House Church Talk - the injured bride

[David Anderson]

      Hi all, 

I have enjoyed the stories, analogies, and parables lately.     

     David Anderson


Here's another to encourage us not to be combative with others:

The wedding guests have gathered in great anticipation; the ceremony to 
be performed today has long been awaited. The orchestra begins to play an 
anthem, and the choir rises in proper precision. The bridegroom and his 
attendants gather in front of the chapel. One little saint, her flowered 
hat bobbing, leans to her companion and whispers, "Isn't he handsome?" 
The response is agreement, "My, yes. The handsomestŠ" 

The sound of the organ rises, a joyous announcement that the bride is 
coming. Everyone stands and strains to get a proper glimpse of the 
beauty. Then a horrible gasp explodes from the congregation. This is a 
bride like no other. In she stumbles. Something terrible has happened! 
One leg is twisted; she limps pronouncedly. The wedding garment is 
tattered and muddy; great rents in her dress leave her scarcely modest. 
Black bruises can be seen welting her bare arms; the bride¹s nose is 
bloody. An eye is swollen, yellow and purple in its discoloration. 
Patches of hair look as if they had actually been pulled from her scalp. 

Fumbling over the keys, the organist begins again after his shocked 
pause. The attendants cast their eyes down. The congregation mourns 
silently. Surely the bridegroom deserved better than this! That handsome 
prince who has kept himself faithful to his love should find consummation 
with the most beautiful of women‹not this. 

His bride, the church, has been fighting again.