In 1946 a California lawyer needed a change in life. His practice was mediocre and the cases routine. An ambitious man, he knew there was something more invigorating he could do with his hard earned and costly law degree. One morning searching the Whittier Daily News, he read this ad: “Wanted: Congressional candidate with no previous political experience to defeat a man who has represented the district in the House for 10 years. Any young man resident of the district, preferably a veteran, fair education, may apply for job.” Richard Milhous Nixon answered the inquiry, launching his political career all the way to the White House.
One never knows the joy and satisfaction that can be obtained by accepting an invitation, especially if it is extended by Jesus. And the invitation that Jesus has postmarked for us all is to be a guest at his upcoming wedding. Most titles ascribed to Jesus have been designated by the church fathers over the first four centuries as they reviewed his life and came to explicitly understand the full meaning of the Resurrection event. Jesus, in his lifetime, only customized several for himself and “Bridegroom” was one of his self-chosen titles, as it was most descriptive of his self-understanding and the perception of his role in the cosmic phenomenon of Creation.
The covenant of marriage and the term bridegroom was familiar to the populace in Galilee, for it had a plenteous tradition in Judaism, as it was deemed to be a covenant relationship. Theologically, marriage is a covenant, not a contract. A contract can be broken and redress sought if any of the signatures fails to abide by the stated agreement. A covenant, on the other hand, is insoluble. Once agreed upon it is binding forever.
God made a covenant with Noah to never again bring forth judgment upon the sins of the world’s populace as was done with the great flood. A sign, the rainbow, was given as assurance to this covenant which we could behold from generation to generation.
A covenant was made with Abraham that his decedents would be more plentiful than the sands upon all the beaches of the world. Circumcision was the sign and seal of this unending promise. There was also a name change from Abram to Abraham. The new etymology bestowed upon him the “father of many nations,” previously his name meant “exalted father.”
Roman Catholicism recognizes marriage as a covenant; therefor, a divorce cannot be granted for the covenant cannot be expunged. The marriage can only be annulled, which is a declaration the marital covenant never existed. Marriage was affirmed to be one of the seven sacraments of the church: Baptism; Confirmation; Holy Communion; Confession; Marriage; Holy Orders; Anointing the Sick.
In response to the Protestant Reformation and the teaching of Martin Luther which denounced the Seven Sacraments of Catholicism, the Council of Trent, the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council, which convened in 1545, affirmed the dogma of the Seven Sacraments. Testifying to marriage the council implored that the tenet has always been taught by the church, thusly defined in the canon: “If any one shall say that matrimony is not truly and properly one of the Seven Sacraments of the Evangelical Law, instituted by Christ our Lord, but was invented in the Church by men, and does not confer grace, let him be anathema.”
The pronouncement of Trent was not the first given by the church, as The Council of Florence, the Seventeenth Ecumenical Council, convoked in 1431, already declared the sacrament of matrimony “is a figure of the union of Christ, and the Church, according to the words of the Apostle: ‘This is a great sacrament, but I speak in Christ and in the Church.’”
God, through the covenant, declared that the relationship He established with the Hebrews could never be voided. It was a relationship that Jewish sages often expressed in terms of a marriage covenant between God and Israel.
God demanded fidelity with the people of Israel. Though they were often an adulterous nation, especially through the worship of idols and foreign gods, Yahweh remained faithful to a nation described both as both a philander and a harlot.
The Book of Hosea accentuates this theme. Hosea was married to Gomer who turned from her husband and became a prostitute. Hosea could have legally abandoned her, instead he continually sought her. Retrieving her from a slave market he brought his wife to the sanctuary of his home, restoring her from public scorn. Allegorically, Gomer is Israel, a disobedient sinful nation; God, portrayed as Hosea, is ever faithful to the covenant of Abraham. In so doing, the relationship between God and the chosen people of Israel is maintained.
Into this milieu Jesus accepted for himself the marriage analogy to express the divine-human relationship between Christ and the church. Jesus is the bridegroom; the church is his bride. He employed this correlation to highlight his sojourn on earth.
With the self-declaration of being the bridegroom, Jesus invoked the weeding feast correlation. We are all invited to the wedding.
This is the message of the parable of “The Wedding Feast.” The king prepared a wedding feast and invitations were sent throughout the kingdom, except most subjects were too busy or disinterested to attend. The king then expanded his call to the forsaken and outcasts who were overjoyed to be in attendance at such a noble event. The king is God, and the guests are us. We are all invited to the great feast of the Kingdom. The question is: will we by faith receive the invitation of salvation?
The analogy of a wedding feast was employed to describe the Kingdom of God. A wedding is an occasion of great celebration and so there will be glad tidings when we enter into the reception hall. Overwhelmed by the number of guests in attendance we shall be overcome with joy. As at any wedding officiated at a church, our precious family will be in the pews and later roaming the fellowship hall, accompanied by our dearest and closest friends; likewise, so shall it be when we walk upon the clouds of heaven in the presence of Jesus, our bridegroom.
It is an honor to be the bride of Christ. Selected to walk the aisle at his side, embraced in his arm, solemnly approaching the altar, receiving the vow of the covenant, then the celebration of salvation as family and friends gathers about the ceremonious table of the wedding feast, guests of our Lord. Calling himself the bridegroom and acknowledging us as his bride, could Jesus have any better way indicated that we are a part of his heavenly family?
Matrimony
Frederick Douglas approached the front door of the White House seeking admission into the Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball. Just as Douglas was about to knock on the door two policemen seized him as an uninvited guest, barred by the color of his skin. A large and powerful man, Douglas brushed aside the constables and stepped through the doors into the great and majestic foyer of the most publicized house in the world. The officers, shouting racial maledictions, grabbed the abolitionist, dragging him across the polished floor towards the street. He hollered in dismay, “Just say to Mr. Lincoln that Fred Douglas is at the door.” Confusion ensued that did not go unnoticed by the celebrant of the hour. Intervening, the President announced in a distinguishable voice, audible to all in the Great Hall, “Here comes my friend Douglas.”
Invited as a friend, accepted as a bride, could Jesus do any more to make us feel welcomed in his heavenly home.