Just home from a wonderful few days in Surrey, the highlight of which was the marriage of Jonathan Ross to Rachel Changer. Though the weather proved rotten for the nuptial feast, everyone agreed that the venue, food, company, music and ceremony more than made up for it. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity of catching up with a lot of good friends from my rugby days at Emmanuel College, who I had not seen for some time.
The magic moment for me, perhaps obviously, came as I officiated at the ceremony itself. After a few jokes, aimed squarely at the groom, the homily urged the couple to take a lesson from secular culture and ‘look after number 1′…however Christianity, departing from secular wisdom, informs us that from this day forward ‘number 1′ is no longer the self but the other.
As we explored the unique nature of Christian marriage, we came to see how incredibly ‘other person centred’ Christ calls us to be. This is a huge challenge for every married couple but it is nevertheless a challenge which we must strive to achieve, through forgiveness, communication, mutual self sacrifice, love and good humour. It is my prayer that, through God’s grace, Jon and Rachel will learn to do this well and enjoy many happy years together. Enjoy the photographs.
