Toubabou

I had the wonderful occasion to attend a wedding on Saturday. The bride is a close friend, and the groom is the son of assistant dorm-parents I knew in the ’70s. The sermon was spot-on, and it was a lovely occasion all ’round. I got thinking (partly due to a question from my daughter) about the wearing of white by the bride, and specifically the wearing of white by the Bride of Christ. I’ve always been fond of a joke by the late Dave Allen where a bride-to-be asks her priest what the qualifications are for wearing a white wedding gown. The priest replies that if the bride is a virgin she may wear white, otherwise she should wear blue. The bride-to-be announces that she’s going to wear a white gown “with little blue spots all over it.” This tends to be our approach much of the time, wishing to minimize our sin. At the same time, we are hesitant to accept charity. “If I end up in hell, I’ll have earned it,” or some such nonsense.

In this context it struck me that the Bride of Christ is compelled to appear at the wedding, not just in a midnight-blue gown, but one tattered and begrimed, as well. Scripture says that our righteousness is as filthy rags, and also indicates that even guests at the wedding who aren’t properly dressed will be removed and cast into the outer darkness. So, what’s a girl to do? We must accept the gown that the groom offers us. “Oh, but surely that was intended for another girl. I’m sure it won’t fit. It’s too clean!” There is nothing for it. Having been washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb, we must now wear the white gown we do not deserve, because it is in this way that we become His glory. “The woman is the glory of man”

There is undoubtedly much more that could be said, but my head is filling with sleep, so this will have to do …