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.”
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| Crossing, Sanz-Cardona |
1st Michaelmas
Matthew 22: 1-14
Sometimes there are doors we have
to open. We may fear opening them and meeting what we think is on the other
side. Especially if we imagine it is something awful.
Usually the reading for the Sunday before Michaelmas brings us right up to the threshold of death. The young man of Nain, who walked
through the dreaded door, was wakened to life. We ourselves have now opened a door
in a threshold of the year. We have passed through the equinox, and from now
on, the outer darkness will increase.
Yet today’s reading reveals a surprise.
We are crossing, not into something fearsome; we are entering the banquet hall
of a wedding. We have all been invited to a feast celebrating, not death and
extinction, but rather celebrating our joining the Bridegroom of the Soul. We
are crossing into a region that wants to celebrate new life, the life beyond
the threshold of death.
True, some
things in the soul we must destroy before we are fit for the wedding hall:
things such as over-concern with earthly cares that prevent us from responding
to the call from beyond. Or, like the man who refused to put on the wedding
garment, we can simply be too satisfied with ourselves as we are, or too lazy
to make the changes that will outfit us for the bridegroom.
But for
those who respond to the invitation with courage and humility, who show up with
some minimal preparation, clothed in grace, there is a feast among the angels. The
King and His Son greet us joyfully. And we may hear:
Turn your back on those
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| Tintoretto, The Wedding Feast |
Who would imprison your wondrous
spirit
With deceit and lies.
Come, join the honest company
Of the King’s beggars –
Those gamblers, scoundrels, and
divine clowns…
Who need Divine Love….
Come, join the courageous
Who have no choice
But to bet their entire world
That indeed
Indeed, God is Real.[1]
[1]
Hafiz, “A Golden Compass”, in I Heard God
Laughing, Renderings of Hafiz, by Daniel Ladinsky, p. 45.
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