like it or even to imitate it, but to participate in it—but only because this cross, in light of the resurrection, is life-giving.462 In connection with the marriage metaphor, furthermore, we should perhaps also think of the cross as creating not just a couple but a paradoxical, supra-human set of relationships in which one bridegroom (Christ) can be the faithful spouse of many brides, all of whom are siblings to one another. The Christian tradition has generally referred to this reality in terms of the one bride of Christ, namely the church as a whole.463
