God is Good

"It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High; to tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning and of your faithfulness in the night season." (Psalm 92:1-2)
It is such a relief to take off our masks and just fall on our knees in praise.  It is good to renew our own relationship with God at all times.  When we run to God, God refreshes us.  God will take all of our pains like thorns and toss them out, cleaning our wounds and binding us up in the process.  It is a great thing to think positively in the morning and at night.  God is always good to us, so why don't we take a moment to think of all the good that comes from God?

Family

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!" (Luke 13:34)
This shows how Jesus knew that though Jerusalem was a major city for the Jews, it still faced quite a few problems.  It is almost like an elaboration on another statement that a prophet is rejected in his own home.
But Jesus is speaking to us.  Imagine, God is in this world, uniting people and gathering them together in a great unity, but we are going after God and making God's job difficult.  We start to reject those that God sends us.  We turn our backs when people point out what we need to work on.  This is a place where we know that we should be listening to others more and helping others out.  We need to be uniting everybody instead of pushing them away.  We must face everybody with love rather than hate; friendship rather than enmity.

Less Is More

"And again he said, 'To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.'" (Luke 13:20-21)
This reminds me of the times I would spend trying to master my technique to make naan.  At first, I thought that I needed to put as much yeast as possible so that I could make a fluffy bread.  However, when I did that, the bread would just form into weird shapes and not be very fun to eat.  After a while, I learned that the best amount was just a little pinch.  Then, I would let the dough rise with the yeast before putting it to cook.  Now, I like to think along these lines with this parable, for it shows us how Gos works in our lives.  In fact, I remember Paul's saying that God will never put us through anything we cannot handle.  Thus, the yeast parable.  God puts the Spirit in us and gives us our ministries and missions. However, so long as we do not take on too much more than we could handle, after taking the time to learn how Gos speaks to us and how we are to serve our community, then we can become a very appetizing and successful bread.  We will become the best products of God.

Finger Pointing

"But the Lord answered him and said, 'You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?'" (Luke 13:15-16)
There are times when we all get caught up on different issues and customs in our beliefs.  The pharisees decided to make very strict interpretations of the Ten Commandments, but those interpretations would get in the way of truly loving God.  Even today, while we don't really have as strict of rules regarding the Sabbath (if any at all), we like to get caught on other issues.  We can't help but point our fingers, even when things aren't the way we want them to be.  Sometimes we accuse others of not being good Christians because they don't say a certain prayer or because they don't pray to a certain saint.  Sometimes we don't like people because they go to a centuries old church rather than one in a smaller building.  We can take this a step further and look at how we treat each other outside of church: if somebody does not subscribe to every single opinion of some of our great advocates, s/he is not part of our LGBT family; if somebody does not identify with a certain subculture in our LGBT family, that person is not doing her/his part.  However, when we get caught up with these issues, we are only hurting ourselves.  Sure, we can point all we want, but our shoulders will tire before anything will happen.  God is the ultimate judge, and God has given us what we need to know: how to love.  When we take the time to point our fingers back to ourselves and notice how we are no longer living in the love of God, then we can change ourselves to be closer with God.

Plants

"He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" (Luke 13:8-9)
Jesus has come down into our lives to put in new fertilizer and other vitamins so that we can grow and bear fruits.  The only way we can bear fruits is by taking all that Jesus teaches us in and applying it in our lives.  In this parable, in particular, Jesus mentions that we are given a chance to become better.  In fact, God is always working within us to make us better.  When we allow God to dictate what happens in our lives, we will grow to bear great fruit.
Another note is that Jesus preaches against judging.  Therefore, He considers this to be of such a great importance, for He speaks of it before teaching us that we need to live in Him.  Thus, by making peace with our neighbors and becoming a unified family of God, we shall live and breathe the gospel.

The Fire

"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" (Luke 12:49)
These are the words of Jesus himself.  I just read an article where the author desired for the reader to know that Jesus was indeed a radical.  Jesus calls us to action against all that is wrong in our society.  However, the real kick is made once He introduces the very poignant "judge not, lest you be judged."  So what is this fire?
This fire is the Holy Spirit, which lives in each one of us.  The Holy Spirit guides us in all facets of our lives.  If we allow the Holy Spirit to work though us, we will be able to accomplish all that is going on in our lives.  Indeed, Jesus reminds us that we have a hard life ahead.  We will face persecution from our best friends and even from our families.  So long as we have the Spirit, the fire, within us, we will have nothing that will take us away from the will of God.
So, let us remember to live as Jesus did, forever being guided by the Holy Spirit and forever in contact with our Father through prayer and meditation.

