We Know that God Is*

I always love the irony of this collect for Proper 16 in the dog days of August that the church, gathered in unity by the Holy Spirit, might show forth power among all peoples. Of course, this is one of the three times of the year (the others being Christmas and Easter) when everybody is “on vacation” and “unavailable” to actually be “part” of the church. What a dingbat organization …. (to borrow a phrase from Archie Bunker).

In the Gospel story—this is this great story where Jesus tells Simon his name is now going to be “Rocky”—and the whole lesson is full of word-play about rocks and rocky; it is in this lesson that we learn about the church for the first time. The church is not an organization, and it is not a building, and it is not a foundation; for Jesus, the “church” is the body of Christ, all of the witnesses of resurrection, those who saw and believed, and those who did not see and believed. For, that is indeed how belief works.

As a professor and a scientist I get asked all the time how I could possibly also be a priest. People in academic life think Christianity is some sort of magical sect, and Christians think academics are to be respected but usually full of plentiful waste matter, intellectually-speaking. The truth is, that the truth is, that the truth encompasses both and to understand the truth takes a bit of each. God is, and those of us who know that God is, know it because God has made it known to us. But that does not mean that we know who God is or where God is or what or how God is, all we know, is that God is. And as a scientist, it is perfectly sacrosanct to say, “I know A,” but therefore I do not yet know B or C or anything else that might follow. And that is how it is to be a Christian.

We know that God is, because God has spoken to us in some way that has convinced us that we are part of God’s kingdom. And we know that Jesus is God made human, not just because the scripture says that, but because we also have walked in the shoes Jesus made for us to walk in. And we have felt him lift us up into the boat when we tried to walk on water. And we have understood his gentle chiding when we have messed up, like Peter does. And we know that Jesus knows us intimately, indeed as he knows Peter, and calls him Rock and Rocky in the same breath.

Maybe the interesting surprise for gay and lesbian Christians is that there is no surprise for gay and lesbian Christians. God made us in God’s image, and Jesus walks with us, and Jesus cracks jokes with us, just as easily as we call each other by camp names. That is the level of intimacy with our creator that all of us are given in the instant of our creation. We can choose to be friends, or we can choose to be strangers. That part is up to us.

Paul says to the Romans to present our bodies as a spiritual sacrifice. I want you to think about that. I don’t want you to think Paul means after your diet or after you have worked out for a year. Paul means right now, lumpy and fat and old and whatever else your body looks like (if you’re young and vibrant go with “ripped” or “busty” or whatever else works for you). That is the “you” that God has created. And Paul is reminding you that this body is a spiritual sacrifice, living, holy, acceptable to God, and that using your body is spiritual worship. What could be “gayer”?

Finally Paul reminds us that we all have different abilities (“gifts” he says). Of course we do. Give of your gifts freely. That is what it means to be alive. And live fully into the “rock” Jesus has made of you.

Proper 16 (Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16: 13-20)
©2011 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.

Speak up!*

Gay people seem often to fall on a sort of continuum between completely out and completely closeted. The interesting thing about that, of course, is that “closeted” is a term rife with meaning. For instance, it doesn’t mean “not gay,” and it doesn’t mean “not acknowledged as gay,” but it does mean “not talking about it.” So, for example, it could mean that if you are the gay one, your parents know you are gay, your friends and co-workers know you are gay, but because you never talk about it, you never give them permission to talk with you about it. And that means that you never give them permission to know the real you—even though they already do know the real you. Except, of course, the real you they think they know is the one they’ve made up in their heads because you have not allowed them to talk to you about it. It is in this manner that all sorts of relationship dysfunction gets generated. And I know that there are other kinds of closetedness as well (as for example, the situation when it might be dangerous to be perceived as lgbt). And there are all sorts of points in-between as well, hence my “continuum” metaphor.

But the reality of life is that the reality of life is what is most important. So if you are in danger, keep your head down—we all understand that one. But, if you are just afraid of claiming your difference, for whatever, reason, I encourage you to put your fear aside and go for it.

