Cheating Death

Funeral Mass of Lucy Chia Klemm

Readings: Romans 6:3-9; Psalm 22; Matthew 5:1-12

Picture: cc John C Bullas

Sisters and brothers, what would you say about someone who was involved in a serious car accident, but somehow managed to escape without a scratch? Or suffered only minor injuries. Perhaps the car was a total wreck. But the person survived. There’s a phrase that we use for such people, right? We say that they cheated death. Death reached out to grab them. But they managed to slip through its clutches and to go free. And this is something to celebrate. For even though the car might was lost. A life was saved.

Cheating death. This is also what we believe happens when Christians die. Our faith helps us to cheat death. To escape its terrifying clutches. And to go free. But what does this mean? And how does it happen? This is what our Mass readings help us to understand.

But first, we need to recognise something about death that we often tend to forget. Or to ignore. It has to do with when and how death happens. I’m not sure. But I think many of us see death as something that begins to happen only at the end of our life. Or only when we may fall critically ill. That’s when we start to think of dying. But isn’t it true that death is really a process that begins already from the time of our birth? Or even from conception? Right from our mother’s womb, we are already setting out on a journey that will end in our death. A one-way trip from which there is no return. Death begins right at the start of life. Whether we choose to recognise it or not, each one of us here is already dying.

For some of us, the destination of this journey will look like a terrible car accident. Nothing more than a dead-end. A total loss. Of all that we cherish and hold dear. All that we have spent our lives building and accumulating. But that’s not the only possibility. For others, death will be more like a new beginning. An open doorway. Leading to a fuller, freer, more joyful existence. For even though their bodies may be wrecked. The lives of such people will be saved. They will somehow manage to cheat death. How do they do it? What is it that helps them to escape the car-wreck? And to live a fuller life? This is the question that our Mass readings are helping us to answer today.

The first reading does this by reminding us of what we believe happens at baptism. We’re told that when we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death… so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life. We Christians see baptism not just as an empty ritual that happens once in a Christian’s life. Rather, it is an expression of the Christian’s commitment to living in the same way that Jesus lived. The Way of the Cross. The Way of laying down one’s life in loving self-sacrifice. For God and for neighbour. The Way of constantly dying to selfish desires. So as to live for the good of others.

Isn’t this also the message that we find in the gospel? Isn’t this what the Beatitudes are all about? What does it mean to be poor in spirit? If not to die to our need to be self-sufficient? To let go of the desire to not have to depend on anyone else. And yet, it is when we die in this way. When we humbly acknowledge our need for God. That we inherit the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean to be gentle? If not to die to our need to be in complete control our own destiny? To let go of our desire to dominate and manipulate others for our own benefit? And yet, it is when we die in this way that we are given the earth for our heritage…

This is what we Christians believe. That, by our baptism, we are given the power to transform death. To change it. From a fearful termination, a terrifying car-wreck. To an entrance into the fullness of life and love. Which is why a Christian funeral is never an occasion only for mourning and grief. Yes, we do, of course, feel sad because the one we love has left us. But we also celebrate, because we believe that our dearly departed leaves us for a better place. A place where we ourselves are headed. A place where we can one day be reunited.

And this is true especially as we gather to celebrate this funeral Mass for our beloved sister, Lucy. Who lived to a ripe old age of 91. In faith, we believe that, throughout these 91 years, Lucy has been in fact been dying. Not just physically. But also spiritually. Dying to sin and selfishness. So that she might live in love for God and for others. And I’m sure that those of us who knew her will be able to recall experiences of Lucy’s dying and rising. Very likely we ourselves have benefitted from her self-denial. And this remembering gives us confidence. Confidence that, even as Lucy departs this earth, she yet remains firmly in the gentle embrace of God.

But that’s not all, my dear friends. The rebirth that we gather here to celebrate is not just Lucy’s. It is also our own. For what a tragedy it would be for us if, having celebrated Lucy’s entry into new life, we ourselves should fail to make it to the same destination. No. Today, we gather not just to celebrate Lucy. But also to commit ourselves to continue walking the same Way that she walked. To continue dying to sin and selfishness. So that we might rise to new life in God.

For the same gift that Lucy enjoys is offered also to us. The gift of escape from the clutches of death. So as to rejoice in the embrace of God.

My dear friends, as we bid farewell to Lucy, what must we ourselves do to continue cheating death today?

