JESUS LOVE HIS BRIDE, THE CHURCH
Blessed 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. Hope you are having a great 2025 so far & are continuing to stay close to the Lord Jesus.
Do you like attending weddings? Can you feel the love & joy of the wedding couple & their families & friends at the celebration?
In today’s readings, we too situate ourselves in a wedding, but with a very big difference. Today we are drawn by the scriptures to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (cf Revelation 19:9) with Jesus as the Bridegroom & we, the Church, as the radiant bride, without wrinkle or blemish or spot (cf Ephesians 5:27).
Our 1st Reading in Isaiah 62:3-5 speaks about the joy of a bride (the people of God) being given a new name; being a crown of splendour & a royal diadem in the hand of the Lord; no longer named ‘Forsaken’ & ‘Abandoned’, but ‘My Delight’ & ‘The Wedded’; with the Lord God himself as Bridegroom rejoicing over you. What a glorious state for you & us all! See how much God loves you & us!
Our Gospel from John 2:1-11 also takes us to a wedding – the wedding at Cana, were Jesus works His 1st of the 7 signs in John’s Gospel, turning water into the ‘best wine’ ever.
What’s the connection of Isaiah 62 & John 2 to our 2nd Reading from 1 Corinthians 12:4-11? At its core, the message reinforces the importance of Unity & Oneness – different gifts, same Spirit; many service to be done, but always to the same Lord. If we look at a Christian marriage, how true this is! Husband & wife may have different characters, personalities, likes & interests – but in essence, they are One. “‘For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate” (Matthew 19:5-6). And from the perspective of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ, this Unity of the Body is so crucial for the proper functioning of the body, with Christ as the Head (see next Sunday’s 2nd Reading for a more in-depth description of this).
What does this all mean & how does this relate to us today? First & foremost, the readings assure us that we are indeed loved & treasured by God. Next, we are reminded that our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, sacrificed His life on the cross & paid a huge price to win us as His Bride – like St Paul said in Ephesians 5:25 that Christ loved the Church & died to make her holy.” Finally, let’s all strive to be United & One – as we pray in the 3rd Eucharistic Prayer – to become One Body, One Spirit in Christ.
So, what’s our response to Jesus’ love? Let us love, honour & worship Him as Lord & Saviour, & entrust our lives to Him.
Understandably, some of us have been hurt & wounded in our marital relationships by neglect, abuse, rejection, betrayal, hatred, separation or divorce. Even if we are not married, many experience pain, loneliness & rejection. The pain is deep & the wounds can’t seem to heal. No human being can ever alleviate this suffering & woundedness. But only Jesus can! He will soothe your pain & heal your broken heart! He will revive you, lift you up from the depths of your hurt & despair! He alone can comfort you & cover you with honour as his Beloved again (cf Psalm 71:20-21)!
And for couples whose marriages who have ‘run out of wine’ – joy, passion, patience, compassion & love – may Jesus transform your stone jars of plain & bland water into the ‘best wine ever’ & fill your marriage with His overflowing goodness & love.
To conclude, here's a beautiful hymn based on the Song of Songs 8:6-7 & 2:10 “Set Me Like a Seal on Your Heart”. It’s the song of the Bridegroom singing to you, His Beloved.
https://youtu.be/TmsAeoak5Sw?si=xqXirfY8j4RXOteA
Article by Damian Boon, HFC Blog Team Lead