Sainthood Continued

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9)
Today we celebrate All Saints Day or All Souls Day, depending on your church's choice.  The idea is that we remember those who have lived and gone before us in the ways of God.  This verse is a great way to think about that because when we make peace with those around us, we spread the love of God all around us.  With our gospel being about love, we should make sure to always surround ourselves with this love.  By loving others, we unite our family as one body of Christ.  By loving others, we can be sure that the Kingdom of God is coming to earth.

Sainthood

"These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God.  Now they are being crowned and receive palms."
(2 Esdras 2:45)
This passage describes to us what it means to be a saint.  Many times, we forget that there is much more to the person than what is depicted in the portraits.  Despite the fact that we have so many portrayals of these saints, we forget that these portraits contain a life story behind them.  Paul goes into excruciating detail by explaining the different execution methods.
And yet, where do we lie?  Why do we pray to celebrate together with all of the saints?  If we can celebrate the same way the saints do, what makes us saints?
First and foremost, Jesus reminds us that the saints are very much living indeed by saying that God is the God of the living.  But there's more to that statement.  Aside from the resurrection of our souls in the end time, we must prepare our ways to become saints. We need to act for God in order to become saints.  Now, that does not mean that we need to live spotless lives.  If we ever doubt that, just look at Paul's life and conversion in Acts.  In fact, the only reason why certain lives are remembered is because some have some drastic stories, usually involving some form of execution.  However, that does not meant that each one of us does not live a "saint's life," filled with temptation, tribulation, and trepidation.
No, what we need to do is follow God by preaching the gospel far and wide in all the different ways we know.  Dance the gospel, sing the gospel, listen to the gospel, proclaim the gospel, live the gospel.  By keeping the gospel of love in our hearts, we will be among the saints, praising God in every moment of every day.

Faith

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
(John 8:31-32)
As Jesus has said elsewhere, all of the law hangs on serving God and loving your neighbors.  The way that we become disciples of Jesus is by becoming disciples: respectful followers.  As long as we adhere to Jesus' teachings about loving, we will be near to Him.  There is no amount of money or family lineage that will make us any closer.  As Martin Luther taught, we are saved by our faith in Jesus.  The way we have faith is by truly following our Lord.

Action

Today, we honor John Wycliffe, a notable translator and theologian from the Middle Ages.  Through his life, we learn that God calls us to action.  Indeed, "the sower sows the word," (Mark 4:14) speaking of Jesus, but we must nurture that word in our hearts.  Wycliffe took action and preached about how the church is not about how much money one has, but how much spiritual money it has.  He taught that the church depended on the people.  One of the ways he brought the church to more people than the rich was by translating the Bible into English.  Of course, he was ostracised by the Roman Catholic Church because of his actions and teachings, but that's what we must do.  Jesus preached about the corruption among the pharisees and gave us a solution to these problems.  In fact, Jesus gave us a very simply stated instruction: follow God.  When we put all of our talents to God, we glorify God.  When we glorify God, we bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth.  So, let us take our time to think about our talents: teaching, listening, preaching, writing, volunteering, cooking, dancing, acting; and then we can put them forth to God to make earth the New Jerusalem.

The Soul

"So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you." (Luke 11:40)
Before God, there will be no faking.  God will see through the mismatched colors, the cargo shorts, and the flannel shirt.  God sees what is deep within.  God sees the glitter and the fabulousness that is within.  So, before we go about living a life that is "clean" on the outside but "dirty" on the inside, let us come forward to God.  Let us give to God all that God has given to us.  Let us take off our mask that we use to get by and praise God with our whole heart, mind, and soul.  Just as Jesus made sure to make the unpopular and the downright ugly righteous and holy, so shall we make what is seen by others as detestable a glorification of our Lord of all.

