Grace Episcopal Church
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Grace Notes
19 February 2015
Fifty Shades of Deception. That would be
truth-in-advertising for the top-grossing film released last weekend, a film
with sales propelled by a viewing audience 68% female.
Let’s look at a little history. In 1958 the first contraceptive pill was
released, becoming widely available by the mid-sixties. In 1965 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the
government cannot regulate contraception, including in its ruling (Griswold
v. Connecticut) that, although a right to privacy is not mentioned in the
Constitution, it’s in there within the overlap of other named rights. In 1968 Pope Paul VI issued his encyclical Humanae
Vitae, in which he predicted that the separation of sex from the potential
for reproduction would lead to a deconstruction of human personhood. Now, in the sixth decade of the sexual
revolution, we are at a time when millions of women somehow find an expression
of liberation in the story of a young woman being completely controlled,
objectified, and subjugated by a powerful man with unlimited resources.
Porn has gone mainstream, and how many people even
notice? The deception is actually quite
subtle; it is shaded. The female
character’s name is Anastasia Steele.
Her first name is the Greek for “of the resurrection,” and her second
refers to an element strengthened in fire.
The male character is Christian Grey, the implication being that one can
bring about the shaded “resurrection” of another whom he controls and forges. The fantasy is that life without limits—Grey
as all-powerful, super-rich, super-intelligent, etc.—is the definition of
freedom, and that liberation is to be experienced when we discard limits. What a cruel deception this is, one described
in detail in Romans 1.18-32.
Liberation is experienced when we are freed from whatever in
this world seeks to control us. We are
freed to live into the identity in which we have each been created, the image
and likeness of God. Freedom does not
involve unfettered choice but the ability to choose well. We can choose to love, rather than to merely
seek pleasure. We can choose to give,
rather than to merely take or be taken.
We can choose to follow the truth, rather than to participate in
deception. We can choose the good. We can seek beauty and find it all things,
not only in the powerful, the physically attractive, those who can control
their own immediate environment.
In the sixth decade of the sexual revolution, 6% of
college-educated women have children out-of-wedlock. More than half of women without advanced
education now bear children without benefit of marriage. We focus on economic inequality and yet
refuse to name the reality that this inequality is driven in large part by the
projection across society of behavior, a libertine lifestyle personified in
Christian Grey, that builds up nothing.
This is a behavior that has always existed, and a very small number of
people have been able to “get away with it” because of their economic resources
and power. But for most people trying to
be Christian Grey or Anastasia Steele results in a new form of servitude in
which they look to others for sustenance.
They have been told they are free, and have been restricted to a
plantation run by those in power.
In the sixth decade of the sexual revolution long-standing
patterns of male behavior and fantasies of power are celebrated. Men get to behave more as many of them have
always wished. Women are told that they
are liberated, when the reality is that they have been further
objectified. And society now celebrates
this as progress. Fifty shades of
deception.
Grace abounds: Please
thank:
§ John Davis, Jane Hanson, and Mary Massey, and the Boland family for
the coffee hours on Sunday.
A Lenten Tithe of Time: Lent is underway! Many people ask themselves what they are
called to do or what they are called to give up in Lent. Positive works are obviously good, but the
practice of renunciation is also strengthened when it is tied into the
positive. So here is a suggestion. For Lent, give one tenth of the time you
would otherwise spend exposed to electronic media (like this blog!) Figure out all of the time you spend in a day
on your computer, on your smart phone, watching TV, etc. Then dedicate one tenth of this time, every
day, to a spiritual practice such as prayer, meditation, the study of
Scripture, or just to silence (listening to God). You might want to use the lenten devotional
booklet which will be distributed in the parish prior to Ash Wednesday. You might want to use the lessons for Morning
Prayer or Evening Prayer, or come to one of the daily services in the parish. If you are like the average American, you
will have close to 45 minutes to devote to prayer, study, meditation,
silence. This could allow you to start
The Bible Challenge, but whatever you do, you will be doing it because you have
renounced what you were otherwise drawn to or used to, a good first step in
connecting better with God.
Youth and Family
Ministry: "But the beauty of
Grace is that it makes life unfair." If you subscribe to the notion that
gifts should, at least eventually, come out even; you're likely to have an
uncomfortable feeling about the gift of Grace that God gives to us freely,
constantly, and with love.
The
truth is that we cannot live up to it, and therefore by God's nature, and ours,
this is an unfair transaction. In our favor! The benevolence and perfect love
of God overshadows our frailty and incomprehension. It is completely undeserved
on our part, yet God offers it freely, constantly, and with love.
This
season of Lent that begins today is a season of reflection, repentance, and
reconciliation. The onus is on us to do these things, because God has already
seen us at our worst; God has already called us to turn around and turn to Him,
and God is already calling us back in communion with him, back into His
embrace. Perfect love, loves perfectly. The grace of God is given to us freely,
constantly, and with perfect love.
The
first sentence I wrote is from a song called "Be My Escape" by the
band Relient K (YouTube links below). The final line of the first verse reads:
"This one last bullet you mention is my one last shot at redemption,
because I know to live you must give your life away." There is ambiguity
in the lyric about who's life is being given. On the one hand we must offer up
our life to God in His service. On the other hand "you" might also
refer to Jesus, and Jesus' death is our "last shot at redemption".
