A wedding well-done, well prepared for, celebrated with the deep conviction that God is the One Who is joining together this beautiful couple for as long as they both shall live. . . such a wedding is full of Mystery and rich Wonder to the eyes of Faith.

Right before our eyes, we now behold a Foretaste of Paradise, the Paradise to be fully and finally restored at Christ’s second coming for His precious bride, the Church, spoken of in Revelation 19:7.

So tears will flow today in many of us at the wonder of such a wedding; perhaps even a drop or two from the stoics in our midst.

So why is that?  Tears are the natural response within our deepest hearts when we see and hear and experience God’s TRUTH, GOODNESS, TIMELESS BEAUTY, DEEP & FRAGILE LOVE,  and the PROFOUND MYSTERY OF BECOMING ONE FLESH acted out in our midst.         

Let’s look a little closer at this deep Wonder and Mystery of weddings . . . and tears are welcomed.

There are two great and central Mysteries of our Faith: First, Who God IS. He is revealed in Scripture and throughout Christian history as the holy Trinity, three divine Persons in one Divine Nature – Three in One, One in Three, far beyond human comprehension, ever existing, ever the same.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, have never been alone or lonely. In God’s very essence, He is communion, He IS LOVE as St. John tells us. Bishop Kalistos Ware once said: “God is an unceasing movement of mutual love.”

The second great Mystery is the Incarnation of God in the eternal Person of His Word. In His free choice to become man without ceasing to be God, our Lord Jesus demonstrated  His outrageous & unconditional love for all mankind. And in so doing, He invites us to become intimately joined to Him, “one flesh with Him” in His humanity which Paul speaks about in Ephesians 5:30-32. He calls this mystery “Profound.”

Now let’s add a third great Mystery because it’s the “key” to grasp more clearly just who this beautiful bride and this handsome groom are, standing here before us. We read this in Genesis:

“Then God said Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” So He freely created our human race, both male and female, in His wondrous image. Every created human being is a free and unrepeatable human person, uniquely manifested in one human nature. And as God’s image, our deepest calling in life is to become, in Christ, an unceasing movement of mutual love for each other.

The first and only “Not Good” in Genesis chp. 2 is that Adam is alone… he was not yet a communion of persons as God is.

So out of a deep sleep, God brought forth Eve from Adam’s side, and our first two parents “became one flesh.”

When Adam awoke, his exclamation could probably be heard throughout the entire Garden of Eden:  “AT LAST, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh!” Translation: I am finally able to share my very humanity with another unique and unrepeatable person. I am now communion, I am now my true self.

And I can’t help but imagine Eve’s first words to her beloved: “My dear and lovely Adam, what took you so long to wake up?”

Alex, you are such a distinct and invaluable person. Olivia, you are such a distinct and invaluable person. NEVER ever forget this. And now, who you truly are will begin to be revealed to your beloved spouse, little by little in your journey together.

This union, both fragile yet extremely strong, makes it “safe” to show your authentic selves to each other, both your frailty, your wounds, your unique views of life, and your true beauty which never fades with age. . . or wrinkles.

Never fear: you will not lose your unique person-hood in becoming one flesh. You will never blend in a way which causes you to lose your distinctiveness. So you must never treat one another as an individual. Surviving as individuals is the exact opposite of living as persons, and certainly of being married. It is part of the curse our first parents experienced after their disobedience and fall from grace. They started blaming each other for their new and painful reality. So be sure that, “When you have a grievance against one another, be quick to forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.”

What a magnificent and challenging journey this will turn out to be. What a journey of every possible human emotion awaits you. What completely unknown circumstances life’s river will bring to your new family.

“Challenging? Feeling every emotion known to man? Unknown circumstances?” I think I silently hear all married couples saying “You’ve got that right! That’s why we are praying for you, dear Alex and Olivia.”  Do not be anxious as the Lord says, but trust in Him completely to guide and care for you moment by moment.

As far as possible, develop and maintain a life-long support system of fellow Christians, living in mutual interdependence, always available for love, support, and counsel in life’s journey of highs and lows, joys and sorrows. These, your invited guests, are a good start for that.

A Bishop in the Orthodox Church elaborates marriage in this way:

“Your marriage partner is the life-giving personal revelation of Christ to you. It is in their united desire to serve God through each other that the husband and wife grow more intensely united as one. Such a love for the other, when placed in the hands of God, has no bounds; rather, it has infinite potential and is written in eternity.”

Let me conclude our thoughts with your calling to become a “divine orchardist.” Yes, that’s a real word – someone who helps grow and tend to a fruit orchard . . .

In synergy with God’s grace, you will provide the soil and water to help grow and encourage the Fruit of the Spirit in each other all the days of your lives. “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Against these, there is no law.

Therefore let us rejoice and be glad, and  give God all the glory, for He thought all of this up. And then He said “This – yes now This – is Very Good.” Even so much so that one day He Himself will gather us into Paradise as His beloved Bride, and spread a Wedding Feast before us that far surpasses all we could ever imagine or hope for. And tears of greatest Joy and Wonder will never cease to flow at that wedding.