The Solid Rock On Which We Stand!
Sermon
THIS NEW LIFE TOGETHER
An Anthology Of Wedding Meditations
__________ and __________: The occasion of any wedding always confronts a preacher with the challenge of finding a middle ground between two extremes. On the one hand, it would seem, down through the years, that everything worth saying about a rich and rewarding relationship has, in some way or another, already been said - most memorably perhaps by the world's poets. On the other hand, the two of you are the only ones who can actually voice what needs to be said here today; and I honestly believe that the true meaning of the love you both share has been expressed far more powerfully by your presence, than could any message I might hope to render.
That challenge, however, is easily overcome by the pleasure, privilege, and personal honor I now feel, and indeed continue to find, in being allowed to speak a word to the two of you on this special day. As I am sure you will agree, this is a day that both of you have spent a lot of time talking about, thinking about, dreaming about, planning about - maybe even worrying about just a little. And at long last, it has finally arrived!
Your family and friends, of course, have all gathered together to share this day with you. We have come because we love you, and because we recognize that the two of you love each other very, very much. But we have come here to this place of worship, because there is another love we wish to witness as well - the love of God. I believe that it is God's love which has led you to this place; and it is our common
hope and prayer that it shall be God's love which will follow you from this place, and continue to abide with you both in all places that you shall enjoy and experience together.
Today the two of you begin building a new life as husband and wife; but before you actually get started, I want to take a moment and invite you to consider the days ahead. I realize, of course, that that's not always the easiest thing to do. The great baseball pundit Yogi Berra, when asked by a reporter about his team's chances for a pennant, once quipped, ''I never make predictions - especially about the future!''
And yet, it seems to me that we are safely able to predict some things in life, because they are inevitable. It doesn't matter who you are, where you live, or what you do. It makes no difference how powerful, how popular, or how prominent you've become. One's accumulated wealth or wisdom is of little significance, for some truths are so tightly woven into the fabric of human existence that they simply establish themselves as unalterable and absolute. You could whisper them as easily to the sleeping child during a lullaby, as you could along a quiet corridor of the nursing home. Because, like it or not, life carries with it some certainties which each and every one of us will experience ... sooner or later.
It might very well be that Benjamin Franklin was thinking something along these same lines, when he first penned the now well--known phrase, ''... in this life nothing is certain but death and taxes.'' Those are two. I would like to add to the list a third: change.
Of course, that may strike both of you as being so obvious that it hardly needs mentioning. Still, the unavoidable fact is that nothing, at least in this life, remains constant for very long. Seasons come and go, nations rise and fall, and the pendulum of cultural values seems to swing back and forth from generation to generation. Try as one might, you can never step twice into the same river ... for that which once was, no longer is, nor shall it really ever be again. And I am probably not alone in the belief that to live is to experience change.
Now, the two of you may not fully understand, nor yet be able to appreciate it completely, but from this very moment on, your lives have also changed. Of course, in many respects, it is a welcomed change, and no doubt, one well received by you both. Still, because this is an occasion marked by change, I have chosen as today's scripture lesson a brief passage from the seventh chapter of the gospel of Matthew.
Admittedly, this parable may seem a rather strange text for a wedding sermon. However, even though one's marriage might be made in heaven, it remains a partnership to be worked out here on earth. Like these two builders, the two of you will want to choose carefully that upon which your life together will be founded. Such, at least, was my original purpose in selecting this passage, because I had always believed that the fundamental difference between the wise builder and the foolish builder was where each decided to construct his house - one on rock, the other on sand.
In fact, for the longest time, I was persuaded that that was indeed the only difference. After all, there's no indication in the text that one house was larger than the other, or even more expensive. Matthew makes no mention of one being thrown together rather hastily, while the other took years of skillful planning. There are no soil samples taken, no environmental impact studies pursued, no insurance policies signed. The only difference recorded here is not so much in how these houses were built, but in where.
However, I am beginning to wonder whether there is something even more significant which separates these two builders. True enough, their houses differ in terms of location, but what makes one wise and the other foolish is not merely their choice of real estate. That's part of it, to be sure, but I believe that there may be yet another striking contrast.
