One

For nearly an hour and a half this morning I had to bite my tongue and sit on my hands to keep from jumping up and shouting this verse or others like it....

"There is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

Sexism was alive and well today as I listened to a talk. It was, I believe, meant to be a talk aimed at helping us create a hedge around our marriages. To be mindful of the subtle ways we can erode the spiritual, intellectual, emotional (and physical) intimacy with our spouse. This is all fine. It is a good reminder in the face of life, and all the chaos that pulls us away from the very one we committed to creating this life with in the first place.

But what it turned into was a lesson on how to please a man lest he be driven towards pornography or "those pretty women at the office." After opening with statistics on pornography and then sharing the revelation that men are "visual," the rest of the talk was geared at the ways in which we, the wives, are responsible for ministering to our husbands needs, lest they fall victim to scantily clad women or those pesky pop-ups on our computers. We were left pretty much with a 1950's "hand him his pipe at the door" view of our role...with the 2009 update...a recipe for chocolate sauce to spice things up.

Chocolate sauce aside, my mind is overloaded with what I heard today. Curious if the instruction to, enjoy sex and honor the fact God created it, is a reflection of the messages these young women get from their particular church or a hang over from the generation of the women speaking. (an odd comment in this particular group where three children is the average and most are willing to have more...from what I can tell, we've got sex down.) Pained for those women who view their created role as one of submission and obedience. Mindful of the many women who pay the price each day for saying 'no' to men. Concerned by the chasm in theology amongst my fellow sisters in Christ.

And so the gospel keeps coming to me...that radical message that I believe killed Christ...one that continued to crucify him to this very day. Freedom. Oneness. Grace.

And bubbling out of me is the need to proclaim this: that I was created by God to be servant to all and slave to no one. I was baptized into a body that counts my unique contrbution no more, and no less imporant than those of my neighbor. In marriage, we are meant to model God's love...honoring the gifts both people bring, honestly naming the sins both parties carry, respecting the desires and needs of each...

After all, my husband and I both took these vows...

I promise before God and these witnesses to be your faithful spouse, to share with you in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorow, in sickness and in health, to forgive and strengthen you, and to join with you so that together we may serve God and others as long as we both shall live.

Now on to the sermon for Sunday...good to get that out.