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Catholics are like Canadian geese.
Not because we are noisy and annoying—
though some of us are—
nor because we seem to leave
a disgusting mess wherever we go—
though a few of us do—
but because, like them,
and like Coyotes, Bald Eagles,
and Eurasian Beavers,
we mate for life.
In a few minutes I will ask Aleks and Caroline
if they are prepared to love and honor each other
for as long as they both shall live
and, if everything goes according to plan,
they will answer “I am.”
And a minute or two after that
they will make to each other a promise
to love and to cherish each other
until death do they part.
if they are prepared to love and honor each other
for as long as they both shall live
and, if everything goes according to plan,
they will answer “I am.”
And a minute or two after that
they will make to each other a promise
to love and to cherish each other
until death do they part.
It is, if you think about it,
a foolish thing to promise.
We all know of people—
indeed, some of us are such people—
who in all sincerity made such promises
and yet found ourselves unable to keep them,
often through no fault of our own.
Life takes unexpected turns,
we face unexpected circumstances,
we suffer unexpected tragedies.
a foolish thing to promise.
We all know of people—
indeed, some of us are such people—
who in all sincerity made such promises
and yet found ourselves unable to keep them,
often through no fault of our own.
Life takes unexpected turns,
we face unexpected circumstances,
we suffer unexpected tragedies.
And yet, we persist in making such promises;
indeed, we yearn to make such promises
because it seems to be what love demands of us.
We want to say “forever.”
We want our love to be the love
of which St. Paul speaks:
the love that bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things;
the love that is
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health.
Such love, Paul tells us, is divine.
indeed, we yearn to make such promises
because it seems to be what love demands of us.
We want to say “forever.”
We want our love to be the love
of which St. Paul speaks:
the love that bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things;
the love that is
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health.
Such love, Paul tells us, is divine.
But it is also the love
that took flesh in Jesus
and which God deigns
to share with us
in the sacrament of marriage.
that took flesh in Jesus
and which God deigns
to share with us
in the sacrament of marriage.
On this day we have read the story of Jesus
at the wedding in Cana of Galilee
not simply because it mentions a wedding,
but because it shows us his power
to take the ordinary and transform it,
to turn the water
in which we would wash
into wine fit for a feast.
And he likewise takes
our desire to say “forever”
and transforms it into a sign
of his enduring love and fidelity.
And it is really only our trust
in his power to transform
that enables us to make
such a seemingly foolish promise.
at the wedding in Cana of Galilee
not simply because it mentions a wedding,
but because it shows us his power
to take the ordinary and transform it,
to turn the water
in which we would wash
into wine fit for a feast.
And he likewise takes
our desire to say “forever”
and transforms it into a sign
of his enduring love and fidelity.
And it is really only our trust
in his power to transform
that enables us to make
such a seemingly foolish promise.
The headwaiter at the wedding,
when he tastes the miraculous wine,
says to the bridegroom,
“Everyone serves good wine first, …
but you have kept the good wine until now.”
Aleks and Caroline,
today you will stand face to face
as you make your promises:
never before so charming,
never before so beautiful,
never before so much in love.
Yet, as the writer of Proverbs has reminded us,
charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting.
But love…
love can be forthright
and love can endure,
and in enduring increase.
And so my prayer for you this day,
is that ten, twenty, fifty years from now,
after a life together
that has taken unexpected turns,
faced unexpected circumstances,
and even suffered unexpected tragedies,
you will still stand face to face,
drinking deeply from the wellspring of the love
that bears, believes, hopes, and endures,
and say to the Lord,
the bridegroom of your souls,
“you have kept the good wine until now.”
when he tastes the miraculous wine,
says to the bridegroom,
“Everyone serves good wine first, …
but you have kept the good wine until now.”
Aleks and Caroline,
today you will stand face to face
as you make your promises:
never before so charming,
never before so beautiful,
never before so much in love.
Yet, as the writer of Proverbs has reminded us,
charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting.
But love…
love can be forthright
and love can endure,
and in enduring increase.
And so my prayer for you this day,
is that ten, twenty, fifty years from now,
after a life together
that has taken unexpected turns,
faced unexpected circumstances,
and even suffered unexpected tragedies,
you will still stand face to face,
drinking deeply from the wellspring of the love
that bears, believes, hopes, and endures,
and say to the Lord,
the bridegroom of your souls,
“you have kept the good wine until now.”
