Happy, happy, happy, happy talk....

Luke 21:12-15

            In the transition from discovery to almost panic to feeling gloriously free to say "I am gay!", there was a great deal of self reflection and therapy. There was also a great deal of amazement that I didn't realize I was gay for so, so many years. How could I not know?!  I do recall a time when my then wife asked if I was gay and I quite convincingly said no to both her and myself.  When I finally came to the epiphany, years later, that I was in fact gay I had to tell her. A therapist advised that I did not have to tell anyone the truth to anyone. I could simply ask for a divorce, I could ask for a leave of absence from the church without any reasons. To me though being honest with everyone in my life was no different than being honest with myself. I had to tell the truth. It was also suggested I have a script ready. This seemed false and shallow.  What I had to impart was truth and what I had to say was coming from my heart and soul. The words would come to me because I knew God loved me and that God was with me during my entire journey.

              I suppose this is similar to what Luke is saying in this passage. When you have a truth to convey, or when you are confronted, there is no need to lie. No need to sugar coat something. No need to obfuscate. If you have nothing to hide just come out and say what you have to say. If it's the truth, there is nothing to worry about, God is on your side, the words will flow from your heart. If someone is against you, they will be so no matter what you say. If you lie, it just adds to their justification of why to dislike you. As Judge Judy would say, if you tell the truth, you never have to worry about what story you told and to whom. The truth is the truth.

               Just knowing the truth makes you happy and sets you free. If there is a need to say it, the words will be provided by God right from your heart.

‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.