Answer please. . . .

       As a parent, one sees the various stages that humans go through.  Some might lament the terrible two's, awkward adolescence or those terrible teenage years.  I am aware of an amusing anecdote that tries to sum up the situation. As Children, parents are viewed as Gods. In teenage years, parents are viewed as idiots who seem to know virtually nothing. When a 'child' returns home from college, they are often astounded at just how much the parents have learned.

       Did fully human Jesus have all the knowledge of his Divinity all at once?  Perhaps an unimportant question, I ask because of situations like the one presented in today's passage from John.  Jesus is at a wedding with his mother. Also present are his disciples. That must have been a social coup. Jesus and his entourage!  Jesus has obviously started his ministry but he lacks a certain amount of wisdom or common sense. He has not yet 'returned from college' so to speak. When Mary suggests that Jesus take care of the wine issue at hand, Jesus says ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’. First off, a wise Jewish boy, Man, would never answer his nice Jewish mother that way. I wonder what form of editing took place here!  What was Mary's first response. Nevertheless, she persisted and Jesus does as he is asked by his mother.

        The question as to how much Jesus knew and when he knew it is not answered. How much he actually grasped in those early days is uncertain to me. Clearly he had started his ministry. He heard his calling, he was answering and doing what his Father was asking, at least as much as he as a human could comprehend at the time.

        The truth of the matter is, none of us really know what we are being asked most of the time. In small matters, the turn of a corner at the right time could be the answer to asking for your one true love.  Saying "I do" is leading you on a journey where two become one and there is no road map for where you will be lead.  Joy beyond measure? Heartache, illness, the joy of children? You really don't know what is out there even if you think you have a plan.

         Life itself is so uncertain. The one thing we have control of is how we act and how we respond. Perhaps all of life is simply how we respond.  At this point in the Gospel, Jesus has responded to his call to his father. Jesus started his ministry and he had disciples.  Have we said yes to our father? To my mind that "yes" is neither Christian, Jewish, Buddhist or Islamic.  The question is, do we say yes to the Creator God and yes to who we are as people? We have no idea where it will lead us but the 'proof of the pudding' as they say is in our response. Are we willing to follow a course directed by God and the Spirit and less by our own, perhaps selfish, designs and wishes?

          As a Christian, that is translated into are you willing to take up your cross?' Are you wiling to accept yourself and to love others, God's other creations?  

John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

A very Gay Epiphany !

      The Feast of the Epiphany teaches me a very important fact in life that is highlighted by the three wise men.  Just as the those travellers from the east went home 'by another road', so too do we alter our courses in life. 

       I suppose the primary lesson today is that when we discover Jesus in our life we never return to the same old way of thinking or acting. If we truly discover Jesus ( and thus calling ourselves a Christian ), we are called to be more open, loving, forgiving and thoughtful. Our actions and life emulate Jesus. According to Scripture we become a new creation. We don't move froward in life as we had lived in the past as that new creation. So the story of the three wise men is a true allegory of what happens when we discover Jesus on a personal level.

        As a gay man, the continual process of coming out is also an allegory for being a follower of Jesus. When you 'come out' and embrace that glorious gift given to you by God, you are forever changed and in many ways you can never go back to the same way of living. You become a new person who has accepted the gift of God and you can no longer act the same way. You are fundamentally changed in accepting yourself and the creation God made you to be. This may be true whether you are a Christian or not but the similarities are staggering. This is an acceptance of an essence that is you. This is not a call to a reckless immoral life. That is what some would try to define you as when you come out. They are Herod. 

           When you come out as being gay, things do change. There are Herod's out there that will not accept you, that wish you harm and are fearful of your life as 'unknown' or foreign. For our part, we are called to move forward. We find that we cannot return to a path of darkness and closeted living. If there are people who will not or cannot accept who we are, you move forward via a different route. The amazing thing is, just a Christ is revealed and shows us a new path of love, so too do countless people on our new path after coming out.  It is a well know fact that there will be people whom you love that will fail you abysmally when you come out and there are virtual strangers and a whole (heavenly?) host of people who will step forward on your new journey to love you as the beautiful and loving creation of God that you are.

