Once Upon a Wedding…
Once upon a time…
Before I say anything else—like how beautiful you look, dear Bride, or how proud I am of you, dear Groom—Or talk about how beautiful everyone else looks—Mother of the Groom, Sister of the Groom, Grandmother of the Groom, and Father of the Groom—can I call you by your nickname?
I know that only my wife and her mother get to call you that… but I’m hoping I get a pass today.
Can I say that name; even if I’m going to call you beautiful?
…But first, I need to make sure you hear,
Once upon a time,
because today looks like a fairy tale, complete with a castle; and it feels like a fairy tale too—a dashing prince, and a princess who joined their hands in love.
If this is truly a fairy tale, maybe I should say they joined their palms—in more ways than one—in love…
The princess’s parents were both born beneath palm trees on a Caribbean island (I should also say—they look beautiful. Or rather, beautiful and handsome.) The princess’s handsome father and beautiful mother could hardly believe they were now in a land that wasn’t even land.
This was the land of the Prince’s people—where fertile farmland had been reclaimed from the ocean, and tulips grew.
The Prince’s parents—a tall, beautiful flower (not you, father of the Groom) and a mighty tree (that is you)—were proud of their son…
…and the wedding guests were starting to wonder where the narrator was going with all this.
Isn’t this a wedding?
And isn’t he a pastor?
And isn’t he the Bride’s brother-in-law?
So let me begin differently.
Lovely sister, I can’t believe you’re getting married. You were just the flower girl in my wedding to your beautiful sister. It feels like not nearly enough time has passed for you to be here; ready for your own wedding.
Dear brother, I’ve known you in person for over six years now. How is that possible?
What possessed you to get on an airplane in 2019 and go to America to meet a woman you’d been talking to on the phone for over a year?
You are a brave and mature man.
I know what possessed you. The same thing that possesses your bride—Love.
Love is patient. Love is kind.
Love possesses both of you—as if someone spoke an incantation over your lives.
But it wasn’t magic. It wasn’t a fairytale. It was prayer.
Love was spoken over you.
Love was prayed over you by your mothers…and by your fathers.
And just as your siblings offered their blessings hoping for every happiness for you both.
And just as your family and friends enthusiastically said, “we do” they also wish love for you.
This love, it exists.
The tall prince from across the ocean – he exists.
The mysterious princess with roots in the Caribbean – she exists too. They crossed oceans – literally and figuratively – for love. And sure, some people have a hard time believing in stories like that. Just like they have a hard time believing in miracles or in faith.
“The Son of God? Born of Mary? Really?”
But people of faith keep hoping. They keep praying,
“Lord, someone kind and thoughtful and gentle.”
And then, we find ourselves at a celebration that lasts for days. Like they saved the best for last. But I’m not talking about the wine. And neither was Jesus.
Jesus was talking about love.
God’s love.
The kind that doesn’t run out.
How great Thou Art, indeed.
There’s more—and it, love, comes from ordinary places and ordinary people and it, love, transforms us not into flowers and trees but into partners—today a husband, a wife; we become new people.
This may look like a fairytale and feel like a fairy tale. But I can assure you, this; like Jesus assures everyone he meets, is real life and real life needs real people who are mature and brave and gentle and kind.
But mostly God needs people who are open and honest and willing;
When we are going to be lead by God into a new adventure.
Maybe across the ocean. To a different country and a different culture…but I promise, because I too have been touched, nurtured and transformed by love; a lot of us have. It will transform everything about you.
I love you both.
We love you both.
May you live happily ever after.