Friday, October 25, 2013

4th Michaelmas 2008, Shepherding King

2nd 3rd or 4th Michaelmas Sunday
Revelation 19, 11-16

And I saw the heavens opening up. And behold, a white horse! And the rider who sat upon it is called faithful and true, who judges justly and battles for justice. His eyes are like flames of fire, and his head wears many crowns, inscribed with a name which no one knows but he himself. The cloak  that covers him has been dipped in blood, and he is known by the name “Word of God”.
And the warriors of the sky ride behind him upon white steeds, clad in clean, white linen. And he has a sharp-edged sword coming out of his mouth with which to strike the nations down, and he will shepherd them with a staff of iron. He treads on the winepress holding the wine of the wrath of the will of God, the ruler of all.

And written on his cloak and on his thigh is the name: King of all kings, Lord of all lords.

4th Michaelmas Sunday
October 26, 2008
Rev. 19: 11 – 16
  
In the created world, one of the primary polarities is that of gender. This division extends even into the plant world. There are trees that are paired. In order to be fruitful, the male and female of the species must be nearby.

Today’s reading is paired with that of last week. We saw the majestic picture of the cosmic woman, clothed in the radiance of loving-kindness, crowned with the radiance of star thinking, standing above the moon chalice of the earthly. She was giving birth, but child was threatened with extinction by a fiery red dragon. She represents the ideal of the human soul, struggling to give birth to the Christ-Child within, threatened by destructive elements that lurk in the human constitution.

Today’s reading contains her spirit counterpart. Her Child is grown into the great cosmic warrior-king, the I AM. Royal, sovereign and active on behalf of the will of God, He rides on the white steed of pure thinking. His two-edged sword of discernment fights for truth and justice. And his garment is dipped into the purity of his sacrificial human blood. He is followed by the hosts of those who, through His sacrifice and their own, have risen to the heavenly spheres through  purity of thought and heart.

The cosmic woman and the cosmic warrior-king are two positive aspects of the future of humanity. Our souls struggle to give birth to the Son God within. But this spirit birth is threatened by the tendency toward selfish, destructive egotism. This dragonish element actually resides in our blood. He who would be born within us will become the shepherding king in and among us. He wields His sword of discernment and with his staff of meteoric iron rules and subdues the negative elements in our blood, ‘purifying it and making it spirit-receptive’.

The Lord King’s upright staff of iron is directed at the destructive fiery dragon element in us, our self-centered devouring egotism. Our egotism is purified by the sovereign Christ element of self-sacrifice. United with the sacrifice of His own Blood, we too will live among those clad in white, who follow Him in purity of thought. We too will be a part of the living stream of human evolution. We too will be those who follow God’s will, what God wants for humanity.




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