Love: the precious gift

Here is the text of the homily I preached during the wedding that was celebrated today in one of the parishes entrusted to my pastoral care.

Wedding homily for Timothy Johanson and Kelsey Kelleher

There are some moments in life that merit a celebration.  Whether it’s the birth of a child, a major birthday or one of the faith moments known as the sacraments, these are times in our lives when we invite all our friends and relatives to be present.  Tim and Kelsey have invited you all here today to witness this moment of new beginning.  Today, they will speak words to one another that will bind them together as husband and wife for the rest of their lives, but before they do, permit me a moment or two to reflect on the readings they have chosen for this celebration.

First, I need to thank you both for deciding to celebrate your wedding in a church.  You could have chosen to hold this celebration in a number of other places, but your decision to come to the church tells me that this is also a moment for you to renew your faith, and to share the joy of this day not only with your invited guests, but with the whole parish, with the whole church, so thank you!

The Sacrament of Matrimony is one of those sacred moments when two people stand up in the sight of the Church and celebrate a special gift which they have received from God.  In this case, you are here to celebrate the gift of love, a love which you have witnessed and discovered at many other moments in your life, but which (I hope) you have witnessed and discovered in the special gift of the one who from this day forward you will know as your spouse.

When Jesus himself walked on this earth, he taught us about this gift of love.  Jesus used words to teach some things about love, but he used his own lived experience to model it for us.  Jesus never stops modeling love for us, because he is always present to us.  This is why he asked the disciples to love one another as I have loved you.  In fact, Jesus words were not only addressed to a group of twelve who were physically in his presence that day; this invitation to love has been passed down to all of us.  Jesus chose you and me from the day of our baptism, and he sends us out into the world to bear fruit.  True: one of the ways that married couples bear fruit is through the birth and raising of their children, but we also bear fruit by the way we live our lives.  If we truly believe that Jesus loves us and that he sends us out into the world to love others, then we will constantly be on the lookout for opportunities to go beyond our own comfort zones so that we can bear witness to his life and love for others.

Before we can be witnesses of love, before we can teach other people about Jesus’ love, we ourselves have to experience it.  That’s why God has given you the gift of each other: so that you can see what love is all about.  Strive every day to be examples of love for one another, and for others whose paths you will cross.  In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he tells us what he himself has learned about love: it is patient, and so we should be patient with others; it is kind, and so we should always endeavour to show kindness; it is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way. Now, stop for a moment and think about this: there are times in our lives when we know that we’re wrong; be courageous enough to admit fault when you are at fault; be also courageous enough to listen to others.  You never know when their advice or point of view might help you to discover new wisdom. If you do this, then you will discover that true love is never irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.

God also makes you a promise today.  As you begin this new life together, he promises to always be present to you, to strengthen you every day in your resolve to love and to be loved.  Look for him every day.  Look to him every day; look for him every day: when you are happy, give thanks; when you are discouraged, ask for his help.  The love that God shares with you is stronger than anything, even death itself.  No matter what else happens, love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.  Love never ends.