THE RIDICULOUS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BEING GAY AND BEING DEAD

At 4am I was awakened out of dream. Joan Dempsey, who is dead, was with me in the dream and together we went to a church which was once very dear to me. The Pastor came out to meet us both. When they saw Joan they took into the church meeting with great honor and celebration. I stood outside the door and the pastor spoke with me briefly, visibly mourning and at odds with himself. He said some day we should get together for a meal, someday he'd call me, but he needed to get back to the Lord's work. It started to rain and we were both getting wet, so he patted my head and walked away wiping his hands. I awoke from the dream missing both my old Godmother Joan and my old pastor friend for whom I had been a frequent and special guest minister. And I thought about the difference between the Christian Dead and the Christian Gay ("practicing"). Now understand this clearly, I've not really contemplated suicide and don't have a death wish, but as I laid there in my bed the comparisons ran willy-nilly through my mind. So, I thought I'd write down what is clearly rather ridiculous, yet made sad by the fact that for some Christians these comparisons are only too true. I thank God that these comparisons are NOT True for Churches that are "open and affirming" to LGBT persons. I thank God for the United Church of Christ (and the Church in which I pastor).

Remember, the comparisons were framed in reaction to my the friend of my dream, when I awoke I asked myself "If I was dead as a 'straight man,' how would I be remembered in contrast to the treatment I'd receive 'if I was gay' (which was recently an assumption and illustration in a sermon I preached)." The sad thing is that many people do treat gays worse then if they were dead (both christiand and non-christian alike). Comdemnations of gays is a gross behavior that have caused too many gays to actually consider suicide. It is behavior for which too many churches, christians, and families should repent. Note that these ridiculous comparisons are drawn from actual actions and comments levied against gays.

THE RIDICULOUS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BEING GAY AND BEING DEAD

If I were dead they would mourn at my funeral,
If I was gay they would mourn me while yet I lived

If I were dead they would say that they love me, while rejoicing I am in heaven,
If I was gay some would say that they loved me, while believing I'd be going to hell

If I were dead they would speak of me fondly, remembering the great things I had done
If I was gay all deeds, great and small, would be in question, better forgotten, not
spoken, and to be undone

If I were dead they would love all I had created, tripling its value as they clamor to own it all,
If I was gay they would look at what I had created as if it were a witches glamour, and
fearing pollution or vile intention they would scurry to destroy it all.

If I were dead they would rejoice all my sicknesses were gone, and all pain a thing of the past
If I was gay they would put me in quarantine and be the cause of the pain I lived

If I were dead my bosses would celebrate my successes while saying how much higher I could have climbed, mourning the jobs that could have been
If I was gay they would simply take my job away as one unworthy of its honor, and then
they would mourn if thereafter I succeeded

If I were dead as a confession Christian who died in my pride and vanity, all sin would be forgiven, and Heaven my lot
If I was gay as a confession Christian, an abomination always I'd be and hell would be
awaiting me

If I were dead I'd be free of their prattle, hate and agressivity
If I was gay both awake or asleep I'd be subject to their taunts and opinions

and I'd think to myself  ["if all this were true--which it is NOT..."]
"I'd be better off dead!"

New Year Resolutions: Reflections from a Pastor's point of view

“Sorrow may endure for a night by Joy cometh in the morning….The stead fast love of the Lord never changes God’s mercy never comes to an end it is new every morning…. [in this life’s journey] We go from glory to glory…. ” There are many promises in Christian Scripture, promises that say each day is a new opportunity for growth and betterment; that tomorrow will be a better day; that God’s work in us is new and exciting, full of hope and possibility. Each day gives us a fresh start. New Years Day has traditionally been used by culture to signify a start anew, and to resolve to do better. So we set up New Year Resolutions—many which are overly optimistic—and set out once again to conquer our world! Many of us make grandiose resolutions which are just as grandiose in our failure.


Even when we fail to achieve those things which we proclaim in the spirit of the New Year, we still feel a fresh excitement and renewed hope. Yet, in for many “New Years Resolutions” have become a joke… (from: http://www.ahajokes.com/fp059.html)



RESOLUTION #1:



1999: I will read at least 20 good books a year.

2000: I will read at least 10 books a year.

2001: I will read 5 books a year.

2002: I will finish The Pelican Brief

2003: I will read some articles in the newspaper this year.

2004: I will read at least one article this year.

2005: I will try and finish the comics section this year.



RESOLUTION #2:



1999: I will get my weight down below 180.

2000: I will watch my calories until I get below 190.

2001: I will follow my new diet religiously until I get below 200.

2002: I will try to develop a realistic attitude about my weight.

2003: I will work out 5 days a week.

2004: I will work out 3 days a week.

2005: I will try to drive past a gym at least once a week.



Well, sound familiar? Too often, the above joke reflects the truth. Often, we set our resolutions too high and our hopes are too great, and when they fail we can suffer a bout of depression—as the Hebrew Scripture says “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.” Thus, ones a year we set ourselves up to fail, and our resolutions become more and more feeble, our efforts less and less effective, and our expectation for success dies a bitter death. Eventually, we train ourselves out of hoping or evening trying. So, stop setting yourself up for failures that drags you down! The problem is not that we shouldn’t make resolutions; the problem is that too many times we have made our resolutions in the wrong order. The above joke showed that many go from “glory to gory,” one descending step at a time, but you CAN go from “glory to glory.” This year, when you make your New Year’s resolution, make it part of a process toward success, one that includes steps that are obtainable! Turn around the decline-into-pessimism and find the upward-accent-into-new hope. Rarely can we simply and immediately “change”; change usually comes over time from established patterns of behavior, so re-establish patterns of betterment. Don’t lose heart! Realize that it IS a new day, and you DO indeed have a new chance to change for the better! So, make a good and obtainable resolution, grasp a hold of that new hope and believe!

What Child is This

I sat at my desk, working on the Christmas services for my church.  The song “What Child is this…” played, and played, and replayed through my mind.  Answer…ah, Jesus!  That’s what "Child is This"!   Then I though what Jesus looked like and what the Jews of the day expected their Messiah to look like.  I realize that the image I have is very much like that painted and sculpted by Michelangelo—a white European Mary holding a white Jesus—fully imaged with a halo and benefic expressions on both of their faces and Jesus’ little hand uplifted as if already blessing us with his divinity.  Gadzooks....that image is far from the reality of a dirty stable filled with animals and dark-skinned Mediterraneans who probably hadn’t bathed in a while!  Would I have recognized that Child as This Christ?

The Jews of the day didn’t recognize Jesus as Messiah. They expected a King and Conquering Messiah…not a lowly carpenter and crucified rabbi.  In the Gospel of Matthew (25), it tells that even Christians in the future will not recognize Jesus.  For they expect Jesus only to appear as the Glorious God, and fail to see Jesus as the poor and needy amongst us!  Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew that he is to be found in the hungry, naked, imprisoned, oppressed and sick.  

During Christmas do we only look for a European Jesus of our own imaginations?  Do we only see him as God Almighty? Or do we seek the Christ-Child that is amongst us, in the needy and in each other?  Will we be like the ancient Jews and miss the day of God’s visitation?  Will we miss God amongst us?  Or will we have faith to follow a Star like the magi of old, will we listen to the messenger angels and go and find the baby Jesus amongst the lowly?  Use your Eyes of Faith, and Ears of wonder to find the Christ-Child this season.  Look beyond your expectations, your religious ideologies, and your own cultural shortsightedness…and discover anew What Child is This!