Second Sunday of Lent: Discerning Inclusion's Potential Success and Sacrifice

No project is completed without the sacrifice of those who believe in it's importance. Without the willingness to spend the money and time blending the right ingredients, no recipe becomes a delicious meal. Likewise, in the Spiritual life and in the pursuit of equal rights for LGBT people there is no accomplishment without sacrifice. Achieving the full inclusion of LGBT people in society and the Church requires that we are willing to put our necks out, willing to allow dialogue and risk sometimes very hurtful things said to us. We can use such experiences to help educate people about LGBT issues. Those who dialogue with us also risk the possibility of gaining a new understanding that they never had before.

This Sunday's Lectionary readings are all about new possibilities, amid very difficult obstacles. Jesus has come to free the captives, give sight to the blind and bring into the company of God's people those who have been left on the sidelines (cf. Luke 4: 16-19). The more Jesus delivers on what he said in his inaugural address, the more protest he experiences from the religious leaders of his day. Kind of like how LGBT people experience more anti-gay rhetoric the more we gain victories in marriage equality and the repeal of DADT. As LGBT individuals like Kevin Jennings get promoted to Government positions, the more the LGBT Community gets accused of attempting to infect society with the gay agenda. The more Jesus healed people, loved people, raised people from the dead, spoke of God's love in places where it had not be preached before, the more the religious establishment of his day sought to destroy him. Yet, no matter how much rejection Jesus experiences, Jesus continues to do what is right. Jesus continues the work of God in the midst of difficult times and persecution.

I like to compare the work of Jesus and the opposition he experienced to that of slain LGBT Civil Rights leader Harvey Milk. Harvey Milk lived in a time when gay men were arrested and driven away in police patty wagons just for being gay and in gay bars. Harvey Milk set up a businesse and kept running for San Francisco City Supervisor though he lost many times and business owners and others threatened his life. Once he was elected to office, even though Milk knew that fighting for a gay rights ordinance in San Francisco and defeating Proposition 6 would mean standing up to attitudes like those of Anita Bryant and Briggs, he still did the right thing. He still pushed and in the end he lost his life because of bigotry and jealousy. His sacrifice was far from wasted. In his work, he opened the doors for other LGBT people to fight for their rights. Harvey Milk's persistence lives on in the work of brave men such as Cleve Jones who's activism is so inspirational.

The work of LGBT inclusion will require some kind of sacrifice from everyone who is concerned. Human, civil and equal rights are never accomplished without the sacrifice of time, talent and commitment. Look at how many LGBT ministers, priests and other servants in church's of all kinds have lost their ministry positions and/or church's, credentials all because of their denomination's position on same-sex marriage and homosexuality. Yet many of these women and men though sorry to loose their careers have not turned back, they have continued to push forward with courage and conviction. For example, the work of Fr. Robert Nugent, SDS and Sr. Jeaninne Gramick, SL of New Ways Ministry. Even though their ministry was ordered to be shut down by then Cardinal Ratzinger, they have continued their work for LGBT Catholics and provide an outstanding witness through all that they have suffered. Though their ministry was recently condemned by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago who said that their "teaching is inauthentic in their ministry to gays" Fr. Nugent and Sr. Gramick help struggling LGBT Catholics to find meaning in their lives through healthy relationships to themselves and others. In the Episcopal Church we can look at the courageous witness of Bishop Gene Robinson who continues to receive death threats and insulting messages because he is the first openly gay Bishop. Yet, Bishop Robinson continues to be use his voice and experience to work for equality. Suffragan Bishop-Elect Mary Glasspool of the Diocese of Los Angeles only needs 5 more votes before she has reached the total number of consents she needs to be consecrated and ordained. Inspite of all the nasty remarks that have been made about her election, many Episcopal Diocesan Bishops and Standing Committees are still choosing to grant consent to the prayers and hard work of the people of the Diocese of Los Angeles. Contrary to the opinions of many, the Holy Spirit can and does work in ways that defies people's common logic.

Our readings taken from Genesis 15: 1-18, Philippians 3:17-4:1, Luke 13:31-35 and Psalm 27 call for us to see that "The Lord is our light and salvation." (Psalm 27:1). As we discern our work for the full inclusion of LGBT people in society and the Church do we really rely on God's help? God has given us the task and has called us by name. The work of God includes LGBT people and blesses our work for equal rights and opportunities. If God's work of salvation in Jesus Christ meant that even God would face discrimination and persecution for loving those that society and the church did not love, then we must expect that our work of equality and inclusion will also mean great sacrifice. As the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross was not the end, but the passage from death to life, so our crosses of working for justice and equality though it will cost us much, will only bring good things in the future for those who are persistent in our commitment. This requires everyone, not just a chosen few. Just as the work is not done without everyone working together, so the rewards are also celebrated by and for all.

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for the Second Sunday of Lent, BCP, Page 218).

Friday in the First Week of Lent; The Cross: Foolishness or Power?

"The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1: 18)

This past Wednesday night St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, Minnesota began their weekly Lenten Series called: "Jesus Jargon". The topic of discussion for this year's series is: "The Truth and Fiction in Christian Cliches". Pardon me if I am not able to come up with the apostrophe above the e in cliches. The speaker for the first discussion talked about the ever famous cliche "Let go and Let God be God." The speaker gave some really good remarks about the first phrase, suggesting that being asked to let go is a way of giving up. The speaker suggested that telling people to "let go" is not always the best advice, because God certainly does not give up on us.

Cliches are an interesting building block or stumbling block to intimacy. Most of us when we are meeting someone for the first time or even when talking to someone we might know a bit about, use cliches in our conversations. Hi, how are you? I'm fine. How is the weather? It's cold. How was your day to day? It was okay. Now cliches can also be used to edge a conversation forward and invite intimacy. When some people respond with "It was okay" to the question "How was your Day?" There might be someone who says: "Okay? Well, what happened?" And onward the conversation might go. Cliches can also protect us from unwanted intimacy with someone who may be trying to get closer to us whether for the right reason or the wrong one.

The question I would like to ask on this Friday of the first week of Lent, is the subject of the Cross too cliche for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. The Scripture verse I chose from 1 Corinthians 1: 18 happens to be one of my favorite verses about the Cross. Yet, for LGBT people, the subject of the Cross can be a very touchy subject and not without good reason. I keep referring to the bad messages of the religious right, because at times I do think that we LGBT people are not fully aware of how their Jesus jargon affects us. How many stories do we hear of LGBT Youth committing suicide? How many times might we hear of someone from our community struggling with alcohol addiction or drug addiction, or allowing themselves to remain in an abusive relationship? There are so many LGBT individuals who are being treated for depression, anxiety disorders and all kinds of psychological and psychiatric problems. Why are the numbers of LGBT people with such issues so large? The answer quite frankly is heterosexism. Name me a State in these United States of America that is going to refuse to marry a man and a woman just because they are heterosexual. Tell me one county that is going to refuse child adoption or challenge the legitimacy of a child adoption to straight men and women because they are not gay or lesbian? Please name for me one soldier from our United States Military who has been discharged because he or she is straight? Have you ever heard of a straight married couple where one of them got fired because of his or her sexual orientation? Can you name me one man or one woman who has ever experienced violence because she or he wanted to remain the same gender they have always been? Can you point me to a religious leader in Protestantism or Catholicism who will tell a heterosexual that he or she was not born that way, and needs to attend an ex-straight ministry to change who they are? Why can we answer no to all of these questions? Because of the heterosexism that has been spread through out our world and country by those who say that they cling to the Cross for their salvation. The religious right with their destructive use of the Cross as a means to convert LGBT away from what we know to be true about ourselves, and work us into ex-gay ministries such as Courage, Exodus or Love Won Out. And the anti-gay religious right says that LGBT people are those who see the Cross as foolishness because we are perishing if we are living in same-sex relationships or if we are transgendered people.

Just before Lent began a really great Episcopal Priest challenged me to begin seeing myself as God sees me. That is a message that I think all LGBT people can take some time to reflect on. How does God see me as an LGBT person? A new question to add to that one is what is the relationship between LGBT people and the Cross? For LGBT people is the Cross foolishness (a cliche) or is the power of God by which we are being saved? To help us explore these questions let us look a bit more about what the Cross is and what it is not.

