In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” I believe the road that leads to heaven is narrow because only a few choose to truly follow Jesus. Most people choose to follow the crowd because following the crowd is easy—everyone is doing it! That is why the road that leads to destruction is wide. Which road are you travelling on?
In John 17:3 Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they may KNOW You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
I think you get the point. You must KNOW Jesus to enter through the narrow gate that leads to heaven.
@stuckyfingers Sincerely hope this was a prompt because I ran with it.
Both Catholic and Jewish wedding ceremonies have a lot of music involved, so I blended the two into one playlist and barely shrunk it down to 10 tracks.
Prelude
Two Men in Love by The Irrepressibles
This song, along with others, would be playing while everyone is waiting for the ceremony to get started. I picked this mostly because of the lyrics (I had trouble deciding which lyrics to grab for the preview below) which reflect actively asking each other to stay, talks about hiding and running from each other, and finally acknowledging that they're in love.
If I asked you now
Would you be my prince?
Would you lay down your armor
And be with me forever?
Wedding Party
Erev Shel Shoshanim by Harry Belafonte
This is a fairly traditional choice in Jewish weddings to accompany the wedding party processional as they take their places for the ceremony, but it's also just really beautiful and I thought Harry Belafonte would fit with the old men in love vibe.
[translated from Hebrew]
The night falls slowly
A breeze of roses blows
Let me whisper a song to you quietly
A song of love
Processional and Circling
Kumi Lakh by Zach Mayer
In Catholic traditions, the bride would be walked down the aisle separate from the rest of the wedding party, whereas both bride and groom are escorted with the rest of the party in Jewish tradition followed by the bride circling the groom 7 times under the Chuppah. If they decide to have their processional separate, I envision this song accompanying the second processional, but mostly this is for the circling tradition. Winter is past.
[translated from Hebrew]
O my dove, my undefiled, let me see thy countenance,
let me hear thy voice.
For, lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone;
For, lo, the winter is past.
Offertory
Ag Críost an Síol by Seán Ó Riada
Catholic tradition includes Mass and an open offering of communion. I think Steve might struggle to feel he should take communion, but I also think it would be important to him. This song would be during the preparation and setting of the Eucharist for Mass. I chose this arrangement in part because, despite being an Irish hymn based on an Irish prayer, it sounds like it draws from some of the Semitic roots of a lot of hymns which felt in keeping with the blended ceremony.
[translated from Gaelic]
From Death to the end
Not the end but a rebirth,
In the Paradise of Graces
May we be.
Communion
Be Thou My Vision by Narrow Way
Once communion is prepared, this song would be for the taking of communion. I couldn't find my favourite translation/arrangement of this song which is even more fight-oriented than this one, but this still feels like a good fit. Be my Shield and my Sword feels very coded to our boys. This is another old Irish hymn, translated from the Gaelic Bí Thusa 'mo Shúile.
Be Thou my Buckler, my Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, be Thou my high Tow’r,
Come raise Thou me heav’nward, oh Pow’r of my pow’r.
Presentation of Flowers to the Holy Mother
A Mhuire na nGrás by Fionnuala Gill
I feel like it would be important for both Steve and Bucky to invoke their mothers at their wedding, but I feel that they would both especially want Sarah Rogers to be recognized here, so I selected another old Irish hymn for presenting flowers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The lyrics here are so very much appropriate for Steve and Bucky, too, that I'm just going to include the whole translation.
[translated from Gaelic]
O Mary of Graces
And Mother of God
May I tread in the paths
That the righteous have trod.
And mayest thou save me
From evil's control,
And mayest thou save me
In body and soul.
And mayest thou save me
By land and by sea,
And mayest thou save me
From tortures to be.
May the guard of the angels
Above me abide,
May God be before me
And God at my side.
Recessional
I'll Get By by Harry James, Dick Haymes
There are so many Harry James songs I associate with these two, but I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You) just makes too much sense to follow them as they leave as newlyweds. Til the end of the line.
I'll get by, as long as I have you
Though there'll be rain and darkness too
I'll not complain, I'll live with you
Poverty, may come to me, that's true
But what care I
I'll get by, as long as I have you
First Dance
There, I've Said It Again by Vaughn Monroe
Their first dance as a married couple could go any number of ways, but I wanted to find a song they would've heard as young men and maybe look back on it fondly. This one came out in February of 1945 and was number one on Billboard's National Radio Airplay right up until Bucky fell from a train in the Alps, so it might've been popular enough to be one of the last songs he heard before his presumed death.
Forgive me for wanting you so
But one thing I want you to know
I've loved you since heaven knows when
There! I've said it again
Hora
Od Yishama by Schlomo Carlebach
I'm gonna be honest with you, I just wanted any song for the hora that wasn't Hava Nagila, only because it's so over done (and a good hora is like a bajillion songs long, so they'll probably still have Hava Nagila in there somewhere, lol). Anyway, I am picturing their friends trying to lift these two massive super soldiers on chairs while dancing and Tony's gotta be in the suit just to make it happen and Thor has no idea what's going on but he's got the spirit and I'm giggling.
[translated from Hebrew]
Yet again there shall be heard
In the cities of Judah
And in the streets of Jerusalem.
The voice of joy and the voice of gladness
The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
Last Dance
Francesca by Hozier
The final dance of the night couldn't be anything else in my mind. I wanted something modern, to reflect them moving into the future, but still calling back to their origins and everything they've been through to find each other again. This song is a perfect fit.
If someone asked me at the end
I'll tell them put me back in it
Darling, I would do it again, ah, ah
If I could hold you for a minute
Darling, I'd go through it again, ah, ah
I would still be surprised I could find you, darling
In any life
If I could hold you for a minute
Darling, I would do it again, ah, ah
[...]
I would not change it each time (I would not change it each time)
Heaven is not fit to house a love (Heaven is not fit to house a love)
Like you and I (like you and I)
The playlist in its entirety can be found here: Barnes Rogers
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
— Matthew 7:13-14 | King James Version (KJV)
The King James Version Bible is in the public domain.
Cross References: Psalm 16:11; Isaiah 35:8; Matthew 7:15; Luke 13:24
The path less traveled holds the greatest reward.
Matthew 7:13-14 – “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.”
In reviewing the overarching themes of Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount, many of the concepts overlap with one…
“This narrow way that the Church exhorts us to follow is the call to a life of repentance. This repentance is not feigned, or morose and depressed, but rather it is an attitude of our hearts, always willing and ready to change for the sake of following God and His commandments and for the good of others.
The repentance which brings life and holiness is one which never lets go of the hem of Christ’s garments but clings to Him in prayer and hope, ceaselessly crying out, ‘I am Thine; save me’ (Psalm 118:94).”
