Tuesday in Holy Week: Injustice and Evil Meet Their Match

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 49:1-7 (NRSV)

Listen to me, O coastlands,
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The LORD called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother's womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, "You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified."
But I said, "I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the LORD,
and my reward with my God."
And now the LORD says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the LORD,
and my God has become my strength--
he says,
"It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
Thus says the LORD,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers,
"Kings shall see and stand up,
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the LORD, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

Psalm 71: 1-14 (BCP, p. 683)


1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 (NRSV)

The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

John 12: 20-36 (NRSV)

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-- `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light."

Blog Reflection

Is it possible for all of the injustice in the world to make sense?   Why can't there be an end to violence, wars, poverty, prejudice and destitution?    Why does evil have to win some times?

There are no simple answers to these and other questions we might ask.  Terrible incidents such as the tornadoes hitting Dallas, Texas today, just don't have explanations.  Diseases such as Alzheimer's,  Breast Cancer, Leukemia and HIV/AIDS are products of many cells and infections.  They are not the result of anything God could bring upon humankind.  Yet, if God is so powerful and merciful, why doesn't God stop them all?

There is a thought that can bring us comfort, if we will allow our hearts and minds to go there.  God in Jesus Christ experienced what it means for injustice to win, and still managed to be victorious.   It is the message contained in St. Paul's Letter to the Corinthians.  "The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  None of this could make sense to and for Christians, if we did not have the example of what Holy Week means.

If we think about what Jesus is saying in our Gospel today, he is suggesting that even God lost over the powers of evil, if you will.  After all, how can God die?   Yet, the most vile of evil's in the struggle between the powers of hell and those of God, would be if God died after the most brutal of tortures.   Having been rejected, scorned, mocked, spit upon, flogged, crowned with thorns and finally hung upon the Cross, Jesus wonders why God would have forsaken him.  How could God have abandoned God's Self?   Yet, in the humanity of Christ, God departed, and Jesus still trusted that God had the power to rescue him, even if he should die.  Salvation and justice would not have known a better victory, than the Son of God giving up his life for our sins, out of his self-sacrificing love, only to rise again on Easter Day.   Sin and death were rendered a failure.

Jesus in this Gospel reading from John, is prepared for this moment.  He recognizes that only by his death, will the things he had spoken and done would make sense.  In his resurrection, would the world know how much God loved us as John wrote in chapter 3 verse 16 and 17.  The wisdom of the world that says when evil wins it is all over, was made powerless and false as God in Christ accepted death so that there may be new and unending life.

We can see in our own times, examples of how a tragedy in all of its horror and madness, still reveals the power of God in the world.  Through the tragic killing of 17 year old Trayvon Martin, individuals are rising up to call our attention to how real the evil of racism is in our Nation.  People who might have given up on any hope of calling attention to how bad the Stand Your Ground laws really are, found a reason to raise our voices in concern for those threatened by violence that results from another person's prejudice.

The insane beating and killing of Matthew Shepard, called our attention to the horrible reality of hate crimes towards youth and other individuals who are LGBT.  The grief of Dennis and Judy Shepard was turned into a movement to eventually enact the hate crimes bill signed into law by President Obama in October of 2009. 

The courage of Sandra Fluke who was willing to testify this past February in a Congressional hearing about why access to contraception is so important for women, has helped many others become active in our concerns about male privilege deciding the reproductive health care for women.  The injustice of any and all women being kept from testifying during that hearing, gave women their voice and opportunity to speak out and inspire others to exercise their voice for women's rights.

Yet, we dare not stop seeing what injustices still play out in our times.  Individuals who could lose their health care should the Supreme Court strike down the Affordable Care Act.  Seniors and those who are disabled would see poverty in their regards increase dramatically should Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid become privatized.   People in our own neighborhoods dying as a result of starvation and dehydration, as well as in third world countries all over the world.  These and other injustices need our attention too.

As we look to Jesus' example during this Holy Week, we would do well to pray for that part within all of us that has yet to die to our self-centeredness, so that we may serve Christ in others.  The Paschal Mystery that we celebrate this week, should propel us from being apathetic towards those in need, to being active in not only helping them with their basic needs, but changing the system that keeps injustice and oppression as something we can just ignore.


Prayers

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an
instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life:
Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly
suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior
Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Tuesday in Holy Week, Book of Common Prayer, p. 220).

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).     

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, p. 826).

Tuesday in the First Week of Lent: LGBT People are Among God's Holy Partners for Justice and Equality

Scriptural Basis


Hebrews 3: 1-11 (NRSV)

Therefore, brothers and sisters, holy partners in a heavenly calling, consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also 'was faithful in all God's house.' Yet Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken later. Christ, however, was faithful over God's house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, "They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways." As in my anger I swore, "They will not enter my rest."' 

Blog Reflection

Josh Thomas in today's reflection for Lent in 2011 Lenten Meditations from Episcopal Relief and Development writes:

"May I be, as Hebrews suggests, a fellow apostle with Jesus? One who is sent-by God, into this world.  A holy partner with Christ?  A sister or brother to all others?

Is that me? Can I live that life this Lent, and beyond?" (Page 11).

Josh Thomas' question is a good one.  Can we think of ourselves as holy partners with Christ?  If we think of ourselves as holy partners with Christ, what would that holy partnership look like?  What would it mean for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people to be holy partners with Christ?

We cannot answer those questions in quite the same way as straight individuals do.  I know we are talking about equality and inclusion.   But, let's be frank.  We are not there yet.  When a group of party crashers in Queens beat a young teen to death while shouting anti-gay slurs, we have not achieved justice, equality and inclusion just yet.  In fact, such a horrible true story, tells us that we are quite far away from equality.  When Sen. Gillibrand must petition people to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (and I hope you will sign the petition). because the GOP House of Representatives have decided that they will defend DOMA in court because President Obama has announced that he will not, we have not achieved equality.

For LGBT people to be holy partners with Christ this Lent, we must recognize the reality of where we are.  We are among the very people that Christ came and sought out in his earthly life.   We are among those who experience political, religious and social oppression.   We are among those who are marginalized, because Christianists use the cross as their excuse to scapegoat LGBT people.  We need to be holy partners with Jesus so that we may know God's plan for our lives.  

When we think of those two words "holy partners" what might come to our minds?  

As soon as I hear those two words I think of the holy partnership that Jason and I share.  

Jason and I are two individuals who are eight years a part.  We share our lives together.  We share our happy times and sad times together.  We share our faith together.  We love each other physically, romantically, emotionally in spite of those things about each other that we may find sometimes difficult to live with.  Yet, because there is no one who loves me like Jason does, I can live with Jason's love of the Muppets, his computers, his school work, his knitting (all of which he does really well, so I am not complaining).   Jason finds that  no one loves him quite like I do.  That's why he has been so patient with me as I have gone through a year or so of evaluations to discover that I have Asperger's Syndrome (meaning high functioning autism), which is why I am unable to work.   Jason faithfully goes to work every day, and weekly brings home what we need to live on, so that we can have a stable home environment in which to live and love each other.  Both Jason and I recognize that we do not have equality in the Church and society because of laws that are very much unjust and prejudicial.  But, does that stop us from living the best life we can, until such time as we can be legally married?  No.

