GOD’S SAINTS, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST!
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Old Testament Lesson;
Isaiah 26:1-21
Gospel Lesson;
Matthew 5:1-12
Sermon Text;
Revelation 21:9-27
Today, as we consider the funerals of the believers in Christ, who died this past year, and are now safely in Heaven, we are going to look at their funerals, by looking at, (of all things), marriage! What in the world do funerals and marriage have to do with one another, since on the surface it may appear as if they have nothing do with each other?
We have a book that we pastors use, called the Lutheran Agenda. It is a big book that has all kinds of different special worship services in it. There is a service for confirmation. There is a service for the dedication of a church. There is a service for the installation of Sunday School teachers. There is a service for weddings. There is a service for funerals. There is a service for baptism.
Anyway, one day a number of years ago, I was to preside at a wedding. I was holding the Lutheran Agenda in my hand, and up the aisle walked the bride and groom. As they got near me, I flipped open the Agenda to the well-worn pages, which I thought was the wedding service. I raised my hand, made the sign of the cross in front of them, and began by saying, "We begin this Christian funeral in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
There was snickering in the congregation, (just as there is today). All of a sudden, to my horror, I realized what I had said. So I quickly said, "NO! We begin this Christian wedding in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
I thought what a terrible omen to start out a wedding saying, "We begin this funeral." So afterwards, I profusely was apologizing to the bride and groom.
The groom looked at me, with a big smile on his face and said, "Well, in a way, a wedding is like a funeral, because you die to yourself. And, you give yourself to someone else."
The wedding service in our Lutheran Agenda begins this way. "Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today, in the presence of God and His Church, to witness and to bless the joining together of this man and this woman in holy marriage. Holy marriage is an honorable estate, which God, Himself, has instituted, and by which He gives us a very picture of Christ and His bride, the church."
God has so honored the estate of marriage, the relationship between husband and wife, that in scripture God compares the relationship that Jesus has with His believers, with His saints, He compares that to the relationship between a husband and a wife! In our scripture reading for today, (which shows a view of Heaven), what did the angels say to St. John?
"Come.
Come, I will show you the bride,
the wife of the Lamb."
There in Heaven, is the bride of Christ. There in Heaven, is the bride of Christ triumphant! Here on earth, believers are also "the bride of Christ."
This past year, we had funerals for those who believed in Jesus as their Savior, and now they are safely in Heaven. We will consider what they understood, by using the terms of the marriage, between Christ "the Groom" and His church, His believers, "the bride."
Those believers in Christ, who died this past year, understood what a groom is looking for in a bride. He is looking for one who is beautiful and pleasant on the outside, and, on the inside, someone who cares for him, someone who is faithful to him. Those believers who died this past year, as they looked at themselves understood that is not the kind of "maiden" they had been, before God. They would be more compared to a bride who has lost her teeth, covered with wrinkles, spots, blemishes, stains, who is filthy and dirty with sin, who has been unfaithful (scripture describes sin as being unfaithful to the Groom). Those believers in Christ, who died, recognized that there was nothing in them, nothing at all in them that made them attractive to the "Groom." They understood their lost condition, and they repented of their sin. They understood, "Were it not for the mercy of God, I would be lost forever."
Those believers, who died this past year, also understood this about the "Groom", Jesus. St. Paul, (talking in Ephesians, chapter five, which is the great marriage chapter), goes in and out between the relationship of an earthly husband and wife, and Christ and His bride, the church. He says,
"Christ loved the church.
Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her."
Those believers in Christ, who died this past year, understood the unconditional love of Jesus Christ for His bride, the church. By unconditional, they understood the love of Jesus for them had no strings attached. He did not look at them and say, "I love you, if you are good looking. I love you, if you are fun to be around. I love you, if you are pleasant. I love you, if you obey my commands. I love you, if you do what I want."
But, He looked at them and said, "I love you, even if you are ugly, even if you are unpleasant, even if you are unfaithful, even if you do not do what I want, even if there is nothing in you that should cause me to love you. I love you unconditionally."
By that, the Groom was saying to His bride, the church, "I make the choice to put your needs before my own. I will sacrifice whatever it takes to meet your needs."
And, the greatest need for Christ’s bride is to have her sins forgiven. And so, the Groom, the mighty Groom came to this earth to fight for His bride, to defend His bride, who could not fight for or defend herself. He clothed Himself with human flesh. And, He also clothed Himself with the shame and guilt of His own bride.
He took all of her sins, as His very own. How deeply He loved her!
He took all of her guilt as His very own. How deeply He loved His bride!
He took all of the punishment that she deserved, for her sins, as His very own. How deeply He loved His bride!
And though His bride was the one who deserved to be whipped, mocked, beaten, scourged, and spit upon, (because of what she had done to Him), He took all of that for her, because He loved her so dearly!
