On this final Friday of Advent, one week before Christmas we are asked through the readings from the Divine Office to look at how we are investing what God has given us. In God's abundance all of us have been given something we can invest and multiply for the good of others. For lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people giving of ourselves through our sexual orientations and/or gender expressions/identities can be dangerous but important work. Because LGBT people are often viewed as being "intrinsically disordered" just for being LGBT. Many people who are associated with the Catholic church and the religious right suggest that sexual orientation by itself is an addiction like alcoholism or drug abuse. They cannot see beyond the actual orientation, others stop at the door of our sexual relationships. Yet, for others like the 300,685 people who have signed onto the The Manhattan Declaration the idea of same-sex marriage is something that just cannot happen, lest the end of the world come. Lest those who have signed onto the Manhattan Declaration think they are the only one's who have invested their "talents" The Affirmation Declaration has grown to 1,128 signatures.
This mornings first Reading taken from the Prophet Zechariah reads: "The word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in order not to hear. They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. Just as, when I called, they would not hear, so, when they called, I would not hear, says the LORD of hosts, and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and a pleasant land was made desolate." (7:8-14).
These past few days have been very, very disappointing with the United States Senate unable to come up with a public option or Medicare buy-in plan for health care reform. As I have said in the past, the health care reform debate has moved so far away from those who really do need health care reform. Instead the health care reform debate is about how the monopolizing health care companies can exploit this for their own benefit. Their lobby machines and tycoons have masterminded what can be seen as a criminal enterprise and the the US Government that includes conserva-dems and Republicans have been all too willing to go along with the plot. Lost in all of the discussion are the unemployed and under employed families, along with all of those families and individuals with health care needs that they can neither pay for, nor obtain without the loss of everything they own. This was an opportunity for our President and Congress to put their best feet forward and show that America is a better place, that really does take care of it's own people. The Obama Administration, and U.S. House of Representatives and Senate had the chance to show that the United States of America helps those on the very bottom work their way to being successful and healthy individuals. Yet, rather than focus on those who really do need what could have been health care through a public option, the entire debate has turned into a political mudslinging session where politics and lobbying machine like insurance companies with all the money to throw gets a bigger part of the pot. Clearly the politics of it all, is twisted as usual.
What I cannot get in all honesty was this Prayer Cast that was reported on by The Rachel Maddow Show last night. Right in the middle of the thing was people like Sam Brownback and Rep. Michele Bachmann (sadly from my own State of Minnesota) praying about squashing the health care reform bill over abortion. I have to say up until Rachel Maddow started showing clips of Lou Engl and many of the speeches he's made, I had never heard of him. However, the moment I saw his face and heard him speak and the kinds of things he said, I had a nightmarish vision in my mind of Adolf Hitler beginning a Nazi Socialist party all over again. And I know there has been a lot of "socialist" slinging at President Obama. After hearing Lou Engl, I really do think that the right wing has been the pot calling the kettle black way too long. I have a very big problem with people praying for a health care reform bill to fail that features many of our Republican Representatives, and Focus on the Families James Dobson calling in to denounce it based on the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage. Women's rights and the rights of LGBT individuals are to blame for holding much needed health care reform hostage because of a bunch of lies and self-centered presuppositions. I just cannot wrap my mind around the lack of "love thy neighbor as thyself" that was part of that "prayer cast". How terribly backwards and a complete contradiction to what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is really about. And the sad part is, with our US. Senate increasingly unable to come to decent common ground over this health care reform bill, for many it appears that the prayers of the prayer cast are being answered. This issue is undoubtedly causing the faith of many to be shaken and challenged.
Over the last two weeks coming to the forefront of our news has been the anti-homosexuality bills in Uganda and now Rwanda. Apart from the Rachel Maddow Show, the rest of the news media has been all focused on Tiger Woods and his host of affairs and billions of dollars. I think two countries discussing imprisonment and the death penalty for homosexuals is a much bigger newsworthy priority. How is our nation and our world investing all the talents and opportunities that God has given them so as to help bring the reign of God's kingdom on earth?
How can LGBT people invest the "talents" God has given us in a world where being LGBT is still understood by many to be "intrinsically disordered?" How can LGBT Christians maintain their faith in God while it often appears as if our enemies are winning? Where do we see opportunities for investing the talents God has given us to help advance the cause for justice and equality not just for LGBT people but for all who are on the margins of society and the Church?
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (Prayer Attributed to St. Francis, Book of Common Prayer, Page 833).
Showing posts with label The Manhattan Declaration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Manhattan Declaration. Show all posts
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Work of Love is the Work of Justice and Equality
Today's Gospel is a familiar story. However, today's Gospel is one that is often read and lived as lip service when it comes to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. The Pharisees came and asked him: "What is the greatest commandment" in Matthew chapter 22:34-40. Jesus answered that the greatest commandment is: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Mt. 22:37-39). If we were to quote this Gospel to some fire breathing evangelistic preacher they would say "Amen." But all charity and love of neighbor tends to stop with someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered.
Yesterday was an exciting day for LGBT Christians. Because a group of progressive Christians answered the infamous Manhattan Declaration with the now absolutely awesome Affirmaton Declaration. A group of Christians have answered the call to love God and neighbor by declaring that God's unconditional love extends to LGBT individuals and families. The front page of the Affirmation Declaration states: "The Affirmation Declaration is a statement that expresses the convictions of Christians all over the world. It was written in response to the now famous Manhattan Declaration, to correct egregious errors contained in the document, errors that have been preached in the pulpits of many local churches for far too long.
With the growing notoriety and support for the Manhattan Declaration, our Affirmation Declaration reflects an urgent need to respond to the portion of the Manhattan Declaration dealing with issues related to sexual orientation—specifically, homosexuality and same-sex marriage. We strongly disagree with the contention that same-sex attractions and the oft-resulting romantic activities are immoral.
Because of the large number of people affected by this serious issue one way or the other, we felt it expedient to respond formally, both by submitting our Declaration to the drafters of the Manhattan Declaration, as well as by releasing our Declaration to the public, allowing Christians to show their support for love and affirmation, just as so many have shown their support for the propagation of false doctrines of oppression and inequality against the GLBTI (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgered, and Intersex) community.
We also desire to let the world know that not all Christians are locked in what we believe to be an ancient worldview regarding homosexuality. We want to give people hope—hope to know that God loves them just as they are; hope to know that their gay loved ones are not destined for Hell; hope to know that although some Christian churches will never accept them or their same-sex unions, a great many will.
May the signatures we garner serve as a fire that will never burn out, lighting the way through the darkness of bad theology, and setting Christ's Church back on the right track as it relates to matters of sexual and gender orientation, and gender identity."
A careful reading of the document will show that people who believe in God's saving grace in Jesus Christ understand that the doors of compassion and inclusiveness do not stop at the door of one's sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression. However, we have a lot of work to do. The Manhattan Declaration has over 200,000 signatures. However, just in less than 24 hours the Affirmation Declaration has a total of 344 signatures and we need even more to please sign.
I am ever so lifted up by this wonderful action. I say that, because we know that same-sex marriage and homosexuals all over the world continue to be under attack from people who call themselves Christians. The incredible work of organizations such as Soul Force, Beyond Ex-Gay, and Truth Wins OUT (TWO) have been working hard to expose much of the spiritual violence and pastoral abuse that LGBT people experience at the hands of followers of Jesus Christ. It is imperative that those Christians who believe in Jesus Christ and God's unconditional love for LGBT people bring their voices forward and demonstrate that the anti-gay Christian voices are not the only one's with a loud voice. The commandments to love God and our neighbor call us to this great work.
