Greetings on this the Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: EPH 5:21-33; PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; LK 13:18-21
Weddings
I am so excited. I get to officiate at a wedding February 28th, 2025. The daughter of a fellow deacon. So exciting! I don’t get to do many weddings but (being a romantic of sorts) I love the chance to encounter the stories of the Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah (Gn 24, 48-51, 58-67) and also the Marriage of Tobiah and Sarah (Tb 7, 9-10, 11-15 and Tb 8, 5-7). If these stories don’t move you to the wonder of love and marriage then you need a heart transplant. LOL.
Marriage is the best example of Trinity expressed in the human family. Marriage is the best example of undying, long suffering and resilient love. Even when I do funerals and graveside services the interview prior with the surviving spouse is often remembering how they met and how they fell in love and how love was manifested in their one life together (and manifested the children).
It’s the best! Below quote from the USCCB site.
Sacred Scripture begins with the creation and union of man and woman and ends with “the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rev 19:7, 9). Scripture often refers to marriage, its origin and purpose, the meaning God gave to it, and its renewal in the covenant made by Jesus with his Church. Man and woman were created for each other. By their marriage, the couple witnesses Christ’s spousal love for the Church. One of the Nuptial Blessings in the liturgical celebration of marriage refers to this in saying, “Father, you have made the union of man and wife so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and his Church.”
Reference (useful articles on marriage) https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/matrimony
Summary
To love is to Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ which means your needs are as important to me as my needs are.
Our readings match this up with the question What is the Kingdom of God like?
Super cool!
And Jesus’ answer is astounding in and of itself….
- (a) It is planted and it grows.
- (b) It is mixed and it leavens.
Allowing me to state that Heaven is a process. It is a growth, a change, an adjustment yet at the same time always the same. It is a decision. Heaven is a decision.
This is a great mystery.
Reflection
It is a great mystery. A mystery we shall never solve or hope to solve. It is a mystery to encounter and experience.
I always tell the bride and groom-to-be:
- May you ALWAYS be a mystery to one another.
- May you ALWAYS wonder in awe about the other and how you care for each other.
- May you NEVER say I know you as I liken that to fly is stuck in amber.
- May you ALWAYS be an encounter always changing and always the same.
This is heaven!
- GROW (increase love).
- LEAVEN (mature in the qualities of love).
Sacred Readings
Full text: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102924.cfm
First Reading
Brothers and sisters: Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Responsorial
Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation (see MT 11:25)
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
Gospel
Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?
Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry