A Priest and a Coat-Hanger

I'm getting married in 63 days.  Today, we met with the priest who will be marrying us.  We were all set up to meet at the church, until my fiance locked his keys in the car!  We were at a popular tourist spot, so lots of people were around but none with a coat-hanger handy.  I called up Father John, told him of our situtation, and he turned around and came to meet us, then left to get a coat hanger, and waited until we got the car open.  What a lifesaver and a sweetheart!  I have never been one to call upon a priest for a favor like this, but he pulled through when the local police would not come with a slim jim.

We picked our readings today.  We're going with genesis (I forget the number, but it's where God creates man and woman and makes them in His likeness), Colossians something or other, and John something or other (the one where Jesus is talking about the great commandment to love).  Okay, here they are: Genesis 1:26-28,31; Col 3:12-17; and John 15:9-12).  I like all of these because they are calls to action: calls to love our neighbor and our community, and to lovingly take care of God's creation.  I did really campaign for the Beatitudes, but I do like these passages because they are not just about personal striving for good.  Genesis calls for the teamwork of a man-wife couple, that they might set an example of love-in-action for the community, and in John that love is to be achieved not as a solo effort but through others. 

I hope that in my marriage, I will be able to both lean on the example and advice of other married couples, and that we will set a good example to other married couples (after we get a few years of practice in!).  I hope to have a light and to be a light.  I want there to be reciprocity within the marriage, and also between our marriage and our greater world.

While I certainly don't wish that those who have been so helpful to me lately find themselves in need, I do hope to be able to return the favor in some way!  Should your local neighborhood priest need a slim jim, maybe you can help him out.