On May 19, 2018, “Everybody who is somebody” was there for the royal wedding of Prince Harry to an American actress, Meghan Markle. British royalty, Hollywood stars, etc. were all there, and the world was watching. Perhaps even more people than usual were watching this royal wedding, because of all the discussion about the fact that the bride is biracial. Many people were pleased to see this, and sadly, some were not.

They were all in for a surprise, however, when the officiating minister, Bishop Michael Curry (who is African-American) began his wedding sermon. Instead of a staid, formal address that people would expect at a royal wedding, the American preacher gave a warm-hearted, passionate plea for the power of love, rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Taking his text from Song of Solomon 8:6, which speaks of love as strong as death and powerful as fire, he talked about the power of love. He quoted Martin Luther King, Jr., talked about the power of the love of Jesus, pointing out that “Jesus didn’t get an honorary doctorate in dying,” and the power of the gospel is from love, not education. He spoke of the redemptive love that gave American slaves hope in the midst of their oppression. He quoted French priest and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin about the power of fire, reminding everyone that combustion engines empowered them all to get there, but the Bible says that love is more powerful than fire.

Bravo to Bishop Curry for being faithful to his calling to preach the gospel, and all the more so when given a world stage.

Here is the full text of the wedding sermon: https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/19/europe/michael-curry-royal-wedding-sermon-full-text-intl/index.html