How Do We Console the Weeping Jesus Over Our World?

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The Gospel reading from today's Divine Office is taken from Matthew chapter 23: 27-39. After another set of woes and Jesus calling the Pharisees hypocrites for the blood of countless Prophets for whom they associate their heritage, Jesus then weeps over the state of Jerusalem. The Collegeville Bible Commentary New Testament Volume tells us that Jesus is weeping over the impending destruction of Jerusalem that was to happen by the Romans in 70 AD. (See page 895). Jesus was weeping over Jerusalem due to the lack of acceptance that he and other prophets had found in trying to convey the reality of what was going on. The poor and the marginalized had been forgotten. The stranger (the one's who were different) were not welcomed. Many who were in need of help from the religious and civil authorities were much too time consuming to be bothered with. Sadly, this does not sound too much unlike what is going on in our own time. Do you think Jesus weeps as much over what is happening in our time as he did over Jerusalem?

We live in very difficult times. The news about health care reform in the United States Senate continues to be every so depressing. It still appears that the wealthy insurance companies with all the money and power to lobby are being listened to far more than the needs of those who really do need health care. Just yesterday it was reported that health-care stocks rose after Democrats announced that they would consider dropping the public option in health care reform. There are so many uncertainties in the health care reform debate. We are very happy to hear that they are considering expanding medicare for people age 55 and up. However, new reports suggest that there are plenty of groups that the compromised Senate Health Care Bill loopholes will not cover. Many people are beginning to ask the frightening question if you can't save everyone, who can you save? What ever happened to America being the land of "equal opportunity"? On the Statue of Liberty it reads: "Give us your tired, your poor..." Yet, are we inviting the tired and poor to come to our nation only to be left to be sick and die because they cannot afford medical coverage? Do you think this is something that Jesus weeps over? In Matthew 25:21 to 46 we read of the judgment of the Nations, where Jesus said: "I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then you will answer, 'Lord, when was it that that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

How about the issue of the stranger? In the outstanding First Run Features documentary film For the Bible Tells Me So Rev. Irene Monroe while commenting on the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah remarks about how she often travels to New England cities and towns where a black, lesbian woman is not welcomed, and how that is the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah being played out in the 21st Century. The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 18:16 to 19:29) is not homosexuality as so many Christian fundamentalists would suggest. The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was a lack of hospitality shown to strangers. If people who come to our land as immigrants have to fight so hard to gain their status before they can live in a home, work and get health care, if anyone who lives here who is sick cannot get health care and if African Americans and other national minorities and LGBT people cannot have their civil rights granted and protected by the laws of our nation, then how does our nation of "equal opportunity" expect to stand under the judgment of God? Where is the commitment of liberty and justice for all, from a nation where evangelicals travel to a place like Uganda and encourage an anti-homosexuality bill that could have included life-imprisonment and the death penalty?

And let us not leave the violation of human rights and oppression just to the nations of the world. We cannot forget how lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals continue to be oppressed by religious right groups like the National Organization for Marriage and the over 200,000 people who have signed onto the Manhattan Declaration. Look at all the controversy that the election of Bishop-elect Mary Glasspool is causing throughout the Anglican Communion. Newspapers from The Los Angeles Times to The Guardian UK are covering the reaction of Bishop-elect Glasspool's election. Reaction to Canon Glasspool's election to Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles is hardly concerned with her outstanding work as a Priest and Canon to the Bishop in her current Diocese that qualifies her to win the election in the LA Diocese. The concern is over her sexual orientation and her twenty year faithful relationship to her wife and whether that is a "good example" to other Christians. Considering the state of many heterosexual marriages, I should think that a qualified Priest who has been in a marriage of 20 years with another woman would serve as an incredible Christian witness. How twisted and evil that her sexual orientation is taking up so much attention by people with non-inclusive opinions. I think Jesus does weep over issues like this, and the Holy Spirit truly pleads for a new order and understanding of how God works through all kinds of people.

How are Christians called to console the weeping Jesus? As we prepare for the celebration of Christmas through Advent, how are we trying to change our present culture? How do we make our nation and the Church a better place to welcome Jesus who is sick in the person without health care, the stranger who is of a different race or ethnicity or of a different sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression? How do we prepare for the coming of the Christ Child in a world where violence, oppression, discrimination and poverty appear to be all too much of a reality?

As long as we live in the time we are in, we have the opportunity to speak up for those whom society and the Church looks at as second class citizens. We can always call our legislators and demand that they remember the one's who are really in need of health care reform. We can sign petitions and group letters. We can take part in organizations such as Health Care for America NOW!, The Charter for Compassion, Integrity USA, The Chicago Consultation, The Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities, Lutherans Concerned, Soul Force, The Human Rights Campaign, and The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. There is always much more we can do when we show our strength in numbers. We must never, never excuse injustice and allow it to go unchallenged. It is never too late to begin using our voices, our talents, treasures and time to help those including ourselves build a better world for Jesus to live in. Where will we begin consoling the weeping Jesus today?

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. (Book of Common Prayer, #36 For the Oppressed, Page 826.)

Be Careful with the Little One's

The Collegeville Bible Commentary tells us that today's Gospel of Matthew 18: 1 to 10 gives us two very different understandings of children around the time that the events this Gospel is illustrating would be taking place. On page 888 of the New Testament Volume Matthew 18: 1 through 4 refers to children not having any legal rights to anything. While Matthew 18: 5 to 10 refers to those described as "simple and good-hearted member(s) of the community who could be led astray."

