Blessing God*

I know I missed posting last week. Late Friday night I returned from Heraklion, Crete to Amsterdam on a delightful airline called Transavia, which is all Dutch, but for some reason they love flying in the middle of the night. So it threw my sleep-wake pattern off schedule completely.

(The photo to the left is a ferry called Kriti I, sitting in the port in Heraklion.)

Besides, I was so relieved the rapture found me in Amsterdam, I just took the opportunity to sleep late and enjoy the sun. Sorry.

While I was in Greece I had another one of my silly epiphanies. Silly, I say, because well, they are! This one came about while I was sitting on my deck overlooking the Venetian Harbor in Heraklion, reading my “teach yourself Greek” book, when suddenly I learned “kyrie” means “mister.”

I was dumbstruck! You mean all of that ponderous ostentatious singing and beating of chests and gnashing of teeth in church, and in the end Greeks would just say “Hey, mister”? Well, yes.

(This is a photo of Dia, the island just north of Heraklion, viewed from the rooftop garden at my hotel.)

Of course, like all of my silly epiphanies I kept pondering it (and you can expert to hear more about this one). I Googled “kyrie” and “eleison” and all I could find were essays about how it means “Lord have mercy” in the Roman rite, which is true; but there was nowhere online any etymological help.

So lets go back to empirical reality. Greek people seem to live pretty close to their reality. So I could imagine that a Greek Christian might speak to God by saying “Hey, mister” and then I could imagine the rest might be something like “let me be.” (I said, I’m imagining this ….). It sort of turns the relationship between us and God upside down, from the usual western perspective.

(This is a photo of the Western end of the Venetian port, where small vessels are docked.)

Of course, upside down sometimes turns out to be right-side up, especially when we’re dealing with God. For instance, we have to learn to bless God. I know, you are thinking I have that backwards, that it ought to be God who blesses us. But no, I have it right—it is we who have to learn to bless God. God already has blessed us in the eternal act of creating us as children of God and stewards of God’s kingdom (and all you need to to do have your breath taken away is look at the beautiful waters of the Aegean).

If we already have received the favor of God (the literal meaning of to be blessed) then it is our responsibility to return the favor, to show God our love for God and our thanks for our createdness by blessing God in return. It is easy enough to do; just as easy as blessing your friend when he sneezes. In every moment when you realize how great you feel, just pray “God, I bless you for this wonderful day.”

This is just one wonderful example of how what Jesus has come to teach us is that we are so used to seeing everything backwards that we cannot see the world God has called us to live in. Maybe this all comes from our upbringing by parents who have to teach us everything. We spend so much of our lives as children feeling at once totally liberated and totally subservient. I think we learn that it is only when we run and jump and play that we are liberated, and that all the rest of the time we are subjects of an autocratic regime unable to make decisions for ourselves. So we expect Santa Claus to bring us nice things (rather than figure out ourselves how to gain them), we expect magical lovers to appear in our midst and love us at first sight, and we expect God to make a beautiful garden and let us live in it (without having to even lift a finger to tend it).

(This is the wall of the Venetian Port stretching to the northeast above Heraklion; this is where the ferries depart for Athens or other Greek isles.)

But you see, Jesus says we have to be active about creating the kingdom of God, at the very least we have to “seek” it, we have to look for it. Because so long as we wear these backwards blinders we will not see it. We have to turn ourselves around and learn that it is through us that the kingdom becomes manifest in the world. And we have to begin to think of God as our partner in creation–“Hey mister!” indeed.

This lesson applies especially to the lgbt community. We have to learn that God has made us gay on purpose, so that we can teach our nongay peers how to turn around and see the way. After all, we spend our whole lives living in a dual reality. If anybody knows how to move from one to another, we do. So it is vitally important, not just for us, but for the kingdom itself, that we learn to have pride in who we are and to bless God for the vision we have been given in our own createdness.