To be holy partners with Jesus is to recognize that if we are going to have justice, equality and our full inclusion in the Church and society some day, we need to accept the fact that we cannot do this work without God's help.   We cannot achieve equality, justice and inclusion if we allow the anti-LGBT rhetoric of Christianist groups like the Family Research Council, American Family Association, the National Organization for Marriage and Focus on the Family, to determine for us, our faith, life and love as LGBT people. 

While I totally understand that many LGBT people just cannot deal with any religion including and especially Christianity because of the hate of anti-LGBT churches and groups, I simply cannot give those groups the pleasure of knowing that they have taken Jesus Christ away from me.   When I was 16 years old I was baptized with the words: "I love Jesus Christ" on my heart and lips, and no Christianist preacher too full of themselves to realize the hate within their heart and life, is going to take my faith in the God I love away from me.   There have been so many people who have influenced my life in wonderful ways.  But none has influenced me more than my God who came into this world in one man who changed the face of human history like Jesus Christ has.  As I have been through the highs and lows of my life history, there has been one love that has always been there.  Jesus the Christ.  Now that I have recognized that I am gay (actually quite a while back), that I enjoy the company of my partner Jason, and realize that there are other Christians who are LGBT, I know that God in Jesus loves me now, just as much as he ever did.  And no, Pope Benedict, Archbishop Neinstedt, the Catholic church's ex gay ministry Courage,  you cannot take the love of my Lord, and the love my Lord has for me, away from me, just because I live a life that you do not agree with.  And none of you have any business trying to get the State to write discrimination in the the Constitution of Minnesota so that Jason and I cannot be legally married some day.

I believe that is what it means to live a life of holy partnership with Christ as a gay person.   Realizing that no person, group or church board can take from us, what is God's to give.   Our dignity, integrity, value and respect come from the reality that God has made us who we are, and loves us as we are.   God wants to do a work of justice, equality and inclusion for all marginalized persons through those who recognize that we can and do have a right to worship and love God, through helping others like ourselves who are oppressed.   Such as the Japanese right now, who are oppressed by many such as a Christian pastor who believes God told him that God was going to bring an earthquake upon Japan because they embrace atheism.   

LGBT Christians and other progressive Christians with good hearts can look this kind of thing in the eye and conclude that someone who really understands what Christianity is, would never consider saying such a thing.

Are we holy partners with Jesus as LGBT people?   Or do we let the anti-LGBT rhetoric of Christianist groups decide our faith and life for us?   Do we see ourselves as holy partners with Christ to help relieve the oppression and suffering of other groups of people experiencing injustice and oppression? 

Each individual will answer this question differently.  But I do hope that we can all admit that what God has begun in us, no anti-LGBT person or group has any business taking it away from us.  If we have been baptized as holy partners with Christ, shouldn't we continue to live as such?

Prayers

Grant to your people, Lord, grace to withstand the temptations of the world, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only true God: through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Tuesday in the First Week of Lent, Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 37).


Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday of Lent, Book of Common Prayer, page 218).

Compassionate God, whose Son Jesus wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus: Draw near to us in this time of sorrow and anguish, comfort those who mourn, strengthen those who are weary, encourage those in despair, and lead us all to fullness of life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. (On the Occasion of a Disaster, Holy Women, Holy Men, page 733).  

The Moral Dangers of Abusive Christianity Spread Abroad

I want to begin this particular blog by stating that Christianity was never suppose to become an abusive religion.  I have to go this course today, because one of the readings for today is traditionally understood as a "clobber passage" (See Chapter One of "The Children Are Free" by Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley) against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. 

The more I have been thinking about what I want to write today, the more I realize writing about this particular passage is the write thing to do.  There are events going on all over the country, the world and the Church that are designed to punish people because they are LGBT, mostly because of Biblical texts like this one, taken out of contact by those who take the Bible so literally.

And now, I want to present to my readers the Scripture that was part of today's Divine Office that caused me to do some study, thinking and praying about what I want to share in this blog post.  Please note the bold print over what I want to highlight and the Greek word in parenthesis next to it.

1 Timothy 1:1-17 (NRSV)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites (Greek word: arsenokoitai), slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 

This particular wording and list of sins according to Paul, is similar to what is in 1 Corinthians 6:9.  This actual list that has been put together is said by many reputable Biblical scholars to not necessarily be from Paul, but from someone or some people who interpreted the writings of Paul and also had a social and/or political stake in making sure the list was included. 

What we need to be very clear about is that in this particular Scripture as with 1 Corinthians 6:9 Paul is NOT speaking about homosexuality in general when he uses the word "sodomites."  He is speaking about an abusive and exploitative sexuality that was and is still common today among heterosexuals as well as homosexuals.  In his book: "What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality" Dr. Daniel A. Helminiak writes the following.

"The Lesson of 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10

What is the positive teaching of 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 regarding male-male sex today?  Biblical opposition to prostitution, incest or adultery does not forbid male-female sex acts as such.  What the Bible opposes throughout is the abuse of heterosexuality.  Likewise, if arsenokoitai does refer to male-male sex, these texts do not forbid male homogenitality as such.  In first-century, Greek speaking, Jewish Christianity, arsenokoitai would have referred to exploitative, lewd and wanton sex between men.  This, and not male-male sex in general, is what these biblical texts oppose.

Across the board in sexual matters, the Bible calls for mutual respect, caring and responsible sharing--in a loaded word, love.  The violation of these, but not sex in general, is what the Bible condemns.  The lesson in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 is that this principal applies equally to hetero- and homosexuality." (Page 115). 

This understanding is so very important, because of how this Scripture passage along with Genesis 19 the story of Sodom and Gomorrah that was actually destroyed because of a lack of hospitality and gang rape, not homosexuality, and Leviticus 20: 13 the ritual "abomination" not the innately immoral, and the uncustomary or socially unacceptable "unnatural" lusts described in Romans 1: 26 and 27 are used to justify cruelty towards LGBT people.  These very texts have been used to help create and justify Uganda's "Kill the Gays" bill, the gay and transgendered couple now imprisoned in Malawi.  In Zimbabwe two gay activists were arrested and now fear torture for standing up for LGBT equality in their country.  Yesterday, their lawyer was denied access to talk to the prisoners.  I strongly encourage my readers to please click and sign the Uganda Declaration that is to call faith leaders and the Governments in this country and abroad to stop the violence against LGBT citizens.  

