Second Sunday of Easter: Living and Believing Beyond What We See

The familiar story of the experience of Thomas with the risen Christ which we hear every year, is an opportunity to reset our faith after a long week of reflecting on the events of Easter.  The events that have been going on around us this past week might cause us to have some doubts of our own.  Fear might be plaguing us as we hear stories of people not getting their unemployment benefits or the miners being killed.  Fear was in the minds of the disciples which is why they were in a room with the door locked.  Yet, Jesus appears to them and wishes them peace.  And so Jesus comes to us today in the midst of all the violence, war, discrimination and worry and offers us God's peace.

The peace that God offers us is one that may not come by way of satisfying all our temporary needs.  Many individuals still cannot afford health insurance. The families of those miners that lost their lives are grieving and angry, as are all of us when business executives think more about their profits than taking steps to insure that their workers are safe from disastrous conditions. People are grieving and afraid of what is coming next.  The peace that Jesus offers us won't stop us all from dying.  It may not stop every war, act of corporate greed or prejudice that exists in the world.  But the peace that Jesus offers us is to know that God has not stopped believing in us or loving us, even if there may be questions in our own hearts and minds about who God is and/or what God is doing.  Times are difficult, but they are opportunities that help us wait to see what God is going to do. The best is yet to come.

Out in Scripture by the Human Rights Campaign as always has some thoughtful insights into this weekends readings.

The traumatic experiences of Jesus' arrest and crucifixion have left his followers paralyzed by fear. They lock themselves in, and are literally afraid to be "out." Yet we find in John 20:19-31 a loving and patient Jesus who does not only reveal himself to his followers once, but also returns a second time. During this second time, the risen Jesus engages Thomas who has had to give up "faith" to learn to see with his own eyes. The good news of Easter is that Jesus is always coming to us, returning for us. This he will do not once, but again and again. This is not only a promise for the future, but also a reality of the present. Jesus comes repeatedly to give us peace and the Holy Spirit, so that, as the psalmist says in Psalm 118:17, we shall live and recount the deeds of God.

The risen Christ comes to us, but comes — according to John 20:20, 25-27 — also with scars in his hands and in his side. Jesus' scars can be read as a testimony to his solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who have also borne scars, both metaphorical and physical, of rejection and oppression. As Psalm 118:14-21 reminds us, God alone opens (and closes) the gates of righteousness. And Revelation 1:5-6 tells us, there is one "who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood." No matter what caused or how we come to understand our identities as LGBT or straight people, God through Jesus Christ has made us a kin-dom of priests for service and ministry. Psalm 118:22-23 proclaims the liberating acts of God that are in fact "marvelous in our eyes." These verses proclaim that God will actually do more than open the gates for LGBT people, but God will vindicate the pain of our rejection. We who have been labeled dead, destructive, useless or worthless are revealed and restored by God's intervention as worthy, important, constructive, even indispensable.

From a Christian perspective, what God has done for Jesus, God has also done for us in Jesus. We continue to live when we were supposed to die, and we continue to gather when we were supposed to be dispersed and sent away. Despite people's rejection — even making us the very definition of sin in God's name — God has accepted us, and will vindicate us. In the meantime, however, we are also called to a task and a responsibility. 

John 20:19-23 is clear that Jesus returns to his followers not only to bring them peace, but also to send them out in the company of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 5:27-32, Christ's call to proclaim meets with prohibitions from human religious authorities. LGBT people called to proclamation and ministry are too familiar with this kind of "strict orders" to not teach in Jesus' name (Acts 5:28). We know, however, that many, like the early followers of Jesus in Acts, have not stopped doing so. Many have stood before councils and challenged those who try to silence their faith and call. Others have found alternative pulpits in alternative congregations.  

I also like some things that the Gospel for Gays has to say for the Gospel reading.

Because of the healthy skepticism of Thomas (and his subsequent profession of faith), this reading offers a special beatitude directed at all those who come after, those who never knew the historical Jesus:  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

I think that beatitude includes those of us who believe despite the behavior of the apostles’ successors, despite the many failures of the institution and its members, despite abuse of authority – including their failure to face uncomfortable realities respecting human sexuality.
We gay people are included here, since we believe, not only without having seen the physical manifestation of Jesus, so strongly emphasized here.  But also we believe even though the institution that claims to represent the  risen Christ in this world rejects us.

Where does that leave us?

What is the gay person’s relationship with this sinful structure that nevertheless, despite its sin, carries Christ to us and the world?

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community lives and believes beyond what we see when we continue to believe in ourselves and the God who is so much bigger than the institution of government and many church communities.  The very fact that many LGBT people choose to be part of vibrant faith communities where we are welcomed, affirmed and celebrated while still challenging many communities that do not, is more incredible that we often give ourselves credit for.  We do not have to accept the destructive voices and behaviors of church communities that continue to tell LGBT people that we are sinners who are corrupting society and many churches through the so called "gay agenda." 

In recent weeks the awful hate rhetoric that has come from many conservative voices in the Catholic church towards gay people due to the news of increasing accusations of cover ups of pedophile Priests by Pope Benedict have been disturbing, heart breaking and angering to put it mildly.  When an institution cannot even address it's own issues of sexual violence without using LGBT people as their scape goat, you know something is really evil has been going on within the institution itself.  There is obviously denial, finger pointing and a lack of accountability going on.  It is the business of not only LGBT individuals but all people, Christian or not, to rightfully speak up and remind the leaders of the Catholic church that religious authority is no excuse for not taking care of their own business.  These are issues that have been in the church for decades and it is the result of unhealthy attitudes within the institution.  It has nothing to do with homosexuality, the "gay agenda", pornography or any other reason they are using as their excuse.  And their blame game serves neither their abuse victims, the church or the world.

Today, we have a great day to rejoice.  Because God has answered our prayers and presents God's Self to us again and again in the risen Christ.  God comes to confirm our faith, strengthen us in our difficulties and call us to continue our efforts towards full inclusion.  God calls on us to continue to believe in God through our willingness to be out and a live and willing to love and be loved as we walk through all that life has to offer.  The risen Christ is always with us and helping us.  We are never alone and in the risen Christ we are loved, cherished and saved. 

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established a 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).