Sermon for the Wedding of Hadley Heitshusen & Jenna Konig (11/6/2021)
Rev. Thomas Van Hemert
Genesis 1:26-28; Ephesians 5:1-2, 22-33; Matthew 19:4-6
Wedding of Hadley Heitshusen & Jenna Konig
November 6, 2021
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
There is a myriad of distractions in the world today that divert our attention from the truly good things that are going on around us. I now realize I may have been taking many things for granted because I don’t think there has ever been a time in the history of the world where we as a people and as a society have been as distracted as we are now. Parents are so distracted by their phones, screens, and their professional lives that their children are neglected and often times aren’t even raised by them; for so long, it seems, we have been so distracted by social media and by what the news is telling us, and people telling us what to think, that we have neglected to love our neighbor. Work, comfort, and financial security have distracted most young people from getting married at a young age and starting families, so much so, that it is now rare, and I must admit, somewhat surprising to see and witness what we are witnessing today. We are witnessing God’s love in action as He bestows His blessing upon this young couple, upon Hadley and Jenna.
But even though we must deal with all of these distractions and even though it doesn’t seem that they’ll be removed from us anytime soon, especially with the way society seems to keep crumbling, every once in a while, even in these last days, our loving God allows us to sit back and relax, and witness one of the greatest blessings He bestows upon men.
For in the beginning, the Lord God created all things— He created heaven and earth and everything that dwells upon the face of the earth. Then He created man. But He did not simply create man in the same manner He created the fish of the sea or the birds of the heavens or even the livestock. God did not create man as brutes, as humanoid beings void reason and intelligence. Mankind was set apart, created with intelligence and and feelings and desires and love. We are beings who need companionship, we need to be in community with one another. God created man and He created man “In His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them.” Even though everything God created was good, He did say it was very good until He united man with woman, Adam and Eve in Holy Marriage. Even before the fall into sin, God created and established the union of Holy Marriage. Because it was not good that man should be alone. He needed a helper. He needed a wife.
Thus, it is not good that Hadley and Jenna remain alone, apart from one another any longer. Today is a good day. Today is a holy day. For they were made specifically for each other. You, were made for her. You, were made for him. You were made for each other.
And so it is that Holy Marriage is different than any other relationship on the face of the earth. It is different from the relationship between cousins, or brother and sister, or best friends, or even the relationship that of parents and their children. The first human relationship ever created was the union between man and woman, husband and wife. Therefore, Jesus Himself says to the Pharisees, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man, [Hadley] shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife [Jenna], and they shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh.” Husband joined together with wife, man joined together with woman, this is the crown jewel, the pinnacle of God’s creation.
This relationship we know as marriage, was established so that you two may have companionship with each other, both in prosperity and adversity. And I promise you, and I think everyone here who has been married longer than a day will agree with me: you will have seasons of prosperity but there will also be seasons of adversity. Marriage isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. You will have your trials; you will have your arguments and disagreements. Even if one of you sins against the other, know this: love covers a multitude of sins. That love that covers a multitude of sins is Christ’s love that He gives to you by shedding His blood on the cross. But He did not stay dead, He was raised from the dead by the glory of His Father and now, He blesses you two with the gift of marriage. You will get through it, whatever it is. You will face fiery trials, but take heart. As King Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes, “A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” This means that since it is clear and obvious that you have made Christ the sure foundation of your marriage, you can get through it, whatever it is. Jesus is the third line of that cord. He is the foundation of your marriage. And because He is the foundation of your marriage, your marriage is not easily broken, just as that threefold cord. Lean on Him. Trust in Him. Return to Him, again and again, daily in prayer. Come to church together. Bring your children to church. Receive the Sacrament. Pray the Our Father together daily. For in this, in your life together as a married Christian couple, you will reap blessings you never thought possible. You will. Because God loves holy marriage and God loves you.
You will soon take each other as your spouse. You will soon know and experience the greatest companionship that human beings can possibly know. Because the companionship between husband and wife is not possible outside of marriage, because in marriage the two become one.
The union of husband and wife in body and mind is not only the pinnacle of God’s creation, it is also, as St. Paul says, a picture of the relationship between Christ and His Bride, the Church. Just as the Church submits to Christ, so also wives submit to their husbands. This is not a bad thing, as the sinful world teaches, but it is a good and holy thing. Submitting out of love for the husband and love for Christ is Godly love. It makes for long marriages that last. Likewise, husbands are not to rule over their wives as abusive tyrants, but they are to love their wives, cherish them, serve them, and if it comes to it, lay down their lives for their wives as Christ laid down His life for His Bride, the Church. For I tell you, greater love has no one than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Here in Holy Marriage, we see a picture of what Godly love looks like. The Triune God brings two separate, different people together and they become one. They become together a new creation. This is good in the sight of God. And yet still, because we are in this sinful world, we must deal with things that distract us from this. Unfortunately, in this age, we are often derailed by distractions of worldly love and what the world teaches about love. Worldly love is not Godly love. Worldly love revolves around the self. Godly love cares for the other. Worldly love would have everyone wait to get married until the self is financially stable. Worldly love would have everyone go on a test run and see if two people are compatible first before they take the plunge and make this lifelong commitment. But trust me, you are male and female. You’re compatible. Probably the most unfortunate thing of all, worldly love also finds children and babies to be a nuisance—they’re too expensive, they’re too much work. You just take care of yourself perfectly before you look to others. But God loves children. He says, “Let the little children come to me, and forbid them not. For of such is the kingdom of God.” Thus, marriage was also established for the procreation of children. “Children are a heritage from the Lord,” says the Psalmist and God will bless you with them. But even if God does not grant you the gift of children, it is still good that you devote yourselves to the care and Christian upbringing of children. This is what marriage is for. These are the reasons God established marriage.
In all this, I just want to say that I have been encouraged by you two. Not only me but this entire congregation as well. You are setting a wonderful, Godly example for many even though you may not even know it. By being here today, by you two getting married today, you’re making a confession: it is quite obvious that you two haven’t bought into the façade of worldly love. By you being married today, you are confessing something greater: that you know and desire to experience with one another Godly Love.
This union of Holy Marriage is blessed by God in heaven. It is meet and right we are here today. God Himself peers down from heaven and blesses you with this gift. Marriage is good. Husband coming together with wife is good. Marriage is good because God is good. And He is always good. And it is good that now the two be joined together and become one flesh.
In +Jesus’ name.