The Cross is the universal symbol of Christians. The Cross is not the universal litmus test to make one Christian look any better or worse than another. Every person who is saved by the death of Jesus Christ on that Cross is a convicted murderer. Our sins, every bodies sins put Jesus on that Cross. No matter how sincere we are, or how sincere we think we are, or how insincere we think someone else is, all of us have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). Jesus Christ took upon himself the sins of all of us and was crucified upon that Cross. Every person that is or was created in the image and likeness of God has been loved so much, that God allowed God's Son Jesus Christ to be crucified upon that Cross to save us from our sins. Whatever our sins are, they are crucified by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the Cross. There is no one person greater or less great than anyone else in the eyes of God. All of us are loved, all of us are wanted and all people are worth saving to God. The crucifixion of Jesus says that God certainly did not give up on any one of us. God put in God's universal deposit of love and grace on our behalf through the death of Jesus Christ upon the Cross. God's savings account on our behalf is always full, and we can draw on it's interest at any time. Therefore, there is no litmus test and there are no limits to how Jesus can work in and through our lives.

The Cross is the universal symbol of love. The Cross is not our universal excuse to hate anyone. Even though the most profound hate and discrimination took place upon the Cross, that hate and discrimination was against God's unique way of loving all human kind. Using the Cross as an excuse to write a kill the gays bill in Uganda, or set up ex-gay ministries so that Christian churches could set up their own concentration camps where they work to annihilate LGBT people is not a good use of the message of the Cross. Setting up an organization such as NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) to spread false scientific data to justify so called reparation therapy for LGBT people is not using the universal symbol of the Cross in a loving way.

The message of the Cross becomes a message of foolishness when LGBT people are told that they must become straight or non-transgendered in order to be saved by it, when it really is the power of God to those of us LGBT people who are being saved by it's message of loving acceptance. The power of God in the Cross for LGBT people is that God loves us all, regardless and God wants to save us all from our sins. LGBT people suffer from the same sins of everyone else. We all get jealous from time to time, and want to get revenge on someone who has hurt us, or commit adultery by being with someone who belongs to someone else. We need the power of the Cross to save us from those times when we use someone else for our own personal pleasure without any regard for them being daughters and sons of God who should be loved, respected and cherished for more than just their sexy bodies. We need the powerful message of the Cross to save us from those false messages we have recorded within ourselves that the religious right has put there in one form or another. The Cross helps us to face the reality of who we are and to know that God loves us no matter what circumstance has placed us where we are. The Cross says that there is no issue too great, that God cannot love us and help us to see the truth about who we are. There is no depression too big for God, that God cannot help us to learn to be happy and say that being LGBT is not only good, but is down right wonderful.

So, is the message of the Cross foolishness to us or is it the power of God? How are you answering that question?

There is a green hill far away, outside a city wall,
where our dear Lord was crucified who died to save us all.

We may not know, we cannot tell, what pains he had to bear,
but we believe it was for us he hung and suffered there.

He died that we might be forgiven, he died to make us good,
that we might go at last to heaven, saved by his precious blood.

There was no other good enough, to pay the price of sin,
he only could unlock the gate of heaven to let us in.

O dearly, dearly has he loved! And we must love him too,
and trust in his redeeming blood, and try his works to do.
(Hymn #167, Hymnal 1982).

Pray for the Healing of Our Paralysis

Mark 2: 1-2 (NRSV)

When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.' Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 'Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?' At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, 'Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Stand up and take your mat and walk"? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' he said to the paralytic 'I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.' And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'

During the Season of Lent we are concentrating on prayer to draw ourselves closer to God. We are looking to go deeper into our relationship with God, to help us fix our center. We get so distracted by all the things of the world that we loose our focus and forget our God who loves us more than we love ourselves.

In our Gospel today, Jesus shows that he is so beyond what our past experiences have been. A man paralyzed has been brought to him, who was believed to have been that way because of his sins. Jesus is not interested in what the law had been, he is interested in bringing this man to wholeness in his relationship with God. Those who stand around Jesus and this paralyzed man are stuck in the dark ages. They cannot believe that God would come among them and forgive the sins of someone right in their midst. They are finding it hard to grasp that God came as one like us to forgive us of our sins, and transform our understanding about others around us. But God defies logic. God is beyond the status quo. God is not tied down by mere human opinion. God may have become one like us in Christ, but Jesus shows that God is so not the way others have made God out to be. With compassion and grace, Jesus forgives the sins of the paralyzed man and allows him to get up and walk. God's love has engaged this man and those around him with a new understanding about an older way of thinking.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are often thought of as being paralyzed because of how the religious right views homosexuality, bisexuality and transgendered people. Because Pat Robertson, James Dobson, and Paul Cameron see LGBT people as sinners and distorted therefore we should not have our rights to serve openly in the military, or be allowed to marry the person we love, or have our employment, housing or allow partnered immigrants to become citizens of our country. The question then for LGBT Christians and all of us is, do we allow the opinions of others to paralyze us? Do we give opportunities for the views of anti-gay rhetoric affect our relationship with God, with our significant others and/or any other relationships? Do we allow the work of anti-LGBT ideologies to affect how we feel about ourselves?

This great story from Mark's Gospel tells us that God is very interested in every aspect of every person. God does not wish for us to be weighed down by what other people think of us. God's opinions of us are by no means the same as those of others. God does not see us through the thoughts and ideas of others. God who created every one of us in the image and likeness of the Holy Trinity knows us intimately. God knows every cell of our body and every beat of our hearts. God knows every emotion, ache and pain that affects us. God knows when we are happy and when we are down right angry. Yet, when we often pray to God, we may find ourselves talking to God as if God sees us through the opinions of others. We need to pray for the Grace to see ourselves through God's eyes. We need to pray to be healed of the paralysis that makes LGBT people see ourselves as anything less than loved, cherished, forgiven and empowered by God's Holy Spirit.

As we read in today's Gospel God's power is all encompassing and all-inclusive. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are part of God's incredible plan for a diversified world where love is a many splendid thing. Mutually romantic loving and sexual relationships are not limited to people of the opposite sex, but include people of the same-sex who desire to share God's love with their special someone. In no way is God's opinion of LGBT people limited to what the religious right and the Roman Catholic church say.

The journey of Lent invites us to see ourselves through God's eyes and to understand that Jesus endured the Cross and all of it's shame to take away our sins including those that weigh us down. For LGBT people, the sin of heterosexism weighs down our work for equal rights protection. It is a sin that is all too alive and well. If we are going to see the day when LGBT people have marriage equality and equal rights under the law, we need to start calling heterosexism out by it's name. Like Jesus who turned away from popular opinions, we too need to turn away from the opinions of others who say that same-sex marriage should not be allowed and made legal. We must also turn away from those who say that being LGBT is a choice and therefore must be changed through ex-gay ministries like Exodus International or Courage. We can accept Jesus' invitation to get up from our mats of injustice and bias and walk knowing that God loves and accepts us as we are, and invites us to bring release to others who are weighed down.

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday of Lent, BCP, Page 218).

Taking Time to Be with God, so that We May Understand Ourselves Better

I have been enjoying and being challenged by Kate Moorehead's book: "Get Over Yourself; God's Here!". Yesterday, Kate reflected on Mark 14:32: "They went to a place called Gethsemane; and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." Today, she reflects Matthew 13:24b to 30.

"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and when away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, "Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did those weeds come from?" He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he replied, 'No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn."

I beg the pardon of my readers, but that first entry about taking time to be alone was among the reasons that there was no blog entry yesterday. We all need to take some time to be alone with God to re-center ourselves on God. The world is so busy with stuff going on. Electronic mail, telephones, cell phones, internet and so much more. All of us need to use the time during Lent to take some time away from everything and focus ourselves on God and God's relationship with us. Doing that may involve centering prayer for some or more contemplative prayer for others. The point is to take time to let God tell us how much we are loved.

We take time to be alone with God so that we may better understand ourselves and our relationship with the world around us. We live in very complicated times. For lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people we are faced with prejudice and inequality all around us. In our struggle for marriage equality and civil rights we will encounter the weeds as well as the wheat. There are those who appear like they are on our side, when in fact they are just as much of a nuisance as those who are constantly in our way.

