With God’s People

One of the things I have always admired about the work of Jesus is that the needs of people always took precedence over rules of religion, which seemed to cause controversy and often times trouble. He healed people on the Sabbath, drew close to the outcasts of the world, and his disciples were observed plucking heads of wheat and eating them when they shouldn’t have and with unclean hands at that.

The phone rang yesterday morning in my study and I of course answered it. On the other end of the line was a desperate father who explained that his daughter’s wedding was scheduled for this weekend, but a list of problems had developed. His daughter and fiance are currently living in Charleston where they are thankfully employed and working. The family has membership and are members in good standing of a Presbyterian congregation in a nearby city located in Georgia. The couple had successfully completed their pre-marital counseling and made appropriate plans for a church wedding and reception when the arrival of the coronavirus complicated everything. The pastor who had conducted the pre-marital counseling was reluctant to conduct the ceremony. Wedding guests, sadly, had to be dis-invited.

As I listened and learned more about the circumstances of the situation I remembered another telephone call I received while I was visiting active duty personnel in their work spaces in hangars along the flight line at the Naval Air Station, Oceana in Virginia Beach. I was serving as the Chaplain for the F-14 Tomcat community at the time. The person on the other end indicated that a squadron was preparing for deployment and personnel were preparing to board a C-130. Problem was there was a sailor on the flight line with his pregnant fiance. I was asked if I might be available to marry the couple before the plane took off.

I quickly made my way to the flight line and introduced myself. Surrounded by a host of sailors, I asked the groom to stand to my left and the bride to stand at my right. Because of time constraints, the propellers were turning, I shortened the liturgy for the wedding ceremony. In maybe 10 minutes the couple exchanged vows and I pronounced them man and wife. They kissed to the cheers of the squadron, signed the Marriage License, thanked me for doing the service and kissed one more time. I’ll never forget the new bride watching her husband board the plane, both of them with tears in their eyes waving goodbye knowing they would not see one another for at least 6 months.

For your information, before I consent to do a wedding I normally conduct a minimum of four pre-marital counseling sessions.The couple gets to know me and I get to know them, and for a period of weeks we visit and talk about all sorts of things. You know why I consented to do a wedding on a runway, not knowing the couple and not having completed the necessary pre-marital counseling? I learned that the bride-to-be was pregnant. It was not the optimum of circumstances, but I made the decision to do that wedding because if I had refused, a soon-to-be mother would not have been eligible for the Navy to provide prenatal care or insurance coverage for the birth of their child. In addition, if something, God forbid, had happened to the sailor and pending father, there would have been no insurance or benefits for mother and child. Jesus whispered in my ear, “Steve, we’re not going to let that happen.”

Tomorrow afternoon, at an undisclosed destination, a bride and groom and preacher will practice social distancing and as I shared with an excited bride-to-be a few moments ago the ceremony will last 20 to 25 minutes, not too short that it’s disrespectful and not too long that it’s oppressive. Parents and grandparents will be there, but I will practice the discipline of no touching and no hugging in order to protect Kay and other members of the family. The last thing I shared with a person I have never met was this, “You’ve got to understand one thing. When I do a wedding, I do my best to tie the knot as tight as I can.” She laughed and said she would have it no other way.

Where is the church in times of crisis? The church is with God’s people, taking care of them in times of difficulty and need just like Jesus did. Many times, family and friends thought Jesus had lost his mind when in fact he had not lost his mind at all. He was just doing what Abba Father had sent him to do. Be with the people when they need you. I will be careful tomorrow. I will keep my distance and wash my hands, and I will rejoice in God’s gift of love that believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends and of all the gifts that God has given the human creation, those of faith, hope and love, the greatest of these is love.

In closing, I often think about a young couple I married on a runway and pray I tied that knot real tight. I pray their marriage is a happy one and their child is healthy. I’m already getting excited about tomorrow. It never, never gets old for when I look into the eyes of two people preparing for a lifetime together, I remember my wedding vows and the promises I made to Kay. I will do so again tomorrow evening at sunset for the sake of Christ and to the Glory of God. And all God’s people said, “Amen!” in Christ +

—
Steve Keeler, Pastor