September 22, 2012 Holy
Matrimony
Bernadette and Heiskell, what I want to say first to you, is thank you. What a great day this is! It is for us all, and for me personally, a
privilege and a joy to be sharing this moment with you, to be with you as
witnesses and as supporters, family and friends, as you exchange the vows and
promises, the words, and the commitments of the heart, that will make you one
in Jesus Christ, as husband and wife. It
has been a special privilege and great joy for me to get to know you through this
time of preparation and anticipation.
The author of the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes says that for
everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. You are two mature people with the richness
of life both before you met and now in the story of your life together, and the
foundation and blessing of family, and the blessing of children. You’ve both known in life the kinds of ups
and downs that are a part of life for pretty much all of us, and today there is
this turning of a page, the beginning of a new chapter. I know you come to this evening with love and
with sincerity of heart and intention, and it certainly is my prayer that this
new beginning will begin a season of hope and fulfillment for you and those you
love.
The first lesson that you selected, from St. Paul’s letter to the
Corinthians, was a word that Pastor Paul wrote back in those very early days of
the life of the church to a congregation that was experiencing some real
growing pains. The small group he had founded years before had
become larger, and with that change came differences and disagreements and
sometimes arguments and fights and the danger of division. And certainly in this 13th
Chapter, which is so familiar, he offers what we might call a recipe for
healing, for reconciliation. Patience,
kindness, gentleness, a forgiving spirit, sensitivity to the needs of
others. A good word for the Church of
course in any time or place.
But over the centuries Christians have heard a deeper word here about
how we live our lives all the time. Not
just in the church, but also in our homes, and in our families, in our
neighborhoods, among our friends, in the places where we work.
I’m thankful that you chose this reading for us to hear this evening,
and I would indeed hope and pray that the recipe of Love that Paul writes out
for us here will be something that you will come back to again and again all
the days of your life.
You know, in the Old Testament Book of Exodus, chapter 3, there is one
of my favorite stories, about a moment of life-changing experience, a
“vocational” moment, a moment of transformation, about a calling to a new way
of life-- in a way kind of like this moment.
In that story Moses is working for his father in law, tending his sheep
out in the wilderness, and one day he sees something off in the distance that
looks strange to him. He moves closer
and finally comes to this great big tree or bush that is on fire, fully engulfed
in flames, burning and burning—but no matter how long it burns, it doesn’t burn
out. He watches for a while, amazed at
the sight, and then all at once a great, deep voice comes from the flame. (I like to think it was the voice of James
Earl Jones.)
“Take off your shoes, Moses, for
the ground on which you are standing is holy ground.” Holy Ground. That’s my point.
This is the moment when God tells Moses about his plan for his life,
how from the day of his birth he has been shaped and prepared for the mission
to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt and across the Wilderness and into
the Promised Land. God speaks into this
world, into our lives, and what was an ordinary place is now made sacred by
that holy word. And Bernadette and
Heiskell: in the vows and promises you make today, in God’s sight and in the
presence of these friends and family members, the ground under our feet is
consecrated, and made holy. Not because
of what you are saying, but because
we believe, and certainly why in our tradition of the Christian family we call
marriage a sacrament, that God’s word is being spoken to you now.
We can imagine that burning bush, right here, right now. That God’s holy presence is with you,
surrounding you, above you, and beneath your feet, with richness and blessing
and purpose. The prayers and blessings
of this day don’t just happen in this one moment of your wedding, but they go
out with you into your marriage and life together, from this day forward, and
will be around you and under you and with you all the days of your life. He has great plans for you, for each of you
individually, and for you together as husband and wife as you will live in you
family and in the circles of your friends—all the lives you touch. That’s the great and wonderful thing we celebrate. I don’t know what those plans are, exactly. None of us do. But he is beginning to reveal them to you now
in a new season of life, in this evening.
Again, thank you both. May God
bless and keep you with joy all the days of your life together. It’s going to be, and already is, a great
story. And now: friends, as Bernadette
and Heiskell prepare to exchange the vows that will make them husband and wife,
I would ask that we would all bow our heads for a moment and in our own words
ask God’s care and blessing for them.
Bruce Robison
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