T R U E L I F E I N G O D
4
THE ICON OF THE BRIDEGROOM
The Call to Intimacy
In the message of September 25th, 1997, the Father says;
“
it is impossible for a soul to love Me the way I want her to love Me were she to
keep her distance from Me; approach Me and taste my delights; I wish you to
become intimate with Me; if you remain far from My embrace, you will be unable
to get to know Me
”
In a footnote, Vassula adds, “That is the whole secret of knowing God: intimate union”
As we know, in several places in Holy Scripture God presents Himself as the Husband
or Bridegroom of His people. We see this in Isaiah 54:5;
“
For your Maker is your husband – the Lord Almighty is His name – the Holy One of Israel is
your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth
”
In Isaiah 61:10a,c:
“
I delight greatly in the Lord….For He has clothed me…as a bridegroom decks himself
(lit.)
as
a priest…
”
And in Isaiah 62:5:
“
As a young man marries a virgin, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over
his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
”
We see similar thoughts in Ezekiel and especially in Hosea. It
is also important to recognise the Song of Songs or the Song
of Solomon as pointing to the love of God for His people.
In the
True Life in God
messages we have the “Canticle of
the Bridegroom” where the Father and Christ both present
themselves as the “Bridegroom”. In fact, it is the Holy Trinity
which invites us to a profound intimacy in language which
is allegorical and mystical. Earthly marriage, as the Church
teaches, points to the union of the soul with God and the
union of God with His people.
The Icon of the Bridegroom
Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic readers will recognise the Icon on the cover of this
magazine. It is the icon of Christ the Bridegroom. During the Eastern service on
Palm Sunday evening, this icon is carried to the front of the church (by the priest)
where it remains for three days until Holy Thursday. Those three days are especially
associated with Christ as the central figure of the parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt.
25:1-13). This parable is used as a preparation for Easter – a preparation for the coming
of Christ in the Paschal Liturgy. The following is from the evening service of Palm
Sunday;
Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night,
And blessed is the servant he shall find vigilant;
But unworthy is he whom he shall find neglectful.
Beware therefore, O my soul, lest you be weighed down by sleep,
Lest you be given over to death and be closed out from the Kingdom;
But rise up crying out: ‘Holy! Holy! Holy are You our God;
Through the intercessions of the Theotokos, have mercy on us.