I have been thinking a lot about the slow moving action within our Congress over LGBT issues. While there are hearings to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" no one in the White House or Congress is willing to put a time frame on when we can expect the repeal to actually happen. Last Fall we saw a bill introduced called the Respect for Marriage Act that was suppose to repeal DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act), but we have not seen the repeal bill move very fast. We saw the State of New Hampshire's House of Representatives vote down measures that would have repealed their marriage equality laws. Yesterday in my own State of Minnesota there was a House hearing on three historic bills that move us closer to marriage equality. There is movement, but it is slow and agonizing.

I return to what happened last October at the National Equality March when activists from all over the country converged on Washington, DC. Their main message, gay rights now. They like so many of us are tired of politicians seeking our votes and money saying that they support LGBT rights, yet when they are elected they drag their feet. There is always something more important than civil and equal rights for every citizen. How do we as LGBT people respond to these issues? As LGBT Christians as we see the weeds among the wheat, how are we coping with the weeds?

It is important to understand that as long as humans are on the earth there will always be weeds among the wheat. There will always be those people who have to poke their arrogance and laziness into other people's business. We can respond to them by always taking time to be alone with God, so that we can regroup and refocus ourselves on what is really important. What is most important is not the weeds, but the work for equal and human rights. What is crucial is not the injustice and inequality as much as it hurts and affects us. Our focus needs to be on our work for justice and equality by helping people know that there are LGBT people, both Christian and non-Christian around who are interested in working together to end discrimination. As people become aware of those of us who are LGBT, they become aware that their ignorance about same-sex marriage and transgendered violence affects people right in their own community. As people become informed they do sit up, take notice and they do listen to how they can be involved. There will of course be the weeds who work against our causes, and they will be a source of headaches and raw emotions along the way. But the more important matter is our work for justice and equality.

As we work through Lent, the temptations we might often encounter is to go the battle alone or even to give up. Neither is the right move. In our human condition there are two things we learn. 1. We cannot achieve our goals without the help of others who support us. 2. We never give up without working with others to help us along the way. God created us in a world with many other people and in the case of the LGBT Community we are fortunate to be with others who seek the same rights we want. It is important in this time for everyone to work together, to cooperate with each other and be supportive.

As we take time to be alone with God, we will better understand our role in the world, in equal rights, in health care reform and helping our nation move forward. We cannot go back and fix what was broken, but we can work together to make today better, for tomorrow.

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday of Lent, BCP, Page 218).

First Sunday of Lent: Temptation, Power and Grace

The Scripture Readings for the First Sunday of Lent always begins with the temptation of Christ. Lent is the one season of the Church's Liturgical Calendar that does not begin on a Sunday. Ash Wednesday and the days following leading up to the first Sunday of Lent are often called the "porch" of Lent. Before we enter into a house, we often step onto the porch first. The porch gives us a view of where we've come from as well as where we are going. Lent has a prep time if you will, and then we get into the meat of what Lent is about.

During Lent we journey with Jesus into the desert. The Gospel account tells us that "Jesus, full of the the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil." (Luke 4: 1 and 2a). We are told from this part of the Gospel narrative that the Holy Spirit was with Jesus as he was tempted. This is all very interesting. Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and led by her. At no point was Jesus alone in what he faced. In Jesus, God sets for us a powerful example. It is a reminder that God is with us in our darkest times. When life challenges us and we find ourselves face to face with evil, we can trust in God to help us and deliver us. Even if we are so unfortunate to fall, God is there with us to raise us up again.

In Kate Moorehead's Lenten book: Get Over Yourself; God's Here! she has an entry for Wednesday of the first week of Lent about "Resisting Bible Bullets." The entry is so good, I have to include it in today's blog.

"In his final effort to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, the devil quotes Scripture. I have found it quite remarkable that the enemy of God would use Scripture to justify his purpose. If the devil is able to quote Scripture, the n we must not simply assume that all those who quote the Bible are in the right. We must think, interpret, listen, and evaluate. We must also pray.

Many Christians use Scripture as a weapon, firing verses at one another in discourse, as if to back oneself up with Scripture as the ultimate authority. I like to call these Bible Bullets. Often these Bible Bullets are taken out of their context. They do not always serve their purpose; they are not necessarily truth.

The Bible is the ultimate authority for Christians and for Jews, but not in a single verse. Unless read it its entirety and placed in its context, the Bible contradicts itself. I believe God inspired the Bible to be complex and multifaceted for a reason. It is not designed to be used as a weapon or to justify a point. God would not want it used in such a manner. It is meant to be engaged as we would engage in a very important relationship with someone whom we respect and love above all others.

The devil quotes Scripture with the belief that Jesus will destroy himself simply because a single verse of Scripture says so. But Jesus responds in the best way possible. He uses Scripture right back again. He defeats the devil in the language of the devil's own choosing." (Pages 32,33)

This is something that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people understand all too well. For far too long conservative Christians have used the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, Leviticus 18: 22 and 20: 13, Romans 1: 26-27, 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 and 1 Timothy 1: 9-10 to condemn all homosexual relationships including loving, monogamous and committed ones. If we read the words of Kate Moorehead with a sense of understanding, we should come away with the perception that using Bible verses to blast any particular group of people into thinking they are less than loved and valued by God to justify denial of fundamentally equal and basic rights is an incorrect and uncharitable use of Sacred Scripture. Yet it is absolutely correct to remind others committed to Jesus Christ and the Gospel message of salvation, that in Christ God brought all into fellowship with God. Christ came to help all who felt lost and ostracized by society and the religious community to find their way into God's Community of Faith.

As we look at today's Gospel account of the temptation of Jesus a little more, we should hear what Out in Scripture has to say.

Ah, temptation. What would the season of Lent be without it? The word temptation conjures particular images in our culture. We have the cartoon character Sylvester the Cat with an angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other. There’s Homer Simpson trying to ignore the nearby doughnut. Popular images of temptation share one thing in common: they emphasize individual choice regarding a single moment.

While the temptation story in Luke 4:1-13 likewise depicts an individual choice on the part of Jesus, his choice involves not a single tasty morsel. Rather, Jesus’ temptation involves a broader discernment. It is the very question, "Who will Jesus be?" This is how Lent confronts us — it raises vocation as a pressing life concern.

As the gospel of Luke presents it, Jesus’ temptation poses how his messianic identity will relate to privilege and power. Will Jesus stage demonstrations of messianic power? Will Jesus seek glory and authority as ends in themselves? Will Jesus expect God to certify his identity through outrageous demonstrations? In short, will Jesus turn this messianic vocation toward self-aggrandizement?

Privilege and power can tempt. They pose primary challenges for communities of faith in the United States and Canada. Voices within the churches seek growth for its own sake and political influence as a sign of the church’s status. They often determine the church’s agenda by means of its struggle for influence. Yet consider Jesus’ message immediately following his temptation. In the Nazareth synagogue he reads Isaiah’s proclamation. Isaiah declares good news to those who are poor, release to those who are captive, recovery of sight to those who are blind, freedom for those who are oppressed. Jesus embraced the prophet’s vision as his own vocation. In him, the vision was fulfilled (Luke 4:16-20). This clarity about Jesus’ own calling empowered him to confront the temptation in the wilderness, and also offered strength for the ministry and challenges that would follow.

The Scripture commentary from the Human Rights Campaign also has some very thought provoking thoughts about the reading from Romans 12: 8b-13.

The apostle Paul also explores the connections between vocation and privilege in Romans 10:8b-13. Many congregations have experienced tension between their new wave and their old guard. In Greg Carey’s own denomination, the United Church of Christ, churches sometimes experience this temptation when they consider the prospect of becoming "Open and Affirming" to all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Some ask, out loud even, "Will we become a gay church?" Paul’s letter to the Romans apparently addresses how some Gentile believers, the new wave, came to look down upon the smaller number of Jewish Christians in their midst.

In the church, whose opinion rules? Who does God call? Who ascends to heaven and who descends into the abyss (verses 6-7)? Paul insists "there is no distinction." "All who call on" Christ will encounter Christ’s generosity; "all who call" come to salvation (verse 12). The church that follows Christ cannot use its vocation as an arm of privilege.