This past year just here in these United States, the misuse of Scripture towards LGBT individuals has resulted in the justification of cruelty towards LGBT people.  Constance McMillan reportedly had to change schools because of all of the harassment she experienced over her prom.  In Florida, Parents of a drag queen have disowned their child because she got the title of Prom Queen.   Many Christian organizations continue to try to push the whole issue of "trying" the Hate Crimes law, to the point of inciting violence against LGBT people to see if they can beat the system.  Virginia based Pastor Jeff Owens has been recorded on You Tube for stating: "We need to stop burning flags and start burning FAGS! We need Hunt-A-Homo Week. We need to take 'em all out and shoot 'em with a scatter shotgun."  In Windsor, Ontario, Chris Rabideau, who directed a play about homophobia was beaten, robbed and called all kinds of anti-gay names during an attack.  

These and many other attacks against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are most heinous because they are often done in the name of Scripture and supported by people who go by the name of Christian.  

Jesus Christ did not experience his agonizing death on the Cross, rise from the dead, ascend into heaven and sent us the Holy Spirit to justify bigotry and violence of any kind.  Jesus Christ did not call the Anglican Communion, the Catholic church or any other church together to organize itself as a hate group towards LGBT people, women or any other group of people in any way, shape or form.  The fact that we have Christians abusing people, claiming to be doing so in the name of the Bible, and spreading it all over the world, is so not what God had in mind when God sent Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit when she descended upon those first Apostles.  It is the business of all Christians of good will to speak up and do their part to eliminate cruelty, bigotry and violence towards all people singled out by fundamentalist Christians.  It is our business to tell fundamentalist Christians they are misusing the Bible and spreading abusive Christianity abroad.  It is our business to bring the true, peace making, justice seeking, and inclusive love spreading Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit as far as we can.  

May all of us do our part to tell the truth about the Scriptures and how God the Holy Spirit wishes to make her Church in the Name of Jesus Christ a welcoming inclusive Church, that participates in the ministry of radical hospitality, reconciliation and healing. Amen.

Grant, O Lord, that the course of this world may be peaceably governed by your providence; and that your Church may joyfully serve you in confidence and serenity; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Sunday closest to May 25, Book of Common Prayer, Page 229).

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord, that, as there is but one Body, and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Unity of the Church, Book of Common Prayer, Page 818).

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that barriers which may divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Social Justice, Book of Common Prayer, Page 823).

Pray for Jesus to Calm the Storms of Prejudice and Exclusion

Matt. 8: 18- 27 (NRSV)

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."  Another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

Yesterday was the National Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.  On that day we call on people everywhere to denounce homophobia and to consider an attitude of acceptance for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people.  Over these past many months since President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill into law, there have been many crimes committed against LGBT people and those associated with us.  A group of churches in Michigan have filed suit against the Federal Government stating that the hate crimes law violates religious freedom and will force Pastors to no longer denounce homosexuality from their pulpits, though that is definitely not part of the bill.

The prejudice and exclusion of LGBT people in society and the Church is a storm with wild winds, and huge waves.  Storms are scary.  This year we have seen many States experiencing massive flooding.  Even my home town of Wareham, Massachusetts was looking at the possibility of the Tremont Dam breaking loose and flooding the area where I grew up.  These are things that happen, and not because Massachusetts legalized marriage equality either.  They happen, and they are scary.  But just like God was there in Jesus Christ with the disciples in the boat as it rocked and was blasted by the high winds and waves, so Jesus is with us as we face the storm of discrimination and exclusion.  


The constant messages of prejudice that comes from those who interpret the Bible literally are designed to crush the lives of LGBT people, and it winds up crushing the faith of LGBT people.  If all the religious right can throw at LGBT people is false claims that the Bible teaches against us, and that we should submit to ex gay ministries to change our sexual orientation or gender identity/expression when most of us go through such agony over who we are, it is not without consequences that many LGBT just give up on the Christian Faith all together.  This is not the kind of Faith that Jesus wants to give to LGBT people, nor does he approve of the horrible violence that is heaped up on LGBT people in the name of Scripture.  


As LGBT individuals we face many storms through out our lives.  Coming out to ourselves, friends, families, church communities, schools, jobs and so much more.  Many of us have faced horrible discrimination.  Yet, even amidst all of these difficulties, God is with us as we face these things.  Jesus has the power to calm the storms of discrimination.  There are those reading this blog who will ask: "And why doesn't God do something about all the bigots?"  And that is a very good question.  


If we look at the past 15 to 20 years we have seen a wider acceptance of society towards LGBT people.  The situation is far from perfect.  But today, there are many places where telling someone you are LGBT will not bring you quite the kind of trouble that it used to.  There are many places where it is still very dangerous to be out.  In some of those places since being LGBT in others has become more accepting, those places where people are not are experiencing even more prejudice than they used to.  Thanks in part to many organizations like Westboro Baptist and the Family Research Council, many places that are already difficult to be LGBT are now becoming even more difficult.  However, there are also lots of places where PFLAG has been finding opportunities to plant new chapters where they help people deal positively with LGBT individuals, their families and friends.  There are a lot more churches reaching out for LGBT people than there used to be.  That to me is a sign that God is working to calm the storms around us.  Just the news that the Episcopal Church ordained Bishop Gene Robinson and Bishop Mary Glasspool tells us that God is working with the Church to be a place where LGBT people are welcomed, affirmed and celebrated.  We need to pray that Jesus will continue to calm the storms of prejudice and exclusion.  


What role can we play in helping to calm the storms of prejudice and exclusion where we are?  How can LGBT people continue to challenge a culture that still does not want to accept us, to change for the better?  Where can we add our voice so that others will hear our stories and learn to respond with a sense of compassion and acceptance?


God is indeed working in our midst and in our community.  We need to pray for the faith to believe that God is with us even amidst all our doubts and difficulties as we face prejudice and exclusion.  We need to believe that God's world is inclusive and that we have every business challenging the Church and world to become more inclusive of LGBT people.


As we continue to wait to celebrate Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon those first Apostles, let us invoke her wonderful power and grace to help the Church and the world be transformed so that we may more and more love unconditionally and all inclusively.  

O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (Collect for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the Sunday After the Ascension, Book of Common Prayer, Page 227)

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, Page 815).

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).

Whoever You Are, Come Out and Live!

John 11:17-27,38-44 (NRSV)

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

We have traveled an amazing journey since Christmas Day. From the Manger where the Shepherds came to see the Christ Child whom the angels had told them about to here at the tomb of Lazarus. Yet, tomorrow we will celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, where we will again be at the Manger with Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the Wise men. Going all over the place like this can make one's head quite dizzy. Every place that we have gone is important as part of the Christmas Story. It is just as important to arrive here at the tomb of Lazarus as we prepare to go from Christmas into Epiphany. Because we cannot separate the Incarnation from the person and works of Jesus including his death on the cross and resurrection. The fact that God came to us in God's Incarnate Word means that God has come to be our salvation in all of the events and difficulties of our lives.

