The Second Sunday After Epiphany, Jan. 18, 2004
Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 96 or 96:1-10; 1 Cor. 12:1-11; John 2-1-11.
We are presented with images of marriage in two of today’s readings, including the familiar wedding at Cana in the gospel. Isaiah also uses marriage to explain God’s favor toward his people.
In the gospel, we may be so interested in hearing about the first of Jesus’ miracles, changing water into wine at the marriage feast, that we may miss a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon the importance of marriage. Jesus blessed that wedding at Cana not only by his presence, but also by providing miraculous wine for the guests. This good wine is a symbol of the joy of the fulfillment of God’s purpose for his people. In marriage, a man and a woman manifest God to the world.
As Christians, we have been taught that marriage is an image of Christ and his Church. Most of us are born of marriage, and we are reborn into eternal life from Christ and his bride, the Church. Surely the setting of a marriage as a place for God to show forth his glory cannot be overlooked.
It has been said that the Eucharist is a symbol of the relationship between Christ and his bride, the Church, somewhat of a marriage feast like that in Cana. As a husband and wife make sacrifices for each other, Christ perpetually renews in the Eucharist his sacrifice at Calvary.
Marriage is also, as Isaiah describes, an image of the bond between God and his people. In a good marriage, the partners take care of one another. So too does God take care of and show favor to his people. The prophet speaks of the restoration of Jerusalem and shares his hope that eventually it may be a source of joy, just as a bride is to a bridegroom. The land not only will be reinhabited, but it will be in a relationship with God who will nourish and protect it, like a husband does his wife.
Look It Up
How does the changing of the water at Cana symbolize what Jesus is to accomplish on the cross?
Think About It
In Isaiah, marriage between God and his people symbolizes the fulfilment of God's purpose for his people; here the abundance of good wine symbolizes the joy accompanying the fulfilment.
Next Sunday
The Third Sunday After Epiphany
Neh. 8:2-10; Psalm 113; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Luke 4:14-21.