It is never enough to pay God lip service. It is never enough to read nice Bible verses, sing beautiful music and/or enjoy magnificent Liturgy. As I have been saying those things remain mere abstractions when we do not use what we do in those things to live out our birth right in our Baptism. We have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to witness to the outpouring love of Jesus Christ through care and service to those on the margins of society. And where we LGBT people live on those margins through discrimination and prejudice often at the hands of Christians, we owe it to ourselves and to God to speak up for ourselves and other LGBT individuals who are constantly victimized by religion.
The Affirmation Declaration is an opportunity to help prepare the world for the arrival of Jesus. Because we help to advance the kingdom of God by helping others to extend God's love beyond their comfort zones and help them understand that there are people that the religious and political establishments keep pushed to the side while others are always kept front and center. This is an opportunity to call Christians and others who follow Jesus with the understanding that all are created in the image and likeness of God and that the redemption Jesus Christ won for all God's people through his death and resurrection includes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people without asking them to "give up" who we are.
Help advance the kingdom of God's justice and inclusiveness today by signing the The Affirmation Declaration and ask others to sign it too.
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. (Book of Common Prayer, For the Human Family, Page 815).
Friday, December 4, 2009
How Are Our Lives Images of the Love and Justice of God?
The Church invites us today to consider St. John of Damascus a Priest of the early Church. In Eastern Orthodoxy, St. John of Damascus is especially celebrated for being a defender of the Iconodules. In the early Church there was a debate between the Iconoclasts who held that any sacred image or painting of Jesus, Mary a Saint or anyone else for that matter was a violation of the 2nd Commandment. The 2nd Commandment being "Thou shalt not make a graven image... thou shalt not bow down to them" (See Exodus 20:4,5). St. John of Damascus was a defender of the opposing group called the Iconodules.
In this morning's Daily Office Author James Kiefer wrote the following: "The Iconodules replied that the coming of Christ had radically changed the situation, and that the commandment must now be understood in a new way, just as the commandment to "Remember the Sabbath Day" must be understood in a new way since the Resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week.
Before the Incarnation, it had indeed been improper to portray the invisible God in visible form; but God, by taking fleshly form in the person of Jesus Christ, had blessed the whole realm of matter and made it a fit instrument for manifesting the Divine Splendor. He had reclaimed everything in heaven and earth for His service, and had made water and oil, bread and wine, means of conveying His grace to men. He had made painting and sculpture and music and the spoken word, and indeed all our daily tasks and pleasures, the common round of everyday life, a means whereby man might glorify God and be made aware of Him. (Note: I always use "man" in the gender-inclusive sense unless the context plainly indicates otherwise.)
Obviously, the use of images and pictures in a religious context is open to abuse, and in the sixteenth century abuses had become so prevalent that some (not all) of the early Protestants reacted by denouncing the use of images altogether. Many years ago, I heard a sermon in my home parish (All Saints' Church, East Lansing, Michigan) on the Commandment, "Thou shalt not make a graven image, nor the likeness of anything in the heavens above, nor in the earth beneath, nor in the waters under the earth -- thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them." (Exodus 20:4-5 and Deuteronomy 5:8-9) The preacher (Gordon Jones) pointed out that, even if we refrain completely from the use of statues and paintings in representing God, we will certainly use mental or verbal images, will think of God in terms of concepts that the human mind can grasp, since the alternative is not to think of Him at all. (Here I digress to note that, if we reject the images offered in Holy Scripture of God as Father, Shepherd, King, Judge, on the grounds that they are not literally accurate, we will end up substituting other images -- an endless, silent sea, a dome of white radiance, an infinitely attenuated ether permeating all space, an electromagnetic force field, or whatever, which is no more literally true than the image it replaces, and which leaves out the truths that the Scriptural images convey. (One of the best books I know on this subject is Edwyn Bevan's Symbolism and Belief, Beacon Press, originally a Gifford Lectures series.) C S Lewis repeats what a woman of his acquaintance told him: that as a child she was taught to think of God as an infinite "perfect substance," with the result that for years she envisioned Him as a kind of enormous tapioca pudding. To make matters worse, she disliked tapioca. Back to the sermon.) The sin of idolatry consists of giving to the image the devotion that properly belongs to God. No educated man today is in danger of confusing God with a painting or statue, but we may give to a particular concept of God the unconditional allegiance that properly belongs to God Himself. This does not, of course, mean that one concept of God is as good as another, or that it may not be our duty to reject something said about God as simply false. Images, concepts, of God matter, because it matters how we think about God. The danger is one of intellectual pride, of forgetting that the Good News is, not that we know God, but that He knows us (1 Corinthians 8:3), not that we love Him, but that He loves us (1 John 4:10)."
James Kiefer continues: "In the East Orthodox tradition, three-dimensional representations are seldom used. The standard icon is a painting, highly stylized, and thought of as a window through which the worshipper is looking into Heaven. (Hence, the background of the picture is almost always gold leaf.) In an Eastern church, an iconostasis (icon screen) flanks the altar on each side, with images of angels and saints (including Old Testament persons) as a sign that the whole church in Heaven and earth is one body in Christ, and unites in one voice of praise and thanksgiving in the Holy Liturgy. At one point in the service, the minister takes a censer and goes to each icon in turn, bows and swings the censer at the icon. He then does the same thing to the congregation -- ideally, if time permits, to each worshipper separately, as a sign that every Christian is an icon, made in the image and likeness of God, an organ in the body of Christ, a window through whom the splendor of Heaven shines forth."
I found this explanation of Icons and the remembrance of St. John of Damascus to mirror what today's Readings are about. In the Old Testament Reading taken from Amos 5:1-17 we hear that God is very upset with Israel for their failure to stand for justice. The terror that God is predicting through the words of the prophet are happening because there is all kinds of injustices taking place and even the religious leaders of the day are not speaking up for those who are oppressed. Unbelievable evils have been taking place all over the country and very few are paying attention or even concerned.
I think God is very concerned about the evils and injustices that take place toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in the Church and society. Over the past eight weeks there has been incredible Spiritual violence shown to LGBT people by religious minded individuals. The Manhattan Declaration, the Anti-homosexuality Bill in Uganda that has been influenced by members of "the Family" and ex-gay ministries from here in the United States. This week The New York Senate Defeated Marriage Equality with the National Organization for Marriage cheering a victory at the expense of lesbian and gay couples. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington threatened to discontinue services to the poor and homeless if the District of Columbia approves of same-sex marriage. And not to be out done The Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland covered up years of children abused by clergy.
I have a serious question in my mind if God is happy about how many in the Church are abusing LGBT people and children. I also do not think God approves of using the poor and neglected as a "playing card" against same-sex marriage. God also does not endorse things like the Manhattan Declaration, nor the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda. When religious leaders and others keep silent about such serious issues, it is a serious sin and it leads to attitudes of apathy and self-righteousness for the religious right. If our lives are to be "icons" of God, then they must reflect our concern for all of God's children.
Interestingly enough today's Gospel is about preparing to be a part of the Wedding Feast of Heaven. In the Gospel of Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus tells a parable of a King preparing a grand banquet. The Collegeville Bible Commentary in the New Testament Volume on page 893 we read that the concern of the parable is Jesus' opponents. The first group of those offering invitations (the prophets) their invitations were rejected. The offer by the second group those being St. John the Baptist and even Jesus resulted in their execution. The vivid destruction that Jesus refers to is the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Because the professed and public religious people refused the invitation of God to God's banquet, the invitation was given to those marginalized by society. However, it is not enough for those on the fringes of society to be called to come to the banquet. To come to the banquet without being willing to take on the work of God to promote a world wide community of God's peace and justice through out society and the Church is to come to the banquet unprepared. The "clean clothing" that the King refers to here is not about the outside, visible garment. It is about how seriously those who have now been invited to participate in the banquet take the call of the King to help transform their own lives and those of the wider community.