The passage also invites us to reflect on the interplay between the church’s vocation and the vocation of individuals who are called by God. How unfortunate it is that some churches use their power and privilege to deny the pastoral vocation of so many LGBT people. It’s a good thing that Jesus was not dissuaded from his vocation by a few scriptural proof-texts quoted by the devil (Luke 1:9-12). We long for the day when the church will not be such a devil’s advocate (literally!) in similarly using a few Scriptures out of context to perpetuate the wrong-headed idea that gifted and called LGBT people are unfit for ministry.

As LGBT people of Faith, we should use this time during Lent to pray and be active in helping the Church to become a more welcoming and affirming place for LGBT individuals. I myself and my partner are fortunate to be welcomed, affirmed and celebrated as a gay couple at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Many readers of this blog are part of other congregations and faith traditions where they experience welcome, affirmation and celebration. But we might consider using this time to help ourselves move past our old temptations to listen to the "old tapes" that many of us have experienced from the religious right. We should ask God to help us remember that God does not see us as condemned people, but sees us as loved and cherished by God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We must also pray against the temptations that tell us to quite working for justice and equality because it is much too hard. We must also pray against the temptations to be only a voice for justice and equality for ourselves, and not for others such as the people of Uganda and Haiti and right in our own country. We should also be concerned about people affected by HIV/AIDS and other STD's, as well as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and many other illnesses. We should be advocates for the health care reform that is going on in our Congress. We should also be very concerned about all of those whom society and sometimes the Church kicks to curb as second class citizens.

We have an opportunity to take some lessons from Jesus and his struggle with evil and temptation. But we should also ask for the grace to accept the challenge of facing the evils of our time with the same grace that Jesus fought with when he was tempted. Like Jesus, we should never make excuses or exceptions for being who we are. We must always be willing to serve those most in need, but we should also spend some time alone with God so that God can meet us at the point of our need. The challenge of the temptation of Christ is to recognize that in Jesus is the very face of God. In his temptations, Christ focuses himself on God and challenges us to do the same.

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday of Lent, BCP, Page 218).

When Evil Has A Good Appearance

John 17:20-26(NRSV)

'I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 'Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.'

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions" as the old saying goes. How very true that statement is. As we recall at the creation story how Eve was pointed to the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden.

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig trees together and made loincloths for themselves." (Genesis 3:6-7).

That something that we should not do, is oh so appealing and gives us a sense of comfort. As a former smoker, I remember how good that fresh tobacco used to smell when I opened a new pack. I am someone who has type II diabetes and sometimes that chocolate just calls my name. It looks oh so good and tastes oh so good, but really it is not the best thing for me to do. All of us have those things that delight us when we see them, smell them, touch them, eat them, drink them, but in reality they are not good things.

To put all of this on a human level, we all need those things that comfort us to some degree. Without some wiggle room we would go crazy and God knows and understands that. God gives us all the good things we have to remind us that we were not put on this earth to live in total misery. But when "things" become our main source of want and need, they have the potential to become "god" for us, and this is where the danger can be. Even sex as beautiful and holy as it is, whether it be between two people of the same-sex or opposite sex is part of the great gift of God's love, but like all good things, they can be abused and lead to destruction.

In today's Gospel Jesus prays that famous prayer that all of us who follow him may be one. This prayer which is a hallmark of Jesus carries with it his earnest plea that all of us may learn to love one another with the same self sacrificing love with which Christ has loved all of us. The love that Jesus calls us to is a love that is most interested in binding us together to the point where purposefully injuring each others common good is something we would never consider. God wishes for all of God's children to live in a sense of peace and harmony with one another. Yet, we know that human history tells a story of a different kind. The Christian Church over the centuries has walked far away from this wish of Jesus. How many members of the Church of England were burned and martyred, because the Roman Catholic church wanted total control of Europe? How many members of the Roman church were martyred by King Henry VIII and many of his successors? This does not in any way take away from the thousands of people murdered by the Roman and Spanish Inquisitions in the name of "proper doctrine."

The Church and the followers of Jesus have not changed very much over the centuries. Now we are not fighting so much about the doctrines of Christianity, though there remain many disagreements. Instead there are raging battles over woman's rights, LGBT rights and the rights of those Christians who disagree with each other to keep or give up their property. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." In the name of what many right wing Christians call a defense of Christ and the Gospel they are willing to put aside all Christian Charity to accomplish their ends. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, DC this past week, has suspended their foster care and adoption services because in March, the District will begin recognizing same-sex marriages. At the CPAC Convention, Rick Santorum made the assertion that Military leaders have been indoctrinated into defending the need to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. At the same CPAC speaker Ryan Sorba condemned the CPAC for inviting conservative minded gays to participate in the convention. In the name of defending the conservative misunderstanding of homosexuality, they are willing to violate the very ethics of Christian Charity to make their point.

How are the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities to defend and work for our equal rights in ways that do not violate Christian Charity and achieve a good end? How can the LGBT communities do what we do best without falling into the traps of our conservative counterparts? How can we spend this Lent seeking God's help to raise us up beyond our second class citizenship and work our way towards full inclusion in society and the life of the Church? Each of us must answer these and other questions like it, within our prayer life.

We need to achieve our equality in ways that in no way justifies what our conservative adversaries do, but we can answer them with the truth while not injuring their common good. We need to answer their destructive anti-gay rhetoric and destroy heterosexism, not injure the people who promote it. As we seek to defeat heterosexism, we will be accused of trying to harm other people by those who defend heterosexuals as good, healthy and proper. However, we know that all we are doing is seeking equal rights under the law. If they claim that we are destroying the traditional understanding of marriage between a man and woman and therefore harming them in the process, although we are only seeking equal rights, then our peaceful human rights cause will be recognized by the right people at the right moment. We want to see the sin within their lack of charity destroyed, not they themselves as children of God. We must be careful that our struggle for LGBT rights and equality comes through peaceful debate and honestly educating them where they are obviously ignorant and wrong. No matter how appealing a few of them loosing a few limbs might seem to us, seeking their harm is not a good way to achieve what we want.

Jesus prays that we will all be faithful followers of him. Jesus is praying that we will see God's goodness in each other and act on God's goodness. Our conservative opponents obviously believe in God's love for them and others. We should all pray that our witness to the unconditional and all-inclusive love of God be a light in their darkness. Our prayers should be that our goodness and love for each other helps them see that we are so much more what their opinions are about our sexual orientations and/or gender identities/expressions. This task is difficult, it is one in which we will need to spend some time at the Cross as Jesus prays: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23: 34). In no way does this mean we approve of what they are doing, it does mean we ask God for the grace to forgive them as we would hope God would forgive us.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Ash Wednesday, BCP, 217).

Friday after Ash Wednesday: Meditation on the Cross

Matthew 16: 24-26 (NRSV).

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who loose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them, if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

On Ash Wednesday we heard another important charge if you will from Jesus when he reminded us that where our treasure is, there also is our heart. (See Matthew 6:18). It can be difficult in our world of technology and quick paced life to remember where our true devotion and center should be. We tend to think if only we had enough money, or products, or the ability to not have to worry about how we cook our pasta or anything that appears to quickly solve problems, then we will be truly satisfied. Our televisions are full of infomercials of the latest stuff that is suppose to make our lives easier. Internet offers come by the thousands in our spam boxes, that promise wealth and material happiness. Have you ever heard that people who win the lottery today are miserable in about a year because of all the debt they have acquired? They fell in to the trap of "If only we had more money, we will be happy."

I want to be very careful here that we lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people do not get the wrong idea. Our work for equality and justice is very important work. Jesus and his Cross is very much concerned about people who are left on the margins of society and the Church. However, we must also be very careful about the "If only this would happen, then we would be better off." Well, that is partially true. If we were granted the right of marriage equality for example, then we would be able to participate in the rights, privileges and responsibilities that heterosexuals enjoy. I truly believe that is what God wants for us. It is also very important that the atmosphere of full inclusion for LGBT people continue to become better so that people can come out and be honest about who they are. However, if we place our true happiness on these things and they become our focus and center, without taking the time to see God and Jesus as our center then we are missing the point of what and why we are seeking equal rights.

