M A G A Z I N E I S S U E 2 5 ( J u n e 2 0 1 4 )
5
We might expect that the icon would show Christ in His Glory or in some way
connected with His coming in triumph. Why does it show Him in His agony? This
image is of Christ mocked by Pilate’s soldiers. The crown is a symbol of Christian
marriage in the Orthodox Church, and the ropes binding His hands are also a symbol
of marriage. The reed, being a mock-scepter, is a symbol of humility. This Bridegroom
is the “Suffering Servant.”
The Faithful Love of God
We are often unfaithful. God is always faithful. We may reject our Creator; He has no
wish to reject us. If there is any rejection it is rather like the darkness being banished
by the Light. Christ the Bridegroom stood before His people refusing to reject them,
but taking on Himself the consequences of our rejection of God. As St. Paul wrote,
“
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God.
”
Christ stands before us now, not just in an icon but in the reality of the suffering of the
poor, the persecuted, the forgotten. What does He think of His Church now? If He
was to appear physically before His Church in its disunity, its sin, its brokenness, how
would He be dressed? Since the victory has not been fully revealed and since we are
still struggling with our weaknesses, our infidelity, our cowardice and our lethargy,
would He not appear like this? Yes, this is the Bridegroom, appealing for mercy and
refusing to be defeated by betrayal and death.
In these latter days, the Bridegroom calls us to Himself, putting aside our sins and
offering us the gift of union with our Creator;
“
In these days, I tell you, I who am the Bridegroom of My Creation, call each one
of you; My wedded one; why those frowns and menaces on the sweetness of my
Mouth? unhappy little creature, remote from knowing Me, come! I invite you to fall
into your Bridegroom’s embrace and I will show you how I, Yahweh, can adorn your
spirit, lavishly offering you a flow of My Divine Love so that you, in your turn return
to Me this flow of love; then, wait and see, the day I will draw you into the nuptial
chamber of My heart, like a rose that grows on the bank of the watercourse, you will
blossom to declare the greatness of My Name, calling Me: ‘my Father’…….
” (TLIG,
September 25, 1997)
If only all Christians understood that the call to intimacy is at the heart of true spiritual
renewal out of which flows the gift of Christian unity. Love is the answer. As St. John
says, “
Not our love for God, but His love for us…
”
Fr John Abberton
