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In the last few weeks of Lent, I have used the practice of veiling the crucifixes and icons as a metaphor for understanding not only the season of Lent but of our collective state of being as humans. The veils literally obscure our vision of what is beneath, and yet that veil does not turn us away but heightens our senses and increases our desire for the object even more. The reality of the cross or the icon is intensified by the shadow that covers it. Last week I compared this veiling to humanity, pointing out how the true reality, God Himself, is veiled to humanity by three thick coverings. First, there is present the veil of our finite humanity that is incapable of knowing the infinite. Second, the fall wounded our passions and faculties of will and intellect, further veiling our understanding of God. Third, our own sins distance us further from reality as we seek temporary happiness offered to us in the world, our flesh, and the devil. Humans, as a result, pursue their lives in a frenzied darkness, and yet that very delirium urges man for something more. The shadows on this side of the veils drive man to seek after something greater when the pleasures of this world, and pain of disharmony, and the fact of our finite nature fail to give us the rest and peace that all men desire. Augustine put it well: ‘Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.’

That rest is found as we accept the love God has for us as He forgives us our sins, heals our wounded nature, and finally renews humanity by uniting His Divine nature to human nature. In repentance we see through the veil of sin as God washes away our sin. In humility we see through the veil of the wounds as we receive the great gift of baptism when God begins to heal our wounds. And in thankfulness we see through the veil of our finite nature as God adopts us as His very own sons and daughters. The path through these veils is narrow but God has worked in magnificent ways to bring His creation, His people back to Him. Repentance, humility, and thankfulness help us see God’s work and unveil reality: unveil creation so that we see all things as God sees them.

This week, I want to focus on that reality, to see where our Lenten journey brings us, to understand where all these symbols and actions and bible stories lead us. The Introit, again, will be our guide, and it shows us that we are heading to Jerusalem–in fact this Psalm was used as a psalm for pilgrimages. All Jewish men were expected to go to Jerusalem three times a year for the three main feasts: Passover, the Feast of Booths, and the Feast of Weeks. It is in this context that Ps. 122 was written. It starts: 

I WAS glad when they said unto me, * We will go into the house of the LORD. Here the Psalmist takes great delight in the pilgrimage, looking forward to the entrance into Jerusalem, which he calls the house of the Lord, for truly this was the place where God dwelt with His people.

2 Our feet shall stand in thy gates, * O Jerusalem. The English translation mistakenly uses the future tense here, where the Hebrew is clearly a historical tense, signaling that the pilgrim has arrived or is at the present moment at the entrance of the city. The Psalm was either in remembrance of the pilgrimage or said in thanksgiving for the safe journey now brought to its culmination

3 Jerusalem is built as a city * that is at unity in itself. The author seems to look around and take in the glorious sight: that Jerusalem is literally ‘compact together.’ This is harder to render in English and could either mean that the city is a strong fortification built upon and within the hills or that it is altogether, rather than spread out like the Hebrews lived in the wilderness.

But notice that the Psalmist just writes that Jerusalem is built as a city, not that it is a city. This is because there are two Jerusalems…the one that we know on earth which is just a sign or a type or a shadow of the real Jerusalem which is in Heaven. This is an important change to notice. When we talk about analogies, we often use a “real” image that we have in front of us to understand what seems to be “unreal”, i.e. God or the unseen. But Christians understand analogy in a different way. The images around us point us to what is really real! Jerusalem as a city is really just an image of the really real Jerusalem in heaven!

Our opening hymn puts it: “Blessed city, heavnly Salem, vision dear of peace and love.” What a great first line, and correct for Jerusalem literally means “city of peace.” Jeru meaning city or foundation and salem or (as it is usually pronounced in Heberw: shalom) means peace. According to an ancient Jewish story, the name came from God Himself: “the place on which Abraham had erected the altar was the same whereon Adam had brought the first sacrifice, and Cain and Abel had offered their gifts to God–the same whereon Noah raised an altar to God after he left the ark; and Abraham, who knew that it was the place appointed for the Temple, called it Yireh, for it would be the abiding place of the fear and the service of God. But as Shem (Noah’s son, high priest) had given it the name Shalem, Place of Peace, and God would not give offence to either Abraham or Shem, He united the two names, and called the city by the name Jerusalem.”

