Shameless

Last Sunday was a hiding sort of a day, but I wanted to go to church, so I threw on my oldest jeans and a t-shirt, tried unsuccessfully to persuade my hair to not fly in all directions at once and sat towards the back with some students hoping to quietly soak in the community. However, I was unearthed and asked to do a reading (people get a kick out of my accent, is what it is) and since it was last minute I didn't feel I could refuse. The theme of the service was love since it included a very dear couple renewing their vows on their 50th wedding anniversary. (The day was a bit of a double-whammy since I went to a baby shower in the afternoon. A very pleasant baby shower that I was unequivocally chuffed to be invited to, but still, wifery and motherhood everywhere I turned.) One of the passages I read (looking like a homeless person surrounded by people dressed to the nines) was from Genesis about the creation of Adam and Eve and the last line struck me:

So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man...

Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. 

Genesis 2:21-22, 25

No doubt because of my restorative justice studies, this last line stood out: they felt no shame. Wouldn't that be nice: we are not intended to feel shame.

It struck me to the point that I made the decision while reading to end with 'this is the word of the Lord' even though my church is not the kind of church where people say 'this is the word of the Lord' after readings. It seemed right to do it, and my church is the kind of church that respects spiritual hunches. I heard someone say 'thanks be to God'. Must have been a visitor.

I know I've said it before but I love my church. I always tell people to go at least twice before they form an opinion because it's quirky and distinctive and can be different from week to week. I like too that it's not everyone's cup of tea. (It occurred to me recently that all this is much like me.) The service opened with a line from Moulin Rouge and the sermon included quotes from Shakespeare and Kahlil Gibran. The latter was recited from memory for the couple and was quite beautiful, so I repeat it here. (The whole is here.)

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
...
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love. 

Kahlil Gibran