Ehrhard-Legoute Wedding

Legoute-Ehrhard Wedding
Ephesians 5:22-33
28 May, 2011
Blessed Savior Lutheran Church—Florissant, MO

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

3.

Three times in Holy Scripture it is said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen 2:24; Mt 19:5 & Mk 10:7-8; Eph 5:31). Whenever Scripture speaks once, Luther says, “there the Holy Ghost, faith, and other gifts of the Spirit must necessarily be.” Where Scripture speaks three times, we ought to give double attention to what it is that our Lord intends to sanctify by His Word.

The Father first speaks these words at creation, when no suitable helper can be found for Adam. So from his side, God creates woman—bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. She is man’s complement, filling in the spaces where he cannot help himself. God sanctifies marriage with these words; a holy estate instituted in the holiness of Eden. And it is by this holy estate and the union of man and woman that God continues His creative work, the unique aspects of two individuals becoming one flesh in their children. “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Ps 127:3).

The Son of God repeats the Father’s words in order to defend marriage against sinful abuses. The Pharisees came to Jesus looking for some justification for getting divorced from their wives—after all, even Moses allowed it. But Jesus says to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so” (Mt 19:8).

Rachel and Lionel, unlike the first marriage where God joined together a righteous man and woman, today God is joining together two people with hard hearts. That’s the reality of sin. Not all days will be like your wedding day. Your heats will harden in sin against each other. You’ll bicker, you’ll fight, you’ll think that it was foolish to get married in the first place.

But the problem will not lie with your marriage—God has joined you together, let not man separate you—but the problem will lie in your own heart. Therefore, the solution will always and only be to have a change of heart. Jesus calls that repentance.

The third time the institution of marriage is invoked is by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. But the words you heard read in the epistle were not St. Paul’s own opinions or advice about marriage—they were the preaching of the Holy Spirit. Here the Third Person of the Holy Trinity not only instructs Christians how to treat marriage, but also reveals to us why marriage is so important that God would repeat it three times in Holy Scripture.

2.

St. Paul writes, “’Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery in profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (v 32). Today, your union in one flesh as man and wife is pleasing to God because it is a picture of Christ’s union with us in the flesh.

We confess a God who is incarnate—enfleshed—by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary. The same Son of God who defended marriage against the abuses of the Pharisees is Himself the product of the fleshly union of God and man. The unique aspects of God and the unique aspects of man come together in the person of Jesus.

Earlier in his epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul writes that it was the eternal intention of God that He would wed Himself to His creation through the incarnation of Jesus—and He did so with the precise purpose to redeem us. “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish”

Rachel and Lionel, Christ has wed Himself to you—hard hearts and all—in order to sanctify you with water and the Word of God, and to redeem you and all the sins within your marriage. Rachel, you are redeemed to gladly submit to Lionel in your marriage, just as you and he together gladly submit to the Lord. Lionel, you are redeemed in your marriage to give yourself up for Rachel in love and to treat her as you would your own body.

1.

Three times in Holy Scripture it is said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” I can only think of one other phrase in Scripture that is repeated as often: “Take, eat; this is My body…Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood” (Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:19-20; 1 Cor 11:23-25).

In the same way that you will give each other rings in a few moments “as a pledge and token of wedded love and faithfulness,” so also has Christ given you a pledge and token of His love and faithfulness in the Holy Sacrament of His body and blood. When you go to the Sacrament, be reminded that your God is a God of flesh, who redeemed your flesh, and He is pleased with your union in one flesh.

St. Paul writes that marriage is a mystery.

THE GREAT MYSTERY OF YOUR MARRIAGE IS THAT IT REVEALS THE NATURE OF GOD’S LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

JWE

VD+MA



The Words Really Do Matter

For several years of my life I was really into CCM.  There were CD collections that came out every year called WOW, which compiled the year's top Christian contemporary hits (I suppose they're still making them, but I haven't looked at one since the 90s).

With all of the rapture talk going with Harold Camping's false prophecy, I'm reminded of one of my favorite songs off of the 1996 album.  It's a DC Talk cover of Larry Norman.  Here it is:

I listened to this song over and over and over.  I tried to learn how to play it on guitar.  But I don't think it was until the Left Behind series of books came out that actually realized what the words were saying.  Here's verse two:

A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head hes gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and ones left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready

There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind

I probably couldn't pronounce premillennial dispensationalism at the time, but its poisonous teachings were going into my ears and I was singing it time after time thinking that I was offering praise to God.