The more I study this parable, the more I am persuaded that what actually distinguishes wise from foolish is that one anticipated that the weather might someday change and the other did not. Because if you think about it, in this parable, if the storms never come ... both houses remain sturdy and
standing. In fact, from an architectural standpoint, there is no liability in building one's structure upon sand, if the storms don't ever come. Ah, but the storms do come - just as they always will - and what really separates these two is that one realized that indeed someday they would.
No doubt, both of these home owners began construction when the heavens were a canopy of clear blue, and the warm days gently laid a soft shoulder of sunlight against the landscape. However, only one was wise enough to recognize that the skies can never remain calm and cloudless. And so, one wisely built upon that which would not change!
__________ and __________, today you are setting the cornerstone for the new life which you will both continue to build together. As on this day, there will be times when your house is filled with the sweet music of joy and laughter; but there will also be occasions when the only sounds are the hushed and trembling whispers of pain or sorrow. There will be bright afternoons when warm sunlight shines through every window; but there will also be evenings when the shadows lengthen and the rooms grow dark and cold. There will be festive occasions when all of your family and friends crowd around the table in celebration; but there will also be lonely times when the very place you call home seems suddenly empty and strangely unfamiliar.
Inevitably, there will be such times for you both. The storms will roll in eventually, because the weather - just like every other aspect of life - is always subject to change. As did the wise man in this parable, I want to encourage the two of you to build your marriage upon a foundation that will not change and cannot cease - the love of God. And toward that goal, I want to share with you now a very simple truth. If you like, you may scribble it down in the corner of the blueprints, and ponder upon it later, as you draw up the floor plans of life you will soon begin building.
The truth is this: Love does not consist only in looking at one another. Sometimes love means looking in the same direction. What that direction will be, I leave now to the two of
you. But know this: If you are looking together, you will find it. And you will realize that which you dream together ... possess that which you hope together ... conquer that which you battle together ... and learn that which you live together. Because you do so together with God.
__________ and __________, don't ever forget that God is part of this union as well. The life you begin building this day, you begin building with God; and when finally the construction is complete, God will be there as surely as God is now here. God's love will see you both that far, because God's love has already seen you this far. Such is the nature of love - especially God's love - a love which will not change and cannot cease. And what's more, you can build on it!
Robert S. Crilley is pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Grapevine, Texas.
That challenge, however, is easily overcome by the pleasure, privilege, and personal honor I now feel, and indeed continue to find, in being allowed to speak a word to the two of you on this special day. As I am sure you will agree, this is a day that both of you have spent a lot of time talking about, thinking about, dreaming about, planning about - maybe even worrying about just a little. And at long last, it has finally arrived!
Your family and friends, of course, have all gathered together to share this day with you. We have come because we love you, and because we recognize that the two of you love each other very, very much. But we have come here to this place of worship, because there is another love we wish to witness as well - the love of God. I believe that it is God's love which has led you to this place; and it is our common
hope and prayer that it shall be God's love which will follow you from this place, and continue to abide with you both in all places that you shall enjoy and experience together.
Today the two of you begin building a new life as husband and wife; but before you actually get started, I want to take a moment and invite you to consider the days ahead. I realize, of course, that that's not always the easiest thing to do. The great baseball pundit Yogi Berra, when asked by a reporter about his team's chances for a pennant, once quipped, ''I never make predictions - especially about the future!''
And yet, it seems to me that we are safely able to predict some things in life, because they are inevitable. It doesn't matter who you are, where you live, or what you do. It makes no difference how powerful, how popular, or how prominent you've become. One's accumulated wealth or wisdom is of little significance, for some truths are so tightly woven into the fabric of human existence that they simply establish themselves as unalterable and absolute. You could whisper them as easily to the sleeping child during a lullaby, as you could along a quiet corridor of the nursing home. Because, like it or not, life carries with it some certainties which each and every one of us will experience ... sooner or later.
It might very well be that Benjamin Franklin was thinking something along these same lines, when he first penned the now well--known phrase, ''... in this life nothing is certain but death and taxes.'' Those are two. I would like to add to the list a third: change.
