Thoughts On A Marriage

Ὁ μὲν οὖν τῆς ἰστορίας λόγος ἐν τούτοις στήσεται· οἴμαι δὲ δεῖν, καὶ ἑτέραν τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐπινοεῖσθαι θεωρίαν, καὶ τί τὸ ἐντεῦθεν ὑποδηλούμενον εἰπεῐν. Καταβέβηκε τοίνυν ἐξ ούρανῶν ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, ὡς αὐτός πού φησιν, ἵνα τὴν ἀνθρώπου φύσιν νυμφίου δίκην οἰκειωσάμενος κυοφορεῖν ἀναπείσῃ τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς σοφίας σπέρματα. Καὶ νύμφη μὲν εἰκότως ἡ ἀνθρωπότης διὰ τούτου καλεῖται, νυμφίος δὲ ὁ Σωτὴρ, ἐκ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς εἰς νόησιν τὴν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς ἀνατεινούσης τὸν λόγον τῆς θείας Γραφῆς· συγκροτείται δὲ ὁ γάμος ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τρίτῃ, τοῦτ' ἔστιν, ἐν ἐσχάτοις τοῦ παρόντος αἰῶνος καιροῖς· ὁ γὰρ τρίτος ἡμίν ἀριθμὸς ἀρχὴν εἰσφέρει, καὶ μεστότητα, καὶ τέλος· οὕτω γὰρ ὁ σύμπας ἐκμετρεῖται χρόνος. Τούτῳ φανεῖται προσεοικὸς, τὸ  δι' ἐνος που τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν εἰρημένον· Πατάξει, καὶ μοτώσει ἡμᾶς, ὑγιάσει ἡμᾶς μετὰ δύο ἡμέρας ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῇ· καὶ ἀναστησόμεθα, καὶ ζησόμεθα ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, καὶ γνωσόμεθα διώξομεν τοῦ γνῶναι τὸν Κύριον· ὡς ὄρθον ἔτοιμον εὐρήσομεν αὐτόν. Ἔπληξε μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὴν ἐν Ἀδάμ παράβασιν, εἰπών· Γῆ εἰ, καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ. Τὸ δὲ φθορᾷ καὶ θανάτῳ πεπληγὸς πάλιν ἐμότωσεν αὐτὸς κατὰ τὴν τρίτην ἡμέραν, τοῦτ’ ἔστιν, οὐκ ἐν πρώτοις, οὐδὲ ἐκ μέσοις, ἀλλ' ἐν ἐσχάτοις καιροῖς, ὅτε δι' ἡμᾶς γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος ὑγιᾶ τὴν φύσιν ἀπέδειξεν, ὅλην ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστήσας ἐν ἑαυτῳ. Διάτοι τοῦτο καλεῖται καὶ ἀπαρχὴ τῶν κεκοιμημένων· οὐκοῦν διὰ τοῦ τὴν τρίτην ἡμέραν εἰπεῖν, καθ' ἥν ὁ γάμος ἐτελεὶτο, τὸν τελευταῖον σημαίνει καιρόν· καταμηνύει δὲ καὶ τὸν τόπον· ἐν Κανᾷ γὰρ τῆς Γαλιλαίας, φησίν. Ἐπιτηρείτω δὲ πάλιν ὁ φιλομαθής· οὐ γὰρ έν τοῖς Ἰεροσολύμοις ἡ πανήγυρις ἔξω τῆς Ἰουδαίας τὸ δεῖπνον, ὡς ἐν τῇ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιτελεῖται χώρα. 'Γαλιλαία γὰρ τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὡς ὁ προφήτης φησίν. Δῆλον δὲ δήπου πάντως ἐστὶν, ὡς ἡ μὲν τῶν Ἰουδαίων Συναγωγὴ τὸν ἐξ οὐρανῶν ἀπώσατο νυμφίον, προσεδέξατο δὲ, καὶ λίαν ἀσμένως, ἡ ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησία. Ἔρχεται δὲ εἰς τοὺς γάμους οὐκ αὐτόμολος ὁ Σωτήρ· πολλαῖς γὰρ ἁγίων ἐκαλεῖτο φωναίς. Ἀλλ' οἴνος ἐπιλελοίπει τοὺς ἐστιωμένους· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐτελείωσεν ὁ νόμος, οὐκ ἐξήρκει πρὸς τὸ εὐπρᾶναι τελείως τὸ γραμμα τὸ Μωσαικόν· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς ἐμφύτου νήψεως μέτρον, εἰς τὸ δύνασθαι διασώζειν ἡμᾶς ἐξετείνετο. Οὐκοῦν ἀληθὲς ἄν εἴ καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν, τὸ, οἶνον οὐκ ἔχουσιν, εἰπεῖν· ὁ δὲ πλουσιόδωρος ἡμῶν Θεὸς, οὐ περιορᾷ τῇ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐνδείᾳ πριβομένην τὴν φύσιν. Οἶνον ἡμῖν ἀπέδειξε τοῦ πρώτου Βελτίονα· 'Τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτείνει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζωοποιεῖ ' Ἅγιος Κυριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας , Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ἰωαννην Εὐαγγελιον,  Λογος Δευτερος

The historical account, then, of the Marriage at Cana 1 I will leave there, but I think we must consider the other view of what has been said and make clear what is there expressed. So then the Word of God came down  from Heaven, as He says, so that having as a Bridegroom made human nature His own He might persuade it to bring forth the spiritual seed of wisdom. And fittingly is human nature called the bride and the Saviour the Bridegroom, since holy Scripture lifts up language from things below to a meaning that is above us. The marriage is consummated on the third day, that is, in the last times of the present age, for the number three carries in it beginning, middle and end, and thus is the whole of time measured. And in similar manner to this we see what was said by Hosea, one of the holy prophets, 'He has struck us and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight and we shall know how to pursue the knowledge of the Lord; we shall discover him ready like the dawn. 2 For He struck on account of the transgression of Adam, saying, Dust you are, and to dust you shall return.3 That which was struck by corruption and death He bound up again on the third day; that is, not in the first, or in the middle, but in the last times, when for us made Man He showed our nature whole, raising it from the dead in Himself. So He is also called the first fruits of them that sleep and thus it was said that on the third day the marriage was consummated; for it signifies the last time. He makes known the place too; for he says it was in Cana of Galilee. Let the lover of learning again take note: for the celebration is not in Jerusalem but the feast is outside Judea, as it were in the land of the Gentiles. For it is 'Galilee of the gentiles',4 as the prophet Isaiah said. It is very clear that the synagogue of the Jews rejected the Bridegroom from Heaven and that very happily the church of the Gentiles received Him. The Saviour comes to the marriage not without bidding, for He is called by the many voices of the saints. But wine failed those who feasted; for the law did not perfect, the Mosaic writing did not suffice for perfect enjoyment, but neither was the measure of our inborn sobriety able to reach out and save us. It was thus true to say of us: They have no wine.5 But our bountiful God did not overlook our nature weary with lack of good things. He brought forth wine better than the first, 'For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.'6 Saint Cyril of Alexandria, On the Gospel of John, Book II 1 Jn 2.1 2 Hos 6.1-3  3 Gen 3.19 4 Is 9.1 5 Jn 2.3 6 2 Cor 3.6