The Gospel Centered Life

"But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." (Ephesians 4:15)
Here's the simple message from Paul, this time, which calls us to love.  The only way we can grow into Christ is through love.  It's simple because the only way we learn anything is through careful practice.  As a musician, I feel like I know this all too well.  For starters, one must practice so much to be good. However, mindlessly spending hours on things only makes a habit, as opposed to perfection.  My teacher always says that I must focus whenever I practice.  Therefore, playing through the things I'm good at only reinforces the things I'm good at, and, consequently, makes everything else glaringly bad.  However, when I focus on a certain issue for a given amount of time, I make my playing all the better.  In the same way, the only way we can make our lives closer to the Gospel is by living in love.  However, we cannot just practice loving those we already love or those who already love us back.  We must practice loving those who may not be easy to love.  We must love those who have hurt us.  We must love those who preach against us.  We must love those who don't understand us.  By practicing what Jesus already did and what God teaches us daily, we will live a truly gospel centered life.

United We Stand

"Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house." (Luke 11:17)
This is a universal ideal that we need to embrace.  When we divide ourselves against each other, we become weaker.  Indeed, we still bear our family names.  When we say certain people of the LGBT community are not for us, we make ourselves smaller, weaker, more vulnerable.  We need to unite with one another.  We need to accept the diversity of our family.  We need to accept each other's personality.  We need to unite in the love of God.  God will deliver us. We need to be ready for God's coming.

Love

In today's gospel, Jesus tells us the main message: love God and love your neighbors.  However, despite the fact that this is a reiteration of levitical law, Jesus adds one more statement: upon these hang all of the laws.  God's law is a law of love.  Anything that gets in the way of our loving relationship with God is sin.  Anything that gets in the way of our love for our neighbors is sin.  When we welcome our friends, strangers, and enemies, we are living for God.  When we devote ourselves entirely to God, we are indeed living for God.  When we take the position of God, we are separating ourselves from God.  When we start to punish others because of our own misunderstandings, we are no longer living for God.  Instead of pointing fingers, let us join hands, for we all live under the grace of God, and we live to praise God: our creator, our redeemer, our sustainer.

Asking

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give tho Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13)
This comes at the end of one of my favorite passages.  Jesus tells us to be direct: ask and you shall receive.  There are no ceremonies or rituals that we need to do.  We just need to ask.  We need to establish a connection between God and ourselves.  How do we get friends? Do we not communicate.  Do we not start with a simple, "what is your name" or, "how are you?" We need to ask of God, for God has so much in store for us.  God asks us if we are ready.  All we need to ask is, "What do You need of me?" With God's reply, we will get our mission, our talent, our ministry, and the means by which we can accomplish our mission.

Pure Devotion

Today's gospel is about Martha and Mary and what Jesus cares about.  It tells of Martha becoming so obsessed with cleaning that she forgets that Jesus is already there with them.  I really enjoy this story because it puts a great issue into perspective: ceremony.  Sometimes we would prefer for there to be pictures of thousands of saints in our bedrooms.  Sometimes we would prefer to have a grand altar with incenses and candles and books all around.  Yet, at the end of the day, the only thing God asks for is our heart.  God asks for our devotion.  The pictures and candles and incense can be helpful for our devotion, but if our belief becomes the candle, then we need to take a step back and reevaluate our devotion to God.

Words

"For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (Matthew 10:20)
This reminds me of a popular movie technique where, well into the movie, a distraught person will have a monologue, and as soon as she's into her speech, the voice changes to her mentor from a much earlier part of the movie.  It also reminds me of how, after watching a series so much, one can quote many parts during everyday conversations at very apt times.  That is what we need to be doing as Christians.  When we live and breathe the Word of God, and when we accept the Holy Spirit, we will not be lost for words.  In another event in Jesus' life, the devil tempts Him with Bible verses, but Jesus knew the word so well that He was able to give the correct answers to every temptation.  In the same way, when people who are outspoken with just one measly verse of the Bible confront us, we must be armed with the Word of Truth.  The only solution for all of our situations is the Holy Word and the Word Incarnate, who is Jesus Christ.

