Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

When did it all begin and where is it headed?

Was it in a sweaty, stinky, gym with chalky hands and pounding music? If it was, then Ben was probably shouting at Denise, albeit in an encouraging and supportive way. Or was it in a muddy pit during a Spartan race, a quiet dog walk in the woods, a young adult Bible study, or the scenic slopes of Blue Mountain? It is not always apparent where it all began, or where it all will end up. That is what brings faith and hope into the relationship.

 

The Bible begins with a wedding in the Book of Genesis, as God brings the perfect match to Adam in the person of Eve. The Bible also ends with a wedding in the Book of Revelation, the marriage of the Lamb (our Lord Jesus Christ) and His Bride (the Church, those who look to Him for their salvation).

 

Marriage is established by God with Adam and Eve to be a good thing, a necessary thing for the human race, and for Adam a day of not unspeakable joy, but joy that gives us mankind’s first recorded words.

 

Prior to the wedding Adam was given the task of naming all of the animals as the Lord brought them to him. If you have any love for animals you might think that would be the highlight of Adam’s life. But what it actually did for Adam was to point out to him that there was nothing else in all of creation like him. And he longed for a companion that was fit for him, to be with him, to look him in the face, to compliment him in every way, and to supply for him everything that he lacked. In providing for Adam his wife Eve, God was also giving the same to her—the only thing in all of creation that was a fit companion for her.

 

It turns out that man’s best friend is not a Golden Retriever or anything else in all of creation. And Adam’s love song expresses his awe and wonder and celebration at being given a wife: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23); at last, finally, and with finality.

 

The same awe and wonder and celebration are evident at the end of the Bible as the Son of God, the Lamb, is wedded to His Bride, the Church. The praise and joy pour out with the voice of a great multitude like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder (Revelation 19:6). “Let us rejoice and exult and give God the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” (Revelation 19:7-8).

 

The Bible is a wedding announcement from beginning to end, from its first chapters to its last. But here we are today in betwixt the two. Between the first and the last weddings. We can see some things drawn out from Holy Scripture evident here today: a man and a woman stand face to face, having at last found the one to compliment the other in every way. “This at last” has become Ben’s love song. And the Bride (Denise) “has made herself ready, clothed with fine linen, bright and pure.” Isn’t she lovely? And beyond the beautiful wedding dress, the garment granted to the Church she has donned for herself.

 

This is a day that neither of them will ever forget. It is a day worthy of celebration, which is why you all have joined them on this day. It is a wondrous day in their lives. And yet the wonder surpasses just one day, which is what we hope and pray will be the case for Ben and Denise. We hope and pray that for every couple whose wedding we witness and celebrate. What opens for them today is to be a lifetime of love and faithfulness one for the other expressed each and every day.

 

Many a wedding we witness has these same elements: the groom overflowing with joy that at last a fit companion has been granted to him; the bride in the finest of dresses; celebratory voices; and a marriage supper. It is all very beautiful and meaningful just in regard to the two people being united together as one.

 

But think of the significance in that God Himself crowned all of creation at the beginning of time with the wedding of Adam and Eve. It was, in fact, that all of creation was brought into being for that union. And the significance of that first wedding points ahead through all of the Bible to the marriage of the Son of God Himself to His people. Marriage is a divine thing, a sacred thing, an act of God out of love for His people. It transcends this day to span from the beginning of time into eternity.

 

That does not diminish this particular day for Ben and Denise at all. It magnifies and glorifies it to an inexhaustible mystery, a mystery in which the two of them are brought into the love of the God of all creation for the people whom He ransomed with His own blood to have as His own. That is why the Son of God is referred to as the Lamb at that eternal marriage supper. His divine act of love was to be sacrificed for the sins of all so that by His blood we might be His own forever. That is the kind of love and faithfulness and care in which we can rest in devoted splendour for eternity.

 

That is the kind of love and faithfulness and care that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has for you, each one of you. He became man, lives in perfect faithfulness and obedience and love, and yet suffered and died for all of us who struggle so much and fail so often in regard to faithfulness and obedience and love. He is our inspiration to share that faithfulness, obedience, and love with each other.

 

And yet it goes beyond being an inspiration. It is also the source and the power of faithfulness, obedience, and love within us. These are the things that we receive from God through Jesus who has betrothed Himself to us in order that He might pour out so much of His love and forgiveness upon us that it spills out of us to those around us, and those closest to us get the first waves of it—husband to wife and wife to husband.

 

When describing the duties of husband and wife, St. Paul reveals that it is a mystery about Christ and His Bride, the Church (Ephesians 5). As Christ has given Himself for the Church through His gracious suffering and death upon the cross, so the husband proclaims this love within marriage as he gives himself for his wife. And as the wife places herself to receive such love with faithfulness and devotion, so she proclaims daily this transcendent, divine, and sacred love.

 

And what about all of your guests here gathered? The witnesses to the marriage also have a part to play in celebrating and proclaiming this eternal love distilled down to this very day, this event, right here and now. Jesus Himself described the kingdom of heaven as a marriage feast that a king gives for his son (Matthew 22:1-14). The tragedy in His parable is that those invited spurned the invitation. It wasn’t just that they thought they had better things to do. It was also that they had no regard for the divine significance of marriage, nor for the king, nor for his son. In fact, they hated the whole thought of it and murdered the servants who bid them to come.

 

Yet, we cannot fail to see the graciousness of the king in his universal invite. Everyone is desired to be present to join in the celebration, the festivities, and the supper. He wants everyone to come and have a part. And if some spurn the invitation, He will still make sure that the wedding hall will be full. So God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, sends out His invitation to you.

 

The marriage supper of His Son has come and He wants you to celebrate, and enjoy, and be enraptured by the significance of the great sacred event, celebrating the unfathomable love of Jesus Christ in giving Himself for us all. He is filling the wedding hall. Some of those whom we dearly love and have died with faith in God’s love for them in Christ Jesus, are already at the eternal feast. We miss them in their absence at such an important event in our earthly lives. But we get to join with them in a foretaste of that feast to come when we gather with the Church to receive the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Christians rejoice and celebrate that feast with glad and joyful hearts and with all the company of heaven.

 

Our glad and joyful hearts have come together here and now. Ben and Denise, we are so happy for you and we have come to celebrate this day with you. And our joy is not deflected from you by considering the sacred, eternal significance that God has granted to your union. Rather, it allows us to celebrate all the more, to see the wonder of God’s love for His people in the love we see that you have for each other. It allows us to contemplate how we ourselves are wrapped up in this desire of God to love us eternally.

 

Every day you will proclaim that love to each other as you strive to give of yourselves and to receive what each other is trying to give. You will also forgive each other as God forgives you. Those of us who have been married know that a husband and wife do not have less to forgive, but more; just as they do not have less love and care for one another, but more than for any other. That does not alarm or worry us when we remember that God’s love is the source and power of our own. Even when we are straining and struggling, His love does not fail.

 

Marriage is not only good in its own right, but it shines all the brighter as a parable of God’s love for you and for us all. Blessed are those invited to celebrate at the feast. Blessed are we to celebrate not only Ben and Denise’s wedding but also what it pictures for us and proclaims to us and inspires within us. Thank you for showing us the love of God for us in Christ Jesus as we celebrate your love for each other today.