The Cone is for The Ice-Cream

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Readings: Wisdom 7:7-11; Psalm 89:12-17; Hebrews 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30

Picture: cc frankieleon

Sisters and brothers, do you know what is the most important part of an ice-cream cone? Well, you know what an ice-cream cone is for, right? Yes, it’s meant to be eaten. But not to be eaten in just any way. An ice-cream cone is designed to be eaten with a scoop of ice-cream. Which makes the most important part of the cone not really the solid portions. But rather the empty space on top. Because that’s where the scoop of ice-cream is meant to fit. So that what is sometimes said of a doughnut, is even more true of an ice-cream cone. The most important part is the hole in the middle.

And a good ice-cream cone is one where that hole is kept empty. Ready and waiting to be filled with ice-cream of different flavours. Imagine how disappointing it would be for you, if you tried to place a scoop of delicious ice-cream on top of your cone. Only to find that the hole had already been filled with something else. Bad enough if that something else was rice. Or potatoes. Or baked beans. But even worse, if it was something inedible. Like sand. Or cement. The cone would be ruined. No longer able to achieve the purpose for which it was made. To hold a scoop of ice-cream.

This much is true of an ice-cream cone. But what about a human being? What do you think is the most important part of a human being. Well, medically, I guess most would say that it’s the brain. Since a person is considered clinically dead, once the brain dies. Even though machines might continue to keep the rest of the body alive. But what about spiritually? Considered spiritually, what is the most important part of the human person? That is the question that I believe our Mass readings are inviting us to ponder today?

But to better appreciate this, we have to first recognise that the prayers and readings of our Mass speak to us about Something very precious. Nothing less than the powerful Presence of God Itself. And, like delicious ice-cream, the powerful Presence of God, makes Itself available to us in many different and delightful flavours. Known by various names. So, in the opening prayer just now, we mentioned one of these names. One of these flavours. We called it grace. We asked that God’s grace may at all times go before us and follow after us and make us always determined to do good works. God’s grace motivates us to do good things.

In the first reading, King Solomon prays for a taste of another flavour of God’s Presence. One that goes by the name Wisdom. Which Solomon considers the most valuable of all treasures. Since her radiance never sleeps. Wisdom allows Solomon to see and to judge worldly things according to the mind and heart of God.

The second reading sings the praises of yet another flavour of this heavenly Ice-Cream. Something that it calls the Word of God. Like Wisdom, the Word too, helps all who eat of it to penetrate and to judge hidden things. Even and especially our own secret emotions and thoughts. The ulterior motives and hidden agendas that we hide so well. Even from ourselves.

Then, in the responsorial psalm, we prayed for still another flavour of God’s Presence. In the morning, we said, fill us with your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days. The love of God brings joy to our hearts, even when sorrow may threaten to darken our days.

And, finally, in the gospel, mention is made of two other flavours of God’s Presence. The first is found in the young man’s question. What must I do to inherit eternal life? He wants to know. The second is found in Jesus’ subsequent remarks to his disciples. How hard it is, the Lord says, for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God. Eternal life and the kingdom of God. Two other flavours of God’s Presence.

So Grace and Wisdom and Word. Love and Kingdom and Life. These are some of the different names, the different flavours, of God’s Presence that our readings present to us. But that’s not all. Our readings do not just inspire us to pray for these gifts. They also teach us what we must do to receive them. How do we do it? Well, we receive God’s Presence in much the same way that an ice-cream cone receives a scoop of ice-cream. By keeping the space at the centre of our hearts, empty and available. Ready to welcome God, whenever God chooses to grace us with God’s Presence. So that, spiritually speaking, a human being is not unlike an ice-cream cone. The most important part is really the hole in the middle.

Which helps us to understand what is really happening between Jesus and the rich man in today’s gospel. The man is rich not just in material wealth. But also in moral behaviour. He is able to tell Jesus that he has kept all the commandments from my earliest days. And Jesus loves him for it. And yet, the Lord still finds the man lacking. Why? And why make the poor fellow sell everything he owns? And why say that it’s difficult for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God? What’s so bad about being rich?

Perhaps the difficulty has to do with how, in the process of accumulating and maintaining all his riches, both material and moral, the man has somehow filled up the empty space in the middle of his heart. Filled it up with himself. With his own ego. Filled it up, so that it is no longer able to receive the Presence of God. Which explains why Jesus wishes him to sell everything. Not to torture him. But to set him free. Not because riches are bad in themselves. But because the man has allowed them to take up the space that is reserved for God alone. The Divine Dessert that sweetens our life. And makes it truly worth living.

