Deacon Steve's Homily, 27th Sunday - In marriage God is present

27^th Sunday Ordinary – B

Christ’s presence in the Sacrament of Marriage

Good morning!

I’ve been a deacon for over 4 years.

I have certainly enjoyed the many opportunities to minister to the people of God as a deacon.

Serving on the altar, proclaiming the word of God, and preaching are wonderful and fulfilling.

You may or may not know that a deacon can also baptize and preside at weddings.

I have baptized dozens of children and have had the opportunity to preside at several weddings.

In fact, I will be presiding at 3 weddings this month alone.

When I meet with the couples to help them plan their wedding, I always encourage them to put a lot of thought and prayer into selecting the readings for their wedding.

The readings can help set the tone for their marriage.

One of the more popular wedding readings that is often selected is our first reading from the book of Genesis.

We just read from Genesis:

"This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called 'woman ', for out of 'her man' this one has been taken."
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.”

One reason that this reading is so popular is that it reminds all of us that marriage is part of God’s original plan.

God created human beings and intended male and female to cling to each other in marriage, to be fruitful and multiply.

This reading is a reminder for married couples that they are following God’s plan.

And then Jesus weighs in on marriage in Mark’s gospel when he says:

“Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate."

God intended man and woman to become husband and wife, to be fruitful, and to remain joined together.

I look around and see lots of married couples.

Could I see a show of hands?

How many couples have been married for 5 years or less?

How many from 5 to 10 years?

From 10 to 25 years?

From 25 to 50 years?

60 years?

If we ask the couples who have been married at least 25 years:

“Has your relationship with your spouse grown stronger?”

I’ll bet the answer is a resounding ‘yes’ from most of these couples.

If we ask “Are you more in love with your spouse now than ever before?”

I’ll bet the answer again is a resounding ‘yes’.

If we ask them ‘why’, I’ll bet they will say that their relationship with each other has grown because they have invited God to be part of their marriage.

Remember that a Christian marriage is a sacrament which shows God's desire to be ONE with the couple.

Christ is truly present in that Christian marriage which is centered around Christ and his church. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church connects the first miracle of Jesus and the Sacrament of Matrimony and Christ’s presence:

“On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign – at his mother’s request – during a wedding feast. The Church attaches great importance to Jesus’

presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ’s presence (CCC 1613).”

My friends, we believe that Christ is truly present in a Christian marriage.

Marriage is truly sacred where man and woman become one.

They carry out God’s plan for humanity by cooperating with God and his grace given in the sacrament of marriage.

Recently I had lunch with a dear friend of mine who’s been battling cancer.

He and his wife have been married over 25 years and they are devoted Catholics.

Both of them have a strong faith and love for God.

This man had a major influence on my faith journey and I can honestly say that he helped prepare me to become the deacon that I am today.

He shared with me last week, that during his recent battle with cancer, the chemotherapy and radiation caused tremendous pain and suffering and he was extremely weak; he thought that he was near death.

Through it all, his wife was there with him, she cared for him – 24/7.

She didn’t leave his side.

But at his lowest point emotionally, physically, and spiritually, he actually felt that God had abandoned him.

He told me ‘God was nowhere to be found.’

He said ‘The only person that truly cared about him was his wife and at that point she was all that mattered.’

She was all that he thought about.

Her love and her care carried him through this battle.

But as he recovered and got stronger he was able to reflect upon the experience.

It was then that he realized that God hadn’t abandoned him.

God was there every step of the way through the love and the actions of his caring wife.

You see my friends, the two became one, and when they invited God to be part of their marriage, you could say that the three became one.

Husband, wife and God.

God was there through his wife.

My friends, the church reminds us in these readings that marriage is part of God’s plan, and that God wants to be part of all marriages.

May we be thankful for the gift of this beautiful sacrament.

May we be thankful for our own marriages and the marriages of our family and friends.

May God continue to send his blessings upon all married couples.

And may God bless all of you!