WAITING

M. M. NINAN
with all the force of our nature that the highest use one can make of one's personality, of the
full flowering of one's self, is to do away with it, to give it wholly to any and everybody, without
division or reserve. And that is sovereign happiness. Thus, the law of ‘me' is fused with the
law of humanity; and the ‘I' and ‘all' (in appearance two opposite extremes), each suppressing
itself for the sake of the other, reach the highest peak of their individual development, each
one separately. This is exactly the paradise that Christ offers. The whole history of humanity,
and of each individual man and woman, is simply an evolution towards and an aspiration to,
struggle for, and achievement of, this end.” Dostoevsky Quoted by Yves Congar, The Wide
World My Parish (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1961) 60-61.
In the 2nd century AD, Irenaeus distinguished paradise from heaven. In Against Heresies, he
wrote that only those deemed worthy would inherit a home in heaven, while others would enjoy
paradise, and the rest live in the restored Jerusalem.
Origen likewise distinguished shed paradise from heaven, describing paradise as the earthly
"school" for souls of the righteous dead, preparing them for their ascent through the celestial
spheres to heaven.
Luke 16:19–31.
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus refers to two different conditions in the post mortal
spirit world: “Abraham’s bosom” and “hell” (see Luke 16:22–23). 23). The former is depicted as a
place of comfort in the company of the faithful (epitomized by father Abraham), the latter as a
place of torment. “Abraham’s bosom conjures up an image of one man reclining
companionably against another during a feast or banquet (see John 13:23). Bosom also
suggests having close fellowship with another (see John 1:18). In paradise, Lazarus was able
to have close association with Abraham, the revered father of all Israelites” (Jay A. Parry and
Donald W. Parry, Understanding the Parables of Jesus Christ [2006], 156; see also the
commentary for John 13:23). Between this abode of the faithful and “hell” there was “a great
gulf fixed” (Luke 16:26), which prevented interchange between the two.
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