Naïveté

"I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will." (Luke 10:21)
This is an interesting passage because it sounds a little contradictory: wouldn't the wise and intelligent be able to preach better than infants?  However, as in most of the gospel, Jesus has a hard time preaching to the Jews and an easier time preaching to the gentiles.  And, so, I like to see Jesus telling us that we need to receive the gospel without our preconceived notions and judgments.  We need to receive the good news without saying, "his family did that," or, "she is such a person of that kind."  No, Jesus wants us to love as children love: always in search of new friends, and never judging.

Lord of the Harvest

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Luke 10:2)
The harvest means that there is already a community out there.  There are already plants with fruits and vegetables waiting to be picked.  There are plants waiting to be seen.  One image that comes to mind with this is the entire concept of coming out.
Coming out is (currently) our lifelong task.  We have to come out to every new person we meet.  We have to discern whether it is worth us coming out at certain times or not.  How scary it is to come out when we have preconceived notions about a person.  How even scarier, though, when we actually know a person's beliefs see us at fault.  However, what joy it is to come out to an ally or another member of our queer family! We find another being just waiting to be seen and understanding what tribulations we have been going through.
Unfortunately, it is another uncomfortable experience to come out as Christian to someone in this same family.  It is an even greater joy and relief when we find another queer Christian.
That's what Jesus is telling us.  The harvest is plentiful.  Our LGBT family is strong and proud.  Our LGBT family is thirsting for God.  The laborers (right now, at least) are few.  Not only must we pray for more laborers, we must also bring out new queer Christians to become laborers.  We need to proclaim the Gospel that there is One who listens to us when we are beat up right in front of our house.  There is One who listens to us when we are being damned by everybody else.  There is One who loves us at all times in all areas.  There is One who forgives us.
Yes, the Lord of the harvest is providing the workers in these harvest fields today.

Devotion

"Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:60)
Jesus never stutters when He commands us.  He says, "love your neighbor," meaning every one.  He says, "proclaim the kingdom of God," meaning always.  We like to place our attention elsewhere, but to what reward?  God provides us with everything.  The Kingdom of Heaven is perfection for all of us.  Why would we want to go away from perfection? God loves each and every one of us.  How about we show that love to each other?

Giving

Today's gospel is one of my favorites.  First, it shows us that Jesus is the answer to everything.  We can try to trust in our own knowledge and tricks to get away from Jesus, but that gets us nowhere.  Second, it shows us that we are not our own. We are God's.  Thus, we need to give all we have to God.  We have God's image all over us, which makes us God's.  We need to show our love to all of God's creation so that we can have our purpose in our lives.  By living with this purpose, we can bring God's kingdom to earth.

Different Forms

"The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great kindness." (Psalm 103:8)
Today's commemoration is for Luke, the evangelist.  Luke's work shows us God's compassion, for God gave Luke such an important mission: to spread the gospel as a gentile.  There are no limits to God's will: whatever God wants happens.  We should go by that example and listen to what God has in store for each one of us.  At the same time, we must respect those who have these missions.  We may not like that a certain person may not look a certain way but preach the good news.  We may not be used to somebody who lives a certain way to give us the message.  We must accept God's message, for in its different forms it teaches us.

Admonitions

"Unjust anger cannot be justified, for it tips the scale to one's ruin.  Those who are patient stay calm until the right moment, and then cheerfulness comes back to them.  They hold back their words until the right moment; then the lips of many tell of their good sense." (Sirach 1:22-24)
The Bible tells us so many times about controlling our anger and our words.  If we take some time to think more about others than ourselves, especially when interacting with others, we will live in better harmony.  The Bible gives us so many useful rules for a good society.  Why don't we go ahead and build the Kingdom of God on earth with what we already have and know?  Let's take time to love one another.

Service

"If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23)
Jesus is very clear.  It will be hard work. There will be times that you are going in the opposite direction as everybody else.  There will be times that a crowd and a parade will be headed in a different direction than you who follow Jesus.  But there will be times of grace, love, joy, and happiness, for God is the source of all these things. 

Dispatch

"Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic." (Luke 9:3)
Jesus not only sends us out, but He also tells us to become part of the community.  He tells us to take nothing, which is important, especially because He is telling us not to take our prejudices or our own emotional baggage with us.  He tells us to go into the community and stay if we are welcomed.  Therefore, He tells us to go and make friends and to build up w community, for God's love is the best display of the gospel.  Once we show God's love, God will take care of the rest.

