Dante's Beatrice

Sermon: (Mt. 13:31-33, 44-52)
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Pent 6, 7-24-11

It’s a fact that Jesus often taught in roundabout ways. He used parables, analogies and similes to get His message across. Today’s gospel selection is a good example of this. It is a series of comparisons: The kingdom of heaven is like…this, that, and the other thing.

Why did He do this? Some have speculated that he did it because he was operating in a dangerous world. On the one hand, Rome the occupying power, was always sensitive to any threat to their domination. On the other hand, the Jewish religious establishment was also protective of their position and looked suspiciously at prophets who might be critical of their oppressive teachings. So He hid his message in stories and comparisons that would only be apparent to believers. That way He could preach longer before being silenced.

There may be some truth in that view. For our purposes, though, I think this other view is more helpful. God and His ways are vastly beyond the ability of our imagination to comprehend Him and them. He sent His Son to teach us about these spiritual realities that are so beyond our comprehension. He not only sent Him to teach us, but to be the bridge between the human and divine, between Himself and us. And in the process to help us travel the journey back to the Father. One of His descriptive phrases for that journey is the “Kingdom of Heaven.” Since it is all pretty much beyond us, He chose to use the parables and analogies to help us understand. So, today He, as quoted by Matthew, lists all these comparisons. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, like yeast, like a hidden treasure, like a merchant in search of fine pearls,, like a net thrown into the sea. Well, sermons have been preached on each one of these analogies or similes. After awhile we begin to get the picture. The Kingdom of heaven is not just where we go after we die, (where we hope we go, that is.) It is God’s kingdom, His way established already on earth and continuing into eternity. Each one of the similes gives us a glimpse into what God is like and what life with him is like. Not only that, they give us direction into how we can further His kingdom on earth ourselves and ultimately arrive at full knowledge and unity with Him. This fullness is referred to by theologians as the beatific vision.

Others have followed in the attempt to span the distance between God and man and to explain what that journey toward unity is like. One such is Dante Alighieri, the author of the Divine Comedy. Dante did in the 14th Century for the Italian language what in the 16th century Shakespeare did for English and Cervantes, the Author of Don Quixote, did for Spanish. He established Italian in place of latin as the artistic language of Italy and ultimately the official language.

The Divine Comedy is a classic in whatever language it is read. It is not called a comedy because it is funny, but because it has a happy ending. Shakespeares' plays are classified as tragedies or comedies depending on the happiness or not of the endings. The Divine Comedy a piece of allegorical fiction describing Dante’s own journey through Hell, Purgatory and finally to Heaven. Hence, the happy ending. Along the way Dante teaches about the Christian life, the capital sins that got people into hell and the cardinal virtues that got people into heaven. Through hell and purgatory, the latin poet Virgil, in fictitious form, is his guide. When he gets to heaven a woman named Beatrice is his guide to the higher mountains of the beatific vision, meeting God face to face.

By now you are thinking “What is he talking about?” Why is he talking about Beatrice? Because today we dedicate our beautiful new organ. I am naming her Beatrice, or at least I will be calling her Beatrice myself, because she will lead us to higher and higher levels of God’s beauty. Beatrice is our companion as we journey into the Kingdom of Heaven, starting here on earth.