What About the Bride of Christ? -- Mamusz' Restoration Forum

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Date Posted: 22:43:33 04/05/11 Tue
Author: George
Subject: What About the Bride of Christ?

Since I have reproached John for reproducing lenten scripture readings that could be obtained almost anywhere for the nonhomebound -- and perhaps even them -- I decided that we needed some devotionals that might bring some uniqueness to the forum. When the liberal leaders and laity decided to phase out the Restoration distinctives, that uniqueness that justifies the Restoration was lost from the Community of Christ. So I offer here a devotional that is, to my knowledge, not available anywhere else without a lot of difficulty:

HYMN OF ASSANETH'S CONFESSION UNTO GOD

I have sinned, 0 Lord,
I have sinned before thee, and greatly transgressed,
I, Assaneth, daughter of Poti-pherah
the priest of the town of Heliopolis,
who was the officer of all the gods.
I have sinned, 0 Lord,
I have sinned before thee and committed wrong,
and worshiped numberless gods,
and eaten of their sacrifices.

I have sinned, 0 Lord,
and committed wrong;
I was a proud and haughty maiden.

I have sinned, 0 Lord,
I have sinned before thee, and greatly transgressed;
I ate the strangled meat and drank of the cup of imposture,
and ate at the table of death.

I have sinned, 0 Lord,
I have sinned before thee and greatly transgressed,
and dlid not know the Lord God of heaven,
and did not put my hope in God the Most High,
in the Eternally Living One.

I have sinned, 0 Lord.
I have sinned before thee and greatly transgressed;
and I trusted in the greatness of my glory and in my beauty,
and I was proud and haughty.

I have sinned, 0 Lord,
I have sinned before thee and greatly sinned,
for I despised all men,
and there was no man before me whom I valued.

I have sinned, 0 Lord,
I have sinned before thee; I have transgressed, greatly transgressed,
for I said that there was no prince upon the earth who could loose the girdle of my virginity.

I have sinned, 0 Lord,
I have sinned before thee, and greatly transgressed;
as I have hated all those who would have me for a bride,
and I despised and disdained them.

I have sinned, 0 Lord,
I have sinned before thee and greatly transgressed;
for I have considered myself the bride of Pharaoh's eldest son;
forgive me.
When Joseph the mighty one of God came, he conquered me,
and brought me down from my haughtiness,
and enticed me with his beauty,
and through his wisdom he made me to be obedient,
and caught me like a fish in a net.
And through his spirit he made me drink the draught of life,
and through his power confirmed me,
and offered me unto the Eternal God,
and gave me to eat the bread of life, and to drink the cup of immortality,
and I have become his bride forever.

Translated by the Rev. Dr. Jacques Issaverdens, 1901

I see in this prayer symbolism related to the church and Jesus Christ. The natural physical and biological nature of a woman requires her natural partner, a man, to make one whole out of two incomplete. I believe that creation was designed this way to testify of God's nature, and to let us known important things about God.

This symbolism is as deeply ingrained in the Christian church as the usage of "father" to address God. Asenath seems here to have had some of the characteristics familiar to the targets of the Community of Christ's evangelism. She repents of hating all men when she sees the perfection and beauty of the relationship between herself and Joseph, which mirrors the relationship between the Church and Jesus Christ.

She cannot come to God unless she repents.
An unnatural hatred of the opposite sex that prevents Biblical marriage for her is sinful.
The full consequences of the sin are not known to her until after true repentance puts her back into a right relationship.

Asenath's sin is no different in degree than any other sin. I only selected this passage because her sin runs parallel to that of many of the appointed, paid clergy of the Community of Christ, and also parallels that of the most favored class of members in that denomination.

God wants all us to repent of every sin -- not just a particular sin that plagues someone else and not ourselves. But, those of us who do share that particular sin ought not only to repent of it, but encourage their
/our fellows to repent of it as well. If we don't repent, there will be no Lent, nor Easter, because every second of every minute of every hour of every day will be eternally Good Friday -- with Jesus on the cross.

Just my thoughts during the Lenten season.

George

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Replies:

Re: What About the Bride of Christ? -- Lois, 10:52:13 04/10/11 Sun
- Re: What About the Bride of Christ? -- George, 23:35:18 04/10/11 Sun
  - Re: What About the Bride of Christ? -- Lois, 00:07:26 04/11/11 Mon