Readings:
Don’t Hesitate, Mary Oliver
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case.
Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.
Scripture Reaidng: Song of Solomon 2:10-13
Arise My Love
My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Message: Love what it loves!
When I asked Contessa and Phil at our marriage interview, “Why do you want to celebrate your union in God’s blessing?” (It’s a “traditional” Christian question for a marriage interview) Contessa told me, “We have considered you as part of our family. The question means to me that we would like to have Ha Na’s blessing.” Well, I thought, that’s a very meaningful thing to hear, and a great priority to have: God’s blessing delivered very personally through someone you trust. I am ever so grateful and happy for this request.
“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. … Very likely you notice it when love begins. Anyways, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.”
“Plenty.” “Joy’s plenty.” I like to pronounce the word plenty. Producing that initial plosive consonant between the lips. It invites me to think of plenty, imagine abundance, feel it, touch it, embrace it. Something plentiful. Something very lovable, admirable, achievable, and plenty of it. This plenty in front of me. In front of you. Around us yesterday; around us even now. That will be our future. Immanent: already present. And it’s plenty: Joy.
Love.
Trust.
Anticipation.
Vision.
These exciting gifts are so fitting for this blue, high, and luminous September sky above us. This plentiful fulfilling joy blesses all of us who gather this afternoon as we surround Phil and Contessa with our love and prayers. To celebrate their joy - Phil and Contessa’s plentiful joy - platinum joy. We are here to honour, uphold and treasure the beautiful covenant in marriage of Phil and Contessa, in their “Yes, I do” in trembling, yet confident voices. The sky is their sea, where the stars guide the sailor’s way, shining brightly, like myriads of outstretched blessings.
Phil and Contessa are here to affirm to us all, “Yes, we are ready to continue to sail in our vessel. We set a sail to welcome God’s inclusive love, the winds of bountiful Nature, with renewed vision and anticipation for our future. We hold each other’s hands, lock our eyes upon each other, then turn our gaze together to the horizon we have yet to explore. We have promised each other: Rather than follow the busy pace of the world’s clock, we will make our own slow rhythm, sailing at the wind’s speed, connecting and reconnecting ourselves heart-to-heart, step-to-step. We will project our hopes and dreams on the open sail for everyone to see! The vessel we journey upon will be big enough to welcome family and friends. Our love and trust are plenty. Our joy of building family is plenty!”
Contessa and Phil, it’s a privilege and honour to say my personal blessing for you (in the words of another of Mary Oliver’s beautiful poems: Wild Geese).
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Dear Phil and Contessa! You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
(Shout) Love what it loves! Be like wild geese, wise sailors!
We, with the blessings of God’s inclusive love and the whole creation, wholeheartedly celebrate your sacred union through marriage. Open your strong, sturdy, smart wings and your will to love and to be loved with your family! To build and find your home in the family of the universe’s plenty!
Music
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