There is also one more thing. Perhaps the most important. Notice that Jesus doesn’t just ask the man to sell everything and give the money to the poor. The Lord also tells the man to come, follow me. To walk the road that Jesus walks. To be concerned with the things with which Jesus is concerned. To make the Lord the centre of his life. To fill up the space that he has emptied out with Jesus himself. What does this tell us, sisters and brothers? If not that Jesus himself is the Presence of God. Jesus himself is the Premier Flavour of all Flavours of Ice-Cream. Wisdom-Incarnate. Word-Made-Flesh. Kingdom-In-Person. Fullness of Love and Life.

To be a truly human person is to have Jesus constantly occupying the centre of our hearts and our lives. For just as an ice-cream cone is made only for the ice-cream. So too is a human being made only for God.

Sisters and brothers, if it is true that the most important part of an ice-cream cone is really the hole in the middle. Then what exactly is occupying that crucial space in the cone of your life today?

Beyond "You and I"

Wedding Mass of Zhihua & Jie Xuan

Readings: Sirach 26:1-4, 13-16; Psalm 39:2, 4, 7-10 R. vv. 8, 9; 1 John 4:7-12; Matthew 5:13-16

Just you and I, sharing our love together.

And I know in time, we’ll build the dreams we treasure.

We’ll be alright. Just you and I.

Zhihua and Jie Xuan, my dear friends, it’s okay if you don’t recognise these words I’ve just spoken. You’ve got to be of a certain age to find them familiar. They come from an old love song from the early 1980s. The song is entitled You and I. And it was, apparently, very popular as a wedding theme song back in the day. One notable feature of the song is the repetition of the words, just you and I. Just you and I, sharing our love together… Just you and I, we can entrust each other…

I mention this song because, even though it may be old. And all but forgotten. The image of marriage that it paints is one that remains very much the norm today. What does marriage look like for many people? Well, it’s quite simple really. It’s all about you and I. Or, to be more grammatical, you and me. The bride and the groom. The husband and the wife. The man and the woman. And, of course, their love for each other. That’s all that matters in a marriage. Or so it seems.

In a sense, this is true. Marriage is about two people coming together as one. And the less interference from others the better. And yet, marriage is also much more. And it is this much more that you, Zhihua and Jie Xuan seem eager to bring to our attention today. Through your wise choice of readings for this Mass.

At first glance, the first reading appears to present to us nothing more than the usual image of marriage. It seems to focus on only two people. The good wife and her husband. Blessed the husband of a good wife… A worthy wife brings joy to her husband… The emphasis only on the benefits that the good wife brings to her husband is, of course, understandable. Given that the reading comes from a society that was very much male-dominated. For our purposes, we could perhaps, just as easily, switch the roles around and say: Blessed the wife of a good husband… A worthy husband brings joy to his wife… But even after we do that, we don’t quite erase the first impression that marriage is only about husband and wife. Or, as the song goes, just you and I.

And yet, such a first impression is really quite inaccurate. For the reading isn’t only about the husband and his wife. It speaks also of how a good wife is a generous gift bestowed upon him who fears the Lord. Again, we can switch the roles and say a good husband is a generous gift bestowed upon her who fears the Lord. But the point is that in this sentence we find reference to Someone other than the couple. Other than just you and I. More than just finding each other. Or giving themselves to one another. The good husband and wife are first of all gifts given to each other by God. It is God who brings them together. It is God who blesses them with each other. As a reward for fearing the Lord. For honouring and living according to the ways of God. For constantly praying and putting into practice those words from the response to the psalm: Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

Beyond just you and I, marriage is above all, a gift from above. The second reading goes even further. It tells us that it’s not just husband and wife who are God’s gift to each other. Even the love that they experience for each other is itself pure gift. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. The love between husband and wife has a higher Origin. A Divine Source. Apart from husband and wife. Beyond just you and I. So that, if a couple is to continue loving each other, they must first do whatever it takes to keep on receiving this gift. To keep remaining in close contact with its Source. Through personal prayer, for example. As well as through active involvement in the life of the Christian community.

