The Resurrected Bridegroom

God became man in the incarnation. In Christ’s humanity, he has joined with us in all things but sin. In other words, he felt and experienced what it is like to be human: hungry, cold, tempted, mocked, anxious, in pain, misunderstood, frustrated, victimized, etc. Certainly, He also experienced many of the joys of humanity, as well: a good meal, laughter, connecting with a friend, a mother’s embrace, the joy and satisfaction of an honest-day’s work, etc. I like to imagine sharing some of my pleasures with Jesus. He may never have had coffee, but He joins me for a cup each morning at prayers.

When it comes to pain and suffering, in those moments, each person feels alone and isolated. It is comforting to know that someone understands what we are going through. From the cross, Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Who more than Jesus would know that the heavenly Father would never abandon us. So why does the Bible include this line? It is part of one of the Psalms that Jesus would know and pray. He is exclaiming that He understands and is experiencing the pain of the psalmist and, indeed, all people who feel “abandoned” in their suffering. The abandonment is a mortal feeling, even if the invisible reality of God’s presence has not changed. It is comforting to know that Christ understands our pain.

As the life, passion, and death of Jesus connects God to our human plight, the Resurrected Jesus reveals our ultimate hope. We do not look forward to merely a few more days or years without pain; we are promised eternity in paradise. What will that be like? In the Risen Lord, we have a glimpse into what lies ahead: Jesus still has the memory of the wounds etched into His hands and side, but they no longer hurt, threaten, or traumatize Him. The wounds are merely a remembrance of the love with which He saved us. He has changed failure into victory; utter destruction into glorious triumph.

There is even more revealed in the resurrection, if one were to dig deep into the Sacred Scriptures. Jesus can eat, as he enjoys fish with His friends. Apparently, He can enjoy the good things of life. He appears and disappears, even entering the locked room. The earthly bonds no longer limit Him. Thomas and Mary Magdalene can touch His perfect body. He speaks and can be seen, not merely a dream or a mystical vision. Sometimes they recognize Jesus; other times it takes time for them to realize who it is, like the men on the road to Emmaus or Mary when she thought He was the gardener.

If we align the image of Christ the Bridegroom over the Risen Lord, something new is revealed: See how Jesus immediately forgives all the failings of His beloved disciples who abandoned Him when he was arrested. He gives Peter a chance to proclaim, even vow, to love Jesus with a three-times repeated ritual. Commanding their souls with a word of peace, the Bridegroom heals the trauma that Thomas and the Apostles endured having also suffered seeing the Lord crucified. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus reinterprets the events they have experienced in light of God’s ultimate plan. Jesus bestows even more gifts on His beloved as He breaths the Holy Spirit upon them. Christ promises never to leave them. Finally, He promises to return to us and carry us over the threshold of His Father’s house in heaven.

Is this not what we have experienced with Christ the Bridegroom? He re-writes our history. He gives hope where there was once just pain. He unites to our suffering and turns it into a sign of love. He gives us whatever we need to trust and believe in His affection for us. He heals our traumas and forgives our shortcomings. He releases us from the bonds of our past and makes us look forward to a future full of beauty and joy. He reminds us that God’s plan is perfect. We are God’s beloved.

The Divine did not merely bow down to join us in our suffering; He offers to lift us up to the glories of the Resurrection. In a garden, we lost paradise; in a garden Mary Magdalene holds on to the unimaginable hope of the Risen Lord. For now, like Mary, we may need to let His physical feet go, but He is with us. The day will come when He calls us to the Wedding Feast at His Father’s home. Despite all the broken promises of this world, the resurrection assures us that there is still hope.

Happy Easter my dear Roses.

Fr. Michael Stalla, Copyright 2025