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Lectionary reading: The TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME - November 1, 2009 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. SOON WAITS by Larry Patten The mother of the woman who owned the house, where the wedding would take place tomorrow, settled beside me on the patio couch. We talked. Across the yard her daughter wielded a leaf blower and swooshed debris from around the pool. The daughter’s partner, the other homeowner, fussed with decorations. Two dogs cavorted on the lawn, one fascinated with a smallish rip in a plush toy that quickly became a gaping scar. Stuffing, like manna in the desert, appeared around the thrilled canine. We talked. Not long from now death’s reign would end. Right around the corner, pain would be history. Before you know it, God would be with humans. It would be a celebration. Joyous. Like a wedding! I waited. I’d been told to appear for the backyard wedding’s rehearsal around five. Five had become history. Six impinged on my future. “Do you have a church?” the homeowner’s mother asked. Mid-seventies, she had silver hair like fluffy frosting on a cake and posed her questions with eyes fixed on mine. “No. I’m on leave of absence.” I mentioned a nearby church I’d once served. More questions, then, after tsk-tsking the dog giddily chewing parts of a stuffed toy, she asked, “Do you like to do weddings?” “No.” Smile faded. A frown. Surprised. “Really?” “I prefer memorial services.” “Why’s that?” “People are usually on time.” Smile returned. At her age I suspected she’d seen and done enough to agree with me. Weddings, like funerals, have official start times. Weddings, unlike funerals, have far less predictable beginnings or endings. Of course I’ve officiated at delayed graveside services and elaborate weddings more precise than a space shuttle launch. Overall though, the Alpha and Omega of two folks vowing I do unfolds with capriciousness. * * * I’m not surprised that John, the enigmatic author of Revelation, chose wedding imagery to describe the new Jerusalem. In his bones and soul he’d felt the future impinging on the present. Change defined and filled his vision. Not long from now death’s reign would end. Right around the corner, pain would be history. Before you know it, God would be with humans. It would be a celebration. Joyous. Like a wedding! One of my favorite four-letter words is soon. I’ll get to that task soon. I’ll be over soon. I’ll help as soon as I can. Nearly two thousand years after John’s revelation depicting a new Jerusalem, I could read today’s (or any day’s) headlines about the city of David. Still the old Jerusalem. Or I could read how humans, Jewish and Muslim or Christians and Christians, treat (mistreat) each other. Still the old death, the usual pain and the inevitable weeping. Soon waits. * * * In the backyard, the homeowner’s mother leaves. It’s late. She must get to her home. Bride and groom arrive; the rehearsal gets underway. Both in their forties, they didn’t want a ceremony with fanfare or pretense. Instead, it’s more important to share their special day in the comfortable confines of a friend’s backyard. When I help people plan a wedding I encourage them to create some of their own words. Many don’t take me up on that and the ceremony I suggest—based on United Methodist resources and personal tweaks I’ve added—is what we use. I like my ceremony. I’ve worked hard to honor Christian tradition, incorporate relevant scripture and be flexible enough to welcome appropriate personal additions. This couple made changes. They wrote their vows. They included, with tenderness and a surprise gift, a daughter from a previous marriage. And they also added a phrase that truly stunned me. You might call it a revelation. (And I wish I’d thought of it!) Near the ceremony’s end, based on their words, I reminded them that they didn’t belong to each other, but belonged with each other. For me, WITH instead of TO felt like a WOW! Until the twentieth century, marriages in almost all faith traditions involved property exchange. The father gave the bride away. Property. A dowry exchanged hands. Property. The husband owned the wife. Property. Change. She would not be owned by him. He would not be owned by her. This is how they would try to live each day. They declared they could not not be with the other. In my faith I believe God “owns” me. I belong to God. I am the creation, God the Creator. And yet there is more than ownership in my relationship with the Holy. Every day I desire to be with the God who is always with and for me. I believe that also describes John’s long ago longing. His vision. Soon, God will appear. Soon, a new Jerusalem. Soon, death ends. Soon, God will own and be known by all. It’s today though. The time before soon. And right now, as I hope for days without mourning, I long to be with the One. The groom warned me he’d cry. He did. He wept, with and for his bride. Today, God’s love impinges on the not yet. in Peace, Larry Patten
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