A few years ago, I was in a wedding. I was a friend of the bridegroom - a groomsman. During the rehearsal, the officiant lined us up and we practiced what we would be doing the day of the wedding. Knowing that we guys liked had the tendency of partying pretty hard on occasions such as these, the pastor clearly said, "Please, no alcohol before the wedding." I nodded in a agreement, but figured he couldn't possibly be talking about me. He was talking about everyone else.
The next day, we all showed up in a little house on the property to get ready. There were some bottles of liquor and a fridge full of beer. The idea was to just take the edge off and enjoy some time together before sending our friend off to the married life. Well, I didn't just have a few. I drank from noon until wedding time, and by the time I got in line with everyone else, I was sloshed. The following is not from memory, but from several people telling me.
I staggered and swayed and looked to my left to see an auditorium full of excited people. The two families and a host of friends were waiting to see the bride and bridegroom, while I was being carried away by the phenomenon of alcoholism. I was in another world.
I could hardly stand once I got on the stage. Worse than that, I had no control over my actions. As the bride walked down the center aisle, I began clapping. I felt a punch to the kidney, but it didn't help. I kept clapping. I was taking attention off the sparkling bride, and bringing it to myself. After the ceremony ended, and the groomsman walked off the stage, I was getting more and more belligerent. The guys couldn't keep me contained, and the security officer asked if he needed to escort me out of the building. Someone said no. It got so bad that one of the guys had to knock me upside the head to shut me up. Needless to say, I didn't make it to the after party and someone gave me a ride home. My night was over, and I had completely missed the wedding. I was physically present, but mentally absent. Years later, I heard from someone attending the wedding that the person sitting next to them said, "That's so nice that they invited that handicapped person to be a groomsman." Wow.
On day ten of Lent, John the Baptist is surrounded by his disciples, and they're getting a little perturbed that Jesus is stealing the spotlight from them. He's begun baptizing people, and he's dunking way more people than they have. They ask John, "You know that guy you were with on the other side of the Jordan the other day? He's competing with us."
John says something very interesting, "Ya'll were there when I told the public that I was simply here to introduce the Messiah. I was just getting things ready for him. The one who gets the bride is the bridegroom. And the bridegroom's friend, the best man - that's me - is in place at his side where he can hear every word. He's genuinely happy. How could he be jealous when he knows that the wedding is finished and the marriage is off to a good start?"
According to John, he was simply the best man and Jesus was the bridegroom. The bride is us. John says that the wedding has finished and the marriage is in progress. Isn't that beautiful? Humanity - the bride of Christ.
We are united with Christ and get to experience life to the fullest. Are we emotionally and physically present, or are we emotionally absent from experiencing this?
As we go out today, may we do whatever it takes to be emotionally and physically present in the midst of the Bridegroom. May we love, but more importantly let ourselves be loved by him. May we talk to him and let him know how we're doing. May we serve him by serving the people we interact with today.
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