"Good Wine" - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary time Homily

About 15 years ago, I had a wedding in Philly.

And at the reception, I was asked to lead grace.

So I gave the grace, as usual, and also, as usual, I gave my cheer in front of about 100 Philadelphia Eagles fans.

Finished the prayer, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, go Redskins.

And you heard 100 people booing a priest.

They were throwing stuff at me.

I felt like Santa Claus at Veterans Stadium.

Then I had another wedding down in Charlottesville.

The bride and groom met each other playing athletics at UVA.

So the wedding was sports crowd, division one athletes.

And it was well known that she was a Redskins fan and he was a Giants fan.

Also, she's Catholic, he's non-Catholic.

So when I started the homily, I said I really enjoyed working with Alex and Claire and had a really good

We had great conversations.

I tried to convert him, and they're like, where are you going with this?

I but he's still a Giants fan.

Didn't work.

Weddings are a time of rejoicing.

Really great celebrations.

And God uses that very language about marriage.

As a bridegroom rejoices in his bride.

It's a day of great rejoicing, obviously of love, but the fulfillment of romantic love on earth.

And think of all that rejoice and it happens at a wedding.

Some of you have experienced.

As a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you.

Good timing, Get that note.

He says, you shall be called my delights.

What a beautiful phrase for spouses to use with each other.

If our husbands, men, if you're smart, you use this over the next week.

You are my delights.

Not just to get out of the doghouse, but to really express what's true.

that your spouse is your delight.

The God, when He created you, He had your wedding day in mind, He had your spouse in mind as your delight.

That's the beauty of marital love on earth.

Now, Marital Love on Earth is just a preview to marriage with God in heaven.

guess that's good news and bad news for some folks, couples say, till death does its part in the vows.

So you acknowledge this isn't forever.

What is forever is marriage with God.

The consolation, of course, if you think your spouse is attractive, wait till you see God.

So it's fitting, given all the context and all the import of marriage, that Jesus performs his first miracle at a wedding feast.

And the language that's used is not just talking about wine.

As significant as it is turning water into wine, it's described as good wine.

and it takes the servers and the head waiter back.

And the sequence is messed up.

Normally the good wine is first and the inferior wine.

But they waited, it says, the end.

The last wine is the good wine

And that good wine describes marriage.

And think about the sequence with the courtship and engagement.

As good as those are, the good wine is in marriage.

The lead up is to the good wine, the fulfilling wine of marriage.

The old covenant, God and his people Israel, as good as it was, inferior to the new covenant in Christ.

That's the good wine.

Now if your mind went to the Eucharist and the consecrated wine that becomes the blood of Christ, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, then you're correct.

It's also life on earth.

As good as it is, it's inferior to heaven, the good wine.

So there is this theme of progression.

leading to fulfillment that we can, I guess, simply characterize as good wine.

God is speaking to us here that this is the plan of our lives, each of us, but also all of us.

In relationship with Him, in covenant with Him, and we have this

Goal of heaven to look forward to.

It's also significant that this first miracle of Jesus is through Mary.

She prompts her son to perform this miracle with a line that is a way of life for us Christians.

Do whatever he tells you.

She prompts him, he performs a miracle.

So you and I should go to her to prompt him for us and our intentions.