Pride and Promise!

It is pride month and the Episcopal Church is full of rainbows and banners celebrating our LGBTQIA siblings as beloved children of God. Pride, we explain is not the same as the sin of pride that Scripture repeatedly warns us about, but a healthy outlook, a rejoicing in the way God has created all persons to be. 

Yet in our celebration of all things LGBTQIA, I do have to ask myself; what is it we want for our beloved siblings?

The God we believe in and serve loves and welcomes all persons into fellowship with him! He accepts us exactly how we are! Yet, we well know that, acceptance is not certificate of completeness or perfection! All humans are imperfect, in need of healing, restoration and change! God’s character and his great love demand it! He receives us and changes us to the very best that we can be! He disciplines and  “corrects” us so that we can be participants in his glory!

If you want to be a Christian, prepare, because change is inevitable! 

These are the words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians some of which were certainly LGBTQIA : 

“such were some of you. But, you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God."

Are we prepared to be truthful to those in the LGBTQIA community that are part of our church family or feel drawn to it by our invitation and support? Are we prepared to say that following Jesus is less about pride and much more about humility? That sometimes it entails taking up our cross to follow him? That often the things we think most valuable about ourselves are precisely those God wants to mold, change or maybe have us give up altogether? 

Can we be sincere in saying that when a person comes to Christ a new identity comes into being, where “old things pass away and there is a new creation”?  Can we be candid in explaining that; as we “put on Christ” in baptism, relationship with God, being children of God, becomes the primary identity of a Christian, above race, nationality, status and even gender?

I would hope so! It is what Christians know to be true! 

God is faithful, what he has begun in each of us he has promised to bring unto completion,  St. Paul claims that it is until each of us has come to the measure of Christ….that is quite a tall order.

Of course a question which would be in the mind of all, specially those who have been persecuted because of their sexual orientation, is whether God finds it sinful? Whether being a Christian means attempting to deny their deepest feelings? and if it were possible change who they love?  

As a physician, I do not think sexual orientation can be changed! As a Christian and a priest, I do not think that it is any different from heterosexuality.

What I do know is that no matter whom you love, God will certainly change HOW you love!   

Human love tends to be conditional, selfish and imperfect, often temporary. When it comes to sexuality, we can be led by our desire for intimacy, to people and places sure to hurt us!

I have had the opportunity over many years in my profession and ministry to see the results of this! People who, looking for love, ended up feeling used and abandoned, going from one hook up to the next, with an STD, overusing drugs and alcohol in an attempt to fit in , or stuck in relationships that were hurtful and abusive.

LGBTQIA persons are not exempt from any of that! 

As we celebrate the love God has for each person, we have to be sensitive to those who may be struggling with the effects of sin or tied to behaviors or relationship patterns that are destructive! These things hinder us  from becoming the person God has destined us to be!  

Christians have to be able to lovingly, without judgement, point out that for all of us , God wants better!

Just like for the heterosexual, there may be different paths to holiness for Christians who are LGBTQIA! For some there may be marriage to a same or opposite gender spouse, mixed orientation marriages although difficult, do occur!  For others celibacy or committed friendships might be the path God chooses!    

The Episcopal Church’s To Set Our Hope In Christ, written as response to the Windsor report, reminds us of the qualities that, for Christians, make LGBTQIA and all relationships holy:

“…Exclusive, life-long, unions of fidelity and care for each other have been experienced as holy. These unions have evidenced the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22- 23). More specifically, members of our congregations have seen the fruit of such unions as sanctifying human lives by deepening mutual love and by drawing persons together in fidelity and in service to the world….”

It goes further by comparing these holy relationships to prevailing patterns in our world:

Their holiness stands in stark contrast with many sinful patterns of sexuality in the world. As a report to the Lambeth Conference of 1998 stated very well: Clearly some expressions of sexuality are inherently contrary to the Christian way and are sinful. Such unacceptable expressions of sexuality include promiscuity, prostitution, incest, pornography, pedophilia, predatory sexual behavior, and sadomasochism (all of which may be heterosexual or homosexual), adultery, violence against women and in families, rape … From a Christian perspective these forms of sexual expression remain sinful in any context.

May we celebrate pride along our LGBTQIA siblings, and continue to strive for a world where there is equality for all, where none have to hide or pretend to be different that how God has created them!

May we point those outside the church or far from God to the arms of Christ, who loves all persons and who has a life better that any of us have imagined. 

May we be allies, friends, prayer partners, as people are led to the life of holiness God has set for them!

May we remember that celebration of who we are is but the beginning, that there is a promised becoming that will be revealed, when Christ has come!  

What do we want for our LGBTQIA siblings…nothing but God’s best!

Blessings

Seraph

Christian Marriage; Jesus and General Convention!

