The Procrustean Bed

In the Greek myth, Procrustes was a son of Poseidon with a stronghold on Mount Korydallos at Erineus, on the sacred way between Athens and Eleusis.^[1] There he had an iron bed, in which he invited every passer-by to spend the night, and where he set to work on them with his smith's hammer, to stretch them to fit. In later tellings, if the guest proved too tall, Procrustes would amputate the excess length; nobody ever fit the bed exactly, because secretly Procrustes had two beds.^[2] Procrustes continued his reign of terror until he was captured by Theseus, travelling to Athens along the sacred way, who "fitted" Procrustes to his own bed.

The Procrustean Bed -- a set of arbitrary standards to which everyone is held -- can be compared to the "kingdom of this world," rather than the "kingdom of God."  I grew up in the 50's, when the "American Idol" for girls was Marilyn Monroe.  Unfortunately, as a 90-pound teenager, I could not begin to measure up to the image of Marilyn Monroe, and so found myself "lacking" according to that standard.  In the 60's, Elvis Presley was the standard universally imitated.  And in the 70's, it was the Beatles.  Today, Justin Beiber is the teen-age short-lived idol, along with the Kardashians, Lady Ga-Ga, and who knows who else?  (These "idols" are probably already outdated.)

In sharp contrast to the Procrustean Bed to which the "world" wants to measure up, there is the very slow-growing "kingdom of God," which develops invisibly and undetectably in ourselves and in the world.  No one even notices its growth until it is fully grown and bearing fruit.  The Greek vine-dressers have a principle called "Teleos," meaning "perfect" to describe this kind of growth. 

After bearing the yearly fruit, the vines are severely pruned for the following year.  Then, the vine-dresser goes out to inspect the vines as they begin to grow again.  If the growth is where it is expected to be for the season of the year, the word "Teleos/ perfect" is pronounced over the vine.  That means it is developing as expected -- not 'finished" or "complete" in its growth, but exactly where it should be for the season of the year.  In a month or so, the vine-dresser closely examines the forming buds.  If they are developing on the vine, he says again "Teleos/ perfect!"  And so the process continues until the fruit is fully developed and ready for harvest.  Anyone who has ever pruned a rose bush understands exactly what I am saying.

Unlike the Procrustean Bed, the Kingdom of God is an organic process.  In Mark 4, Jesus says that the farmer sows the seed, and the rains come, and the seed grows day and night, 'the farmer knows not how," while he sleeps.  When I was 15, I wanted to look like Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor.  What I could not see at the time was the slow growth taking place in my spirit, not yet fully developed, a gift far beyond my youthful desire for external beauty.  What was in me at the time was "perfect," not yet finished, but "perfect' for my season of life at that time.

Today, many years later, I have no desire to be as "perfect" as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor was, according to the Procrustean Bed of the standards of this world.  But I do thank God that He gave me all that I needed to grow according to His standards. I am not yet "finished," but I believe that when He looks at me today, He pronounces the word "Teleos/ perfect" according to my season of life  -- still growing, but where I should be for now.

And I am happy that I no longer conform to the Procrustean Bed of this world, which makes people miserable because they cannot measure up to its standards and expectations.  I have a Heavenly Father who says, "This is My Beloved Child. Her sins and failings I no longer remember, for she is buried with my only-begotten Son and risen again in Him.  She is a new creature, created in My Image and Likeness.  What is still not complete in her, My Son will finish: she is perfect as He is perfect."