A Royal Wedding and Funeral

The time has come to celebrate
the wedding vows of Will and Kate.
A day the press has heralded
for nearly half a year.

A day of pomp and circumstance
when two young lovers took their stance
before the Church of England's head
who stood in place of God.

Archbishop Williams called to mind
a fact to which the world seems blind...
that marriage is a sacred trust
between God, groom and bride.

To play the game of love for life
you need more than a man and wife.
The third strand of a three-cord braid
is love's eternal cord.

When trials come, as come they will,
it's faith that helps us foot the bill.
For faith is love's foundation
that sustains the tests of time.

Faith nourishes our love with hope
and gives our vows the means to cope.
When hardships test love's softer side,
God's presence is a gift.

Meanwhile...

While the world of royal watchers celebrates
the wedding of a future king,
the Evangelical world grieves.

Unlike what is does on New Year's Eve,
Time's Square is not celebrating today.
A church in the heart of Broadway
(whose pastor preached the narrow way)
is stunned by news of his sudden death.

Today Times Square Church finds itself
preparing for a funeral
while contemplating
David Wilkerson's remarkable life.

Like a switchblade knife,
his life cut to the chase.
Clinging to the old rugged cross,
he challenged teens
(held hostage by drugs
and victimized by gang violence)
to run toward Jesus.

Nicky Cruz was one who did.
But he was not the only one.
He was one of countless ones
who dodged a premature grave
by heeding Dave's voice
and making the choice to live.

And so on this bittersweet day,
a day of joy and sadness,
I give thanks to God for a man
who touched my life
and shaped my faith
and gave America one last call
to contemplate its moral compass.

Peace to his memory!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wilkerson