There is a reason, Travis, that you are attracted to
Jessica. And there is a reason, Jessica, that you are attracted to Travis.
But it’s not what you might think. It’s more than just chemistry that’s swept
you off your feet. It goes beyond the common interests you share, common
beliefs, or similar outlooks on life. This attraction even goes beyond the
fact that both of you are in love. There’s another reason—one you may not even
be aware of—why the two of you were drawn closer and closer, and still closer.
And now, this day you will become so close that you are no longer two, but one
flesh.
The primary reason that you, Travis, are attracted to
Jessica, and you, Jessica, to Travis is because… well, I’m not going to tell
you just yet. There’s something else I want to say first; something about
first things.
At the dawn of time, when God built our world, day by
day he gave himself a grade: A+ every time. Six times, God surveyed the works
of His hands and pronounced them “good.”
Then, when everything was complete, he said it was
“very good.” From the tiniest creature to the largest star, all was perfect—or
so it seemed.
For soon after God says that everything He had created
is “very good,” He says something is “not good.” What is not good is that the
man He had made was a bachelor, alone in the world. It was not good that the
man should be alone. For if Adam is alone, having no one to love, how can he
be in the image of God? God is the Father who loves the Son who loves the Holy
Spirit—a Trinity of Love.
How, with no one to love, can Adam reflect on earth
the loving God of heaven? If Adam is alone, how will he bring sons and
daughters into the world, loving them as well? How will he raise them to fear,
love, and trust in God above all things? If the man is alone, how will he ever
be that picture of the communion of Christ and His Bride, the Church? Alone,
man cannot be complete in the image of God, no matter how hard he might try.
So, it was not good—very not good—for the man to be alone.
To make this “not good” good, God made Eve. He made
her not from dirt or water, not even from gold or diamonds. And not even from
sugar and spice and everything nice.
Instead, God made her from the raw materials of Adam’s
own fleshy rib. A bone became a bride. The very first recorded words of a man
were his excited exclamation over a woman: “This is now bone of my bone
and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of
man.”
Adam had something wonderful to cheer about. The lovely creature standing
before him was made from his very self. Different, but the same; his perfect
compliment.
And now, dear bride and groom, now I’ve just told you
what I didn’t tell you earlier. Travis, behold your Eve; Jessica, behold, your
Adam. This Eve standing before you is bone of your bone and flesh of your
flesh. And this Adam is the one from whose side you were made. God created
you to be one, to be united, to be of the same substance. And that is
why—at the very core of your being—you are attracted to one another. That is
why you want to share a life, share a love, share a marriage together.
But there is one very important comment to add—the
most important one of all: it is not good for Travis and Jennifer to be alone,
either. They, too, need a Helper suitable for them. They need one who is bone
of their bone, and flesh of their flesh. They need one who shares their
substance, who will never leave them, never forsake them, who pledges His
faithfulness. Him you need, and Him you have. You have our Lord, Jesus
Christ. And if you have Him, you have everything your marriage needs and more.
Travis and Jessica, despite the utmost seriousness
with which you make your vows to one another, you cannot and you will not keep
them as you ought to. There will be times you will not love one another as you
have promised, will not comfort and honor each other. Some days you will be
more of a burden to one another than a helpmate. You will bicker and fight,
nitpick and manipulate. There may even be a time when you look back on today
and wonder if you made the right choice. That’s the cold, hard truth, because
we are sinners.
But it is not good—very not good, for you to be
alone. And the good news is that you are not. Sharing your flesh and blood,
one with you, is your Helper, your Savior, the Husband of the Church. For
that Church, of which you are a part, He loved and gave Himself up, that He
might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of the water with the
Word, so that He might present her to Himself in splendor, without spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Jesus Christ is not just the only way by which we can
come to the Father; He is also the only key to a truly happy and satisfying
marriage. When you fail as husband and wife—and there will be times when you
will—He takes your failures away and gives you His forgiveness instead. The
blood that dripped from His wounds is blood that heals all of your
wounds, including those wounds you will inflict upon one another.
He does, and will, love you, comfort you, honor you,
keep you in sickness and in health. Forgiving all your sins, He will be Savior
to you and to your marriage until death you do part, and you are received into
the Marriage Feast of heaven.
With the two of you, with your gathered families and
friends, with angels and archangels, and with Christ Himself, I rejoice. I
rejoice because, in your union as husband and wife, I catch a glimpse of Adam
and Eve in Paradise; I behold the very image of Christ and His Bride, the
Church, and I am reminded once again of the goodness of our heavenly Father—who
saw that it was not good that the man should be alone.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