The tomb that Lazarus laid in is a place where life has stopped. It is a dark, cold and lonesome place. Sickness and taxes may be over with for the dead, but there is still no life, no meaning at least we tend to think. However, when God became one of us in God's perfect revelation in Jesus Christ, God put a face on all who were considered lifeless. Even the dead are given a name and are important to God. The dead we might think they have no hope of living once again, have that hope restored because God in Jesus died and rose again. Those who lived in Jesus' time had not yet witnessed his resurrection, but there were many who had come to know Jesus and came to believe that he would be the One who would raise them from the dead. This is why Jesus proclaims himself "the resurrection and the life". In Jesus death is not the last word. In Jesus, the dead shall live again, that which was considered meaningless and loveless, now has purpose and is just as much loved as anyone else.

I was really disappointed this morning when I read on Towelroad Gay News how the Christian Anti-Defamation League listed their ten top anti-Christian acts of 2009. I will not bore you with the entire list, you can read it for yourself in the link I provided. For the purposes of this blog I will share that number 7 was "The overt homosexual participation in Obama's presidential inaugural events by "Bishop" Vickie Eugene Robinson, the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington D. C., and a homosexual marching band." Number 2 was: "President Obama's appointment of radical anti-Christians like homosexual activist Kevin Jennings as the "safe school czar;" pro-abortion advocate Kathleen Seblius made Secretary of Human and Health Services, and Chai Feldblum, pro-homosexual and anti-religious liberty judge nominated for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission." Finally number 1 "The Federal Hate Crimes Bill that attacks religious liberty and freedom of speech. For the first time in our history ministers are vulnerable to investigation and prosecution for telling the truth about homosexuality." Apart from all of these being falsely labeled as "anti-Christian attacks" the Religious and Spiritual violence of how these are used is simply unacceptable. This is the negativity of the religious right that I write about so often. It is attitudes such as these that make their way across the Atlantic and helps created things like the anti-homosexuality bills in Rwanda and Uganda. In addition to these attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, the Episcopal Cafe reported on the Westboro Baptist Church's protest throughout New Hampshire this past weekend over the beginnings of legalized marriage equality that started on January 1st. Attacks like these come, because in the minds of many in the religious right, LGBT individuals are seen as lifeless and sinful individuals. Those signs saying: "God hates fags" are outright lies and their spiritual violence cannot be ignored.

Our visit with Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus today invites us all to come out of our tombs. Whether those tombs be our closets by which we deny our sexual orientation or gender identities and/or expressions, or those tombs be our apathy with what is going on. It is all too easy to say, that politics will never get better, therefore there is nothing we can do, therefore why write our legislators, why vote, why act and why care? Because apathy and allowing these anti-gay voices to "kill" our desire to continue to speak up for equal protection under the law is exactly what they hope to accomplish. We can lie in those tombs accepting how they so often "kill" us, or we can "rise again" with Jesus and Lazarus to new life and become active with new strategies and new ideas. We do not have to answer these attacks in a violent and disrespectful manner to get our point across. All we are asked is to be who we are, do what we can do and if nothing else let people know that we are here, we will stay here and we will respond to all of the anti-gay attacks seeking our equal rights and opportunities. Through our activism and our learning to love ourselves as we are and others, we can show people that we are people of compassion and understanding, but we are people who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb just like anyone else. We do not have to accept the tombs that the anti-gay forces of this world wish to place us in. We can rise again through the power and Name of Jesus Christ and proclaim God's unconditional and all inclusive love for all of humanity. If through Jesus Christ, God gave a name and face to even the dead, also through Jesus Christ, God has given a name and a face to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people.

May today be a day, when we respond to Jesus when he calls: Come out! May today be the day we all come out and live, and love and be who we are. Because in Jesus Christ, God has created, redeems and loves us as we are. God does not wish for us to be lifeless and dead. God in Jesus Christ has given us new and unending life. What are we going to do with that new life?

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, you Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen (Collect for the Second Sunday after Christmas, Book of Common Prayer, Page 214)

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, Page 815).

Being Thankful for All That We Have By Giving and Remembering

On this day before we celebrate Thanksgiving when many of us will gather with family, friends and our communities, it is a good idea to remember that all that we have is a gift from God. It is interesting that today's Gospel story from Matthew 19: 23-30 is about leaving our wealth for the sake of others.

Thanksgiving for so many of us is a day to give thanks. We have been given so many blessings and favors. The good bounty of God has enabled us to experience many good things and in reality, we should be thankful every day, not just once a year. Being thankful does not come without really remembering what it is we are to be thankful for. So many times especially in a consumerist society such as ours, we just soak everything up for ourselves and forget that there are so many who are still left on the edge of society.

I was particularly interested in a web article I read yesterday that was written by Rev. Irene Monroe Entitled: Remembering Two-Spirits this Thanksgiving. In the article Rev. Monroe writes: "As I prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, I am reminded of the autumnal harvest time's spiritual significance. As a time of connectedness, I pause to acknowledge what I have to be thankful for. But I also reflect on the holiday as a time of remembrance - historical and familial.

Historically, I am reminded that for many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is not a cause of celebration, but rather a National Day of Mourning, remembering the real significance of the first Thanksgiving in 1621 as a symbol of persecution and genocide of Native Americans and the long history of bloodshed with European settlers. "

While we are enjoying our turkey with all the trimmings, we tend to forget those who have lived with oppression and discrimination throughout the centuries and even in our own time. The very Puritans who came to this land looking for Religious Freedom brought a great deal of Religious oppression for many of the Native Americans upon their arrival. Rev. Monroe goes on to explain: "I am also reminded of my Two-Spirit Native American brothers and sisters who struggle with their families and tribes not approving of their sexual identities and gender expressions as many of us do with our families and faith communities.

"Yes, there's internalized homophobia in every gay community, but as Native Americans we are taught not to like ourselves because we're not white. In our communities, people don't like us because we're gay," Gabriel Duncan, member of Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS), told the Pacific News Service.

And consequently, many Two-Spirit Native Americans leave their reservations and isolated communities hoping to connect with the larger LGBTQ community in urban cites. However, due to racism and cultural insensitivity, many Two-Spirits feel less understood and more isolated than they did back home.

But homophobia is not indigenous to Native American culture. Rather, it is one of the many devastating effects of colonization and Christian missionaries that today Two-Spirits may be respected within one tribe yet ostracized in another.

"Homophobia was taught to us as a component of Western education and religion," Navajo anthropologist Wesley Thomas has written. "We were presented with an entirely new set of taboos, which did not correspond to our own models and which focused on sexual behavior rather than the intricate roles Two-Spirit people played. As a result of this misrepresentation, our nations no longer accepted us as they once had."

Traditionally, Two-Spirits symbolized Native Americans' acceptance and celebration of diverse gender expressions and sexual identities. They were revered as inherently sacred because they possessed and manifested both feminine and masculine spiritual qualities that were believed to bestow upon them a "universal knowledge" and special spiritual connectedness with the "Great Spirit." Although the term was coined in the early 1990s, historically Two-Spirits depicted transgender Native Americans. Today, the term has come to also include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and intersex Native Americans.