So as we read PS. 122 as a pilgrimage to the earthly city, even more so is it our Psalm as we travel to the heavenly Jerusalem. And yet, this is not just some future achievement but the heavenly Jerusalem is already present to us as we live our lives. This is how St. Paul conceives of Jerusalem in the Epistle: But Jerusalem which is above is free; which is the mother of us all.  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 

And then a few verses later: So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the free.  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.

Paul always talks about Jerusalem in the present tense…..we are now children of the promise . . . already standing fast in liberty. 

The author of the book of Hebrews writes in the same way: “[Heb 12:22-24 KJV] 22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” 

That is reality! But you see how hard it is to understand–this is not just some future reality but is our reality right now in which we make our pilgrimage. In a mysterious way, we already get to participate in the end as we journey towards the end. This, of course, sounds strange, but it if our end is the heavenly Jerusalem which is eternal, it is not constrained by time as we conceive it, and therefore we really do experience in our day-to-day lives the eternal end towards which we walk. All our images, symbols, stories, metaphors, and analogies are present in order to help us understand that end which is also a present reality! 

St. John the Divine in Revelation gives us the clue to understand this web of symbols. In Revelation 19, the marriage feast of the Lamb is announced: [Rev 19:7-9 KJV] 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

But even though the wedding feast is prepared, and all are called, the Devil and all his armies organize for the final battle in Rev. 20 and 21 – once they are finally vanquished, St. John tells of the feast: [Rev 21:1-5 KJV] 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 

The marriage feast is enjoyed as the Bride, the New Jerusalem comes down to meet her Groom, Christ Himself. But the Groom is symbolized as the Lamb who offers himself as the sacrifice for His bride and therefore is also the meal for sacrifices were used as the meat for feasts. And here we see (finally) why the imagery of Jerusalem is used to support the Gospel of  Jesus feeding the people in John 6. 

Just before, in John 5, the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem have set themselves to kill Jesus because he accuses the leaders of not loving the Father because they do not love Him. Even more, he says, they do not even love Moses. John records, by the way, that this miracle happened as Jesus had gone up on a mountain, around the time of the passover, in the wilderness. All of these details put us into the story of Moses. The people notice these details–they look at Jesus’ actions and see a new Moses. But notice that Jesus moves even beyond this claim!  Right after the feeding, John records Jesus saying: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. … Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. … I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. – Jhn 6:26-27, 32-33, 51 KJV

Jesus is claiming to be more than Moses. He is claiming to be one with the Father, not just a prophet! In fact, in this narrative it is the disciples who are the image of Moses for they talk with God (Jesus) face to face, it is the disciples who distribute the bread to the people. Now upon the mountain the people feed upon God Himself with eternal food. Once again, a vision of the New Jerusalem at the marriage feast, the same feast that is presented to you today in the Mass.

We are the New Jerusalem, the building blocks of the city of God, the bride of Christ. We not only make a pilgrimage to that end, we are that end…each of us shaped, molded, chisaled, and set to be the living walls of God’s dwelling place. As our hymn puts it: 

Many a blow and biting sculpture

polished well those stones elect,

in their places now compacted

by the heavenly Architect,

who therewith hath willed for ever

that his palace should be decked.

May we too be shaped by God on our pilgrimage to that Heavenly City in which we live now.

INTROIT.  Ps 25:8-15 
8 Gracious and righteous is the Lord; / therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
9 Them that are meek shall he guide in judgement; / and such as are gentle, them shall he teach his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, / unto such as keep his covenant, and his testimonies.
11 For thy Name’s sake, O Lord, / be merciful unto my sin, for it is great.
12 What man is he, that feareth the Lord? / him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
13 His soul shall dwell at ease, / and his seed shall inherit the land.

14 The secret of the LORD is for them that fear him; / and he will show them his covenant.

Ant. Mine eyes are ever looking unto the LORD; / for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

Glory be. 

Psalm 25: Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the Most High: shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say unto the Lord, Thou art my
hope and my stronghold: my God, in him will I trust. For he shall deliver
thee from the snare of the hunter: and from the noisome pestilence. He
shall defend thee under his wings: and thou shalt be safe under his feathers.
His faithfulness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler: thou shalt not be
afraid for any terror by night. Nor for the arrow that flieth by day: for the
pestilence that walketh in darkness: nor for the sickness that destroyeth in
the noonday. A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thy
right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee. For he shall give his Angels
charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee in their
hands: that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt go upon the
lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy
feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I
will set him up, because he hath known my Name. He shall call upon me,
and I will hear him: yea, I am with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and
bring him to honour: with long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my
salvation. Psalm 91.

