"I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. "I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
1 Peter 3: 15-16 (NRSV)
Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.
In First Run Features best selling documentary For the Bible Tells Me So, Rev. Laurence C. Keene a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) said: "I have a real soft spot for Biblical literalists, because I used to be one." When I heard him say that I was reminded of my own history of Biblical literalism. How many times as a student at Eastern Nazarene College I would use the Bible to manipulate someone into understanding something the way I did, and how I would be so concerned if they didn't quite see it my way. Shortly after I came out in the year 2000 I realized that the person who had been most affected by all of that, was me. It is easy to point a finger one way and forget about the other three pointing back at ourselves.
It is all too easy to refer to what the Bible says and again as Rev. Keene so wisely said fail to understand what the Bible "reads". We get so used to using the Bible to defend our own positions, that we forget the Person who is at the center of it all. The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther referred to the Bible as a cradle with Jesus Christ in the middle.
As I was praying the Divine Office this morning and read the Gospel I was struck by the words: "Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God." In the past few weeks and years we have heard of people who consider themselves "pro-life" thinking they are doing an "act of God" by murdering doctors who perform abortions. It has been "in the name of God" that so many people have spoken up against health care reform based on the abortion issue. Many politicians and activists have called health care reform an "abortion bill." Yet, no where in the health care reform bill is there any mention of public funds used for abortion. What IS in the bill is caring for children with pre-existing conditions. In other words, so called "pro-life" individuals are all concerned about children in the womb, without any concern for the mother or the child once she/he is born. Let's just prevent a mother from killing her child while she/he is in the womb, but let's not give a damn about it should she/he be born with an illness that is next to impossible for the mother to get that child health care. All "in the name of God." The so-called "pro-life" position still contains a message of kill, kill, kill. It seems like such a contradiction.
So many Christians wish to use the Bible and the Name of God to smear or even kill lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. Many already have. Many use the "Name of God" as a reason to justify hate crimes or for defeating marriage equality. Tomorrow here in St. Paul, Minnesota many will gather in peaceful protest.
Archbishop John Nienstedt and the Office of Marriage, Family, and Life invited Maggie Gallagher and Bishop Salvatore Cordileone to speak at an Archdiocesan event at the university. Both are leading activists in the efforts to take marriage away from loving couples in California and Maine. Gallagher heads the anti-equality group, National Organization for Marriage (NOM), while Bishop Cordileone of Oakland has been called the "Father of Proposition 8." NOM also worked hard to block marriage equality in Washington D.C. but failed.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Christians give witness to the love of God. Our lives, love and relationships are based on the reality that God loves all of us in very concrete and holy ways. God gives to each person the ability to love in the unique ways. People who interpret the Bible or even the teachings of the Catholic church through the limited eyes of literalism and fundamentalism, eventually wind up using them to defend positions and behaviors that are not based on the Gospel. When they resort to spiritual, sexual or even physical violence "in the Name of God" they are doing so in a way that does not honor God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit. Yet, such people encourage those of us who are LGBT and Christian to: "Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame."
Today is as good of a day as any to speak up in the Name of God in peaceful, respectful and reverent ways that God's love is unconditional and all inclusive. God's love means that all discrimination and violence "in the Name of God" is never God's will. Can God make use of the circumstances of violence and bias to bring about good things? Yes. But God is not a psycho path. The worship of God is no excuse for promoting prejudice and violence. The extravagant love of God is not a scape goat for spreading fear, racism, sexism, hetero-sexism and intolerance for the diversity of cultures, religions and challenges. The Easter mystery and message is love and hope for all of God's people.
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; 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 Second Sunday of Easter, Book of Common Prayer, Page 224).
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Social Justice, Book of Common Prayer, Page 823).
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, Book of Common Prayer, Page 815).
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