Happy Easter to all my Christian friends!

I got my taxes done today. FAR more quickly than I ever have before. Usually it takes me a day of collecting all the data. Then some time puzzling over things. And then it finally gets done. Today I got it all done in one setting and very quickly. It made it much easier that nothing changed for me dramatically in the last year.

Well, it was one of the less pleasant experiences of my life. My Christian faith was insulted, to my face, by both Rep. Kern and former Mayor Humphries.

It was my hope, as much as I could, to keep the conversation on her remarks, but she and Mayor Humphries were very successful at bringing it back again and again to the Bible. Of course that setting is not conducive either in format or time allotted for an intelligent conversation about the interpretation and application of scripture.

The essence of Rep. Kern's remarks yesterday, as you'll see tomorrow, was that gay people engaging in the democratic process is a threat to "Christian" America. Confronted with my example of being a gay Christian, she never went so far as saying I was not a Christian (though you could tell she was thinking it).

Well, I'm pretty angry after the event. And have channelled that anger constructively into my Easter sermon.

I was not able to make many of the points I had hoped to make. And felt frustrated that she kept diverting the issue and I was not able to bring it back. Almost every time she spoke there were five different things I wanted to respond to, but had to choose one and respond to it. I do think i scored some good points.

A lot of people had given me their talking points. I felt a lot of expectation and burden to speak for the entire LGBT community. I think that threw me off-center a bit, as I was weighed down by my own sense of expectations and my desire not to disappoint anyone.

Someone had said that I should pick my three points I really wanted to get across and get those three stated. I was able to do that.

I'll write more tomorrow about the experience, after it has aired.

This afternoon I tape my appearance with Sally Kern. Pray for me. This morning I am spending time in preparation, including a good deal of prayer time. I want to be centered on Christ today. I'll let you know how it goes -- but won't say too much until Sunday after it has aired.

Tonight found me at the Oklahoma State Capitol vigil commemorating the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, as part of the UCC's "100,000 Lights for Peace."

While standing there, I recalled where I was five years ago.

I was in New Mexico on a ski trip with the youth of First Baptist Oklahoma City. At the end of February I had begun working at Royal Lane and Barrett Wooten was with me on the ski trip. I had been scheduled to go lead the lessons for Tim before I had changed jobs.

This particular night I was in town in Santa Fe having dinner with Matt & Annemarie Miles. The entire trip I had gotten into discussions (and a few arguments) with the many people on the trip supporting the invasion (many have now changed their minds). Being a peace activist was new for me (I wasn't yet a pacifist).

We were staying at First's cabin at Glorietta, the Southern Baptist campground. As Matt drove me back to Glorietta that night, I saw one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen.

The steeple of the chapel was lit by red, white, and blue lights instead of the normal white lights.

This Sunday I will appear on local television show Flashpoint to discuss the statements by Rep. Kern and the LGBT community's response. The show airs at 9:30 am on KFOR. Their website is here.

Below is a statement released to pastors of UCC churches by the President of the Church, Rev. Dr. John Thomas:

What Kind of Prophet?
Reflections on the Rhetoric of Preaching
in Light of Recent News Coverage of Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.
and Trinity United Church of Christ

John H. Thomas
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ

Over the weekend members of our church and others have been subjected to the relentless airing of two or three brief video clips of sermons by the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ for thirty-six years and, for over half of those years, pastor of Senator Barack Obama and his family. These video clips, and news stories about them, have been served up with frenzied and heated commentary by media personalities expressing shock that such language and sentiments could be uttered from the pulpit.

One is tempted to ask whether these commentators ever listen to the overcharged rhetoric of their own opinion shows. Even more to the point is to wonder whether they have a working knowledge of the history of preaching in the United States from the unrelentingly grim language of New England election day sermons to the fiery rhetoric of the Black church prophetic tradition. Maybe they prefer the false prophets with their happy homilies in Jeremiah who say to the people: “You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you true peace in this place.” To which God responds, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. . . . By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed,” (Jeremiah 14.14-15). The Biblical Jeremiah was coarse and provocative. Faithfulness, not respectability was the order of the day then. And now?