We do not get invited to participate in God's kingdom by being good boys and girls. We are also not excluded from the invitation to participate in receiving Holy Communion because of our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression and certainly not because of our relationships with our significant other. We are invited as we are to participate in helping to bring about healing in our own lives as well as participate in the transformation of our own lives as well as those of others to God's kingdom of justice, peace and inclusion for all peoples. God calls us to participate in the mission of Jesus by speaking up on behalf of those who are marginalized, even if those people happen to be us. All of us are invited to help change status quo..
I am very happy today to include two good stories about Uganda. Canon Gideon Byamugishaa Priest of the Anglican Church in Uganda has spoken up and has said: ""I believe that this bill [if passed into law] will be state-legislated genocide against a specific community of Ugandans, however few they may be." There was also a story today about the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams"is said to be in "private" discussions with the Ugandan Anglican Church over the country's proposed anti-homosexuality laws." Let us continue to pray that good things will come from these discussions.
As long as we have breath in this life, we have an opportunity to speak on behalf of those who are experiencing injustice, including ourselves. God has given us the call through our Baptism. When we go to receive Christ in the Eucharist we are invited to become what we are, the Body of Christ. Our lives are "icons" into the love, mercy and justice of God. Let us be beautiful, powerful, a voice of justice for those who feel that they cannot speak up for themselves. Let the window through which people see God in us and our actions be one in which they can marvel at how wonderful God is.
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, First Sunday of Advent, Page 211.)
In this morning's Daily Office Author James Kiefer wrote the following: "The Iconodules replied that the coming of Christ had radically changed the situation, and that the commandment must now be understood in a new way, just as the commandment to "Remember the Sabbath Day" must be understood in a new way since the Resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week.
Before the Incarnation, it had indeed been improper to portray the invisible God in visible form; but God, by taking fleshly form in the person of Jesus Christ, had blessed the whole realm of matter and made it a fit instrument for manifesting the Divine Splendor. He had reclaimed everything in heaven and earth for His service, and had made water and oil, bread and wine, means of conveying His grace to men. He had made painting and sculpture and music and the spoken word, and indeed all our daily tasks and pleasures, the common round of everyday life, a means whereby man might glorify God and be made aware of Him. (Note: I always use "man" in the gender-inclusive sense unless the context plainly indicates otherwise.)
Obviously, the use of images and pictures in a religious context is open to abuse, and in the sixteenth century abuses had become so prevalent that some (not all) of the early Protestants reacted by denouncing the use of images altogether. Many years ago, I heard a sermon in my home parish (All Saints' Church, East Lansing, Michigan) on the Commandment, "Thou shalt not make a graven image, nor the likeness of anything in the heavens above, nor in the earth beneath, nor in the waters under the earth -- thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them." (Exodus 20:4-5 and Deuteronomy 5:8-9) The preacher (Gordon Jones) pointed out that, even if we refrain completely from the use of statues and paintings in representing God, we will certainly use mental or verbal images, will think of God in terms of concepts that the human mind can grasp, since the alternative is not to think of Him at all. (Here I digress to note that, if we reject the images offered in Holy Scripture of God as Father, Shepherd, King, Judge, on the grounds that they are not literally accurate, we will end up substituting other images -- an endless, silent sea, a dome of white radiance, an infinitely attenuated ether permeating all space, an electromagnetic force field, or whatever, which is no more literally true than the image it replaces, and which leaves out the truths that the Scriptural images convey. (One of the best books I know on this subject is Edwyn Bevan's Symbolism and Belief, Beacon Press, originally a Gifford Lectures series.) C S Lewis repeats what a woman of his acquaintance told him: that as a child she was taught to think of God as an infinite "perfect substance," with the result that for years she envisioned Him as a kind of enormous tapioca pudding. To make matters worse, she disliked tapioca. Back to the sermon.) The sin of idolatry consists of giving to the image the devotion that properly belongs to God. No educated man today is in danger of confusing God with a painting or statue, but we may give to a particular concept of God the unconditional allegiance that properly belongs to God Himself. This does not, of course, mean that one concept of God is as good as another, or that it may not be our duty to reject something said about God as simply false. Images, concepts, of God matter, because it matters how we think about God. The danger is one of intellectual pride, of forgetting that the Good News is, not that we know God, but that He knows us (1 Corinthians 8:3), not that we love Him, but that He loves us (1 John 4:10)."
James Kiefer continues: "In the East Orthodox tradition, three-dimensional representations are seldom used. The standard icon is a painting, highly stylized, and thought of as a window through which the worshipper is looking into Heaven. (Hence, the background of the picture is almost always gold leaf.) In an Eastern church, an iconostasis (icon screen) flanks the altar on each side, with images of angels and saints (including Old Testament persons) as a sign that the whole church in Heaven and earth is one body in Christ, and unites in one voice of praise and thanksgiving in the Holy Liturgy. At one point in the service, the minister takes a censer and goes to each icon in turn, bows and swings the censer at the icon. He then does the same thing to the congregation -- ideally, if time permits, to each worshipper separately, as a sign that every Christian is an icon, made in the image and likeness of God, an organ in the body of Christ, a window through whom the splendor of Heaven shines forth."
I found this explanation of Icons and the remembrance of St. John of Damascus to mirror what today's Readings are about. In the Old Testament Reading taken from Amos 5:1-17 we hear that God is very upset with Israel for their failure to stand for justice. The terror that God is predicting through the words of the prophet are happening because there is all kinds of injustices taking place and even the religious leaders of the day are not speaking up for those who are oppressed. Unbelievable evils have been taking place all over the country and very few are paying attention or even concerned.
I think God is very concerned about the evils and injustices that take place toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in the Church and society. Over the past eight weeks there has been incredible Spiritual violence shown to LGBT people by religious minded individuals. The Manhattan Declaration, the Anti-homosexuality Bill in Uganda that has been influenced by members of "the Family" and ex-gay ministries from here in the United States. This week The New York Senate Defeated Marriage Equality with the National Organization for Marriage cheering a victory at the expense of lesbian and gay couples. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington threatened to discontinue services to the poor and homeless if the District of Columbia approves of same-sex marriage. And not to be out done The Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland covered up years of children abused by clergy.
I have a serious question in my mind if God is happy about how many in the Church are abusing LGBT people and children. I also do not think God approves of using the poor and neglected as a "playing card" against same-sex marriage. God also does not endorse things like the Manhattan Declaration, nor the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda. When religious leaders and others keep silent about such serious issues, it is a serious sin and it leads to attitudes of apathy and self-righteousness for the religious right. If our lives are to be "icons" of God, then they must reflect our concern for all of God's children.
Interestingly enough today's Gospel is about preparing to be a part of the Wedding Feast of Heaven. In the Gospel of Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus tells a parable of a King preparing a grand banquet. The Collegeville Bible Commentary in the New Testament Volume on page 893 we read that the concern of the parable is Jesus' opponents. The first group of those offering invitations (the prophets) their invitations were rejected. The offer by the second group those being St. John the Baptist and even Jesus resulted in their execution. The vivid destruction that Jesus refers to is the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Because the professed and public religious people refused the invitation of God to God's banquet, the invitation was given to those marginalized by society. However, it is not enough for those on the fringes of society to be called to come to the banquet. To come to the banquet without being willing to take on the work of God to promote a world wide community of God's peace and justice through out society and the Church is to come to the banquet unprepared. The "clean clothing" that the King refers to here is not about the outside, visible garment. It is about how seriously those who have now been invited to participate in the banquet take the call of the King to help transform their own lives and those of the wider community.
