Brothers and sisters, friends and family, James and Dana. We are here to celebrate a wonderful thing, to witness to the joining of two souls under God. Could there be a better place to be right now?
Dana and James, I haven’t known you for very long, but it is more than evident to me and everyone here that what you have is special and worth celebrating. You two are bound together by an unbreakable bond: love. Love is the manifestation of God’s Holy Spirit in God’s creation. From the beginning, we were created out of an outpouring of love for the purpose of loving. God loved Adam and Eve enough to create a world specifically for them. God loved the Israelite people enough to deliver them from the hands of the Egyptians. God loved us enough to send God’s only Son to die for our sins and to live again that we might live in Him, and God loves us enough to continually bless us even now.
But in God’s infinite wisdom, God knew that for us to fully experience that love, we would have to be able to give it as well as receive it. Just as tasting a freshly baked cookie is much different than cooking one, for us to truly experience the breadth of God’s love for us, we had to be able to give love to others. That is why from the beginning of creation, humanity was made to be in relationship, that is why we have been built with the capacity and need to love and be loved by others. And so we hear Adam’s heartfelt outpouring to Eve when he calls her “Bone of my bone; flesh of my flesh.”
Throughout Holy Scripture, we read of women and men who encounter and share love. Although not all of the stories have the happy endings we are used to in fairy tails, the ferocity of love is more than evident. Abraham loved his wife, Sarah, and wanted nothing more than to give her a son of her own. Isaac went to great lengths for his bride, Rebecca. Ruth loved her mother-in-law, Naomi, so much that she left all that knew to follow her into a foreign land. David loved his best friend, Jonathan, and would not come against him even though it meant prolonging the struggle with Saul. The book, Song of Solomon, is a love story about King Solomon and his beloved. Joseph loved Mary enough to stay with her even though she was with child. Jesus loved Lazarus enough to bring him back from the dead. Without a doubt, the Bible shows us that we are called to love, and love well.
In 1 Corinthians 13, which we just heard read beautifully a moment ago, the Apostle Paul shares with the church in Corinth and with us today the definition of true, godly love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
The love of God, that true, perfect love, is reflected in the love we share with one another, especially with our spouse. It is the bond that keeps us together; it is the drive for all of our actions; it is our reason for being.
So James and Dana: May your love be patient, may your love be kind. May envy, boasting, and pride be replaced with a godly humility. May your love never be rude or self-seeking. May it be slow to anger, quick to forgive. May your love act as a purging fire that cleanses you of evil; may it ever rejoice in the truth. May it always protect, always trust, always hope, and always persevere. And finally, may your love for each other never fail.
Amen.
So eloquent. Wise words! I like that used so many scriptural references of love in this. Awesome! One day you can write me something beautiful and meaningful like this for my wedding, but I can't promise preaching. ;)
ReplyDeleteNice homily Pastor Wes! I do find it interesting the thought that "God created the world for Adam and Eve" I don't agree with that but whatever. One small part of an overall beautiful message! I hope that I can do lots of "loving well" in my life before it's all said and done.
ReplyDeleteIn my view, God created the world for creation. Adam and Eve were part of creation, therefore God created the world for Adam and Eve. It doesn't mean solely them, but they were a big part of it. On the other side of the coin, though, I firmly believe that Adam and Eve (therefore, humanity), were created for creation. We have a blessing, but we also have a responsibility.
ReplyDeleteDoes that make sense?
It's a cool view. Do you mean "created the world for creation" like for creation's sake? Like creating for the art of creation? I think I follow you, but I just wanted to clarify. With the ordering in the Bible I couldn't at first quite follow the thought process, but now I may understand better. Did I follow you right?
ReplyDelete