Light of the World

The gospel reading from yesterday is among my faves out of Matthew. It's the portion following the Beatitudes which talks about "You are the salt of the earth" and "You are the light of the world". It also gets into the part where Jesus says he didn't come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill what was already there. I'll have to leave my reflection on that for another time.

Today, I'm thinking about the light of the world. This is something like what I've tried to say to my PFLAG parents and allies. We all talk about the fact that our group has such good energy and more people should find us and become a part of our chapter. Our people encounter friends and family members who say they are OK with gay people and granting rights to LGBT citizens to live, work, get married, serve in the military, etc. etc. Hence, they don't feel they need to be part of a group that advocates for the rights of LGBT friends and family members.

That's where I say, sadly, they do. They do need to be part of this organization because they are among those who are "enlightened". The fact is that in some parts of our country, and the world, the streets outside are very dark. In some places, so dark that one can barely see three feet in front of them. These are the places where activists meet with reporters in alley ways and look over their shoulders for fear that someone might see them. In cities such as Tallahassee, that is becoming less and less the case. But that's because more people have taken the light of their own lamp and walked it out into the streets to illuminate the darkness of homophobia and fear. Where we allow our lights to shine brightly outside the comfort of our own homes, we create a beacon that will draw more people to be out, not just as gay themselves but as parents, families and friends of gay and lesbian people. That is the work of PFLAG.

I appreciate that so many people are saying, "I don't have a problem with somebody who is gay." That's wonderful! But as long as there laws that deny marriage rights, and as long as there are Governors who talk of re-instituting adoption bans or groups that will put such a thing up for a public constitutional vote, there is still darkness in the street that requires more lights to leave the comfort of their own homes and join in the movement to make our future brighter.

Come and stand with me. Let your light shine before others so that they may see ALL our good works.

PFLAG-Tallahassee meets on the second Thursday of the month at St. John's Episcopal Church.