The Pilgrims, who sought refuge here in America from religious persecution in their homeland, were right in their dogged pursuit of religious liberty. But their actual practice of religious liberty came at the expense of the civil and sexual rights of Native Americans.

And the Pilgrims' animus toward homosexuals not only impacted Native American culture, but it also shaped Puritan law and theology.

Here in the New England states, the anti-sodomy rhetoric had punitive if not deadly consequences for a newly developing and sparsely populated area. The Massachusetts Bay Code of 1641 called for the death of not only heretics, witches and murderers, but also "sodomites," stating that death would come swiftly to any "man lying with a man as with a woman." And the renowned Puritan pastor and Harvard tutor, the Rev. Samuel Danforth in his 1674 "fire and brimstone" sermon preached to his congregation that the death sentence for sodomites had to be imposed because it was a biblical mandate.

Because the Pilgrims' fervor for religious liberty was devoid of an ethic of accountability, their actions did not set up the conditions requisite for moral liability and legal justice. Instead, the actions of the Pilgrims brought about the genocide of a people, a historical amnesia of the event, and an annual national celebration of Thanksgiving for their arrival."

In his book: In the Eye of the Storm Bishop Gene Robinson wrote: "The problem, though, isn't exactly "homophobia." That surely exists, but it's always a conversation stopper. Some claim they're not afraid of homosexuals so they're "not guilty" of homophobia. But the further sin our society is guilty of is "heterosexism."

Everyone knows what an "ism" is: a set of prejudices and values and judgments backed up with the power to enforce those prejudices in society. Racism isn't just the fear and loathing of non-white people; it's the systemic network of laws, customs, and beliefs that perpetuate prejudicial treatment of people of color. I benefit every day from being white in this culture. I don't have to hate anyone, or call anyone a hateful name, or do any harm to a person of color to benefit from a racist society. I just have to sit back and reap the rewards of a system set up to benefit me. I can even be tolerant, open-minded, and multi-culturally sensitive. But as long as I'm not working to dismantle the system, I am racist.

Similarly, sexism isn't just the denigration and devaluation of women, it's the myriad ways the system is set up to benefit men over women. It takes no hateful behavior on my part to reap rewards given to men at the expense of women. But to choose not to work for the full equality of women in this culture is to be sexist.

So the sin we're fighting now, within the secular sphere, is the sin of heterosexism. More and more people are feeling kindly toward gay and lesbian people, but that will never be enough. More important is the dismantling of the system that rewards heterosexuals at the expense of homosexuals. That's why equal marriage rights are so important. That's why "don't ask, don't tell" is such a failure and such a painful thing for gay and lesbian people, even those who have no desire to serve in the military. These are ever-present reminders that our identities, our lives, and our relationships are a second class--because the very system of laws that govern us discriminates against us and denigrates our lives." (Page 24).

Today we need to ask ourselves what blessings are we enjoying that came at the expense of others? What are we committed to doing this Thanksgiving to help advance a world of justice and peace for others who live with oppression? Are we truly thankful to the point where we share the goods we have with others who are without?

Today I received a very nice email from HRC President Joe Solmonese thanking me for helping to advance the cause of rights for LGBT individuals. I think the LGBT community does have much to celebrate this year. We did get the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Bill passed and it is a victory we should celebrate and be proud of. Yet, on that same bill there was a military defense bill that was written to build weapons and advance wars upon other lands. The goods we gain come with a price for others. Should we still not give thanks? Indeed, we should give thanks for progress made. But we should not stop our advocacy, our activism and concern until justice and peace for all peoples is accomplished. As long as there remains the possibility of the Ugandan Parliament passing an anti-gay law that could find homosexuals in that country imprisoned or even put to death our Thanksgiving should come with a prayer as to how God can use us to make the world a better place for everyone. As long as the insurance companies continue to rake in the money at the expense of those who cannot receive or afford health care, our activism and prayers for our Senate Leaders to pass a Health Care Reform Bill that includes a Public Option should be on our list of priorities. As long as there are people still loosing their homes, jobs and the very dreams they had dreamed due to the greed of Wall Street executives gobbling up tax-payer bail outs, we should pray about how we can play our role in being sure that everyone gets a share in the wealth.

Today's Gospel is not really about money or possessions. It is about how we honor God and our neighbor with all that God has given us. We do that through our service, prayers and willingness to do our part to make the world better for everyone.

"Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: we humbly pray to you that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of your favor and glad to do your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to your laws, we may show forth your praise among the nations of the earth. In time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in you to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." (Book of Common Prayer, #18 For our Country, Page 820).

Prayers Today For

Let us remember in Prayer today: Bishop Gene Robinson and his Partner Mark. The ministry of the Episcopal Church. Let us remember the poor, homeless and destitute. Let us remember lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people whether they are out or in the closet, single or in relationships. Let us also remember in prayer all those affected by HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Let us pray for the soul of all those who have been affected by hate crimes. Let us remember Judy and Dennis Shepard. Let us pray for all those who have been dismissed from our armed services through Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Let us pray for all those experiencing discrimination in one form or another. Let us pray for all those children who need homes. Let us pray for all heterosexual couples with children and same-sex couples with children. Let us remember all those LGBT mothers and fathers who are separated from their children because of their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

Let us remember all of those parents who have rejected their children because of their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Let us pray for all those children who have rejected their mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters who are LGBT.

Let us pray for the guidance of judges as they decide on equal rights for LGBT people. Let us pray for all LGBT people who have experienced hate crimes, but have never had justice served for their causes. Let us pray for societies and churches that still consider homosexuality, bisexuality and transgendered identity/expression a sin and seek to change them.

Oh, Lord, we bring these and many requests before you and ask you for the trust to believe in your power and goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

What Comes From Our Hearts?

Jesus said: "Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles." (Matthew 15:17,18).

Well isn't this an interesting way to begin the week! Jesus starts us off by talking about something going into the mouth, into the stomach and into the toilet. Sounds like some dirty talk to me. Yet, Jesus has the nerve to talk about what comes out of the mouth as coming from the heart. Isn't Jesus sounding just a bit harsh? Perhaps we need to think about what is coming out of the mouth of God's perfect revelation and look at what is in our hearts that God knows all too well.

One of the greatest Priests I ever knew taught me during a Confession that God knows the intentions of our hearts better than anyone else. This is one reason why Scripture tends to be like that "two edged sword" spoken of in Hebrews 3: 12-14. In verse 12 it says: "it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." God who is the Creator of the human heart knows what is there far more than we ourselves do at times. It is our hearts that live in relationship with God. It is also our hearts that can be wounded, broken, and sometimes questions God when we do not understand what God is doing. Our hearts feel the effects of rejection, hate and prejudice. But our hearts can also make us oh, so loving, welcoming and warm. Often our actions are dictated by what is in our hearts. Sometimes we act contrary to what is in our hearts. But the One who really knows what is there is God.

