Wednesday, October 19, 2005

On Wedding Liturgies

I have, for the past couple of months, been struggling with the idea of saying "I Do" to Tricia with the current traditional wedding liturgy. You know, the whole "to have and to hold, richer or poorer" stuff. No, I'm not getting cold feet. Rather the opposite. The more I think about this liturgy the less I believe it is appropriate. Never mind the fact that there is truth in this liturgy, what I'm saying is that it is unbiblical. Not to mention that it doesn't even express the true depth of feeling I have for Tricia. So I have decided that I will write my own liturgy, and it will be a Biblical one. This liturgy would be based almost solely on Ephesians 5:22-33 and Colossians 3:18-19. A truly Biblical liturgy would ask brides to pledge to submit to their husbands, the head of their new household, just as we Christians submit to Jesus, the head of the church. It would ask grooms to pledge to love their wives just as Jesus loves the church; meaning husbands must agree to serve their wives and be willing to die for them. There's a lot more meat and dressing in those passages, but what I've posited here is the substance of it. Furthermore, a truly Biblical wedding liturgy would expound upon these principles before the vows. It would make clear not only to the bride and groom, but to all in attendance just how serious the covenant is that the new couple is entering into. It would impress upon the audience the depth of meaning marriage entails, and impress upon them the serious responsibility they have to pray for the new couple and support them in any way they can. It would impress upon the parents of the bride and groom their continued responsibility to "raise up a child in the way it should go (Proverbs 22:6);" since it falls to them primarily to support the new couple and help them navigate the waters of marriage. And lastly and most importantly, a Biblical wedding liturgy would bring true glory to God.

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