Christ, our bridegroom: Jan. 20: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Scripture readings:
• Isaiah 42:1-7
• Psalm 29:1-4, 9-10
• Acts 10:34-38
• Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Synopsis:  After Christ’s manifestation to the Magi in Bethlehem and then to the crowds at his baptism, the next manifestation of the Lord’s divinity was at the wedding in Cana. There he performed his first “sign” by changing water into wine. The first reading comes from the part of Isaiah that celebrates the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile. Jerusalem, which had long since been desolate and forsaken, shall once again be joyful and alive as the people come home. God rejoices over Jerusalem as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. God’s relationship to Israel is described in many ways: Father, Judge, Rock, Fortress, Warrior, etc. But one of the most unique and evocative images is that of Husband. This nuptial imagery inspired Jews for many generations prior to Christ, giving them hope for a renewed and lasting covenant. In our second reading, St. Paul uses the image of the body to describe the relationship between Christ and his Church. Paul explains that the Church is not like Christ’s body, but is his body. Each member of the Church therefore is important, equal in dignity though each with a different function. All work together for the good of the whole. The presence of Christ at the wedding in Cana and the miracle he performed signified to his disciples that the divine Bridegroom foretold by the prophets had at long last come. The miracle of the water changed into wine signifies the transformation of the old order into the new. When the servants and disciples saw how the water had become wine, they “began to believe in him.”

Key verse: “As a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you” (Isa 62:5).

Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. Already baptism, the entry into the people of God, is a nuptial mystery; it is so to speak the nuptial bath, which precedes the wedding feast, the Eucharist” (No. 1617).

Pope Benedict XVI: “Conjugal love is a sacramental sign of Christ’s love for his Church, a love culminating in the cross, the expression of his ‘marriage’ with humanity and at the same time the origin and heart of the Eucharist. For this reason the Church manifests her particular spiritual closeness to all those who have built their family on the sacrament of matrimony” (“Sacramentum Caritatis,” 27).

Life application: There’s no question that marriage and the family are under great stress today. The very definition of marriage is questioned as is the meaning of “family” and what it means to be human. Marriage is a universal institution rooted in the natural relationship between man and woman. Its main purpose is to provide a secure environment for children. The presence of Christ at the wedding in Cana raised marriage to an even higher level, elevating it to the dignity of a sacrament. The union of man and woman in holy matrimony signifies the covenant between Christ and his Church (Eph 5:21-32) and is also a sign of God’s love for the world.

James Cavanagh is director of Evangelization and Catechesis for Metro-area Parishes of the Denver Archdiocese. Cavanagh’s column is distributed by the Denver Catholic Register. 

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