Etched in Stone
A Wedding Homily

           What would it be like to see the world through the eyes of a child? A wondrous place where dogs talk, cats dance and that tree in the backyard would make a fantastic place to build a club house!
            Yes, children see the world as a good place and they expect the rest of us to see it that way, too. And why not? The world, after all, is full of amazing things, like all those pretty stones that children shove into their pockets then insist on bringing into the house to add to their collection.
           Do you remember doing this? I suspect that many of us do. I know that this bride, Kimberly, does…just ask her mother! When Kimberly was a child, she was fond of gathering stones from the barnyard and pebbles from the bank of the creek and bring them into the house…each and every one of them!
           Kimberly wasn’t alone in doing this. As a boy, this groom, Michael held a fascination for rocks. I’m told that, one day, his godfather handed him a rock—just an ordinary rock—but, in Michael’s eye, his godfather handing him that rock made that rock a special rock. And that rock sat on the dresser in his bedroom for a long time.
           (How many years, Michael?)
           Without doubt, children see things that adults overlook. What looks like gravel to us, looks like a miracle to them. Maybe that’s why the Bible contains so many stories about stones and rocks.
           In the Book of Joshua, when the Israelites arrived a the Jordan River to cross the Promised Land, they found the river at flood stage. But the Lord halted the flow of the water so His children crossed the river without drowning or even getting wet! Joshua then ordered twelve men to gather twelve rocks to mark the spot where that miracle took place.
           Like stones scattered on the ground, references to rocks and gems abound in the Bible. In the Gospel, Jesus instructed his listeners to note the wise man who sets his house on a foundation of rock. Later in the story, the disciples marvel at the beautiful stones decorating on the Temple of God. Earlier in the Book, the prophet, Isaiah, receives a vision of Mary, the Mother of God, whom he describes as as a bride arrayed in a garment bedecked with jewels set in gold.
           Friends, as children, Michael and Kimberly gathered stones to show their parents. Today, they display to their parents and to all of us here, the beautiful Sacrament of Marriage, a sacrament of the Church, a sacrament as solid as a rock and as dazzling as a diamond!
 
           Kimberly and Michael, today you enter the Promised Land of Marriage. You enter this wonderful land equipped with the faith given to you by your parents, a faith as sturdy as a foundation of rock. Not only this, but you enter the Promised Land of Marriage with promises as binding as the Commandments that Moses carved on tablets of stone.
           From this day forward, Christ’s grace will flow into your marriage like water that flowed from the rock in the desert of Sinai. From this day forward, the prayers of Mary and Joseph and all the saints will be your stepping stones into the Kingdom of Heaven.
           Yes, as youngsters, you skipped stones across the water and marveled at the world around you. Today, each one of us here marvel at the strength of your faith and the sparkle of you love.
            May God bless you on this wonderful day! May He be for you a rock of refuge today and all the days of your married life.