And that’s not all. Not only does marriage have a definite Divine Origin. You, Zhihua and Jie Xuan, are also eager to remind us that marriage also has a specific goal. An aim that goes beyond husband and wife. Beyond just you and I. Isn’t this why you have chosen this particular gospel passage from the Sermon on the Mount? You are the salt of the earth, says Jesus. You are the light of the world… And not just you, as individuals. But even, and especially, you, as a couple. You, as this new creation. You, as two people joined as one body. The blessing of your union as husband and wife is not just a gift for you yourselves to enjoy. Just you and I. It is also an awesome task for you to perform. A joyful mission for you to fulfil. In the Church. And in the world. By loving each other, with the love that you continually receive from God, you show the world what a meaningful, purposeful, charitable life looks like. A life centred not on self. But on God. Not on ambition. But on service. Not on greed. But on generosity. The same kind of life that we celebrate at this and at every Mass. The life of Christ. Who emptied Himself. To become for us the Bread of Life. And the Cup of Salvation.

This, Zhihua and Jie Xuan, is the image of marriage that you are proposing to us today. This is the kind of life to which you are committing yourselves, as you profess your vows to each other. In the sight of God, and of family and friends. And we can imagine that you are able to do this. Able and willing to recognise and to embrace this Godly view of marriage. Able and willing to dedicate your lives to each other in this way. Only because you yourselves have already experienced something of this kind of love. In your long friendship and courtship. From the rough and tumble of the Judo Club at Raffles Junior College. Through the joys and struggles of keeping up a long-distance relationship. Even when it seemed that all you had to cling to was each other. Even then, it was never really just the two of you. Never just you and I. It was  always, and above all, with and through the loving presence and gentle yet powerful action God. Often working through chosen human instruments. Many of whom, I’m sure, are here, celebrating with us, today. It is God, who helped you to persevere. It is God, who kept you together through thick thin. It is God, who now empowers you with His Spirit. And sends you out to rejoice in, and to bear witness to, the wondrous power of Love.

I’m reminded of another old, and all but forgotten, song. It’s a hymn that we used to sing in church, when I was growing up. It goes like this:

Love it was that made us.

And it was love that saved us.

Love was God’s plan, when He made man.

God’s divine nature is love.

Born of God’s love, we must love Him.

That’s why He made us. To love Him.

But only when we love all men,

Can we partake of God’s love.

But only when we love all men,

Can we partake of God’s love.

Zhihua and Jie Xuan, my dear friends, what must we do to continue living in and out of this Love today?

From Death To Completion (Rerun)

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Readings: Genesis 2:18-24; Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6; Hebrews 2:9-11;
Mark10:2-16 or 10:2-12

Sisters and brothers, have you ever heard that popular saying about marriage? It goes like this: A man is not complete until he gets married. And then he is finished! I think many of us laugh when we hear it for the first time. I did. We find it funny, because the word finished has a double meaning. The first meaning is the obvious romantic one. The one that people typically use at the beginning of intimate relationships. It’s what Tom Cruise meant in the feel-good movie Jerry Maguire. In a memorable scene, after Jerry tells Dorothy that he loves her, he goes on to immortalise in movie history those marvellously mushy (some would say cheesy), yet amazingly effective words: You complete me, he says. You complete me. In other words, you finish me.

The other meaning of the word finish is the opposite of the first. If the first is used at the birth of relationships, then the second is heard when they die. It’s the meaning that Meryl Streep had in mind, in that scene from the old movie about divorce. Kramer vs Kramer. Streep’s character, Joanna, is in the process of divorcing Ted. Her workaholic husband. Ted tries desperately to persuade Joanna to go back with him into their apartment. But she responds by pleading with him in these words: Please don’t make me go in there… If you do, I swear, one day, next week, maybe next year, I don’t know, I’ll go right out the window... I will go right out the window. In other words, if I go back to our marriage, I’ll commit suicide. I’ll die. I’ll be finished.

Finished. One simple word. Two very different meanings. And it is the context that tells us which one is intended. Jerry Maguire or Kramer vs Kramer. Romance or divorce. Completion or death.

No one is complete until they get married. And then they are finished!

