Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Several years ago I was able to celebrate the renewal of marriage vows in the city of Cana with the couples who were traveling with me on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
What a beautiful experience!
As they promised to remain committed to each other in marriage, there were tears in many eyes.
These couples had come to understand that marital love is more than simply a feeling — it is more than the initial stirrings of physical attraction. It is a decision of commitment for life.
Marriage is a choice to be there for the other person in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. Sometimes this commitment is incredibly difficult. But Jesus leads us in the way of love, which he showed to us on the cross. Jesus loved us to the end; he was committed to us, even when we were at our worst. That is why he is able to call each of us, including husbands and wives, to the highest level of love.
The uniting love between a husband and a wife has its origin in God. God is the one doing the joining when a man and a woman say “yes” to God’s plan for them in marriage. We believe that when two Christian believers freely and knowingly exchange marital promises, God unites the two of them with a glue that makes them inseparable in this life.
I often say to newly married couples that it becomes impossible for us to think of the one without thinking of the other. Over time, they become great images of God’s love among us. And that is why marriage is so important to us in the Church as one of our seven sacrament. Marriage bears God’s effective presence of love to us.
Finally, marriage is a partnership of the whole of life. The fact that Eve was created from Adam’s rib makes her his equal. She was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. Eve was the same “stuff” as Adam was. When God unites a couple in marriage, it is not meant to be an unbalanced relationship. As someone has said before, marriage is not a 50/50 partnership. It is a total gift of self. It is a 100 percent gift of both the husband and the wife.
I want to thank the good and committed couples that I have known in life, beginning with my own parents. They taught me — and all of us — that love is a decision to be there for each other. It is not always easy, but as disciples of Jesus, it is required. This type of love — a love that is sacrificial — has also taught all of us what it means to be a member of the community of the Church. We must be there for each other too. My married friends have, in that way, taught me to be a better disciple of Jesus, and hopefully a better priest and bishop too!
Have a blessed week everyone.