How Do We Console the Weeping Jesus Over Our World?

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The Gospel reading from today's Divine Office is taken from Matthew chapter 23: 27-39. After another set of woes and Jesus calling the Pharisees hypocrites for the blood of countless Prophets for whom they associate their heritage, Jesus then weeps over the state of Jerusalem. The Collegeville Bible Commentary New Testament Volume tells us that Jesus is weeping over the impending destruction of Jerusalem that was to happen by the Romans in 70 AD. (See page 895). Jesus was weeping over Jerusalem due to the lack of acceptance that he and other prophets had found in trying to convey the reality of what was going on. The poor and the marginalized had been forgotten. The stranger (the one's who were different) were not welcomed. Many who were in need of help from the religious and civil authorities were much too time consuming to be bothered with. Sadly, this does not sound too much unlike what is going on in our own time. Do you think Jesus weeps as much over what is happening in our time as he did over Jerusalem?

We live in very difficult times. The news about health care reform in the United States Senate continues to be every so depressing. It still appears that the wealthy insurance companies with all the money and power to lobby are being listened to far more than the needs of those who really do need health care. Just yesterday it was reported that health-care stocks rose after Democrats announced that they would consider dropping the public option in health care reform. There are so many uncertainties in the health care reform debate. We are very happy to hear that they are considering expanding medicare for people age 55 and up. However, new reports suggest that there are plenty of groups that the compromised Senate Health Care Bill loopholes will not cover. Many people are beginning to ask the frightening question if you can't save everyone, who can you save? What ever happened to America being the land of "equal opportunity"? On the Statue of Liberty it reads: "Give us your tired, your poor..." Yet, are we inviting the tired and poor to come to our nation only to be left to be sick and die because they cannot afford medical coverage? Do you think this is something that Jesus weeps over? In Matthew 25:21 to 46 we read of the judgment of the Nations, where Jesus said: "I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then you will answer, 'Lord, when was it that that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

How about the issue of the stranger? In the outstanding First Run Features documentary film For the Bible Tells Me So Rev. Irene Monroe while commenting on the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah remarks about how she often travels to New England cities and towns where a black, lesbian woman is not welcomed, and how that is the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah being played out in the 21st Century. The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 18:16 to 19:29) is not homosexuality as so many Christian fundamentalists would suggest. The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was a lack of hospitality shown to strangers. If people who come to our land as immigrants have to fight so hard to gain their status before they can live in a home, work and get health care, if anyone who lives here who is sick cannot get health care and if African Americans and other national minorities and LGBT people cannot have their civil rights granted and protected by the laws of our nation, then how does our nation of "equal opportunity" expect to stand under the judgment of God? Where is the commitment of liberty and justice for all, from a nation where evangelicals travel to a place like Uganda and encourage an anti-homosexuality bill that could have included life-imprisonment and the death penalty?

And let us not leave the violation of human rights and oppression just to the nations of the world. We cannot forget how lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals continue to be oppressed by religious right groups like the National Organization for Marriage and the over 200,000 people who have signed onto the Manhattan Declaration. Look at all the controversy that the election of Bishop-elect Mary Glasspool is causing throughout the Anglican Communion. Newspapers from The Los Angeles Times to The Guardian UK are covering the reaction of Bishop-elect Glasspool's election. Reaction to Canon Glasspool's election to Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles is hardly concerned with her outstanding work as a Priest and Canon to the Bishop in her current Diocese that qualifies her to win the election in the LA Diocese. The concern is over her sexual orientation and her twenty year faithful relationship to her wife and whether that is a "good example" to other Christians. Considering the state of many heterosexual marriages, I should think that a qualified Priest who has been in a marriage of 20 years with another woman would serve as an incredible Christian witness. How twisted and evil that her sexual orientation is taking up so much attention by people with non-inclusive opinions. I think Jesus does weep over issues like this, and the Holy Spirit truly pleads for a new order and understanding of how God works through all kinds of people.

How are Christians called to console the weeping Jesus? As we prepare for the celebration of Christmas through Advent, how are we trying to change our present culture? How do we make our nation and the Church a better place to welcome Jesus who is sick in the person without health care, the stranger who is of a different race or ethnicity or of a different sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression? How do we prepare for the coming of the Christ Child in a world where violence, oppression, discrimination and poverty appear to be all too much of a reality?

As long as we live in the time we are in, we have the opportunity to speak up for those whom society and the Church looks at as second class citizens. We can always call our legislators and demand that they remember the one's who are really in need of health care reform. We can sign petitions and group letters. We can take part in organizations such as Health Care for America NOW!, The Charter for Compassion, Integrity USA, The Chicago Consultation, The Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities, Lutherans Concerned, Soul Force, The Human Rights Campaign, and The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. There is always much more we can do when we show our strength in numbers. We must never, never excuse injustice and allow it to go unchallenged. It is never too late to begin using our voices, our talents, treasures and time to help those including ourselves build a better world for Jesus to live in. Where will we begin consoling the weeping Jesus today?

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.)