What’s really going on here? First, it may state the obvious to point out that these television and radio shows have very little interest in Trinity Church or Jeremiah Wright. Those who sifted through hours of sermons searching for a few lurid phrases and those who have aired them repeatedly have only one intention. It is to wound a presidential candidate. In the process a congregation that does exceptional ministry and a pastor who has given his life to shape those ministries is caricatured and demonized. You don’t have to be an Obama supporter to be alarmed at this. Will Clinton’s United Methodist Church be next? Or McCain’s Episcopal Church? Wouldn’t we have been just as alarmed had it been Huckabee’s Southern Baptist Church, or Romney’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints?

Many of us would prefer to avoid the stark and startling language Pastor Wright used in these clips. But what was his real crime? He is condemned for using a mild “obscenity” in reference to the United States. This week we mark the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, a war conceived in deception and prosecuted in foolish arrogance. Nearly four thousand cherished Americans have been killed, countless more wounded, and tens of thousands of Iraqis slaughtered. Where is the real obscenity here? True patriotism requires a degree of self-criticism, even self-judgment that may not always be easy or genteel. Pastor Wright’s judgment may be starker and more sweeping than many of us are prepared to accept. But is the soul of our nation served any better by the polite prayers and gentle admonitions that have gone without a real hearing for these five years while the dying and destruction continues?

We might like to think that racism is a thing of the past, that Martin Luther King’s harmonious multi-racial vision, articulated in his speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 and then struck down by an assassin’s bullet in Memphis in 1968, has somehow been resurrected and now reigns throughout the land. Significant progress has been made. A black man is a legitimate candidate for President of the United States. A black woman serves as Secretary of State. The accomplishments are profound. But on the gritty streets of Chicago’s south side where Trinity has planted itself, race continues to play favorites in failing urban school systems, unresponsive health care systems, crumbling infrastructure, and meager economic development. Are we to pretend all is well because much is, in fact, better than it used to be? Is it racist to name the racial divides that continue to afflict our nation, and to do so loudly? How ironic that a pastor and congregation which, for forty-five years, has cast its lot with a predominantly white denomination, participating fully in its wider church life and contributing generously to it, would be accused of racial exclusion and a failure to reach for racial reconciliation.

The gospel narrative of Palm Sunday’s entrance into Jerusalem concludes with the overturning of the money changers’ tables in the Temple courtyard. Here wealth and power and greed were challenged for the way the poor were oppressed to the point of exclusion from a share in the religious practices of the Temple. Today we watch as the gap between the obscenely wealthy and the obscenely poor widens. More and more of our neighbors are relegated to minimal health care or to no health care at all. Foreclosures destroy families while unscrupulous lenders seek bailouts from regulators who turned a blind eye to the impending crisis. Should the preacher today respond to this with only a whisper and a sigh?

Is Pastor Wright to be ridiculed and condemned for refusing to play the court prophet, blessing land and sovereign while pledging allegiance to our preoccupation with wealth and our fascination with weapons? In the United Church of Christ we honor diversity. For nearly four centuries we have respected dissent and have struggled to maintain the freedom of the pulpit. Not every pastor in the United Church of Christ will want to share Pastor Wright’s rhetoric or his politics. Not every member will rise to shout “Amen!” But I trust we will all struggle in our own way to resist the lure of respectable religion that seeks to displace evangelical faith. For what this nation needs is not so much polite piety as the rough and radical word of the prophet calling us to repentance. And, as we struggle with that ancient calling, I pray we will be shrewd enough to name the hypocrisy of those who decry the mixing of religion and politics in order to serve their own political ends.

March 17, 2008

Make Me An Instrument

Matthew 26:36-46

by the Rev. Dr. E. Scott Jones

Cathedral of Hope – Oklahoma City

16 March 2008

    Have you heard the story of the Wolf of Gubbio?

    There was a huge wolf, terrorizing the townsfolk of Gubbio. Not only had it taken some of the animals, it had even killed several children. Filled with fear, the people shut themselves in their homes, rarely venturing out, and when they did, always with great dread.

