Queer church

Matthew 15:21-28

        I get a real kick out of people who say they think their church would be better off smaller, but purer. Really?? Two things lay in a balance. On one side are the doctrines, rules, pomp and circumstance. On the other side is faith, love, miscreants of society and sinners ( all the things Jesus preached of and people he preached to).

        There is a comfort level found in rules, groups, and uniformity. But what is uniformity?  God did not create everything uniform. God in fact created everything different. Even twins are different. Every person is different in one way or another. Some seem exact polar opposites. This difference is the springboard for queer theory. Queer what? Queer is different and in that sense, we are all queer. There is something about each and every one of us that is different from the rest. Physical, social, mental, we are all queer.

         You have 5 groups of small balls on a table. One group is all blue, one group is all green, one group all red, one group purple and another group with nothing but different colours. They are all the same. Why? because even the group with all different colours has a sameness. The similarity is that they are all different. The commonality is that they are all different. Humans, nay, the entire world is all different.  There may be similarities but we are are all different.  We are all queer.

          I am well aware of our penchant to want to group things, place things in boxes, real or imagined. It does give us some comfort. It seems they call a person eccentric if they have a set of dishes where every plate is totally different, where the living room is post modern and the bedroom is early American, a person who uses a Nash Metropolitan or AMC Pacer as their daily driver.  We all have our quirks and definitions of what eccentric is. We are in fact all different even while we love similarities.

            Jesus preached to and loved a very diverse group of people. Many view him as a rebel and revolutionary for such associations. Many believed he blasphemed by going counter to accepted laws and rituals.  I think we all know the messages of love, faith and forgiveness that comes from God. Are we as equally aware that there is a message of diversity and inclusiveness? Are we aware of our own queerness? Can we accept others? Can we accept ourselves?

          I am here. I am queer. I am proud and I am loved.

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.

End plays

Mark 15:22-32

          It occurs to me the finality of what people saw at this point in time. Jesus is crucified and all the hope has gone. All Jesus' promises must seem to have vanished with each strike of the hammer, with each successive gasp that lead cruelly to that last breath when Jesus escaped his earthly bonds and returned to the Father. For the disciples, witnesses and detractors, it seemed over, done, kaput. All talk.

           So I sat here after work watching the highlights of the US Open. Great tennis, I love tennis, yet another gift from my husband. It occurs to me how the games go and how life is, it's not that different some times from the story the Gospel conveys here. Dramatic turn arounds, excitement till the buzzer rings, thrilling cliff hangers all abound in sports.  As Yogi Berri famously said "it ain't over till it's over".  What a ring of truthiness that has.

         While not exclusive to faithful people, the idea of dramatic turn arounds, salvation at the last minute and miracles that come up just in nick of time seem quite plausible and are reality.  Faithful people have hope. That hope is born of the dramatic rebirth and resurrection of Jesus on the third day. The irony that the cross,  a fixture of the Roman Empire that was to be feared  and was used as a tool of capitulation, is now our sign of redemption and victory is not lost on the faithful. The fact that Peter denied Jesus 3 times, Peter his #1 guy, became the leader of the Christian faith is not lost on the faithful.

We can stumble and fall and get up at that last minute. We believe in salvation and redemption. We have hope.

           Our lives as faithful people are filled with hope even today. It is one of our hallmarks. When my husband and I made vows to each other never thinking we would ever be able to legally marry, there was a dramatic turn around in the political climate and not only were we able to marry, we married in the eyes of God who loves each of us and smiled magically on us as we exchanged vows in from of children, family and friends. What a turn around. What success marriage equality has had throughout the country. 

         We never give up hope as faithful people. It is born of faith, resurrection, salvation and the fact that we know just how much God loves each of us.  How has God achieved a turn around for you in your life. What is your end game story? Your story of hope, salvation and victory?

Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’ And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

Laying tracks to schism

James 3:13-4:12

           Today I read a small blurb about Gregorio Labayan Aglipay, A Philipino Catholic Priest who eventually founded the Philippine Independent Church in 1902. And yet another schism was created.

           When we pray for Christian unity do we ever consider the causes?  If nothing else it is selfishness on a grand scale. I/We want to be in charge, we have the arrogance to think we know the correct interpretation, we are so clearly correct and they are so clearly wrong. As if to drive the point home we (humans, no specific denomination) are willing to condemn others, fight for what we think is ours, wage wars and create inquisitions and Jihads. Even though Jihad is a Muslim term, I think you get the idea.

