Happy Pride
Today's Scriptures
Genesis 22:1-14 (NRSV)
God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you." So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you." Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.
When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."
Romans 6:12-23 (NRSV)
Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.
When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Matthew 10:40-42 (NRSV)
Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple-- truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."
Blog Reflection
Reflecting on being welcoming is easy on Pride weekend. Thinking about humility is not quite so simple. Yet, without setting aside our self-center-ed-ness it is very difficult to be welcoming. To exercise the ministry of hospitality that Jesus is talking about in the Gospel for this weekend, requires an abandonment of self to the point of seeking the common good of someone else, without the expectation of anything in return for ourselves. We cannot do that freely and without reservation, unless we have that self-knowledge by which to trust ourselves into God's hands to guide us by the power of the Spirit.
Abraham was gifted by God to be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. His offspring Isaac was God's proof to Abraham that God would carry out the promise made to Abraham. Yet, God threw a wrench into the works. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac to see just how dedicated he was to trusting in God, even beyond the physical sign of Isaac. As frightening and as questionable as Abraham must have been with the notion of sacrificing Isaac, he was willing to do what God asked. Abraham was able through the gift of faith to see beyond the physical dimension of what he was about to do, to see that God was more important than the son of his own flesh and blood. God honored Abraham's faith and recanted. God saw the faith of Abraham and provided another way for him to honor God with an acceptable sacrifice,without Abraham sacrificing his son.
All too often the debate about whether or not homosexuality, bisexuality or transgender behavior is moral; people get too weighed down in the details to see the tremendous gift of faith in LGBTQ people. The women and men who struggle with their sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression within the context of their faith, families, communities, schools, work places, medical care, marriage, etc. are determined to be productive people giving and adding so much to society and the Church. They come with gifts of artistic abilities including craftsmanship, administration, well thought out philosophy and personal maturity that can add so much to any place in which they dwell or work. Though many have been so injured by religions and spiritual communities, they still believe that humankind is capable of reaching a greater potential for inclusive justice and an equal sharing of the goods present in our world. The faith that is present can bring belief to where there is doubt. Hope to where all seems hopeless at the point of despair. My Christian Faith and personal experience as a gay Christian, tells me, that LGBTQ people are full of life to be lived, and love to be shared that goes well beyond whether who they sleep with, or who they really are; as written into a judges ruling or legislative bill.
Paul's letter to the Romans is commonly used as a ploy to bring condemnation to LGBTQ people. The words of today's reading from the New Testament is one of the most commonly used texts to suggest that "the wages of sin found in homosexuality is death." Evangelists are quite merciless about using that as a scare tactic for LGBTQ young adults attending a Christian College or University. However, the message in this text, is broader than the issues of sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression. This Epistle Reading from Romans calls those who have decided that the Christian Faith is their religious and spiritual expression is about an obedience that accepts the Cross on which Jesus died for our sins. Obedience to Christ and His Cross calls us to respect the dignity of every human person.
It is quite possible to be zealous about helping a person to decide to become a Christian and still violate that individual's dignity or not even be conscious of it. It is for reasons such as this, that I personally oppose sending missionaries to places to convert Jews, Muslims or other religious practices in the world. If you ask me if I think sending missionaries to other countries feed the hungry, care for the sick to show that we are personally concerned for their humanitarian needs; I am in all agreement. If in the course, people freely decide to become a Christian, that is one thing. But to do missionary work for the sole sake of converting Muslims, is something I cannot in good conscious condone.
On the other hand, with regards to the expression of human sexuality straight or gay, this reading from Romans fits very well with the Gospel. If we rethink things and answer these readings today with a determination to respect the dignity of every human person. and that we should never use (nor condone using) another person for the sole purpose of satisfying ourselves at the expense of who such a person is; then we are living the meaning of these readings. We are to remember that each and every person is the presence of Christ in our midst. Jesus must be welcomed and given a cup of water to satisfy His thirst to be received without prejudice or exploitation on our part.
To live and/or act with humility on this Pride Sunday is to welcome Christ and to serve Christ in each other with a consciousness of God's presence with reverence. A reverence demonstrated by the arms of love outstretched on the Cross, that welcomes everyone within Christ's embrace of all human persons without distinction or self interest. The wages of the sin of exploitation and discrimination brings about the destruction of an individual's dignity and the meaning of community. Human dignity and seeking peace and justice on their behalf, requires us to welcome them with our eyes and minds on Christ Jesus to bring about healing and reconciliation for all persons.
Jesus is not asking us to do everything perfect. He is not even wanting us to understand Him without question. Jesus is wanting us be willing to see past our own prejudices and to see the face of God in those who are different from ourselves.
The final verse of Hymn #603 in The Hymnal 1982 reads as follows:
The final verse of Hymn #603 in The Hymnal 1982 reads as follows:
Thus freely loved,
Though fully known,
May I in Christ be free
To welcome and accept his own
As Christ accepted me.
On this Pride Sunday, may our work, our celebrating, our parades and parties draw us to a deeper relationship with God in all the diverse people, places and things in which the Spirit's presence is found.
Amen.
Prayers
Prayers
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together
in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a
holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 8, Book of Common Prayer, p.230).
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, p.815).
Loving God, bless us as we gather to celebrate LGBT Pride. We are, each of us, created in your image lesbian, gay, straight, bisexual, and transgendered, alike. Hasten the coming of your kingdom when all are welcome and all are equal. Anoint us with the balm of hope and send us your healing Spirit, that we may be known as a just and unified community. We ask this in your Name, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (I have been told this prayer can be found in the Book of Occasional Services).
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