(2.4) “Galahad and the Grail” – The Adventures of Percivale (this post is in process and incomplete at this time)

(2.4) Galahad and the Grail – The Adventures of Percivale (this post is in process and incomplete at this time)

Book Two: “Adventures of the Quest“ (by “book” is meant a large section in this installment of Guite’s Arthuriad).

Stave Four: “The Adventures of Percivale” (a “stave” is an old-fashioned term for the stanza of a poem, a verse in a song, or a chapter in a long story).

Why is Malcolm Guite retelling the King Arthur saga, no less in the form of English ballads? He has gone on record as saying… The KA mythical tales echo something real about sin, redemption, and the hope that was broken in us and in the world that can be made whole again… Every generation that asks good questions of King Arthur legends gets good answers… The modern world could use a resurrection of the ideal of chivalry and honor… Ancient myths and stories aren’t just relics of a pre-modern imagination, they are carriers of truth we’ve forgotten how to see with modern eyes… Legends like these don’t distract us from the real world, they reveal it… These stories restore the spiritual elements that have been shorn away, and they renew their deepest meaning. The English ballads were composed in a poetic form that were made to be sung or chanted out loud. They are rhythmic and musical, and one gets the sense that with ballads, “the poem on the page is lying asleep. And the job of the reader is to wake it up and breathe into its being by reciting it out loud, because that physicality of sound and breath and speech is what it’s made for… Above all, enjoy it. Poetry is meant to give pleasure.” It’s clear that composing this first installment of the King Arthur saga was a labor of love for Malcolm Guite, and that, as he put it, “This is the tale that makes my heart rejoice.”

New Characters and Elements Introduced in this Chapter of Dr. Guite’s Retelling of the King Arthur Saga: 

The Mother of Sir Percivale. This was the famous “widow of the wild” who bore and raised an innocent boy named Percivale in the wilds of the waste forest in Wales. This noble and righteous mother is not named in this chapter and remains unnamed throughout the Arthurian legends. She raised Percivale in the wild until he was 15 years old, at which time he departed from her to join the Knights of the Round Table. She is perhaps best known for her parting words of wisdom for her naive but innocent son who has been all but completely isolated his whole life thus far… She instructed Percivale to honor the memory of his great father, to show mercy to those in need, to serve and honor all women, to remain pure and faithful to his one chosen wife, and to pray often and always. And Percivale never forgot his mother’s tearful blessing as he walked out of the woods and into his adult life.

• Pray Without Ceasing. To “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:16-17), to pray always, doesn’t mean a mind-numbing intentional, all-day session of prayer, like the monks in the abbey who are privileged to be called to such a life. ‘Praying always’ means to develop a life in which you live prayerfully, we get in the habit of using God as our reference point during our day. It is developing a lifestyle that offers up spontaneous prayers of thanksgiving and blessing, of asking for God’s help, and it becomes like breathing, sometimes conscious, other times subconscious. To pray always is to have the willingness to thank God for everything in the course of a day… from successfully going to the bathroom, to having a roof over your head and daily bread, to that thoughtful comment heard from a friend, to a safe car ride doing errands. Consciously keeping God as our reference point during the day becomes like muscle memory, something done spontaneously like a reflex, In this type of prayerful lifestyle, we can learn a lot from our Jewish brethren, who have hundreds of blessings to offer God in the course of a day. Getting into this spiritual habit will help it to become, over time, second nature.

The Recluse. This important character in Percivale’s life was a spry, elderly woman who lived happily in her hermitage in the middle of a wild forest. She spent her days in tending with kindness all those who came to her for healing and restoration, and believed she was called to devote herself to constant daily prayers. The Recluse reminds us of the prophetesses in the Hebrew Bible, and so is in the spirit of the “Holy Women of Israel” like Sarah and Miriam, Deborah and Hannah, Abigail and Huldah and Esther. And of course, the love and wisdom of the Recluse reminds of Mary the mother of Jesus. One of the Recluse’s most powerful words of encouragement as she tended Percivale was her reminding him that his mother in heaven prays for him and that her prayers are effective.  That begs the question… Really? Do believers who have died really intercede for those of us still on earth? Here are some points in the favor of people in heaven praying for people on earth…

