Friday, January 16, 2015
Icon of God's everlasting love
EMacke
,
Family
,
Love
,
Marriage
No comments
:
Fiftieth wedding anniversaries used to seem like
charming instances of life-long love or inspiring witnesses of the peace that
comes from multiple decades of marriage.
Sure, most couples mention the “hard times” of marriage, but it seemed to
me that such hard times were in the past – perhaps even a couple of decades
before. A golden jubilee seemed
more like a celebration of a new, peaceful existence.
Last week, however, I received a new vision. Living in rural Indiana sometimes feels
a bit like the Andy Griffith Show. Towns are small, news travels fast, and
everyone is related. When joys and
sorrows occur, they are felt by everyone.
So at the conclusion of Sunday Mass when two
parishioners stood up to renew their wedding vows on the occasion of their 50th
wedding anniversary, the entire church knew what stood behind their words.
“In good times
and bad” … Just a few days before Christmas, their grandson was the first
member of the family in three generations to die. He was only 21.
Knowing that the celebration of their anniversary took place amidst what
was likely the most tragic week of their lives highlighted that their
commitment to love each other “in good times and bad” was not a promise of the
past but a commitment they were even now witnessing.
“In sickness
and in health” … The husband’s health struggles this past year were likely
behind his wife’s tearful repetition of this portion of their vow. Through the uncertainties of surgeries
and infections and middle-of-the-night care, this couple had witnessed to the
parish what it means to give and receive love even when it is difficult.
“I will love
you and honor you all the days of my life”… These words took on a renewed
meaning as the parish witnessed the renewal of their vows. The priest who asked the couple to
“repeat after me” was actually their son.
The man who stood in the person of Christ in the sanctuary that morning
was the fruit of their own love. Their son (along with their other children
and grandchildren filling the front pews) were also concrete signs of the
couple’s faithfulness to this vow that they made 50 years ago. But we also saw their desire and commitment to
continue loving and honoring each other for however many days God gives
them. It’s a promise they made 50
years ago, and one that they did not “remake” on their anniversary, but rather
reaffirmed.
In some ways, the renewal of their vows was not about
them, but about those of us who sat in the pews observing. It was a reminder of what every married
couple is – an icon of God’s love.
 |
| By Ranosonar (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
God loves us in good times and in bad, in sickness
and in health, and He will love us and honor us all the days of our life. Our reflection of that love in marriage
is merely a glimmer of God’s love.
We fail to love perfectly, and yet our imperfect attempts are called to
witness to the existence of a perfect love. We would not be capable of loving one another without first
receiving God’s love. Marriage is
possible because God “first loved us.”
In St. John Paul II’s messages frequently known as
Theology of the Body, he spoke of marriage as an icon of God’s love. As he said, “Can we not deduce that
marriage has remained the platform for the realization of God’s eternal plans
…?” (Theology of the Body 97:1).
From the beginning of creation, marriage has existed
as a sign of God’s love. Every
time we see a married couple we should be reminded of God’s love – His
faithfulness, total self-giving, and fruitful generosity.
Last Sunday when my fellow parishioners reaffirmed
their lifelong love, they were also reminding us that their participation in
the Sacrament of Marriage was a gift to us all. Their love in good times and in bad, in sickness and in
health, all the days of their lives, ought to reveal something of God’s love to
us.
And for all married couples, their witness is a
reminder that our living of the Sacrament of Marriage is meant to be a gift to
the world – a manifestation of God’s love, made visible through day to day acts
of selflessness and service. The question
we need to ask ourselves: How well does my marriage reflect God’s love to my
spouse, my children and to others?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(
Atom
)
Posts
No comments :
Post a Comment
We would love to hear from you! Please keep comments respectful and relevant to the topic at hand.