Blandina ! Drag Queen or Martyr?

Today I decided not to take the daily scripture as my muse. Instead I am using the writings about Blandina and Her Companions that are remembered by the church on this day.  I suppose my interest was piqued when I read the name Blandina because it seemed to conjure up an image of some drag queen as if that were her stage name. Blandina! But, it's much more serious than that in every way. Not only were Blandina and her companions martyred but the story of their lives as presented here seem disturbingly familiar.           As June is LGBT history month, it did not slip my mind about the dangers of being gay, perceived gay or really gay. The media is replete with stories of bullied youths (because they were gay or appeared gay), beaten or killed because they were gay or as was the sad case in Atlanta a few days ago, beaten, stripped and humiliated at the hands of a cooperative mob aboard a public train. The parallel between these types of actions and the reading presented today seem freakishly familiar.             When reading this passage about those early Christians, one might also see a similarity in the 'things we do versus the things they say we do'.  It's almost inconceivable that Christians were accused of such acts as cannibalism and incest. Many Christian denominations who exclude, vilify and bully the gay community seem either unaware of such history or blissfully ignorant that they too were treated the way they now treat us in the gay community. If it wasn't so sad it would be comical.            How do you defend yourself against such lying vitriol?  I think for one thing we have to stand our ground and not shrink at lies. I also think education is key, not only for those outside the LGBT community but especially for those inside our community. On face book there is a rather educational page that I have 'liked', it is Gay World History. I implore you to read it. It may surprise even some gay people the amount we have contributed to society, critical roles we have played in history and as this is a faith focused blog, the contributions of gay Christians and yes, even gay saints. There were saints who were gay and partnered.  We need to know all of this in the face of lies, denials and stories to the contrary. We need to stand up and be proud of ourselves and our community, as varied, as marginalized and as hurt as we are.              When a person comes to the realization that they are gay, at the age of 15 or 50, they most often have been already informed how evil "it" is or how "they" are.  Inside though, you cannot help be who you are. You cannot help being attracted to whom you are attracted to or who you are at your core. Inevitably no matter what evil people say about the gay community, it demeans you personally because even if it is not true, you know you are gay and so then you must be evil too. In the absence of truth and good information you believe whatever you are told, holding on to any shred of self respect you can muster even as you deny what they are saying about you. This is the history of being gay yesterday and today.          To move to the future we must have true self respect, honoring who we are, informing everyone by our love and our actions that we are good, decent and yes, faithful people. This may sound like what those early Christians were saying too.  So today we honor Blandina and we begin the month honoring the gay community and the diverse and the glorious history of our community.          Be out, be proud. At Lyons and Vienne, in Gaul, there were missionary centers which had drawn many Christians from Asia and Greece. Persecution began in 177. At first, Christians were excluded from the public baths, the market place, and from social and public life. They were subject to attack when they appeared in public, and many Christian homes were vandalized. At this point the government became involved, and began to take Christians into custody for questioning. Some slaves from Christian households were tortured to obtain confessions, and were induced to say that Christians practiced cannibalism and incest. These charges were used to arouse the whole city against the Christians, particularly against Pothinus, the aged bishop of Lyons; Sanctus, a deacon; Attalus; Maturus, a recent convert; and Blandina, a slave. Pothinus was beaten and then released, to die of his wounds a few days later. Sanctus was tormented with red-hot irons. Blandina, tortured all day long, would say nothing except, "I am a Christian, and nothing vile is done among us." Finally, the survivors were put to death in the public arena.  by James Kiefer