Faith of Action

Imagine this:
A fire drill goes off in a fifteen-story building, and it is raining outside.  Everybody rushes down the stairwell, shielding their ears from an alarm that reverberates very strongly due to the architecture of the building.  There is only one covered passageway outside of the building, and everybody is jam packed in that one area, waiting for the "all clear" announcement in order to go back inside.
Jesus was in that situation in today's gospel.  The key difference is that Jesus, our Lord, was running with the crowd, and a woman touched His robe.  She took the only chance that she had to touch His robe, and Jesus blessed her right then and there.
There is so much motion in this gospel, and it makes me think about how our own faith should be: active, running, with motion.  We are all in desperate need of Jesus.  Instead of sitting and waiting for a miracle to happen amidst a moment of distress, why don't we seize that moment, that fleeting moment down the fifteen flights of stairs, to hold onto our Savior?

New Life

Today's gospel is about Jesus healing a man from being possessed by demons.  However, the story does not end just there.  The demons plea to be put into some pigs, and Jesus sends them there, and then the pigs run off a cliff and die.  This upset the herders, and, therefore, the people told Jesus to leave.
Mind you, the demon possessed man who was famous for being demon possessed just got healed.  He had clean clothes on.  He was a new person.  But, the town cared more about the pigs and the status quo than for the miracle.  They asked for the miracle worker to leave.
Faith in Jesus requires us to live a life that may feel uncomfortable at times.  We have to love that neighbor, or we have to donate that money.  Instead of letting Jesus work miracles in our lives, we tell Jesus what to do.  Let's take a step back from our own habits and let Jesus take control, for He is the Almighty; He is Lord.

The Few

Today, the gospel is a little peculiar, for it sounds as if Jesus judges people based off of their clothing.  Sure, maybe not everybody has the best clothes to win a contest at every dinner party he attends.  However, Jesus gives us a good hint: Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14).
Look at us today.  Many men and women have given up their lives so that we, the LGBT community, may have rights, and that we may walk, and that we may hold hands.  Many are working today in all facets of society, from government lobbyists, to priests, to soup kitchen workers, to teachers, and everybody in between.  Yet, we still go about and curse our neighbors.  We go out of our way to discriminate and divide our family.  We say, "bears over there, and queens over here; femmes here, twinks there."  How many of our LGBT martyrs have called on us to be united? How many of them have died for our cause?  Did they want us to hate ourselves as much as, supposedly, everybody else hates us already?  Did they want us to hurt each other?  Did they want us to separate ourselves into a niche where only the rich, the modelesque, and the outspoken can be?
All of our great LGBT figures have set up a banquet for us.  They have cooked us the bread of brother/sisterhood.  They have set for us a tablecloth of values.  They have given us seats of rights.  They have poured out the wine of joy.  And, yet, we go in and trash the table.  We tear the cloth.  We spit on the bread.  We spill the wine.
In the same way, God calls us to love.  God gave us Jesus, and God gives Him to us as a grand feast.  Do we welcome Him with the best that we have?

Coming Out

"For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light." (Luke 8:17)
On National Coming Out Day, I would like to encourage all of those who are questioning their sexuality to remember that God already knows.  God already has a great plan for you.  Give everything to God.  Don't let others push you around because of who you are.
Also, as an LGBT community, let us welcome all of those who are accepting us as a family.  Let us not put down others for looking the wrong way or for not acting a certain way.  We, as a family, need to show God's love for each one of us, and the best way is by accepting every member.

Appearance

"As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature." (Luke 8:14)
Money is a typical issue here, but I feel that social stature is something that we like to go after.  We choke the gospel of love by saying things like, "this brand is the only way I'll be accepted," or, "this is how much I need to weigh to be accepted."  We place other humans before God.  God loves us.  God has been telling this since day one.  There has never been a day without God's love.  It is only we who have added ceremonies upon ceremonies, rituals, and customs to make this love become convoluted.  We care more about our public appearance rather than in our own duties as Christians.  Instead of planting thorns around our lives, let us be receptive to all of God.  Let's receive God's love without a concern.