God made you gay. And God made you gay for a reason. It never escapes stories in my family, for example, that of three branches of siblings and cousins, among whom I am the only known homosexual, I also am the only one with the same (first and only) husband for 34 years. Talk about prophetic witness.

We have been hearing this story about Joseph being “sold” into slavery in Egypt, where, as it turns out, he ran things for the Pharoah, and in today’s reading from Genesis he explains to his brothers (who now are broke, lost, and exiled) that it was God who sent him to that place. You see when Joseph was sent away it seemed like a difficult kind of exile, not unlike maybe that first realization that you are gay. But, decades later, it turns out that it is clear to Joseph, to God, and to everybody else, that it was God’s idea to set Joseph apart. And that, my friends, is our job in God’s kingdom, as gay people.

Now, for even more affirmation we can read the Gospel story in contemporary terms. Jesus drove away, and the farther away he got the stranger the people seemed. Suddenly he heard a voice crying out “have mercy on me.” He said, “look, lady, I was sent just to save my own,” and she said “even the dogs get to eat the crumbs under the table.” He says “good enough,” and rewards her faith.

Now don’t read this backward; I am not saying glbt people have to eat crumbs. Rather, I am saying, lgbt people need to speak up. SPEAK UP! That’s the whole story. Speak up my friends, and “healing” is instant. What is healing? In the Gospels, healing means equality, it means being one with God and Jesus and everyone else.

Gay people need to speak up. Really speak up. “Oh, how good and pleasant it is when brethren live together in unity! For there GOD has ordained the blessing, life for evermore.”

Proper 15 (Genesis 45: 1-15; Psalm 133; Romans 11: 1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28)
©2011 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.

Lucy moments*

Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday … wow! Who’d a thunk it? (to quote “The Beave”). I am a major fan of Lucille Ball, and especially (of course) of “I Love Lucy.” As a kid I was called “little ricky” by my family; my cousins and I used to play “Lucy” in the basement; we would yell at each other in made-up Spanish “mia cosa …..” and have “Ethel” moments (usually by spilling something). When I grew up I began to see the stories from I Love Lucy in my daily life, and over time I have come to see them as carefully crafted morality plays. I have in the back of my head a book called “The Gospel According to I Love Lucy” and maybe some day I’ll find a publisher who’ll let me write it. But it is amazing how often I have a recollection from the series.

I doubt you could say that about much television writing these days; but in the 1950s those folks were not just writing funny jokes; they were making a point, they were teaching, using Lucy and Ricky and Ethel and Fred’s foibles, and their always very human reactions. And you know what, in those tightly wrapped 25 minute dramas, there is always redemption based in love. As there is, indeed, in reality. God is all about redemption. People stray; God redeems. That’s the whole story in a nutshell.

Paul writes with so much intensity in the letter to the Romans. I wonder how many true Christians understand that this letter is the heart of the Gospel. And the heart of the heart is this passage “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” and that, of course, is a quotation from Deuteronomy, that Paul (born Saul, the Jew) would have known. It is like waiting for a parent’s hug—a feeling in your soul that only can be realized by the actual touch, but you know it in your bones. And when your parents are gone on to God’s kingdom, still you feel their touch, and it brings alive this sensation of the word that is on your lips and in your heart.

We each know God in our own way. Many times we do not think we know God, when the reality is that we just are afraid to admit it. Or, perhaps we just don’t honor the ways in which we actually know God. Like Peter demanding a sign from Jesus, then, when walking on the water, letting go of his faith. This story is all about dishonoring the reality of God in our very daily lives. Jesus calms the storm, Jesus walks on water, Jesus gets in the boat with them to save them, and still the disciples are terrified, even when God incarnate is standing right there. If it was tough for them, how much tougher can it be for us? And yet, the truth is that God made us gay in God’s own image, and God has called us into this storm that is life, and God has sent Jesus to teach us to walk in love, even when we are afraid. The word is always near us, because it is always within us. Even in Lucy moments.

Proper 14 (Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28; Psalm 105, 1-6, 16-22, 45b; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33)
©2011 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.