Cinderella and the Church

Once upon a time...

Saint Peter told the Church, ‘once you were no people, now you are God’s royal people’. What a leap! Not only does the Church go from being 'no people' to 'people of God', but Saint Paul adds that the Church mysteriously becomes 'the Bride of Christ'.

The Church is God’s holy bride. Saint Paul picked up on the wedding theme of the marital covenant between Yahweh and Israel found in the Old Testament book, the Song of Song’s. In that book Solomon is alone with his bride on their wedding night. He whispers affirmations to his bride, “You are altogether beautiful, my love…there is no flaw in you.” -Song of Songs 4:7. Like Solomon, God's love is intense and passionate for his bride, the Church.

In the arc of time, the Church becomes a type of Cinderella at the ball, completely transformed and stunningly beautiful and ready to say yes to the groom. The Church goes from no people mired in sin - to a church militant on earth - to the church triumphant in heaven. The final phase for the Church, the Church with no blemishes, the one washed by the blood of the Lamb, is a described by John as a universal congregation of saints, robed in white, surrounding the Lamb and Bridegroom, Jesus at the Wedding Feast in heaven (see Revelation 19). 

There’s no better fairy tale story to look to as an allegory of this bride and groom relationship between Jesus and the Church than Cinderella. It is a story told about a poor adopted girl living in a wicked prison in her own home. She finds herself surrounded by an evil stepmother and stepsisters with a cat named Lucifer, who has taken over her home. 

Her name ‘Cinderella’ is a name that is given to her by the evil intruders as a form of mockery. She sweeps and cleans the fireplace and handles all of the chores in the home with ashes on her face. This is how Ella became ‘Cinder’-Ella. Cinderella covered in ashes represents the fall of the human race. 

Rather than reviling in return, she is content to humble herself in dust and ashes, patiently endure as she waits for the return of Christ. Beautiful within, she only needs outward garments that will reflect her innate goodness. She perseveres in faith, hope and love until one day she meets the prince. 

The prince in the story of Cinderella represents Jesus as the Bridegroom of the Church. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, takes the Church as his bride and lifts all of us out of our lowliness, our world of cinders and ashes. 

Cinderella’s attending the ball as a royal princess is a picture of the true position of the church. Because Jesus has saved her and united the church to Himself, the church is now royal and it is perfectly appropriate for her to be pictured in royal garments.

At the ball Cinderella points to the Church’s destiny as the healed, reconciled, sanctified, pure and whole Church. It is a reminder of the goal that we strive for in our spiritual lives, namely heaven. 

Cinderella leaves the ball in a hurry and the prince goes to seek her out. Just as Jesus will send out his angels to gather the saints from the earth. The kingdom is only for those for whom it has been prepared, just as the glass slipper was perfectly prepared for Cinderella. 

After she is discovered as the one who fits into the glass slipper, Cinderella is the one without spot or wrinkle as a suitable bride for the prince.

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" (Eph 5:25-27).

The noble virtue of Cinderella in her willingness to impart forgiveness to the wicked stepmother shows how she had taken on the character of the Bridegroom. She was, like the Church will one day be, totally holy and without blemish. This highlights that the prince is the head and she is the body, the two have become one. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church, he himself the savior of the body (Eph 5:23). 

“Let us rejoice and be glad  and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear” (Rev 19:7-8) 

Like the prince and Cinderella, finally at the end of time, the Church and Christ marry and live happily ever after and all who live in the kingdom will be happy.  “Happy are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Rev 19: 9). 

...The End