Present at the Creation
One of my favorite nieces was married last weekend. (Note: I have many nieces, and they are all favorites.) The family and I travelled from Wisconsin to Vermont to celebrate this event with the rest of our rather large extended family, and we expected that this would not be an ‘ordinary’ wedding. Nor were we disappointed. It was a wonderful celebration of family, of springtime, of life itself. And in a day when environmentalism comes in many shades of green, this wedding seemed to have almost every one of those shades in one way or another.
Start with the backdrop. Vermont (“Green Mountains”) at this time of year is almost unmatchable. Trees, pastures, banks of flowers, streams of clear water, rivers – it’s as if creation is exploding in visual song. And the older architecture (setting aside the inevitable big box stores and new developments that have come even to Vermont) – houses, churches, one-room school houses – seems to nestle into the landscape like a person engulfed in a featherbed. One of our party, hopping out of the car at a rest stop, couldn’t contain herself: “I feel like we’re driving in a postcard.”
The church where the wedding was held is one of these old, New England churches with a unique story of its own – it has been recycled – disassembled, moved from its former location and reassembled and still functioning on its present site a number of years ago.
Then there’s the lifestyle of the couple themselves. They will be living in a postage-stamp size house on the bank of a fast-flowing river, in the shadow of a hundred-year-old covered bridge. The bride has been raising chickens for several years. And because they have most of what they already need to set up housekeeping, the bridal shower was a ‘garden shower’ and their yard is now filled with new shrubs, young fruit trees, and a host of other plants that will grow with them and their family over the years.
The bride arrived at the church driven by her Dad – in a not-so-young vehicle with a rattling exhaust. Somehow it felt like the kind of limousine that this wedding needed.
The reception showed considerable thought – the most interesting and enjoyable feature was the edible center pieces that the guests were encouraged to nibble on as they waited for the post-ceremony festivities to begin: Heads of lettuce covered with pieces of melon and strawberries, some dipped in chocolate. Everything not eaten by the guests, including the lettuces, was destined to be returned to the chickens back at the house.
The ceremony itself was simple and beautiful. It flowed smoothly from greeting to prayers to congregational singing to a choir whose members simply stood in their places throughout the small auditorium because there was no room on stage for a choir to assemble. The choir included the bride and groom themselves, joining in a beautiful a capella rendition of “Set Me As a Seal Upon Your Heart” (Rene Clausen).
But for me the highlight was the homily, delivered to the couple by another of the bride’s uncles and his wife. Drawing on St. Paul’s description of marriage in Ephesians 6, this talk mixed practical advice, serious warnings and deep theological concepts. One of the most important of these was an explanation of how marriage is a reflection of, and a participation in God’s creative actions in the world. “Something new is being created here today. Two human beings are becoming one – we are, in fact, present at the creation.” (paraphrased with apologies to my brother, the pastor…)
We were being given a picture of a wedding as more than a joyful, human event, and of marriage as more than an institution necessary for the continuation of the human race and society. We saw it painted for us as a glorious part of God’s work in the world – his work as it was intended to be, and his efforts in redemption to restore the world to what it can and should be.
When the ceremony finally climaxed in “I now pronounce you husband and wife”, the congregation exploded with cheers, applause, tears and laughter. And the old church bell in the tower overhead pealed out the joyous message: “Another new creation is happening here.”
We were, indeed, present at the creation. And it was wonderful.
Congratulations, Craig and Christi-Lynn!
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By Bettie Addleton, June 26, 2009 @ 6:38 pm
Thank you Ed for a beautiful narrative about a beautiful wedding.