He went to the cross for His bride. He had nails driven through His hands, to defend His bride, from her own sin, from death, and from Hell. He suffered the eternal torments of Hell on the cross. So deeply did He love His bride!
And, He gave up His life for His bride. Christ Jesus so deeply loved the church, He gave Himself up for her!
Those who died this past year understood that. They understood the unconditional love of Jesus.
And they understood how Jesus had taken what was His and gave it to them. The passage goes on, and says,
"Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
to make her holy,
by cleansing her with the washing of water
through the Word,
to present her to Himself as a radiant church,
without spot or blemish or any other blemish,
but holy and blameless,
through the waters of Holy Baptism."
Jesus, the Groom, cleansed His bride. Through the waters of Holy Baptism, He brought His bride to faith. Through the waters of Holy Baptism, He washed away all the sin, filth, and dirt from His bride, to present her to Himself, clean, forgiven, lovely, and holy. Jesus presented to His bride the wedding garment. She could not provide a garment for herself. So, He presented His own holiness for her, His payment for sins for her, (His believers), to put on, as a wedding garment. And, Jesus is the one who made His bride lovely and beautiful. She did not make herself beautiful and lovely. He did. Those who died this past year, believing in Jesus, understood that.
That passage in Ephesians, chapter five, goes on and says,
"A man will leave his father and mother,
and be united to his wife,
and the two become one flesh.
This is a profound mystery,
but I am talking about
Christ and His bride, the church."
Christ and His bride, the believers, are one. The two have become one, in the marriage relationship. When the bride and groom become one, that means what belongs to the bride belongs to the groom. And what belongs to the groom belongs to the bride.
What does the bride of Christ bring into the relationship with Jesus?
She brings her sin.
She brings her sorrows.
She brings her misfortunes.
She brings her troubles.
She brings her concerns.
She brings her worries.
"And the two are one."
Jesus takes those as His own.
They become
His sins,
His worries,
His concerns,
His cares,
His misfortunes.
And in exchange, He gives to the bride what is His, because the two are one.
The bride receives His holiness.
The bride receives His forgiveness.
The bride receives His comfort.
The bride receives His strength.
The bride receives His joy.
The bride receives His peace, because the two are one.
Those who died, this past year, believing in Jesus, understood that.
And on the day they closed their eyes for the last time, they, the bride, laid safely in the arms of the Jesus, the Groom. As they closed their eyes in death, they knew that because the two are one, their death belonged to Jesus. He died for them. That means His life belongs to them! And so, the Groom carried them, across the threshold, into life eternal, into the mansions of Heaven! The mighty Groom, who ultimately delivered His bride to the home He purchased for her, at a great price, carried them.
And, she was transformed, (as our scripture says), "To be radiant." Now she is free, free from sin. And now, she is holy, pure, and stands lovely, before her Groom. And now, for the first time, she can view her Groom with her own eyes, because she, as He, has been made holy and perfect. And her joy is inexpressible.
Our scripture reading also says that no evil shall ever enter that home in Heaven, where the saints, with Christ, are. Isn’t it Jesus, who said to His bride?
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God,
Trust also in Me.
In my Father’s House are many mansions.
I am going there to prepare a place for you.
If I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back to take you to be with me,
that you also may be where I am.
And, the Groom kept that promise. He came back and took His bride to be with Him, in eternal safety in Heaven.
As we look at All Saints’ Day, and remember those who have died and have gone before us in the faith, we consider one of our Lutheran confessions, the Augsburg Confession. It tells us that as we remember those saints, we should do three things.
Number one, we should express our thanksgiving to God for the mercy He has shown to them. And we are ever thankful to God for the mercy He has shown them.
Secondly, we should see it as a strengthening of our faith, because what Jesus, the Groom, did for them, He also promises to do for you and me. You and I also are unlovable, before God. There is nothing beautiful in us, at all. We are sinners. But, Jesus came to this earth and unconditionally loved you, died for you, and paid for your sins. And in baptism, He cleansed you. He washed away your sins. And by faith, He clothed you with His holiness and righteousness, and made you beautiful, clean, and pure in His eyes. Jesus, the loving Groom feeds you, cares for you, and nurtures you, His bride. And, He preserves you in your faith.
All that is His is yours and all that is yours is His.
Your sins are His. His holiness is yours.
Your concerns are His. His peace is yours.
Your troubles are His and His strength is yours.
One day, we will be with all of the saints in Heaven and we look forward to that day.
Finally, as we look at those saints who were here on this earth, we see that because they loved their Savior, they sought to please Him. A bride, who truly loves her husband, seeks to please him. She seeks to please him. And, they sought to serve the Groom, Jesus, in whatever way they could. We should use their example to inspire us, (because we also love the Groom), to seek and to serve Him, to serve Him with our whole hearts, and look forward to the day when we will serve Him eternally in Heaven with all of the saints!
Amen.
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