The Holy Marriage of Paul Macduff & Alexis Melcher

The Holy Marriage of Paul Macduff & Alexis Melcher

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Kennewick, Washington

June 27, 2026

Text: John 2:1-11

Mary knows a thing or two about marriage.  She gives the very best advice.  In the face of utter disaster (I mean, the wine vats have run dry!), she points to her Son, and tells the servants… and the couple… and us… “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5; ESV).  

Write that one down.  You want the recipe for a successful marriage?  A faithful life together?  Mary is giving it out today.  Fix your eyes… and your ears… on Jesus.  And “Do whatever he tells you.”    

But there is something even prior to that.  In order for eyes and ears to be on Jesus, He has to be present, and speaking.  The most important thing that happened for the couple in Cana that day… even more important than the water into wine… even more profound than Mary’s advice to “Do whatever he tells you”... is that Jesus was there, at the wedding.  The presence of the Son of God made flesh.  You want that, too, Paul and Alexis.  You want Jesus to be here, now, at your wedding.  That is why you are having it at Church.  People get this screwed up all the time.  They think they want a Church wedding, because it’s part of the aesthetic.  They rarely darken a Church door, otherwise, and they have no plans, really, of coming back.  And it isn’t about Jesus, for them.  That’s not why they chose the Church.  It’s about how beautiful the bride will look, framed by the trappings of tradition.  And so, we have wedding chapels that can fill that need, without all this bother about our Lord’s pesky presence, and this advice to do whatever He tells us to do.

That’s not you, though.  You’re here in the Church, because you want Jesus to be present, not only here, at the beginning of your life together, but for the rest of your life, and in every facet of your life.  Doing what He does here for the couple in Cana.  Saving.  Rescuing.  Turning water into wine.  Which is to say, sadness into joy.  Catastrophe into eucatastrophe.  The old ever new.  You want His presence to pronounce His Word of blessing over your marriage.  To keep it.  To care for it.  Continually.  In every circumstance.

So the Church, the place of His presence in His means of grace, His Word, and His Sacraments, will be the central location of your life together as husband and wife, and as family.  And what He gives you here, you’ll take with you into your home, as you make His Word the daily centerpiece of your life, building one another up in His Word, and raising your children (if God so blesses you) in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).  And you’ll take it out into the world, in your life and vocation, as you bear witness to Him.   

That is the number one component in the recipe for a successful marriage.  The presence of the Lord Jesus.  Forgiving your sins.  Loving you.  Providing for you.  Rescuing you.  And then, the second component: Mary’s advice, “Do whatever he tells you.”  That is, order your life according to His Word.  Live by it.  It will not fail you.  It is always what is best.  Even when you think it’s not, and you want to do something different.  Don’t.  Always do what He says.

My sister is very wise.  She, too, knows a thing or two about marriage.  She was once asked by a couple just starting out, what is the secret to a good marriage?  You know the first thing she said?  Center your marriage on Jesus.  That is exactly right.  His presence, and His Word.  That is the only thing that will get you through good times and bad.  Yes.  That’s it.  Then, she had two other pieces of advice, which I thought were pretty good, so I’ll share them with you.  (These two flow from the first point, okay?)  Make your spouse your best friend.  She and her husband just love to be together.  You know, that’s a choice they made.  If you want to enjoy being together, you have to decide to do it.  Be the kind of person your spouse loves to be around.  And always be forgiving your spouse, and overlooking their flaws, and covering over their weaknesses with love (“Love covers a multitude of sins,” Peter says [1 Peter 4:8]).  Just like you do in any good friendship.  And then, third, my sister said (and this is really downstream from the first point, but it is good, and it is wise), she and her husband always have something they’re looking forward to together.  Whether something grand, like an upcoming trip, or more often, something small… maybe even mundane… but, special to them, like sipping a glass of wine together on the deck when the day is done.  Jesus still turns water into wine, doesn’t He?