          If you are gay, or anyone in that glorious rainbow of LGBTQ, the epiphany is a feast day that speaks to us in many ways, just another gift of God to his beloved children.

Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 
“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
   who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’

 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Beyond measure

       I don't know if you are aware but whatever algorithms are used based on your news feeds, you are often presented you with even more news and data ( based on those on-line viewing habits ) that only supports and compounds your existing views.  I am quite certain that there are unscrupulous entities or countries that use this kind of facts ( I think it is called data mining ) to use your own viewing habits against you or to manipulate you by presenting facts or altered facts that you will tend to believe based on past practises. It seems almost evil, manipulative, perhaps paranoid and big brother-ish.  It would be very difficult to unhook from world social and news media. Long intro. 

       Every Christmas season I get a blurb on my news feed about a crazed faux Christian preacher who has advised that all gays should be killed by Christmas. It is a story that I think is several years old but it gets presented annually without reference to it's age so that an unsuspecting person might get enraged about this fanatical and clearly unChristian preacher. I mention this because of the fact that being gay, it gets geared to my in box.  While I dismiss it ( maybe too casually ) it reminds me that there are people of so called faith that think I am not fit to live and that they clearly think I am sinner of enormous magnitude, a danger to society and certainly not any kind of Christian. Perhaps, ironically, like I think they are no kind of Christian. You can really just dismiss a lot of this crazy shit that is out there but the truth is there are some crazy people out there.

          Jesus became man to save the Jewish nation. Jesus, self professed, did not come for the gentiles. That was not his mission. The gentiles were not the chosen people. Gentiles, Samaritans and a whole host of people were not the one's Jesus came to save. They were not worthy. Not unlike I am apparently not worthy of salvation to some people because I am gay. I can only imagine what marks are against other people that makes them unworthy as well.

        But here's the rub. Jesus may actually have said he is 'here for the lost tribes of Israel' or some such but his actions and life attest to an entirely different dynamic. Jesus was a real and dynamo of a rebel. He challenged everything. He opened his arms and heart and broke bread with sinners, spoke to women at a time when they were less than chattel.  Jesus cured sick who clearly would not be worthy by the standards that some today would hold as unrepentant sinners. I don't know what revelation Jesus may have had but his ministry was to everyone, no limits, no exclusions. Jesus was totally about love.  This concept was not lost on the early Christian leaders, men, woman and Jews alike. Paul argued vociferously that you did not need to be Jewish to be saved.  If it were not for Paul, most of us would be unsaved. Got that: Not Jewish = NOT saved.  That is not what we believe however. That is not what we know to be true based on Jesus' life and teachings. That is not what we have come to believe based on the movement of the Holy Spirit.

       Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. That's the first line today. That is what we believe.

        If someone, a person , a religion, a government, is telling you that you are not worthy or that you are not saved, or are less than human because you are gay, left handed, not a specific approved religion or for whatever reason, know this: Jesus welcomes every one. Everyone!  God could not dislike, hate or diminish any single one of his/her beloved creations. We are loved, gifted, valued, and embraced in God's loving arms, cherished beyond measure. Those that say otherwise are the sickest of society.

Romans 15:7-13

 Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
   and sing praises to your name’; 
and again he says,
‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’; 
and again,
‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
   and let all the peoples praise him’; 
and again Isaiah says,
‘The root of Jesse shall come,
   the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope.’ 
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Image and likeness.

     I am a man, but not only that, a gay man to boot. As such, I too am made in the image and likeness of God. This got me to thinking about today's passage from John in terms of who Jesus was. He was not only a man but Divine also. It is no wonder that he was rejected.

       Let's think about the attributes of God. Stretch our human minds and try to grasp the enormity of all that God is. No human limitations to fix. Think of the highest of human aspirations for love, mercy, forgiveness and then double, triple or quadruple it. This is God we're trying to describe! So when Jesus says that if you know him, you know the Father, well, wow!  Jesus encompassed and manifested all of the most magnificent attributes of God. So I'd say, well beyond our comprehension. I am almost surprised he wasn't simply killed on sight by us. His Divine character would seem so disparate from our human characters. 

