Celebrating a marriage

Whenever I have conducted a wedding ceremony, as an ordained minister, I have celebrated the commitment of a couple to be faithful to one another. The mutual affirmation of committed love ”till death do us part” is what makes marriage so special.

As an ideal, marriage confirms a sense of love that is greater than physical attraction and deeper than the security of companionship. A marriage celebrates love as a gift of grace, a spiritual reality that transforms our material existence, a bond that expresses faith and hope as well as love.

I have not married two women, or two men, but I can see no reason why such a couple might not affirm the same understanding of their loving relationship as a man and a woman. Of course, the marriage of a gay couple might fall short of this ideal, but so do many marriages involving a man and a woman. Our inability to live up to our ideals is no reason not to celebrate our commitment to them, and to forgive one another when we fall short.

Rather than make it difficult for gay couples to marry, we should be grateful that many gay couples want to affirm the kind of committed love that we celebrate in a marriage ceremony.

With hope...Bob