Your first, greatest and only lasting marriage is to Christ.  In heaven we will neither marry nor be given in marriage.  We set our sights on the great wedding feast of the Lamb when, finally, we are fully united with our Maker.  Can you imagine?  If you could see and hear what heaven is seeing and hearing you would drop everything, even the person you love the most, and run to it.  To be embraced by the Love that created everything.  To be in union with the One who is the source of all the beauty you have ever seen or will see knowing that the majority of his beauty you will not even begin to scratch the surface on in this lifetime.  We are just on the tip of our union with Christ.  It is like the ocean I have talked about.  Jesus is the ocean and most of us are just beginning to dip our toes at the end of the trickling wave as it washes ashore.  Wait until we dive in in total union at the wedding feast of the Lamb, the Maker of it all!  It is there, in union with him, that we will all be united together in the song of heaven.
 
Why are so many Christians sad?  Why so many small-minded and unforgiving?  Why are so many Christians bored out of their gourd and dull as a butter knife?  It is an issue of union!  So many Christians have a weak union with Christ. What does it look like when you dive into the ocean that is Jesus and live in union with him?  How could your mode of existence ever be sad again when you are united to the One who is constantly rejoicing over everything he has made?  How could you ever again be small minded and unforgiving if you are united to the one who forgives all sin, even the most grave?  How could you ever be dull as a butter knife again when the One who walked on water, calmed the storm, made the blind to see, the lame to walk and raised people from the dead- how could you be dull and bored when that “One” lives in you?
 
The reason we are joyless, small minded, unforgiving, bored and dull is because we have chosen ourselves over Christ.  To be in union just with ourselves gives us that result.  Jesus is Joy, forgiveness and constant fascination.  To be united with him means to rejoice, forgive and live in constant fascination and wonder!
 
To be in union with him!  To be in union with him!  To be in union with him! (I repeat 3x in honor of the Holy Trinity.  Any time you see three anywhere- think Holy Trinity!)  How ya gonna get there?  How to become united with Jesus?  People are sacrificing their lives all the time for work, possessions, notoriety, power, championships and Olympic gold but is it leading to greater union with the One who is the Maker of it all?
 
The One who is our husband and Maker is in the tomb this Holy Saturday.  In a few, short hours he will rise.  He will rise and offer you union with him.  How ya gonna get there?  How are you going to dive into the ocean and never be joyless, unforgiving and dull again?

Blessed by the BEST- all the time,
+Fr. John