Spiritual but not religious

1 John 4:7-12

          This is the quintessential message. Last evening I attended my usual LGBTQ spirituality meeting. There were old faces and some new faces so went went around the room saying who we were and added any history or comments that one felt moved to share.  Being a Cristian is not a requisite for being there and last night the diversity was clearly present. What was also present was a sense of the commonalities of our history and needs as a person.

Without any talk of transubstantiation, the Nicene Creed or the dogmatic demand that one's attends church for one reason or another, there was a foundational commonality.

           As recent as yesterday morning I read an article about a growing trend or a growing group who define themselves as spiritual but not religious. That is, they will not identify themselves with any religion at all but still maintain that they are spiritual people. In a time where religions take a heavy hit for not living up to their core values, this fundamentalist or simple view has gained wide popularity. Jews who see dietary laws in only a historical text or see them as necessary for the lives of the community then, but clearly not now. Catholics so appalled at the child abuse scandal, the scandal of the cover ups and the deals and dealings of the church feel free to take away an essential message and discard the pomp, circumstance and dogmas. Perhaps this is all too valid.

       Today's reading cuts to the chase. What is it that God asks of us? What is the fundamental message that Jesus wished to impart? Here it is folks in this one passage.

       It's all about love. It certainly seemed foundational in a room full of queer folk last night. Gay, straight, allies, bisexuals all spoke the same message. There is a fundamental need for love. There is a fundamental need to love oneself, to know you are loved and then to love others. Everything else seems to be important fluff. 

       While many people last night  started with well, I was raised Catholic, there was a deeper message. In many instances the church that seemed to condemned them for who they are based on dogmatic stances or the philosophy of their religion, others spoke of the a core value of love that had been ingrained in them by the church. Many found such core values in other traditions.

       The core value is, was, and always will be LOVE. Here it is in this passage and it is what we are called to do. Love ourselves, love God and love others. I can't think of a better creed.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.