Bartlett-Blackburn wedding

Preached at Canadochly Lutheran Church on April 16, 2016
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13

You two have presented me with an interesting challenge. Normally, if I have two wedding couples who pick the same Scripture text, I can get away with preaching basically the same sermon, because the likelihood of having the same people at both wedding ceremonies is pretty slim. Not so today. There are a few folks here today were here last month with Britt and Matt (Cody and Chelsi, in particular) and both couples chose 1 Corinthians 13 as their wedding text.

So, what to do?

Of course, everything I said last month still applies. This isn't just a text about love, but is also about the things love does to us and the places it takes us as it makes us grow. You two are here because of love. The love of your families and friends. The love of each other. The love of God. All that is still true. And all that love with make into new people, growing you, transforming you, taking you from seeing in that "mirror dimly" to seeing "face-to-face."

But you heard all that already. My one minute summary of my last wedding sermon. (For those of you who've been at both services, there will be a test.)

Let's be honest though. This is such a rich and beautiful Scripture that surely it has more to say to us than what I've already covered. And I got to thinking about what you two are going to do in just a few minutes with these three threads of cloth behind us. Of course, they symbolize yourselves and your son Zayne all coming together to form one family. I was reading online about how the tradition began as a way to symbolize the couple coming together with God to form a marriage. Both are great ways to understand what’s happening today. But there is still one more way to look at this as well.

Image from Pinterest

One strand is love. We know that. Love is why we're here. Love is what will hold you together in all the days and years to come. Your love for each other. Your love for your son. Your love for God and God's love for you. The love of all these people here on your special day and all those who wish they could be here. But I digress into my old sermon again.

The second strand is faith. We know this too. Faith is also why we're here. Faith is what will hold you together in all the days and years to come. Your faith in God. Your faith in one another. The faith of those gathered here and all those who wish they were here. The same interplay. There isn't a one of us here who doesn't believe in our heart of hearts that this is going to work, that you two are going to make quite a life together. We believe in you. You believe in each other. God believes in you two. So today is also about faith.

The third strand is hope. We know this also. Hope is why we're here. Hope will hold you together in all the days and years to come. Let's be honest again. Relationships are hard. There are going to be those moments when it gets tough. When you're mad at each other. When Zayne is mad at you or you're mad at him. When life won't give you a break and things are just tough. But you know something. You know those moments won't last. You know things'll get better again. You hang on that hope that the dark times will pass and life will shine once more again. Hope will hold you together and today is about hope.

Faith, hope, and love abide, these three... Together, they make your marriage. All three will hold you together as a couple and as a family from this day forward. It's why we're here. It's why you've come together and we're all here to support you. But not just today, but tomorrow, and every day yet to come. Faith, hope, and love abide. The threads of your life, now coming together in one cord as you create a new life with one another. God's blessings upon you. Amen.

Altland-Nearhoof Wedding Sermon

Preached at Canadochly Lutheran Church on March 13, 2016
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.