                             

QUESTION FROM THE DIOCESE OF FLORIDA MEET AND GREET

Marriage was not invented by Christ  and we have no credible evidence that he himself was married. However, he gave a very specific meaning and significance to marriage which any conversation about the theology of Christian marriage has to seriously consider. 

Christian marriage is first and foremost defined by the words of the Lord Christ as we find them recorded in the gospels and the later teaching of his apostles

Matthew 19: 3-6, Mark 10:6-9: 

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and, ‘For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh"

The apostle Paul makes the same reference in his discussion about marriage in Ephesians 5:28-32 

“For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."

Here are the pertinent verses in Genesis:

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God.  male and female He created them.  Then God blessed them"

Genesis 2:23-24 "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."

It is from these simple verses, the creation story, Christ’s explicit reference to it, and the Apostle’s teaching in the New Testament, that we begin the conversation about what Christian marriage means! We must begin with what marriage meant to Christ!

In congruency with these words the Book of Common Prayer reads; …

"The bond and covenant of marriage was established by God in creation" It signifies to us the mystery of the union between Christ and his Church, Holy Scripture commends it to be honored among all people The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God's will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord"

Here are some simple ideas as to the purposes of marriage found in Scripture:

Marriage is for companionship: Genesis 2:18  "And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."

 

Marriage is for children: Genesis1:27-28  "God created man in His own image; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply" 

 Marriage is for Sex:  1 Corinthians 7:14-15 "...Each man should have sexual relations with his own wife and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband...."

Marriage is for Holiness:  1 Peter 3:7 " Husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.", Ephesians 5:21 "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ." 

Marriage is for life:  Matthew 19:4-6 "...They are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." 

 

Marriage in our society is evolving! In 2015 the US Supreme Court granted equal access to marriage to same-sex couples! It was Justice Kennedy who said in that case…"They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law," "The Constitution grants them that right." 

I and most Episcopalians agree with this! People in society have the right to regularize, protect, and solemnize their relationships with the person they love! 

In the same year, following the US Supreme Court decision. the Episcopal Church's General Convention approved the trial-use liturgies for marriage that made it possible for same-sex couples to wed in the Episcopal Church, and in 2018 made it possible for any couple civilly able to marry to do so in any diocese of TEC.  

Christ spoke of marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife! 

Our General Convention has made a “clear decision” that Christian marriage can be a covenant between two people irrespective of gender! It is a complicated place to be! 

There is of course the rejoicing that our LGBTQIA siblings are able to legally recognize their relationships in civil society and have access to the sacraments and blessing of the church in their committed unions! Yet there are the clear words of Christ that define the particular relationship we call marriage in the church!

Perhaps we lack the language, or the theology, and lump human relationships into one neat box considering only common elements, over their uniqueness! Same-gender and opposite-gender relationships have love as a common element but have demarcated differences some of which are biologically based. 

Perhaps there is an implicit bias in the way we look at human relationships, a push to heteronormativity, where relationships have to fit into a particular mold in order for us to think of them as blessed…so it has to be marriage or bust! 

Can we as Christians and Episcopalians live and minister in the same Church while holding diverging convictions about the sacrament of marriage? 

Our polity urges us to, but whether we can do so and mutually flourish, only time will tell!

Blessings

Seraph

RECLAIMING JESUS???

First let me say that I respect many of the clergy who signed the document “Reclaiming Jesus”!  

The Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the  Episcopal church,  my spiritual home, is an example of a person committed to the love of God, the advancement of Christ's kingdom, and justice, a man I truly admire.

Yet, no person is infallible and we do not all have to agree! As the child of immigrants, an Episcopalian and a concerned citizen of the United States, I have reservations to aspects of this document that purports to invite Christians to “confess our faith in a time of crisis”.

Granted, I share all the concerns, which bring this declaration about!  Firsthand, I witness prejudice, racial injustice, and the separation of families due to our immigration policies,  I am concerned about the language and some of the policies in our present administration! These are things we pray about, oppose, strive to solve and work to change! 

Yet, some of the premises and emphases of said document in my view, overlook concerns of many Christians in our society!  There are statements that seem to simply parrot progressive political views of the day, and have, in themselves, little to do with the gospel.

Here are a few concerns:

I. WE BELIEVE each human being is made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26).

Wholeheartedly agree, yet how ironic that this declaration of the worth of humanity makes no mention of the unborn, the most vulnerable and at risk members of the human family in our nation! 

Abortion has claimed the lives of over 4,000,000 unborn children so far in 2018 and it does not merit being part of a discussion about human dignity for these religious leaders? Really? Incredible!!!!

Secondly, I find it a bit narrow to speak of racism and bigotry solely targeting people of one race, whites! 

