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
Revelation 19: 11 – 16
Today’s reading speaks
of a white rider on a white horse who judges justly and battles for justice.
In a medieval legend, a hermit on a journey meets a young
man who becomes his traveling companion. But the hermit becomes dismayed when
after a night of hospitality in a castle, the companion appears to have stolen
a golden cup, which he then offers to thieves the next night after their rather
inhospitable hospitality. Further along it seems the young man sets fire to a
house from which he begged a drink. With herbs he helps a young ill boy to his
death, and the boy’s father, their guide in the mountains, he pushes off a
cliff. When the hermit finally protests, his companion reveals that he is
Michael the Archangel. He explains that the golden cup was poisoned; by taking it, he saved
the king’s life and ended the lives of the robbers. The burned down house will
reveal an unknown but invaluable treasure. The ill boy not saved would have
grown to be a criminal, like his father their guide, who was a thief and
murderer.
Michael then says: Often, before God, what is just seems
unjust in the eyes of human beings.
And so we temper and broaden our expectations of what inner
and outer justice means. For in the words of John O’Donohue:
 |
| Michael, Richard Kroft |
The mind of time is hard to read.
We can never predict what it will
bring,
Nor even from all that is already
gone
Can we say what form it finally
takes;
For time gathers its moments
secretly.
Often we only know it’s time to
change
When a force has built inside the
heart
That leaves us uneasy as we are.[1]
