Genesis 2:7, 18-24/Ephesians 5:1-2, 22-33/St Mark 10:1-9
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Nicole and Gary, Donna and Phil, Aletta and Clarence, Kelsey and Jeff, family and friends, members of St Peter’s, beloved in the Lord, grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
It’s considered taboo, bad form, politically incorrect, to mention IT at a wedding. This is meant to be a joyous occasion. A happy day. A blessed union between this man and this woman. No one likes to say the word or think about it on a wedding day, but after all, Jesus was asked. Divorce. There, I said it. No harm done. Jesus said it first. And no one has ever accused me of being tactful.
I will admit, it is a dirty word. Divorce. It was not meant to be. It is by-product of the Fall. A result of sin. For what does Jesus say: From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ The woman was made for the man. She was taken from His very side, presented to him in splendor, a helper fit for him. It is more than simple compatibility. It is a matter of parts, physiology, biology, but it is more than that. The Hebrew is more descriptive: ‘Ezer; like unto one’s own opposite. She is ishshah, for she was taken out of ish.
The one flesh relationship of man and woman, husband and wife, is an icon of the Blessed Holy Trinity, separate Persons existing in undivided unity. This is why it was not good that the man should be alone. In all of God’s good creation, it was not good that the man should be alone, because God is not alone. He dwells in communion: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is love. Humanity, male and female, are the object of His love. His beloved. We receive love from our Creator and love in return. The Blessed Holy Trinity is eternal. Marriage is for life.
It was sin that destroyed God’s good creation. Plunged it into darkness and chaos. Tore us from proper communion with God. It can be said, in a sense, that Adam and Eve committed adultery with Satan. They forsook their true Husband and Father, chasing after the passions of the flesh, rather than submit to the will of God.
It is sin that destroys God’s good gift of marriage as well. Warped and twisted it in so many different ways. The battle over marriage is the battle of our day. The question of the Pharisees is just as pertinent for us. Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? Moses allowed for it. Because something is allowed, does it mean it is lawful? Because something is allowed, does it mean it is in accord with God’s will? What does Jesus say? Because of the hardness of your heart Moses allowed it. In other words, on account of sin.
Gary, Nicole, you are sinners. I don’t think this comes as any surprise to you or to one another. I don’t say it to be mean. We are all sinners. We have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have lived as if God did not matter and as if we mattered most. We have not let His love have its way with us, and so our love for others has failed. Our thoughts and and desires have been soiled with sin.
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us and for His sake God forgives us all our sins. As St Paul wrote, Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. This is how He loved the Church, His Bride. This is how He loved you. He died for you.
You’ve heard all the cliches before: Marriage is like building a house. Marriage is like dancing. Marriage is like a song. Marriage is like a violin. Marriage is like a good casserole. How about this one: Marriage is like being crucified. That’s how St Paul describes it. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her. Marriage is crucifixion. Dying to yourself, to your own desires, to your own needs and wants. Giving up yourself for the one who is like unto your opposite.
Gary, love Nicole as Christ loved the Church. Nicole, submit to Gary as the Church submits to Christ. These are now your vocations. Husband. Wife. You are no longer two, but one flesh.
This is why divorce is so catastrophic. Tragic. It rips you apart. Puts asunder the one flesh union created by God. Gary, Nicole, divorce has ripped you apart. Here, in this marriage, being joined to one another, God is mending you back up. You each have wounds that may never heal. Be sensitive to this; tender with each other. Forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Be imitators of God, as beloved children. Walk in love. For this is your first vocation. You are children of your heavenly Father. You are washed up with water and the Word. You are presented in splendor to the Lord, more lovely even than Nicole on her wedding day. You, His beloved, His one flesh, His Bride, His Church, are holy and without blemish. You were taken from His side as He fell into the sleep of death. He left His Father. He left His mother. He has been joined fast to His Church. The two have become one flesh. God has joined you together.
Gary, Nicole, and all beloved children, this is the mystery in which you live. The profound union of Christ and His Church. Here you submit in obedience to the headship of your Lord Jesus. Here your heavenly Bridegroom does not make you His subject, but serves you. He calls you by name. You were taken out of Him. You live in Him. You live in His love. Here He continues to breathe life into your dusty bodies.
