Journeys III - Consequences

Consequences

You think back to when you received your invitation to  the Royal banquet. It arrived via FedEx Delivery with a signature needed. You hurriedly opened with a letter opener so as not to tear the delicate silk envelope, You opened the envelope and pulled out the beautiful red, heart-shaped card. You opened it and find your name written in gold calligraphy at the top of the card. After your name you read:

You are special to me.

You are my beloved

I think about you all the time

I long to see you

Will you please join me?

I am hosting a grand banquet in your honor

You are invited because I love you

Help me celebrate the joy I feel

Whenever I am together …with you!

God

You think back and remembered this ‘God’ fellow, but oddly couldn’t remember the details; but you still accepted the invitation. Now that you’re here, you wondered where this ‘God’ fella is; you remembered being greeted by the King and Queen who try to care for your every whim but even they did not know who or where this God was exactly. You saw other royal guests who received the same invitation and were equally happy at being here. Oddly they were greeted by their own King and Queen but no one knows, for sure who this ‘God’ is. Your King and Queen pointed to where other kings and queens were kneeling before a central shrine, which evidently, was an image of ‘God’. Oh well, you enjoyed the banquet had fun. You dined on the delicious feast, drank the wine. You enjoyed the music, the fragrance, the architecture of the castle, the sounds of the orchestra and symphony. You loved the entertainment and joined in to play the games arranged.

Then the games descend into chaos when other royal guests seem to take on the roles assigned to play. They believed they were an assigned character. One royal guest won a game; another lost a game. Jealously and anger abounded. The kings and queens seem to have vanished from the banquet. You avidly search for this ‘God’ to resolve the chaos. No longer does this appear to be a royal banquet but a royal mess and you blame ‘God’.

Now the banquet is a mere cafeteria where meager portions are parceled out to your plate. The wine is suddenly gone and you are served water. The music which had been a symphony is replaced with a speaker filling the hall with elevator music. Fresh scents of roses are replaced by bodily odors and burnt toast.

You start to wish you hadn’t got the invitation. You look for someone to control the bad behavior. Only a few very vocal guests are escorted out of the banquet hall. The guests seem to consolidate into groups with like interests. You join one in the interest of safety. Groups seem to be at odds with each other. Everything seems to be disordered and you wish you could return home, but you can barely remember any time or place before the banquet. You wonder if you tricked by this ‘God’