bucket of cold water

Earlier this week, I submitted a paper (which included a sermon) on Ephesians 5.  You know the chapter - as soon as I say 'headship' or 'submission' folks who have spent some time in churches have an idea - likely even an opinion - about the passage.

I was captivated by the passage, and my dread about the assignment turned into pleasure as I absorbed and learned.  I ended up writing about Ephesians 5 as an invitation to intimacy.  I ended up spending time re-reading and thinking on the material in a way that made me see with new eyes what a gift it is to be married, even to have the privilege of relationship and shared life with others.  I ended up being captivated again by the love Christ has for the church, the sacrificial love that bears all things.  I ended up thinking about the passion of Christ and the passion of husbands and wives, the passionate responsibility we have towards one another if we call Jesus 'Lord'.  I was humbled, inspired, and renewed by the study.  I shared my insights with anyone who would listen, not because I think I'm smart, but because its so good to learn good things from God.  It felt like an invitation not only in general terms, but in my own life, my own marriage....

today, a few of us were chatting and making a shopping list, chopping vegetables and doing dishes, when we noticed a prostitute servicing a man just outside of our window, on the tracks by our place.  We reacted with likely typical horror, giggles, and general discomfort, averting our eyes from the window and telling the kids to stay away from them... we checked every couple of minutes to see if they were done.  And then Bren and I went shopping, saying a quick but eyes-downward hello to the 'couple' as they walked through our parking lot and we got into the car.

I'm left feeling unsettled and tense.  Not just because of what I saw out the window, but because it brought home the reality of how easily we settle for cheap imitations and crappy counterfeits when the good and gracious gifts of god are always being offered to us.

The contrast between the intimacy we're invited into in Ephesians 5 and the image of the two strangers on the tracks is profound.