“Resplendent in her finery”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, May 15, 2022
Revelation 21:1-6 (Forward, p. 17) CEV p. 1312
How I wish that I could get a proper ‘handle’ on ancient wedding customs, especially on how the bride was dressed. However, just from the few fleeting clues found in the Scriptures, and from photos of modern Middle Eastern weddings, I can well imagine how sumptuous, how gorgeous, how resplendent in her finery, a typical bride must have been. She would have been a delightful scene for her bridegroom and guests alike.
In meditating on this, I have often thought about how we, you and I as Christians, are sometimes described as the bride of Christ. In this light, I have often wondered just how we can make ourselves presentable to Him, how we can be resplendent in our finery. And here, I think not of outward appearance, but the appearance of our hearts. Just what is it, in our lives, that would be the proper thing to present to Him who loves us so very much? This line of thinking has often occupied my thoughts.
But in today’s passage there is a difference in the way the image of a bride is presented. Here the bride is not us, or any person, but a place. The New Jerusalem, the holy city, is described as being like a bride. It is gorgeously arrayed, and ready to meet her husband. And who is her husband? Who is she ready to meet? Well, that holy city, New Jerusalem, is described as coming down from God in heaven, coming down to us, to us humans! So, are we the awaiting ‘husband’ in this analogy? And is this so-called ‘bride’ none other than this city? It would seem so.
So, how is this gift from God, this holy city, described? It is described as the dwelling place of God with us. No more separation or distance, but God with us, and with us forever. How glorious that will be! And not only that, but it will be an entirely new existence, totally unlike anything that we have ever known before. Ever since the Fall in the Garden of Eden we humans have never been free from suffering, crying, pain and death, but now all of that will be gone, and gone for good. Everything will be made new. So, in a very real sense, this is far better than ‘just a bride’, no matter how resplendent she might be, for here we have our best friend, Jesus, and lives that are truly new and truly transformed. It will be the start of a brand-new life, and how glorious that will be. It is truly something to look forward to. Amen.
Forward notes: “And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (verse 2).
“John, the author of Revelation, loves to talk about living as a Christian.
In this passage, he compares the vision of all of God’s children coming together to the beauty of a bride and groom on their wedding day. In awe and expectation, they are ready and willing to love, honour, and cherish each other.
“One of my favourite pictures was taken just before our wedding service. It is a photo of my soon-to-be wife, Nan, kissing her father. When I look at her face, I see a glimpse of what John saw in his vision in Revelation of the church as a bride adorned for her husband.”
MOVING FORWARD: “How do you see God's children today?”
A concluding note: Our author suggests that the vision that John saw was of ‘the church as a bride adorned for her husband. But is the holy city, the New Jerusalem, to be equated with the church? And if so, what would the church have to be like? Are there ways that the church, and its members, would need to change, to be properly adorned for her husband?
Or, in an alternative view, is the holy city, New Jerusalem, something that God creates and then gifts to us? And, if so, how do we prepare ourselves to receive it and be part of it? Some things to think about.