We never would have met in a gay bar

Acts 21:3-15

              Here you go, I don't think if my husband and I had ever seen each other in a gay bar we would be married today.  For one thing, sometimes you romanticize about the people you are going to fall in love with (or have lust for). For another, I have never been in a gay bar - not once.  By a twist of fate, and I like to think a whole lot of faith, we met by a whole other set of circumstances, became friends and then realized we were falling in love. That might be the cliff notes version of our falling in love. The journey was not what we might have expected but we are very thankful to God that we met because we are truly each others soul mate. 

              This passage today is somewhat of a travelogue for Paul. What comes of this trip is the news or realization that if Paul went to Jerusalem he might be killed. Paul's response is that he not only is willing to be bound (as the passage says) but Paul would be willing to go to Jerusalem and die for what he believed in, to to be a witness for Christ. Surely Paul, who once persecuted Christians, had no clue or intention to wind up in Jerusalem ( or anywhere else) dying for the very person whom he had been persecuting.  Paul said yes to God and the journey began. Paul had no way of knowing where it would take him. I just know dying for Christ was probably the last thing on his mind before his conversion. Yet he comes to the point in life where he would in fact willing die for Christ and for the message, the Good News if you will.

                I've said this before but here it is again. If you had told me 50 years ago, or 25 years ago or even 10 years ago that I would find incredible bliss, happiness, fulfillment and be married to a man I would have been as thunderstruck as Paul would have been had you told him he'd die for the person he was in fact persecuting. What a twist in the plot line. What a story. What a journey. My life's travelogue while not perhaps exciting, sure has had some twists. The truth is though, every twist and turn has been met with faith. Every tragedy and every joy was faced with Jesus hand in hand and with faith in the God.

         When you say yes to life and when you say yes to God, you never know where it's going to lead you. It may lead you places you never dreamed of. It may lead you to places in life far from where you could even imagine. I think the appropriate expression is 'let go and let God'.  The depth of joy, fulfillment and happiness lies in allowing yourself to go places that might not have ordinarily been on your itinerary. For me that has meant marriage (to a woman!),  fatherhood, service in the Dominican Republic, becoming a Deacon, submitting to spiritual and emotional therapy, the self discovery of being gay, marriage to the man of my dreams and finding love in a cat. My brother once said that he'd believe I was gay but he would never believe I love a cat. But it is true. My journey is amazing and filled with love of God and all his created world, including myself!

          What is your journey? Are you willing go where God may be leading you? 

We came in sight of Cyprus; and leaving it on our left, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there. We looked up the disciples and stayed there for seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. When our days there were ended, we left and proceeded on our journey; and all of them, with wives and children, escorted us outside the city. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

When we had finished^* the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we greeted the believers and stayed with them for one day. The next day we left and came to Caesarea; and we went into the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy. While we were staying there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He came to us and took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, ‘Thus says the Holy Spirit, “This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.” ’ When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, ‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’ Since he would not be persuaded, we remained silent except to say, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’

After these days we got ready and started to go up to Jerusalem.