This is why every Christian every day needs to take that journey into their hearts with God and talk with God about what is there. Sometimes what is there is very stubborn and uncharitable. Letting God see that is a good thing. God is often like the physician that's come to help us. Rather than welcome God there and allow God to do God's work, if it is too painful for us to face even with God, we can easily shut God out and make life more difficult on ourselves.

I think sometimes Christians want to hear only what they want to hear from other people. And if they hear something that is out of touch with their understanding of Scripture they make judgments about where the heart of someone else is.

As a man who is gay, an Episcopalian, a Christian, I join those in the LGBT Community in being so very disturbed and hurt by Christian Fundamentalists who continue their Spiritual violence towards LGBT individuals. Last Friday night I was very disappointed in an article I read about Pastor Gary Cass who is of the so-called "Christian Anti-Defamation Commission". Pastor Cass has encouraged Evangelical Pastors to "insight hate-crimes" to see if the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill will actually be used to prosecute Pastors for speaking out against homosexuality. I consider this to be one of those things that is coming from the "heart" that is malicious. To be putting LGBT people in the place of being afraid of a potential hate crime committed against them just to prove a point is unacceptable. Do you think this could be an example of what Jesus was saying about "what comes from the heart"?

Put this example in comparison to the work of Philip and Randi Reitan who with their son Jake, who have helped put together the movie: "For the Bible Tells Me So". I think we can see an amazing contrast between the two. In this excellent movie we hear the stories of people like Bishop Gene Robinson or the daughter of former U.S. Representative Dick Gephardt and so many more along with their families struggling with what the Bible has said over the years about homosexuality. In this magnificent documentary the viewers can hear the painful stories of families and children coming out and loving each other as they are. "For the Bible Tells Me So" looks into the many mis-translated stories in the Bible that are used as the "clobber passages" about homosexuality. These include Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), Do not lie with men as you do women in Leviticus 18:22 and 20: 13. The movie does an excellent job of examining the real meaning behind Romans 1:21-28. But one of the most wonderful parts of this documentary is the stories of how Parents, Pastors, whole churches have opened their hearts and minds to a new understanding of what the Scriptures mean about homosexuality. Yet, through out the film we also see the malicious talk of many Protestant Evangelicals and Roman Catholic leaders condemning homosexual individuals and activities.

As we meditate on these two examples, I think we have to ask ourselves the question again and again, what is coming from our hearts? I heard an individual just last night say that she pays enough for her own health insurance, why should she pay more for the health care of an illegal immigrant? When I hear comments like that, I have to ask the question, have Christians really listened to Jesus when he asked the question: "Who is my neighbor?" And what about "I was a stranger and you took me in"? How about: "I was sick and you helped me" ? And in the same place Jesus said: "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." (See Matthew 25: 31 to 46). From these I have to ask the question: What illegal immigrant would Jesus refuse health care to? What comes from our hearts?

What is in our hearts? I hope what is in our hearts is an honest call of God for conversion. I hope what is in our hearts is a desire to change our attitudes towards people who are different than ourselves. I hope that what comes out of the hearts of Christians in America and world wide is a renewed understanding of love for our neighbors including homosexuals, bisexuals and transgendered persons. I hope what God finds in our hearts is a willingness to affirm the need for everyone to have good health care. I hope what is in our hearts and what comes out is a real understanding of caring for the poor, those with HIV/AIDS and all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases. I hope what we find in our hearts and what comes out of our mouths is a real call to our Representatives, Senators and our President to make equal rights for LGBT people a priority in regards to repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the repealing of the Defense of Marriage Act and the passing of an inclusive Employment-Non Discrimination Act. I hope that in our hearts we might call the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission to not consider harming LGBT individuals through inciting hate crimes. I hope that Christians who harbor attitudes of hate for LGBT individuals might hear the call of God to learn to love, accept and affirm the marginalized of society and the Church.

Likewise, it is the call of LGBT Christians and all people of good will to be in dialogue with those who have attitudes against LGBT individuals. We just never know when something someone says or does will change an attitude or affect an alteration of people. Philip and Randi Reitan shared with our group on Saturday night that For the Bible Tells Me So has already begun to work on the hearts of people connected with Focus on the Family. Just think of what our true stories shared in love can do to change others.

O God, you made us in your image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in the bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purpose 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, Page 815).

Remembering Those Who Contributed To A Better Life

As we continue through the Month of November we continue to remember with fondness those whom we loved who went before us. My partner Jason and I enjoyed a wonderful celebration of the Faithful Departed this past Monday as we attended the Requiem Mass at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral. The news of someone's passing is always bad news. There is nothing that really prepares for us to hear that news and it often causes us pain and grief.

In today's Gospel story of the death of John the Baptist we see another story of bad news. King Herod gives over to the wishes of Herodias' daughter to have John the Baptist beheaded after she did her death dance on the occasion of his birthday. Herod was caught in self-entrapment for the promise he had made, and it was his reputation that was at stake if he did not follow through with his promise. Once again the evil of political corruption takes the life of someone who had done the will of God.

During this time of remembering all souls, perhaps we can pray for the soldiers who died in wars that took place because of industrial and political greed. We can also pray for all of the innocent civilian people who every day in Pakistan pay the price for those who cannot act fast enough to resolve their differences. We can and should remember the LGBT individuals in middle-eastern and Arabic nations who are hung just because they were in love with someone of the same sex. If the unjust law of Uganda is made, we will have to pray for many more souls that will pay the price of their lives due to their same-sex love.

There are lots of people in our world dying for having done the right thing. People in poor nations where there is not enough food, water, medicine. Right here in our own United States it is estimated that over 40,000 American's will die because they do not have medical coverage to take care of their medical needs. Yet, we as people do not grieve over the injustices that take place in our land. We accept these activities and sit back while injustices are allowed to take place, often through the use of our tax dollars.

For every people who die due to injustice, those who rise and work to do something about the issues that caused people to die give honor to those who died. Judy Shepard made sure that her son's death was not in vain by working all of those years to the date when President Obama signed the hate crimes bill into law. Judy Shepard continues to work hard on behalf of LGBT individuals calling societies to justice and equality for all. Out of her grief and because of her courage others will know the justice that her son did not experience.

John the Baptist through his work of preparing for the coming of the Messiah made the world a better place. Jesus honored him by saying that there was no man born of woman greater than John the Baptist. Jesus recognized in John his desire to do the will of God. While the events that led to his death can never be justified, Jesus still recognized the energy that John the Baptist brought to the cause of calling people to recognize their rejection of God, through the rejection of those marginalized by society.

