House Church Talk - the injured bride

[Mike Sangrey]

Why!!!!!  David!!!!!  You forgot the last line!!!!

See below.

On Thu, 2004-08-19 at 20:40, David Anderson wrote:
>       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 handsomest" 
> 
> 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.   
> 

And then the groom was heard to whsiper...but just loud enough for the
bride to hear...

Isn't she the most beautiful bride you've ever seen?

-----

Ironic, isn't it?  The two faces of the Church.

<smile>

-- 
Mike Sangrey
msangrey at BlueFeltHat.org
Landisburg, Pa.
                        "The first one last wins."
            "A net of highly cohesive details reveals the truth."