    Francis having heard this tale, set out with some of his regular companions to save the people of Gubbio; they went looking for the wolf.

    The wolf saw Francis and his friends and charged them. Francis called out, "Come to me, Brother Wolf. In the name of Christ I order you not to hurt me or anyone."

    And the wolf stopped. Closed it mouth. And lay down at Francis' feet like a lamb.

    Francis then made a pact with the wolf. He was no longer to terrorize the town of Gubbio. In exchange, Francis would make sure that the wolf was not harmed by the townspeople. In fact, the town would provide food for the wolf, so it would not go hungry.

    The body language of the wolf appeared to express consent. We are told "from that day, the wolf and the people kept the pact which St. Francis made. The wolf lived two years more, and it went from door to door for food. It hurt no one, and no one hurt it. The people fed it courteously. And it is a striking fact that not a single dog ever barked at it."

    The peace of God.

    There are many miracle stories told of St. Francis of Assisi. Before when I have told such stories, I have pointed out that when the signs and wonders appear in Christian history, they are never the ends in themselves. They always point to some great truth that is being revealed. I also think it is true that there is far greater spiritual power in this world that is available to us than we have even begun to realize.

    Another of the great stories of Francis involves St. Clare, who was the leader of the group of sisters that followed the Rule of Francis. Clare, in her own right, is considered one of the great saints of the church.

    One day the people of Assisi were astonished to see fire raging at the headquarters of the Franciscans up on the hill. The people rushed up the hill to assist the friars in their time of peril. However, when the townspeople got to the building, they noticed it wasn't burning. Upon entering they discovered Francis and Clare eating with one another and discussing spiritual topics. What had appeared to be fire was actually a spiritual flame, God's power and glory shining through these two holy people.

    Now I don't know what really happened in Medieval Italy, and that's not the point. The point is that Francis has been considered and was experienced by his contemporaries as a person of amazing spiritual power. In fact he has long been called "the Second Christ." How did Francis come by this power?

    Francis was born near the close of the twelfth century to a father who was a well-to-do merchant. Francis was not a saintly young man. It is told,

Up to the twenty-fifth year of his age, he squandered and wasted his time miserably. Indeed, he outdid all his contemporaries in vanities and he came to be a promoter of evil and was more abundantly zealous for all kinds of foolishness.

    Francis' conversion was not a sudden thing, but developed over time as he encountered hardship. He served in an Assisi military campaign and has taken prisoner of war for one year. He returned home in ill health and convalesced for an entire year. During this time he began a spiritual journey that ultimately led him to devote himself to the poor and the lepers. He also spent much time in solitude, roaming the hills.

    He was drawn to a little chapel that was falling into ruin. The crucifix in that chapel seized his spiritual imagination. He had a vision, a word from God, "rebuild my church."

    The townspeople first thought that he was insane. His father, Pietro Bernardone, held him captive at home, though his mother set him free. His father's anger was partially aroused because Francis was giving so much to the poor; Pietro thought Francis was squandering the family's resources.

    Pietro dragged Francis before the bishop. Francis responded by renouncing all claims to his father's estate. Francis stripped himself of the clothes he was wearing, since they came from Pietro. Standing naked in his audience with the bishop, Francis took a vow of poverty and announced that God would be his father.

    From then on Francis lived off of the kindness of others. He worked to rebuild the little chapel with his own hands. He acquired a group of followers. They eventually committed themselves to be travelling ministers. Just like the troubadours, they travelled the countryside, worked alongside of the laborers in exchange for their food and shelter, and preached and performed miracles.

    Now, there is an extreme asceticism in the life of St. Francis to which not all Christians are called. However, Francis does model a key ingredient in Christian discipleship. It is what St. Paul wrote of in Philippians 2, "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, . . . who emptied himself." It is what Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on that dark and lonely night, "Not my will, but thine be done."

    Holy Week calls us forward on a journey of discipleship. In these eight days Jesus demonstrates the path we are to take. On the other side lie resurrection, new life, hope, and unparalleled joy. On the other side is the reign of God, come in power and glory to change us and to change the world.

