Hannah and Dylan Wedding

The New Revised Standard Version The Value of a Friend

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

A New Years Wedding?

I have to confess, I’ve done a lot of weddings, but I’ve never done one on New Years Eve!

But I think there’s a lot of beautiful symbolism in getting married today.

Both come with a big party, probably some champaign, and a more than slightly symbolic kiss at the appointed time...

Something new is starting, but it’s something new with a history.

When 2023 starts in a few hours, it’s not like 2022 disappears.

Hannah and Dylan when you are married in a few minutes, it’s not like the past that has carried you to this point disappears.

It’s a beautiful and wonderful and insightful history that you two share, and worth carrying forward in to this next phase of your life.

And, there’s something about a promise that we make to ourselves and to each other.

For New Years, it’s resolutions.

Maybe that’s not the best example to cling to, because something like 9% are able to keep their resolutions all year.

But still…there are promises to be made to each other, and I think the text that you all picked out today points us in the direction of some great resolutions to make to yourselves, and to each other today.

Two are better than one

It has been such a joy to get to work with you both since March this year.

Sometimes I struggle to get couples I work with to open up, to learn about each other, to share about what their journey has looked like.

Not this couple!

I have loved how invested the two of you are in your own journeys, ways that you can grow and develop as people, and what you can learn about each other!

None of that ends today, but it does start in a new way.

Two are better than one, the writer tells us, because they have a good reward for their toil.

I’m sad to say, toil is coming.

Your journey is going to have twists and turns and ups and downs and successes and failures.

But from this day forward, that journey is never yours alone.

When you succeed, that victory is made sweeter together.

When you fail, the sting is reduced because you will fail together.

When one of you falls, the other can lift them up.

And this only works, by the way, if there’s no scorecard.

We don’t keep track of how many times our partner has fallen, or who did the dishes last, or who’s playing from behind.

From this day forward, two are better than one.

You guys are a team.

Keep Warm!

“In the depths of a Pittsburgh winter” is how I was going to say this when I wrote it a few weeks ago…but I don’t know what’s going on with the weather any more...

Still! It’s a cold world out there.

People are cold in their dealings with each other.

People are cold in their cynicism.

People are cold in their view of even such a thing as this, celebrating love.

It’s a cold world out there.

A good marriage can keep the couple warm, sure.

But it can warm the rest of us up too.

When you two are an unstoppable team, you have the ability to warm the world.

When you two show love to each other in your every day interactions and discussions, you have the ability to warm the world.

When you show us what kindness can look like lived out, you warm the world.

The truth is, while your marriage is for you, it’s for everyone too.

Take a look around at all these people who choose to be here today.

First of all, all of these folks gathered here are here to support you, to encourage you, and to have your back.

But also, all of us are here because this relationship has on some level or another been a blessing to us.

I’m totally taking a guess on this, but I’m betting their are friendships in this room that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for your relationship together.

People know each other in this room who wouldn’t have met if you two hadn’t introduced them.

So let the warmth of your love radiate for all of us from this day forward.

Remember it’s a threefold cord

The writer of our text takes a hard turn at the end of this passage.

He’s been talking about two, two, two, two the whole way through.

And now he tells us that it’s a threefold cord that’s not quickly broken?

Remember always that God sits at the center of your marriage.

God knew this day was coming long before any of us.

God knew that you two were going to need each other.

God designed you for each other, to be a team of two.

You two can do a lot together.

But with God walking alongside you, there’s nothing that can stop you.

So I encourage you to keep God at the center of your marriage.

Whatever that looks like for you.

Pray together.

Worship together.

Laugh together.

Cry together.

Do everything together with God in your midst, and guiding your steps.

Be Resolved

I looked up where we get the word “resolution.”

It actually comes from a Latin word that means to loosen, to break down, to make simpler.

When you stand here today and know that your whole life is ahead of you, it can be a daunting thing.

But if you break it down to the smaller pieces, pieces that you can hold loosely, it gets a little easier.

So, may I offer you a few resolutions for this new marriage?

Resolve to always be a team of two, no matter the challenge ahead of you.

Resolve to let the warmth of your love shine forth, because this cold world could really use it.

And resolve to remember God at the center of your marriage, a threefold cord that is not easily broken.

No matter the journey ahead, the reward for your toil is going to be a beautiful lifetime of memories.