The Cross is where quite frankly, there are no human rights. It is a terrible act of injustice that the Son of God was crucified by our sins. Yet, without the Cross we could not be saved from our sins. When Jesus was nailed to the Cross full of pain, suffering and death all Jesus had was God. And from our time spent in the Christmas and Epiphany Seasons the one thing we understood from chapter 1 of John's Gospel is that Jesus is the Word of God, God's very Self. Yet, even God is willing to stripe God's Self in Jesus Christ to show us what is ultimately important. In Psalm 49 we read:

"Hear this, all you peoples; hearken, all you who dwell in the world, you of high degree and low, rich and poor together. The wickedness of those who put their trust in their goods, and boast of their riches? We can never ransom ourselves, or deliver to God the price of our life; For the ransom of our life is so great, that we should never have enough to pay for it, in order to live for ever and ever, and never see the grave. For we see that the wise die also; like the dull and stupid they perish and leave their wealth to those who come after them." (Psalm 49: 1, 5-9)

The Cross of Jesus and the words of this beautiful Psalm reminds us that no matter how much we gain, all of us will die some day. All that we work for here in this life might remain behind, but we will one day leave this world for another destiny. That destiny is in God's hands, not ours. Yet, we live, and buy, build, construct, destroy and rebuild as if there is no ending. Everything in this world that starts has an end, including us. At the Cross we see Who is the beginning and the end. God. At the Cross we see who our treasure and ultimate happiness will be in. God. As we look upon the Cross who do we see Jesus trusting in? God. Who then should we be focusing on and giving first place to? God.

One of my favorite old TV Shows used to be Touched by an Angel. Despite the cheesiness of the show that could be not so entertaining, the one thing that I loved about it is that the angels reminded people to keep God in their lives. Having God in our lives does not always mean that there will be a happy ending to the story, but it does mean that no matter what happens to us, God is there and God wants to love us and God wants us to trust God. This message was a constant reminder of this weekly show and it has a terrific message for us focusing on Jesus and the Cross during this season of Lent. We are spending this time of prayer, fasting and alms-giving to put God back into the center of our lives. God wants to be in our center because God wants to love us in the deepest part of ourselves, so that God can connect with every place where their are wounds, and shame over things that keep us from loving God, our neighbors and ourselves.

As LGBT people in our work for equality and justice let us remember to take some time at the Cross to reflect on why we are engaged in this unending task. We are doing it because at the Cross Jesus truly loved everyone, even those who put him there. When it is difficult for us to forgive those who discriminate against us, we need to visit the Cross to keep that anger and unwillingness to forgive from destroying our relationship with God and ourselves. When we struggle with thinking that we are condemned because of our sexual orientations and/or gender identities/expressions because the religious right says so, we need to spend some time at the Cross and hear Jesus tell us: "Today, you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23: 43). Jesus does not see us through the eyes of the philosophy of heterosexism. Jesus sees us as God does, as wonderful children created in the image and likeness of God, who are affected by sin just like everyone else. That sin is not our being LGBT, but thinking of ourselves on everyone else's terms except God's. God sees us as people that God is deeply in love with. God see us as people who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus shed on the Cross. God sees us as good, holy and with us, God is well-pleased in Jesus Christ, God's only Son our Lord.

Today, we are challenged to shoulder our cross and follow Jesus as he leads us all to God as the center of our lives. Jesus wants us all to forsake a self-destructive philosophy dominated with prejudice and hate, and to acquire for ourselves and the world around us a healthy understanding of ourselves by letting God be our center. Our work for equality and justice is based on the reality that God is our center and reason that we labor for everyone to be known, loved and respected as God's holy people.

When I survey the wondrous cross where the young Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it Lord, that I should boast, save in the cross of Christ, my God:
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a Crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.
(Hymn 474 from the Hymnal 1982).

How Are We Revealing God's Glorious Work?

Taken from John 17: 1-8. NRSV

Jesus said to the Father, "I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now that the know that everything you have given me is from you."

During Lent I am reading a book called: "Get Over Yourself; God's Here!" The book was written by the Very Rev. Kate Moorehead who is the Dean of St. John's Cathedral in Florida. The book is written from the perspective of asking the question what would Jesus have to say to the twenty-first century that is so devoted to ourselves? We live in a world of corporate greed, political maneuvering for the purpose of getting ourselves ahead of everyone else and biases. Over these past few weeks we have seen the issue of racism rear it's ugly head through the Tea Party Movement and one of it's speakers calling for those who do not speak English or those who are not Caucasian to have to take tests in order to be able to vote. We have also seen heterosexism rising as the National Organization for Marriage and the Family Research Council are determined that marriage equality for LGBT people must be stopped and no cost is too great.

As LGBT people we are often accused of seeking our own selfish goals for wanting marriage equality and our basic human rights to be protected by the law. In recent weeks there has been a law suit filed out of Michigan against the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill by those saying that the law "restricts the religious freedom" of preachers speaking out against homosexuality. As LGBT speak up and work for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, gay soldiers who want to serve in the military are accused of wanting to rape other American Soldiers.

In her book "Get Over Yourself; God's Here" Dean Kate Moorehead says that if we are going to get Lent off to a good start we need to start dealing with all of the bad stuff. We need to get all of the garbage out in the open so that we will know how to get rid of it so that we can focus on God's work in our lives. If we have ever wanted to clean up a big mess, we know that we have to start by locating where all the junk is that we want to get it out in the open, so to make the place clean. During Lent, we are busy making a real effort to chip away at those places where we need to let God in.

As lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people who are working for equality and our full inclusion in society and the Church, we need to begin by getting rid of the junk that creates the mess, by calling it out for what it really is. In Bishop Gene Robinson's Book: In the Eye of the Storm, he points out on page 24 that the problem with our society is not homophobia it is heterosexism.

"More and more people are feeling kindly toward gay and lesbian people, but that will never be enough. More important is dismantling the system that rewards heterosexuals at the expense of homosexuals."

If we want to be making some headway in our fight for marriage equality and protection of our rights we need to start calling out the problem by it's name: heterosexism. Why are African American's successful in their campaign? Because they call racism out on it's own terms. Why are women making headway toward equality? Because they call sexism out for what it really is. It is a way of thinking, acting and operating. Heterosexuals will never have to worry about someone telling them that their marriages and love are not legal, just because they are straight. Heterosexuals do not have to fight over custody of their children, just because they are not homosexuals. No one will look at a heterosexual male or female and tell them that they are not qualified for a job because of their sexual orientation. But every day, still in this country LGBT people face discrimination in marriage, child adoption, jobs and other matters just because they are not heterosexual.

Heterosexism is also the reason why once we come out, we fight against all those lies that the religious and conservative right wing tells about us. We must constantly go to the source within ourselves and route out that anger with in us that we are not heterosexual and because of the evil that is heterosexism, we suffer day in and day out. Do we have to suffer? NO, we do not. Our value, dignity and respect is based on the reality that whether we are black, white, Indian, man, woman, LGBT or straight, God created all of us as God's children who are "fearfully and wonderfully made." (Psalm 139:14)

If we are to reveal God's glorious work in our lives as LGBT people, we must begin by going into the very heart of who we are and routing OUT that junk that religious and political conservatives feed us every day that says that because we are not heterosexual, we are worthless. Those lies that tell us that if we are a man or woman and we love someone of the same sex, our love is not a holy love, because only the sexual and romantic love between a man and a woman is holy, blessed and respected by God. We need to call those lies out by name and tell them, they are wrong, they are not true and they have no place in our hearts or in the politics of our government. And then, we need to take action and let our Governmental leaders and Church leaders know that we do not accept hetersexism determining the laws of our land or the validity of our personal relationships with God who is Creator, Servant and Life-Giver. Then, we will truly make some progress.

As LGBT we need to gather with Jesus at the Cross and share with Christ's suffering so that we can understand God's glory and live it in our daily lives. Lent is a time for seeing Christ in the midst of our daily struggles against the voices of the world working in our understandings of ourselves. We need to see that God is with us in the midst of our suffering, but that God also desires for us to see that suffering for what it truly is. It is a twisted understanding of how we think God sees us. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Christians must see that our suffering over who we are, and over recognizing God's goodness in who we are and how we love, is God wanting us to see the truth about ourselves, and be set free. Free to help others know that all love is given and cherished by the God who loves us, and gave the life of God's only Begotten Son so that God's love may live a new in us.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Ash Wednesday, BCP, Page 217).