In today’s Psalm God is blessed repeatedly in thanksgiving for the wonders of creation. And in today’s Gospel Jesus is at pains to explain that most people cannot see the way because they do not understand how. But we, as disciples of Christ, can not only see the way but we can lead the way. And we do this by keeping Jesus’commandments. Love God, bless God, and in so doing bless and love each other.

*6 Easter (Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:7-18; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21)

©2011 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.

Gates work both ways*

Jesus said: “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture … I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Remember gates work both ways. A gate opens to allow those outside to enter. And a gate opens to allow those inside to pass to the outside. Jesus is the gate, the gate into our souls, and the gate out of the purgatory of our lives and into God’s kingdom. Jesus said, “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate …, and the sheep hear his voice.” Jesus is the gate through which God enters the realm in which we live. God, whose realm is the divine approaches each of us—living as we do in the very crude human sheepfold—God approaches us through the gate, through Jesus, who makes the coming together of God and humanity                 possible. Jesus is the gate into our souls. If we believe in Him, then he is the gate into the deep recesses of our own inner darkness. Jesus is the gate into those places in each one of us where sin dwells, where the self reigns, where no other counts, where violence and hatred and oppression breed. God approaches us through the gate, and calls each of us by name.

And we follow. Jesus said: “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture ….” We go out through the gate, in response to God’s very personal call. We follow through that gate, through Jesus who is the gate of salvation. The Twenty-third Psalm describes this for us. For how many faithful has this Psalm been the sole source of comfort in troubled times? “1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. 3 He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake. 4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Jesus is the gate. Jesus is the good shepherd. Jesus leads us to the green pastures and the cool still waters of salvation. To the gentle carnival where no matter what trials we have faced Jesus revives our souls. And no matter what shadows we must pass through in life, Jesus is with us. Jesus said: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” In that pasture that Jesus leads us to there is life, there is life abundant, full in the richness of unity with God and with one another. If there is a message for lgbt folks this week it is this—that God calls us to abundance of life, to fullness and richness of the life God has given us. Jesus is the shepherd who leads us through the gate to that place where we may find fulfillment as God’s children who love each other. Love is God’s gift to us, and God intends us to use it to the fullest.

I have just arrived in Heraklion, Crete. This is my third trip here. I’m always sort of stunned on arrival at the beauty of the place. But I’m also always fascinated by Greek culture. It makes me feel much closer to the culture of the New Testament. I’ve only been here a few hours …. so I can’t say much yet except that the sun is brilliant and the sea is stunningly blue and even the city below seems calm. Here’s  a picture I snapped with my iPhone. I suppose I’m reminded that the beauty of creation is one of those gates, a sign really, to show us that the kingdom of heaven is already ours with life abundant. All God asks is that we listen when we are called by name, and respond by walking in love.

4 Easter (Acts 6:1-9, 7:2a, 51-60; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10-1-10)

©2011 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.

Be a Child of God*

Today’s Gospel is the other side–the other dimension maybe–of the resurrection story we heard at Easter. After the women discovered Jesus had risen they ran home to tell the men, who then (of course) went running to see. Full of fear and not a little doubt, they set off to Galilee (as the women told them to do) but they did not really expect to see Jesus. As they walked along a mysterious stranger joined them, talked with them, and (surprise!) turned out to be the resurrected Jesus.

So what do we learn from this story about the disciples on the road to Emmaus? First, that Jesus is walking along with us. We might not be paying attention, but Jesus is walking along with us. When he talks to us our first impulse is to ignore him, and the second one is to ask him if he is a fool. This is pretty much how we treat each other too, which is why this is in this story … like everything else about Jesus, whose whole life was meant to teach us how to be righteous children of God, by treating each other with respect. Then, we see that Jesus explains everything. Then, the in the breaking of the bread we see that Jesus feeds us, always. Not with perishable food, but with real nourishment for the soul. And when their eyes are opened they say to each other “were not our hearts burning the whole time?” When we are in the presence of holiness we tend to know it, even if we do not understand it. In the end the disciples are invigorated by their experience of Jesus. It says they went running back to Jerusalem, where they found the others who had also seen Him.

