1st Michaelmas
Matthew 22, 1-14
And Jesus continued to speak in
parables to them:
The kingdom of the heavens arising in human hearts is like a man, a
king, who prepared a marriage feast for his son. And he sent out his servants
to call the guests who had been invited to the marriage, but they would not
come.
Then
he again sent out other servants, and said , “Say to those who have been
invited, ‘Think, I have prepared my best for the banquet, the sacrificial oxen
and fattened cattle have been slaughtered; everything is ready. Come quickly to
the wedding.”
But they were not interested and went off, one going to his field to be
his own master, another falling into the hectic pace of his own business. The
rest however took hold of the servants, mistreated them and killed them.
Then the king grew angry; he sent out his army, brought the murderers to
their destruction and burned their city. Then he said to his servants,
“Although the marriage feast is prepared, the invited guests have proved
themselves unworthy. Go out therefore to the crossroads of destiny and invite
to the wedding whoever you can find.”
And the servants went into the streets and gathered together all whom
they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Then the king came in to see the guests, and among them he noticed a man
who was not dressed in the wedding garment
which was offered to him. And he said to him, “My friend, you are
sharing the meal; how is it you came in here without putting on the wedding
garment that was offered to you?”
But the man was speechless.
Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him
out into the darkness, where human beings wail and gnash their teeth. For the
call goes out to many, yet only a few make themselves bearers of the higher
life.”
1st Michaelmas
 |
| Collot d'Herbois |
September 29, 2013
Matthew 22:1-14
After the heat and busyness
of summer, we can feel ourselves coming to ourselves, reawakening within
ourselves. We take heart in the face of the coming winter’s work (or, in the
Southern Hemisphere, summer’s work).
Our hearts are the crossing
point between the inner world and the outer. It is there that we enact the
consecration of the human being. It is our heart that turns toward Christ. It
is in our heart that the fire of creative live will be enkindled. Our heart
will become aware of the light of the spirit.
This is the time of the year
when the call goes out to the heart. We are invited to join in the wedding
feast of humankind. The Soul of Humanity is wedding the King’s Son in the
kingdom of the heart. We can ignore the call; we can rush in, unprepared. Or we
can approach the inner hall with earnest intent, ready to encounter Michael the
Archangel at the threshold. As the poem says:
With
hearts aglow men mark the changing fresh world,
When
from the stars Michael's spear is hurled.
Sleepers
awake, hark to the word of the world
Breaking
old summer's dull drowsy spell,
Show
us the way, go with thy spear before,
Forge
us the future, thou Michaël.[1]
At the threshold Michael will
give us our wedding garment: the garment of courageous humility. In this garment we will be ready to greet the
King and His Son.