When Jesus speaks of the children in the verses 1 to 4, he is telling his disciples that if they want to achieve greatness, they have be willing to become one of the least. The question the disciples were raising was based on what the leaders of their faith were promoting. Somehow those who sit in great places within the religious community of the time were ranked and they believed that is how their place in heaven would be decided. The religious leaders thought that because they were in leadership positions in this life, that somehow they would have those places reserved after death. And so they promoted themselves as the "higher ups." Somehow anyone who was not where they were on earth, when they got to heaven was probably also going to be on a lower end. The disciples were coming to Jesus wanting to know what their place would be. Who would rank among the greatest? Jesus answers their question by telling them that if they want to have greatness with God, they need to become like those who really have nothing.

This is a very timely conversation is it not? It is interesting what happens to people when they climb the corporate ladder to become a CEO. Better yet, I remember what it was often like when I served Parishes as an organist and music director. I would sometimes find myself working for an older Priest with years of experience being Pastor of a parish, working along side an inexperienced assistant. When the opportunity came, sometimes the younger Priest would say to me that when he becomes a Pastor, he will never do the things that his older brother Priest did. Since saying that to me, this younger Priest is now a Pastor and well, he's finding out exactly why the more experienced Priest did what he did, and he now works in very similar ways. Good leaders and managers are those who though they possess great knowledge and experience do not use it to lord themselves over people, but use them as opportunities to learn even more and become wiser through newer experiences.

I think God is challenging the Church to come to that place where they realize that all of the years that they have rejected lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, they were not doing it right. Rather than think that they know everything based on what they have always understood, the Church needs to open itself to learning new ways of approaching LGBT individuals, couples and families. LGBT individuals, couples and families are like the little children as described in the first part of today's Gospel. They come with very little rights that protect them. They often come from families and whole communities both religious and secular that have rejected them and labeled them as failures. LGBT individuals come to the Church broken by prejudice, discrimination and hate. Gay youth often come to churches after having been thrown out of their parents homes, businesses and communities. They are confused, afraid and really need to be loved, embraced and affirmed. The hurt feelings of LGBT Youth and adults need to be validated and given an opportunity to heal.

However, the experience that many LGBT individuals both youth and adult experience is often like the second group of children described in today's Gospel. LGBT individuals come to Pastors, churches and many of them even to their own parents looking for love, support, understanding and acceptance. They are "simple and good-hearted member(s) of the community". Yet, many of them are led astray. They are told that they are sinners, that they've broken their relationships with God. Many are told that the feelings they experience for people of the same sex are not of God, and they were not created this way. They are told that if they want to make peace with God and the Church, they must "repent" and change their lifestyle. Many LGBT youth and adults are told by church leaders that they are the way they are because in the case of a man their masculinity was not approved or supported, and so they went looking for it through erotic behavior. Examples like this are the "simple and good-hearted members of the community" coming to the Church for help and the leaders of the Church "lead them astray." Instead of helping them to see that being gay or lesbian, bisexual and/or transgendered is a gift of God they are told that they are dirty, ugly, immature and "intrinsically disordered." I know of very few Pastors, Priests and Church leaders who would tell an African American that she or he is "intrinsically disordered." Almost no religious leader looks at a woman and tells her that she is "disordered" for being a woman.

In the movie: "For the Bible Tells Me So" Archbishop Desmond Tutu says: "I cannot imagine God saying to someone "I cannot accept you, because I wish you had been created as a straight person." Those who are preaching a message that suggests that God will reject someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered, are leading the little children astray. Christians who know better need to speak up and tell the truth. LGBT individuals who know better need to speaking the truth. Legislators and people who write the laws of our country need to recognize this as a crime and speak up about it.

There are countless examples of men and women who once were led astray by those who would say they were worth nothing in the sight of God because they are gay, but have since accepted who they are and know that they are loved and must help other LGBT people to know that too. One such person is the Rev. Dr. Mel White. The Rev. Dr. Mel White used to be the ghost writer for Jerry Falwell. Mel White spent a great deal of time with people like Dr. James Dobson, Pat Robertson and many others. Rev. Mel White has since come out and accepted that he is gay. Rev. White is now a minister in the Metropolitan Community Church and is the founder of Soul Force. Soul Force seeks to end the Spiritual Violence towards LGBT individuals. Rev. Dr. Mel White is the author of an incredible book entitled: "Religion Gone Bad."

This upcoming weekend Soul Force, Truth Wins Out (TWO) and Beyond Ex-Gay will be holding the Anti-Heterosexism Conference in West Palm Beach Florida. At the same time the Anti-Heterosexism Conference is being heald the NARTH (the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) presents their conference defending the use of reparative therapy. Earlier this year the American Psychological Association (APA) came out with a report of how damaging and destructive reparative therapy of sexual orientation is. They are recommending that therapists associated with their organization not use reparative therapy and not recommend it to any of their patients. Reparative therapy is an area where Christians are leading LGBT youth and adults astray with the wrong information. And I think that churches and psychological therapists who do this kind of thing need to be held accountable. If you know of someone who is going to a therapist who uses reparative therapy consider reporting that therapist to the APA. Also, consider suggesting to an individual who is going through reparative therapy that they are participating in something that is bad for them. Become a voice of truth where the lies are still being told.

As Christian people, we need to be aware of how the least are being treated. It is our mission as Baptized followers of Jesus Christ to seek out the lost, the captives and the blind to help them. When Jesus read from the Prophet Isaiah in Luke 4: 16-19 Jesus was reading his "inaugural address" In his book: "In the Eye of the Storm" Bishop Gene Robinson writes: "If you want to know what being a follower of Jesus is about, just check out his inaugural speech." (Page 117). How are we doing with that?

"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. (Book of Common Prayer, #36 For the Oppressed, Page 826).