There’s a song on the country stations that tells of a father reminiscing about his daughter on a swing with a pink ribbon in her brown hair.

           Since this is a country song, the next verse refers to a hunting dog buried beneath that same tree. Of course, it doesn’t take long before the song brings us back to the day when this fellow got down on one knee and asked his sweetheart to marry him beneath the shade of that same oak tree.

           Country songs are full of scenes that evoke memories which tug at the heart. But who needs country music on a day like this, a wedding day? A day when memories are taking shape before our very eyes...right here, right now.

           On days like today, gratitude enfolds our hearts like the tight embrace of a good friend. Today, you and I witness the embrace of Christ enfolding this young couple, Ben and Emma, in the affection of his eternal Love.

           Perhaps this is why the Church has a special word—a holy word— for what’s taking place today. That word is Sacrament, a word that draws us deep into the gift life itself; a word that beckons us to reverence life, and all its blessings, in the way a young woman gazes at a beautiful blossom in her hand; a word that prods us to gaze at the morning sun like a young man eager to head off to work and make this world a better place.

           As much as we might enjoy the sentiment of country music, there is a stark difference between country songs and the Sacraments of the Church: one plays on feelings, the other brings transformation. 

           In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, as we all know, bread and wine is transformed in the Body and Blood of  Christ. So, too, in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, the love between a man and a woman is transformed into the visible, tangible love of Christ himself.

           Such is the mystery of the Sacrament of Marriage: the mystery of God’s love transforming ordinary lives into vessels of grace and, through those ordinary lives, transforming the world into the Kingdom of Heaven.

           For Ben and Emma, today is just the beginning! Soon, this transformative love of God will extend far beyond this church. It will make itself at home in the classroom where Emma will resume helping students discover the wonders of the world around them and, especially, in the goodness that God has placed within each of them.

           The transformative effect of their sacrament will extend into the fields of the surrounding countryside, as on those day when some piece of agricultural equipment breaks down and rain is in the forecast and a farmer starts to fret. But then a young fellow named Ben shows up with tools on his truck to get that machine up and running. And it all  ends with a smile on Ben’s face and a sigh of relief on the part of the farmer.

           Yes, today is just the beginning! This winter, the warmth of Christ’s presence will float within their home like heat from the furnace. Ben and Emma will catch the sound of Love's murmur in the soothing rhythm of prayers prayed over breakfast in the morning and at bedside in the evening.

           Nestled within Ben and Emma’s tender love, will be the abiding love of Mary and Joseph and all the saints, giving joy and purpose to everything they do: from buying groceries, to folding laundry, to cutting grass beneath an oak tree (perhaps, someday, with a swing!) in the front yard.

           Ben and Emma, what a joyful love we see in the two of you today! What a wonderful light shines in your eyes!      

           Each person in this church today gives thanks to God for your love—for the transforming goodness and grace that will flow from your love from this day forward.

           God bless you on this holy and wonderful day! God bless you all the years of your married life!