A Great Tide of Joy and Peace (Malcolm Muggeridge)

Dr. Christiaan Barnard's first heart-transplant operations, which caused so much excitement at the time, seemed to hold out the hope of replacing our parts as they wore out, and thus of keeping us on the road indefinitely, like old vintage cars. New hearts, kidneys, genitals, brain-boxes even, installed as and when required...

The resultant immortal beings would have no occasion to be raised from the dead as Lazarus was. Nor would Jesus' wonderful words about being the resurrection and the life have any significance. For them, there was no dying, and therefore no rising from the dead. Nor will those who dream of living without dying be attracted by, or even comprehend, the notion of dying in order to live.

Yet as I approach my own end, I find Jesus' outrageous claim to be, himself, the resurrection and the life, ever more captivating and meaningful. Quite often, waking up in the night as the old do, and feeling myself to be half out of my body, I have been vouchsafed a glimpse of what lies ahead. So placed, I hear those words: I am the resurrection and the life - and feel myself to be carried along on a great tide of joy and peace.



Peace Forever,
Firacub.