April 2 – “… all that is good and decent”

I performed a wedding ceremony yesterday in the midst of all the Coronavirus hysteria.  I guess that sounds like a confession, doesn’t it?  Actually we followed all the rules to a tee.  There were only six of us in attendance, and the only ones close to each other were the bride and groom. 

The groom sent me a message through the Seaside Facebook page.  They had planned to get married at the courthouse, but other than the license, every other hoop was becoming way too hard to jump through.  The bride was getting pretty frustrated, so the groom reached out to “the pastor in Jamaica Beach.”  It worked out fine for me to help them out, and a wedding is always another way for people to hear the gospel, not to mention a chance for me to temporarily escape the confines of quarantine-dom. 

The bride and groom arrived together on a motorcycle.  The bride’s mom and sister came, as well as the bride’s teenage son.  We stood outside the Seaside worship center, next to our beautifully landscaped front yard area.  Can’t beat a backdrop of palm trees and purple flowers. 

The ceremony was pretty simple.  They did add their own vows.  The groom did his on the fly.  The bride had hers all written out.  When I had them repeat a vow after me while they put the ring on each other’s finger, the groom did fine.  The bride, though, apparently had a problem with saying, “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  She substituted, “In the name of all that is good and decent.”  Without thinking, I replied, hopefully imperceptibly, “That’s what I just said.”  All that is good and decent can be found in Jesus.

2 Samuel 7:22 says, “How great you are, Sovereign Lord!  There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”

Father, walk with this newly created creature … a married couple who have become one.  Amen.