Remember to be Thankful For Our Forerunners

John 1:19-28 (NRSV)

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

As I read through this Gospel I became aware of what a great man John the Baptist was in that he was the forerunner of the Lord.  Even Jesus needed the help of someone to prepare the way for him to be able to bring about the reign of God and the work that he came to do.   After John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod Jesus said: "Truly I tell you,  among those born of women no one was greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." (Matthew 11:11).  

Jesus recognizes the immense sacrifice that John the Baptist made on Jesus' behalf.  When Jesus talks of the greatness of John the Baptist he is praising the fact that Jesus has gained so much good because someone like John the Baptist was in the world, preparing the way for Jesus and his mission.

In the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning/queer communities we have many who have gone before us that we often fail to remember.   I was so happy when the movie Milk was made because that is one way that the young people who are coming out today can hopefully begin to learn about the great sacrifices someone like Harvey Milk made to help bring us to the point we are at now.  Hopefully such remembering the folks at Stonewall and other parts of the country will help more people become involved in the work towards equality.

Where would the movement for equal rights for Episcopalian LGBTQ people be if it were not for John Fortunato who wrote Embracing the Exile?  Bishop Mary Glasspool could not have made her way towards her consent had Bishop Gene Robinson not faced all of the tensions at his own election in 2003.    The work of Rev. David Norgard who is now President of Integrity sits on the shoulders of the work of Rev. Susan Russell and she on the shoulders of the President before her.   The point is the work we are able to do now towards the full inclusion of LGBTQ equality in the Church or society is because others took on the work before us.  Are we thankful to God for the work of those who came before us?

The advancement of the LGBTQ equality movement would not be where it is today had it not been for the incredible act of bravery of those first drag queens at Stonewall.  Yet, the racism within the LGBTQ Communities has often "bleached" out minorities that were part of Stonewall.   Rev. Irene Monroe wrote about that in her piece: "A Pride Event Not To Be Proud Of." 

But many Black and Latino LGBTQs argue that the gulf between whites and themselves is also about how the dominant queer community rewrote and continues to control the history of Stonewall. The Stonewall Riot of June 27-29, 1969, in Greenwich Village started on the backs of working-class African-American and Latino queers who patronized that bar. Those brown and black LGBTQ people are not only absent from the photos of that night, but are also bleached from its written history.

Because of the bleaching of the Stonewall Riots, the beginnings of LGBTQ movement post-Stonewall is an appropriation of a black, brown, trans and queer liberation narrative. And it is the deliberate visible absence of these African American, Latino and API LGBTQ people that makes it harder, if not near impossible for LGBTQ communities to build trusted coalitions with white LGBTQ communities.

As the work towards equality for the LGBTQ communities moves forward, will we make the mistake of advancing the cause for justice and equality while creating new prejudices along the way?  If we were to do that, how exactly will the LGBTQ community really have achieved equality? In many ways it would be no different than the tradition of the Church which often made progress through moving other groups of people out of the way.  If we fail to recognize the work and sacrifice of everyone who has gone before us, including the entire African American community which still has a long way to go, our achieving equality for LGBTQ people will only be the ending of prejudice for us while promoting discrimination and prejudice for other members of society.  This is why we must reform our communities now to recognize the long standing hard work of everyone who has gone before us, and not just those who are Caucasian.  

Who are the people we are most thankful for?   Who are the people we remember most who sacrificed themselves to help bring the LGBTQ Communities to where we are today?  How can we advance the movement for equality in the Church and society so as to break down all walls of injustice and prejudice?

May our thankfulness also become a vehicle for conversion.

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 13, Book of Common Prayer, Page 232).


O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, Page 815).