    But the path there is not an easy one. It is not ushered in at the Triumphal Entry as the people shouted their hosannas and waved the palms. It includes betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion.

    There is no greater illustration of Francis' Christian discipleship than his famous prayer, which was read earlier in our service by Larry. Like his Lord and Savior, Francis knew that God's power was available to him in prayer. It is the eleventh step of the AA spiritual practices, "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out."

    And what is the will of God that prayer reveals? What did it reveal to Jesus and to Francis? That we must give of ourselves. This is the source of true spiritual power, the power that can change the world.

    This has been quite a week in Oklahoma City. A week ago Friday it was revealed that one of our state legislators had engaged in hate speech. She had compared gay people to cancer and called them a bigger threat to the country than terrorism. She had called Islam a big threat to the country. She said that some religions are not equal. She denounced the involvement in the democratic process of those that disagreed with her and seemed to suggest that gay people for one, and by implication Jews, Muslims, and people of other faiths, should not be trusted with elected office. Her statements were filled with errors – historical errors, medical and psychological errors, scriptural errors.

    This week we have experienced what St. Francis was praying about: hatred, injury, darkness, sadness.

    And we have not been silent.

    First, her words were exposed for everyone to hear. They listened and responded. Thousands e-mailed, almost shutting down the state capitol's e-mail server. Many more called, wrote, or tried to visit. Statements were released. Press conferences and rallies were held.

    We have taken the important first steps – exposed the words, mobilized a response, refuted the errors, and held leaders to account.

    Where do we go from here?

    I think we should take our cue from the Prayer of St. Francis, itself modeled on the life of Jesus.

Where there is hatred, let us sow love.

I denounce not only the hate speech of Rep. Kern, but all hateful language that was used in response to her. It is the very climate of hatred that we must oppose. Hate filled words create an environment that is filled with potential danger. We experienced that danger last fall with the murder of Steven Domer. We do not need any more hatred, from either side.

Dr. King spoke of a "beloved community." He said that the goal of the civil rights movement was always the creation of that beloved community. And the means must fit the ends. Our methods of response must also be filled with love. Love is not ineffective – it is powerful and strong. It is the power of the very person of God. The love I speak of is not weak –it created the universe, redeemed the world, and broke the chains of death and hell.

You see, as difficult as it may be, we are called to love Rep. Kern. I know we might not be able to, but God is able to. And God can work through us. We must love her, because she needs the salvation and liberation that only God can provide. As God's instruments, it is incumbent upon us to demonstrate God's grace. This is the way we convert our enemies and save them from themselves.

Where there is injury, pardon.

We must seek reconciliation. I must confess that I have not discerned how we are to do that. But I trust that as God's people of faith open themselves to God in prayer, that God will reveal God's plan. Like the father of the prodigal son, we must be prepared to welcome, embrace, and feast the one who is now lost.

Where there is doubt, faith.

People resort to hatred and violence because they are lacking in faith. It is that simple. We must believe that God is sovereign and that God's reign will come on earth as it is in heaven. And if you cannot so believe, then pray that wonderful prayer from Mark 9, "I believe, help my unbelief."

Where there is despair, hope.

This is one we are good at! It is our whole reason for being. We strive to be God's people of hope. Always looking to the future. Always filled with possibility. Grasping that each and every moment is an opportunity, and new beginning.

And what an opportunity we've had this week. People are watching and listening, and we have the chance to demonstrate that we are all children of God. That God loves diversity. That liberation is God's dream.

What our enemy intended for harm has blossomed into an opportunity to proclaim the good news of God.

Where there is darkness, light.

If they know the truth, then they will be set free. We must dispel the darkness of ignorance -- ignorance which can lead to hate and violence. Now is our chance to shine the light. Let us be truthful – about ourselves, about our lives, about our faith.

Where there is sadness, joy.

Let's have a celebration! Let Christ Easter in us!

It has been said that we lead sad, miserable, unhealthy lives!

We? Let us demonstrate that God has given us the gift of flair, of pizzazz, of fabulosity! We who have been set free, who have seen the light, who have walked the path where Jesus walked should be God's great ambassadors for joy.

