Don’t we all
love fairy tales? Maybe that’s because they can lift our spirits and fill us
with hope. Who doesn’t love to read about an ordinary person who marries
royalty and lives happily ever after? “Maybe that could happen to me!” we
think; and we keep on reading! There’s a good reason why stories like
Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White have been popular for such a long
time. We don’t have royalty here in our country, of course, so we keep an eye
on our cousins “across the pond.” When we look at the British royal family, we
catch a glimpse of a kingdom just like the ones that are at the center of all those
fairy tales: a kingdom with a queen, princes and princesses, men and women with
stately titles. That must be why so many of us got up at an insanely early hour
to watch the fairy-tale wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. If you
didn’t get up at 6:00 a.m. (or even earlier), I’ll bet that you watched it
later on one of the many reruns of the event. We all want a glimpse of the
kingdom!
And it didn’t
disappoint us, did it? From the first arrival of the beautifully-dressed guests
to the very last glimpse of the newlyweds as their horse-drawn carriage
disappeared into the castle, it was a grand affair! There was Queen Elizabeth,
ruler of the kingdom for 66 years, sitting next to her husband, Prince Philip. Next
to her were three generations of princes and princesses, some of whom will sit
on the throne of Britain one day. The wedding included all the dignity and
tradition of a monarchy that dates back almost a thousand years! And the
backdrop of all of it was the glorious Chapel of St. George: part of Windsor
Castle and built in the 13th century. Yes, the royal kingdom that we
glimpsed was awe-inspiring in its splendor. But at that wedding, I saw another
kingdom that was even more awe-inspiring. Through the event that was intended
to celebrate the power and tradition of the British monarchy, I caught a
glimpse of the Kingdom of God.
Now, let’s
be clear. The British monarchy is very different from the Kingdom of God. Monarchies
exist, after all, to set royalty apart from commoners. But this wedding threw
aside the walls that divide us, and invited all kinds of people to celebrate
together, commoner and royalty alike. And isn’t that what God’s kingdom is all
about? In God’s kingdom, we’re not divided but united through the Spirit in
love and peace. In God’s kingdom, all people are welcome no matter what their
gender, race, religion, or nationality. That’s what we glimpsed at Harry and
Meghan’s wedding. We saw old and young together: a royal couple who are in their
90s next to pageboys and bridesmaids who are not yet old enough to really understand
what was going on. We saw European and African all together celebrating God’s
presence in music, liturgy, and sermon. We saw both women and men sharing in the
leadership of worship. We saw three different Christian traditions – Anglican,
Episcopal, and Eastern Orthodox – setting aside their differences and joining
together in worship. We saw cultures and traditions blended as British royalty
and the descendants of African slaves sat shoulder to shoulder. We saw even
those who have passed into glory included, as Meaghan’s bridal bouquet included
Princess Diana’s favorite flower. As Bishop Michael Curry said so appropriately
in his sermon, “…the power of love is demonstrated by the fact that we are all
here. Two young people fell in love and we all showed up.”
We did
indeed. Men and women, black and white, young and old, British and American and
African and Asian and all kinds of people from all over the world showed up,
both in person and through television and the internet. We came together not to
quarrel with one another, but to demonstrate the kind of love that the fullness
of God’s Kingdom will offer us one day. And it all happened on the day before
Pentecost, the day celebrating God’s ability to unite us through the Spirit. Oh,
it certainly wasn’t the fullness of God’s kingdom. Many of the Brits were a bit
uncomfortable with Bishop Curry’s African-American style of preaching, and only
the upper class was represented at the ceremony; the guests were all
well-dressed and affluent. But it was a start; and every good thing has to
start somewhere! In this world of divisions – race vs. race, faith vs. faith,
culture vs. culture – it was a breath of fresh air. And when the God’s kingdom
comes in fullness, it will truly be the fairy-tale ending that we all yearn
for! May God’s Spirit continue to blow into our broken communities with its
power of healing and reconciliation, and open our eyes to even more glimpses of
God’s Kingdom!