Look at the gift Jesus is giving you today.  The gift of one another.  Never forget that your spouse is a gift.  You will often be tempted to take the other for granted.  There will even be times, believe it or not, when you will be tempted to resent, or even despise, the other.  When that temptation, that messenger of Satan, rears its ugly head, do two things immediately: 1. Repent and believe the Gospel.  You’re not always easy to live with, either, but Jesus loves you, and died for your sins, and continually puts up with you, and covers over everything with His blood.  So give your spouse a little grace.  And 2. Foster gratitude for your spouse.  You know how you do that?  Thank God for him.  Thank God for her.  Say it.  Out loud.  Your feelings will catch up.  When you feel least thankful, that’s especially when you should give thanks.  And then, here is a bonus third thing to do.  Pray for him.  Pray for her.  In fact, do all three of those things daily.

That is ordering your life according to His Word.  Doing whatever He says to you… He, who is present with and for you, for your forgiveness, life, and salvation, and to give you unending joy.  

You know, He is the true Bridegroom.  And you, members of His beloved, blood-bought Bride, the Church.  In your marriage, you get to model that.  Your marriage is an icon of Christ and the Church.  That’s what St. Paul tell us (Eph. 5).  You, Paul, loving your wife and giving yourself for her.  Into death, if necessary.  That you may present her to yourself… see her, regard her… in splendor, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, holy, and without blemish.  And you, Alexis, submitting to that (the loving and the giving).  Which is to say, receiving that from Paul.  Paul leading in that.  Alexis holding him up to that.  And so, by your sacrifices, Paul modeling Christ.  Alexis modeling the Church.  It is a proclamation of the Gospel to all who know you as a couple.  

You can only do that if Christ is present.  In your marriage.  In your life.  And He is.  For you.  “Do whatever he tells you.”  Live in Him.  Love in Him.  Forgive in Him.  Be forgiven by Him.  Good advice.  And in it, your marriage is blessed.  By the Lord Jesus, here and now.  And for as many years as God gives you.  What God is here joining together, let no man put asunder (Mark 10:9).  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

 Video of Service

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7A)

June 21, 2026

Text: Matt. 10:5a, 21-33

Courage, dear Christian, courage.  Courage, dear Church of God, courage.  It takes courage to live as a disciple of Jesus.  To confess Him.  To speak His Word.  To bear His Name.  Because “you will be hated by all for my name’s sake,” Jesus says (Matt. 10:22; ESV).  “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.  If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” (vv. 24-25).  

So, it takes courage.  Jesus is forthright about the challenges a disciple may face.  Last week, we heard about opposition from coreligionists: “they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues” (v. 17); and persecution on the part of governing authorities and unbelievers: “you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles” (v. 18).  This afternoon, as we hear more of what we often call our Lord’s “Missionary Discourse,” Jesus tells us our own family members may hate us because we follow Jesus.  That is a painful heartache many of you know intimately.  There are places in the world today where family members don’t just say mean things to their Christian relations… where they don’t only cut off contact and shun (as painful as that is)... but they actually do what Jesus says here they will do: Brother delivering brother over to death, and the father his child, and children their parents (v. 21).  Whole communities, chasing the Christian out of town (v. 23).  And, we know, beatings, imprisonments, and the loss of all earthly possessions.  That has happened to Christians throughout history, and is happening today.  Lord, Jesus, strengthen Your persecuted disciples in every place, and grant them Your Holy Spirit, to confess You faithfully unto death.  And give us the strength and Your Spirit, should that ever be us!   

So, that is why we need courage.  And that courage, understand, is not something you can draw deep from the wells of your own heart.  It has to be the gift of God.  It has to be a fruit of the Spirit.  Because this is spiritual warfare.  You’re actually not wrestling against flesh and blood.  You love the people who do such things to you.  That is why you want to tell them about Jesus.  They are your blood relatives, your friends, your neighbors, your community, your people.  The opposition actually comes from the demons: The rulers, the authorities (not earthly rulers and authorities, but ranks of evil angels), the cosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).  These maleficent beings specialize in turning human hearts against one another, often violently.  God is love, and those born of God love one another (1 John 4).  But the demons are filled with hate, and those in their grasp are likewise filled with hate.  

