This year has been full of "first" things. Today I helped a young couple celebrate their marriage. It was their first marriage as well as the first one I've performed. The bride and groom are now happily married, we did remember to complete all the paperwork required by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and we did not set the church building or any of the members of the wedding party on fire (no comment about other people).
I've had a lot of times of conversation with friends about whether or not wedding services belong in the Church. After all, in many respects, marriage has a great deal to do with societal order, inheritance, financial liability, and the like. Particularly the Puritans considered it a civil arrangement and did not think it appropriate within the confines of the Church.
Yet our Lord tells us through the apostle Paul that marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5). God considers marriage important. He creates a "one flesh" relationship for people who are married. And it is the institution of marriage he uses to maintain an ordered society. There are lots of great reasons for a marriage to be a matter of Church practice.
So Peter and Amanda are proclaimed married in the triune Name and under the blessing of the Lord God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May they rejoice in one another, being a reflection of Christ and His Church, as long as they both live.
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