While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, 'Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you. 'But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.' One of the lawyers answered him, 'Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.' And he said, 'Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, "I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute," so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.'
This is probably one of the harshest moments between Jesus and the Pharisees and lawyers of his day. They are all getting a verbal scolding for taking the high places while neglecting those they look down upon. They have been politically maneuvering, using their place of religious and political prestige to get ahead of others different than themselves. Jesus' harshest words are spoken to them. They have followed all of the rules in good faith, so we can't take that away from them. When the rules of the faith lead us to forget those whom we harm by what we do and say, we have just done the rules we have followed and those we have neglected a terrible disservice. That is why Jesus is scolding these people. And, rightly so.
This is not that far from what conservative Christians and arch-conservative Catholics are doing to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people in today's times. Yesterday three news stories caught my attention that are good examples. Family Research Council Tony Perkins made the remark that "Gay kids kill themselves because they know they're "abnormal". A coalition of the nations anti-gay activists have denounced the need for anti-bullying measures in America's schools. An Arkansas School Board member wrote that he celebrates the idea of LGBT suicides and believes that HIV/AIDS is a great way to kill off gay people. Thanks to the work of Christianists, LGBTQ people are again victims of "spiritual malpractice and doctrinal abuse." (Dean Spenser Simrill, St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, Minneapolis, Minnesota).
Such sentiments do not serve as a light to point others to The Light: Jesus Christ. Instead they turn people away from him. As Jesus said at the end of this Gospel today: "For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering." LGBTQ people are trying to get closer to God all the time. Yet people with good hearts, twisting the Gospel of Jesus Christ into a Weapon of Mass Destruction push good and loving people away from God whom they need all too greatly. LGBTQ people need to know more and more, I believe, that we are loved by God and that we are the "apple of God's eye." (Psalm 17:8). God holds us as LGBTQ people "under the shadow of God's wings" (The remainder of Psalm 17:8) because of God's extravagant love for all of God's people. In God's perfect revelation in Jesus Christ at his baptism, God told each and every one of us that we are God's beloved and with us, God is well-pleased. (See Matthew 3:14). When Jesus was dying on the Cross, Jesus looked at each one of us individually and collectively, regardless of our sexual and gender diversity and prayed: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34). All of us regardless of race, national or cultural origin, religion, ability or challenge, gender, gender diversity/identity/expression, sexual orientation, class, employment status or language were saved from our sins so that one day we could live eternally in the Presence of God. God made no distinction. Human beings have and continue to do so, grieving the heart of God.
We have all heard the phrase: "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater." When we do not protect our youngest members of the LGBTQ communities, we are doing all of human kind a terrible disservice. We are leaving the most vulnerable to the vulture like rhetoric and behavior of the Christianists and arch-conservative Catholics. We all pay the price for our lack of action on their behalf. As youth who are LGBTQ grow up with a sense that somehow God hates them, it is very difficult for those of us who are LGBTQ Christians to reach out and tell them about how God loves everyone unconditionally and all inclusively.
Intertwined within this Gospel is a message of hope. All of us can do our part to be messengers of hope and inspiration for LGBTQ youth through our words and actions. When Christianists, Tea Baggers, arch-conservative Catholics spout hate rhetoric and take action against LGBTQ people, it is our moral duty and obligation to tell LGBTQ people and youth that Christianists and others like them are flat out wrong. We can all be good examples of what it means to be LGBTQ and Christian. We can be a voice for justice and equality. We must not be afraid of any Bishop, Priest, Deacon, lay person, or otherwise who uses their authority spiritual or otherwise to support the "spiritual malpractice and doctrinal abuse" of LGBTQ people. This includes sadly the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas, and others who think like him.
Among things we can also do to help LGBTQ youth and people in general to feel better about Christianity is to point them towards positive religious voices, many of whom I have named in the past. There is no reason the bigot voices of Christanists and arch-conservative Catholics have to be the only one's speaking and/or writing. That is one of the reasons I write this blog as often as I do. I still believe in Jesus Christ and the Church, but I also believe it is my duty, our duty to hold the Church accountable when it fails to set a good example on behalf of our Lord Jesus Christ. One of the duties of all Christians regardless of our position or vocation according to the Book of Common Prayer is to "represent Christ and the Church" (pages 855-856). When we take and/or renew our Baptismal Vows we promise to "strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human person." We answer the question with: "We will with God's help." (BCP. page 294) It is therefore our duty to what we have promised in our Baptismal Vows to strive for the justice of what Christianists and arch-conservative Catholics/Episcopalians/Anglicans to tell them that what is happening in Uganda is wrong. What Tony Perkins writes and says is wrong. What Archbishop Nienstedt and Pope Benedict says about LGBTQ people is wrong. What the National Organization for Marriage is doing to defeat marriage equality for LGBTQ people is wrong. The violence that is coming from the mouths and actions of the Tea Party is wrong. What ex-gay ministries do is wrong. Anyone who uses the Bible to condemn homosexuality, bisexuality, transgender people and the physical love between two people of the same sex is wrong. Anyone who uses the Bible to suggest violence towards doctors who provide abortions, to Muslims, Jewish People, New Age folks are wrong. They need to be told and those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ who know better, need to tell them. They are wrong. It is the business of Christians to be concerned and to do what we can.
How are we going to fulfill our duties as Christians today?
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 25, Book of Common Prayer, page 235).
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. (Prayer Attributed to St. Francis, Book of Common Prayer, page 833).
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