Of course, that may strike both of you as being so obvious that it hardly needs mentioning. Still, the unavoidable fact is that nothing, at least in this life, remains constant for very long. Seasons come and go, nations rise and fall, and the pendulum of cultural values seems to swing back and forth from generation to generation. Try as one might, you can never step twice into the same river ... for that which once was, no longer is, nor shall it really ever be again. And I am probably not alone in the belief that to live is to experience change.
Now, the two of you may not fully understand, nor yet be able to appreciate it completely, but from this very moment on, your lives have also changed. Of course, in many respects, it is a welcomed change, and no doubt, one well received by you both. Still, because this is an occasion marked by change, I have chosen as today's scripture lesson a brief passage from the seventh chapter of the gospel of Matthew.
Admittedly, this parable may seem a rather strange text for a wedding sermon. However, even though one's marriage might be made in heaven, it remains a partnership to be worked out here on earth. Like these two builders, the two of you will want to choose carefully that upon which your life together will be founded. Such, at least, was my original purpose in selecting this passage, because I had always believed that the fundamental difference between the wise builder and the foolish builder was where each decided to construct his house - one on rock, the other on sand.
In fact, for the longest time, I was persuaded that that was indeed the only difference. After all, there's no indication in the text that one house was larger than the other, or even more expensive. Matthew makes no mention of one being thrown together rather hastily, while the other took years of skillful planning. There are no soil samples taken, no environmental impact studies pursued, no insurance policies signed. The only difference recorded here is not so much in how these houses were built, but in where.
However, I am beginning to wonder whether there is something even more significant which separates these two builders. True enough, their houses differ in terms of location, but what makes one wise and the other foolish is not merely their choice of real estate. That's part of it, to be sure, but I believe that there may be yet another striking contrast.
The more I study this parable, the more I am persuaded that what actually distinguishes wise from foolish is that one anticipated that the weather might someday change and the other did not. Because if you think about it, in this parable, if the storms never come ... both houses remain sturdy and
standing. In fact, from an architectural standpoint, there is no liability in building one's structure upon sand, if the storms don't ever come. Ah, but the storms do come - just as they always will - and what really separates these two is that one realized that indeed someday they would.
No doubt, both of these home owners began construction when the heavens were a canopy of clear blue, and the warm days gently laid a soft shoulder of sunlight against the landscape. However, only one was wise enough to recognize that the skies can never remain calm and cloudless. And so, one wisely built upon that which would not change!
__________ and __________, today you are setting the cornerstone for the new life which you will both continue to build together. As on this day, there will be times when your house is filled with the sweet music of joy and laughter; but there will also be occasions when the only sounds are the hushed and trembling whispers of pain or sorrow. There will be bright afternoons when warm sunlight shines through every window; but there will also be evenings when the shadows lengthen and the rooms grow dark and cold. There will be festive occasions when all of your family and friends crowd around the table in celebration; but there will also be lonely times when the very place you call home seems suddenly empty and strangely unfamiliar.
Inevitably, there will be such times for you both. The storms will roll in eventually, because the weather - just like every other aspect of life - is always subject to change. As did the wise man in this parable, I want to encourage the two of you to build your marriage upon a foundation that will not change and cannot cease - the love of God. And toward that goal, I want to share with you now a very simple truth. If you like, you may scribble it down in the corner of the blueprints, and ponder upon it later, as you draw up the floor plans of life you will soon begin building.
The truth is this: Love does not consist only in looking at one another. Sometimes love means looking in the same direction. What that direction will be, I leave now to the two of
you. But know this: If you are looking together, you will find it. And you will realize that which you dream together ... possess that which you hope together ... conquer that which you battle together ... and learn that which you live together. Because you do so together with God.
__________ and __________, don't ever forget that God is part of this union as well. The life you begin building this day, you begin building with God; and when finally the construction is complete, God will be there as surely as God is now here. God's love will see you both that far, because God's love has already seen you this far. Such is the nature of love - especially God's love - a love which will not change and cannot cease. And what's more, you can build on it!
Robert S. Crilley is pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Grapevine, Texas.
