One of the highest-rating TV shows this century was — you guessed it — about a wedding. A royal wed­ding to be precise, between Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Millions of viewers from around the world tuned in to watch a festive extravaganza that included all the drama and ceremony that have been associated with weddings through the cen­turies. The march of progress has altered much, but not our need for weddings (along with funerals) as vital human cere­monies.

Why are weddings so significant? Not because of the folklore, tradition, or expense that have become part and parcel of the event. Nor are weddings significant because two people have decided to come together to share the rest of their lives with each other. This is a secular misunderstand­ing of the ceremony which is sadly becom­ing more widespread. No, the significance of the wedding is derived from the fact that it symbolises the union of God with his people. This is the spiritual reality to which each wedding is meant to bear witness.

For Jews in the first century AD, wed­dings assumed almost a sacramental status. They were seen as much more than festive occasions or opportunities for making merry. The bridal pair on the marriage day symbolised the union of God with Israel. This thought was taken over in the writings of the apostle Paul who pointed out that marriage was an earthly symbol of the eter­nal relationship between Christ and his church (Eph. 5:32).

Indeed he called marriage "a mystery" (v.32) because it is directly patterned on the relationship between his Son and his people which God had planned from all eternity (Hebrews 13:20). In Paul's eyes, marriage is far more than a useful social convention. It has been specially designed by God to contain and conceal a meaning far greater than what we may see on the outside. As Geoffrey Bromiley has written:

As God made man in his own image, so he made marriage in the image of his own eternal marriage with his people.

It is because of the rich symbolism that lies behind Christian marriage that the wedding and its festivities are of impor­tance to Christians. Since the wedding is a vehicle that reveals Christ’s love and faith­fulness to his people, Christians need to think about how they can glorify God through this profound spiritual metaphor. The ceremony and the celebrations are an opportunity to manifest the wonder of God’s salvation.

It should be no surprise to any of us that Jesus performed the first of his signs at a wedding (Jn. 2:1-12), or that his own min­istry was described as a wedding feast (Mk. 2:19). His return at the end of the age is spoken of in terms of a marriage supper (Rev. 19:6-9).

This is a wedding feast to which you and I are both invited — those of us, that is, who are part of his church. God himself issues the wedding invitation from his throne in the words of Psalm 134:

Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, both small and great.

This is a call to worship, and it is fol­lowed by a thunderous response from the gathered multitude — those saved by the blood of Christ — who join in heart-felt praise:

Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him the glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

The vision of this wedding left the apos­tle John prostrate in worship. He was over­whelmed by the sheer magnificence of God’s saving grace. The Psalmist felt the same way about this wedding: “My heart is stirred by a noble theme” (Psalm 45:1).

This glorious picture of the ultimate Christian wedding has profound implica­tions. First, as Christians we must seize back the wedding ceremony from secular culture and invest it with its true meaning.

This means that a Christian wedding is primarily about worship as well as the spec­tacle, feasting and sensory richness that we associate with the occasion. It’s good to go to great trouble with the details of a wed­ding — the bride’s gown, flowers, music, invitations and the like, but the world does the same. The thing that is different about a Christian wedding is that all these things can be made elements of a service where the focus is on God.

Second, all the participants in the cere­mony should be aware of the rich symbol­ism of marriage and the way that it speaks of God’s love and salvation. The ceremony itself, as well as the reception, is an oppor­tunity for Christians to show that the Lord is there as he was at Cana of Galilee. It was there that he first manifested his glory. His presence should sanctify the occasion, especially the reception where sometimes exuberance can become sin.

Third, our wedding celebrations should be occasions of great joy. After all, every Christian wedding is an anticipation of “the great feast that is to come”. The music, the entertainment, the festivity and feasting should all remind us of the goodness of the Lord.

It is not enough for a wedding to be ele­gant, flawless and memorable. One hopes it is that, regardless of how much time, energy and money we spend. But to be truly honouring to God and Gospel-cen­tred, it must be rooted in worship.