Yesterday, we went to a little venue outside of Stillwater for my cousin’s wedding. We were invited, but it was also a ‘priest’ gig, as well. I will admit that I was a little concerned about being around quite a few people all at once, being mindful that we’re trying to distance in order to keep safe. But I also wouldn’t have missed this wedding, period. The young lady is the daughter of my first cousin (family math is hard, just like math is hard) and I’ve known her since she was born—my cousin and I are quite close, and oddly enough, her husband and I are arguably closer. So to be there with them, to see their grown daughter get married, and to take part in the service? All of it was a blessing.
But the takeaway was more than just a ‘nice’ day or event. In a moment when the world seems like it’s crashing down around us, with murder hornets (still waiting), civil unrest, murder in the streets of police officers (Tulsa; please keep that officer in your prayers), a plunging economy, and…oh yeah, COVID, things seem downright ugly. But yesterday was different than the days over the past few months...
Yesterday was beautiful.
It was such a stark contrast to the ‘norm’ of the past seven months. People weren’t fighting about anything other than floral arrangements (joking), and people of different skin tones sat side by side sharing a meal and a laugh. There were different economic groups there, different political affiliations there, different genders, different “insert literally everything else here” there. And everyone got along just fine. They talked. They played cornhole. They watched the little ones play outside and run around inside. Some made new friends while others caught up with people they hadn’t seen in years. All without needing to be ‘right’ about something.
They came together to watch love’s fruition. They came together to watch two people become one and proclaim their love for the world to receive.
Yesterday was beautiful.
Very tired, I still sat up late last night thinking about the day’s events. Didn’t Jesus do the same thing? Didn’t Christ tell us to love one another as we love ourselves? When did the exception clause get adopted into that commandment?? I know we can’t always agree, and I know that there are personalities that we won’t necessarily always jive with, but does that mean we can’t love? When did we lose that ability?
As I read Corinthians (Love is patient, love is kind…it is not proud…love does not keep account of wrongs), I thought to myself, “Man. We REALLY need to heed this. Right. Now. Watching two young adults stand tall amidst arguably the toughest season any of us has lived through was a point of grace and a thin space for me. They didn’t let the world tell them how to love, or who to love, or who they could involve in their lives. They simply invited all their people—of all different stripes—to come and join them in a day of joy. I saw God yesterday. And I heard God through the love proclaimed by two people and many others around them. And it filled me with hope and faith and love. But the greatest of these was and is love.
Yesterday was beautiful…
Tomorrow can be, too.
Fr. Sean+