Weep

Today's gospel is one of my favorites for two reasons.  The lesser reason is because Jesus uses a lovely passive aggressive technique in front of the Pharisees, which makes me think that Jesus had quite the sense of humor and a wit about Him.  The greater reason is because Jesus did not hesitate about the woman who came to Him.  Now, many other times in the gospel we see that Jesus forgives people's sins and then they're off on their merry way.  This instance, however, shows us an example of what we are to be.  Aside from the row between the Pharisees and Jesus, the woman comes to Jesus, weeping (Luke 7:38).
Weeping!
She took off her stern mask and began to give herself completely to Jesus.  She broke a jar of ointment on His feet.  She gave Him her all.
Let's take our time to take off our wig, wipe down our glitter and eye shadow, and surrender ourselves to God.  For when the situation gets tough, and you face persecution from the highest religious leaders, Jesus will fight for you.  Jesus will exalt you and send you off on your way, for He forgives sins and blesses you!

Simon Says

~God loves us.
~Except for the conservative.
~Except for the liberal.
~Except for the drag queen.
~Except for the butch.

Why do we add these issues into the most basic statement about our God?  Why do we judge against others, let alone our own community?  Today's gospel has a very interesting metaphor.  "The people of this generation are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
'We played the flute for you,
and you did not dance;
We wailed,
and you did not weep.'" (Luke 7:32)
This image was a game that worked in the exact opposite way of Simon Says.  When the children pretended to be musicians, some other children were supposed to react differently to what kind of music they were playing.
It is just a game.
How, then, can we be compared to a children's game?  How can we be called mindless?
How about when we turn away from the gospel, a song of worship and praise? How about when we condemn others while God is reaching out for us with God's mercy?
You see, we play with God as if we were the other children refusing to follow the lead, whereas God is very serious about love and mercy.
Let's cut the games and give God our undivided attention.

Lord over All

"I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where is my help to come?" (Psalm 121:1)
I have to thank God for my mom.  She helps me through everything.  She was my strongest supporter for my coming out, and she remains my strongest supporter.  As such, she also offers to help me out in every way possible.  However, many times, I refuse her help.  I feel like by turning away from my resources I will become a better person.  However, she insists.  In the same way, Jesus is always willing to help us.  When approached by a messenger from a centurion, a very powerful member of Jewish society at the time, Jesus did not hesitate.  Jesus just went to help.  When He arrived at the house, the centurion declared Jesus' sovereignty.  In the end, Jesus healed the centurion's ailing slave.  Sometimes we all put on a mask of strength before God, despite the fact that there will never be any help from anywhere or anyone else.  We'd prefer to stumble and fall, yet Jesus is always there, ready to pick us back up, for He is the sovereign Lord over all.

Construction

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?" (Luke 6:46)
Love your enemies.  Seek first the Kingdom of God.  Give to the poor.  Throw out all you have, take up your cross, and follow Jesus.  The list can go on!
Jesus is the only one with the 20/20 vision.  He is the only one with the sober eyes versus our own, drunk with our minutia.  He is the fountain of all that is good.  He is love.
The only way we can keep Jesus is by doing what He tells us.  Imagine the parable of the two men: one who built his house on a stone foundation; one, on a sand foundation.  Not only do we need the foundation.  We have to build up the house! Even with the Chinese and their skyscrapers built in six months, building takes time.  How about we build our house on the stone foundation? How about we give others the open permission to build on that same foundation with us? How about we take each stone and brick and dry wall sheet and sheet metal and lumber and mortar to build up the Kingdom of God?

Killing Prophets

Today's gospel was Jesus's parable of the vineyard owner and the workers.  All of the people the owner sent were rejected in various ways by the workers.  As my bishop preached this morning: is Jesus talking about us?  While we have something as authoritative as the Bible, God's word, why do we treat others with hate and contempt? While we have theologians, why do we not listen to their teachings? While we have God right at our side, why do we act as if God is distant? Why don't we accept the gifts that God has given to us?

