Holy Matrimony
September 8, 2012
Tanisha and Darius, 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 and cheering fans, 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 all this time of preparation and
anticipation.
You already have a long story of your life together, and the foundation
of a family, and the blessing of children.
You’ve known 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 will work
hard, and move forward together, 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 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 afternoon, 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.
The second lesson you chose, from the tenth chapter of St. Mark, is I think a wonderful word about
marriage and family. The story is the
basis for the great window here at St. Andrew’s behind the high altar. Jesus blessing the children and their
families. And I pray that you will feel
and know his presence and his blessing on you and your marriage, and your
family.
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 here today. 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 Darius and Tanisha: 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, and for you together as husband and wife and family. That’s the great and wonderful thing we
celebrate. I don’t know what they
are. None of us do. But he is beginning to reveal them to you
now, in this moment this afternoon.
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 Darius and
Tanisha come forward 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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