          All of the things that this passage from James speaks of are to be found in the history of the church and I mean that in the most nebulous way. Pick and choose a specific church if you will, some may be more guilty, but we are all guilty of this insult to God in the form of a fractured church. I look at Pope Francis and I really do see hope inspite of his empty proclaimantion "who am I to judge?" His poverty of soul and in real life is a beacon to a church that thrives on the antithesis of poverty. A church where clergy grow rich and live well as princes.  Still more insult added to injury when the structure and organization of the church is placed far above the ordinary faithful as if they can be sumarily dispensed with for the good of the church. This is how fracture and schisms occur. Look at everything Jesus would rail against and people see the lack of true faith, wrongly focused actions and outright sinfulness. Selling of indulgences, one schism, then two, then three and more. Worse yet,  covering up pedophelia and blaming gays, worse than schism, people turn away from God altogether. As Jesus said, it is better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and be thrown into the sea.

          Drawing near to God is not necessarily drawing near to the established church.  The message of Jesus is not born of Canon Law and cover ups.  Return to the faith that God loves you so much that he would die for you on the cross (again) and you are on the right track. Know your value as a son or daughter of God and you are on the right track. Whether you are straight, gay, blue, white, gray, black or green, know you are created in love and in His image - then you are on the right track.

          Schisms are an unfortunate part of Christianity. Know what human behaviors are at their root and  comitt yourself to rightful loving actions and a faith deep in your heart.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, ‘God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,
‘God opposes the proud,
   but gives grace to the humble.’
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbour? 

The truth shall set you free

John 8:31-32

          The truth about God will indeed set you free. The truth of this mere statement has so many dimensions I am not sure if you could discover them all in a lifetime. I certainly  will only be able to express a few of them that I can see. As faithful people I am sure we all see different facets, not unlike the facets of a diamond. Each facet is brilliant and unlike the others, each radiating or transmitting the light in a unique way.

           In this respect, the more we find out about ourselves, that special and unique creation of God, the more free we will be. Imagine being bound to others' constraints and judgements on you. We can possibly get a hint of this in the day when left handed people were forced to be right handed. It's hard to believe being 'lefty' was considered "of the devil". Once you are free to express your left handedness you are a bit more free. When you discover your talents and your God given gifts, you are still more free. To be gay and hide it because you think you are unloved and unworthy, you can be sure how the freedom to express and acknowledge who you are will affect you. I perhaps have a spectacular vantage point in this regard. As a 50 year old who has already experienced considerable growth and acknowledgement of who I am,  it seemed almost the last frontier to overcome when I realized I was gay. To say "I am gay!" seemed the most freeing of all.  Many people have this experience. But finding who you are in any way gives you more freedom. The truth about you, sets you free.

               In the sixties, many people set out 'to find out who they were'.  People go on retreats to 'find themselves'. When you discover how lovable and purpose created you are by the hand of the almighty, you feel a freedom you have never quite experienced before.

               The truth that God loves you more than life itself, does indeed, set you free.

               What truths about yourself have set you free?

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’

Of prophets and martyrs, the modern 'seventy'

Luke 9:62-10:2

          Yesterday the church remembered the Martyrs of New Guinea. Christian missionaries, originally sent there in the 1860's to evangelize and spread the Good News. No easy task in a land of 500 languages.  The history of God and man is replete with men and women who wished to spread God's word, a revealed message ( a prophet or prophetess ) or in our time, the message of The Good News.

          In the entire world there are many stories of people who stepped forward to convey truths and challenge the status quo. What of Christopher Columbus? What of Galileo who stepped forward to challenge the church's view of the universe? What of Rosa Parks who also stepped forward, literally to sit in the front of the bus? 

           When the Lord appointed the seventy, it was done so in a manner consistent with prophets and preachers both past and present. It is never an easy job. Sometimes these people pay with their lives for the information they carry. The Martyrs of New Guinea wished nothing more than to spread the Good News, the joy in their hearts that comes from knowing God is your love, your saviour, your hope. They did not retreat from that cause and their beliefs in the face of danger.

             Who are the seventy today? the Rosa Parks? The Nelson Mandala's? The Susan B. Anthony's? Like I said, never an easy mission, often met with severe resistance from society and from organized religions.  The message is delivered and sometimes it takes a while to sink in, perhaps years, decades or centuries. The voice of the 'seventy' in our lives , the prophets of today, the leaders of today, will not be silenced. More importantly, they carry a message of love and equality for all. How will we remember Darren Manzella, who, while not a martyr, he was a soldier, an American, a prophet and outspoken opponent of DADT? He challenged the government while serving with honor. Do we recognize the voice of equality as expressed by Harvey Milk? Out and Proud. Or what of Bishop Gene Robinson? Holy man, man of God, gay man, loving voice of equality and "hearts, not parts".