The Judge

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you will get back." (Luke 6:37-38)
God is the ultimate judge in our lives.  We can go around, pointing fingers and cursing everyone around us, but God will determine who is in the right and who is in the wrong.  After presenting a method for living a meek and humble life, Jesus reminds us that when we point a finger, three point back.  This also reminds me of another verse where Jesus reminds His followers that a house divided will fall (Mark 3:25).  Thus, let's stop pointing our fingers of blame to one another.  Let's not divide ourselves among our looks and our feelings.  Instead, let us love one another.  Let us love our LGBT family.  Let us stand as a mighty house built on God, our sturdy stone foundation!

God Is Unfailing

"But you are always the same, and your years will never end."
(Psalm 102:27)
Today's readings concern the times of trials.  Jesus reassures us of God's mercy and grace with the beatitudes.  Paul stands up against the authorities and speaks out to the Jews with a sermon that is nothing more than a summary of his life: a living testimony.  People escorted Paul around like a wild cow: always wandering but never belonging.  However, Paul preached without wavering.  I believe that that is how we should be as well.  We must live our lives in Christ at all times, regardless of what is going on around us.  Jesus always teaches us to give our lives to God, for God will use us how we need to be used.  Our will becomes God's.  So in the face of a test, remember that God is there with us (1 Corinthians 10:13).  When your LGBT family asks why God, simply remind them that you are of the same family, and live your life as a testimony to the goodness of God!

The Lord's Day

Today's gospel talks about Jesus and about the Sabbath.  In the end, we learn that God is Lord of the Sabbath, and that our human ways impede on God's will.  The Pharisees had the Jewish thing down to a science: eat this, not that; talk to this person, not that; say this prayer, not that.  Of course their ways were highly questionable, as Jesus pointed out.  Now look at us today.  Look at our community! A gay man must weigh this much.  A lesbian must dress with these clothes.  How about we let God into our lives so that we can have everything sorted out? How about we let the Lord rule over us on today, the days after we have witnessed Jesus Christ, the days we have witnessed the Holy Spirit?

Radical Faith

What is radical faith?
It is leaving your pages scattered, coins strewn, time card blank, and following your savior (Luke 5:28).  It is saying a prayer before your meal while wearing a rainbow bracelet and holding the hands of your partner.  It is inviting your fellow LGBT friends to church, worship nights, bible studies, fellowships.  It is reading the Bible and contemplating God from your bedroom.  It is asking God for guidance when no other "pastor," "priest," "bishop," "minister," or "pope," would or will.
Radical faith is just a relationship with God.

Onward!

Today's readings show two road blocks in Jesus's ministry.  The first is when the pharisees question Jesus for forgiving sins.  The second is when Paul is shown a prophesy against him, where a prophet said that he would be bound by his own belt, to which he replied: "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." (Luke 21:13)
Sometimes we face persecution from our own kind.  Rather than receiving encouragement from our own advocates for our rights, many times they question us LGBT Christians, saying, "why are you a part of an organization that's against us?" It is these "authorities" that can and have proliferated a negative image of Jesus Christ.  In response, let us go onward, serving in the church, preaching the good news.  Sing a hymn, such as "He Touched Me," or "Total Praise." Just as how Jesus and Paul continued on their ways by preaching as radicals to those who didn't want to believe, we must go onwards living our lives as a prayer answered, a breathing gospel.

He Touched Me:
http://youtu.be/5m--ptwd_iI

Total Praise:
http://youtu.be/Vv9-WlymKg0

The Lord is Good

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are they who trust in Him." (Psalm 34:8)
This message is simple.  God is all around us.  God is there when we run away.  God is there when we retreat to our closet of deceiving ourselves, our closet of our own arrogance.  Open the door.  Reach out your hands for God.  Know that God is ready to take all of our issues into God's arms.
Today, we commemorate all of the angels.  I like to remember that God has us covered in all sorts of ways.  God sends us the Holy Spirit to move in us. God sends us the angels to speak to us.  God sends out the prophets to teach us.  God sends us Jesus so that we can be one with Him.  God is ready for you.  Are you ready for God?