Ash Wednesday: Lent Begins, As We Begin Again

The Rule of St. Benedict is said to be a rule for beginner's. It is a rule for those of us who so often go off our course and need to know where to start over. It sounds a lot like life. It can sound an awful lot like the struggle for civil and human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. We achieve successes and after a time we can so easily loose the rights we have gained. For example the State of Virginia who's new Republican Governor McConnell signed en executive order causing State Employees who are LGBT to lose their employment protections. Today as we begin the season of Lent, we might want to spend Ash Wednesday in prayer for the State of New Hampshire. The House is going to vote on New Hampshire's newly established marriage equality laws.

Activities such as these reminds us of an interview that Cleve Jones had with Anderson Cooper on CNN just before the National Equality March last October 11th. In that interview activist Cleve Jones mentioned how hard the LGBT community works to gain equal rights protections, but so quickly are those rights rescinded by those who organize against LGBT rights. The old saying is quite applicable here, one step forward and two steps backwards.

Lent is a time for prayer, alms-giving and fasting. It is a time to refocus our lives on the promise of God's salvation through Jesus Christ. It is also a season during which we take a look inside our own hearts and lives and challenge ourselves to grow closer to God. There is the age old idea of giving up things during Lent. People try to quite smoking, eat a little less, give up favorite foods or habits. Those things are not bad, but they really do not capture the entire meaning of Lent. I like to think of Lent as a time for adjusting our attitudes. Giving up things while often quite difficult does not begin to address the problems we have. Changing our attitudes, now that takes the work and it is all too easy to over look.

How might lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people observe this Lent in a way that is transforming of not only ourselves, but also others? How might this Lent be a new beginning for LGBT people as we work to address the old prejudices of conservative Christians and politicians? How can we as LGBT Christians spend this Lent so that we can affect society and the Church so that changing the atmosphere of prejudice and discrimination over sexual orientation and gender identity/expression becomes a priority that cannot be avoided?

What I am about to offer is my own suggestions. My readers are free to use or not use them as they see fit. But I do believe that the readings for Ash Wednesday offers us an opportunity that we should not overlook.

First, we are told by our Gospel of Matthew 6:1-6, and 16-21 to exercise our prayer and acts of piety in a way that glorifies God and not ourselves. Among the many things we can use Lent to do is to spend some quiet, personal time with God. We need to focus ourselves on God and ask God to renew with in us how we see ourselves and how we think God views us. Among the attitudes that needs to be altered is to understand that God loves us unconditionally and all-inclusively. It is all too easy to take events such as what happened in Virginia, New Mexico, what is going on in Uganda and other places and assume that because conservatives in both religious and political circles must mean that God also sees us as corrupt and just poorly formed or informed. We must spend some time asking God to renew within us a new understanding and attitude towards ourselves. We will be challenged to love ourselves in places where we have formerly been told to hate. We will be moved to see how much God really values everything about us to the point that all that self-hating stuff, just has to go. We cannot receive this Spiritual energy if we do not place ourselves in the Presence of God so as to spend some time with that renewable energy resource.

In Paul's second letter to the Corinthians we are told that now is the time and day of salvation. (See 2 Corinthians 5:20b to 6:10). Today is the day to encounter God in new and exciting ways. The opportunity to deepen our relationship to God through our relationships to other people is given to us in the here and now. The hour to recommit ourselves to the work of equality and justice for ourselves and other minorities is here. LGBT people are still understood as second class citizens. If you are lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgendered, as I am a gay person who believes in Jesus Christ and God's message of salvation through Christ, we are looked upon by religious conservatives as people who have taken the Bible out of it's context. We have misapplied the message of Jesus Christ and his Gospel. Today is the day to be a messenger of a new and all inclusive Gospel that says all are welcomed and loved by God. Today is a day to remind people that Jesus Christ came to call those who are arrogant and proud of being saved by Jesus Christ to a conversion of heart that calls for humility. Today is a day to remember that we are all sinners and we all have those things about us that separate ourselves from God and one another. LGBT Christians are those who have been Baptized into Christ Jesus and his death and resurrection. LGBT believers and followers of Jesus Christ are Christians who live and die by the Cross on a daily basis, and rise again through the promise of Easter Sunday. We accomplish this message by cooperating with God's message of salvation. We perform the ministry of evangelism by remembering all who are marginalized and stigmatized by society and the Church. When we speak up when society and the Church are committing outrageous injustice we are standing with Christ who stood by and with those who are considered different and challenged his contemporary listeners to a new understanding of everyone around them.

As I promised through my blog this past Monday, LGBT people can experience and grow during this season of Lent if we will remember to spend some much needed time meditating and standing by the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Cross is where all prejudice and hate found it's match, by being made as real as was humanly possible. On the Cross a horrific hate crime was committed. Love was crucified in the name of religious and political agenda's. The One who was crucified there was Jesus Christ, God made human. God experienced discrimination for having loved everyone, regardless of what the rules of the religious establishment of his time. At the Cross, Jesus experienced total isolation and denigration because he loved God and every human person totally, completely and without exception. His unique way of loving others earned him condemnation and shame by the community that should have embraced him.

LGBT people can bring our pain of having been ostracized by our families, friends, work places and churches to the Cross. We can cry out in the most bitter pain and God is right there with us. God connects with our pain and God walks through it with us. God embraces us through the outstretched arms of Christ nailed to the Cross. We do not have to feel our shame alone. We do not have to accept the false guilt that the religious right imposes up on us. NO, we can and we must accept that Christ died on that Cross for LGBT people, because God loves us unconditionally as God loves all people. The Cross is the Book that assures us of God's unconditional and all-inclusive love. On the Cross our shame and guilt was murdered when Christ was killed. On Easter Sunday, LGBT people with Jesus Christ rose again with new life and a renewed sense of purpose. Because in the Resurrection new life begins and so did we start a new.

As we begin this Lent let us all spend time asking God where do we begin again. Each of us will have a different starting point. In Jesus Christ we are all one body, yet diverse and unique. In Christ we will be made whole and holy, and we will succeed.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Ash Wednesday, BCP, Page 217).

What To Expect for Lent 2010

Today I am taking just a bit of a break from my usual blogging to tell my readers a little about what is coming up as we prepare for Lent, Holy Week and Easter 2010.

Lent is such a great time to prepare for the celebration of the events that our Lord Jesus Christ endured to bring about our salvation. It is a time to meditate on how we can deepen our relationship with God through prayer and sharing. It is a time to reset our Spiritual lives and focus on what the Cross means for Christians. It is also a time to wander with Jesus in the deserts of our own hearts and minds.

As we enter into Lent this coming Wednesday which is Ash Wednesday there will be blog on that day that will focus on beginning our Lenten journey to Easter. As with the meaning of this blog it will include how LGBT people can experience the work and fruit that Lent offers. I will continue to pull current events into the picture, but I will also challenge us to look at how we can unite our work for equality and justice with Christ and his Cross, and how that can be our greatest hope for victory.

On the Fridays of Lent, the blog entries for that day will focus particularly on the cross and it's meaning for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. Friday's blog will be more focused on the Cross than perhaps the rest of the week. The Cross is not only the means of how Christ saved us, but it is also the greatest place for prayer and meditation as to what we are called to as LGBT Christians. It is not really the place where our sexual orientations and/or gender identities/expressions are destroyed as the religious right would like us to believe. Actually the Cross is where we are accepted and loved, forgiven and commissioned to live our lives as LGBT Christians. So, Friday's blog will be about the Cross and it's relationship to LGBT people.

Holy Week and Easter will bring us right to remembering the Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection at which time we will celebrate Christ's unconditional and all inclusive love. The salvation of God for all people includes LGBT individuals. There are those who feel that there should be no place for LGBT people at the Altar, Cross or at the Empty Tomb. In the blogs I write around that time, I plan to offer some thoughts about why the Altar, the Cross and the Empty Tomb is exactly where LGBT people need to be.