Near
the end of the second verse the full line reads, "And this life sentence
that I'm serving,I admit that I'm every bit deserving. But the beauty of grace
is that it makes life not fair." I'll fully admit that the narrator's tone
throughout the song is one of near hopelessness, and futility. But the beauty
is that; because Grace is unfair, it can reach the unreachable. Jesus' ministry
was a ministry lead by fishermen, not Pharisees, by lay people not clergy, by
bumpkins not sophisticates. Jesus' called people who struggled mightily with
understanding who had called them. If those people can still be given Grace, so
can we. Grace is freely given even or especially to those who don't deserve it.
In the
bridge the narrator writes that he is holding himself back, though that doesn't
mean he can stop doing it, then he asks, "And all I'm asking is for You to
do what You can with me" and immediately replies, "But I can't ask
You to give what You already gave." Grace is constantly offered, you can
repent and turn around literally any time and accept it.
"And
all I was trying to do was save my own skin, but so were You" The last
line of the song gets at the part where both characters (the narrator and God)
are working toward the same goal, but where the narrator is desperate and
struggling God's love is perfect and is ready to bear the load. Grace is
offered with perfect love.
The
beauty of God is that His Grace is unfairly free, unfairly constant, and comes
from a love that is unfairly perfect. Thanks be to God.
Relient K - Be My Escape
- MMHMM (2004)
Nick
Call for
Contributions: If you have a spiritual reflection to share,
or want to point your fellow worshippers toward a resource, submit your
contributions to Fr. Karl (by email) by Wednesday in the week of publication.
Music this week: The First Sunday in Lent
Prelude Two Chorale Preludes on Out of the depths I call to thee Max
Reger
Introit (choir) Plainsong
Antiphon: He shall call upon me, and I
will hearken unto him;
I will deliver him, and bring him to
honor;
With length of days will I satisfy him.
Ps. Whoso dwelleth under the defence of
the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and
to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and
ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: He shall call upon me….
Tract Psalm
91:1-4,11-12 Plainsong
Offertory Hymn #143 “The glory of these forty days” Erhalt
uns, Herr
Communion Motet Lord, for thy tender mercy’s sake John Hilton (16th century)
Lord, for
thy tender mercy’s sake, lay not our sins to our charge,
But forgive
that is past, and give us grace to amend our sinful lives,
To decline
from sin, and incline to virtue,
That we may
walk with an upright heart before thee, this day and evermore. Amen.
…from Lydley’s Prayers, 1568
Communion Hymn “O saving Victim, opening wide” St. Vincent
Closing Hymn #150 “Forty days and forty nights” Aus der tiefe
Postlude Chorale
Fantasia on ‘Forty days and forty nights’
James E. Wallace
Parish Notices
§
Vacation: Fr. Karl and Elizabeth will be taking a few days of
vacation Friday, February 20th through Sunday, February 22nd.
§
Welcome! We will welcome to Grace Church The Rev. Matthew S. C.
Olver who is the Teaching Fellow in Liturgics at Nashotah House. Fr. Olver will preach and celebrate at both
services on Sunday.
§
Adult Formation: February 22nd, Christopher Wood, our
Seminarian, will facilitate a class on the Sacrament of Reconciliation
(Confession). Confession or the Sacrament of Reconciliation, is not just for
Roman Catholics. Come to the adult class and learn about this vital sacrament.
We will explore the biblical beginnings of confession, how making a sacramental
confusion differs from the general confession we say during Mass, when we
should make sacramental confession, and how to prepare for confession. If
Confession is something you have done in the past, or something you feel
strongly about not doing, please come to the adult education class. This will
be very informative, and there will be absolutely no pressure about whether you
should make an individual confession.
§
Stations of the Cross,
Simple Suppers and Teaching: Beginning on the first Friday in Lent
(February 20th) we will meet each Friday at 5:30 p.m. for Stations
of the Cross, followed by a simple supper and Christian formation. Our
formation program this year will be looking at our Parish Meditations for the
week. Please sign up to attend on the sheets in the Narthex so the people who
are providing the meal will know how much food needs to be prepared.
§
Cooking on Friday
Evenings in lent: If you are interested in cooking and hosting a dinner on
the Fridays during Lent, there is only Friday, March 27th open.
Thank you for your willingness to serve in this manner.
§
Potluck Dinner and
Compline: Bring a dish to pass and join us next Sunday, March 1st
at 6:30pm, for a potluck dinner and fellowship. At 8:00pm the Schola Cantorum
will sing Compline, a beautiful restful service full of candles and music.
§
Scout Appreciation
"Pancake Breakfast": Sunday March 8th Please mark your
calendars to stay a few minutes, after each service, to savor a down home
Pancake Breakfast. Scouts will supply all the know how for the event. As an
added bonus, Maple Syrup will be supplied by the Drewry Farms of Plymouth. This
award winning Maple Syrup is served at all the major restaurants in the area
and beyond. The Scouts will also have available Maple Syrup gift assortments.
§
Soup-d’-Do: Pizza Soup is back and available for purchase!! The
single $4.00 and double $7.00 serving containers are frozen and are ready for
purchase. The soups offered are Sicilian Chicken, Pizza, Bean & Ham and
Vegetarian Vegetable.