We do not get invited to participate in God's kingdom by being good boys and girls. We are also not excluded from the invitation to participate in receiving Holy Communion because of our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression and certainly not because of our relationships with our significant other. We are invited as we are to participate in helping to bring about healing in our own lives as well as participate in the transformation of our own lives as well as those of others to God's kingdom of justice, peace and inclusion for all peoples. God calls us to participate in the mission of Jesus by speaking up on behalf of those who are marginalized, even if those people happen to be us. All of us are invited to help change status quo..
I am very happy today to include two good stories about Uganda. Canon Gideon Byamugishaa Priest of the Anglican Church in Uganda has spoken up and has said: ""I believe that this bill [if passed into law] will be state-legislated genocide against a specific community of Ugandans, however few they may be." There was also a story today about the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams"is said to be in "private" discussions with the Ugandan Anglican Church over the country's proposed anti-homosexuality laws." Let us continue to pray that good things will come from these discussions.
As long as we have breath in this life, we have an opportunity to speak on behalf of those who are experiencing injustice, including ourselves. God has given us the call through our Baptism. When we go to receive Christ in the Eucharist we are invited to become what we are, the Body of Christ. Our lives are "icons" into the love, mercy and justice of God. Let us be beautiful, powerful, a voice of justice for those who feel that they cannot speak up for themselves. Let the window through which people see God in us and our actions be one in which they can marvel at how wonderful God is.
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, First Sunday of Advent, Page 211.)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Are We Prepared to Meet God?
All of us at one time or another have prepared ourselves for a job interview. We select the best clothes, prepare to answer tough questions and show up early so that we are on time. We greet the interviewer with a nervous but friendly smile, hand shake and warm attitude. Yet, we are always cautious about getting over confident, for we do not know a company by the interview alone. It is only after we are hired that we find the ins and outs of a particular place of work. What kinds of people are there and what kinds of opportunities the work we were hired to do will require of us. But, were we really prepared for everything? Probably not quite everything.
As we go through this season of Advent we are asked to prepare ourselves to meet our God. We remember that God came to us in God's perfect revelation in the Incarnation of God in Christ as we will remember on Christmas Day. Are we prepared to meet our God?
There is a reason why in the Liturgical Calendar that Christmas is the one major feast day that is movable depending on the date of December 25th. We will notice that Ash Wednesday could happen any number of dates between February 9th as what happened two years ago, to as late as March 8th. Easter can be any number of Sundays ranging from March 23rd as was the case in 2008 or as late as April 25th. However, Christmas is the one date of December 25th that can happen any day of the week and it is still a Holy Day. Why do you suppose that is? It is actually that way for a reason. And the reason is to remind us that once in human history, Jesus was born and he could have come any day of the week, exactly what day, we do not know. Likewise, Christ could come any day of the week at any moment and therefore we need to make ourselves ready for Christ to come again. One of the key elements of Advent is to meditate on the kingdom of God being already here, but not yet.
God is already here by the very fact that God created every one of us. All of us have the very imprint of God in our created being. All of us were created in the image and likeness of the Holy Trinity. We will also recall that in Matthew 25: 31 to 46 Jesus tells us that when we serve the least members of his family we are serving Jesus. This in and of itself is a pretty good indication that what we hope for is already very much within our grasp. However, the full completion of all that we want and hope for has yet to be completely realized and that is why during Advent we meditate on Christ's second coming while preparing to celebrate his first coming in the Incarnation. All of this gives us pause to reflect on our readiness to encounter God in our lives, in the lives of others and even within ourselves.
In today's first reading from Amos 4:6-13, God is talking through a prophet who is not affiliated with any religious body. (Check out Forward Day by Day, for today, Thursday, December 3rd on Page 34). This is someone who is not of any organized religion. Amos is a guy who probably was not theologically trained. He might very well have been one of those pesky gay men trying to hold a protest after the State revoked his right to marry. He was someone who wasn't too popular with the religious leaders of his time. They thought he was just a pest, someone who was just a nag. Yet, God spoke through Amos and called people to prepare to meet their God.
In today's Gospel of Matthew 21:33 to 46, Jesus gives the parable of the Vineyard Owner and how the tenants treated those who came and finally how they killed the Vineyard Owner's son. Those who have been entrusted with taking care of the Vineyard are quick to eject from that vineyard anyone whom the Vineyard Owner sent to take their proper share of the harvest. Those who had the right to be there, were thrown out, beaten and tortured. They were treated like second class citizens, those who as far as the vineyard workers were concerned had no right to be there.
This can be very much the case of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in the Church and society. LGBT individuals have been created by a loving God. We have been created with an incredible capacity to love not only people of the same sex, but just about everyone. We are people who can throw one hell of a party. We even get a little loud and crazy. We are people who are here to share the same country, church and society that everyone else has a share in. Yet, when we encounter Popes, Bishops, Priests, Ministers, Governors, Congress folk, State and/or Federal Legislators who treat us as second class citizens, it as if we are being told that we have no right to the harvest in the vineyard that God has given us. This kind of treatment is wrong. There is no excuse for religious and civil leaders to deny us our civil rights. The very fact that our civil rights have to be put on the vote of a city council, State Legislative process, ballot initiative or be the subject of Congressional action is absurd. No one's rights should be voted on. No one should have to rely on the majority to tell anyone else how they should conduct their personal life. Unless someone is posing physical harm to anyone else, who we love and how we love is really our own personal business. And we have every right to tell religious and civil authorities to get their moral judgments out of our bedrooms.
Yesterday was truly a sad day in this nation. When the New York State Senate killed the marriage equality bill yesterday the outrage from the LGBT Community nation wide was justified. The rallies that took place all over New York State were warranted. What happened there was wrong. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) celebrated as LGBT people's right to claim blessings that are rightfully ours were lost.
Yet, from all of this the worst thing that we can do is give up and walk away with no resolve to continue our work to be released from religious and civil oppression. We must continue to launch new campaigns for marriage equality all over the Nation. We must continually challenge the outspoken religious right's opposition to LGBT people by letting them know that we are people of good will just like anyone else. We need to continue to show that we are people with an incredible gift of love and we want our love to be acknowledged and celebrated.
When I asked as I entitled this blog post: "Are We Prepared to Meet God?" I meant, are we really prepared to meet God with the attitudes many of us carry in our hearts? Our nation is becoming the correct understanding of what the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah really was, the failure to show hospitality. Are we really prepared to meet God while we water down the public option in the health care reform bill in the US Senate and let the wealthy insurance companies reap the benefits of health care reform? Are we really prepared to meet God while the Parliament of Uganda considers imprisoning people who are gay and those who know people who are gay but do not report them? Are we prepared to meet God while so many people are still unemployed, homeless, and without means to supply for themselves the daily necessities of life? As long as we allow these things to continue to mark injustice and oppression for people on the earth, how then are we going to do when we meet God in the second coming?
What can we do today to help us be ready to meet God?
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, First Sunday of Advent, Page 211.)
As we go through this season of Advent we are asked to prepare ourselves to meet our God. We remember that God came to us in God's perfect revelation in the Incarnation of God in Christ as we will remember on Christmas Day. Are we prepared to meet our God?
There is a reason why in the Liturgical Calendar that Christmas is the one major feast day that is movable depending on the date of December 25th. We will notice that Ash Wednesday could happen any number of dates between February 9th as what happened two years ago, to as late as March 8th. Easter can be any number of Sundays ranging from March 23rd as was the case in 2008 or as late as April 25th. However, Christmas is the one date of December 25th that can happen any day of the week and it is still a Holy Day. Why do you suppose that is? It is actually that way for a reason. And the reason is to remind us that once in human history, Jesus was born and he could have come any day of the week, exactly what day, we do not know. Likewise, Christ could come any day of the week at any moment and therefore we need to make ourselves ready for Christ to come again. One of the key elements of Advent is to meditate on the kingdom of God being already here, but not yet.
