One of the things that I was doing this Lent was to follow a few other gay blogs, Christian and otherwise, for my own spiritual health and growth. There was no stealing of thoughts as I really am keenly aware that each of us has our own journey to wholeness, our faith journey and each of us has something unique to say based on that and how God speaks through us.
One of the more interesting sites was the Jesus in Love Blog. In the last week of Lent they highlighted The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision with art by Douglas Blanchard and expanded commentary by Kittredge Cherry. I found this a wonderful if perhaps a bit self serving in it's writing. None the less it was stimulating, inspiring, provocative and truthful.
As a gay Christian I am attuned to the fact that the mere statement "gay Christian" is provocative and blasphemous to some. Quite sadly, the voice the media often turns to are right wing conservative idiots as they did on an Easter Sunday news cast. The provocateurs, the blasphemy is all on them. Clearly they are attuned only to a narrow minded 'agenda' which seems quite ironic to my way of thinking. It seems to me that they clearly miss the true message and meaning of Easter. I say that not in a secular sense. I was almost to boiling over an news report where an Easter bunny was handing out presents at a hospital, admirable unto itself, but to have the newscaster proclaim that 'that' was what Easter was all about seemed idiotic.
I decided to write this entry today because the essence of Easter, of the love of Christ throughout his life and into his willingness to die for each and every one of us and through to his Resurrection giving us hope and freedom as well as eternal life, is parallelled so well in the lives of the LGBTQ community. I am currently reading a book Coming Out as Sacrament that highlights many of these points. It will be the focus of our LGBTQ spirituality meeting this week as well.
To anyone who reads this, know how integral your gayness is to your person and to your spirituality. Embrace each fully and explore your spirituality as you would explore the joys of your sexuality. Each are gifts. In this post Lenten season leading to Pentecost, explore your spirituality to the full using every means at your disposal. Do not be put off by right wing nut jobs that see your presence as evil or that being gay and spiritual is an oxymoron. Do not let any religion get in the way of your faith. Your religion should elevate you as God does and help you to be in contact with the divine who seeks a deep meaningful relationship with you.
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