The readings for this weekend are about being sent out to share our stories. Those of us who are part of some kind of Community of Faith are there because in one way or another God has touched our lives and we want to stay connected to God through a community that shares our experiences. In as much as we want to draw closer to God, we have many forces at work to keep us either away from being LGBTQ or acting on it in love, or we have those within the LGBTQ community who reject us because we have chosen to live a life of Faith. If we are not struggling with our families and friends because we are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered or questioning, we find ourselves in conflict with members of the very community that is suppose to embrace diversity because we find some kind of comfort in welcoming and affirming Christian churches. The tensions between two very compatible existences are just incredible.
In 1 Kings 5:1-14 we read about Naaman and his wish to be cured. When the Prophet Elisha tells him to go wash himself in the river so he will be cured of his leprosy, at first he resists. When Naaman finally accepts the message, goes to wash himself so that he is cured. This kind of story that is so powerful sounds a little like LGBT people who have been hurt one too many times by religious minded people. For many who have come to the Church at one point or another find an institution worried more about their money and board members than sharing the Gospel with those who are lost, broken and rejected. Many LGBTQ people have heard the Gospel, where Jesus ministers to the outcasts of society. LGBTQ people only want to be able get close to others who have been touched by this Gospel message so that they can incorporate God's message of love and healing into their lives, without someone telling them to go to an ex-gay ministry or that if they are a couple that they should become celibate roommates or go separate ways. When LGBTQ people finally do find a welcoming and affirming church it is not uncommon for them to be a bit skeptical and wondering: "Should we really trust these people?" How difficult it can be for LGBTQ people to finally find a welcoming and affirming congregation only to find out that the senior warden on the vestry is actually the most homophobic person in the Parish, and is just tolerated or even spoken in high favor by the Priest who does so to save her or his job. The Church is making progress but is still full of injustice and intolerance. Yet, what many LGBTQ people need to do is get as involved with the Parish as they can and show even the most hateful minded person that we are so much more than anything they can say about us. And experience the healing love and mercy of Christ.
As our lives are touched and healed by our loving God, we will hopefully cry out in praise and thanksgiving to God as the Psalmist does in Psalm 30. Psalm 30 is the response to our first Reading in which someone who was obviously very much in pain and near death, or even experienced death has been raised up by God. The Psalmist acknowledges who God is and what God has done. As LGBTQ people, when we have won a victory even if it is very temporary due to the injustice of politics and judges, do we take time to give thanks to God? Do we celebrate God's wondrous love and grace when we find a partner who makes our lives that much more wonderful? Do we recognize the healing power of Christ as we gain a better and fuller understanding of how wonderful it is that God created us LGBT?
Today's Out in Scripture invites us to take a careful look at the second Reading.
Galatians 6:1-16 challenges us about our willingness to cultivate the self-restraint, courage and fortitude necessary to be a gentle presence to those who transgress against us. O, the weariness of the work! The same conversation over and over! Yet we are charged not to be weary in well-doing, to work for the good of all, even those who think of themselves as our enemies. We do not have the luxury of reading this text as if it pointing at "them." We have to read the text as if it is pointing to "us."
The Gospel for today has a lot to say to both those who are LGBTQ and Christian. We as LGBTQ Christians are among those whom God has sent into the world as we are, to do the work of the Gospel. The work of the Gospel is not just for Bishops, Priests and Deacons. A reminder to read the Catechism or "Out Line of the Faith" that begins on page 845 in the Book of Common Prayer is appropriate here. Next is to move to pages 855 and 856 where we learn that lay persons are also ministers of the Church. Like Bishops, Priests and Deacons our first responsibility as Christians is "to represent Christ and his Church" in what ever capacity we find ourselves in.
In today's Gospel of Luke 10: 1-11, 16 to 20 Jesus sends out the 70 to be a source of peace, welcome and ministry to those whom they will go. Notice here, Jesus is not sending them out to defend any institution or dogma here. Jesus really does not care if a woman Bishop wears her miter or carries her crosier. Jesus is not the least bit concerned if the fellowship will hold together because one group of them ordain an openly gay or lesbian Bishop, while another group of them are against it. What Jesus is most concerned about here is that the 70 go out with a sense of mission, to bring peace, hospitality and reconciliation to the places they go.
Jesus tells the 70: "Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace to this house!' And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you." The writer of Gospel for Gays has commented on this.
We need community.
I think this is a real problem for gay Christians – at least for this gay Christian.
Because the reciprocal relationship offered within our specific church communities either omits or avoids the core of my identity; while the community offered by specifically gay communities ignores (or rejects) the faith.
In each case, the offering of peace seems incomplete and unreciprocal to me, and the miracle of community is, therefore, frustrated.
I wish I were wrong about this – but that’s my experience.
Returning however to Out in Scripture there is something very important that this Gospel reading omits.
