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.
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| Corina Ferraz |
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
Sep 30, 2018
Matthew 22:1-14
Today’s reading describes the human heart as a kingdom. This kingdom in our heart is populated by a dynamic cast of characters.
There is the king, who oversees the whole kingdom and guides its events. One could say that the King is our destiny. There are the parts of us bringing us messages from the King; there are parts of us that are busy, distracted from our true destiny, even murderously destructive. And there are the parts of us that answer the call, even if they are not yet fully fit to participate, like the one who did not put on the wedding garment.
And finally, there is the King’s Son who is to wed. Whom will the Son wed? He wants to wed our soul: our willing, our feeling, our thinking. Not only our individual soul, but the heart and soul of our community. For He deeply loves us. In the depths of our heart there dwells One ready and waiting to join His life to ours.
Our destiny tries to guide us to the wedding. We must, in freedom, ignore the busybodies in us, subdue the fear that would destroy our true destiny. Now is the time to answer the invitation. In the words of the poet:
….
Now is the time to understand
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| David Newbatt |
That all your ideas of right and wrong
Were just a child's training wheels
To be laid aside
When you finally live
With veracity
And love.
….
What is it in that sweet voice inside
That incites you to fear?
….
This is the time
For you to compute the impossibility
That there is anything
But Grace.
Now is the season to know
That everything you do
Is sacred.*
* Hafiz, “Now is the Time” in The Gift - versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky
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