Thoughts for the Day

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunder-peals, crying out,

'Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb
has come and his bride has made herself ready.....

And the angel said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Many church weddings begins with these words: 'that as man and woman grow together in love and trust they shall be united with one another....as Christ is united with his bride, the Church.'

The word 'Christ' was a title given to the Messiah, and means 'the anointed one'. Christians believe that this was Jesus, who came to bring in a new era based on Love. The Church and the Messiah therefore are imagined as being united in love, like a bride and groom.

In bible times weddings were very different. The betrothal and the wedding were separated by a period of time, but the couple were considered married after the betrothal. The actual wedding started with a procession from the bride's house to the groom's house for the celebration of the great marriage feast, or supper.

The image in Revelation, above, is a picture of what will happen one day when Christ returns. Like him, the church may be despised or ignored, but when the time comes she will be welcomed for what she really is - the precious bride of Christ. We need to be ready to allow God to work in us so we can be presented 'clean and bright' (ie loyal and faithful).

Father,
as members of the Church,
acknowledged as the Bride of Christ,
may we one day be presented
as loving and faithful Christians,
and be ready for the marriage feast.
Amen.