God encounters us where we are, that is sure enough the case. It reminds me of those old jokes, like “look busy, Jesus is coming” or “be careful what you wish for you might get it” and so forth. Wry little quips that acknowledge both the power of a spiritual connection and the potential for it to go awry, or at least to have unforeseen consequences.
When we go to church we assume we are in God’s house and that we will encounter God there along with all of the other people present. We forget that God was present on the shop floor, in the classroom, on the subway, by the dumpster, … and on and on.
It is important for glbt people to take this lesson seriously. God is ever present, and that means that God is ever present in our lives as well. Those things that make us gay are given us as part of our identity, and God is in each and every one of them. Not grimacing or glancing away, but wholly in the midst of us and wholly in the midst of the lives we are leading.
But no wry quips are required; there is nothing to worry about. God is present as part of our spiritual nourishment. And God sees to it that help comes our way when we need it. The story from the Acts of the Apostles (19:1-7) reminded me of this. Look at the almost accidental point of view of the story “Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus where he found some disciples.” No drama, just Paul and some disciples, each at work, bumping into each other along the way. And from it a spiritual awakening results. Not bad.
I like to laugh about this. Remember, at church we tend to be at our best. But God is with us all of the time, even when we are at our (perhaps) worst, even on vacation, even when we’re schlumping along. Humorous, maybe. But also wildly empowering for gay people leading gay lives.
1 Epiphany “The Baptism of Our Lord” (Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 29, Acts 19:1-7, Mark 1:4-11)
©2012 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.
Dimensions of Reality: glbt Christian spirituality 