One person who's life and death I think is truly heroic is Harvey Milk. He dedicated his entire life to giving hope to LGBT individuals where no one would. Even in the face of the injustices of Anita Bryant, Harvey Milk still did not give in, but sought to do all he could to give hope to people who were hopeless. His inspiration can still be seen in activists like Cleve Jones who was one of the co-chairs for the Equality March in Washington, DC on October 11th of this year. When the work of a slain individual is carried on by others, that means the spirit of the individual is living and active, and their death is not in vain.

Who can we remember today as someone who has passed on who inspires us? How can we carry on the causes of those who have died? In what ways can we keep their memory alive?

Eternal rest grand unto them, O Lord. Let perpetual light shine upon them. May all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

We are God's Treasures and Pearls

Based on Matthew 13: 44 to 52

It is interesting what people will do when they read about a good sale. People who really, really want what it is will stop at nothing to get what what they are after. They will use that spare money, make sure they get to the store on time. The reaction should they get there and find that they are all out of the item on sale can be one of "oh well, we'll just come back next time." Or: "Oh no!" It can make or break someone's day.

Well God made the decision that you and I are so very important to God that God was willing to spare everything to gain us for God's self. Even when we took advantage of God's generosity in creation and turned away from God, God still thought we were of the utmost importance to God. And so God did not even spare God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. When God came to us in God's perfect revelation, God opened up the way for all of us to be drawn back to God. God made no distinctions, no exceptions and no one was excluded from being part of God's plan of salvation. We are the treasure that God sold everything God had to buy the field. We are the precious pearl that God sold everything to have. We are the ones that God loves so much, that God literally put God's self out there, totally vulnerable and willing to give everything in order to draw us closer to God so that God could save us.

So what is our excuse for not welcoming everyone to be part of God's Church? Why is it that we have all this criteria? Over the years women have been told that they have their dignity as human beings, but they are still suppose to live in total subordination to men and not be included in Church leadership positions? People of different nationalities such as African Americans, Native American's, Eastern Indians, Asians, people from the West Indies, South America, Mexico and the Muslim people are told that they have their rightful place in American society, yet there are political parties that still accuse such people as "trying to take away things that are not theirs." Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals when they seek their rights through the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill, or through the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) are accused of wanting to "invade the bathrooms of certain sexes so as to commit sexual assault." What is our excuse for not seeing others different than ourselves as one of God's most precious treasures or pearls? Why does our view of people's dignity and integrity stop at the doors of race, sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression, national origin, religion, challenge or class?

Okay, our human limitations have something to do with it. All of us including this writer struggles every day to live the principles that I write about. I have days too when I am not as open. I make excuses too. I think the "excuse" that we do not look at with all openness and honesty is that we do not yet see ourselves as being God's treasure or pearl. And why should we give anyone else a benefit that we ourselves do not yet own? And this is a message that is as difficult for me to hear as anyone else. From the prayer of St. Francis: "It is in giving that we receive." All too often we have accepted "I cannot give what I do not have." While there is truth in that, the fact that we are alive, breathing, hurting, working, sleeping, loving, struggling is God's gift to us as God's precious pearls and treasures. Our problem is, we do not see God's gifts in the little things, and so we miss God's blessings big and small.

God's very gift of life that we share right here and right now, is the gift from which we can share goodness, love, integrity, dignity and wholeness with others around us. Just the opportunity to struggle to accept ourselves as God's pearl and treasure is a gifted chance given by God to see someone else as God's treasure and pearl. Oh, how this challenges my own stubborn heart, that doesn't want to move past where I am. And I suspect it is the same hardness of heart that keeps others from moving forward. As a gay man, I have heard so many times that I am not in God's good graces as long as I am gay, in love with my partner in a committed monogamous relationship. However, Jesus just told me today, that I am the treasure and the pearl that God spent everything including God's Son to obtain. Do we see ourselves that way when we look into our mirrors, or do we see someone that just is not good enough? Could that be why we have such difficulty seeing the goodness of God's treasure and pearl in someone who is different that ourselves?

O God, who created all peoples in your image, we thank you for the wonderful diversity of races and cultures, "sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions" in this world. Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of fellowship, and show us your presence in those who differ most from us, until our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer taken from the Book of Common Prayer, #7. For the Diversity of Races and Cultures, Page 840. Sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions were added by the author of this blog.)

Responding to Love's Request

Yesterday was a historic day. When President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd hate crimes bill into law yesterday the long hard work of Judy Shepard saw the goal she worked for become a reality. I am continually amazed at the fortitude of Judy Shepard. When most of us experience the murder of a loved one, we might let the anger and grief of what happened weigh us down, causing to go deep into ourselves and say the hell with the rest of the world. Judy Shepard did not do any of those things. I am sure Judy's grief over the way in which her son Matthew was murdered, followed by the local Police Department saying that they had no funding to investigate such a crime, left Judy often feeling alone and like no one would listen. However, that did not stop Judy Shepard from using her horrific situation to achieve great things. You would think that after the years of pushing for the Hate Crimes legislation in Congress only to have former President George Bush say he would veto the bill, that Judy would just give up. But no, that did not stop this mother from seeking justice for others who could experience what happened to her son. Judy continued to sign copies of her book. She continued to speak about her son's death despite people calling her a "liar". And yesterday, October 28th she saw all her suffering and efforts result in changing the laws of the land.

This is the kind of love and devotion of a woman seeking to do the right thing amidst very difficult circumstances. This is how the word of God goes beyond being an abstraction, to becoming really alive and active in the world around us. This is the word of God falling on good soil and reaping much good fruit, even with all the thorns and weeds trying to keep out the good fruit that is trying to grow.

As I read through today's Gospel of Matthew 13: 18-23, I am struck and yet troubled by some of the language there. I think all of us have those moments when the words of Jesus reach us, but there are the thorns in our life that choke what is said. Addictions, challenges, relationships, events and news that all play their role in making it difficult for God to take hold of our lives and make a difference. I also think that we have to be careful about looking at ourselves arrogantly and thinking we are the good soil, while others who are different from us are some how not good soil. Everyone has issues in their lives that can make hearing God speak to us difficult and sometimes troubling.

Clearing the issues that make it difficult for us to listen to God is a process that every person has to go through for themselves. Everyone's situation is not the same. However, because God is God and because God loves us as much as God does, then we have to conclude that there is no situation too difficult for God to work through. Through prayer, quiet times and asking God for the help to trust in God to help remove the obstacles that keep us from hearing and knowing God clearer, we can find ourselves in that place where God's grace is reaching out and healing that which is broken.

One of the many obstacles for people to draw closer to God is spiritual violence. When someone makes use of Scripture, Church authority, religious principles in an attempt to change the very essence of who someone is, that is not pastoral counseling. That is spiritual violence and abuse. This is a common experience for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. When voices like the Catholic church speaks through ex-gay ministries like Courage and tell LGBT individuals that their "condition" is "intrinsically disordered" it is no longer good Spiritual advice. It is pastoral and spiritual violence. When ex-gay ministries like Exodus create "fix camps" to try to "change" people's orientation, even though they are doing it out of "loving concern", they are doing spiritual violence to LGBT people. When devoted Christian parents address their children after they come out saying that they will one day "grow out" of being gay, that is not a loving response.