Gary, Nicole, this is where you marriage begins. Centered on Christ Jesus, your heavenly Bridegroom. This is where your marriage lives. Return here again and again, in love. Here He feeds you on His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of your sins. You are at last bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh. God has joined you to Himself. God has joined you to one another. And what God has joined together, no man can put asunder.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Nicole and Gary, Donna and Phil, Aletta and Clarence, Kelsey and Jeff, family and friends, members of St Peter’s, beloved in the Lord, grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
It’s considered taboo, bad form, politically incorrect, to mention IT at a wedding. This is meant to be a joyous occasion. A happy day. A blessed union between this man and this woman. No one likes to say the word or think about it on a wedding day, but after all, Jesus was asked. Divorce. There, I said it. No harm done. Jesus said it first. And no one has ever accused me of being tactful.
I will admit, it is a dirty word. Divorce. It was not meant to be. It is by-product of the Fall. A result of sin. For what does Jesus say: From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ The woman was made for the man. She was taken from His very side, presented to him in splendor, a helper fit for him. It is more than simple compatibility. It is a matter of parts, physiology, biology, but it is more than that. The Hebrew is more descriptive: ‘Ezer; like unto one’s own opposite. She is ishshah, for she was taken out of ish.
The one flesh relationship of man and woman, husband and wife, is an icon of the Blessed Holy Trinity, separate Persons existing in undivided unity. This is why it was not good that the man should be alone. In all of God’s good creation, it was not good that the man should be alone, because God is not alone. He dwells in communion: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is love. Humanity, male and female, are the object of His love. His beloved. We receive love from our Creator and love in return. The Blessed Holy Trinity is eternal. Marriage is for life.
It was sin that destroyed God’s good creation. Plunged it into darkness and chaos. Tore us from proper communion with God. It can be said, in a sense, that Adam and Eve committed adultery with Satan. They forsook their true Husband and Father, chasing after the passions of the flesh, rather than submit to the will of God.
It is sin that destroys God’s good gift of marriage as well. Warped and twisted it in so many different ways. The battle over marriage is the battle of our day. The question of the Pharisees is just as pertinent for us. Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? Moses allowed for it. Because something is allowed, does it mean it is lawful? Because something is allowed, does it mean it is in accord with God’s will? What does Jesus say? Because of the hardness of your heart Moses allowed it. In other words, on account of sin.
Gary, Nicole, you are sinners. I don’t think this comes as any surprise to you or to one another. I don’t say it to be mean. We are all sinners. We have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have lived as if God did not matter and as if we mattered most. We have not let His love have its way with us, and so our love for others has failed. Our thoughts and and desires have been soiled with sin.
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us and for His sake God forgives us all our sins. As St Paul wrote, Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. This is how He loved the Church, His Bride. This is how He loved you. He died for you.
You’ve heard all the cliches before: Marriage is like building a house. Marriage is like dancing. Marriage is like a song. Marriage is like a violin. Marriage is like a good casserole. How about this one: Marriage is like being crucified. That’s how St Paul describes it. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her. Marriage is crucifixion. Dying to yourself, to your own desires, to your own needs and wants. Giving up yourself for the one who is like unto your opposite.
Gary, love Nicole as Christ loved the Church. Nicole, submit to Gary as the Church submits to Christ. These are now your vocations. Husband. Wife. You are no longer two, but one flesh.
This is why divorce is so catastrophic. Tragic. It rips you apart. Puts asunder the one flesh union created by God. Gary, Nicole, divorce has ripped you apart. Here, in this marriage, being joined to one another, God is mending you back up. You each have wounds that may never heal. Be sensitive to this; tender with each other. Forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Be imitators of God, as beloved children. Walk in love. For this is your first vocation. You are children of your heavenly Father. You are washed up with water and the Word. You are presented in splendor to the Lord, more lovely even than Nicole on her wedding day. You, His beloved, His one flesh, His Bride, His Church, are holy and without blemish. You were taken from His side as He fell into the sleep of death. He left His Father. He left His mother. He has been joined fast to His Church. The two have become one flesh. God has joined you together.
Gary, Nicole, and all beloved children, this is the mystery in which you live. The profound union of Christ and His Church. Here you submit in obedience to the headship of your Lord Jesus. Here your heavenly Bridegroom does not make you His subject, but serves you. He calls you by name. You were taken out of Him. You live in Him. You live in His love. Here He continues to breathe life into your dusty bodies.
Gary, Nicole, this is where you marriage begins. Centered on Christ Jesus, your heavenly Bridegroom. This is where your marriage lives. Return here again and again, in love. Here He feeds you on His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of your sins. You are at last bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh. God has joined you to Himself. God has joined you to one another. And what God has joined together, no man can put asunder.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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