I had the privilege of officiating the wedding of an old friend this last weekend. It was my first time “flying solo” at a wedding though I had co-officiated two previous weddings, and what a blessing to be part of my friends’ lives in this way. Below you’ll find the full text of the wedding homily. Before that, though, I’ve included the poem that the bride’s brother read right before it, so that it will make more sense.
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)– e e cummings
I just love the first verse of that poem. I thank You God for most this amazing day. This truly is an amazing day, not just for Ailey and Ritchie but for all of us, to be honored by sharing in their joy as they commit to sharing their life together in marriage. I thank You God for most this amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky. And literally, we really do have this sort of “leaping greenly spirits of trees” as buds and blossoms are coming on the wings of an early spring, and this weekend we are graced with a gorgeous blue sky. It’s like the whole earth is celebrating with us!
And the last line of that poem thanks God for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes. What better way to describe the marriage covenant—natural, infinite, yes. There is a naturalness to the way that I see Ailey and Ritchie interacting. They are comfortable in their own skin around each other, accepting one another’s weaknesses as well as strengths, and accepting the growing edges of their relationship right along with it’s tremendous joys. There is an infiniteness to the love that these two share; it is unconditional and uncontainable. And they come together today to say yes to life together, to say yes to one another. And we come, as a community, to say yes right along with them, yes to each of them, and yes to their new life together as husband and wife.
This reminds me of a passage from 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 20: For in Christ every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.” For this reason it is through Christ that we say the “Amen,” to the glory of God. This scripture tells us that, through Jesus, God’s promises were yeses. Jesus’ life is an affirmation that God says yes to human living, to the point of living among us for a time, experiencing all of the joys and sorrows, the pains and celebrations that human life has to offer. In Christ God expressed unconditional, uncontainable love for us. In Christ God said yes to us.
In just a moment, Ailey and Ritchie will say yes to one another, in their own words, in the marriage vows. In this sacred moment, they covenant with one another to choose to say yes to one another, to the family they will create, and to their future life together. The kind of love expressed between Ailey and Ritchie today becomes an example of the kind of love that God has for us. Their love is like a shining light out into the world saying yes to love. The love that they share, and the love that God has for us, is unconditional and uncontainable. It is everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.
We thank you God, for most this amazing day.