Pentecost Continues
Bishop Curry USA Today
“When he had said this, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” — John 20:22.
We are now in the season of Pentecost: remembering and celebrating that the Spirit was given to us on the Day of Pentecost. If you want to see what happened that day when the Spirit moved through a large room of people who had no idea what was happening, watch the video of Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on the morning of Pentecost Eve, May 19, 2018.
Usually, the minister’s words at a wedding are called a homily, a short sermon. But as one of the British commentators puts it, Curry’s message is an actual sermon—and it is all about love. He first reminds us that when two people fall in love, nearly the entire world shows up, as it did that Saturday morning. That is how important love is.
Bishop Curry reminds us that love has the energy of fire, and his enthusiastic, passionate words are comparable to the Pentecost flames that ran through St. George’s Chapel that day. It appears as though Bishop Curry is so filled with the Spirit that he must keep holding on to his lectern to stay in place.
His body language signals that he wants to move out and approach the young couple and his congregation more directly. As you watch people’s faces, you can tell they do not know how to respond to him or his barnstorming message. They look mystified, amused, indignant, comical, and questioning. Some look down at their programs so others cannot see what they think. Others glance at their neighbors for a clue about what is happening. Some almost fall out of their chairs! Some look at Curry as if they are mesmerized.
Perhaps the ones who seem to understand his message best are the royal wedding couple themselves—especially Meghan, who beams a radiant smile with an occasional twinkle throughout the sermon.
NBC
Bishop Curry’s presentation and delivery are not in the British style, but his message of love is true to his Anglican and African roots. He speaks out of his African American tradition, drawing on his ancestors’ experiences of slavery and on his training in an Episcopal style that Americans adapted from the Anglican form. Bishop Curry speaks his truth, which comes from deep within him—as these traditions mesh and kindle tongues of fire from the power of love that flames around the world.
Bishop Curry is a beautiful role model of what it means to be filled with the Spirit. With Pentecost fire, we have no choice but to speak the truth. Many people will not understand what we are saying, but everyone who receives us will be changed.
Bishop Curry also reminds us that the truth from God should always be about love: loving God, loving ourselves, and loving our neighbor. Period.
I have greatly enjoyed our journey together through Lent and Easter, and I look forward to our adventures in the season of Pentecost.