      The fact of the matter is, whenever we see or meet someone who is an exemplar of our own divine nature, we sense the aura of Godliness. We may each have our own list of people in whom we see their divinity shining through. Certainly people like Mother Theresa, or the Dali Lama and many others. I'd add Merton, Nouwen, Boswell and a certain Anna Schuster.

       These divine witnesses to Godliness are not measured on human terms of rules and rubrics. They are not known because they adhered to some person acts of piety or were rule followers. They seem to transcend all that ( nonsense ) and reveal their divinity in all it's glory. A rule follower is likely not an exemplar of Godliness. A lover of humanity, a lover of God is often the ones seen as close to their divine nature and an example for mankind.

           Jesus seemed to be aghast that Philip was not getting it. If Philip knew Jesus, then Philip knew the Father as well.  Philip recognized the Divinity but couldn't put two and two together. I hope we can do the math. It is in the simplicity and power of love that we embrace and show our own divine natures. We are fools if we think following rules will make us holy. We are erring in thought if we think that a checklist will guarantee our futures. It is in pure and reckless love of humanity that we reveal our divinity and see how we are truly made in the image and likeness of God.

John 14:6-14

Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will knowmy Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’

 Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

The Grand Gesture

       One of the small perks of sitting in one of the emergency rows of an airplane is that you get some extra room to sit.  The flip side of that perk is that in the event of an emergency, you have agreed to be called into action. You are asked if you are willing and able to perform certain duties and if you say yes, you are expected to do them. Rarely, I assume in percentages approaching 100%, are you ever called upon to actually do anything except enjoy the extra room.  

        Abraham was asked to do something as a condition of his faith in God.  He was asked to sacrifice his own son.  As my own son turns 36 soon, I can't imagine even entertaining the thought of sacrificing him for God. I would sooner sacrifice myself. Abraham was never called to carry out that plan even though he showed his willingness to cooperate with God and exercise his faith in God.  It seems to me sometimes God is agreeable when we make a legitimate and heartfelt offer, an attempt to comply, a willingness to cooperate.

          I found myself in a somewhat related situation many years ago.  I was to be ordained into the Roman Catholic church.  This was an agreement for a life of service and holiness. At the time I was having a dickens of a time with what I presumed was 'the devil' trying to persuade me to act differently. Don't do it! Say no!   I imagine that Abraham also heard similar voices. In spite of doubts and emotional upheavals I said yes and was ordained. I still believe that ordination to be valid even though my 'ministry' is quite different and not aligned with the Roman Church. I said yes but God had other ideas, rewards if you will. I have been graced in enormous ways, unforeseen at the time I offered my life up to God on that altar so many years ago.

       I don't believe that God asks us to make such grand gestures or offers of cooperation as offering one's son on a routine basis. Still, we have to make that decision to cooperate with God's plan. Perhaps it does come down to offering our entire life when, if we come to realize that God made us so uniquely, precious and with such individuality that no one else really possesses. God envisioned that what the world needed was a YOU, then you were conceived and came into the world as the precious and unique gift that you are. Our lives are really a journey to saying yes to our gifts, talents and precisely who we are. Maybe that really is quite a grand gesture.

      God in her wisdom does not always make what man appreciates however.  Being the best gay person that I can be is not always appreciated by society but then society does not always mirror the love and sanctity of God's word. We like to build our own creations and not always in concert with God's plan.  We often try to find fulfillment of ourselves in things outside ourselves.  All one has to do is see the position and goals of some Evangelicals in society and the horrors they perpetuate and foster in God's name. They have said no to God's agenda, eschewing that for their own selfish and ungodly agenda. Hardly, if at all, even Christian.

       Perhaps it is a grand gesture of Abrahamic proportions to say yes to God in living our lives. So often people say they will act as the emergency exit captain and when the need arises they simply back away. Are we willing to say yes to God? Are we willing to be all that God created us to be, accepting all our gifts, fostering them, revelling in them and using them to foster God's agenda of love and peace in the world? Quite a grand gesture of we say yes.  Grand indeed. Keep living and loving as you are called to do.