S. Luke 8. 4
WHEN much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell by the way-side, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.  And some fell upon a rock, and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.  And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold.  And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.  And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.  Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God.  Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe, and be saved.  They on the rock are they which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.  And that which fell among thorns are they which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.  But that on the good ground are they which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

S. Matth. 8. 1-13 
WHEN he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.  And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.  And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean.  And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man, but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.  And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.  And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.  The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.  For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say unto this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.  When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.  And his servant was healed in the self-same hour.

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and both Jesus was called, and his disciples to the marriage.

With this Ring I thee wed: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 

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Last week I pointed out that in the beginning Man was created in the image and likeness of God. He was the Crown of Creation and he was given the charge to husband creation. As Husband he, and here I mean humankind as a whole, was to dress creation, to keep it, to honor it, to love and to cherish the Garden of God and indeed all of creation. And note that this Office of Husband was given the Man before the Fall. It relates not to his salvation, but his very ontology, the structure of his being, his meaning and purpose in creation.

Today we will consider the God-given Office of Husband not to creation, but to Woman. Man as Husband to his wife is an instantiation and example of the calling that all humankind has to husband creation. And note as well that this Office of Man as the Husband of his Wife was given before the Fall as well, and so it too is constitutive of his calling, his meaning, and his place in Creation. With the gift of the Woman he is no longer Solitary Man. He has become a pair. And a pair is a new thing and something different from the members of a pair — as different as the separate blades of a pair of scissor differ from the scissors. Separate blades can never accomplish what the pair joined together may accomplish. Now another creature stands shoulder to shoulder to the Man. A Creature-Mate who was created of his own bone, blood and breath. In the Man’s transformation from a state of loneliness to a state of communion with the Woman we experience the sanctity and flourishing of human life. 

Today there is a lot of talk about who may or may not be married. I do not believe that the word “marriage” is very helpful for Christians here. It does not communicate any content concerning what the Church believes about the joining together of a Man and a Woman. The word “marriage” is too vague; too much of what C. S. Lewis might have called “milk and water” language.  

To begin with please note that the Book of Common Prayer does not title the ceremony the “Celebration of the Marriage” or a “Wedding Ceremony.” No, the BCP title is “The Form of Solemnization of Matrimony.” And please notice that it does not read “The Form of Solemnization of Patrimony.” 

What is a “Matrimony?” “Matrimony” is a state of being that is created by an act of God in the ceremony itself. It is a holy state of being that includes both the Man and the Woman to the exclusion of other men and women. Both may enjoy and benefit of other men and women in other states, chaste states of being, as in families and friends and certainly within  Holy Mother Church. But within the Matrimony itself everyone else is excluded. 

So far, so good. But what does the word “Matrimony” mean? It means “the state of being in which a man and a woman are made one.” A man and a woman made a union — yes. A union of a man and a woman — yes. 

But what does the word “matrimony” itself mean? 

The word “matrimony” comes from the Latin “matrimonium,” which was derived from the word for “material” or “substance.” “Substance” is simply that from which things are made. Material, matter, is what the material things in creation are made. The Latin “mater,” which translated means “mother,” indicates the same thing. Mother is the source of the matter from which human beings are made. The original matter from which I was formed came from Margaret Spencer down there in North Carolina. All of us were made from our mothers. In the Nicene Creed when we profess that Jesus Christ “was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary” we are, by professing when we say, “of the Virgin Mary,” our belief that the very material or substance of Christ’s humanity came from his mother Mary. Jesus’ humanity was not created out of nothing; it came naturally from his mother Mary. Matrimony means Motherhood, the Office of Motherhood, the Realm, the Domain of the Mother. It is thus a state of being, instituted of God that the Man and the Woman form by being joined together. 

But what does it mean to be joined? In the context of Christian marriage it means that the Man and the Woman become One Flesh. When they are made One Flesh they enter into this state of being — the One Flesh state of being. Note that the state of being is One Flesh, not One Person. The two do not become One Person, they become One Flesh. One Flesh, Two Persons. That ought to have a familiar ring to it. Now it begins to sound Christian, even Christological. One substance. One Flesh. But Two Persons. And like the Persons of the blessed Trinity the Persons of the one-flesh Matrimony are equal in power, glory and honor even when they are subordinate to one another under certain conditions. 