I want to thank all of my blog readers up to this point and invite you to continue to read. I pray that we will all have a successful and meaningful Lent, Holy Week and Easter celebration. I pray that we will be renewed and healed as LGBT and other Christians as we celebrate the events through which God in Jesus Christ brought about our salvation. There will be no blog tomorrow, Tuesday, February 16th as we prepare for Ash Wednesday.

God bless.

Last Sunday After the Epiphany: How Do We Experience Authenticity?

This has been a big weekend in the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota. Bishop Brian N. Prior was consecrated and ordained as the IX Bishop of the Diocese at a magnificent Liturgy on February 13, 2010. Today, in a ceremony marked by pageantry and rich Anglican ritual Bishop Prior was seated at St. Mark's Cathedral in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bishop Prior has had another Cathedral seating at the historical Cathedral of Our Merciful Savior in Faribault, Minnesota. The Diocese has been busy with the excitement the comes with this wonderful occasion for both the Bishop and the people of Minnesota.

This morning at St. Mark's Cathedral we were privileged to have as our preacher Bonnie Anderson, the President of the House of Deputies in the Episcopal Church. Before being elected as Bishop of Minnesota, Fr. Brian Prior served as the Vice-President of the House of Deputies along with Bonnie Anderson as President.

Among the many profound points that Bonnie Anderson made this morning is that in the Episcopal Church it is understood that there really are four orders of ministry. In the Catechism found in the Book of Common Prayer on page 855 we read:

Q. Who are the ministers of the Church?
A. The ministers of the Church are lay person, bishops, priests and deacons.

It is no mistake that the laity are the first mentioned as ministers in the Church. Yes we have our Bishops, Priests and Deacons who help minister the Word and Sacraments, but it is the ministry of the laity that keeps the Church going. We are the people who help bear the fruit of the work of those ordained. Without the laity the work of the ordained only goes so far. Without the ordained the laity risk not having direction. The reality is we are all in the work of God together and the ministry of the Gospel belongs to all of us. All of us have our tasks to do.

Today on this last Sunday before Lent begins we are brought to the mountain top with Jesus, Peter, James and John. We read the story about Jesus transfigured before the eyes of the Disciples and their response of fear at what they are witnessing. Yet, God assures them that Jesus is the one they must listen to, because Jesus is God's Son. When the fullness of who Jesus is was revealed to those Disciples they gained just a tiny understanding of who Jesus was. Jesus was made authentic before their eyes. They had a new understanding that they were following God's perfect revelation. The incarnation was given it's validity, even if it was not totally understood that way. This experience helped them begin to understand that God is with us in those times when life is just over the mountain top. Yet this event takes place before Jesus must go to Jerusalem and face his passion and death. We know from the Transfiguration that God is with us in the good times and the bad. This sounds very much like the love story that it in fact is meant to be.

Today is Valentine's Day. We celebrate love. Love between our partners, those we date, our friends, perhaps relatives and others that we have affection for. The important thing about love is that it is authentic. That we love out of the reality of who we are and we serve others with love as our reason and ultimate goal. This takes a life-time of work. All of us can love just a little bit better, deeper and with a sense of authenticity. We should always love as if we mean it. Yet, we know from our human nature that we can always be selfish, twisted and not so real. The story of the Transfiguration reminds us to be real, to be that light that shines in the middle of a dark world and that everyone is called to serve those who live in the dark of being without being loved.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are told by religious and political conservatives that our love is not real, holy or authentic. When we attempt to work for marriage equality, or pass laws against hate crimes, work to repeal DADT and to be able to earn a living wage without being fired for our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression we are treated as sick people. Many refer to LGBT people as criminals. Religious conservatives accuse LGBT who want to serve in the military of wanting to do rape other soldiers. In seeking marriage equality LGBT couples are accused of wanting to commit incest and pedophilia. Even if the largest number of pedophiles are said to be among heterosexual married males.

What religious conservatives fail to understand is that lesbian and gay people are not able to authentically love someone of the opposite sex, because that is not who we are. We were blessed with the gift of loving members of the same sex, so that we can love each other as authentic human beings. How many closeted homosexual people have entered into heterosexual marriages only to find out years later that they really are gay or lesbian and they cannot stop themselves from seeking out people of the same-sex to be involved with? Such people are looking for real authentic love that they can truly understand. The language of the love between people of the opposite sex is one that they cannot talk without finding themselves confused and terrified. They may have been able to conceive children, but they do not really love the person of the opposite sex in a way that they feel fulfilled and they are not sure how to deal with that in a healthy manner. Young questioning teenagers and youth who experience same-sex attraction are not sure who to talk to, because they hear anti-gay jokes at home or in school. They want to understand how to love with a sense of authenticity, but they do not know if they should trust this love that they do not understand how to explain or express.

If lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are going to experience what it means for us to be authentic, then we must be real before God and ourselves before we can be true to anyone else. We all have to come to the place where we realize that if we live by the rules of religious conservatives about what being LGBT means, we will never be authentic people. We will never quite love the way we were created to love. Only when we are true about being LGBT and allow ourselves to love that way, will we be authentic about who we are and why we are here.

As with Jesus, knowing who you really are and living that out means that we will experience both ups and downs. We will be taken to the heights of love and relationships, and at times we will experience the crosses of heartaches, break-ups, difficulties, addictions and difficulties. But if we place our trust in God and listen to Jesus in both his words and example we will be triumphant through the resurrection and know new life in the Name of the Son of God. We will live out our vocation as ministers of God's Church as our lives tell their own Gospel story. When the Gospel comes alive in our lives, it is no longer an abstraction. The Gospel is lived authentically and it moves others to want to make it their own story.

As we prepare to begin Lent this upcoming Wednesday perhaps we might ask ourselves how we are living authentically the mission of love as the Gospel calls us to do. We may want to look at ourselves as God sees us, as more than the rather than the anti-gay rhetoric of religious conservatives. Perhaps one of the ways we can spend Lent is learning to see ourselves as LGBT people in positive ways, and how we can impact the world and the Church with many of it's LGBT prejudices in positive and life-changing ways. How can LGBT people live authentically and as if we are listening to the Son of God, as God has called us to do?

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, BCP, Page 217).

Truth In Word and Action

The original Gospel that was used for today's Divine Office unfortunately did not use what I think is the most important part of all Jesus was saying in John 8:33-47. I think they should have started with verses 31 and 32 and so those are the verses I am going to use and comment on today.

John 8:31-32 says: "Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him: "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

As lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people we are in what appears never ending trouble over what is the truth about our sexual orientation and/or gender identities/relationships. We are also in a conflict with the religious and political right over what our being LGBT means in terms of our jobs, relationships, service in the military, immigration laws and the list could go on and on. Churches have been in controversial discussions over whether being LGBT means we are fit for service as lay leaders, priests, bishops and/or whether our relationships should be celebrated in liturgical services as unions or marriages.

Those in the religious and civil right and others who lean in that direction continue to debate with the broader public as well as the LGBT community over what is the truth about being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered. Ex-gay ministries love to advertise themselves as leading those of us who are "afflicted" with same-sex attraction away from what they call self-destructive behavior and it is all based on the word of God, the Bible.

With all of this in mind, I want to dare to venture to take a page from the Catholic church and a rather conservative now retired Bishop who at that time said something I think is truly profound. He said that as Catholics we are not only to regard what Jesus said as the Word of God, but also what Jesus did is also the Word of God. I do not mind saying that the Bishop who said this is Bishop David Foley the now retired Bishop of Birmingham, Alabama, the home of EWTN and Mother Angelica's reactionary and conservative religious community. What disappoints not only myself but other LGBT and other minorities I am sure, is that if what Jesus did is also the Word of God then we also have to take that very seriously. When all Christian charity appears to stop at one's sexual orientation and/or gender expression/identity, and our pursuit of marriage equality and the protection of our civil and human rights under the laws of our land, then how exactly is that honoring the Truth who is Jesus Christ and who loved everyone? How is the Truth who is Jesus Christ uplifted and glorified if those who call themselves Christians continue in an attitude of wanting to annihilate an entire group of people only on the basis of who we love in the privacy of our own homes? How does recognizing the Person of Jesus Christ in everyone except the homosexual, bisexual and transgendered individuals, couples and families means that the Truth has set anyone free?

