We are all here to witness and to celebrate a marriage. A marriage is indeed taking place this day; yet, it is not mere a marriage of two people, but of two peoples–two families, two sets of friends, being united together through love, into one family, one group of friends, one people. This is not merely the marriage of _____________ and __________. It is the marriage of you all. Today is not merely an expression and demonstration of love by these two people, and their commitment to live together, but it is your agreement and commitment to live together as one people, united by their love. Make no mistake, this is an act of faith, maybe even a leap of faith, and this faith smashes the barriers and walls that once divided you into separate classifications and groupings.
This is why marriage is a Sacrament. A Sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible grace. It is the tangible expression of a reality that extends beyond comprehension. Grace is an unearned gift and an expression of love. And just as an act of love through Jesus Christ abolished the barriers that divided humanity–the barriers that separated humanity from God, and from each other–so too, this act of love, by __________ and ___________ abolishes the barriers that once separated all of you from one another.
Scripture tells us that in Christ Jesus there is no Jew or non-Jew, there is no slave or free, there is no male or female, but we are all united in Christ Jesus. And our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that when two people are married, they are no longer two people, but united into one entity–one flesh, one spirit, one united whole. And I tell you today, that there is no longer ____________’s family and ____________’s family; there is no longer _____________’s friends and _______________’s friends; there is only one family, united in faith, and bound together by love.
And this is why Paul’s words about love apply. Paul was not talking about romantic love. Paul was not talking about weddings, even though his words are most commonly used at weddings. Paul was talking about selfless love within a community of faith. And this is what you are becoming today, a community of faith. You have faith in the act of love you are witnessing. You have faith in the commitment you are witnessing. You have faith in it, or you wouldn’t be here. Therefore, this marriage is not the sole responsibility of ___________ and _________. You are all responsible for it. The success or failure of marriage is not simply the words and deeds of two people who stand before their family and friends to make vows to each other; it is the words and deeds of everyone who become united through their vows. Marriage takes work and commitment and faith and trust and love, and it takes it from all of you, not just _________ and ________, but from all of you who are involved, who are now united, who are now one people, one community of faith and love.
So, to ____________ I say, remember that you no longer belong to yourself, but you belong to ______________ and she (whether she knows it or not) belongs to Christ; and ____________, remember that you no longer belong to yourself, but you belong to ________________ and he (whether he knows it or not) belongs to Christ. And to all of you, remember that you no longer belong to one family or another, one set of friends or another, but you now belong to each other, and everyone here (whether you know it or not) belongs to Christ. Therefore, in all that you do, in all of your interactions with one another, be patient and kind. Don’t be jealous or conceited. Behave appropriately as a family should. Don’t be resentful, or hurtful, or take pleasure in the struggles and misfortunes of others. Celebrate each other. Put up with each other. Trust in each other. Be patient with each other. Because your united love can bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things, because love, true love, selfless love, the kind of love you are all now being called to love, this love never fails. Amen.
