We pause today on December 1st as we do every year to remember the thousands upon thousands of people affected by the world wide pandemic of AIDS. I remember as a ninth grader in high school when HIV/AIDS first arrived on the scene and the terrible consequence of the thousands of people who died instantly because of the disease. I remember how quickly fundamentalists were to label it as a "gay disease" and use it to shame and scare people about being gay. I also remember the incredible program by Designing Women about the man they knew who was dying of AIDS who came to ask them to help plan for his funeral. I also remember the attitude that was displayed during that show that if someone who is gay got AIDS it was because they "deserved" it. It was not long before people began to hear that AIDS was not just a gay disease. It is a disease that affects literally thousands of men, women and children world wide. All over the country local AIDS projects have been created to be advocacy networks for people with HIV/AIDS and care centers. Since the rising number of people infected with HIV/AIDS not only do we talk about the use of condoms during sex but also school janitors, public janitors, school bus drivers and anyone who works with the public has had to learn about blood born pathogens and how to protect themselves and others from them.
What still has yet to change in our time and culture is the attitude that is often in our hearts and the hearts of many especially who call themselves Christians, that people with HIV/AIDS or any sexually transmitted disease are well served by shame, guilt and total isolation or abandonment. One of the most beautiful sights I took in when I played an organ recital in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, was my visit to the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Among the many beautiful chapels and shrines of this great Cathedral was the shrine dedicated to those who have died of HIV/AIDS complete with a small quilt. In front of it was a kneeler for anyone who wanted to remember someone and pray with a lit candle near by. The very guilt and shame that Christians often heap upon people affected by HIV/AIDS and people with other STD's should be confessed as our sins to God for not greeting such people with compassion, grace and with a sincere desire to serve Christ in those who need God.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori in her statement for World AIDS Day has written: "Last year, the U.S. Congress made an historic commitment to the battle against AIDS in poor countries, promising to triple our nation's commitment to fighting AIDS abroad over the next five years. That promise has dimmed as federal resources have grown scarcer and political conversations have focused on domestic need.
President Obama's first federal budget, released earlier this year, failed to keep pace with Congress's 2008 financial commitments to fighting AIDS abroad, and slowed the growth of those efforts from previous years. As we approach a new federal budget cycle this winter, Americans must send a clear message to the Administration that in spite of economic challenges at home, our nation cannot retreat from our commitments to fight poverty and disease abroad.
In the United States, HIV/AIDS has lost much of its visibility in the past decade with many Americans growing complacent about the threat of the disease. It is not always immediately obvious who in our communities is suffering from HIV/AIDS, and the stigma of diagnosis further isolates and alienates those who need our love and support. As Christians, our ministry to those living with HIV/AIDS in our communities is more essential than ever. World AIDS Day is an excellent opportunity to evaluate the ways in which your congregation and community are welcoming and serving those living with the disease.
President Obama announced an enormously encouraging initiative, Act Against AIDS, earlier this year as a five-year, $45 million effort aimed at enhancing AIDS awareness within the United States. While the initial funding is small, this initiative is a much needed response to the diminishing public awareness of the AIDS crisis in our own communities.
The Episcopal Church has shown distinguished leadership on this issue through the years and, despite current challenges, I fervently hope that our combined witness and advocacy will continue to grow. I urge all Episcopalians to join our Church's advocacy efforts by becoming members of the Episcopal Public Policy Network and I commend the work of the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition which, for several decades has helped to keep this issue visible within The Episcopal Church.
Christians around the world enter the season of Advent this weekend, and together we wait in hope for the coming of the Redeemer. An ancient antiphon for the season addresses the coming Christ as "the King of the nations, and their desire, the cornerstone uniting all people." Let our prayer in this holy season be that the God who dwells among us, suffers and dies, yet rises again, will unite the will of all peoples to work toward finally conquering HIV/AIDS."
In the Gospel Reading of Matthew 21: 12-22 Jesus cleanses the temple of the money changers and calls them to repentance. Jesus quotes the famous verse: "My house shall be called a house of prayer': but you are making it a den of robbers." I believe that it was and still remains Jesus firm desire that his house of prayer be a house of prayer for all people. That house of prayer extends to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and people affected by HIV/AIDS and any other situation. The cold and callous response of many Christians towards people who are "different" has been nothing short of a total opposite of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about. When I first came to the State of Minnesota and worked in the first Catholic Parish as a musician, I was very disappointed to hear that there are still Catholic Priests who will not give last rights or even Holy Communion to people dying of HIV/AIDS especially if they contracted it through homosexual activity, unless they confess their homosexuality as one of their major sins. What a joy it is for my partner Jason and I to move over to St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, Minnesota where no Priest would even think twice about ministering to someone with HIV/AIDS. They simply understand it as part of their ministry as Priests and as a Parish Community.
I think it is time, past time for Christians and all people of good will to be people of prayer and action and to ask ourselves what can we do to help people who are affected by HIV/AIDS. Quite frankly we cannot leave the work just to someone else. To ignore people with HIV/AIDS is to ignore Jesus in those affected by this and other diseases. We can always advocate for people with HIV/AIDS by writing letters to our local State and Federal Legislators asking them to take a leadership role in helping to advance the cause of those affected by HIV/AIDS. We can be advocates for comprehensive sex education that helps promote healthy attitudes towards responsible sexual activity. We can also be advocates for health care reform to include people with HIV/AIDS. We can volunteer to help local HIV/AIDS projects and help centers or donate funds. Many place that serve people with HIV/AIDS have food shelves where people can donate nonperishable food items. Many centers have opportunities to help people affected with HIV/AIDS to go to doctors appointments. There are places that make hot meals for people with HIV/AIDS every day who can use help with food preparation. There is always a place and an opportunity to serve Jesus Christ in those who are affected by HIV/AIDS. What will we choose to do today?
O God of compassion and wisdom, be with those who are affected by HIV/AIDS today and always. Grant to all of us a sense of God within those who are affected by HIV/AIDS and others diseases and how we may serve Jesus your Son in them. Bless and uphold those who help people with HIV/AIDS and give them the strength and ability to do the work that you have given them. May the Church increasingly become a place where people with HIV/AIDS can find God and the compassionate Jesus who waits to heal and serve them, all this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
anther story of interest today is Bonnie Anderson President of the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church has spoken out about the draconian anti-homosexual bill in Uganda. This could be one item we can add to our prayers today as this bill does target homosexuals and people with HIV/AIDS.
No comments:
Post a Comment