As of the writing of this blog post The Affirmation Declaration has 933 signatures. It would be just great if that number could reach 1,000 signatures by tonight. Keep encouraging people to sign it.
I was a church music student at Eastern Nazarene College in 1991 when the first Gulf War started. It was a cold day in January and I was to play the organ in chapel. It was a day when the late Dr. Cecil Paul who was the President of the college spoke to the student body asking that we pray together as the nation was led into a war. The reaction by many of the students was one of confusion, fear and anger. Many of my friends were crying at the thought of their relatives going off to fight in the Gulf War. It was a very difficult day. The anti-war protests had started. The outrage was so loud. But the one thing that really stands out in my mind about that particular year was all of the apocalyptic literature that showed up that year. There was one book that was written and published about how Iraq is the location of the "Babylon" spoken of in the book of Revelation. There were Christian pastors and lay people who were standing on their soap boxes warning people that this was the year that Jesus Christ was going to come back and if you don't commit your lives to him at this very moment and the world should be destroyed, you will go to hell. I used to give in to some of that fear, until I realized that since the early days of the Christian Church people have been prophesying the return of Christ every time there is a war, major natural disaster and political up roar. The Second coming of Christ was prophesied at length that it was going to happen on January 1, 2000. Now it is being predicted for the year 2012 by that horrible movie. And look at all the preachers who are probably capitalizing on that. Yet, the fact is, no one really knows exactly when Jesus Christ will return.
The second coming of Christ is a component of the Christian Faith. In the Eucharistic prayers we pray "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." (Eucharistic Prayer A, Book of Common Prayer, Page 363). In Eucharistic Prayer B we pray: "We remember his death, We proclaim his resurrection, We await his coming in glory;". (Page 368) In the Nicene Creed we pray: "He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end." (Page 359). In the famous Apostle's Creed we pray: "He will come again to judge the living and the dead." (Page 96). So Christ's return is an important belief of the Christian Faith. There are those who believe that when we die, that is when Christ has come back. Others believe that there will be an ending of all things as we know it. Yet, it is amazing that as soon as a war breaks out, a major pandemic for example AIDS, or any major natural disaster like Global Warming it is predicted by Christians that this means that Christ is coming back and the end is near.
The problem with all of this is that while in Matthew's Gospel 24:1-14 Jesus does give many warnings about what might happen, he also tells us to be very careful about who we follow. In verse 36 of this same chapter Jesus said: "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." It is a huge problem for most every day folks when we hear of preachers claiming to know the return of the Lord when Jesus himself said that even the Son does not know. And it is really a difficulty when preachers from the religious right make statements about passing gay rights laws as somehow indicating that Christ will someday return and throw America or the Episcopal Church into the fires of hell. We can get all wound up in the events and the moment of Christ's return, and in the process we forget what we are here to do and what the mission of Christians is really about. Remember Jesus' "Inauguration Address?" The mission of Christ is the mission of every Baptized person. To "to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,," (Luke 4:18, Isaiah 61:1). These are the tasks that we are called to do in our time.
There is undoubtedly so much to really do especially when it comes to letting the oppressed go free. Though we recently heard that the death penalty and life imprisonment may have been taken out of the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda, the threat to LGBT Ugandan's is far from over. Last night in London at The Ugandan Embassy there was a protest about the anti-gay bill in Uganda. However in an opinion column in Episcopal Life Online Cynthia Black wrote a piece on behalf of gay and transgendered Ugandans that "We Are Not Safe." "The witch hunt has begun and will only get worse," said another friend, who asked to remain anonymous." "As the Ugandan Parliament considers anti-homosexuality legislation that could require the execution of some gay and lesbian people, I can't help but wonder what it will take for the cries of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender folks in Uganda to be heard. Who will act to stop it? What will the role of the church be?
Will stories of the executions of LGBT Ugandans be reported by the local media, since it could be considered, in the words of the bill, "promotion of homosexuality" to write about it in any way considered sympathetic to the accused? What journalist will dare to cover it and risk three years in prison? Friends in Uganda tell me that they are afraid no attorneys will be willing to represent gay people for fear that their defense might be similarly interpreted."
"But even without the passage of this terrible law, life is dangerous for our LGBT brothers and sisters in Uganda. The Ugandan penal code already provides for life imprisonment for crimes "against the order of nature." Gay and transgender people are being arrested and detained without charge and then made an example of by harassment and torture.
"Houses are raided. Jobs are lost. Lives are destroyed," Victor Mukasa, founder of Sexual Minorities Uganda, told me in a phone call recently. "The new law says that people who are disabled and those with HIV do not deserve to be loved."
Under the proposed legislation, as it read in mid-December, the "crime" of loving a disabled person of the same sex, or someone with HIV, is "aggravated homosexuality" and punishable by death.
The bill includes a requirement that all Ugandans report within 24 hours anyone they know to be homosexual. Failure to do so can result in a three-year prison sentence. Not unlike the Rwandan genocide, neighbors will be reporting on neighbors, and, in this case, parents will be required to report their own children. The Rev. Tracy Longacre, a deacon working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, worries that "every schoolgirl who doesn't want to marry her father's elderly neighbor is at risk of being reported as a lesbian, and every boy who is too sensitive risks his life if he is friends with another boy."
"The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada have condemned the anti-homosexuality bill, as have other churches, church-related organizations and human rights groups. While the Archbishop of Canterbury reportedly has been working behind the scenes, I wonder at what point he will be willing to say something publicly. When the bill passes? When the first gay person is condemned? When the first gay person is executed?
And if he does speak out, will it be too late for my friend Denis, a good Anglican? Even if the death penalty provision in the bill is removed, there is enough left in the legislation to increase and intensify the climate of fear, effectively terrorizing members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, leaving them ripe for genocide."
How can we help deliver from oppression the LGBT citizens of Uganda? Could groups of us write to President Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton? Could we write our Senators and Congress leaders asking for a joint Congressional Statement? Could we ask our Pastors, Rectors, Bishops, leaders to speak out about this issue from their pulpits? Could we write letters to the editors of local newspapers? If you are someone who also writes a blog, can you write some more so others will hear more about how awful this bill is?
Today, the Gospel warns us about who to follow. We know from watching the Rachel Maddow Show that following voices like Rick Warren can lead us down so many paths other than the one we should be on. We must also demand that voices like those coming from "The Family" be held accountable for their reckless use of God's Name. We must also hold accountable ex-gay groups that have influenced this kind of thing, and be sure they hold themselves accountable. But we must also not neglect our own calling from the Inauguration Address of Jesus Christ who calls us to help set captives free. The call of our Baptism and our decision to follow Jesus Christ is a call to see the injustice done to these people, as well as all LGBT people around the world. Our voice for those who find it difficult to speak up for themselves must never be silenced.
Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, #36 For the Oppressed, Page 826.)
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