Exodus Lesson

I have often thought that if I were to choose a character from the Bible that I thought I was most like, it would be Jonah. Me and Jonah, we're two peas in a pod. Or two people who would rather run and stow away on a ship... or get swallowed up by a whale than to do the one thing we're being called on to do.

Today, though, I found myself mesmerized by the telling again of Moses and the burning bush. Moses, like many others that God had called upon and would call upon in the future, is pulled into conversation with God and when God gives instructions, the first thing Moses does is to give excuses for why God really needs to find somebody else. At St. John's, Mtr. Phoebe further illuminated the situation with noting that Moses was out keeping the flock in Midian because he'd run away after killing an Egyptian, a symbol of the oppressor of his native Israelites. So, in addition to being a stutterer with lack of confidence, he is also a murderer.

And God says, "I am with you. I am who I am. I am sending you." And when "I AM" wants you to do, it's a waste of your breath to argue the finer points of why you are illegitimate.

This reading from Scripture, and the sermon, come the day after I took yet another bold step forward into the light as a gay Christian. Our PFLAG chapter is hosting Marc Adams of Heartstrong this week. Marc's group deals with the spiritual violence committed by religious institutions against LGBT students. I sent a news release to the Tallahassee Democrat on his visit and the Faith editor wrote back and asked me to submit a 400-word article about Marc... and my connection to St. John's. Quick note: PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) has been meeting at St. John's monthly since June of last year. This is a big deal, especially to those OUTSIDE the church because what's remembered is that the rector of St. John's from 1996-2005 was spewing forth hatred and vitriol from the pulpit against the gay community.

I knew the editor was offering an avenue to advertise Marc's visit AND to show that new life has sprung up at St. John's since "The Great Unpleasantness" of the split in 2005. I also know that human sexuality remains a topic that some in the church still treat as "third rail". When I've raised the issue on various occasions, I'm liable to hear about Galatians 3:28... about how there is no longer Jew or Greek, free or slave, male or female (and then, by extension, black or white, straight or gay, liberal or conservative)... that in Christ we're all one; hence, let's not talk about that "gay stuff". And I agree; I'd rather us, within the Church, talk about those missions we have to build people up, like clothing the naked and feeding the poor. But that does not excuse those within from repenting (or rethinking) how the church has contributed to the LGBT community feeling isolated, rebuked, and punished because the people of God have used God's Word as a sledgehammer against the heads of queers and their families. Should we clothe people, feed people AND invite people to come in to taste and see that the Lord (and this particular church) is good? The attitude, up to now, has been that it's up to those who were wounded to figure it out for themselves that they can come back; the church doesn't need to extend the olive branch. I'm sorry, but I think that's short-sighted and arrogant.

So, an article I wrote... and an article I sent into the paper. And it was published.

Reaction: positive from the folks at St. John's, many of whom I believe have wanted to have the darkness of the previous rector expunged from the record. And positive from many of my gay friends, who I think appreciated what I was saying about how we experience God and the Church.

And so, I think about Moses, his face glowing in the flames from the fiery bush, wondering by what authority or means can he be a leader of his people. And I have felt that so often! And then the tears came to my eyes as I contemplated that it's very possible that, without the aid of a burning bush, God is speaking through the planting of a PFLAG chapter on soil that was once rocky and hard. Many who have come to the meetings have expressed feeling comfortable in our library. And I have witnessed what I believed to be the workings of the Holy Spirit to bring a parent from a place of isolation and fear to the knowledge that there are many who are the incarnations of God's love who are right there with them and they need not be afraid.

God is working God's purpose out. Thanks be to God. Amen and Amen.