Chuntian Academy International

The Wedding Sermon
Option #1: Nondenominational

Friends, we have come here today to celebrate love. We see it in the faces of ______________ and ____________ who stand before us, but we experience it in our own hearts as well. This love is powerful enough to untie the strong entangled knot of life. It is a love which is spoken of in all religions, which kindles our souls with hope and which is our true home, our true meeting place.

___________ and __________ have opened their hearts to one another, and today in just a few moments will share their vows of marriage together. We are deeply grateful to them for opening their hearts to us as well, inviting us to witness and share in this precious moment. To this day they bring the fullness of their being as a treasure to share with one another. Their marriage is being entered into reverently, with the recognition of a true union which has been discovered. For what greater joy is there for two human souls than to join together to strengthen each other in all their endeavors, to support each other through all sorrow, and to share with each other in all gladness?

We hope that the words and spirit of our gathering may be filled with a truth that will deepen with the passing years. We hope, too, that the meaning of the vows that ______ and _______ are about to share with one another will deepen as well, as they discover the endless possibilities of this life together. This is a love which need not be tarnished by common events, but which can flower both in deepest adversity and in greatest joy.

As the years go by, you will find more and more in one another a loveliness which neither comes nor goes, which neither flowers nor fades, no longer even taking the form of face or hand or words or knowing. Everything in your marriage can partake of this mysterious beauty beyond beauty, until wherever you turn you see reflections of this loveliness.

We ask that the vision you have of one another be always informed by that radiant power which first brought you together. Love is stronger than your conflicts, bigger than life's changes, the miracle always inviting you to learn, to blossom, to expand. It is to love that you must always return.

Part Three: Reading

Readings

You may choose one, two or even three of the readings below, or find a reading of your own. Usually the minister offers the reading, but sometimes a family member or close friend will come forward instead.

_______________________

(1) We read in I Corinthians 13, Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have no love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up. Love rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

(2) We read in The Prophet, True love gives nothing but itself, and takes nothing but from itself, for love is sufficient unto love. Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself, to awake at dawn and give thanks for another day of loving, to rest at noon and meditate love's ecstasy, to return home at eventide with gratitude, and then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart, and a song of praise upon your lips.

(3) We read in The Prophet, Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

(4) We read in Colossians 3:12, Therefore put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long- suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body; and be thankful.

(5) We read in the first epistle of John, Let us love not in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.... Let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.... He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

(6) This fits nicely after the first paragraph of the first introductory sermon. The poet Kabir says, "The Guest is inside you, and also inside me; you know the sprout is hidden inside the seed. The blue sky opens out farther and farther. A million suns come forward with light; I hear bells ringing no one has shaken. For inside of love there is more joy than we know of. Rain pours down, although the sky is clear of clouds; there are whole rivers of light. The universe is shot through in all parts by a single sort of love.''

Optional: This is a good place for a prayer from the "Optional Additions'' section, as well as a song or music, if you wish to have them included in the middle of the ceremony.

Wedding Vows

________________, do you take ______________ to be your husband, to love him, to cherish him, and to continually bestow upon him your heart's deepest devotion? {I do.}

And _____________________________, do you take _________________ to be your wife, to love her, to cherish her, and to continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion? {I do.}

Please join hands, face one another and repeat after me: __________, you are my beloved, to love and to cherish, and to have and to hold, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, in sadness and in joy, to share our lives together, from this day forward. (Both bride and groom repeat these vows individually).

Alternative vows

(These can be used after the "I Do's" in place of the vows which appear in the standard ceremony) First alternative vows:

Please join hands and repeat after me: __________________, I take you as my wife/husband. I pledge to share my life openly with you, to speak the truth to you in love; I promise to honor and tenderly care for you, to cherish and encourage your own fulfillment through all the changes of our lives.

Second alternative vows:

___________, I take you as my wife/husband, to laugh with you in joy, to grieve with you in sorrow, and to grow with you in love.

Exchanging Rings

What tokens of your love and devotion do you have to offer one another?
{These Rings/This Ring}

May these rings be blessed as a symbol of this affectionate unity. Your two lives are being joined today in one unbroken circle. Wherever you go, may you always return to one another in your togetherness. May you find in one another the love for which all men and women yearn.

May you grow in understanding and compassion. May the home which you establish together be such a place of sanctuary that all who are here today and others through the years will find there true friends. May these rings, soon to be on your fingers, symbolize the touch of the spirit of love that is in both your hearts.

_______________, in placing the ring on ___________________'s left hand, please repeat after me: ____________________, I give you this ring as a pledge of my love, and as a symbol of our unity.

Alternative: Let us Pray. Bless O Lord these rings that they who wear them may abide in Thy peace and continue in Thy favor unto their life's end, through Jesus Chris our Lord Amen.

___________, in placing this ring on __________'s finger, please repeat after me: With this ring I thee wed, in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Declaration of Marriage

______________ and _________________, you have consented together to marriage before this company, pledged your faith and declared your unity by each giving and receiving a ring, and, as you are now joined together in mutual esteem and devotion, it is my privilege as an ordained minister to pronounce that you are married, and to offer you this Benediction of the Apaches:

``Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there is no more loneliness for you, but there is only one life before you. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into the days of your togetherness, and may your days be good, and long upon, the earth.''

Congratulations, you may now kiss the bride!

Alternative: Congratulations, you may now kiss one another.

(Optional:) Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. and Mrs. (or first names of bride and groom)_______________________________.

Alternative Declarations of Marriage & Benedictions

Declaration: Because _________ and __________ have exchanged these vows of love in our presence, we now recognize them as husband and wife.

Benediction: Give to one another new experiences of joy. Challenge one another so that you may grow. May the love you hold for each other, now sealed in marriage, continue to mature with the passing years. May you never take each other for granted, but always experience the wonder of your union. Be slow to anger, quick to forgive, leaving no tracks of resentment behind each day. May your love consist not only in gazing into each other's eyes, but in looking outward in the same direction. May your life together be a source of strength and inspiration to yourselves, your families, your friends, and to all whose lives you touch.

Declaration and Benediction From the Book of Common Worship

For as much as _______________ and ______________ have consented together to holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and before this company, I pronounce that they are Husband and Wife, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. What God has joined together, let not man put asunder. Let us pray. May God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, bless, preserve and keep you; the Lord mercifully with His favor look upon you, and fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace; that you may so live together in this life, that in the world to come you may have life everlasting. Amen.

Alternative Benediction

May the Lord bless you and keep you. And may the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. May God give you His peace in your going out and in your coming in, in your lying down and in your rising up, in your labor and in your leisure, in your laughter and in your tears, until that day when you come to stand before Jesus in that day in which there is no sunset and no dawning. Amen.