Marriage: The Wedding Feast of Cana

In November I finally witnessed my first Marriage. Below is the Homily given at St. Patrick's Church.

Marriage has been around for a long time
since the day that Man first saw woman
and saw that she was very good, a fitting match for him.

And long before Jesus gave us the Sacrament of Marriage
the ancient Greeks declared marriage
to be the building block of civilization.

Natural marriage, calms us down, teaching them responsibility
it gives men and women an outlet
for their emotional and physical needs,
it provides the world with a future
in the form of the gift of children,
who are not just created
but also raised and educated by the family.

Natural marriage is a good thing,
and anyone who thinks logically about it
can see that it is praiseworthy, and should be cherished, protected, and encouraged.

But we are not here for just a natural marriage today,
today we are here for a sacrament.

A living reality and outward sign
of God's inward action in our life.

And like all Sacrament's the Sacrament of Marriage
was given to us by Christ for our salvation.

In fact, marriage is the first sacrament alluded to in the Gospels.
In the Gospel of John, as we heard today
Jesus' first miracle happens at a wedding feast.

Jesus is attending the wedding feast of some friends
and, as sometimes happens, the wine runs out.

But, the wine is not simply wine, it's also a symbol
of celebration and the fullness of life.

God gives us our life to be a celebration of creation,
and there is nothing He created that is not good
when used in accord with His plan.

God made us to celebrate and drink in all creation,
and this celebration is meant to culminate
in love of our neighbors, and of God Himself.

Sin ruined this plan, leaving us confused
about our place in creation
and unbalancing the delicate equilibrium of goodness
that God created.

The wine at the wedding feast
is a symbol of the fullness of married life,
an important part of God's original plan,

and so it's running out is what happens so often as a result of sin
when the spark in our relationships are extinguished
by selfishness, jealousy, lust, anger, or pride.

Into the midst, of this tragedy,
the tragedy of our separation from God
which ultimately leads to our separation from each other
walks Jesus, who at the request of His Mother,
enters into this faltering marriage feast.

Jesus orders six stone jars filled with water,
but it's important to see that these weren't just any old jars,
these were the water jars used for ceremonial washing.

The washing that was required by the old Jewish law,
and thus these jars themselves are a symbol of the law,
a symbol of the order that we humans try to establish
to make life tolerable after the rejection of God's plan.

This is emphasized by the # 6, which symbolizes imperfection.

Jesus orders the jars filled with water,
and then instructs the waiters to draw some water out of them

What they discover is that not only has Jesus
changed the water into wine but it is really good wine,
much better than the wine that came before!

It is so important to remember the symbolic element
when reading Scripture--because almost everything in the Bible
has many levels of meaning.

The meaning of the Gospel today is that marriage,
a good thing that God created from the beginning
to help men and women learn to love,
in the sacrament of marriage is transformed
into a new thing, better than the old.

And more importantly
whereas so often the old wine of marriage ran out
so long as we depend on Jesus, the wine of celebration
will never run out.

Today Ashley and Ryan are embarking
on the adventure of life together,

after much though and prayer they believe
that God made each of them especially for each other,
to help each other learn to love and thereby to grow in holiness.

This journey will be difficult, sadly married life,
in this world of sin is not one long honeymoon,
at times it will seem like the wine of celebration has run out.

But have faith, that if you place Jesus at the center of your life
and do as the BVM instructs: Do whatever He tells you!

The good wine of Jesus Christ will always fill up your marriage
and your family, and help you perservere
in the midst of all life's challenges with a spirit of celebration

Ashley and Ryan build your marriage and your family
on the foundation of Christ--and I promise you
that you will be happy and holy in this life,
and that you will help each other and your children
to attain eternal happiness in the world to come.