                In a time when we find it difficult to hear even the ones we love, our friends and our coworkers, how will we hear the voices of the prophets of today? How will we hear the voices of 'the seventy' that still wish to convey the message that God's love is here? How will we hear the voices of the  prophets that teach us that God's message of love and equality is alive? Can we find the time and make the effort to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit alive in our world? 

               Most of us will not be called upon to give our lives for our faith but we are all called upon to witness to God's love and to fight the good fight for justice and equality.

Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out

Condemn me for the truth, not lies.

Mark 14:53-65

       In the routine events of the day I am very likely to pass a good compliment my husbands way. He is very intelligent, funny, a good (honest) businessman, has a good heart and he is a hunk if I do say so.  How blessed am I? He may very well respond by saying, yeah, but you are prejudiced. I will counter with, 'yes I am, but it's (the compliment) still the truth'.

         I have been told that it is not conceit if you say how good you are at something and you really are. Truth is truth.

         In contrast, there are lies and damn lies as is the case in this reading. Jesus' accusers cannot get their story straight. They are coming up with half truth and lies in an effort to condemn him. Jesus comes right out and tells the truth as inconvenient as it may seem for him, for as we know he is killed in the end.

          It's the part about lies and damn lies that really gets my knickers in a knot.  Jesus was aware of the lies being told about him, in a similar fashion I bristle at the lies spoken about the gay community and the 'gay lifestyle'.  Lies that involve pedophilia, 'recruiting', casual mindless sex and more.  The lies make my blood boil even though I know to an intelligent person, the lies are transparent and laughable. Still others will follow the lies and condemn just as Jesus was condemned.  The inconvenient truth of the matter may be that in the gay community we probably do like sex more than the average person, we are more comfortable with our bodies and our sexual nature more than the average person. Promiscuity? I would say no more than the average person. After all it is the 'straight lifestyle' that brought divorce, infidelity, group sex and (excuse me) titty bars and pickup joints. I'd say the inconvenient truth is really that many of the accusers are more guilty of sexual sins than the average gay person.

         The issue is, and what needs to happen, is a separation of the facts from prejudice and misinformation. How can we do that? I think a major step is living out and proud within the community so that people see and know that we are the same as everyone else. Our marriages have the same blessings and blunders.  It behooves everyone to come out of the closet and be proud of how God made them, no matter how inconvenient a truth it may be for some. 

        If we as a community and as individuals are condemned, let us be condemned for the right thing and not misinformation and lies.  I will confess I love my husband with all my heart, all my mind and all my soul. This is an extension of my love of self and an expression of the love God has so graciously graced me with. If this is sin, I should be condemned.

They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, ‘We heard him say, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.” ’ But even on this point their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’ But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said, ‘I am; and
“you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power”,
and “coming with the clouds of heaven.” ’
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?’ All of them condemned him as deserving death. Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, ‘Prophesy!’ The guards also took him over and beat him.

Frustrated by giving ?

Luke 14:1, 7-14

          I am notoriously bad with birthdays outside my immediate family. Sometimes I remember and will give a call or a shout out on FaceBook but otherwise I look at my lack of attentiveness as a fault. To counterbalance this somewhat with another habit. When I listen to people, and I do try to listen intently, I often get a picture of the person and what they like. Often I will be somewhere or on line and see something that I know the person will like. It's not a birthday, Christmas or any other occasion, I simply buy this meaningful gift and present it. This is often met with some consternation because they feel obliged to reciprocate and I have left them no easy means of repayment. But that is the thought really. No need for repayment.

          I recall a time when I invited a couple for dinner and we were never able to find a suitable time for me to go to their house for the required quid pro quo. I didn't feel it necessary but they did and the frustration was palpable as if I had one-upped them or was holding something over their head.

          I can think of several other examples where I was was the one ill at ease. I believe what feeds this feeling in part is a poor self worth. I didn't feel worthy of accepting gifts from people. It was not until I really felt worthy inside myself that I was willing to accept and also to give more freely. 

          In this passage we are encouraged to give particularly when the person cannot repay and give freely with no expectation of reward or repayment. It is with a joyous, thankful heart that I feel we give best and most generously. 

          I encourage everyone to give with a joyous thankful heart. One thing I will warn you about, be prepared for those that feel the simply must repay you. Just give joyously and abundantly in the same measure God has so graciously gifted you. 

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.

"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host;

and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.

But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.

For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."