Unfortunately, the lectionary skips over the comments about Sodom in Luke 10:12-15. This omission compounds ignorance about Sodom. Few recognize that Jesus, having named inhospitality, calls attention to the comparable sin of Sodom. Who were the Sodomites? They were persons who refused hospitality to strangers, persons who wanted to use and abuse those angels whom God had sent (See Genesis 17 – 19). So Jesus says, "If you don't get the hospitality right, it will be worse for you than for Sodom, who didn't get the hospitality right."
To the LGBT community and our allies: we, too, are sent out by Jesus to minister and to proclaim that the reign of God has come near. We are responsible for our actions, not for the acts of hospitality or of inhospitality we receive.
How ironic that the King James' translation of the Bible has often been used to interpret "sodomy" to speak against homosexuality instead of inhospitality. It is especially ironic since King James' gay lover, George Villiers, the duke of Buckingham, is entombed near him in Westminster Abby! [See Mel White's Religion Gone Bad: The Hidden Dangers of the Christian Right, p. 136-137.] We have an opportunity to move beyond that prime example of King James' own homophobia when we read the entire section, Luke 10:1-20, and include a discussion of inhospitality as the sin of Sodom. Do not allow the lectionary to silence justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people one more time.
Neither can we be silent about the call to accountability. Jesus proclaims that a time of reckoning is coming. This is a wake-up call for Christians sitting in churches thinking it is OK to mistreat people. There will be a day when we all will have to answer for our actions. As Paul says in Galatians, "We do reap what we sow!"
As America celebrates our Declaration of Independence on this July 4th I think it is most appropriate to pause to ask how hospitable of a nation are we? There are countless religious right folks who still say that the moral fabric of America is being destroyed because LGBTQ people's equal rights are being advanced in one fashion or another, and that what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah will happen to America. However, as has been pointed out Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed because it was a very wealthy and rich city that canceled their laws of hospitality and welcome to it's strangers. It was not uncommon for the armies of Sodom and Gomorrah to gang rape strangers who came to their city, as a way to humiliate them thinking that they had come to take away the wealth of their City. What about America? In recent weeks and months the State of Arizona has enacted a draconian law that forces the police in the State to profile people who look like they could be illegal immigrants. Recently, additional laws have been enacted saying that ethnic education in Arizona's public schools has been removed. Another law maker recently suggested that the electricity should be shut off for illegals living in Arizona. Sounds a lot like Sodom and Gomorrah to me.
In the past three and a half months millions of gallons of oil have been spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. President Obama enacted a six month moratorium to stop all deep water oil drilling until it was understood how or if it was safe to continue, to avoid another disaster like what is in the Gulf of Mexico. On both occasions a judge who is funded by the oil industry has ruled against the moratorium. Politicians in both the House and Senate have apologized to BP because the White House has requested that money be set aside for those who's businesses and careers have been perhaps permanently destroyed by this disaster. Republican House and Senators have been saying that BP is the victim of Government extortion. However, I have yet to hear one apology offered to the many people in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas who are loosing their livelihoods, tourism, beaches, wild life sanctuaries, clean water and who knows what else. We have yet to hear an apology for not regulating the oil companies or doing more to protect our oceans. We have yet to hear an apology for not working harder or faster for a clean energy solution. We have yet to hear people learning from a disaster like this, of how dangerous it is to be living off oil at the expense of oceans, fields, lakes, arctic lands and so forth. Perhaps this too is an example of how America is living through the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.
How about the issue of equality for LGBTQ people? How appropriate is it that the religious right is given so much media power to proclaim a message of hate and inequality for people because of our sexual orientation or gender identity/expression? Organizations such as the Family Research Council, the National Organization for Marriage, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and Focus on the Family are given so much media attention to decide that LGBTQ people are disordered to the point of not being allowed to have our rights protected by the laws of our country. They are so allowed to blur that line between the separation of Church and State so that we have no idea where that line is anymore. They continue to spread lies about the rights of women as well as LGBTQ people to the point where our rights are part of court battles, election ballots and political campaigns. How does American be a nation of hospitality with laws and ways such as these?
The mission of Christians, LGBTQ and all Christians is to share the Gospel message of hospitality and reconciliation. To be welcoming of all people, regardless of their race, ethnicity, color, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, challenge, religion, or any other reason. The message of the Gospel is that God wants to reconcile all people to God's Self in and through the powerful message of unconditional and all inclusive love in Jesus Christ, the Word of God. Jesus Christ brought a message of justice and peace for all people, not just some people. How is America that is suppose to be such a Christian founded nation, a place of hospitality and reconciliation? And how is our Nation a land of equal opportunity and justice for all people? If America is not a country of equal opportunity, justice, hospitality and reconciliation, how can Christians including LGBTQ Christians play a role in helping America to become a better place for all who come to live here? How can Christians, LGBTQ Christians and Americans become peace makers?
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 9, Book of Common Prayer, Pages 230, 231).
Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and 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 Independence Day, Book of Common Prayer, Page 242).Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this land who live with injustice, terror, disease and death as their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Oppressed, Book of Common Prayer, Page 826).
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (A Prayer Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, Book of Common Prayer, Page 833).
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