Readings for the Wedding of Ralph Herbert Hafar III and Sheena Marie Ruchte
Song of Solomon 2:10 – 13; 8:6 – 7
Psalm 67
1 Corinthians 13:1 – 13
Matthew 5:1 – 10
This sermon was preached at the Wedding of Bert and Sheena on Saturday June 13, 2026 at Christ Episcopal Church Eureka CA
Blessed are Bert and Sheena for God’s loving countenance will shine upon them.
Today we celebrate, and bless, and bear witness to the union of Bert and Sheena; a union of heart, body, and mind. This celebration comes with an invitation and an exhortation. An invitation for us all to receive, in our own way, the divine love that brought these two together; and an exhortation for us to do all in our power to uphold these two in their marriage, today and in the days to come.
First, the invitation. Sheena and Bert asked that this homily not only be brief… (I’ll do my best) but also include a proclamation of the Gospel and an invitation for us all to receive the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord, whom we Christians believe, lived and died for each soul gathered here today, and who offers salvation and liberation from all the sin that separates us from each other, from God, and from our true selves. In the tradition in which I grew up, we occasionally would have altar calls in which people were invited to come up to the altar to receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior or to renew their commitment to Christ. Here, in the Episcopal Church, we have altar calls every Sunday. We call it Holy Eucharist, and we will have one today. It’s not a big tent revival and no one will be asked to raise their hand, but you are all warmly invited to come to the altar to receive the love of God revealed in Christ and embodied in the bread and wine made holy. This is the same love that brought Sheena and Bert together. The same love that opened their eyes to each other when Sheena was working as an optician for Dr. Lanning, who happened to be Bert’s optometrist at the time. Ironically, they did not see each other there, but rather they saw each other in woodshop, which we know Jesus planned because Jesus was a carpenter who loved working with wood, just like Bert.
Although the safety guidelines require all dangling jewelry to be tucked in during woodshop, the Holy Spirit temporarily broke the rules (as she is wont to do) when the Spirit exposed Sheena’s cross necklace in Bert’s woodworking course, so that Bert, who was committed to dating only Christians, could see Sheena’s love for Christ on display. And then Sheena, who would sit beaming in the front row of Bert’s class, saw Bert as patient, caring, passionate about his work, and tender towards his beloved cat, for whom he was making a table. The two shared a mutual love for Christ and cats. And then after their first date at Bayfront One, Bert sent Sheena a picture of a flower each day so that she could see that he was thinking of her. The love that brought these two together is the same love described in 1 Corinthians 13 and embodied perfectly in Jesus Christ, and it is the same love that Bert, Sheena, and I invite you to receive today.
That’s the invitation. Now, the exhortation. I usually say this to the wedding party at the rehearsal, but today, you are all the wedding party, and it is now your job, your responsibility, as witnesses, to uphold these two persons in their marriage. Pray for them, encourage them, strengthen and bless them generously, not just today but also in the days to come. The Episcopal Church teaches that the sacrament of marriage does not just take place at a wedding. It begins at a wedding. “The sacrament of marriage is enacted in the ongoing marriage—when a couple wrong one another, and then forgive; when a couple choose to take in a stranger and offer hospitality; when a couple show forth God’s love by loving one another ‘for better for worse.’”[1] When this wedding service ends, the sacrament of marriage has just begun. And your role in that sacrament is essential. We have promised to do all in our power to uphold these two in their marriage, so now our spiritual integrity is forever linked with the health and vitality of their marriage.
I invite you to receive the love of God in Christ and to let that love empower you to uphold these two in their marriage. And when this sermon ends, which will be very soon (we got to get you married), I ask that you all, in the silence before the vows, offer your own personal silent blessings to this couple and to let the light of your loving countenance shine upon them, just as God’s countenance shines upon them now. And Bert and Sheena, your job today is to receive all this love and all these blessings as you bask in each other’s beauty and make lifelong vows in the presence of God, the Church, your family and your friends, who are all committed to helping you fulfill those vows for your mutual joy and for the glory of God. Amen.
Blessed are Bert and Sheena for God’s loving countenance will shine upon them.
[1] Scott Gunn & Melody Wilson Shobe, Walk in Love: Episcopal Beliefs and Practices (Cincinnati OH: Forward Movement, 2018), 79.
DANIEL DeFOREST LONDON 