Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13
There was a time when I would have rolled my eyes at yet another wedding couple who wanted 1 Corinthians 13 as the Scripture reading for their marriage ceremony. Back when I was newly out of seminary and full of myself with how smart I was and how much I really understood what the Scriptures are all about and...well, you get the picture.
I knew nothing.
But then again, that is what this text is about. We see in a mirror dimly and then later do we see clearly. And therein lies the power of these words. Many love this text for its beautiful words describing love. About how it’s patient and kind and all that. But the real strength of these words is in what it says about what love does to us.
Matt, Britt, today you’re beginning a wondrous adventure. An adventure that will prove the truth of what this passage of Scripture says. If you think that you’re going to be the same person in 5, 10, or how ever many years from now that you are today, you are mistaken. The love you have for one another doesn’t work that way. You will change. You will change for one another and because of one another.
In many ways, you already know that. Have you ever asked yourself why you are the person you are today? I don’t imagine many of us do that, but if you were to do so, what are the odds that the people most influential in forming you are in these pews today? Your friends, your family. It was their love for you two that has brought you to who you are.
And not only them, but also the one who watches over us this day and always. God’s love is a part of this too. He is a big part of the reason you are here today. He brought you together.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child. You are no longer children and the person that you have become is the result of the love you have received thus far, from these people here assembled and from God above. And the person you will be in the future will largely be the result of the love you receive from and give to that person standing next to you in front of this altar.
There is an old pagan myth about how each person was formed with two heads, four arms, four legs, and was then split into two, with each half forever searching for its lost companion. There’s a lot of truth in that old story. We need each other to find our completeness, to become who we are meant to be. Today that happens for the two of you.
Oh, and not only each other. I would be remiss if I did not mention your children. I speak from personal experience that becoming a blended family is wondrous experience. There is truly something to be said for those children who come to call you Daddy and Mommy and what their love and your love for them does as well.
This is love’s blessing for us. Who we are is not who we once were and who we are is not who we will be. Love is what makes all that happen. St. Paul understood that, which is why he gave us this great passage of Scripture. This is what today is about. Becoming something new. Something wondrous. Something complete. Something loved. Congratulations to you both.
Amen.
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