My
“cloistered brothers” and I discussed the “Third Epiphany,” today. What’s that?
You might ask.
The first
epiphany was Jesus’ birth. He entered
human life.
The second
epiphany was the recognition of his kingship, by the Magi.
Today, the
second Sunday in Ordinary time, could be considered, the Third Epiphany. It is an epiphany because the wedding at Cana
is Jesus’ public “coming out.” This is
His first recorded miracle.
Jesus did
this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed His
glory, and His disciples began to believe in Him. (John 2:11)
It is very apropos
to have this reading in the context of today’s marriage controversy. The
definition of marriage is being reconsidered.
That everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is deserving of equal
rights. That’s a given. But traditionally, marriage is between a man,
and a woman. Nowadays, same sex couples
are demanding marriage, also. Their
arguments are here.
One of the
ideas that came out of the discussion was that the Catholic Church should get
out of the marriage business. Meaning,
let marriages be in civil domain.
Recording and licenses, etc., be satisfied civilly. If the couple is Catholic, then they can go
to the Catholic Church to receive the sacrament of Marriage. This would be similar to Baptism. When a baby is born, their birth is recorded
in their town’s register; the baby receives a social security number,
etc.. And if the parents are Catholic,
then they can go the Catholic Church to have their baby receive the sacrament
of Baptism.
Note that
marriage is about love. Homosexual or
not, we are all God’s children. We must
keep this mind, as we debate and discuss.
Laws are laws, and then there’s the Gospel. Follow Jesus.