God is already here by the very fact that God created every one of us. All of us have the very imprint of God in our created being. All of us were created in the image and likeness of the Holy Trinity. We will also recall that in Matthew 25: 31 to 46 Jesus tells us that when we serve the least members of his family we are serving Jesus. This in and of itself is a pretty good indication that what we hope for is already very much within our grasp. However, the full completion of all that we want and hope for has yet to be completely realized and that is why during Advent we meditate on Christ's second coming while preparing to celebrate his first coming in the Incarnation. All of this gives us pause to reflect on our readiness to encounter God in our lives, in the lives of others and even within ourselves.
In today's first reading from Amos 4:6-13, God is talking through a prophet who is not affiliated with any religious body. (Check out Forward Day by Day, for today, Thursday, December 3rd on Page 34). This is someone who is not of any organized religion. Amos is a guy who probably was not theologically trained. He might very well have been one of those pesky gay men trying to hold a protest after the State revoked his right to marry. He was someone who wasn't too popular with the religious leaders of his time. They thought he was just a pest, someone who was just a nag. Yet, God spoke through Amos and called people to prepare to meet their God.
In today's Gospel of Matthew 21:33 to 46, Jesus gives the parable of the Vineyard Owner and how the tenants treated those who came and finally how they killed the Vineyard Owner's son. Those who have been entrusted with taking care of the Vineyard are quick to eject from that vineyard anyone whom the Vineyard Owner sent to take their proper share of the harvest. Those who had the right to be there, were thrown out, beaten and tortured. They were treated like second class citizens, those who as far as the vineyard workers were concerned had no right to be there.
This can be very much the case of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in the Church and society. LGBT individuals have been created by a loving God. We have been created with an incredible capacity to love not only people of the same sex, but just about everyone. We are people who can throw one hell of a party. We even get a little loud and crazy. We are people who are here to share the same country, church and society that everyone else has a share in. Yet, when we encounter Popes, Bishops, Priests, Ministers, Governors, Congress folk, State and/or Federal Legislators who treat us as second class citizens, it as if we are being told that we have no right to the harvest in the vineyard that God has given us. This kind of treatment is wrong. There is no excuse for religious and civil leaders to deny us our civil rights. The very fact that our civil rights have to be put on the vote of a city council, State Legislative process, ballot initiative or be the subject of Congressional action is absurd. No one's rights should be voted on. No one should have to rely on the majority to tell anyone else how they should conduct their personal life. Unless someone is posing physical harm to anyone else, who we love and how we love is really our own personal business. And we have every right to tell religious and civil authorities to get their moral judgments out of our bedrooms.
Yesterday was truly a sad day in this nation. When the New York State Senate killed the marriage equality bill yesterday the outrage from the LGBT Community nation wide was justified. The rallies that took place all over New York State were warranted. What happened there was wrong. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) celebrated as LGBT people's right to claim blessings that are rightfully ours were lost.
Yet, from all of this the worst thing that we can do is give up and walk away with no resolve to continue our work to be released from religious and civil oppression. We must continue to launch new campaigns for marriage equality all over the Nation. We must continually challenge the outspoken religious right's opposition to LGBT people by letting them know that we are people of good will just like anyone else. We need to continue to show that we are people with an incredible gift of love and we want our love to be acknowledged and celebrated.
When I asked as I entitled this blog post: "Are We Prepared to Meet God?" I meant, are we really prepared to meet God with the attitudes many of us carry in our hearts? Our nation is becoming the correct understanding of what the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah really was, the failure to show hospitality. Are we really prepared to meet God while we water down the public option in the health care reform bill in the US Senate and let the wealthy insurance companies reap the benefits of health care reform? Are we really prepared to meet God while the Parliament of Uganda considers imprisoning people who are gay and those who know people who are gay but do not report them? Are we prepared to meet God while so many people are still unemployed, homeless, and without means to supply for themselves the daily necessities of life? As long as we allow these things to continue to mark injustice and oppression for people on the earth, how then are we going to do when we meet God in the second coming?
What can we do today to help us be ready to meet God?
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, First Sunday of Advent, Page 211.)
Monday, November 23, 2009
Christian Marriage: It Is Not Just for Heterosexuals Anymore!
Well isn't this interesting! Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Reign of Christ and we wake up on a Monday morning to hear Jesus teach about marriage, divorce, adultery and the Eunuchs. Wow! What a great way to start the week.
I am most interested in writing about this Gospel today because for seventeen months I was involved the Catholic church's ex-gay ministry called Courage. You can read about my experience in Beyond Ex-gay. Just last Tuesday night I gave a presentation about my Courage experience at a meeting of The Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities.
During the time I was involved in Courage this Gospel of Matthew 19:1 to 12 as well as Mark 10:1 to 12 is where Fr. John Harvey and the Courage group claim Jesus didcondemn homosexuality, gay marriage and all forms of marriage that were not of one man and one woman. The problem with that interpretation is that no where in this Gospel or in Mark's Gospel did Jesus include homosexuality in his comments. In addition, there are several problems with the historical and cultural context where this Gospel would have taken place.
Among the first problems we are met with is that during the time in which Jesus would have been addressing this problem it was understood that a woman was a piece of property to be transferred. And from this particular Gospel has come centuries of the Church misusing women. Many Christian men have made poor use of this Gospel as well as the creation account in Genesis to which Jesus is referring to speak of why women should live in subjection to men. Over the many years through the use of reasonto help us interpret Scripture we have been moving past our ancient understanding of women and our understanding of marriage too.
In his column just last week Episcopal Bishop John Bryson Chane wrote: "Christians have always argued about marriage. Jesus criticized the Mosaic law on divorce, saying "What God has joined together let no man separate." But we don't see clergy demanding that the city council make divorce illegal.
Some conservative Christian leaders claim that their understanding of marriage is central to Christian teaching. How do they square that claim with the Apostle Paul's teaching that marriage is an inferior state, one reserved for people who are not able to stay singly celibate and resist the temptation to fornication?
As historian Stephanie Coontz points out, the church did not bless marriages until the third century, or define marriage as a sacrament until 1215. The church embraced many of the assumptions of the patriarchal culture, in which women and marriageable children were assets to be controlled and exploited to the advantage of the man who headed their household. The theology of marriage was heavily influenced by economic and legal considerations; it emphasized procreation, and spoke only secondarily of the "mutual consolation of the spouses."
In the 19th and 20th centuries, however, the relationship of the spouses assumed new importance, as the church came to understand that marriage was a profoundly spiritual relationship in which partners experienced, through mutual affection and self-sacrifice, the unconditional love of God.
The Episcopal Church's 1979 Book of Common Prayer puts it this way: "We believe that the union of husband and wife, in heart, body and mind, is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God's will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord."
Our evolving understanding of what marriage is leads, of necessity, to a re-examination of who it is for. Most Christian denominations no longer teach that all sex acts must be open to the possibility of procreation, and therefore contraception is permitted. Nor do they hold that infertility precludes marriage. The church has deepened its understanding of the way in which faithful couples experience and embody the love of the creator for creation. In so doing, it has put itself in a position to consider whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
Theologically, therefore, Christian support for same-sex marriage is not a dramatic break with tradition, but a recognition that the church's understanding of marriage has changed dramatically over 2,000 years."
