4th Michaelmas 2022, The Great Moral Order

 2^nd 3^rd or 4^th Michaelmas Sunday

Revelation 19:11-16 

Giusto de 'Menabuoi, Padua Baptistry

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 subdue the nations, and he will shepherd them with a staff of iron. He treads on the winepress holding the wine of the wrath of God's will, the ruler of all. 

And written on his robe and on his thigh is the name: King of all kings, Lord of all lords. 

4^th Michaelmas

October 23, 2022

Revelation 19:11–16

To make wine, the grapes have to be crushed. All the long nurturing and tending seems to be turned into its opposite — the grapes are destroyed. Why? Ironically, to preserve them. They undergo a change of form so that they can yet continue to exist on a different level as wine.

Christ in the Winepress, 17th century artist unknown

Our lives also have their harvest times. There are periods when all we have worked for seems to undergo a change, transformed by something that feels to us wrathful and destructive. 

But we must realize that all forms of life are subject, fortunately, to transformation. Indeed, if this were not so, life could not continue. Old forms need to be broken down and destroyed so that new forms can arise. Breaking down ultimately serves the ongoing evolution of life itself.

We can be comforted when we realize that the treading of the winepress of change that may appear to destroy our efforts is driven by the Creating One of God, the White Rider. He came to earth to clothe himself within our human blood.           

He is faithful, loyal not only to God his Father but also to those of us who feel ourselves trodden upon by life’s burdens. For he requires nothing of us to which he himself has not been subjected. He allowed himself to be crushed so that the wine of his redeeming blood could flow. 

And he is true, rightly and completely aligned with the great moral order that underlies true justice. He shepherds us toward the winepress. His harvesting stroke and his treading the winepress with its apparent destruction serve a higher order and purpose. They create a higher kind of life out of what we have so far created and tended. The juice of our lives becomes His wine so that the true value of our lives is preserved. He begets timeless existence so that the true good of our lives may endure.

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