Renewal of Vows - Meg and Brian Anderson

TEXT: Ecclesiastes 4:7-12
7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Dear Megan and Brian… parents and grandparents… other family members, friends, and fellow saints of Zion congregation…

The text chosen for this service of celebration is from Ecclesiastes 4 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil… a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

King Solomon was of the wealthiest men that the world has ever known. He was also one of the wisest. The Bible says that “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” (I Kings 4:29) Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.

Brian and Megan, you have chosen some of Solomon’s wise words to be the text for this service. And while it was Solomon who spoke them; Solomon simply repeated the Wisdom of the LORD.

The Book of Ecclesiastes is a Word of God that reminds us that we often make much of things that are really not very important… while at the same time making little out of things that are really important. We might call it, “making majors out of minors” or “making mountains out of mole hills.”

In chapter 4 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon’s uses the illustration of a man who chooses to have no friends. He works and works. Day in and day out. His life is void of every relationship. WORK… WORK… WORK. Oh, his work might make him wealthy, but his wealth won’t give him true happiness. There is no happiness because there is no one receiving the fruit of his labor. So Solomon says, “two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil.”

The world in which we live would lead us to believe that a successful person who is someone who has enough money to do whatever he wishes. Already in elementary school and high school you were taught to think about your future career. “What will you be when you grow up?” But here is the most disturbing part: immediately we look at the list of possibilities and pick the one which will earn us the most money. Never mind which one might best serve my neighbor, my family, my children, my husband or wife. We are programmed to think of “value” in terms of money rather than what will best serve God and those in my family and community.

Vanity! Vanity! All is vanity. That’s what Solomon thinks of that.

God is the creator of Marriage. He designed marriage for one man to be united to one woman until death do they part.. Without Him… vanity, vanity, all is vanity. Your love for each other will fail without Him and in its place you will put anger and sadness and heartache. In marriage, God has joined you two together so that you are no longer two but one. But there will be times when what God has joined together you will put asunder. In marriage, God will bless you with house and home and family. But there will be times when God’s good blessings lose their beauty and money and pride and worldly success will seem more precious than God’s good gifts. You will be tempted to think that “the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” When you are tempted in these ways and fall into the Devil’s trap, you will be like “one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?”

A friend from high school who had been divorced and remarried several times asked, “What’s the secret to a life-long marriage?” After thinking a moment, I wrote back to her and said, “It’s no secret. I’ll tell you in one word: Forgiveness.”

Solomon wrote that a threefold cord is not quickly broken. You might think of that threefold cord this way: The two of you and Jesus Christ. The three fold cord where Jesus Christ hasn’t been unraveled from the cord will not be quickly broken. Jesus Christ is the One who was crucified, died, resurrected and ascended for you. In Baptism He has justified you. Jesus is the forgiveness of sins. Don’t dismiss Him from your marriage. He wants to be there. He won’t leave. And please don’t kick Him out. It’s easy enough to pull Christ out of the cord. You unravel Him from the cord when you avoid Him on Sunday mornings thereby despising preaching and His Word… when you refuse to confess your sins and to hear His absolution… when you stay away from the Lord’s Supper.

No, the threefold cord is the only cord that is not quickly broken. That cord is a cord that is strengthened through Word and Sacrament. It’s a cord that is strong and sturdy where there is the forgiveness of sins. The cord made in Christ is a cord that will last you until death do you part.

Two are better than one… it’s true. Even better, a Christ-filled cord of three is not easily broken.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.