Are We Getting Ready?

As of the writing of this blog The Affirmation Declaration has reached 1,054 individuals who have signed it. Help spread the word and see if we can get more signatures.

I also want to announce today that I am organizing the team for the Minnesota AIDS Walk for St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can find my personal web page where I am raising money for the MN AIDS Walk here. There you may find out information about the MN AIDS Walk as well as donate to the walk if you feel so inclined. The walk will be held on May 16, 2010 so there is plenty of time to read and consider a donation. We are walking to help raise awareness, prevention, education and advocacy for HIV/AIDS causes in Minnesota. Any help you or others can give is most appreciated. Thank you in advance for your support.

Are we ready for Jesus Christ to return? It is one of the principal pieces of the Christian Faith. The reality is none of us knows the "day nor the hour" that Christ will return. However, the Christian Faith teaches that Christ will one day return. During this Season of Advent we are preparing to remember the first coming of Christ at Christmas, but we are using that to remind us that Christ will indeed come again. I may have written about this once before, but Christmas is the one major Holy Day that is always celebrated on December 25th no matter what day of the week it is. Why is that? Because it is a reminder that Jesus came once in time and it could have been any day of the week. Which one it was, we do not know. But as sure as Christ came once in time, he will return and it could be any day of the week.

How can lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Christians prepare for the coming of Christ? How does the Second Coming of Christ affect the lives of LGBT Christians? I have written quite a bit about establishing a new order of justice and equality for LGBT people in the Church and society and that is something we must always work on doing. As many of us may have heard the death penalty and life imprisonment for LGBT Ugandans has not been dropped as was reported last Friday. Apart from Uganda there is still plenty of discrimination and prejudice here in the United States for LGBT citizens. And even in the Church there remains those who still object to the election of Bishop-Elect Mary Glasspool as Suffragan Bishop in Los Angeles. Even without all the major stories, all of us continue to encounter religious men and women who try to tell us to let go of our lesbian or gay "life styles". Many lesbian, gay, and transgendered folks are still ostracized by members of their own family, church or community. All of these are issues that LGBT and their allied communities must continue to address. As we establish new orders of justice and equality for all people who are marginalized we prepare the world for Christ's coming.

As LGBT Christians we also prepare for the coming of Christ as we shake things up not only in our communities, but also in our own personal lives. There are those relationships that we live in day in and day out. Those moments when well, we tried, but we didn't quite get it right. Maybe we are struggling with an addiction of our own, or a problem with someone on our job or in our family. Working on those things is part of preparing for Christ's coming too. Are we still harboring that grudge against God for all the pain and suffering we have endured for being LGBT? Have we had that heart to heart talk with God about how angry we are with God? Have we had that conversion of heart where we have let go of our anger with that person that has hurt us so much, or that judge that was so unjustly wrong? We don't have to like what someone did, nor do we have to walk up and politely tell them we are sorry or demand an apology. But when we hold them between ourselves and our relationship with God, that quite frankly is when their evils have truly won over our priorities. Have we scheduled that appointment with a qualified LGBT friendly therapist to help us work through all the difficulties we face day in and day out? How are we addressing our own attitudes of racism, sexism, class discrimination and apathy? Where in our lives are we committing time and energy to helping the hungry, homeless and others who are in need? All of these are also ways in which we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. How are we doing with that?

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday of Advent, Book of Common Prayer, Page 212).