Today, we come together celebrate the sacrament
of holy matrimony between Catherine and Brandon. This is a very joyous event in
their lives & in the lives of their family & friends as we recognize
this commitment of love that they are making.
It is a central truth of our Christian faith that love should be at the
foundation of everything in our lives. The readings that you have chosen for
today, Catherine and Brandon, have a lot to say about love. The reading we hear
from the first letter to the Corinthians is a very traditional reading for
wedding ceremonies, because in it, St Paul tells us about the qualities of love
we are to gain from our faith and from our relationship with God. We are to
love God just as he loves us, & out of our love of God, we express our love
for each other – that will be an important model of love for you to have as
husband and wife. This is so different
from the romantic love that our secular world preaches, for our Christian view
of love is patient and giving, it is a love that rejoices in those joyful
times, and it is a love that is supportive and helpful and discerning in the
difficult and challenging times in life as well.
One thing that I like reminding the couple and
the congregation of during the sacrament of marriage, is what is unique about
this sacrament is that the bride and groom themselves are the ministers of this
sacrament to one another. It is the love
of the bride and groom that gathers the priest and their family and loved ones
with them before God as we witness your vows and your love for each other. The words that you Catherine and Brandon are
exchanging with one another, that you are vowing and promising to each other,
create a bond that joins both of you forever as a husband and wife before
Christ. I know that you Catherine and
Brandon feel blessed by God to have the love and peace that has grown in their
relationship together, and that you plan to on building on this foundation as
you grow in your new life together.
Jesus gives you a wonderful goal to aspire
toward in today’s Gospel as you begin your journey as husband and wife. He asks you to be a light to the world, to
share that light with others, and to glorify God with that light that has been
entrusted in you. I know that you both
aspire to share the gifts that God has given to you with others, to make the
world a better place through the professions that you have chosen, through
persons that you are, and through the couple that you will be together. For you to come together today, in giving of
yourselves and of your entire lives to each other, you are making a profound
act of faith, both faith in God and faith in one another. From that faith, the light you have inside of
each of you will burn brighter, and I know that with that light you hope to
balance each other and to grow ever closer together.
Catherine and Brandon, as all of your family and
loved ones gathered here this evening are praying for both of you with our
whole hearts, we pray that your marriage may reach the heights of Paul’s
understanding of love and marriage, that your love for each other may rejoice in
the truth of God through honesty and self-giving. We pray that your love for
each other will continue to be an experience of the love that God has for us. As you
journey in your marriage, the best place to renew the covenant of your love
between each other will be before Christ, for as you renew the covenant of
faith that you have in him, he will continue to teach you the true meaning of
love and will help you in your journey as husband and wife.
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