A Marriage Made in Heaven
Sermon
ROSES, RINGS & REJOICING
A wedding is an occasion of great rejoicing. For ____ and ____ , this is a mature decision, based upon a relationship of many years standing. We rejoice with them as they enter together into the adventure of a lifetime.
The title of this sermon perhaps has you wondering how I can know that this marriage is "made in heaven." Well, as a matter of fact, I don't know that. How could anyone know that at this point? That's not to throw cold water on this joyous event, mind you. Actually, I had another marriage in mind in giving a title to this sermon — the marriage of Christ and the church. Now there's a marriage made in heaven, for it begins and ends with God's love.
Jesus alludes to this marriage in his high priestly prayer of John 17, where we read:
I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
(John 17:20-21)
The intimacy of the relationship of Jesus and the Father is the cornerstone of Christ's marriage to the church — his very bride. That is why Christ emphasizes and prays for unity among all Christians. If Christians are one, the world will be more prone to see that Jesus and the Father are One. Conversely, if the church is divided, the witness of the church to the relationship of Christ and the Father will be hampered.
As many of you know, ____ and ____ come from different religious traditions. Nonetheless, they have been called to Holy Matrimony by the one Spirit that our respective churches share in common. For this reason, their marriage is a gift of the Spirit to the church, for it will stand as a bold image of our deeper unity in Christ, a unity that transcends the painful divisions within the body of Christ. They join an ever-growing number of interfaith marriages that are serving in subtle, but very real, ways to dissolve and heal our differences. Christ wants this — so that the world may believe.
The divisions that exist within the church should not be allowed to obscure what faith in God and participation in the church have to offer marriages. Despite its many flaws, the church is still the best place around for feeding and nourishing marriages at their deepest levels of need. Here are a few reasons why:
a. Christian faith confronts human sinfulness. It places a powerful check upon our tendency to blame others for problems that are essentially our own. Marriage puts us face-to-face with who we really are — warts and all. How healthy it is to be free to say to your husband or wife: "It's my fault; I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"
b. Christian faith proclaims the dignity of each and every person as a child of God. Such a belief forms the basis for the respect that is essential to marriage. The persons to whom we are married are not someone that we own, nor are they something that we have earned, nor most assuredly are they something that we deserve. They are a gift — a sacred gift — of God.
c. Christian faith challenges us to put Christ at the center of all of our relationships, and most especially our marriages. Putting Christ at the center of a marriage changes the chemistry entirely. Persons who are touched by God's grace themselves become gracious. A marriage needs a whole bushel full of grace.
d. The Christian faith and life in the church teach patterns of openness, caring, and forgiving. These are qualities which, quite obviously, marriages need to survive.
The church, despite its many flaws, is still the best place for a marriage to be nourished and sustained at its deepest level of need. For a little bit of faith, you sure get a whole lot in return. God wants marriages to succeed. God wants those who enter into them to be happy, to be fulfilled, to be joyous. God wants our marriages to mirror the marriage that is made in heaven — the marriage of Christ to the church.
Folk wisdom holds that certain marriages are "made in heaven." This expression is often intended as a way of saying that a particular couple never had a disagreement, never had a stressful moment, never had a flash of anger or conflict for lo these many years. Maybe my experience is limited, but I've never known a marriage like that. As a matter of fact, I'm not so sure that I want to know a marriage like that; such a marriage may suffer from something even worse than conflict:
boredom.
My theory is that a marriage ‘‘made in heaven" is one that is close to the love of God in Christ. Placing Christ at the center of your marriage will bear rich fruit over the years so that in hindsight, people will say of your marriage that it was, indeed, ‘‘made in heaven."
____ and ____ , our prayer for you today is that you will build your marriage around the marriage that is made in heaven: the love of God in Christ for the church. Our prayer for you is that you will together seek out in freedom a community of Christians who will uphold your marriage and your faith in God. And lastly, our prayer for you is that someday your grandchildren will say to each other, when reflecting on the marriage of Grampa ____ and Gramma ____: "Ah yes, now there was a marriage made in heaven!"
