Homily
I’d like to share a brief word to you from God’s Word, encouraging you in your new life. Jesus told a story once about 4 kinds of soil that a farmer scattered
some seeds in:
1) on a footpath - birds came and ate the seeds
2) in shallow soil - it grew up quickly but soon wilted for lack of nourishment
3) in thorny soil - got choked out by weeds
4) in good soil - it grew and produced a crop 30,60,100 times larger
This story showed the original audience that God’s Word - the seed - was always good, but it didn’t always blossom because some soils - different
people’s hearts - responded differently to the message. That seed - a life-changing bundle of potential - could have been the start of a new and
wonderful life, but for some, it was stolen away. For some, it was troubled away. For some, it was worried away. But then, there were some who allowed the
seed to grow, and for them it was well worth the effort.
Wayne, Kelli, today, you have a similar seed, a bundle of potential for new life, called a marriage. This seed, this opportunity to have a wonderful, fruitful, new life, is yours. But ask anyone if a marriage comes easy. There’s give and there’s take. And when one takes more than they give, this seed of potential of a new life together suffers. How the seed grows is up to the both of you.
So, I want to encourage you and caution you about what lay ahead for the two of you.
1) Don’t let the seed get carried away
Understand the vows, the commitment you’re making to each other. Don’t let the joy and trust in each other get snatched away by other things. Forces are
strong to destroy your marriage: workaholism, overcommitment, temptation,selfishness, greed, pride...
Don’t let anything steal away the potential for a wonderful life together.
2) Don’t let your roots be shallow
Jesus: "At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted." Problems will happen. Don’t let problems and setbacks drive a wedge between you. You can let problems push you together or pull you apart. The choice is yours.
3) Don’t let thorns infest you
Jesus said the seed gets "crowded out by the cares of this world and the lure of wealth." He didn’t say you had to be wealthy in order to be controlled by
wealthy. He said that caring for things that do not last will try to crowd out your love. Don’t let them! Understand the things that matter most. Don’t let money - or usually the lack of it - steal your love for each other. Love people and use money - not the other way around. Someone once said something like: "How do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own spouse in the process?"
4) Do let the seed spread
The potential for a loving happy marriage is within you. The seed is there. What kind of soil will you be? The neat thing about this story by Jesus is that the seed not only spread, but multiplied. Which means that God’s plan for you and your marriage is to spread into others. God’s plan is that others will look at you and
say, "Man, what is different about them?" God wants to use your marriage to point others to the Source of all Life, of all Love, of all Happiness and Joy. May
your love and enthusiasm for each other be contagious and inspiring to those around you.