Yet the same week that this great piece of writing was published in the Washington Post a group of Catholic Bishops, Religious right wing nuts including the National Organization for Marriage's Maggie Gallagher put together and signed the Manhattan Declaration. The problem with this mean spirited declaration is that it is found on ideologies, not Biblical or even Christian principles. It is certainly not based on an adequate interpretation of Matthew 19:1-12 or Mark 10:1-12.
As part of my discussion on the teaching of Marriage I would like to include some thoughts from Bishop Gene Robinson in his Book: In the Eye of the Storm.
"It's time that progressive religious people stop being ashamed of their faith and afraid to be identified with the Religious Right, and start preaching the good news of the liberating Christ to all God's Children.
But what is a good, positive, and appropriate way to voice one's religious convictions in public discourse? I think it involves a simple shift in focus from the public to the private in these expressions. I'm free to express my own personal and religious reasons for coming to the opinions I express, but the minute I start arguing that you must come to those same opinions because my religious truth must be your religious truth too, then I violate the divide between private and public. Most alarming of all is when "my" truth becomes "the" truth, applicable to everyone. James Dobson and Pat Robertson are perfectly free to tell me about the religious beliefs that compel them to oppose the acceptance of gay people, but when they claim that their beliefs are right and true for all humankind, they move from democracy to theocracy.
Similarly, if I argue for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in society, I must do so on the merits of my argument, not on a claim that my understanding of God is right and true and compelling for everyone. I must make my arguments based on democracy, compassion, democratic principles, and a notion of the common good--not on any reading of sacred text to which I must subscribe.
We need to separate, as best as we can, the civil realm for the religious, especially in the struggle for equal civil marriage rights for all citizens. Clergy have long acted as agents of the state in the solemnization of marriages. Because a priest or rabbi or minister acts on behalf of the state in signing the marriage license and attesting to the proper enactment of marriage, we've lost the distinction between what the state does, while the church pronounces it's blessing on it. In France, everyone is married at the mayor's office; those who are religious reconvene at the church for the religious blessing. Those who don't desire such a blessing are still fully married according to the laws of the state. In such an arrangement, it's clear where the state's action ends and the church's action begins." (Pages 26 and 27).
My final quote which I used in yesterday's blog is from Fr. Paul Bresnahan who wrote in his blog An Invitation to An Inclusive Church: "There was a special place in his (Jesus) heart too for the “eunuchs” of his time. I wonder what he meant by the following startling saying; But he said to them, "Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can." (Matthew 19:11-12) You can define that term as you like, but they clearly were not a threat to folks of the opposite sex. There is considerable evidence that when the biblical material refers to “eunuchs” we were talking of folks whose interests lay with folks of the same sex. We now refer to this group as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered, LGBT for short. And isn't it interesting to note that even Jesus realized that there were those who would find this teaching a hard one to accept. The radical love of Jesus is often hard to take because it includes our enemies.
I believe that Jesus stood up for this crowd too as he stood up for us all, and I am convinced that is why they put him to death on the cross. Jesus was not a liberal. He merely loved everyone! That’s why God died. That’s why God is Risen. That’s why God will come again!"
It is clear at least to me that based on what I have read and quoted above that there really is no longer a place for the discrimination of same-sex marriage in the Christian Church. The discussion about why lesbian and gay couples should be allowed to marry in both society and the church needs to continue. We must pray for people to open their minds and hearts to the radical love of Jesus Christ for all people including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered.We must pray and work for a better understanding of marriage, love, relationships and sexuality. There is room in this great society and in Christ's Church for everyone. Those churches and religious institutions that do not want to perform weddings and commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples should not be compelled by any law or regulation to do so. However, neither should the churches and religious institutions that do wish to perform weddings and commitment ceremonies for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people be prevented from doing so by those who oppose same-sex marriage. And opposing religious institutions should not be imposing their understandings of same-sex marriage upon the State. I agree with Bishop Robinson, it is time to separate the two.
Let us continue to pray for greater openness and acceptance. Let us be instruments of God's peace in this tumultuous fight for marriage equality.
God of all love, bless all married, espoused and committed couples both straight and lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered. We thank you for those who lift up their voices in support of marriage equality. We pray for the conversion of those who still voice opposition to same-sex marriage due to prejudice and limited understanding of your Holy Word. We also pray for those members of the LGBT community that still live in states and countries where inequality is still rampart and alive. We ask for the enlightening of your Holy Spirit that people, government and religious leaders will open their hearts and minds to a renewed understanding, and that those of us who are LGBT will continue our work for justice, equality and inclusion of all people; we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
I am most interested in writing about this Gospel today because for seventeen months I was involved the Catholic church's ex-gay ministry called Courage. You can read about my experience in Beyond Ex-gay. Just last Tuesday night I gave a presentation about my Courage experience at a meeting of The Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities.
During the time I was involved in Courage this Gospel of Matthew 19:1 to 12 as well as Mark 10:1 to 12 is where Fr. John Harvey and the Courage group claim Jesus didcondemn homosexuality, gay marriage and all forms of marriage that were not of one man and one woman. The problem with that interpretation is that no where in this Gospel or in Mark's Gospel did Jesus include homosexuality in his comments. In addition, there are several problems with the historical and cultural context where this Gospel would have taken place.
Among the first problems we are met with is that during the time in which Jesus would have been addressing this problem it was understood that a woman was a piece of property to be transferred. And from this particular Gospel has come centuries of the Church misusing women. Many Christian men have made poor use of this Gospel as well as the creation account in Genesis to which Jesus is referring to speak of why women should live in subjection to men. Over the many years through the use of reasonto help us interpret Scripture we have been moving past our ancient understanding of women and our understanding of marriage too.
In his column just last week Episcopal Bishop John Bryson Chane wrote: "Christians have always argued about marriage. Jesus criticized the Mosaic law on divorce, saying "What God has joined together let no man separate." But we don't see clergy demanding that the city council make divorce illegal.
Some conservative Christian leaders claim that their understanding of marriage is central to Christian teaching. How do they square that claim with the Apostle Paul's teaching that marriage is an inferior state, one reserved for people who are not able to stay singly celibate and resist the temptation to fornication?
As historian Stephanie Coontz points out, the church did not bless marriages until the third century, or define marriage as a sacrament until 1215. The church embraced many of the assumptions of the patriarchal culture, in which women and marriageable children were assets to be controlled and exploited to the advantage of the man who headed their household. The theology of marriage was heavily influenced by economic and legal considerations; it emphasized procreation, and spoke only secondarily of the "mutual consolation of the spouses."
In the 19th and 20th centuries, however, the relationship of the spouses assumed new importance, as the church came to understand that marriage was a profoundly spiritual relationship in which partners experienced, through mutual affection and self-sacrifice, the unconditional love of God.
The Episcopal Church's 1979 Book of Common Prayer puts it this way: "We believe that the union of husband and wife, in heart, body and mind, is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God's will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord."
Our evolving understanding of what marriage is leads, of necessity, to a re-examination of who it is for. Most Christian denominations no longer teach that all sex acts must be open to the possibility of procreation, and therefore contraception is permitted. Nor do they hold that infertility precludes marriage. The church has deepened its understanding of the way in which faithful couples experience and embody the love of the creator for creation. In so doing, it has put itself in a position to consider whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
Theologically, therefore, Christian support for same-sex marriage is not a dramatic break with tradition, but a recognition that the church's understanding of marriage has changed dramatically over 2,000 years."
Yet the same week that this great piece of writing was published in the Washington Post a group of Catholic Bishops, Religious right wing nuts including the National Organization for Marriage's Maggie Gallagher put together and signed the Manhattan Declaration. The problem with this mean spirited declaration is that it is found on ideologies, not Biblical or even Christian principles. It is certainly not based on an adequate interpretation of Matthew 19:1-12 or Mark 10:1-12.