God's peace to you. Amen
— Craig Douglas Erickson
Summit Avenue Presbyterian Church
Bremerton, Washington
The title of this sermon perhaps has you wondering how I can know that this marriage is "made in heaven." Well, as a matter of fact, I don't know that. How could anyone know that at this point? That's not to throw cold water on this joyous event, mind you. Actually, I had another marriage in mind in giving a title to this sermon — the marriage of Christ and the church. Now there's a marriage made in heaven, for it begins and ends with God's love.
Jesus alludes to this marriage in his high priestly prayer of John 17, where we read:
I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
(John 17:20-21)
The intimacy of the relationship of Jesus and the Father is the cornerstone of Christ's marriage to the church — his very bride. That is why Christ emphasizes and prays for unity among all Christians. If Christians are one, the world will be more prone to see that Jesus and the Father are One. Conversely, if the church is divided, the witness of the church to the relationship of Christ and the Father will be hampered.
As many of you know, ____ and ____ come from different religious traditions. Nonetheless, they have been called to Holy Matrimony by the one Spirit that our respective churches share in common. For this reason, their marriage is a gift of the Spirit to the church, for it will stand as a bold image of our deeper unity in Christ, a unity that transcends the painful divisions within the body of Christ. They join an ever-growing number of interfaith marriages that are serving in subtle, but very real, ways to dissolve and heal our differences. Christ wants this — so that the world may believe.
The divisions that exist within the church should not be allowed to obscure what faith in God and participation in the church have to offer marriages. Despite its many flaws, the church is still the best place around for feeding and nourishing marriages at their deepest levels of need. Here are a few reasons why:
a. Christian faith confronts human sinfulness. It places a powerful check upon our tendency to blame others for problems that are essentially our own. Marriage puts us face-to-face with who we really are — warts and all. How healthy it is to be free to say to your husband or wife: "It's my fault; I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"
b. Christian faith proclaims the dignity of each and every person as a child of God. Such a belief forms the basis for the respect that is essential to marriage. The persons to whom we are married are not someone that we own, nor are they something that we have earned, nor most assuredly are they something that we deserve. They are a gift — a sacred gift — of God.
c. Christian faith challenges us to put Christ at the center of all of our relationships, and most especially our marriages. Putting Christ at the center of a marriage changes the chemistry entirely. Persons who are touched by God's grace themselves become gracious. A marriage needs a whole bushel full of grace.
d. The Christian faith and life in the church teach patterns of openness, caring, and forgiving. These are qualities which, quite obviously, marriages need to survive.
The church, despite its many flaws, is still the best place for a marriage to be nourished and sustained at its deepest level of need. For a little bit of faith, you sure get a whole lot in return. God wants marriages to succeed. God wants those who enter into them to be happy, to be fulfilled, to be joyous. God wants our marriages to mirror the marriage that is made in heaven — the marriage of Christ to the church.
Folk wisdom holds that certain marriages are "made in heaven." This expression is often intended as a way of saying that a particular couple never had a disagreement, never had a stressful moment, never had a flash of anger or conflict for lo these many years. Maybe my experience is limited, but I've never known a marriage like that. As a matter of fact, I'm not so sure that I want to know a marriage like that; such a marriage may suffer from something even worse than conflict:
boredom.
My theory is that a marriage ‘‘made in heaven" is one that is close to the love of God in Christ. Placing Christ at the center of your marriage will bear rich fruit over the years so that in hindsight, people will say of your marriage that it was, indeed, ‘‘made in heaven."
____ and ____ , our prayer for you today is that you will build your marriage around the marriage that is made in heaven: the love of God in Christ for the church. Our prayer for you is that you will together seek out in freedom a community of Christians who will uphold your marriage and your faith in God. And lastly, our prayer for you is that someday your grandchildren will say to each other, when reflecting on the marriage of Grampa ____ and Gramma ____: "Ah yes, now there was a marriage made in heaven!"
God's peace to you. Amen
— Craig Douglas Erickson
Summit Avenue Presbyterian Church
Bremerton, Washington
