Paved Forward
A Wedding Homily Delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson
For Peter and Samantha Carr
October 13, 2018
Smithfield Center, Smithfield, Virginia
1 Corinthians 13: 1-8
photo credit: DeAnna Atkinson
Welcome
Welcome, and thank you for joining us for this joyous
occasion. Together, we are gathered here to witness a truly special ceremony:
the union of Peter and Samantha in marriage before God.
Peter and Samantha, today we celebrate the power of
your love and the strength of your bond.
Before we begin, take a look around at
the many friendly faces surrounding you, encircling you, offering you love,
support and encouragement as you embark on this incredible journey together,
and take a moment to think of all of the amazing ways that God has been at work
in bringing you two together to this moment.
Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians states, “If
I have the gift of prophecy, fathoming all mysteries and possessing all
knowledge. . . if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I
am nothing.”
Love has made you both, love has brought you here, and
love will sustain you all through the road ahead.
Homily
Following Paul’s declaration about love, that without
it we are nothing, he goes on to define it, with some of the most beautiful
words ever written.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, nor boast,
it is not proud, nor does it dishonor others, it is not self seeking, not
easily angered, keeping no record of wrongs. It protects, trusts, hopes, and
perseveres, love never fails.
Others have added to the definition over time, saying:
Perhaps love is like a window, perhaps an open door, to some it is like a
cloud, to some strong as steel.
Others say Love is a Battlefield, that we stand
with no promises and no demands. . .
or that love is like a roller coaster. . .
.
they say love is blindness, but we don’t want to see, love is clockwork, or cold
steel, that you grip with fingers too numb to feel. . .
that love makes the
world go round,
that love is all we need,
that love is something that we do. .
.
that love’s a word we never throw around. . .
that love hurts and love scars,
that love bites, and love bleeds, it brings us to our knees. . .
it's humbling, it's
creation, it's salvation, it’s the cross,
and when it knocks us to our knees all
we can do is stand to say
I’m going to love you forever and ever, forever
and ever. Amen
God has blessed the broken road, that brought you two
together, not only blessing it, but he paved it. . . and having paved it, there
is no question, no doubt, no reason to ever believe that he is not still paving
it forward. . .
He who has begun this good work in the two of you, will always
be faithful to complete it. . .
Lean on that as you go, remember this day,
these vows, these folks, and the God who has made it all happen. . .
and there
is nothing that you cannot do together,
there is no part of yourself that you
would need to hold back,
but instead to freely give all, for that is truly what
Love is. . .
the total gift of yourself . .
for in Jesus Christ we have seen
how God has loved us,
and so it is likewise,
he commands us to love.
Consecration
So we gather together
here, encircled in the loving arms of God, we recognize the seriousness of the
occasion. Marriage is a profound, sincere commitment, one truly worthy of our
reverence. It is a sacred and solemn promise, one to another, that no matter
what, you are in this together.
Charge
Peter and Samantha, may
you enjoy together all that life has to offer, may you give of yourselves
fully, knowing that you will be filled by each other’s love, and may you walk
together the path ahead paved in God’s steadfast love.
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