Cana wedding feast

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The institution of marriage existed before the time of Jesus, and he raised it to the level of sacrament. He did this through his teaching on the ideals of marriage as well as his endorsement of marriage by his attendance at the Cana wedding feast. Moreover, as a child and a young man, he lived with a married couple, Mary and Joseph, and he was greatly blessed by the goodness of their marriage, and he experienced firsthand the beauty of married love.

The sacrament of marriage is a rich source of God’s grace. Initially, God seals the bond of love between the bride and the groom when they exchange their promises (Mk 10:9a). From that day forward, every day for the rest of their married lives, God provides a constant and uninterrupted flow of grace to help their love grow, intensify and flourish. Then it is up to the husband and wife to cooperate with the graces that God so generously provides.

The teachings of Jesus on marriage are found in the Gospels of Matthew (19:4-6) and Mark (10:6-9), and based upon God’s plan for marriage found in Genesis (1:27; 2:18, 21-24). Jesus explained that the Creator “made them male and female” (Mk 10:6; see Gn 1:24; 5:2), and because it was not good for either to be alone (Gn 2:18), God intended for a man to be joined to his wife (Mk 10:7), that they would be united as one (Mk 10:8; see Gn 2:24), and that their union would be permanent and indissoluble (Mk 10:9).

Jesus upended the ancient culture’s understanding of marriage when he declared that the two become “one flesh” (Mk 10:8). This coincides with the creation account when God took a rib from the man to fashion the woman (Gn 2:21-23). Man and woman are made of the same flesh. Then they become one flesh. The ancient mentality was that society is divided into four classes, each superior to and exercising a property right over the class below. Men were on the top tier, followed by women, children and slaves. When Jesus declared that a husband and wife are one flesh, he rejected the notion that a husband is over his wife and that he owns her. The good news is that a husband and wife are equals.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus began his public ministry at the Cana wedding feast (2:1-11). It is a statement of his priorities. By beginning at a wedding, Jesus showed that marriage is of utmost importance to him. It is a noble institution created by God. A holy marriage is a tremendous good to the couple themselves, their family, the Church and society. When Jesus attended, he blessed their union, and when he came to their rescue, he gave them his support.

Sacred Scripture features many married couples. The most important is Mary and Joseph. Matthew explains that they were betrothed (Mt 1:18), and after the customary waiting period, they were married. The Bible begins with the first couple, Adam and Eve. Genesis continues with the patriarchs and matriarchs: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Rachel. Exodus highlights Moses and Zipporah. Other prominent couples in the Old Testament are Boaz and Ruth, Elkanah and Hannah, Tobiah and Sarah, Manasseh and Judith, and Hosea and Gomer, and the other prominent couple in the New Testament is Zechariah and Elizabeth.

The Bible begins and ends with marriage. Genesis is the first book of the Bible, and it opens with Adam and Eve (Gn 3:6b). Revelation is the last book of the Bible, and it closes with its description of heaven as the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rv 19:7, 9).

Father Van Sloun recently retired as pastor of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata. This column is one in a series on the sacrament of marriage. Read the series on the Eucharist and confirmation.