Vow Renewal

Intro

We gather in the presence of God to give thanks for the gift of marriage, to witness the recommitment of N. and N., to surround them with our prayers, and to ask God’s blessing upon them, so that they may be strengthened for their continuing life together and nurtured in their love for God.

Marriage is a commitment to learning to care for one another in mutually fulfilling ways. It is a life-long relationship always in progress. Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. The happy times of life are twice as joyous because there is someone with you to share the joy. And the difficult times of life are only half as troubling because there is someone by your side who helps to bear the burden.

Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life. When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage, they create a unique spirit which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Let us pray…

PRAY

a few years ago I got up really early left my wife behind and took a flight to Ontario California, rented a toyota Yaris and drove an hour or so to sit with a friend I hadn’t met yet in Monte. We sat together by the side of Kim, with only the smallest hope that she would remain with us long.

This morning, I got up really early, brought my wife with me, and took a flight to Ontario California, rented a toyota Yaris and drove an hour or so to stand with that friend and his beautiful bride to celebrate a union that has stood firm for 40 years.

God speaks of the permanence of marriage in the first book of the Bible:

Texts

Genesis 2:20-24 “The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found corresponding to him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.”

Jesus elaborates on this reality in Mark 10

Mark 10:6-9 “But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.””

And so today we rejoice together, as Monte and Kim renew the vows they took 40 years ago, which remain as true today as they were then, but even more beautiful as they are now tempered in the crucible of your struggles, shaped by the winds of circumstance, and proven in the testing of time.

Monte and Kim, when you first joined hands and hearts in marriage 40 years ago, you did not know where life would take you. You promised to love, honor and cherish one another through all things. Life has surely brought you both wonderful blessings and difficult challenges over the years. As you reflect back over those years as husband and wife, do you now wish to reaffirm the vows you took 40 years ago?

Monte, you have the vows you would like to recite?

if not:

Monte, will you continue to have Kim as your wife and continue to live in this happy and loving marriage?

I will.

Do you reaffirm your love for her, and will you love, honor and cherish her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her for as long as you both shall live?

I do.

Wife

Kim, will you continue to have Monte as your husband and continue to live in this happy and loving marriage?

I will.

Do you reaffirm your love for him, and will you love, honor and cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him for as long as you both shall live?

I do.

Monte and Kim, today you have renewed the promises and vows you made to each other on your wedding day. You have symbolized the renewal of the marriage union by the joining of hands and the taking of vows. It is with genuine pleasure that I pronounce that you are STILL husband and wife.

Those whom God has joined together Let no one ever separate.

 Benediction

The grace of Christ attend you, the love of God surround you, the Holy Spirit keep you, that you may live in faith, abound in hope, and grow in love, both now and forevermore. Amen.