reflection on marriage

Marriage homily

As we reflect upon God's word today, the message throughout the readings, a common theme is love. Jesus said: “Love one another as I have loved you. St. Paul's message to the Corinthian Church is to do everything in the spirit of love. If I have faith to move mountains, but do not love, then I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, but do not love, then I gain nothing. If I speak with an angelic tongue, but do not love, I'm like a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. It's not that these elements (faith, charity, speech) are not important, but they must be done in a spirit of love, and letting love be the guiding principle that directs our thoughts and actions.

In our first reading from the book of Genesis, is also a story about love. Adam had everything that he needed. In the garden of Eden, he had all the food that he could possibly eat, and also the plenty of animals to keep him company. But he was still unhappy, and God saw that. So, in this Hebrew mythological story, God cast Adam into a deep sleep, and then took one of his ribs, and then formed Eve. When Adam saw Eve, he said: “This one at last, is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh.” In other words, from now on, they were to live as one.

I remember reading a Greek mythological story about marriage. The story was told that at one point, human beings were very powerful and strong. They were four armed, and four legged creatures, and the Greeks gods were so concerned, that they decided to split them in half and place them as far as they could from each other. And the two halves would spent the rest of their lives looking for their other half, and upon finding their other half, they were complete. The Greek story is a story about God preventing marriage. But the Hebrew story is different because God gifted humanity with marriage. Married love is from God.

But as we continue the story of creation, we see the opponent, the Evil One, tries to disrupt the order, and leads them away from the gift of love. In a form of a serpent, he began to confuse Adam and Eve. God told them if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, there will be serious consequences. But the Evil One tempted the woman: “You will not die, but your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God.” Notice that one of the first sacraments in the Bible is the Sacrament of Marriage. The Evil One wants to destroy marriages. One thing that the Evil One doesn't like to see is happy, married couples, who are in love. In fact, he is furious and upset when he see married couples in love. He'll do everything he can to separate and divide, and he will continue to try to do with you. But don't let him win. Today, on your marriage day, God is victorious, and good has triumph. We are on the winning side.

______ & _________, may the Lord bless your vocation of marriage all the days of your life. Amen