More than just a (hopefully) stylish way to begin a homily, this line also happens to highlight a connection that we find in our readings today, if we look hard enough. It is a connection between two questions. The question concerning the death of a marriage. And the question about how to become a complete human being. I say if we look hard enough because, at first glance, our readings don’t seem to say much to us, beyond telling us that divorce is wrong. What God has united, man must not divide. It is true that, in the gospel, Jesus criticises the Jewish law which allowed a man to divorce his wife for the most trivial of reasons. And Jesus does this because this same law could result in the oppression and exploitation of women. But Jesus also takes the discussion of marriage and divorce to a whole new level. From death to completion

Like the Kramers in the movie, and many others undergoing a painful divorce, the Pharisees in the gospel are concerned about the law. Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife? They want to know how a marriage can be ended. Legally finished. In many circumstances this is, of course, a legitimate concern. For instance, although we Catholics frown on divorce, Canon Law does admit certain narrow exceptions. There may also be certain situations where a civil divorce might actually be a prudent course of action. Even for a Catholic. Such as when s/he may be trapped in an abusive marriage. Provided, of course, that s/he does not remarry. Especially in cases like these, it is important to know what the law says. How to finish a marriage. How to bring it to an end.

But if we remain only at the level of the law. If we consider only one meaning of the word finish. Then we would have too narrow a view of what our scripture readings are saying to us today. For Jesus’ concern is not just with the ending of marriages. But also, and more importantly, with the beginning of creation. Jesus wants us to consider what the book of Genesis says. Not only about how marriages may or may not die. But also, beyond that, about how a person becomes a complete human being.

For Jesus, marriage is much more than a simple contractual alliance. More than just a joint bank account. Or a shared double bed. Marriage is a profound union, in which two people become one body. They are no longer two but one. A new creation. Sharing a common origin. And, as in the movie Jerry Maguire, this union is also somehow a process of completion. To see this, we need to pay close attention to the first reading.

Notice how, at the beginning of the reading, even though the man has already been created, he is still somehow incomplete. God says: It is not good for the man to be alone. And notice too, how the completion of the man is brought about. The process is not quite what Tom Cruise might have had in mind. It is not a filling of some inner emptiness in the man by some external creature. The attempt to do this with other animals fails. They are found to be unsuitable. They do not have enough in common with the man. He can only exert mastery over them. But no real partnership can be formed. No true intimacy is experienced. The man remains lonely. It is only when he falls into a deep sleep, and gives away something of himself, that success is achieved. Quite paradoxically, completion comes only with self-donation. And, with completion, comes true communion. He gives up a rib. And they become one body.

It is at this point that we finally arrive at the heart of what our readings are saying to us today. As you know, the early Fathers of the Church delighted in drawing parallels between the creation of the first couple, and the crucifixion of Christ. Just as the first man fell into a deep sleep. And the first woman was formed from his rib. So too did Christ fall asleep on the Cross. And the Church was born from the blood and water flowing from his side. And just as the first man was completed and came to share a common origin with the first woman, only by giving something of himself. So too was Christ made perfect, through suffering. Only by laying down his life for our sake. So that the one who sanctifies (Christ himself), and the ones who are sanctified (you and me) are of the same stock. Share a common origin.

It becomes clear then, sisters and brothers, that our readings have something very important to say to us today. Regardless of whether or not we have ever been married or divorced. Whether we are women or men. Young or old. For, as baptised Christians, we are all members of the Church of Christ. The same Church that was created when the Lord gave his life for us on the Cross. The same Church that Christ is destined to claim as his bride. To take to himself in marriage. When he comes again at the end of time. And, as members of this Church, the Bride of Christ, we are all called to become like him. To imitate him in giving of ourselves to others. For it is only in doing this that we become fully what we were meant to be. Completion comes through loving self-donation. The kind of self-giving out of which happy marriages are made.

No one is complete until they get married. And then they are finished...

Sisters and brothers, both as individual Christians, and as Church, what must we do to allow the Lord to do for us what Dorothy did for Jerry Maguire? To draw us further towards completion today?

Happiness Is...

Wedding of Aylwin & Michelle

Readings: Ecclesiasticus 26:1-4.13-16; Psalm 33:2-9; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:8; Matthew 5:1-12

Picture: cc Pietro Zanarini

Aylwin and Michelle, my dear friends. Do you want to be happy? Silly question, isn’t it? Everybody wants to be happy. But how do we become happy? And what does being happy even mean? If I were to ask you to complete this sentence: Happiness is… What would you say? How would you fill in the blank?

I ask you these questions about happiness, not just because this is the natural thing to do at a wedding service. When a young man and a young woman look forward excitedly to a brand new life together. Of course they aspire to happiness. And rightly so. But that’s not the only reason why I ask about happiness. I do it because this is precisely the thing that you, Aylwin and Michelle invite us to ponder today. Through your choice of readings for this wedding service. I’m sure at least some of us here have noticed that each of the readings for today have something to do with happiness. And as we listen to them, they stir us to recall our own deep desires and dreams for happiness. They move us to examine what exactly we are doing to pursue these desires. To fulfil these dreams.