Shortly after I came out after leaving Courage one of the people who gave me her shortest and best counsel said: "Isn't it interesting what happens when we surrender to the Holy Spirit, versus trying to suppress her?" When I finally came out again, and admitted that I am gay and how I want to be in love with another man, the truth once again took hold of me. At that moment I was released from the bitter bondage of the bad attitudes I had learned towards myself, my own family and so many other things, people and places. I was finally set free, because I had faced and accepted the truth about myself. This story is repeated by so many LGBT individuals who have shared the news with me that at one point in time they were ready to commit suicide over their sexual orientation. Once they had accepted themselves as LGBT all thoughts of ending their lives ceased and a new joy and comfort within themselves was finally allowed to live and grow.

Jesus Christ offers everyone including those marginalized by society and the Church the chance to come face to face with who they are, and learn to love themselves as God loves them. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people like any one person or group of people have to find their personal dignity, value, integrity and respect in their own hearts and minds so that we may know that we are LGBT and not only is it good, it is absolutely wonderful. We can serve Christ, the Church and the world best when we are first true to ourselves, and develop a healthy attitude about who we are and live as compassionate and caring people. In a world and Church where LGBT people struggle to be included, it is ever more imperative that we are prepared to include ourselves where ever and how ever we find opportunities.

As we work for marriage equality and civil rights, full inclusion in society and the Church we must allow ourselves those places and opportunities where we can place our unique ways of loving and see that as our gifts at be placed at the service of other LGBT people and even those who are not. As difficult as it is, we can even offer the good of who we are to those who oppose our rights. Isn't it amazing that those who are seeking to be allowed to serve in the US Military when DADT is repealed will be helping to defend the freedom of those who supported DADT's ending and those who were opposed? Is that not just a wonderful fulfillment of Jesus' call to love and serve our enemies? Just look at the opportunity they have to look forward to some day.

What truths about ourselves do we need to accept so that Jesus can set us free? Do we trust in God to set us free knowing God's truth about us, or are we too focused on anti-gay rhetoric? What are some things we do to help us in those times when we find ourselves again focusing on anti-gay rhetoric rather than the truth about who we are? What are some ways in which we can include ourselves to help others know the truth about LGBT people?

Asking the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts with her unique style of calming and challenging us are a great way to help us answer these and other questions we might have so that we may know that Truth who is Jesus Christ, that we may be set free.

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known o us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.BCP, Page 216). (Collect for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany,

When Love is Held Hostage

Romans 12:9-21 (NRSV)

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I just got back a little while ago from participating in the Freedom to Marry Day Rally at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. Hundreds of supporters for marriage equality for LGBT people along with Faith leaders of all walks came out to rally support for same-sex marriage to be made legal in Minnesota.

Fr. Tim Hodapp an Episcopal Priest who was there representing St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral spoke about how justice and equality can be very much like our personal diets. When justice for one group of people is out of balance, all of society suffers as a result. As was said at last weeks National Hour Prayer Breakfast, when one part of God's Body is denied their basic human rights, all of God's Body is threatened.

In the case of marriage equality, it is not just LGBT people that are held hostage to right wing politics, it is love that is imprisoned when those of us who are LGBT are not allowed to legally marry the person we love.

I saw one incredible sign while I was at today's rally. The sign read: "When can I vote on YOUR marriage?" When the rights of LGBT people to make a public commitment to the person they love is held by corrupted politics and religious convictions based on fiction instead of accuracy, everyone's rights are ultimately in danger. The health of a society or a church that will not see people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered as worthy of legal protections from being bashed, killed, hurt, or unable to marry and/or care for their partners personal, medical and financial lives, it hurts everyone. When love is legislated, love is not free. When love is not free it cannot heal, bind up wounds and cast out fear. Marriage is an issue of the heart, not a matter of governmental control or religious based prejudice.

Today's reading from Paul's letter to the Roman's encourages us to "Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor." Love can be genuine between two people of the same-sex, just as it is between one man and one woman. Love can do wonderful things, and it can defeat evil and hold on to what is good. In love, partners, husbands, wives and children can show mutual respect for each person's dignity. However, when that dignity is denied, by with holding basic human and civil rights from anyone group of citizens, it can destroy the very fabric of human and civil liberties for any person at any time. We do not honor God when we fail to honor those who are stigmatized by society or the Church.

When a country like Uganda can look at hunting down and putting in prison and/or executing people for being gay, with the Anglican Bishop approving and suggesting such laws be passed, no one is truly safe. Everyone's human rights are threatened, when any particular group of people's safety is assaulted. This is not the way of God, this is not the way of Christianity. It defies the very principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to love God, neighbor and self.

May we never let go of our energy to continue fighting for marriage equality in our Nation, State, or local City Governments. However, let's remember that our human and civil rights should never be in the hands of legislators. We are looking for the rights that are already given to us, to be protected by our laws. We must call upon our Governmental leaders to push for, grant and protect our rights. Let us do it, because when love is held hostage, all of society is out of balance. When love is free, there can finally be peace, justice and equality for all.

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, BCP, Page 815).

Light and Darkness

John 8:12-20 (NRSV)

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." Then the Pharisees said to him, "You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid." Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf." Then they said to him, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

In the past few days I have been receiving some wise counsel about seeing myself as God sees me. After my experience with the Roman churches ex-gay ministry Courage, I still have a lot of healing to do. Much of that healing needs to be how I have been taught to view myself as a gay man.

Courage along with other ex-gay groups casts this huge shadow of darkness over people who are gay. They do not want us to think of ourselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered because that is much too much of a "political label." And so their contradiction to that is to get us to see ourselves as men or women with same-sex attraction and to treat that as a "disease" or "disorder." They do not see what they do as darkness or damaging, because the spread of homosexuality as an alternative life to being heterosexual is the error of darkness they are seeking to shed the light of God on.

My experience is very much the same as what many LGBT people experience in our conversations with religious and political conservatives. There is something about homosexuality, bisexuality and transgendered behavior that is just not right. Not only does anti-gay rhetoric seek to destroy our work for civil and human rights, but also our dignity as human beings. They want us to see our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression as "intrinsically disordered."

The problem with much of this and other anti-gay rhetoric is that it really does go against the heart of what Scripture teaches about God's relationship with every single one of us, gay or straight. The talk that seeks to change people who are LGBT is also in it's own way a slap in the face of who God is. If we learn to see God in that "light" that is beyond our comprehension, that God is so much greater than labels and useless rhetoric we will see that God's view of all of God's children cannot possibly be confined to the world view that God has one group of people that God wishes were different than the way we were "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).

This Gospel has a lot to say about darkness and light. Jesus is the "Light of the World, Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." (John 8:12). As I have said many religious conservatives accuse LGBT people of following darkness when we accept our sexual orientations and/or gender identities/expressions. As if, the only way for us to go back into the "light" is to renounce our sexuality and gender identities/expressions and try to be something we are not. Yet, they are forgetting something very important. God knew us, consecrated us and commissioned us as we are and loved us before we were even in the womb. Read all of Psalm 139 and Jeremiah 1:5 and we will see how much God loved us into being. In addition, we read in Psalm 139: 11 and 12: "If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night", even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as day, for darkness is as light to you." There is nothing about any of us that God does not know, or love. All of us LGBT and straight are a delight to God.

In Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh the beauty with which God created us has been restored. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, our sins have been washed away and we share in the newness of God's life and love. We have been redeemed to carry on in our life and to love ourselves and our significant other helping them to know that God cares about and loves them, and has sent us to love them as God's reminder. When we fall in love with someone and when someone falls in love with us, it is God's way of telling us how much God cherishes us. When we learn to fall in love with ourselves as LGBT people, God is reminding us how much we are cherished and loved. That Light that is Jesus permeates all of the darkness of anti-gay rhetoric and shows how none of that is any where near true. If we could only learn to see ourselves through God's Light and not the darkness of the religious right's anti-gay comments. If only we could help other gay people who have turned away from Christianity due to the darkness of ex-gay groups, what a different world it would be. The best thing we can do is see ourselves in that Light that is Jesus, so that others will want to know what we are doing. God's Light will shine through us.

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known o us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, BCP, Page 216).