Even though I was completely sober throughout the Royal Wedding Ceremony, I can only distinctly remember three things – the toothless kid, the way Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kept looking at each other/ shrivelling up my heart, and The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry’s (his actual divine holy title) sermon.
I don’t know about you, but I’m still shouting out “FIRE” every single chance I get.
Prior to Bishop Curry’s sermon, the ceremony had been running on time, smoothly, and all on the same sound level. Somewhere in the crowd, a yawn had been expertly smothered just in case a camera swooped over and caught them in the act of complete boredom.
Enter American Bishop Curry who ignited a FIRE in St. George’s Chapel, one nobody was ready for but absolutely needed… And one that ran overtime but meh.
According to Kensington Palace, the now Duke and Duchess of Sussex had personally invited Bishop Curry to give the address at the wedding.
Fun fact: Bishop Curry has a book out called Crazy Christians: A Call To Follow Jesus.
He’s also the first black president of the Episcopal faith and a supporter of marriage equality.
And as you can guess from his speech, his well-versed in the delights of Facebook.
Now, TO THE SPEECH:
LIFE ADVICE NO. 1:
LOVE IS THE ONLY WAY – THAT’S IT, THERE’S NO OTHER WAY, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
Quoting Martin Luther King Jr:
“We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world.”
Here, Bishop Curry throws out his first shot at audience participation by asking the crowd to think about the first time they fell in love. It’s all very sweet and pure as we think about just how powerful love actually is.
At this point, Bishop Curry’s hands are still mostly on the edges of the lectern.
[Cut to Meghan looking offensively stunning.]
Despite the 13 years of Catholic School I endured, this was probably the first time I felt incredibly holy at all the talk about love and its ability to make me give up my last nug for someone special. And it’s 100 per cent because of Bishop Curry.
LIFE ADVICE NO. 2:
LOVE YOURSELF CHILDREN, LOVE YOURSELF
Mates, even if they’re bloody shits and cut you off from their Netflix account, you still gotta love your neighbour “and while you’re at it LOVE YOURSELF.”
LIFE ADVICE NO. 3:
LOVE TRUMPS HATE
“Love is not selfish or self-centred, love can be sacrificial, and in so doing – becomes redemptive… it can change this world. Think and imagine a world where love is the way, imagine our homes and family where love is the way. Imagine neighbourhoods and communities where love is the way, imagine governments and nations where love is the way, imagine business and commerce where love is the way, IMAGINE THIS WORLD WHERE LOVE IS THE WAY UNSELFISH, SACRIFICIAL, REDEMPTIVE, WHEN LOVE IS THE WAY, THEN NO CHILD WILL GO TO BED HUNGRY IN THIS WORLD EVER AGAIN, WHEN LOVE IS THE WAY WE WILL LET JUSTICE ROLL DOWN LIKE AN ALMIGHTY STREAM, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS LIKE AN EVER FLOWING RIVER.
LOVE IS THE WAY POVERTY WILL BECOME HISTORY.”
LIFE ADVICE NO. 4:
Without fire there would be no Instagram addiction or something like that
“Fire to a great extent made human civilisation possible, fire made it possible to cook food and provide sanitary ways of eating which reduced the spread of disease. Fire made it possible to heat warm environments and thereby made human migration around the world a possibility even into colder climates. Fire made it possible, there was no Bronze Age without fire, no Iron Age without fire, no Industrial Revolution without fire, the advances of science and technology are greatly dependent on the human capacity to take fire and use it for human good.
FIRE MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO TEXT AND TWEET AND INSTAGRAM AND SOCIALLY BE DYSFUNCTIONAL WITH EACH OTHER.”
People actually dared to laugh at this joke, whatta moment.
So what does this all have to do with everything? Well as Bishop Curry explains, we’ve gone full circle because we’re back at LOVE. If we were ever to capture and harness the power of love, it’d be the second coming of fire and a new world.
Long story short: we need to find our love again ‘cos the world’s gone to absolute shits.
LIFE ADVICE NO. 5:
Dramatic gesturing really does contribute to a far more effective oral presentation.
No really, it does.
You can relive all the love and fire and love below:
