Ceremony Readings

Choosing our readings was my favorite part of planning our ceremony, although it was tough- there's so much great wisdom in the Bible that it was hard to narrow down just two passages to share with a group of people who most likely never pick the book up. If I had my way, there'd be like eight readings (and an audience that actually pays attention).

We used the collection of standard Catholic readings, and did one Old Testament reading, something that would appear in the Torah to represent Mr. B's Jewish heritage, and one New Testament reading to rep my Catholic heritage. 

I wanted to avoid the beautiful but overused 1 Corinthians, so I decided to hunt down a reading that would explain the type of lifestyle Mr. B and I would strive to live with each other and within our community. I had options from Hebrews, Colossians, Phillippians, but we finally settled on Romans 12:9-18, text below:

Let love be sincere;

hate what is evil,

hold on to what is good;

love one another with mutual affection;

anticipate one another in showing honor.

Do not grow slack in zeal,

be fervent in spirit,

serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope,

endure in affliction,

persevere in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,

exercise hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you,

bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice,

weep with those who weep.

Have the same regard for one another;

do not be haughty but associate with the lowly;

do not be wise in your own estimation.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil;

be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all.

If possible, on your part, live at peace with all.

Mr. B made the final call on our Old Testament reading, and chose the classic Genesis 2:18-24:

The Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone.

I will make a suitable partner for him.”

So the Lord God formed out of the ground

various wild animals and various birds of the air,

and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;

whatever the man called each of them would be its name.

The man gave names to all the cattle,

all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals;

but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man,

and while he was asleep,

he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.

The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib

that he had taken from the man.

When he brought her to the man, the man said:

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

This one shall be called ‘woman,’

for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.”

That is why a man leaves his father and mother

and clings to his wife,

and the two of them become one body.

I'm glad he picked this, as the idea of us leaving our families and becoming a unit is a lesson we've been learning firsthand as we settle into living together. I like that the reading is directly applicable to us.

Okay, and I'm including a bonus reading (woo hoo!), this was my favorite from the OT. It's Tobit 8:4-8:

On their wedding night Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,

"Sister, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord

to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance."

Sarah got up, and they started to pray

and beg that deliverance might be theirs.

They began with these words:

"Blessed are you, O God of our fathers;

praised be your name forever and ever.

Let the heavens and all your creation

praise you forever.

You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve

to be his help and support;

and from these two the human race descended.

You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone;

let us make him a partner like himself.'

Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine

not because of lust,

but for a noble purpose.

Call down your mercy on me and on her,

and allow us to live together to a happy old age."

Isn't that what we all want? To live with each other happily until we're old as hell? So nice!

 Did you go secular or traditional with your readings?