Happy, Happy, Happy New Year

The blogging revelry of "Best of" lists has been lost on me this year. Any thought of resolutions has been duly ignored. I've barely kept abreast of any current events, sadly, pausing only slightly amid the preparations to mourn the tragedy in Asia. What could justify such careless disregard for, oh, just about everything? Only one person. Tonight, I became an engaged man. The beautiful Charity Mealman has consented to be my bride, and I am, above all men, most joyful. I was going to attempt to describe the scene, but I am not poet enough (yet!) to do it justice. Only when it sits in my soul long enough will I dare to convey the details through the written word...Furthermore, because this purports to be a commentary-oriented blog and not strictly biographical, I will limit my words to this reflection upon Isaiah 62, the text of which is following: For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning. The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name Which the mouth of the LORD will designate. You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken," Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; But you will be called, "My delight is in her," And your land, "Married"; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you. The Christian marriage is, above all, an image of the covenant faithfulness of God. It is a marvelous thing that God should delight in His people, and perhaps even more remarkable that His people should be worth being delighted in, that they should be a "crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord." My relationship with Charity is to be an image of this covenantal relationship. Just as God will delight in the beauty of Israel, so I am permitted to delight in the beauty of Miss Charity, a beauty so powerful and so good that the only proper response is obedience. "Obedience," remarks Lewis, "is an erotic necessity." In delighting in the beloved's beauty, the lover must make himself subservient and servant of the beloved. For this reason a man kneels and proposes to protect and cherish her, to love and honor her. At the center of this response is a committment to be faithful to her, as God has been faithful to his covenants with Israel. In the faithfulness of the Lover, the beloved's glory is revealed to the whole world. Miss Charity will have my love and has my committment to be faithful, and to quote the old BCP, "I will, with God's help." To Thee, on this happiest of days, be all glory and honor, in my life and in my bride's life. Bless us and keep us, and make Thy face to shine upon us. Lift up Thy countenance upon us and grant us peace.