20 MAY 2023
Grant Harvey and Jenna Oelke were wed at Saint Joseph Church, in Ellinwood, Kansas by Father Terrance Klein, their pastor.
Making the Team |
Wedding of Grant & Jenna |
Fr Terrance Klein |
Saint Joseph Church 20.V.2023 |
Genesis 2: 18-24 1 John 4: 7-12 Mark 10: 6-9
Alright. Huddle up and listen up. Oelke, I said, “Huddle up.” Oh, you are huddled up. Okay then, listen up.
I’m putting together a team for the only game that matters, the game of life. I need to know if you’re prepared to do what it takes to win.
Let’s see here. Harvey, I’ve got a report on you from a previous coach named Dave:
The scene is his ten-year-old state baseball tournament in western Kansas. It was hot that weekend. Grant had gotten overheated, probably heat stroke. He needed to sit down and get cooled down, but he refused. He couldn’t sit and let his team down. He showed me that the things he loves are what means the most to him. He will never stop fighting for them.
Good, Harvey. Stupid but good. That’s what we need to see. Someone who’s willing to do what it takes to win.
Now, let’s see. I’ve got a report on this other guy Oelke as well.
Jenna does whatever it takes to get the job done. She’s persistent and sometimes surprises us with her methods. Case in point. During a little league softball game, Jenna was picked for an all-star team and was mostly sitting on the bench, much to her parents’ dismay of course. Finally, Jenna got to bat and had one of the only hits of all the girls. She took off running and instead of sliding feet first like all the other girls, Jenna slid head-first into second base. She ended up being safe, but both her parents wondered where she learned to do that. But that is Jenna. Sometimes surprising you but always a person you can count on to get the job done.
Good, Oelke. That’s what we like to see, initiative. But if we put you on the team, we’re going to need to pump you up. If Harvey plows into you at full speed, he’ll send you flying headfirst.
Marriages don’t come with coaches, but maybe they should. When something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. But then that’s the problem with contemporary marriage. We no longer see it as a team sport. Society thinks it’s a form of self-expression, ballet for bozos.
Marriage begins in the heart of a man and that of a woman, but it must grow beyond those two hearts to reach many other hearts. Marriage is ordered toward the world. It’s where the next generation comes from. It’s the house of love that builds homes. It’s the unbreakable bond of friendship that cares for those most in need.
Jesus said,
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
And be joined to his wife,
And the two shall become one flesh.
In a well-ordered world, there can be only one reason you would leave the two people who love you more than anyone else, and that’s because you know that you’ve been called to create love, to be an instrument of God’s love. You’re ready to share and to multiply the love you’ve been given.
Grant and Jenna, you understand that, and you’re already a step ahead by choosing your spouse with great care. You know what you’re looking for, what will be needed in a spouse.
Grant writes of Jenna:
I admire her kindness and her sense of humor, her willingness to help anyone regardless of who it is. She always lights up the room and has a happy presence about her. She pushes me to be a better person and reach my full potential.
And Jenna writes of Grant:
He’s a good friend who will always be there when you need him. He’s very outgoing and makes conversation with everyone we meet. He’s very helpful when it comes to anything I may need. He’s very thoughtful especially when he knows I had a rough day.
I believe that coaches like to say, “There’s no ‘I’ in team.” There’s certainly no “me” in marriage. For a Christian, marriage is about completing what was begun in baptism: namely, surrendering ourselves to others as a way of being Christ to them, for them:
In this is love:
Not that we have loved God,
But that he loved us
And sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
We also must love one another.
It’s time to push-on from this pep talk, but before I do, let’s hear again from your previous coaches. When I asked, “What has God taught you about love and marriage?” coaches Steve and Amy said,
Have faith that God has a plan and love each other through the good times and the bad. Praying together reveals that plan.
Harvey, this one’s for you, from Coach Dave:
Trust in your wife as you trust God and believe in your wife as you believe in God.
And coach Jackie says to both of you that God
will heal your wounds if you allow him to, but you must talk to him. Be proactive in your faith. Find something to appreciate from each day being together.
Enough coaching! Let’s get out there and show some spunk and Spirit.
♥ ♥ ♥