“The Communion of Saints.”  (1.) Since the earliest stages of the Christian church in the 2nd century, this phrase in the Apostle’s Creed has declared that the Body of Christ is one Body, not two. There are not two Bodies consisting of believers on earth and believers in heaven. There is one united Body composed of believers on both sides of the veil. The Christ-followers who have passed on to the heavenly sphere are still alive, and actually are more alive now than they were here on earth. After all, as Jesus said, “God is the God of the living, not the dead.” (Mark 12:27, Luke 20:38). Believers in heaven are fully capable of interceding on our behalf since we are united in one community of faith. The fact is, the “dead” are fully alive in Christ, bonded spiritually with all those who are members of the communion of saints, here and there. (2.) “We are surrounded by a huge cloud of witnesses to the life of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1). The believers who have passed into the heavenly dimension are fully equipped to be active in their support of us who are still running the race. They are enjoying God’s presence and have a bird’s eye view of us here, cheering us on. They are closer to God than we are and pulling for us to reach the finish line like them. The Christian church is at least as fully alive and functional in Paradise as it is here on earth. Our brothers and sisters in the faith who have died are praying for their extended family. Why would our God of love see fit to discontinue our ministries of intercession for each other?

Grace. In the Hebrew Bible, grace is the centerpiece of God’s character that has forever initiated divine favor to those who don’t deserve it; the nature of God which prefers to show mercy to those who haven’t earned it; the heart of God which leans toward offering the free gift of love and acceptance to others, free of charge; God’s desire to restore and heal whose who are broken whether or not they deserve it; the lovingkindness provided by God as a free gift for no apparent reason other than sheer compassion. In the New Testament, grace is a central spiritual fact fo life that is used over 170 times.  At one point, grace was a general term adopted from Greek mythology, and could mean goodwill, loveliness, charm, sweetness, favor, and that which gives delight. But the NT writers expanded its meaning to point to God’s undeserved favor on us; His unearned gift of good will; His unmerited kindness; His unexpected spiritual blessings that bring us delight and pleasure; God’s free gift of acceptance with no strings attached. This is the basic concept, but writers like Paul and Peter used grace as a word that summarizes all the blessings that God offers to us. This biblical grace is an absolute truth, and so grace exists whether or not we choose to accept it. Divine grace is not logical in human terms, it has no reasonable rhyme or reason to it. The human mind cannot fathom the logic of grace and fails at making sense of it. Grace is the ideal time for each person to trust God and His instincts, His character, and to accept His way of thinking as best for us.

Chivalry – Dr. Guite mentions more than once in this first chapter of how Galahad liked to “play at chivalry” and mother Elaine would tell him “tales of old, of love and chivalry.” She would warn him of those ignorant knights who thought chivalry was merely permission to act violently and shed the blood of others. Poignantly, Elaine at one point told Galahad, “You will be a knight, my son, the flower of chivalry.” And what was this code of chivalry taken by all those accepting the responsibility of knighthood? Surely the chivalric code went way beyond merely being courteous and polite! Historical records confirm that true knights in shining armor rejoiced in the privilege of keeping certain standards of moral integrity, such as developing a lifestyle of virtue and valor; giving refuge for the weak and the orphan; promoting the peace and order of the kingdom; honoring, protecting and cherishing the lives of women because they are the bearers of life; confronting evil with courage and never fleeing a righteous battle; rescuing the innocent when in distress; upholding the Christian faith in the land. Centuries ago, one version of chivalry was represented by a pentangle, a five-pointed star that symbolized the five points of the chivalric code: friendship, generosity, chastity, courtesy and piety.

The Holy Grail. The Holy Grail, the sacred relic which is the chalice from which Jesus drank at His Last Supper with His disciples, and it was used by Joseph of Arimathea to catch Christ’s blood after His side was lanced by the Roman soldier after Christ had died on the Cross. The Grail was seen as a miraculous source for healing and redemption offered in Christ, and also symbolized spiritual purity and mystical union with God. The Holy Grail has been accepted down through the centuries as a cup or a deep dish that retained the spiritual powers of Christ Himself. The Grail represented the presence of divine grace, and so the Quest for the Grail was the most important quest ever conceived by the Knights of the Round Table. This appearance of the Grail covered in a white veil was evidently intended to whet the appetite of the knights to find the Grail in order to see it in all its glory.

Quest. As a noun, a quest is an intense and single-minded search for something important. When understood as a very active verb in the context of knighthood, to quest is to engage in a long, difficult and adventurous journey that requires hard work in order to achieve a worthwhile goal or a valuable possession; to give oneself to a focused search, a single-minded pursuit, that frequently involves challenges, exploration, and personal growth; to invest personally in a prolonged endeavor in which the process is just as important as the product; to engage in a mission or expedition in an extensive search to discover something important. In this chapter the knights all embark on a special quest that will take them far away from Camelot.