As part of my discussion on the teaching of Marriage I would like to include some thoughts from Bishop Gene Robinson in his Book: In the Eye of the Storm.
"It's time that progressive religious people stop being ashamed of their faith and afraid to be identified with the Religious Right, and start preaching the good news of the liberating Christ to all God's Children.
But what is a good, positive, and appropriate way to voice one's religious convictions in public discourse? I think it involves a simple shift in focus from the public to the private in these expressions. I'm free to express my own personal and religious reasons for coming to the opinions I express, but the minute I start arguing that you must come to those same opinions because my religious truth must be your religious truth too, then I violate the divide between private and public. Most alarming of all is when "my" truth becomes "the" truth, applicable to everyone. James Dobson and Pat Robertson are perfectly free to tell me about the religious beliefs that compel them to oppose the acceptance of gay people, but when they claim that their beliefs are right and true for all humankind, they move from democracy to theocracy.
Similarly, if I argue for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in society, I must do so on the merits of my argument, not on a claim that my understanding of God is right and true and compelling for everyone. I must make my arguments based on democracy, compassion, democratic principles, and a notion of the common good--not on any reading of sacred text to which I must subscribe.
We need to separate, as best as we can, the civil realm for the religious, especially in the struggle for equal civil marriage rights for all citizens. Clergy have long acted as agents of the state in the solemnization of marriages. Because a priest or rabbi or minister acts on behalf of the state in signing the marriage license and attesting to the proper enactment of marriage, we've lost the distinction between what the state does, while the church pronounces it's blessing on it. In France, everyone is married at the mayor's office; those who are religious reconvene at the church for the religious blessing. Those who don't desire such a blessing are still fully married according to the laws of the state. In such an arrangement, it's clear where the state's action ends and the church's action begins." (Pages 26 and 27).
My final quote which I used in yesterday's blog is from Fr. Paul Bresnahan who wrote in his blog An Invitation to An Inclusive Church: "There was a special place in his (Jesus) heart too for the “eunuchs” of his time. I wonder what he meant by the following startling saying; But he said to them, "Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can." (Matthew 19:11-12) You can define that term as you like, but they clearly were not a threat to folks of the opposite sex. There is considerable evidence that when the biblical material refers to “eunuchs” we were talking of folks whose interests lay with folks of the same sex. We now refer to this group as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered, LGBT for short. And isn't it interesting to note that even Jesus realized that there were those who would find this teaching a hard one to accept. The radical love of Jesus is often hard to take because it includes our enemies.
I believe that Jesus stood up for this crowd too as he stood up for us all, and I am convinced that is why they put him to death on the cross. Jesus was not a liberal. He merely loved everyone! That’s why God died. That’s why God is Risen. That’s why God will come again!"
It is clear at least to me that based on what I have read and quoted above that there really is no longer a place for the discrimination of same-sex marriage in the Christian Church. The discussion about why lesbian and gay couples should be allowed to marry in both society and the church needs to continue. We must pray for people to open their minds and hearts to the radical love of Jesus Christ for all people including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered.We must pray and work for a better understanding of marriage, love, relationships and sexuality. There is room in this great society and in Christ's Church for everyone. Those churches and religious institutions that do not want to perform weddings and commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples should not be compelled by any law or regulation to do so. However, neither should the churches and religious institutions that do wish to perform weddings and commitment ceremonies for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people be prevented from doing so by those who oppose same-sex marriage. And opposing religious institutions should not be imposing their understandings of same-sex marriage upon the State. I agree with Bishop Robinson, it is time to separate the two.
Let us continue to pray for greater openness and acceptance. Let us be instruments of God's peace in this tumultuous fight for marriage equality.
God of all love, bless all married, espoused and committed couples both straight and lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered. We thank you for those who lift up their voices in support of marriage equality. We pray for the conversion of those who still voice opposition to same-sex marriage due to prejudice and limited understanding of your Holy Word. We also pray for those members of the LGBT community that still live in states and countries where inequality is still rampart and alive. We ask for the enlightening of your Holy Spirit that people, government and religious leaders will open their hearts and minds to a renewed understanding, and that those of us who are LGBT will continue our work for justice, equality and inclusion of all people; we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Reign of Christ: Exactly Where Is That Kingdom of Justice and Truth?
Given the climate that many Christians have made for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, if I were to bring up the subject of today's particular feast day to many of them they would say: "Oh, I gave up on organized religion a long time ago." As a gay Christian I totally understand their disowning of religion. Given the activities of this past week such as The Manhattan Declaration the reaction of chucking all religion is a valid emotional and personal response.
Today the Church celebrates the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. The Feast of Christ the King or other wise known as the Reign of Christ. In today's Speaking to the Soul, author Vicki K. Black writes: "What in fact is Christ’s kingdom? It is simply those who believe in him, those to whom he said, “You are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.” He willed, nevertheless, that they should be in the world, which is why he prayed to the Father, “I ask you not to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one.” So here also he did not say, “My kingdom is not” in this world but “is not of this world.” . . .
Indeed, his kingdom is here until the end of time, and until the harvest it will contain weeds. . . . Everyone who is reborn in Christ becomes the kingdom that is no longer of the world. For God has snatched us from the powers of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. This is that kingdom of which he said, “My kingdom is not of this world; my kingly power does not come from here.”
From Tractates on the Gospel of John 115.2, quoted in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IVb, John 11-21, edited by Joel C. Elowsky (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2007)."
While I believe in what Vicki Black is writing here, I am fully aware of how many LGBT people do not. The disbelief in Jesus Christ is a result of the spiritual violence LGBT people have experienced from Christians. The pastoral, psychological and emotional injuries LGBT people have experienced are valid and their pain from massive rejection is real. As Christians, if we are to make the kingdom of Christ known then the leaders of Christian Church's that welcome LGBT individuals need to continue to make their voices heard and be sure they are ready to listen and respond pastorally.
Among the points that need to be shared with both the Church and the LGBT community on this Sunday of celebrating the Reign of Christ is the word all. In today's first reading from Daniel we read: "As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples nations and languages should serve him."(Daniel 7:13,14). God came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, who is God's perfect revelation to bring liberation and salvation to all humankind. When Jesus read his "inaugural" address the same "inaugural" address for every follower of Christ, he read from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18 to 19, Isaiah 61:1 and 2). Jesus Christ came as one like us and yet different because he was without sin. Yet, Jesus came to seek those cast out by society and the Church and to make a home for them with God. Those whom society has forgotten, stripped them of their civil rights and ostracized as dirty or corrupted where the ones that Jesus came to find and bring them home to God. No Church leader has any business pushing LGBT people away from God or the Church.
In today's Gospel Jesus is facing his interrogation with Pontius Pilate. When Pilate asks Jesus: "So you are a king?" Jesus answered: "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." (John 18:37) The "truth" that Jesus is referring to, is himself. Jesus is proclaiming the reality of who Jesus is. Jesus is God's prefect revelation of God's self, the Incarnate Word. God came in Jesus Christ to call all humankind to God's self through Christ. So that the Reign of Christ's kingdom of justice, peace and mercy could come into this world, though it would not be ofthis world. Yet, the problem that many Christians have is that they just appear to want the Reign of Christ to be an exclusive social club for the right wing agenda. An agenda that excludes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, women, people who are uninsured, the homeless and the most needy. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it is the furthest thing from the truthabout the Reign of Christ the King.
