By: By Sister Rachel Bergschneider, OSB

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 20

Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 96:1-2,2-3,7-8,9-10; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; John 2:1-11

Recently I heard an interview by someone who had written a book as a result of her research on the phenomenon of happiness. In the interview the author of the book noted that in her research she found that happiness, though everyone seems to yearn for it, cannot be found beyond a relatively short period of time.

She uses the example of marriage. She found that couples who marry are very happy in their new life of marriage for about two years, then routine sets in. It is not that they are unhappy, but the kind of happiness they expected is not the reality. The author concludes that the ordinary, small occurrences in life are experiences of happiness.

The readings for today speak of weddings and marriage. We are often told that the wedding feast is a sign of heaven — the total experience of God. We all know how much fun weddings can be, so it is easy to understand how the wedding feast is such a powerful sign of God’s kingdom. Everyone is joining in on the happiness of the two people who are marrying. Food and wine are in abundance. We see people we have not seen for some time. It is great.

We do know that eventually the peak of happiness of that day of marriage subsides, not only for us who attend the wedding, but for the married couple. They adjust to the reality of everyday life and face their responsibilities together.

What can we learn from the analogy of the marriage feast as a foretaste of heaven? Why did Jesus set the context of the first sign of the kingdom in a wedding feast? And what do we make of the idea of happiness in this context?

COVENANTAL RELATIONSHIP
First of all, John, in his Gospel, refers to miracles as signs. The wedding feast at Cana is the beginning of the signs Jesus performs. Jesus was very aware of the symbolism of the marriage bond in the covenant in the Old Testament — Yahweh’s promise to be with the people forever, no matter how unfaithful they were. To have the first of the signs in the context of a wedding brought to mind the covenantal relationship of fidelity between God and the Israelites.

It also jettisons the reader of the Gospel into the awareness that Jesus is the embodiment of that unconditional promise and fidelity. Jesus will live out that fidelity of the covenant in His mission and life.

The married couple, as is explained in the second reading from St. Paul, will live out this covenantal relationship as well. Paul is clear that differences will occur in the marriage — as in all relationships. But he uses the image of the Trinity to show how this relationship should take shape, how the covenant is lived out in married life. “There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord; there are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone.” (1 Corinthians 12)

Just as the people in the Old Testament sometimes failed in their covenantal responsibility, so it is with the married couple. There will be times of differences, but the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God will renew the covenant and bring hope to the union. The expectation is daunting; it demands heroic forgiveness. But the model of union keeps one focused on the goal.

Jesus uses the wedding feast to announce his promise of new life. He wants us to know the unconditional love we can expect from our God and he ultimately shows us what happiness really is like — the kingdom of God where all is well, all is in unity and harmony, all is celebration of being in God’s presence.

As so long ago we learned from St. Augustine, “our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they rest in Thee.” We learn what true and sustained happiness is.

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Sister Rachel Bergschneider, OSB, is a member of the Sisters of St. Benedict of St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island. She serves as pastoral associate at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Peoria Heights.