The opening lesson from the Acts of the Apostles is part of a long sermon given by Peter to huge crowds in Jerusalem. It says 3000 were baptized that day. The core of that sermon is this line (Acts 2:38): “For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” By this we know not only that there is a constant message stretching from that breaking of the bread in Emmaus to this very day, but also that this message is for us. There are no conditions placed on the commandment that the promise of God’s love is for everyone. All that is required is that we listen.

In the glbt community we have a sometimes confusing relationship with God, Jesus, and the church. We quite rightly reject the abuse that comes at us from the anti-gay faction. Many of us reject church altogether, some of us participate as best we can, hopeful for the day full inclusion will come. For some few of us it seems as though that moment is just around the corner. For others it seems like it might never come. And many glbt folks reject God outright; throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as they say, because of the oppression that has come our way.

But God wants us to listen to Jesus. Jesus told us to love God and to love each other in equal measure. In fact, Jesus told us to love God and each other as we love ourselves, meaning that for us it must all begin with self-respect. And if we listen, then like the women at the tomb, like the disciples on the road and gathered around that table for bread, we too will enter a different dimension. We will enter the dimension where we will see that fullness of life for all of God’s children is God’s plan. It is not a future, it is the present, if we live into it from the strength of our own souls.

My friends Jesus is walking with all of us. Always, whether we know it or not, whether we know where we are or not, whether we are going the right way or not—Jesus always is walking with us. And his job is to call us to righteousness, to remind us to walk always in love. When we mess up Jesus is right there to teach us how to make it right. And Jesus feeds us always, as God has commanded us to feed one another, not only with bread, but mostly with God’s love.

Be the child of God. Be a lover of Christ. The fire burning in your heart will change you constantly. And this change is born not of anything perishable but of the living and enduring word of God. God has raised Christ from the dead. And God has raised us from the dead. Alleluia!

*3 Easter Year (Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17; 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35)

©2011 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.

Be present, be gay*

In Eastertide we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, and the message is reinforced by the world around us as spring bursts forth—everywhere we look we see sunshine and new flowers and new life. What we really celebrate with Easter is the reminder that in God we are given constantly a pathway to new dimensions of life. If we are willing to walk in love, as God wishes us to do, then we will create a kingdom of mutual respect all around us as we go. These are Jesus’ most prominent messages, first that we are to love one another and God as one, and second that we are to be active at all times in doing so.

Being active—doing—is what is called “prophecy.” What, did you think prophecy was predicting some disastrous future? That’s not it at all. In fact, my favorite prophet is Isaiah, who walked naked for three years—THREE YEARS!—to make a point. Go ahead, try it, see how far you get!

The Gospel for this second Sunday of Easter is famous because of the character of “doubting Thomas.” Thomas, at first, does not get the point. It is a good illustration, because Thomas is not there—Thomas is not present—he does not have prophetic experience of the resurrected Jesus. But, Thomas is susceptible, and when he asks for evidence God in the person of the resurrected Jesus provides it. My favorite part of this story is that Jesus has to come back a second time just for Thomas.

And that should be a lesson to us all. We all are God’s children. And we all are saved through Christ Jesus. And Jesus wasn’t just for some folks, but he was for every one of God’s children. Do you need Jesus? Don’t worry, he is going to show up for you too.

God provides what is really needed, but Thomas is an important part of the story, because he is willing to be present to see that the resurrected Jesus is, in fact, God. We can, and must, do the same. We must constantly “go forth in peace.” As gay and lesbian people we must be present, we must be seen, everywhere in society, as the proof of God’s love for all of God’s children. I know we crave equality, and we should have equality in society just as we have equality in creation. But we have to be present in all our gay-ness too. It is nothing less than God’s prophetic call to us, for all of creation.

* 2 Easter (Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31)

©2011 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.