Beloved, you are born of God (Baptism).  Redeemed by Christ, who pours out His Spirit upon you.  So you love, even as you are loved by God.  And, you have this courage.  It is piped into your ears in the hearing of the Gospel, and in a very particular way in the Holy Supper, with Christ on your breath, and invading your very body with His crucified and risen body.  His blood, beating in your heart and coursing through your veins.  St. John Chrysostom famously said: “Let us then return from that table like lions breathing fire, having become terrible to the devil.”  I love that quote, and think of it often.

Our Lord tells us the crosses we have to take up, if we are to be His disciples, but so also, in this discourse, He gives us very precious, encouraging (as in, puts the courage into us) Good News.  Listen to these five reasons you can be courageous… “have no fear of them,” as Jesus says (v. 26)... in the face of this heartbreaking, and even violent, opposition:

First, He says that “the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 10:22).  That Promise can carry you through any trial or tribulation.  Because you know there will be a happy ending.  Why can children make it through Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty (or pick your Disney princess movie), in spite of the evil queen, and the death-sleep of the princess, and the seemingly hopeless mortal peril of the savior-prince?  Because they know that, in the end, the prince will rescue her, they will all live happily ever after.  Well, you know that, too.  As bad as things may get under the devil’s seeming reign, and his threats toward you and the Church.  Jesus is coming, our Savior, our Prince.  He died, yes.  But He is risen.  He lives.  And He is coming to awaken you and give you life, so that, in the End, you live happily ever after with Him.  The one who endures to the end will be saved.

Second, “nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known” (v. 26).  That is, justice is coming.  Vindication.  The Gospel will prove true, and disciples of Jesus will be manifestly righteous.  Your suffering is seen.  God knows it.  He cares.  He will make it good.  So… courage, because in the End, everyone will know the truth, and your righteousness in Christ will be manifest.  

Third, the worst they can do to you is kill your body, but they cannot kill your soul.  So, don’t fear them.  Fear God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  But also, trust Him.  He’s redeemed you by the death and resurrection of His dear Son, Jesus.  So, if they kill your body, what will God do?  Take your soul to safety in heaven.  And then what?  Raise you, bodily, to eternal life.  Courage, then, dear brothers and sisters.  They can inflict some pain, but they cannot, finally, hurt you.

Fourth, not a sparrow falls from the sky, or a hair from your head, apart from your Father’s knowledge and care.  And you are of more value than many sparrows.  What is the point?  If God so cares for birds of the air and the hair on your head, how much more does He care for you?  He who is Almighty, and All Good?  He loves you with an everlasting love.  So, courage.

And, fifth, what does Jesus promise for those who confess Him before men?  He will confess you before His Father in heaven.  That is, He will say to His Father, “This one is mine.  Purchased with My own suffering, blood, and death.  And this one is also Yours, dear Father.  You sent Me, to make it so.  This is Your beloved child.  Bring him… bring her… into the joy of Your Kingdom, for My sake.”  And God’s answer to His only-begotten Son is “Yes.”  In Christ, it is always, “Yes.”  Therefore, courage.

Live in Jesus.  No matter the cost.  No matter the pain.  Order your life according to His Word, and not according to the world, or your own sinful passions.  Live openly in Him.  Speak of Him.  Season Your speech with His Word and His Name.  Teach your children.  Remind them, even when they are old, that Jesus loves them, and died for them.  Confess Christ to your friends and neighbors.  Invite them to Church.  Do not hide because you are afraid.  Courage, dear Christian.  Courage.  Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within you.  But remember to do it with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).  But do it.  Because you have been given to speak the Word of eternal life to the people around you, the people God has given you.  That Word saves them from death and hell.  That Word gives them salvation and life.  Even as it does for you.  Because that Word gives them Jesus Christ.

And what if you suffer?  You will.  A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  Jesus suffered.  So will you.  Okay.  Take up your cross.  But remember the Promises.  They will not fail.  Because Jesus does not fail.  He loves you.  He died for you.  He lives and reigns for you.  So, you can count on it: The one who endures to the end will be saved.  That’s you.  Courage.  Because that is you in Christ.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.