I realized then that the words really do matter.  A song can't just talk about God to be pleasing to God, but it must also teach the right things about God.  Now, most of the other songs on WOW 1996 didn't have such blatantly false teachings.  The problem with most of CCM isn't so much in what they say, but with what they don't say.  But I learned just how easily false and pernicious teachings can slip in through contemporary Christian music.

Larry Norman also has another song called Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?  Ironically, the devil also has his music, because  I Wish We'd All Been Ready does not talk about Christianity, but the doctrine of demons. 

Starting up again

I'm going to try to do better at posting to this blog.  I do a good job at keeping up with Facebook; perhaps that has to do with the fact that status updates are so short and I can whip off a thought that's on the top of my head.  A blog post takes a little bit more time and concentration, at least for me it does. 

So I promise to try harder to put up my sermons and newsletter articles, as well as other thoughts.  This isn't so much a promise for any readers, but for myself.  This is the third such time I've made a promise along these lines, and I haven't been very good at keeping them yet.  We'll see how this one turns out.

Funeral Sermon for + Phyllis Diemer +

Funeral for T Phyllis Diemer T

Revelation 21:1-7

20 May, 2011

Emmanuel Lutheran Church—Dwight, IL

In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

            The thing that struck me when I first met Jake and Phyllis was how easy a conversation was with them.  I remember sitting in a hospital room with the two of them as one of my first pastoral calls.  I don’t exactly remember what we talked about, but I remember it to be very delightful conversation.

            Somewhere during one of those conversations, I also learned another very striking fact—they were approaching 70 years of marriage!  Nowadays, you’re lucky to hear of marriages lasting 7 years, much less 70. 

            Thirty-five years after making her marriage vow to Jake in 1940, Phyllis made another vow, this time in the Rite of Confirmation here at Emmanuel.  After learning the Small Catechism, Phyllis confessed her faith with these words: “Finally, do you intend faithfully to conform all your life to the rule of the divine Word, to be diligent in the use of the means of grace, to walk as it becometh the Gospel of Christ, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to the Truine God, even unto death?  I do so intend by the grace of God” (The Lutheran Agenda).

            Phyllis was confirmed on November 23, 1975, which also happened to be the last Sunday of the Church Year that year.  The appointed verse for that day is taken from today’s reading from Revelation: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (v 2). 

            These words from the holy writer remind us that Phyllis was a faithful bride in more than one way.  Not only was she married to Jake for 70 years, but she was also by virtue of her Holy Baptism a part of the New Jerusalem in the Church, which is Christ’s bride.

            Just as Phyllis had prepared herself those many years ago to be joined together with Jake, so also was she prepared by the washing of regeneration to be united with her Lord Jesus.  St. Paul writes to the Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:25-27).

            When Phyllis was joined together with Christ, the promise of our heavenly Father was fulfilled, “Behold, I am making all things new” (v 5).  Phyllis had become a new creation in Jesus Christ when that baptismal water poured over her.  The old, sinful self was drowned and a new person arose from the font to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.  Everything about Phyllis was made new, except for her flesh.

            Her old, sinful flesh still clung to her, which meant that even though there were few who were more pleasant, she still was inclined to all manner of sins.  This was not something that would have surprised Phyllis.  She knew it well, which is why she was so often to be found in the Divine Service.  It was always my joy to see Jake wheeling Phyllis into church an hour early so that they could make sure that the appropriate pages were marked.  And after Jake went to be with Jesus, Phyllis still made sure that there was someone who could bring her to church, at least for Sundays of Holy Communion, so that she could be again united with her Lord in the mystical union of the Sacrament.

            The heavenly Father spent a lifetime making Phyllis new, week in and week out, through repentance and forgiveness.  And today, St. Paul’s words are fulfilled, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17).  The old, sinful flesh that clung to Phyllis has finally been laid to rest.  She is no more burdened with a fallen and frail body.  Yet, because she was joined in this life to the One who makes all things new, she is also now looking forward to a new body, a resurrected body.  Because she is now still a part of the New Jerusalem, she awaits the day when our Lord’s promises will be fully realized.  “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (vv 3-4).

            I’ve been told that Phyllis and Jake would go out to eat in Streator every day.  That’s about an hour, round-trip.  On Monday, Phyllis joined Jake again for a meal, only this time it was at the wedding feast of the Lamb.  “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9).  Dear family and friends, this invitation is also for you.  When you kneel at the altar to receive Christ’s body and blood, you join Phyllis, Jake, and all the company of heaven in this wedding feast of the Lamb who was slain. 

            Today we entrust Phyllis to the God and Father of our crucified and risen Lord, who says, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (vv 6-7).

In T Jesus’ name.  Amen.

VDTMA