 

 

 

The Importance of Intercessory Prayer. Of all the types of prayer (such as adoration, praise, confession, thanksgiving, on-going conversation, requests, intercession), intercession might be the most confusing and challenging. To intercede is to be brazen enough to approach the King in the throne room, and strong enough to lift someone else up to His line of vision. Only arms of Love, strengthened by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26), are powerful enough to accomplish that feat. Intercession is a powerful aspect of burden-bearing. This critical factor in Christian influence means that you talk to God about people at least as much as you talk to people about God. Intercession is not about a feeling, emotion or sentiment, but instead about resolve and heart-felt mindfulness. Intercession is an act of obedience (Colossians 4:2 and Philippians 4:6), but it remains a holy mystery. There are times when God seems to track right alongside us and respond with “Yes, Amen!” and the prayer is answered accordingly and sometimes miraculously. Then there are times when it seems like intercession is an exercise of repeatedly banging your head against the door of heaven. And then there are times when a prayer is answered that hadn’t even been voiced yet, as though God has read your mind and your spirit, and followed through before the prayer was uttered. Often, God seems to be in a different universe in terms of the timing of things, which of course He is.

The Signing of the Cross. In this chapter, Dr. Guite integrates the ancient Christian custom of signing the cross into the storyline, and on both occasions here with Sir Percivale that physical action was what broke the demonic curse, it dissolved the evil enchantment. Maybe a little history of that sacred gesture is in order… Signing the cross on yourself or others can be an irreligious superstition, a thoughtless ritual, a nervous habit, or a physical gesture that is rich with spiritual significance. Crossing ourselves can be as meaningful as we want it to be. It can be an empty hand movement devoid of faith, or it can be a sincere gesture that represents your deepest identity. When genuine, the act of crossing ourselves is truly making a statement, it is setting us apart. Ever since the 2nd century the traditional hand motion in the shape of a cross, starting at the forehead, then the heart, then both shoulders, then back to the heart again, has been a distinctive symbol of the Christian faith. There have been variations on these movements through time and tradition. And it should be remembered that many believers privately choose to sign the cross over themselves even if not a tradition in their particular church. Down through the centuries, the sign of the cross has represented many truths:

1. It reveals our chosen identity as a Christ-follower;
2. It marks us as disciples of Jesus;
3. It announces that we belong to God, that we are His possession, owned by Him;
4. It tells others that we believe in the Bible and the truth contained in Scripture;
5. It is a clear confession of faith in the Holy Trinity, since the sign is accompanied by the prayer, “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit;”
6. It is a tangible reminder to us of our baptismal vows and our new life in Christ;
7. It is a physical action that reminds us of God’s spiritual presence;
8. It echoes the command of Christ to pick up our crosses daily;
9. It renews our commitment to crucifying the desires of the flesh;
10. It is a picture of Christ’s suffering and our acceptance of suffering in His Name;
11. It announces our side in the warfare against the powers of darkness, alerting the enemy that we are on the side of Christ against the demonic kingdom;
12. It reminds us of our protection in Christ if we feel spiritually attacked or harassed;
13. It is an act of submission to God’s will and His purpose in our lives;
14. It is a sign of blessing when we put the sign of the cross over others, asking the Lord to show them favor and mercy;
15. When crossing ourselves, it is a way of asking God to help us love Him with all our mind (forehead), our heart, and our strength (shoulders);
16. It is an expression of our heartfelt piety and deepest devotion;
17. As one traditional church puts it, “The Sign of the Cross disposes us to cooperate with God’s grace if invoking the Name of Christ.”
18. “Little” signs of the Cross are also used during Christian worship, in which our thumb is used to mark a small cross on one’s own forehead, mouth, and heart, asking God to sanctify our thoughts, our speech, and our affections for God’s use;
19. A little sign of the Cross may also be prayerfully marked with the thumb on someone else ‘s forehead when blessing them, preparing them for a healing prayer, or for many of the sacraments.

The symbolism of the fingers is vital in fully understanding the signing of the Cross. To symbolize the Holy Trinity, using your right hand, the tip of the thumb touches the two tips of the longest fingers next to the thumb. Those three fingertips must be touching when signing the cross because they represent the three Persons of the Godhead, the Trinity. The two fingertips minus the thumb represent the dual nature of Jesus Christ: His divine nature and His human nature. Many have said that the sign of the cross is an abbreviated version of the Apostle’s Creed because of the symbolic use of the fingers.