Fr. Paul Bresnahan in his outstanding post An Invitation to an Inclusive Church wrote: "Even in Biblical material we are “one in Christ” as the blessed Apostle put; it without respect to classification by sex, gender, orientation, class, or ethnicity. In his very own words, he put it this way, “for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28)" There is absolutely noBiblical text that supports ostracizing LGBT people from the Church or society. Fr. Paul Bresnahan further wrote: "There was a special place in his (Jesus)heart too for the “eunuchs” of his time. I wonder what he meant by the following startling saying; But he said to them, "Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can." (Matthew 19:11-12) You can define that term as you like, but they clearly were not a threat to folks of the opposite sex. There is considerable evidence that when the biblical material refers to “eunuchs” we were talking of folks whose interests lay with folks of the same sex. We now refer to this group as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered, LGBT for short. And isn't it interesting to note that even Jesus realized that there were those who would find this teaching a hard one to accept. The radical love of Jesus is often hard to take because it includes our enemies."
The Reign of Christ is a reign of justice and equality for all people. Jesus has not put limits on who can or cannot receive the grace of God. Jesus has invited all people to receive the peace and love of God, to be forgiven of their sins and to experience conversion to become God's representatives of justice, love and equality in the world. Jesus Christ was often homeless. He hung around with the marginalized and stigmatized of society and the religious establishment of the day. Jesus called everyone to conversion of heart and so to recognize that we cannot save our own souls on our own. All of us need the help of God through Christ and the Holy Spirit to obtain salvation in this world and in the life to come. God does not close the door on anyone, except the one that will not let God in. In Jesus, God was often close to the lost, those left behind who knew that they needed God. The one's who thought they had God all figured out by just following the rules, well, Jesus had the most stern warnings to say to them.
Today as we celebrate the Reign of Christ, let us do our part to work for a society of equality, justice and peace. Let us make the kingdom of Christ visible on earth by agreeing to work towards acceptance of each other, no matter what our differences might be. Let us speak out against injustice against LGBT people such as those in Uganda who are facing their Parliament passing a law that says they could be put in prison or even face the death penalty just because they are gay. Let us pray for the conversion of the religious leaders who drafted the Manhattan Declaration. Let the Reign of Christ come on earth, because we refuse to tolerate injustice towards everyone who could be forgotten because of prejudice. Let the Truth about Jesus as God's revelation be known because we loved as Christ has loved us.
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grand that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, Collect for the Last Sunday in Pentecost, Christ the King, Page 236).
Today the Church celebrates the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. The Feast of Christ the King or other wise known as the Reign of Christ. In today's Speaking to the Soul, author Vicki K. Black writes: "What in fact is Christ’s kingdom? It is simply those who believe in him, those to whom he said, “You are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.” He willed, nevertheless, that they should be in the world, which is why he prayed to the Father, “I ask you not to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one.” So here also he did not say, “My kingdom is not” in this world but “is not of this world.” . . .
Indeed, his kingdom is here until the end of time, and until the harvest it will contain weeds. . . . Everyone who is reborn in Christ becomes the kingdom that is no longer of the world. For God has snatched us from the powers of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. This is that kingdom of which he said, “My kingdom is not of this world; my kingly power does not come from here.”
From Tractates on the Gospel of John 115.2, quoted in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IVb, John 11-21, edited by Joel C. Elowsky (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2007)."
While I believe in what Vicki Black is writing here, I am fully aware of how many LGBT people do not. The disbelief in Jesus Christ is a result of the spiritual violence LGBT people have experienced from Christians. The pastoral, psychological and emotional injuries LGBT people have experienced are valid and their pain from massive rejection is real. As Christians, if we are to make the kingdom of Christ known then the leaders of Christian Church's that welcome LGBT individuals need to continue to make their voices heard and be sure they are ready to listen and respond pastorally.
Among the points that need to be shared with both the Church and the LGBT community on this Sunday of celebrating the Reign of Christ is the word all. In today's first reading from Daniel we read: "As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples nations and languages should serve him."(Daniel 7:13,14). God came to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, who is God's perfect revelation to bring liberation and salvation to all humankind. When Jesus read his "inaugural" address the same "inaugural" address for every follower of Christ, he read from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18 to 19, Isaiah 61:1 and 2). Jesus Christ came as one like us and yet different because he was without sin. Yet, Jesus came to seek those cast out by society and the Church and to make a home for them with God. Those whom society has forgotten, stripped them of their civil rights and ostracized as dirty or corrupted where the ones that Jesus came to find and bring them home to God. No Church leader has any business pushing LGBT people away from God or the Church.
In today's Gospel Jesus is facing his interrogation with Pontius Pilate. When Pilate asks Jesus: "So you are a king?" Jesus answered: "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." (John 18:37) The "truth" that Jesus is referring to, is himself. Jesus is proclaiming the reality of who Jesus is. Jesus is God's prefect revelation of God's self, the Incarnate Word. God came in Jesus Christ to call all humankind to God's self through Christ. So that the Reign of Christ's kingdom of justice, peace and mercy could come into this world, though it would not be ofthis world. Yet, the problem that many Christians have is that they just appear to want the Reign of Christ to be an exclusive social club for the right wing agenda. An agenda that excludes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, women, people who are uninsured, the homeless and the most needy. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it is the furthest thing from the truthabout the Reign of Christ the King.
Fr. Paul Bresnahan in his outstanding post An Invitation to an Inclusive Church wrote: "Even in Biblical material we are “one in Christ” as the blessed Apostle put; it without respect to classification by sex, gender, orientation, class, or ethnicity. In his very own words, he put it this way, “for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28)" There is absolutely noBiblical text that supports ostracizing LGBT people from the Church or society. Fr. Paul Bresnahan further wrote: "There was a special place in his (Jesus)heart too for the “eunuchs” of his time. I wonder what he meant by the following startling saying; But he said to them, "Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can." (Matthew 19:11-12) You can define that term as you like, but they clearly were not a threat to folks of the opposite sex. There is considerable evidence that when the biblical material refers to “eunuchs” we were talking of folks whose interests lay with folks of the same sex. We now refer to this group as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered, LGBT for short. And isn't it interesting to note that even Jesus realized that there were those who would find this teaching a hard one to accept. The radical love of Jesus is often hard to take because it includes our enemies."
The Reign of Christ is a reign of justice and equality for all people. Jesus has not put limits on who can or cannot receive the grace of God. Jesus has invited all people to receive the peace and love of God, to be forgiven of their sins and to experience conversion to become God's representatives of justice, love and equality in the world. Jesus Christ was often homeless. He hung around with the marginalized and stigmatized of society and the religious establishment of the day. Jesus called everyone to conversion of heart and so to recognize that we cannot save our own souls on our own. All of us need the help of God through Christ and the Holy Spirit to obtain salvation in this world and in the life to come. God does not close the door on anyone, except the one that will not let God in. In Jesus, God was often close to the lost, those left behind who knew that they needed God. The one's who thought they had God all figured out by just following the rules, well, Jesus had the most stern warnings to say to them.
Today as we celebrate the Reign of Christ, let us do our part to work for a society of equality, justice and peace. Let us make the kingdom of Christ visible on earth by agreeing to work towards acceptance of each other, no matter what our differences might be. Let us speak out against injustice against LGBT people such as those in Uganda who are facing their Parliament passing a law that says they could be put in prison or even face the death penalty just because they are gay. Let us pray for the conversion of the religious leaders who drafted the Manhattan Declaration. Let the Reign of Christ come on earth, because we refuse to tolerate injustice towards everyone who could be forgotten because of prejudice. Let the Truth about Jesus as God's revelation be known because we loved as Christ has loved us.
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grand that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, Collect for the Last Sunday in Pentecost, Christ the King, Page 236).
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