Appreciating the gay spirit

1 Corinthians 2:6-13

         I have always had empathy for marginalized groups and the down trodden. I never knew why. I suspect now it may be because inside my psyche I knew that I too was a member of a marginalized group. Some how I knew this on a subconscious level even it took 50 years for me to realize it and say out loud, I am gay.

         But the fact is, I grew up a veritable minority, a white kid in a black neighborhood.  Someone tried to explain to me what it was like being black. The example they used was related to the freedom I feel as a white person being able to go wherever I wanted  without fear of harassment or being asked "what are you do around here?" A black person almost always had the fear of being asked what they were doing in a given area and constantly had to worry that a police officer would stop them and ask questions. I never had such worries. It was simplistic perhaps but it conveyed a truth that has stuck with me about people being marginalized and how they feel. The question I would ask is how do we get into some one else's head or heart to see how they feel?

        This passage speaks of understanding the human spirit because we are human.  How much better would the world be if we could understand the fellow next to us? How does it feel to be gay? How does it feel to be blind or physically challenged? How does it feel to be native American? What is unique to each person's experiences? What makes them feel good about themselves or what makes them feel defeated?  The world would certainly be better if we 'walked a mile in someone else's moccasins'.

          There are certain fundamentals to being human. If we could just realize that every human has those feelings. The need to love, the feelings of pain. The feelings of defeat and joy. Do we realize everyone is a temple of the Holy Spirit? Do we acknowledge the Godliness in each person? Big questions for sure.

          Respect, dignity, empathy and understanding are all keys to equality, love, Godliness and peace. What step can I take to advance the cause we claim as faithful people? 

Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
   nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him’—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.