1st Michaelmas 2021, Clothed with Mercy

1^st 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. 

Botticelli

"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 [that was offered to him]. And he said to him, 'My friend, you are sharing the meal; how did you enter here not having a wedding garment?' 

"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.' "

1^st Michaelmas

October 3, 2021

Matthew 22: 1-14 

Burning of cities, a good king casting out someone who can’t speak up—these elements of today’s gospel reading make us uncomfortable. What do these have to do with a divine King whom we would prefer to see as peaceable, merciful, inclusive? What is God like? 

This reading is, in fact, a picture of the relationship between God and present-day humanity. Something new and wonderful is to happen now. God has drawn near inviting us to a wedding, a celebration, a feast. The first call has gone out to a pre-selected group—those who perhaps could be expected to be close to him. But they have fallen prey to the dragons of indifference and extremes. The one wants to be his own master, set his own time, dictate how and when for himself. He refuses to respond. The second is overwhelmed by too many outer demands. He has no time to respond. And the rest are overtly hostile and destructive. Ultimately they receive back what they have sown as their own destruction. 

So now the wedding hall of the heavens is filled with guests of all types. Humankind of today, everyone, regardless of their moral state or apparent unworthiness, has been drawn into the hall of heaven. 

As was customary in those days, a king would not expect all such invited guests to possess the garments appropriate for such an event. His mercy and consideration are shown in that he provides a wedding garment for all who enter. Their mere willingness to accept and wear this mercy is all that is needed to feast in fellowship with the king. 

Who was this man who refused to wear the offered garment?  Someone who had come in through an improper entrance?  Someone who thought he ought to be acceptable just as he was? In modern terms, this would perhaps be like a wedding guest who climbs over the fence into a wedding reception in shorts. 

In this case, the man not only lacks the humility and gratitude to accept the king’s gift. He lacks that which makes us truly human—ego presence, human speech. He makes no apology, no offer to go out and come in the right way. He just sits there.  There is no interaction because he offers nothing of himself. That he is being cast out is merely the natural consequence of his own state. He lacks the strength of self to participate in a festival of the higher life. He cannot operate in that realm. So he must still spend his time in the ordinary world, limited in where he can go and what he can do, still subject to the soul’s tendency to swing between the extremes of high wailing hysteria and grinding anger.

Arild Rosenkrantz

 

Michael, whose name means “Who is like God,” helps humanity overcome the animal dragons of wailing and anger, stubbornness, and the egotistical dragon of total self-determination. He helps us rise above the dragon of haste that overwhelms and devours the self. Michael extends his sword of gleaming star iron in threat against our lower, egotistical nature. But for moments, he softens his glance, and he beckons. “Follow me,” he says. “I will lead you to the wedding feast in the kingdom of the heavens. I will lead you to your true king.” When we follow, in high earnest and courageous humility, we will be gifted with mercy.