knitternun

Thursday, January 10, 2008

More on "love the sinner, hate the sin"

Ona list someone said: ""That there are hurt glbt, hurt by the way others have behaved towards them is not lessened by the fact that there are hurt people of all sorts and conditions who may share similar experience to whom we all are called to
reach out in love and practical compassion, which, after all, is what this
wretched catch phrase is all about anyway.


Let's try rewording: "That there are hurt
Negroes , hurt by the way others have behaved towards them is
not lessened by the fact that there are hurt people of all sorts and
conditions who may share similar experience to whom we all are called to
reach out in love and practical compassion, which, after all, is what this
wretched catch phrase is all about anyway.

It invalidated the struggle of black people when such things have been said to them. It invalidates the struggle of GLBT when the same is said to them.

The example of Jesus is quite clear: he sought the company of the sinners, publicans, tax collectors, prostitutes. He assured a thief that "today he would be with me in paradise".

The Pharisees faulted Jesus for spending time with sinners. They wanted Him to separate Himself from them. They didn't like the company He kept. So even if a person insists on identifying it sinful to be GLBT (which I most emphatically don't) it is the responsibility of Episcopalians to do as Jesus did and seek their company. Not join the Southern Cone or the Churches of Uganda or Nigeria.

Jesus told us the meek will inherit the earth. I think it is self-evident that the meek are those who know they are no better than anyone else. The meek are those who do not presume to tell another that he or she is a sinner because the meek are All Too Aware of their own sin and spend too much time repenting of their own sin to have free time to correct another.

We are all broken people. Broken people need to reach out with arms widespread in mercy and compassion to embrace the other broken people under our noses. We can't afford to look around for someone more broken and refuse to comfort the broken person standing next to us.We especially can't afford to postpone this while we deal with our own personal brokenness first because there is never any end to that. One of those humdinger paradoxical mysteries of the Christian faith is that broken people are God's agents to bring wholeness other broken people.

While part of me is sickened to see some of those new to the House of Bishops/Deputies list of the Episcopal Church and several of the older members reveal themselves for the homophobes that they are, part of me rejoices that truth is out there at last. It is only when we come out of denial that we can be healed. It is the truth that sets us free. Jesus said this. He ought to know.

I am aware that people don't like being called homophobes. Wife beaters and other abusers don't care to be identified as wife beaters, pedophiles, racists either. They can protest all they want at being called such, but as long as they persist in the behaviors, such they will be called.

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