A Sermon for the Blessing of Melissa Woidyla and Robin Wood
The Rev. Patricia A. Gillespie
September 11, 1999
Song of Songs 1:1-4a
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
What a beautiful description of love that First Corinthians passage is. But it's a pretty big job description. Perfect love: It never fails. So how many of us here have known love, even real love, to fail? Our love, even our very best efforts, sometimes fail.
If we think we can achieve, on our own, the kind of love this passage describes, we're setting ourselves up for failure. And that's not the set-up we want for today. The love between Robin and Melissa is beautiful and true ... but not perfect. No human love is perfect. And that's good. It leaves room for the love to grow.
The love described here is not human love but God's love. Fortunately God does not keep it to Godself. God gives it to us. Paul, in writing this letter describing love, is telling us that love is a gift. In fact, the greatest gift of all.
And, although this passage is very popular at straight weddings, this love is a gift given to all; it's not God's special reserve for the relationship between a man and a woman. It's a gift and a blessing for all of us -- a love that grows wherever God plants it, regardless of what our culture, or even our churches, may tell us. We can't ‘do' this kind of love ourselves, we can only receive it as a gift and give thanks.
God's gift of love is the foundation on which we build families and homes. It is the kind of love that is ‘better than wine.' That makes us want to say to the one we love, ‘take me with you, and we'll run away; be mine and take me to your room. We will be happy together, drink deep, and lose ourselves in love.'
Melissa and Robin, you do have the gift of love. It's not perfect, so don't expect that of each other. But remember that it is God's love, and it will grow. May the love be a strong foundation on which you build your family and your home.