Jesu Juva
“Built on the Rock”
Text: Luke 6:46-49;
Ephesians 5:20-33; Proverbs 31:10-31
(Note: The couple wanted to use Divine
Service Setting Three as the liturgy within which their wedding would take
place. Hence the references below to the liturgy.)
Grace, mercy, and peace
to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Grace and Scott,
You’ve set quite a tone for your marriage today.
You invited all these people here to celebrate this joyous day, this day your
mothers (and maybe your fathers) have been waiting for a long time now, your
being joined as one as husband and wife, you Grace all beautiful and radiant,
and you Scott all handsome and debonair, and a big party planned afterward . .
. and so you wanted this day, this joy, this service started out with these
words: Let us confess our sins. . . . I, a
poor, miserable sinner. Who does that?
But I cannot think of more appropriate words.
Because these are words that are not just for the beginning of your
lives together,but for every
day of your lives together. For if there is one thing you will need every day
of your lives as husband and wife, it is not love - it is more than that - it
is forgiveness. Love is what most people think is the foundation of marriage,
and that’s why so many marriages crumble and fall apart. For trying to hold
onto the feelings of love that you feel today - the thumping in your chest when
you first saw Grace in her dress, or when you speak your vows to one another -
trying to hold onto those feelings is like trying to hold onto sand; it just
runs through your fingers. But when your marriage is built on forgiveness, then
you are built on that rock we heard of today in St. Luke. The
rock of Christ. And then your marriage is about His love, not
your love. Then it’s about what He does, not what you do. For what you do will
not last, but what He does will.
Let us confess our sins. . . . I, a poor, miserable sinner.
When you said those words today, you were
agreeing with the words of Jesus we heard from St. Luke, when Jesus said: Why
do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I tell you? And since
today is about marriage, we’ll focus on what Jesus told you in the reading from
Ephesians: Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and
gave himself up for her. In just a few moments you will, in fact,
promise to do those very things. Before all these people and before your Lord
you’re going to say: Yes, I will! And I do not doubt your sincerity at
all. Not one little bit. But I know this too: you won’t. For you can’t.
Oh, there will be good times and times when you do. But there will also be
those times when your selfish, sinful nature drags you down and as much as you
want to, you’re going to lash out instead. You’ll let each other down. You’ll
expect too much from the other and want to give too little of yourself. You
will be that poor, miserable sinner.
But these verses in Ephesians speak something
else for you today, too. Another reality. For what
Paul is really talking about there is not “Marriage 101,” but
forgiveness. For why did Christ come and give Himself for His bride? To forgive her. Or in Paul’s words: To sanctify
her, to wash and cleanse her, that she might be without spot or wrinkle or any
such thing. And why does the church submit to Christ? To receive that forgiveness. For when we all spoke
those words together earlier: I, a poor, miserable sinner, what were we
doing? Submitting to Christ. And what did we
hear in return? I forgive you all your sins.
Just as we as Christians cannot hear that enough,
so you too, as husband and wife, cannot speak that enough and cannot hear that
enough. And so here is true headship in the family for you Scott. To be the
first to repent and the first to forgive, and Grace submits by following your
lead in repenting and forgiving. No lordship here. You have a Lord, who laid
down His life for you on the cross. Now it is submitting to one another
out of reverence for Christ. That as we just sang (LSB #575), the hope for
your marriage is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
And in talking about that, the house built upon
the rock of Christ, St. Luke used the word flood - when a flood arose
against that house. And even if you’ve never been in or experienced a
flood, our televisions are often filled with pictures of them and their
devastation. And sometimes marriages get flooded - when richer becomes poorer,
when health turns to sickness, and when struggles and trials and difficulties
make for a whole lotta worse and not a whole lotta better.
But at just such times, remember that other
flood that claimed you each first - the flood of your baptism. That day when the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit gave you a life that
nothing in this world can take away. When Christ took you as His bride
and washed you clean in His blood and forgiveness and said you are mine.
That heavenly flood is more powerful than any flood this world can bring
against you or your marriage. And so it is appropriate that in this place where
the new life of baptism is given, your new life as husband and wife also begin
here - on that rock that no flood can wash away.
But not only begin here, but your new life
as husband and wife be sustained here, receiving again and again that
forgiveness of Christ you so desperately need, and that you will give to each
other; and receiving again and again, side by side, the Body and Blood of
Christ. That you be not alone in this. That it be not
up to you. But that your marriage be built on
nothing less that Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
And so today we rejoice that the God who baptized
you into His Son is the God who has brought you together and is uniting you as
one flesh, to stand on that rock together. Gift after gift
after wonderful gift.
And while I know a lot of women who do not want
those verses from Proverbs read in their wedding because they seem like an
impossible standard to live up to, you Grace are and will be such
a wife to Scott. Not because you’re perfect or will do all those things spoken
of there, but because the Lord gave you to him and you are his bride, cleansed
by Christ and radiant, without any spot or wrinkle. Perfect for Him and He for you. Built on
the rock of Christ and His forgiveness. And on that foundation, you
cannot be moved.
Let us confess our sins. . . . I, a poor, miserable sinner.
Say those words to each other every night before
you go to bed, and you’ll remember not only this day and its joy, and speak the
joy of forgiveness to one another, you’ll remember the even greater joy that
awaits both of you - the marriage
feast of your Saviour, in heaven, which will never
end. The vows you will speak today are until death parts you. But the
vow your Saviour made to you was to smash death
under His feet, for you. And He did, rising from the dead. That not
even death be able to part you from Him. Ever.
That’s the confidence and life you have as
Christians. That’s the confidence and life you have as husband and wife. That confidence and life of that Rock that cannot be moved.
So I guess we should get on with it! But know
this: that joy that is yours today is nothing compared to the joy Christ your Saviour has in you as His Bride. That joy He
gives and shares with you now, and has stored up for you forever. So God bless
you now as you begin your life together in Christ, on Christ, and with Christ.
In the Name of the Father
and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.