And how do they become joined and made One Flesh? This is how: when, after obtaining the full and free consent/desire of the Man and the Woman to be joined together, the Priest has them state their desire to “take” one another as wedded Wife and Husband. The word “take” indicates our initiative to bring about, to make this sacrament. Just as the priest may say, “take and eat this in memory…” when delivering the Holy Communion; or as when a man is made a priest, the bishop says, “Take thou Authority to execute the Office of a Priest,” so the Man and Woman are instructed to “take” to themselves this Man and this Woman. This free act of the will is absolutely necessary. But even then the Matrimony has not yet been made a reality. It has been declared to one and all that both the Man and the Woman desire this state of being, this Holy Matrimony, for themselves. They have declared their intention to make a sort of “eucharist” of Matrimony. And yet they are still at this point in the service, just as single as Adam before Eve. They are not yet One Flesh. 

But now comes the moment. In the Holy Communion this is what we call the epiclesis — the moment the Holy Spirit comes down upon these gifts upon the Altar and makes them the Body and Blood of Christ. Now comes the Epiclesis of the marriage. The moment the Holy Spirit comes upon the Man and the Woman and makes them One Flesh. And who performs it? The Man! As ironic as it sounds, it is the Man who effects Matrimony of which he will become a member — not the Bride and not even the Priest (who represents and witnesses for the Church, but he does not effect the matrimony). The privilege of actually effecting, of calling down the Holy Spirit upon the Man and the Woman is the soon to be Husband. And it happens this way:

The Priest blesses the ring and then he delivers it to the Man and he places it upon his Woman’s finger and declares: 

With this Ring I thee wed: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 

The older version, before the 1928 revision is even better:

With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow; In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Grandmother may pass out when she hears, “with my body I thee worship,” but it is absolutely true, good, and Catholic, beautiful! “I thee wed, in the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” That is it, that is the epiclesis and at that moment the Holy Spirit comes down upon the Man and his Woman and makes them One Flesh — a Matrimony. At that moment the Priest may drop dead, but this Man and this Woman are made One Flesh right then and there. Whether she speaks another word, or the Priest speaks another word, doesn’t matter. They are Husband and Wife. They are One Flesh. A new Matrimony has come into existence. A miracle has occurred right before your eyes. And now there is no turning back now.  

It is important to note that the man and the woman enter a state of Matrimony, not Patrimony. According to the logic of the liturgy of the BCP the Woman enters the state of Motherhood when she and her man are united in Holy Matrimony, not when (and if) she actually, biologically, conceives and bears children. When she receives the ring from her Man and he pronounces the Trinitarian benediction she is infused with the grace of Motherhood. The Form of Solemnization of Matrimony bestows the grace of “Motherhood,” so that she may walk faithfully in that vocation. Children do not make a Mother; God makes the Mother so that children have a Mother to come to. 

One last thing. Ours is a crude age that at best requires crude lines of authority. And it is in error on this. Many think the Husband is the dictator of the family and his will is law. It is true that in Scriptures the Husband is said to be head of the Woman. But being her head doesn’t make him head of everything she rules over. It is hard to see how the Man could be head of Matrimony. Head of the Woman  – yes; but the Woman is the Queen of the Matrimony. The Man is the Husband and do you know what that means? That means he is the Queen’s gardener! Yes, it does! If you don’t believe me, read the Bible. And he, in the Solemnization of Matrimony, also received and was infused with the grace of Fatherhood. And by the way, being married to the Queen doesn’t make the Husband the King anymore than being married to Queen Elizabeth II made Prince Philip the King of England. 

So we have the Queen and we have a Gardener. To Husband his family he must love his family, he must be present, he must tend it, feed it, love, honor, and cherish, and he must know his wife and family. He must be attentive, intelligent, reasonable and responsible. I’ve never heard a wife complain that her husband was paying too much attention to her and their family. He must be attentive to know if, when and what to prune, or water, or stake for support, and futhermore all that  requires confidence and trust between the Queen and the Gardener. Whatever differences may arise between the Two Persons of the Matrimony, those differences will be worked out for the sake of the One Flesh in different ways for different families. One size does not fit all. Every family is different, but what we have in common is that we all work out how we are going to work things out within the context of the horizon of the Catholic faith. It will always require loving and cherishing,  grace and finesse. This Matrimony, this Office of Motherhood is the cradle of new life, the God-given means of mothering and husbanding creation — namely to take the material of our bodies and make more children to populate the Garden of God.  

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and both Jesus was called, and his disciples to the marriage.