Second Sunday after the Epiphany

The Gift of Marriage

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Grace, Mercy, and Peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

What a wonderful and glorious day that we can come together to celebrate in the season of Epiphany not only God’s blessing upon the wonderful gift of marriage as Jesus transforms 150 gallons of water into wine, but also that we get to celebrate the momentous change that God has worked upon Andrew, that He has been brought into the family of God through these Holy Waters and received as God’s own dear child.

For on this day we wish to talk about the wonderful and godly blessing that Marriage brings with it. For God instituted marriage from the beginning, He saw that it was not good that Adam was alone and so he fashioned from Adam’s side, Eve. From this original pair came our entire race, humankind now over 7 billion across the globe. We are all of that same flesh that was fashioned and formed out of the dust of the earth.

It was through marriage that God wished for us to not only care for each other as Husband and wife, but also for us to have families. That children would have a good environment in which to grow, that they might learn not only who they are, but what it meant for them to be in relation to others. We learn through family what it means to depend on each other, and that we cannot do everything on our own.

We have all depended on each other at some point. From the moment we are conceived, we were dependent upon some one else that we may live. That is the same for all of us. If this is how God arranged this in our earthly life, can we be surprised that God arranged it in similar fashion for our life in the Church?

The reason that Jesus blesses the wedding at Cana with his first miracle is not just a blessing on their marriage, but a blessing for the feast of Christ and His bride, the Church. That is what Paul explains in the Ephesians text, so that we might understand what the perfect marriage is that God has in mind.

Now people often panic when they hear these words here, because they hear the word submit, and they think that makes them less of a person. Is a football player any less valuable because he submits to the authority of his coach? A soldier to his commanding officer? No, this has to deal with a chain of command. Not worth. When God made Eve, he took her from Adam’s side. There is a longer talk on this, but I want you to look at what Jesus, the perfect husband does for his bride, the Church.

It says Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor without spot, or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

We saw what that washing is today. We witnessed that Jesus wants to be certain that there is no blemish or imperfection, but that his bride would be perfect and so He cleanses the Church through Baptism. That is why we are always looking back to our baptism, it is why we make the sign of the Cross, to remember that moment when the sign of the Cross was made upon our forehead, adn upon our heart to mark us as one redeemed by Christ the Crucified. It is why we started in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that we might be blameless in God’s sight.

That is why repentance is always a return to baptism, and why it is so important that parents, sponsors, and witnesses remind a child of their baptism. To remind them who they are. For it is easy to get distracted from this wondrous gift. That one day they might be prepared for reception of the Lord’s Supper. For not only does God desire to wash us thoroughly from our sins, He also wishes to give us His body and blood. To receive that we need to be in fellowship with a Church, which happens through instruction and confirmation in the word. So this first part is vital, for here all can bear witness that God has washed away Dean’s sins. There is yet more that God wishes to give to Dean and that is why your work is not yet finished as parents, and as witnesses.

For God is not yet done providing, he didn’t just wash away the sins, he also prepared for a feast. A feast that is there at that altar, but a person has to be properly prepared for it, for if they aren’t they could take it to their own harm. But Jesus wants Dean to one day have that feast as He wants all people to receive this good gift, like the gift of Baptism. So when the time comes, make sure that he comes to receive proper instruction so that he might be confirmed. For this is the way that Christ nourishes and sustains his bride, the Church, throughout the ages there at that meal. It is also the place where Christ comes to us to forgive our sins again.

Now you might think why on earth do I need this? Why does anyone need these things? Because through these good and precious gifts Christ makes it so that His bride is without spot or blemish and lifts us back up. The world is filled with distress and anxiety and things that threaten to overwhelm us. There is suffering, afflictions, and all manner of trouble. There is shame, guilt, and fear. But in these means of Grace Jesus comes to release us from our guilt, and shame, to ease our fears with His presence, and to comfort us in all afflictions. For Jesus did not abandon His bride, but He stayed with her, and has kept her safe throughout the centuries. He has kept the children of the Church, those born of water and word safe.

That is the comfort that you can now have for Dean, the same comfort that all baptized Christians enjoy. That no matter what happens in the world, no matter how great our troubles might be, the world cannot take from us the gift that God has given in Baptism. That is why you brought Dean to these waters, and why he has been washed clean. For there God has promised to be His Father. So Dean has been placed in the hands of God who will keep him safe for you.

It is important not just for Dean, but for all of us to be reminded of this gift over and over again, for there are many things that want us to forget the simple truth that through Baptism we are God’s child. So if you are one that has fallen away, if you have lost sight of this, then see this place for what it is, it’s home. The sins that plague us are washed away here, the world that threatens to overwhelm us has to deal with our Father, and that who we are here are brothers and sisters in Christ, for we have been baptized into that one holy name that we might be holy and blameless in God’s sight and welcomed home.

Never forget this, that here in the Church, in the house of God, that God has called us His own, and let any who are not yet confirmed, seek out instruction, that they might receive the further gifts that God wishes to give to his children. For in these things we will find the comfort and hope we need to face the world that is before us, and one day enter into paradise. In Jesus name. Amen.