I was one of the 29 million people who tuned in to watch Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle. Not surprisingly, this was the most watched royal wedding in large part because Markle is an American and she is biracial.
As with most who viewed the nuptials, I was in awe of all the famous faces, the beautiful aesthetics of St. George’s Chapel in Windsor and the obvious love that exuded from the faces of Harry and Markle.
But what awed me the most were all the new components the couple included in their special day. Breaking from tradition wasn’t so surprising given the fact that the union of the two was nonconforming as the British prince set to wed an American biracial divorcee who is a known feminist, humanitarian and talented actor.
One couldn’t write a more unlikely story. However, it was not fiction, but rather a reality that most girls around the world can only dream of.
There were so many unconventional moments: Markle walking herself down the aisle; her beautiful Black mother donning dreadlocks and a nose ring; the performance of The Kingdom Choir singing a soulful rendition of Ben E. King’s classic “Stand By Me;” the lead performance of cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason who was the first Black person to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year award in 2016; the singing of “Amen/This Little Light of Mine,” a gospel song synonymous with the civil rights movement; a seat left empty in honor of Harry’s deceased mother, Princess Diana; and the passionate, soulful address by Bishop Michael Curry, the first African-American head of the Episcopal Church in the United States.
Curry is an avid campaigner for social justice and racial equality. From the beginning, his address set the standard for his message of love.
Here are some of my favorite excerpts from his address:
“The late Dr. Martin Luther King once said ‘We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this whole world a new world. But love, love is the only way.’ There is power in love. Don’t underestimate it. Don’t even over sentimentalize it. There is power, power in love.”
“There’s an old medieval poem that says where true love is found, God himself is there. The New Testament says it this way: Beloved, let us love one another. Because love is of God and those who love are born of God and know God. Those who do not love do not know God. Why? Because God is love. There is power in love.
There’s power in love to help and heal when nothing else can. There’s power in love to lift up and liberate when nothing else will. There’s power in love to show us the way to live. Set me as a seal on your heart, a seal on your arm. For love, it is strong as death.”
“Love is not selfish and self-centered. Love can be sacrificial.”
“Think and imagine a world where love is the way. Imagine our homes and families when love is the way. Imagine neighborhoods and communities where love is the way. Imagine governments and nations where love is the way. Imagine business and commerce when love is the way. Imagine this tired old world when love is the way.
When love is the way — unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive, when love is the way. Then no child would go to bed hungry in this world ever again. When love is the way. We will let justice roll down like a mighty stream and righteousness like an ever-flowing brook. When love is the way poverty will become history. When love is the way the earth will become a sanctuary. When love is the way we will lay down our swords and shields down by the riverside to study war no more. When love is the way there’s plenty good room, plenty good room for all of God’s children.
Cause when love is the way, we actually treat each other, well, like we are actually family. When love is the way we know that God is the source of us all. And we are brother and sisters, children of God. Brothers and sisters, that’s a new heaven, a new earth, a new world, a new human family.”
As I watched the wedding of Harry and Markle, I felt hopeful. Hopeful that if the new royal couple can break so many societal norms in the spirit of true love, then maybe the world has a chance to right some of its wrongs by being a more inclusive and loving society. My heart was hopeful as I viewed the nuptials, but my spirit has been prayerful ever since. I pray we can all execute Curry’s call to action by displaying more love toward one another. For that really is what will heal this world.
