St. James Day 2007

...we were in London, England, on our way to Scotland for the wedding of our daughter, Caitlin, and Michael, who is from the village of Duns, south of Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders. There was a crises, however, because United States immigration authorities were not going to allow Michael to leave the U.S. to attend his own wedding.
    Caitlin and Michael were devastated of course, everyone was disgusted with the U.S. government, and I was mad at God. This was not an issue of "Theodicy", I dare say. It seemed more like petty harassment. It was not a "tragedy" in the grand scheme of things. It just seemed stupid.
      So I went to church. 6pm Mass at St. Augustine's Anglican Church in Kilburn. July 25, St. James Day, an unremarkable weekday Eucharist, attended by 5 or 6, at an ornate side altar. At the words of institution a great unbidden serenity came upon me, an unexpected peacefulness that left me utterly convinced that Caitlin and Michael were loved and cherished beyond all measure, and that no disappointment, however bitter or ridiculous, could invalidate that love.
    So I came to an acceptance, and returned to our hotel to compose a "wedding sermon in the absence of the bride and groom." That sermon never got preached, however, because Caitlin called to say that the same official who had been saying "no way" for weeks had changed his mind and given permission for Michael to attend his own wedding!
     What ensued was the greatest wedding celebration that I have ever witnessed. This is what "heaven" is like, and what "God" is like also. It is annoying, nerve-wracking, and wonderful.
      And it all happened on St. James Day.

                                                              St. Augustine's, Kilburn