Wedding Sermon for Don Jones and Addison Griede: "Sacrifice"

+ The Rite of Holy Matrimony – November 4^th, 2017 +

Donald Jones and Addison Griede

Genesis 2:7, 18-24 and Ephesians 5:1-2, 22-33

In the Name the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

At the heart of some of our favorite stories there is a sacrifice.

Harry Potter goes to the Forbidden Forest to face Voldemort and save the wizarding world from evil.

Against overwhelming odds, Matthias saves Redwall Abbey from Cluny the Scourge by putting himself in harm’s way.

Aslan lays down his life on the Stone Table to save Narnia from the White Witch.

Frodo and Samwise deliver the Ring of Power into the heart of Mordor, and at great cost to themselves and their friends.

Odysseus spends 10 years and endures countless dangers to get back to his wife Penelope.

Even our modern-day Superheroes (whether you prefer DC or Marvel) would have no story without sacrifice. Spiderman runs in front of a moving train to stop it. Superman sacrifices himself to save Metropolis.

And now you two know why I asked you earlier this week what some of your favorite books were…

Seems like all the good stories have a sacrifice at the center. The story of Christianity is no different. “Greater love has no man than one lay down his life for his friends,” Jesus says. “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many”…for you…for all. “God shows his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus’ death and resurrection is the center of the story of Christianity. Without Jesus crucified and risen, there is no story, no Christianity, and no hope. And yet through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we receive all good things: God’s gifts of daily bread, family, and home; true joy in life and death; forgiveness of sins; even God’s gift of marriage comes to us through the cross, for Paul says that Christ loves us, his bridegroom, in his sacrifice for us.

And while this story is like many other stories, there is one major exception. Unlike the sacrifice of Harry Potter, Frodo, or Superman, this story happens to be true. Christ’s sacrifice for us didn’t happen in a comic book, a fairytale, or in a galaxy far, far away, but in human history. Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate.

Right in the middle of Paul’s teaching on marriage in Ephesians 5, he points to Christ’s sacrifice:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

What is Paul’s great secret to a Christian marriage? In a word, Sacrifice.

Marriage is about many things: daily chores and life-long goals, home and family, work and leisure, communication and finances, love and intimacy, and the list could go. What do all these have in common? Sacrifice. Denying ourselves for the sake of another.

And this is no small task. As one of my good friends said when he got married. “I never realized how selfish I was until I got married.”

Thankfully, marriage is sustained by Christ’s sacrifice for us, and not our own. Sacrifice in marriage only happens in, and through, and because of Christ’s sacrifice for you. You love because Christ first loved you. You sacrifice for each other because Christ first sacrificed himself for you. You live and care for each other each day because Christ lives and cares for you in his death and resurrection.

As husband and wife, be loyal to one another as were Samwise and Frodo. Cherish one another as Odysseus cherished Penelope. Befriend one another in thick and thin like Ron, Hermione, and Harry. And above all, live in Christ’s sacrifice for you. Pray together. Read and hear his Word together. Live in His forgiveness together.

And so, today, Don and Addison begin a new chapter in the story of their life together; Jesus’ sacrifice fills their marriage with his love and sacrifice.

Today is a certainly a happily ever after kind of day. But know that even when it doesn’t feel that way, you have true joy and contentment in Christ’s sacrifice.

Today, you may not know how your story will go – what twists and turns life will take - but you know the most important part: Christ died and rose for you.

As your married life together begins, know that Christ’s love revealed on the cross for you and for all, is the greatest, true, and never-ending story.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.