Hebrews 11:13-22

 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, ‘It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named after you.’He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, ‘bowing in worship over the top of his staff.’ By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his burial.

Terms of Endearment

       I have no doubt that God wants us to be a 'great nation". I don't think that it is meant to imply or come close to meaning the United States of America. I am not convinced that this passage means Israel either, nor any other nation on earth.  I am more likely to think that as a human document however inspired by God, it refers to humanity as a whole.  As humans we have a tendency to think revelations apply to us and others - well, not so much. I'd like to consider that it refers to all humanity.

       God wants us to be a great "nation". That is to say, cooperative with God's plan and that is primarily to be the best we can be as God created us and to love as God loves us. The real rub is not who this applies to but how it is applied.

       I once had a Baptist minister living with me for a few months. His opinion was that women should be silent, (essentially) barefoot, stay at home and raise kids. I had to tell him that I could not disagree with him more vigorously.  His thoughts were that by 'supporting' what God had made women to be, he was elevating them, honoring them and supporting their journey to wholeness ( my words, not his ). Hey, if that's what a couple decides and that is how they both decide they want things to work, great. fine. so be it.  That interpretation of what God made us to be is utterly, and to me, maddeningly man made.  It speaks to misogyny, male dominance and denies the possibility and gifts that many women are given by God. My own (first) marriage (to a woman!) in practice was one of total support of the gifts she was graced with. I was described as the "wind beneath her wings". That included a team attitude to all tasks and responsibilities of the household.

        So right from the get go, the difference is in how we each perceive cooperation with God and the 'great nation'. I am strongly, nay, vehemently opposed to interpretation of holy Scriptures of any denomination that limit, constrict, promote abuse or otherwise stifle the love and full development of us as humans.  I also think that anything that disrespects the created world or abuses our created world is antithetical to God's whole design and purpose for humanity.

         What are the terms in which you read Holy Scripture? Literalism? Totally and unerringly the word of God verbatim?  How can we fulfill God's promise of us being a great nation if we have such diverse opinions about Scripture? In the absence of an agreement in what the exact terms of our salvation and destiny is, I defer to those two great commandments and my forever and number one arbiter, Love.

         Let us pray for unity, strive for community and always and foremost, love.   

Genesis 12:1-7

Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lordappeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Feast of the Circumcision

       Feast of the Circumcision?  That is what it was at one time. It might be interesting to note when it was that the Roman church changed it to the feast of the Holy Name. In their puritanical, prudish, unhealthy sexuality, there should be no mention at all of the Christ child's private parts. Circumcision? How revolting! And so the Roman church that exerts every influence it can, holds to unhealthy sexual norms and policies born of man, not God, and tortures the souls of healthy sexual human beings around the globe.

       The gay community is not saved from the controversy of circumcision either. The practice to cut ( or leave uncut ) is a formidable controversy that also plagues the heterosexual community as well.

       The reality of the situation is that to a nomadic people wandering or living in sandy desert terrain, circumcision was a no brainer.  It meant good health, not unlike the need for ancients to avoid pork products to remain in good health.   But times have changed for sure. One can easily eat pork without fear of getting trichinosis. I know many Jews that love a nice BLT. Is circumcision really a necessity also? Not so much any more, at least we are not living in desert conditions for the most part. However, I really don't want to delve into the controversy of cut or uncut, feast day or not.  Not my area of expertise and that is generally not what I write about or meditate on. 

       What you will find on my page today is a call to spend the new year asking why we do the things we do, especially in relation sexuality, to religion and God. They are most often not the same. I am calling for a purifying of our personal faith and religious habits.  What I find most important, and what is the arbiter of all Scripture, especially when passages contradict each other?  Love. Love is always that arbiter.

        Perhaps a New Year's resolution might be to question and purify. Don't take what you are being taught at face value. Question. Learn. And always, love.

Luke 2:15-21

 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

 After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.