Why the bishop went viral
Iam not a royal watcher. Had “The Event” been at 7 p.m. rather than 1 a.m., it is still doubtful I would have been planted in front of the TV, unless of course. there was no hockey to watch and the lawn really didn’t need cutting.
I have, however, watched the replay of Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon several times. How could I not? It’s received almost as much attention as Meghan Markle’s dress.
Why has one 14-minute discourse so captivated millions of people?
Why was “the sermon” one of the most talked about elements on talk shows and newscasts alike?
I suspect several of the following reasons, alone and in combination, have something to do with it.
First, Bishop Curry appealed to highest, most noble virtue in each of us. Who didn’t sit a little straighter or stand a little taller when he said, “Imagine this tired old world when love is the way?” Just imagine! He re-captured Martin Luther King’s dream in 21st Century language as he called us out to literally make this old world a new world through love.
Second, he appealed the most deeply embedded value in most of us. His thunderous repetition of the phrase, “there’s power in love” had even the non-religious nodding in affirmation. The religious, of course, were shouting “Amen,” in muted, British accents.
“When love is the way,” he declared, “no child goes to bed hungry, justice rolls down like a mighty stream, poverty is eradicated and war is no more.”
Third, he exposed the shallowness and danger of much of what is touted by current world leaders without abusing the occasion by naming names or specifics. Yet everyone knew what he was talking about as he spoke about there being room for “all God’s children” and with that the credibility of his message grew minute by minute.
Fourth, he was deeply spiritual without being offensive to the non-religious. Without apology he declared God as the source of love. He captured the essence of the heart of Christianity by quoting Jesus’ assertion of only two great laws: love God and love your neighbour. And he did it with a flair and touch of humor by adding, “And while you’re at it, love yourself.”
It was mind-boggling to me as a preacher that he accomplished all this in 13-and-ahalf without ever taking away from the fact that this was a wedding. He honoured the royal couple by using the platform of their wedding to call the whole world to a higher level of love.
One TV host remarked in my hearing, “I’d sure go to his church.” I think a lot of us would. Thank you Bishop Michael Curry for so succinctly and powerfully reminding us that there is a better way to live and for so effectively pointing us to the source of love.
Tim Schroeder is pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Kelowna. This column appears every Saturday in Okanagan Weekend.