May 20 – “One for the books”

Well, now that was a wedding to remember.  Last night I officiated a wedding at the San Luis Hotel.  I know “officiated” is the right word because they pinned a flower on me that was marked for the “officiant,” and the lady doing the pinning wasn’t quite sure what that meant.   What made the wedding so memorable?  Several things, actually.

In the first place, the bride who called to arrange for me to do the ceremony told me she was Muslim.  Now that was a shocker.  Why would she be calling a Christian pastor to do her wedding?  I assumed it was at the request of her husband until she said he was pretty much an agnostic, in her words, “a nothing.”  Gotta be careful of context there, I know.  She admitted that neither of them was particularly religious either way.  Her only concern was that something I might say would offend someone in her family.  They were expecting fifty or sixty guests who would all be coming in from Canada or Europe.  For her part, she just wanted the thrill of wearing the white gown and walking down the aisle.  In fact they were already legally married.  They were doing this ceremony for the sake of their families.  Oh, and for the party. 

I told her there were some parts of the ceremony that were not negotiable.  I am, after all, a Christian pastor.  She was fine with that, but asked if there was any way I could avoid one thing.  Would I not say “Father, Son and Holy Spirit all together.”  She thought that might be a bit too much for her family to handle.  I didn’t see that as a problem.  They were still going to hear the gospel. 

With all that going on, I went into the ceremony a bit tentatively.  The introduction to marriage explanation I use has a few funny things in it, and when I got to those parts, there was a reaction.  But not a negative one.  The bride and groom began with a snicker, but the crowd exploded with laughter.  Every time.  And it was even appropriate.  That was encouraging.  But then, when I asked for the rings, I knew all was well.  Their beagle brought the rings up to them wearing a costume marked “Ring Bearer.”  They petted and played with him for a few moments before we continued.  Didn’t worry much about my attempts to lighten things up after that. 

After the ceremony I had several folks come up to me and make comments, most with a decidedly Canadian flair, eh?

 “That was really good the way you got across the message without preaching, eh?”
“I enjoyed how you made everything so different and fun, but still made it special, eh?”
The groom said, “I know we were already married and all and this was just so we could have the party, but there was just something about standing up there with everyone watching that was … kind of emotional.  Can I have your card?”  He got one and I encouraged him to get in touch if he ever wanted to talk.
The sound guy asked for my card as well.  He lives in League City and he shared some personal things about where he was in his own God story. 

I would say that was one wedding where Jesus showed up in the midst of “sinners.”  But then he always did get a kick out of doing that.

Psalms 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Father, draw that couple into your shelter so they can discover your rest.  Amen.