Drunk And In Love

A Sermonic Tribute to Marriage, and to Rich and Chris Hammar

This last weekend my in-laws, Richard and Christine Hammar, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful, inspiring event. They renewed their vows. We ate chicken marsala, pasta, and white cake. We listened to a live performance by cellist Stewart Pincomb.

As part of the festivities I was asked in my capacity as a theologian, a pastor, and a pastor-theologian, to give a theological benediction to the event. And I’m sharing it with you now in hopes that those of you who are or have been married will be inspired, and so that all of us—single and married—might reflect on Christ’s union with the church.

I’ve left it in the manuscript style that I write my sermons in so you can get a window into my homiletical life.

A Tribute to Marriage, and Richard and Christine Hammar

The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 5 that marriage is a “profound mystery.”

And he adds that this “profound mystery” refers to Christ and the church.

John of Patmos picks up on this imagery in his visions when he speaks of the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And of course Jesus himself said that he was the bridegroom.

That’s why he turned the water into wine—

So that he could point to the drunkenness of the Holy Spirit that perpetually inebriates the church’s joyful union with her Lord.

I can say without a doubt that Rich and Christine have been drunk and in love for more than 50 years now.

Their joyful love, too, is a work of the Holy Spirit.

Since Rich and Chris—or as I’m obliged to call them now—“Mormor and JD;”

Since they are Christians,

And have (however imperfectly) performed in some significant, particular, and unique way how the human institution of marriage refers to Christ and his church,

I thought it would be appropriate to say just a couple of words about the meaning of Christian marriage.

I know without a doubt that even though this night is to celebrate them,

They only want Christ to be glorified and the church to be built up.

So let me offer one—at least as I have reckoned with it—profound thought on Christian marriage.

Traditional marital vows end with “until death do us part.”

This is a profound promise—

One that, as far as I know, is not reproduced in any other context in our society, at least in this particular formulation.

I mean, not even the Pope has to be Pope anymore until the day of his death.

I think that the uniqueness of this part of the marital vows makes it worthy of some particular reflection.

Richard and Christine Hammar will be married until one of them dies.

There’s something divine about that, isn’t there?

To make that sort of promise is both freeing and binding.

It gives you a path to live, which is freeing.

But no one knows what the future holds, which means it is binding.

Christ has also told his church, “until death do us part.”

Why this is so profound and worthy of witness in every marriage ceremony is that, for Christ, “until death do us part” means forever.

Why?

Because death has been defeated.

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ will come again.

Jesus has already died.

And it is only after he is risen that he says, “until death do us part.”

He cannot, will not die.

Which is why we say that neither death nor life can keep us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

But can’t we humans nevertheless with corruptible flesh still die and so nullify the promise Jesus makes to us?

Jesus can’t die, but aren’t we all going to pass away?

This, too, Jesus has taken care of in his death and resurrection.

Praise be to God that as many of us who call Christ Lord have been crucified with him.

We have died in the waters of baptism.

And we have been raised with and in Christ to walk in newness of life.

Our bodies might fail us,

But the Scriptures are insistent that that is not called “death” anymore.

It’s just “falling asleep”—

Because we died when we married Christ.

That of course means by him and with him and in him we can no longer die.

And so “until death do us part” means that nothing,

Neither height nor depth

Nor angels nor demons,

Neither rulers nor powers,

Or anything in all creation

Can separate us from his marital love.

So as we get a little drunk on the joy of the last 50 years,

Let’s also remember that Jesus himself is here,

Serving us water he’s turned to wine,

Calling us his beloved.

Binding himself to us that we might be free forever.

And Richard and Christine Hammar refer to this profound mystery.