2nd 3rd or 4th
Michaelmas Sunday
Revelation 19, 11-16
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| Colin Dye |
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
Revelation
19: 11-16
Dark
iron ore can be used to make strong weapons. But it could also be ground up to
make medicine that strengthens us and helps our spirits rise up and be radiant.
It can be helpful to see the elements of today’s
gospel images as representing the makeup of all humanity. The white horse: the
pure life force that carries us all. The Rider, faithful, true, discerning,
fiery, regal, connected with our blood, created by the Word of God, the highest
I AM. Only we ourselves can know, or begin to know, the mysterious identity of
the one whose name is King of Kings.
The white hosts on white steeds
who follow Him could be all the souls or parts of souls from the ages, that
have been purified by the leadership of this I, He who can fights evil and
gathers together the good. His feet are grounded in the will of God, whose
pressure in our lives separates the useful juice of the soul from the dross.
This kingly divine being can be
approached through the same qualities cultivated in ourselves: truthful
discernment, the fire of love which culls the good from the evil. These are
qualities of the name which no one knows but we ourselves – our own ‘I am’. It
is our own higher self, riding behind the Lord of Lords, capable of love, of
discernment, of saying no to what cannot carry us forward.
Remembering Him, remembering to connect with Him, enables
us to band together. Drinking in the
iron strength of His wine, we become a bright and effective force in the world.
In
the words of Hafiz:
Remembrance lowers the cup into
His luminous sky-well….
Every ill will confess
It was just a lie
When the golden efforts
Of your love
Lift the precious wine
To your mouth.
Remembrance of our dear Friend
Lowers the soul’s chalice into God.[1]
When the Nameless One debuts again,
Ten thousand facets of [our] being unfurl wings
And reveal such a radiance inside
[We] enter a divine realm.
[We] too begin to …cast light
Like a lamp
Through the streets of this
World.[2]
