Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him. Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near. So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world." (For not even his brothers believed in him.) Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil. Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come." After saying this, he remained in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were in secret. The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, "Where is he?" And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds. While some were saying, "He is a good man," others were saying, "No, he is deceiving the crowd." Yet no one would speak openly about him for fear of the Jews.
Among the many things I love about reading the Gospel story of Jesus is hearing about all the trouble he gets in to. As we go about our daily lives distracted by the phone calls, appointments, experiences we tend to think we are the only ones going through things. How many of us have worked in places where we knew someone around us just didn't like us very much and always seemed to be about the business of getting under our skin or trying to get us out of their way? Jesus experienced all of that too. In the gay community we talk a lot about the "drama" that goes on from one person to another. I often get quite the laugh out of gay profiles where the owner will write "I am a drama free guy." Yet, after meeting the person, we can discover how not so drama free the advertiser is.
Today's Gospel is full of drama. Everyone wants to get to the bottom of the story and find out what's really going on. At the end of it all, do we really know more than we did before we heard it all? Not really. What we do know is that like us, Jesus lived in very perilous times. He existed in days of economic hardship, prejudice and oppression. Like us, Jesus lives among people who really do know pain and suffering, anger, and a sense of helplessness. As Jesus interacts with all these people in our Gospel today, we see God in it all with us. God has not forgotten us, nor is God absent from even the most difficult times in our lives. Even when we are messing it all up, God is there walking, hurting and helping us through it all.
As I am listening to much of the political debating these days over the jobs creation bill, health care reform, the repeal of DADT, and praying for Uganda to stop this draconian law to imprison or execute homosexuals, I cannot help ask if we are all forgetting that we are in this together? It is easy for law makers to drag their feet on these and other issues like it, because they have their own jobs, health care and they do not have to be afraid of being kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. When the issues are not ours, we tend to pretend that the are not there for others.
This week, Senator John McCain failed to act on a campaign promise he made when he was running for President. He said that if there was a military personal who could tell him that it was time to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell then we should consider changing the law, because they know what is best. Yet, even with Joint Chief of Staff Mike Mullen on Tuesday saying that DADT should be repealed, Sen. McCain said that the policy was working fine. Other Republican Candidates such as Charley Crist are saying that DADT should remain in place. And then there are those within our Democratic congress who think we should wait on this issue. All of these activities are drawing sharp criticism and impatience from the LGBT Community.
"ya know when I hear about how groups have to wait and think through the effects of repealing DADT, or implementing ENDA etc it basicly translates into....ummmm can we continue to discriminate and hate on you just a little longer, to see if we'll miss it. its just plain ignorant to continue on like this, is mandated hatred and discriminate the cornerstone of American governance, the way they resist this one would certainly think so." (Said by Dove Paige Anthony of Join the Chicago Impact, and reprinted with her permission).
God showed us in Jesus Christ that the Gospel is so not about oppression and discrimination. Yet, many fundamentalists use it for such. As we read through the Gospel accounts of Jesus and his ministry, we see him bringing those outcast by society into the center to enjoy being part of God's community. God's heart breaks when people cannot get jobs, health care and human rights. God literally does cry when Governments with all that power use it to keep people from getting what the daily essentials of life to survive. But, God has also not left us with no recourse to doing something about it. God has sent us to be in the midst of it all, to show that God is with us as we experience what is going on.
God has given LGBT people such an insight into these and so many other issues, so that we can challenge the status quo and call people to examine their consciences so that a change of heart might be possible. Why do you think the religious and political conservatives are fighting so hard against us? Because we are challenging them to accept a change that is to difficult for them to realize without changing their philosophies. They indeed need a change, but they are resisting it, because of what it means for them. This is why the LGBT community must not give up the fight or the votes this year to help move our issues forward.
Today, I celebrate my 41st Birthday. I am celebrating the gift of life that God gave to me. This past year and two months since I left being involved with the Courage Apostolate, I have learned again and again to love myself the way God created me and to love others the way God created me to love them. The more I accept myself, and love the fact that I am a gay, christian and just do what I am gifted to do, the more God can do the rest. All of us are given that special something by God that makes us our unique individual selves. If only we could help move the hearts of people all over the world to understand and value the gift God has given in and through each of us to do something to make the world a better place, then I believe wars, discrimination, violence and bitterness would truly starve themselves to death at long last. All we have to do is those little things that make us who we are, by which we contribute to the work of equality and justice.
This weekend I also celebrate another wonderful gift. One year ago on February 7th, I met my dear husband, partner and best friend Jason. We have spent this year together gaining each others trust and working through incredible obstacles. We laugh together, cry together, love together, struggle together and sometimes we just exist together. One thing that I carry with me from my days as a Catholic is that our spouses teach us so much about God and ourselves more than anything or anyone else. My partner helps me learn that sometimes I do need to just slow down, take my time, relax and enjoy. My partner teaches me to be flexible when I want to be my rigid hard-ass self. My partner helps me love myself when I am feeling the hate of a society that does not see our love as good, beautiful and holy. My partner has helped me see that God knows that I am beloved by God and with me, God is well pleased. Jason helps me see that even with everything I may not like about myself, God loves me that way and so does Jason. We face these challenges together, and we celebrate moving forward from here together. This is only the beginning, and there is only better days ahead. Thank you God, for this wonderful man.
Today, may God helps us all to know how much we are loved by God, by helping us to love and be loved by someone who like God, loves us like no one else can.
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; 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 Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, BCP, Page 215).
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