There is no greater joy than Easter joy. Next Sunday let us come with heads held high and voices raised in song.

So, my friends, as we move forward into the light of that new day, let us not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Almost 300 members of the LGBT and allied community gathered for a rally yesterday at Memorial Park:

A letter to Sally Kern from a senior in high school in Oklahoma.
*******

Today my nephew attempted to deliver a letter to Sally Kern but
was stopped by a highway patrol man. With his permission I am
distributing the letter to all news stations and thought I would
include it here.

Maybe we can all stand to learn a listen from this smart, loving,
young man. He more than most has reason to hate. He lost his
mother, my sister, in the Murrah Building bombing.

Elizabeth
( by way page 112 of the News9 Comment Section at http://
www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=7983168

Letter From Tucker

Rep Kern:

On April 19, 1995, in Oklahoma City a terrorist detonated a bomb
that killed my mother and 167 others. 19 children died that day.
Had I not had the chicken pox that day, the body count would've
likely have included one more. Over 800 other Oklahomans were
injured that day and many of those still suffer through their
permanent wounds.

That terrorist was neither a homosexual or was he involved in
Islam. He was an extremist Christian forcing his views through a
body count. He held his beliefs and made those who didn't live up
to them pay with their lives.

As you were not a resident of Oklahoma on that day, it could be
explained why you so carelessly chose words saying that the
homosexual agenda is worst than terrorism. I can most certainly
tell you through my own experience that is not true. I am sure
there are many people in your voting district that laid a loved
one to death after the terrorist attack on Oklahoma City. I kind
of doubt you'll find one of them that will agree with you.

I was five years old when my mother died. I remember what a
beautiful, wise, and remarkable woman she was. I miss her. Your
harsh words and misguided beliefs brought me to tears, because you
told me that my mother's killer was a better person than a group
of people that are seeking safety and tolerance for themselves.

As someone left motherless and victimized by terrorists, I say to
you very clearly you are absolutely wrong.

You represent a district in Oklahoma City and you very coldly
express a lack of love, sympathy or understanding for what they've
been through. Can I ask if you might have chosen wiser words were
you a real Oklahoman that was here to share the suffering with
Oklahoma City? Might your heart be a bit less cold had you been
around to see the small bodies of children being pulled out of
rubble and carried away by weeping firemen?

I've spent 12 years in Oklahoma public schools and never once have
I had anyone try to force a gay agenda on me. I have seen,
however, many gay students beat up and there's never a day in
school that has went by when I haven't heard the word **** slung
at someone. I've been called gay slurs many times and they hurt
and I am not even gay so I can just imagine how a real gay person
feels. You were a school teacher and you have seen those things
too. How could you care so little about the suffering of some of
your students?

Let me tell you the result of your words in my school. Every
openly gay and suspected gay in the school were having to walk
together Monday for protection. They looked scared. They've
already experienced enough hate and now your words gave other
students even more motivation to sneer at them and call them
names. Afterall, you are a teacher and a lawmaker, many young
people have taken your words to heart. That happens when you
assume a role of responsibility in your community. I seriously
think before this week ends that some kids here will be going home
bruised and bloody because of what you said.

I wish you could've met my mom. Maybe she could've guided you in
how a real Christian should be acting and speaking.

I have not had a mother for nearly 13 years now and wonder if
there were fewer people like you around, people with more love and
tolerance in their hearts instead of strife, if my mom would be
here to watch me graduate from high school this spring. Now she
won't be there. So I'll be packing my things and leaving Oklahoma
to go to college elsewhere and one day be a writer and I have no
intentions to ever return here. I have no doubt that people like
you will incite crazy people to build more bombs and kill more
people again. I don't want to be here for that. I just can't go
through that again.

You may just see me as a kid, but let me try to teach you
something. The old saying is sticks and stones will break your
bones, but words will never hurt you. Well, your words hurt me.
Your words disrespected the memory of my mom. Your words can cause
others to pick up sticks and stones and hurt others.

Sincerely

Tucker