“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church.” (Ephesians 5:25)
This is one of those readings that is used very often in wedding celebrations. When a man and woman enter into the Sacrament of Marriage, the bonds they are forging are not just between themselves. They are also asking Jesus to join them and bring his own grace and blessing into their relationship. Whether they know it or not, every married couple has Jesus at their side, ready to give them all the grace they need to love and serve each other day in and day out.
On another level, this reading applies to all of us, married or single, lay or religious or ordained. After all, we are all members of the Church, the “bride” Jesus laid down his life for! Like a newlywed couple, we may experience a brief time of deep excitement when we first discover the Lord, but Jesus’ commitment to us is a long-term one. In baptism he bound himself to us with everlasting bonds of love. He made a vow to love us, honor us, and be faithful to us all the days of our lives. He promised to be with us in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. And because he is God, we can be sure he will be faithful to his promises!
As with any marriage, we will all have days when Jesus doesn’t feel all that close to us. These are the times when we need to exercise our faith in a deeper way and recall Jesus’ promises to us. “Wait a minute,” we can tell ourselves. “This Christianity thing is far more than how I’m feeling right now. There’s a sacrament—powerful, deep, and guaranteed—undergirding my faith. It’s something Jesus himself instituted, and he’s not one to go back on his promises. He loves me, and I’ll just have to wait for him to show me that love again.”
Remember this whenever you feel distant from the Lord. Jesus loved you enough to give up his life for you. He treasured you enough to bind himself to you forever. He’s not about to give up on you now!
“Thank you, Jesus, for your faithfulness to your promises—for your faithfulness to me! Help me to be just as faithful to you.”
Psalm 128:1-5; Luke 13:18-21