassert her control over him once more. Themes explored include the purpose of life, the nature of true love and friendship, and the bitterness of selfishness.

As we wrap up Chapter 9, there are several brief but profound vignettes of encounters with Ghosts. Lewis addresses topics as diverse as grumbling and complaining to sexual seduction to the role of Art and the artist, all the while emphasizing the importance of choice.

MacDonald and Lewis explore the connection of choice and pride to eternal destiny in this fascinating chapter, in a discussion heavily informed by John Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost.

Lewis meets George MacDonald in Chapter 9, and a momentous conversation ensues that we will be unpacking next week. In this episode, we set the stage for the themes that will unfold in the chapter, and then spend some time recapping the conference we organized, "Telling a More Beautiful Story: Lessons from C.S. Lewis on Reaching a Fractured World."

Who was George MacDonald and why did he have such a profound influence on C.S. Lewis? Before we delve into the riches of the next chapter, join us for some background on MacDonald and his mythopoeic gifts that Lewis said "baptized his imagination."

Lewis is unnerved from his encounter with the hard-bitten ghost and worried about whether this new country may be in fact impossible and dangerous to occupy. He then comes upon the ghost of a fashionable and well-dressed lady who is hiding for fear of being seen by the "Solid People." She is preoccupied only with herself and how she looks, and the Bright Spirit welcoming her seeks to help her.

Nervous in the presence of the enormous waterfall, Lewis falls into conversation with the hard-bitten ghost, a man who has traveled the world but is not impressed with any of it. HIs rampant cynicism and pessimism and complaining cause him to decide to go back to the Grey Town, as the Heavenly Country is just another example of the plot by "Them," who have failed in their duty to keep him entertained.

The focus of this chapter is the glorious beauty of Heaven, which Ikey (the entrepreneurial ghost from the bus) wants to exploit by taking a golden apple back to the Grey Town to sell. An angel and majestic waterfall are part of the overwhelming sensory experience.

The Bright Spirit in Chapter 5 has been sent to meet an apostate Church of England bishop who does not understand he has been sent to Hell. A profound yet amusing dialog ensues about the problems with progressive liberal theology--a dialog that is perhaps even more relevant today than when Lewis wrote this in the 1940s.

As the passengers from the bus are greeted by Bright Spirits, we overhear a dialog between the Big Man, who is determined to demand his rights and get what he believes he deserves, and Len, now a Bright Spirit but formerly a worker under the Big Man. Len had committed murder but through grace and the "Bleeding Charity" had come to the heavenly country. Lewis offers piercing insights into the bankruptcy of our own efforts to attain salvation based on our merits.

A tale of woe from the misunderstood and underappreciated tousle-headed poet begins Chapter 2 as the bus leaves the grey town. We learn more about that town and those who inhabit it, as well as a difference of opinion about whether the town is moving towards light or darkness. Lewis also describes what happens when the bus enters the Light--how it reveals Beauty and exposes Sin.

As we embark on Chapter 1 of The Great Divorce, Lewis is at his best, laying a foundation of descriptions and interactions that whet our curiosity to know more, while creating the framework for what will follow as the bus miraculously ascends into the air!

Lewis's preface to The Great Divorce does a masterful job of laying out some of the key themes he will address in the book. In this episode, we examine five of those themes and texts from Scripture that support them. Music link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jRGngeoilo