There is enough prejudice, racial bigotry and injustice to go around in our society. To make only one racial group the exclusive culprit, seems to give the rest of us a pass! We experience it, and it is there for all to see in Latino communities, among immigrants and communities of color! Do we not see it or  is it politically incorrect to mention in our society?

The attitudes and behaviors, rightly called out in this document, are entrenched in the hearts of people , it is sin, and should be called out as such! We all need to repent of something, change our words, our ways , our actions...not just white folks!

III. WE BELIEVE how we treat the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sick, and the prisoner is how we treat Christ himself. (Matthew 25: 31-46)

Complete agree with this premise! Yet let us not confuse the Biblical mandate of helping the poor, with government programs that may not have proven benefits in helping people out of poverty 

There is no command in Scripture that we should support any effort that has the potential of keeping families in a cycle of dependency! 

The Apostles of the same Jesus, who tasked us with helping the poor, even as they collected money and goods to feed poor widows, also gave strict guidelines as to who should be helped!

It was the Apostle to the gentiles who said the now infamous words 
  

2 Thessalonians 3:10 “If any will not work, let them also not eat..” 

Certainly the poor should be given every possible aid, all that is needed, with the goal to get them out of need! But, to have people always expecting and dependent on help,  may not be what Christ had in mind!  

Of course, health care should be provided for the sick but the details about how that is accomplished is a matter for societies to decide! Where things can be improved, they should be! 

It is my experience that the health mandates that help one family can cause financial hardship to another. We need a better health system in our country, but to think that our attempts at one provided a solution for all, is to ignore facts!

Programs are tried; they can succeed or fail, come and go, but our responsibility as Christians remain. 

V. WE BELIEVE that Christ’s way of leadership is servanthood, not domination.THEREFORE, WE REJECT any moves toward autocratic political leadership and authoritarian rule. 

Amazing statement from people many of whom have been silent about authoritarian rule in Cuba, many nations in the Middle East or some of the countries where people flee to the United States to escape oppression! 

These words are also ironic after the silence of these same leaders during the last administration’s exercise of autocracy! 

At that time, the executive branch ruled this country by executive order, bypassing Congress and the normal channels for the passing and implementing of policy. Some of the problems we face today, especially among immigrant communities, are due to the shortcuts taken to bypass debate over our nation’s immigration laws! 

The president, due to the adverse political situation of his party, decided to govern by fiat, by the power of his pen and signature; that is autocracy, and here we are enduring the consequences!  I pose that we would all be more credible if there was some consistency to our principles! We object now...seemed to not care much then!

VI. WE BELIEVE Jesus when he tells us to go into all nations making disciples (Matthew 28:18) THEREFORE, WE REJECT “America first” as a theological heresy for followers of Christ.  

Huh? Who made that hermeneutical leap? What in the world does making disciples have to do with a nation’s obligations to its citizens first?  

Even in Scripture such an idea is not reconcilable with reality  Here is St. Paul’s take on priorities when it comes to help;  

Galatians 6:1o “ whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone--especially to those in the family of faith …” .

 Jesus conversation with Peter about the Temple taxes comes to mind.

Matthew 17:24-26 “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” From others,” Peter answered. Then the children are exempt,” Jesus, said to him.   

 Notice no clarification from Jesus about how this was unfair! Nothing about how citizens and strangers should be equally treated with respect to taxes.

The second and much more disturbing concept is the idea that a political philosophy can be a “theological heresy for followers of Christ”! Heresy, as Mark Tooley aptly reminds us is, “…an attack from within the church on the church’s understanding of God’s core identity. Arius was heretical for claiming Christ was created rather than eternal…”. 

There are no explicit nor implied claims about God, Christ, or any elements of the Creeds, in whatever policy priorities have been pursued under the name America First so far ! I am certainly disturbed by some of them, think that there is room for debate and disagreement but to call it heresy is out of touch and out of place.  

 Progressive Christians whose communities of faith have been busy dismantling some longstanding belief and traditions among Christians, should be a little more careful throwing the  H word around, especially in the context of politics!

And I must ask;  Is this select group of pastors some sort of “magisterium” or a council of the church empowered to make such an outrageous statement? Is this declaration of heresy some type of progressive “fatwah” now? 

These and other thinly disguised politics as spirituality in the body of this statement they can keep! I find that neither compelling nor useful! 

The conclusion I applaud, with these words I can wholeheartedly agree! 

“…If Jesus is Lord, there is always  space for grace. We believe it is time to speak and to act in faith and conscience, not because of politics, but because we are disciples of Jesus Christ—to whom be all authority, honor, and glory. It is time for a fresh confession of faith. Jesus is Lord. He is the light in our darkness. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12)…”

Blessings

 Seraph