Living in the Light instead of Fifty Shades of Grey

 My dad emailed me an article this week you coffee lovers should read:

Science Confirms: The More Coffee You Drink, The Longer You Will Live


 After several long days, I indulged in twice my normal allotment yesterday. The afternoon brew fired up my brain enough to teach a two hour make up lesson. But not enough to focus for words.

It's been a big week. Have you noticed?

ISIS offered the world the opportunity to see a Jordanian pilot burned alive. Morning networks celebrated the upcoming release of 50 Shades of Grey, a film akin to porn. A trusted news anchor was forced to apologize for fabricating stories for no other reason than to increase his ratings and notoriety.

Violence at its worse. Twisted sexual impropriety in mainstream theaters. Lies presented as truth for self gain. All of it the result of the evil in this world vying for the very essence of our souls. 

Not only must we sift through the daily barrage of news, there's endless commentary to add to the confusion. No matter what side of an argument you land on, you can find a host of blogs, news reports, and editorials, supporting your view. 

So where is truth? How do we hold on to truth when we live in a society that would rather conjure up good stories than maintain character?

Living as if fifty shades of grey don't cloud our existence is naive. And I'm not even referring to just the book. When we approach life as if black and white truths can blur into fifty shades of grey, we walk in a dense fog, unable to see what's really going on around us. 

I'm guilty. I get lost in my own haze, wearied by constant battle and distracted by worries and fears that hinder focus on what matters most. Because the world has gone mad. It has been for a long time.

But there remains a truth worth fighting for in the depths of our souls.

"See I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." (1 Peter 2: 6)

It takes effort to swim upstream; to shine with distinct color in a world of grey; to believe in something holy and reverent, when all else is blurred.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2: 9)

Sue mentioned their choir is singing Sanctus this Sunday at the beginning of our Thursday lesson. Since we spent the majority of our time focused on the piece they deemed more difficult, I didn't even look at the music until our time was almost over. 

A familiar rush swept through me when I realized it was Gounod's Sanctus and I insisted we run through the song at least once. There's just something holy about the piece. I performed it under the direction of Robert Shaw almost twenty years ago now. And I still can barely make it through the end without tears. As the song builds, it carries me to a divine place and I'll dare to assert I might even feel a little of what Isaiah recorded:
 
"In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.'

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

'Woe to me,' I cried. 'I am a man of unclean lips,and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.'"

Isaiah was overcome in the presence of the Lord. As this week ends and others being, I'm challenged to live with similar heightened awareness and genuine reverence. Maybe it's just one less TV crime show or praying at times instead of distracting myself with candy crush. 

He is holy and worthy, the only one true light in this world of fifty shades of greys. Remember. Press in. Step away from all that distracts. And dwell in His holiness. 

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,

Holy, Holy, Holy,

  Dominus Deus Sabaoth.

Lord God of Hosts.

 Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.

Full are heaven and earth of glory thy.

 Hosanna in excelsis.

Hosanna in highest.

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