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.”
Michaelmas
Sept 29, Oct
4, 2009
 |
| Called, Arild Rosenkrantz |
Matthew 22: 1- 14
In today’s reading, Christ describes the human heart as a
kingdom. The ruler of this kingdom of the heart is our Father. His sovereignty
is expressed in the law of “what you sow, so shall you reap.” If we sow
responsiveness, we will be welcomed; if we sow rejection, He has no choice but
to send us away.
The heart’s king has a son, the heart’s Bridegroom. Together
Father and Son invite us to the Great Wedding of the Divine Bridegroom and the
Soul of Humanity. All are invited to this wedding. Disinterest,
self-sufficiency and too-busy-ness are the only things that stand in our way.
The only requirement is for us to show up in the proper soul attire. We are to
be willing to clothe ourselves in the high festive garment of offering, and to
humbly converse as honored guests with the heart’s King. Those who cannot do so
go back to the darkness of the exterior world, bound hand and foot by the
consequences of their deeds.
But even so there is hope. For the wedding feast is an
ongoing one; the invitation is always going out. And even in the outer darkness
we can grow to find the path to the wedding.
When day withdraws to the ends of
the earth
their fires shine on a dark expanse
of sand.
….The heart flies from tree to
bird,
from bird to distant star,
from star to love; and love grows
…, turning and working,
servant of thought, a lamp held in
one hand.[1]
We are all on our way to the Wedding. Some have already
been, and are finding their way back; but we all have an invitation, and all
hold the soul’s lamplight, the light of love, to help us find the way.
[1]
Philippe Jaccottet, “Distances”, in The
Selected Poems of Philippe Jaccottet, translated by Derek Mahon
www.thechristiancommunity.org
www.thechristiancommunity.org
