Wedding Homily for Zoe and Scott

 The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage

For Zoe Slasor Riddell and Scott Joseph Weatherup 

August 10, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. Three Timbers Chapel, Bay Pond Park

The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling, Officiant

The priest asked the small boy why he wore this white collar around his neck and the boy replied, “So you won’t get any fleas or ticks for the next 30 days.” As priests in the Episcopal Church, we call them Anglican collars because they indicate that we are part of a world-wide communion of a Christian community. For me, it reminds me that God’s love is circular, dipping down from heaven to earth and then back up again, and swirling all around us. It reminds me that we can stand and face the world together, forming a circle of love that includes the whole human family.

In his revival sermon at our General Convention in June, our Presiding Bishop from North Carolina said that “love can save us all because love comes from the heart of God." PB, Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, GC Revival sermon.

Now some of us wear gold rings or silver bands on our fingers, often in our ears, and maybe even sometimes in our noses. These little hoops are not intended for pulling people into our own personal orbits however, but they are signs of our dedicated love for another person. They signify shared common values. They suggest that we want our love to be unbroken, that we will make commitments to forgive and forget, appreciate the other, and have their back. On our hands, these bands claim that we are right partners for each other.

Love is complicated, and the word “love can easily be sentimentalized, commercialized, and trivialized” said Bishop Curry. “But there's power in love. Don't underestimate it. Don't even over-sentimentalize it.There's power in love to help and heal when nothing else can. There's power in love to lift up and liberate when nothing else will. There's power in love to show us the way to live.” (royal wedding sermon 2018 Harry and Meghan) 

 Tonight's love revival is not only about this couple standing in front of me however. It’s also about all of us who are here with them. We have been invited here for a reason, and that is to be witnesses to the vows that Zoe and Scott make to each other AND to support them fully in the days and years ahead. Scott and Zoe intend to keep the flames of their love burning in life-giving and creative ways. So help them do that by sharing your love and support for them regularly. Be their partners on this journey.

Only God’s love is perfect; and so we dare not look for perfection in anyone or any relationship. We are all unique creations, like every tree and every flower, and not one of us is exactly alike. And so we can thank God that we don’t marry carbon copies of ourselves! True love makes space for the other person, allowing them to be fully who they are, a unique partner standing by our side and at the center of our life. 

It’s been a privilege for me to meet with Zoe and Scott this past year over Zoom, as we talked about how this ceremony might reflect the beautiful, good, and authentic human beings that they are. Burning buildings can go up in flames and can be reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes; while controlled burns can create new life. Tonight we’re celebrating the marriage of Zoe and Scott in a sacred ceremony, the beginning of a controlled burn! 

Zoe and Scott, don’t ever forget that God’s love is an eternal flame that never dies, a God-given pilot light placed within our souls. When your human flames begin to flicker, tap into God’s eternal flame of love and keep your fire burning!