Jesus said also to the one who had invited him, 'When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.' One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, 'Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!' Then Jesus said to him, 'Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, "Come; for everything is ready now." But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, "I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets." Another said, "I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets." Another said, "I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come." So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, "Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame." And the slave said, "Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.' Then the master said to the slave, "Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner."'
This is one of those Gospel readings that convicts me to my in most core. I was raised by a father who felt that the only world that was really important was his own. If an individual did not measure up to his standards, the other individual might as well have been burnt toast, because he definitely wouldn't be adding the butter.
We Christians like our own special pew where we sit for church services. We like our cozy church dinners that cost more than a night at a Sheridan Hotel room to make ourselves fat and call it a fundraiser. Yet we are quick to turn away or smirk at someone who acts, thinks, believes and just sees things a bit differently. We want those who pat us on the back and make us feel better, but don't let someone who makes us realize how visually challenged we are to other people. Yup, the Church is full of hypocrites, and at times I am among the worst.
Jesus is challenging all of us to consider how we might build bridges to those who are often marginalized by society and the Church. We have gotten so use to categorizing folks to make us feel better about being politically correct (which I believe very much in. Inclusive language is very important), while not taking care of the biases that exist in each of us. This is one of the reasons why prejudices still exist and even in the most hidden places in the most welcoming of churches and places. Prejudice is most often fueled by ignorance, which breeds fear if the ignorant one remains uneducated. When fear becomes mobilized into violence and cruelty, fear then builds up walls of division and in hospitality that can take several life times to tear down.
If the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer communities want there to some day be a greater acceptance of sexual and gender diversity, one thing we must learn to do is dialogue with those who make us most uncomfortable. One of the important lessons of the Anglican Communion is to try to keep everyone at the table talking together to work our way towards a sense of understanding. Naturally in any group where there are folks who do not agree with us. There will be those who will not even dialogue. That does not mean that we should back off and stop trying. It does mean that we should try to tell our stories as much as possible to anyone who will listen, so that those who will not might some day realize what they have been missing.
Those who are opposed to equal rights for LGBTQ people as well as other minorities and groups that are marginalized, are the way they are because someone or a group of people taught them to think that way. In the case of LGBTQ people there are centuries of misinformation about sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression courtesy of Christians who have been misinterpreting the Bible. That is why it to our benefit that LGBTQ people Christians or not learn as much as we can about what the Bible really means, and learn to say so in our defense. It is also possible that we are ready to be a voice of compassion for all marginalized persons, as the Bible is about justice for all people.
The banquet we are invited to is one in which there are many people there. Some whom we like, others that we don't exactly care for. Never the less we are there to be part of the banquet, welcoming and affirming others even those that make us uncomfortable. There will be those that we welcome better than others. There will be those moments when we will have preconceived notions about someone that we don't really know. For this reason, we often ought to try to reach out to acquaint ourselves as much as we can. Sometimes we will succeed and other times, just stink miserably. That is when and why we turn to our God of unconditional love and forgiving grace. Our God is not One who is looking to punish anyone. God is looking to transform us into people who love others unconditionally, with hearts wide open. We often discover that after we fall flat on our faces, only to realize we needed to be following God's way rather than our own. God's Way is the Loving Way. Which way are we following?
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 27, Book of Common Prayer, 236).
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Mission, Book of Common Prayer, page 100).
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