What is staggering to me, is the amount of blessing that I get from an engaged man preaching a wedding ceremony in a prison cell. His name is Dietrich Bonhoeffer and he never experienced first-hand the realities of marriage that he preached on before his martyrdom. But, the man understands the beauty and majesty of marriage. You can read the whole thing here. Or the more expensive way to read it, which I did, was buy Letters and Papers From Prison.
First off, Bonhoeffer reminds me of the joy that should surround Friday as I get to participate in such an incredible indeavor:
It is right and proper for a bride and bridegroom to welcome and celebrate their wedding day with a unique sense of triumph. When all the difficulties, obstacles, hindrances, doubts, and misgivings have been, not made light of, but honestly faced and overcome - and it is certainly better not to take everything for granted – then both parties have indeed achieved the most important triumph of their lives. With the ‘Yes’ that they have said to each other, they have by their free choice given a new direction to their lives; they have cheerfully and confidently defied all the uncertainties and hesitations with which, as they know, a lifelong partnership between two people is faced; and by their own free and responsible action they have conquered a new land to live in. Every wedding must be an occasion of joy that human beings can do such great things, that they have been given such immense freedom and power to take the helm in their life’s journey. The children of the earth are rightly proud of being allowed to take a hand in shaping their own destinies, and something of this pride must contribute to the happiness of a bride and bridegroom.(Letters and Papers from Prison, pg. 41)
He also reminds me of the permanence of the commitment that rests neither on Ashley or I, and our ability to love, but instead on God's ability to join together:
It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love
because,
God makes your marriage indissoluble, and protects it from every danger that may threaten it from within or without; he wills to be the guarantor of its indissolubility.
Bonhoeffer also illustrates the beauty of God's order in marriage. He shows how the home can be a harbor when it is ruled by peace (when we fulfill our God given roles).
And finally, Bonhoeffer reminds us that Christ is our foundation in marriage. "In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive" (pg. 46).
What a joy it will be to proclaim Christ with our lives through the mirror of marriage.
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