Engaged To God

One of our students, Margaret, who graduated from Walsh last year, just got back from the Holy Land. She spent three months there and really got immersed in experiencing all the places that we hear about in the scriptures. Back home was her boyfriend, Kwami. Kwami decided while she was there that he was going to propose to her when she got back.

As Kwami began talking about this, I could just see the excitement in his eyes. Some days he would be walking around, and he would be beaming. I asked, “You talked to Margaret today. Didn’t you?” And, he said, “Yeah.” He had envisioned all these different ways of proposing to her.

Some of his plans were as far off as next year, and some of his plans were six months away. He was trying to determine the perfect opportunity to propose to her.

She got back from the Holy Land right after Christmas, and he proposed to her two days later. He just couldn’t wait. His proposal gave me a glimpse of the excitement he had. Three of my sisters and one of my brothers are married, and it gave me a glimpse of the excitement that an engaged couple has for marriage.

When someone gets engaged, they can’t wait to tell people. They can’t wait to tell their parents, friends, and family. More and more we get to celebrate in this wonderful engagement of people, especially with social media.

The idea in scripture today is Jesus (God) wants to be engaged to you. Just as Kwami was so excited for Margaret to get back home and couldn’t wait to propose to her, the same is true for God. God loves you so much. Marriage is a sacrament. It is supposed to reveal to us something about God’s love. The way that a man and woman fall in love and are just wild about each other is just a glimpse of the love God has for you.

We hear that in the first reading. “No more shall people call you forsaken or desolate, but you shall be called my delight and your land espoused, for the Lord is the light in you and makes your land his spouse. As a young man marries a virgin, your builder shall marry you. And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you.”

If you’ve never heard it before, at least hear it now. God loves you. God is absolutely wild about you.

God treasures and delights in every moment you share with him. He is so delighted to have you with him right here at Mass. He is so delighted in the holy hour that you make. He is so delighted in the times that you pray with him and to him. He can’t stop thinking about you.

The same love that a couple shares as they become engaged to each other is the love that God has for you. So, as we celebrate this Eucharist know that this is a time of engagement being fulfilled. God wants to give himself to you so that the two of you can become one flesh, just as a married couple becomes one flesh.

So often we try to find God in all these other ways. We try to fill this void in us that only God can fulfill.

So if you have this yearning in your heart and this love in your heart, know that God has way more of that for you than one can possibly imagine. The best part is that he not only gave you that desire for him, but he wants to fulfill it. Like a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you.