The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
January 14, 2001
Vol. 4 no. 2

Everything But...
           Weddings have always been confusing for Protestants. Martin Luther thought there were too many non-Biblically- warranted sacraments running around - seven in all with marriage being an important fixture. Luther wasn't unfriendly to marriage, for he thought marriage to be a healthier state than the monk's celibacy which he endured for too long. Martin was quite happy to marry Kate and their marriage, it could be said, was a cornerstone of the Reformation.
           Only two liturgical acts merited sacramental status - communion or the Lord's Supper and baptism - because Jesus was depicted in the Gospels participating in only these. The wedding at Cana in Galilee, where Jesus changed water into wine as his first sign, falls between the gap. Jesus was there as a guest, neither the officiant nor one of the participants. If Jesus had performed the wedding we might have had a third sacrament. Of course, if it were actually Jesus being married, wouldn't that have changed the course of Christianity?