The first reading begins with the word happy. Happy the husband of a really good wife… What does the reading say about happiness? Well, taken at face value, it seems to tell us that happiness depends upon the quality of the spouse you marry. If your wife is good and perfect. Graceful and charming. Modest and chaste. Well-trained in character and, most of all, silent. Then you are a happy man. I’m not sure how Michelle feels about all this. But this isn’t actually the full picture that the reading paints for us.

Of course, the reading does not mean that any husband with a good wife will be happy. No matter how he treats her. Or how he lives his own life. Surely, a lazy, abusive, good-for-nothing husband should not aspire to true happiness. However capable his wife may be. And the reading itself is quite clear about this. Especially when it tells us that a good wife is the best of portions, reserved for those who fear the Lord. A good wife is a blessing that God grants to those who walk in God’s ways. Happiness is not about the kind of spouse you marry. Important though this may be. Happiness, rather, is about living a righteous life. Walking in the Wisdom of God. As the psalmist says, taste and see that the Lord is good. He is happy who seeks refuge in him.

So it’s not so much what kind of spouse we have. But rather what kind of life we live. The second reading helps to deepen our understanding even more. According to the reading, it’s not just the things we do that determine what kind of life we lead. Or how happy we are. We can do amazing things that impress a great many people. And inflate our own egos. But still not be happy. As the reading tells us, if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever. And we shouldn’t be surprised at this. For we hear of people like that, even today, don’t we? Isn’t this what terrorists do? Give their bodies to be burnt. Killing many other people in the process. Who among us would dare say that such people are truly happy?

No. Happiness is not so much about what we do. But more about how much love we put into the doing. I can, for example, get my secretary to remember my wife’s birthday every year. And to get an expensive present for her. But if I myself don’t take the trouble to show up. To celebrate with her. To express my love for her. And to do this not just on her birthday. But the rest of the year as well. Then what good would that annual present do? However costly it may be?

Thankfully, I have been told that both Aylwin and Michelle are quite aware of all this. Both of them understand very well that happiness is about love. And that love is about giving priority to the other. Higher priority than even the things that we may value most of all. Like work. And even the Liverpool Football Club.

And yet, those among us who have been married for a while, will probably be able to tell us that this kind of love is easier to live at the beginning. When the flames of passion are strong. When faults are willingly overlooked. And perhaps even considered adorable. But not so easy with the passing of time. When what may have seemed so endearing at first, gradually transforms into sources of endless irritation. How then to keep loving? How to be patient and kind? And not rude or selfish? When it seems like our love engine is running on empty? How then to be happy?

The answer is found in that all important gospel reading from the Sermon on the Mount. How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven. How happy are those who realise their own poverty. Who recognise that they really do not have what it takes to love the way others need to be loved. Who humbly acknowledge that love is not something they can manufacture for themselves. But rather that they must first receive it constantly from God. From the Father. Who has loved us so irreversibly in the dying and rising of his Son. And who has given us the power to share that same love with others in the Spirit.

This, Michelle and Aylwin, is the happiness that you are proposing to us for our meditation today. This is the happiness to which you aspire. A happiness rooted in the love that you have for each other. A love that originates not from you. But in the love of almighty God. Who has seen fit, at this opportune time, to bring you both together as husband and wife. Not without help, of course, from various human agents. Especially from someone named Kim. Whose efforts at brokering free legal advice has contributed to sealing this happy union we are witnessing today. Is Kim here with us? We owe you a debt of gratitude. Thank you for helping God to light the flame of love between Michelle and Aylwin. The love that brings true happiness.

I’m reminded of a song that I learnt as a boy. A song about happiness. Some of you may know it. The first verse goes like this:

Happiness is to know the Saviour,

Living a life within his favour,

Having a change in my behaviour,

Happiness is the Lord.

Happiness is the Lord. My dear friends, even as we gather to witness this joyous union of Michelle and Aylwin today. Even as we extend to them our heartfelt wishes for their future happiness. Even as we commit ourselves to accompanying them on the road of marital bliss. How might we, each and everyone of us gathered here, how might we continue to live in the happiness of the Lord today?