This weekend, the long, slow arc of our church’s life will finally bend across a remarkable threshold. On Saturday, fifteen same-sex couples will stand in our church to renew their commitment to be faithful to one another as long as they both shall live, and then receive the blessing of God. They will be treated the same as the other couple who will be married earlier on Saturday, which happens to be a man and a woman, and we will, at last, publicly declare that the mystery of Christ’s love for the world is made known in all of them equally. Or rather, that it is not their sex that determines the holiness of their union, but the way they live out their life in generosity, faithfulness, forgiveness, and joy.
It is the eleventh hour, so I hope by now you’ve let us know if you intend to attend the service at 5:30. We’ll be quite full, so I encourage you to arrive early to be assured of a seat. Do please pray for the couples – Joel and David, Chip and Jim, Bill and Lupe, Shayne and Tina, Randell and Joseph, Beth and Linda, Mitch and Jeff, Bryant and Xavier, Robert and John, Alvaro and Michael, Ted and Mikey, Sandy and Beth, Mark and Brian, Rob and Steve, J.D. and David – and for our preacher, Bishop Gene Robinson. I hope you’ll also pray for all those who will read about this event in the newspaper or online on Sunday, who yearn to know this particular joy but who are part of communities that do not share our belief, or who, themselves, oppose this act of inclusion. We can and must pray for those who do not agree with us, not simply that they will be persuaded to agree with us, but that God will give them grace to love and live more and more like Christ – which is something, quite frankly, that I pray for myself, too.
We are very much in the height of the Season of Epiphany, so the gospel text for this weekend, including Saturday’s service, will be the story of the miracle at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11), when Jesus transforms water into wine. It’s a remarkable bit of providence that we will hear this particular story this weekend, and not only because it’s about Jesus attending a wedding celebration. It’s also a story about Jesus’ desire to share in and multiply our joy, and his mission not only to save us and heal us, but also to gladden our hearts and give us a taste of the glory of the Kingdom.
In honor of my absolutely favorite poet, Mary Oliver, who died this week, I want to share with you her poem titled “Logos” that speaks to both this story and this weekend:
Why worry about the loaves and fishes?If you say the right words, the wine expands.If you say them with loveand the felt ferocity of that loveand the felt necessity of that love,the fish explode into many.Imagine him, speaking,and don’t worry about what is reality,or what is plain, or what is mysterious.If you were there, it was all those things.If you can imagine it, it is all those things.Eat, drink, be happy.Accept the miracle.Accept, too, each spoken wordspoken with love.