Let's compare what I wrote above with an entirely different approach. Telling an LGBT person that they are loved as they are, and calling them to grow in a healthy respect of themselves and in their relationships, now that is good Spiritual counsel. Calling LGBT individuals to give up the unhealthy practices of promiscuity and work towards healthier relationships where they are truly loving other people as opposed to using each other is good progress. Looking at the brokenness with which LGBT youth often come to the Church and finding LGBT Priests, Pastors and members who can help them integrate their sexuality in healthy ways with their Spiritual lives, that is good Spiritual and Pastoral advice. That is helping LGBT people find ways to help them listen more clearly to God's word.

Jesus came into the world to give people who feel lost find hope and meaning. Jesus Christ through out his earthly ministry gave sight to the blind, called those on the sidelines to be included in the household of Faith. The Church that Christ calls is one that is inclusive and welcoming to all who wish to discern God's call in their lives. Jesus invites everyone to the Eucharistic table to experience the healing of God's holy presence.

What role will we play in discerning God's call in our lives? How will we help others listen for what God is saying to them? What are our attitudes towards people who are not quite like us? How do we respond to those who want to get closer to God, but have situations we do not understand?

As we continue on our journey of Faith, let us ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in our attitudes of inclusion and be sure that the Church is a "House of Prayer for all."

This we pray in the Name of God who is +Creator, Servant and Life-Giver. Amen.

Be Our Vision, O God.

Based on Matthew 13: 54-58

What is the next question we tend to ask someone after they introduce themselves? "Where are you from?" In an effort to create some intimacy with someone that we might be trying to get to know, we first make the attempt to get a bigger picture of who that person is. Where is the person from? What is their career? What are their interests or hobbies? What schools did they go to, and/or what was their course of study? As their answers come, we find common ground to talk about, or we make ourselves open to learning things that we have not known before.

When it comes to the answer about where someone comes from, it can be quite interesting as to what our attitudes might be following what we have been told. If someone is from New England as I am originally from, people might automatically think we are people who talk directly. There is no playing around. We say what we think, and we let you know where we stand. If the answer is say from Minnesota where I currently live, one might say that we are "Minnesota ice" as in "Minnesota nice." Minnesotan's have a reputation for being nice to your face, then stabbing you in the back. If someone is from the south, their personalities are very warm and hospitable, yet they too can be very direct. Interesting how we make judgments on people's character based on where they are from. Let someone do something that is off the radar of where they are from, and suddenly we might find ourselves scratching our heads and wondering "what in the world?"

That was the attitude of those who were listening to Jesus in our Gospel story today. They were listening to Jesus teach about God. Jesus taught with great wisdom and knowledge. Rather than take to heart the message of God's love revealed perfectly in Jesus Christ, all these people got wound up in where he was from, who his parents were, who his brothers were, what his father did. And all because of their preconceived notions about what all this meant, they dismissed his message and failed to believe in Jesus' message of love. That is why Jesus did not perform miracles or use his power, "because of their disbelief." (Matthew 13: 58).

This goes precisely to the problem many of us have in seeing Jesus in other people. Why don't we share our Gospel stories with people? The Gospel is not only meant to be shared through preaching and quoting, it is suppose to be lived through the stories of our own lives. The Gospel story is shared as we reach out to those who are poor, lonely, discouraged, the uninsured, those of different races, religions, classes, challenges, sexual orientations and gender identities. But, because of our preconceived notions of what such people are, where they are from, what we think they do, or are concerned about what they do not do, the Gospel story of our lives does not reach out and touch theirs. When we leave ourselves in the center of ourselves, what we do is leave our Gospel stories home in the dust covered Bible on the shelf. The cross remains an abstract dead object on the wall because we just cannot forgive someone. The Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ remains a historical myth when we cannot reach out to someone without our preconceived thinking becoming a barrier to what God wants to do between us and the other person. We are afraid of conflict. But conflicts are a part of life. We are afraid of being guilty by association. Yet it can be through facing our own guilt by association, that we can play a role in helping people to change their attitudes towards people who are different, marginalized and stigmatized.

When God came to us in the Person of God's Son, Jesus Christ, God came to shake us up. God came to get us out of our comfort zones. Unless we are willing to take part in the change of the status quo, then the Gospel story of our lives becomes just another story that people have heard before. But when we face the things that make us uncomfortable, and we "come out" of our "lands of slavery" whether that means our closets, our homes, our beds, that bad relationship that we might be hanging on to, the addiction that we are not seeking help for. When we finally face the truth about ourselves and reach across the isle with compassion and an honest search for God, we finally open the Gospel story of our lives as we shake people up and share ourselves with others. When we do that, God reveals God's love not only to us, but to others we come into contact. The dead Gospel becomes a living story of love out of the Bible on the shelf. The crucifix becomes a living way that we die to ourselves. The Death and Resurrection of Christ becomes living action, and those who are marginalized and stigmatized are given their inclusive place within God's family.

Today, I can think of no two people who have demonstrated this better than Dennis and Judy Shepard. Dennis and Judy lost their son, Matthew who was beaten and left to die because he was gay. During the many years since the tragic death of their son, Dennis and Judy have reached out to the legal community and found very little solace. Did they let that stop them? No way. Judy Shepard went on to write about her son, and tell the story of how much she loved him. Judy, who lost her own son could have turned against the gay community through denial and shame. But no. Judy Shepard shouldered the cross of love and compassion and through the telling of her story, and her fortitude of determination, Judy pushed on making appearances and statements helped push through to yesterday's victory. When the United States Senate passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill yesterday, they acknowledged what we've known and seen in Dennis and Judy Shepard. Our United States Congress has declared that crimes due to preconceived notions about sexual orientation or gender identity are hate crimes. They cannot be tolerated. Hate crimes violate the dignity and integrity of LGBT people and any group of people due to race, class, challenge or otherwise. And they must be seen in that way. Judy did all of this, even with Religious right leaders and followers calling her a "liar" right to her face when she made appearances. Judy took her place with Jesus on the Cross, and loved her son. Judy and Dennis have never stopped loving their son for who he was. And they want to encourage others to love people for who they are, and abandon their hate and violent attitudes towards LGBT people.

When we hear Jesus speaking to us, through other people, how do we respond to him? Do we respond to God with our preconceived notions of the people we come into contact through God's intervention? Do we close ourselves off to the power of God, because we do not believe in God's transforming grace through someone who is different than us? How in those moments does our Gospel story come out of the page and into real life?

As we explore these and other questions today, let us remember that God is merciful. God has already forgiven us in Christ Jesus. All we have to do is lay our sins at the foot of the Cross, and ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and God will do the rest.

Prayer of St. Francis.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where their 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. (Book of Common Prayer, Page 833).