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is a lengthy word that bears a bit of weight.  It is a coming back.  It is a return to a better time when people agreed with each other.  It is a gift to us by means of God's grace.  How does this work?
God is always present in our lives, whether we like it or not.  God is there looking over our shoulders as we browse a mobile "dating" app.  God is there sitting at the chair in a motel, waiting patiently for you to come back.  God is right outside the door of our proverbial closet, ready to show us God's love and God's goodness: the promise.  Indeed, God is ready to accept us as God's own creation without masks made by our own failing hands.  Jesus explains the essence of this reconciliation by grace in the gospel today: "the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you [the Jews]."  Jesus says that the epitomes of the two worst people in society—traitors on the one hand and the most sexually immoral, damning images of Israel on the other—would enter the kingdom of heaven.  Now, that is true reconciliation.  We could go even further with the story of Paul, but we don't have to.  God is there to pick us back up when we fall and to bring us close to God when we stray away.

God with Us

"I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose." (Luke 4:43)
Everybody needs the good news in order to live their lives day by day.  Despite the fact that Jesus did have to leave a crowd despite their request for Him to stay with them, did He really leave?
Jesus left them with many teachings.  Even now, we have a massive volume called the Bible that has a lot of what God wants for us.  We have the Holy Spirit working through us and the entire Church to teach and understand what God teaches us.
Jesus is here with us at all times.  He speaks to us in many ways.  We just need to open our eyes to the Bible and our ears to the teachings of Jesus.

God's Authority

"For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come."  (Luke 4:36)
To whom do we give the authority in our lives?  Do we give it to money? To our boss? To the stars on the top 40 list? To Ru Paul?
Sometimes we can forget the simplicity of God's message.  God's love for us is manifested in Jesus Christ.  And yet, we like to complicate things by putting other things before God in our lives.  Why do we give more power to a song on iTunes than to the One who can save us from all of our sin, our sadness, or our loneliness?  When we take a step back, just as the Jews did before Jesus, we can witness the grandeur of God and all that God does for us.

They Will Know We Are Christians

Today's gospel reading applies very well to our community today.  Recently, I have read an article talking about how it was difficult for one gay Christian to find communities of gay Christians all over the United States.  Mikah Meyer said that, "when I interacted with local LGBT communities, they often mocked me for being Christian."  A fellow member of the LGBT family was condemned among his own distant relatives (figuratively speaking) was rejected for being Christian.  In the same way, Jesus was also not accepted in His own hometown.  He says, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown." (Luke 4:24)  It was then that He was driven out of the city by a crowd so large that they did not even notice when He had fled from them.
So, what is there to do?  Sure, we can gather in secluded communities and praise God.  However, that is contrary to Jesus's command to go out and preach the Gospel, the Good News of God's Kingdom and love for all of us.  What we can do is to live our lives in a Christian way.  Show love to all of your friends, enemies, and strangers.  Be a good host.  Live kindly.  Share with the less fortunate.  In this way, we can find our own divine joy, and, as a result, we can be radiate the grace of God.  Then, when the "why are you always happy?" or "why are you always so lucky?" or "why are you so positive?" questions come, explain the goodness of Jesus Christ living in each of our lives.

Here is Mikah Meyer's article:
http://www.believeoutloud.com/latest/journey-find-lgbt-christians

when I interacted with local LGBT communities, they often mocked me for being Christian. - See more at: http://www.believeoutloud.com/latest/journey-find-lgbt-christians#sthash.ofc650AB.dpuf

when I interacted with local LGBT communities, they often mocked me for being Christian. - See more at: http://www.believeoutloud.com/latest/journey-find-lgbt-christians#sthash.ofc650AB.dpuf

when I interacted with local LGBT communities, they often mocked me for being Christian. - See more at: http://www.believeoutloud.com/latest/journey-find-lgbt-christians#sthash.ofc650AB.dpuf

God's Word

This morning's readings bring the power of and the necessity for God's word to mind.  The resounding theme is the text of David's grand psalm, particularly, "Your word is a lantern to my feet and a light upon my path." (Psalm 119:105)
Sometimes we forget about what a gift light is for us.  It shows us the way, especially in the midst of darkness.  How many times are we in the darkness?
Jesus was tempted in the deserts by the devil, an event I can only imagine as a dark scene with the evil attempting to quench the burning light of God.  However, Jesus, being the Word in flesh, the embodiment of God's Word, shuts the devil up with great quotes from scripture.  In another instance in the book of Esther, we see how Mordecai, the devout Jew, is not remembered for his good deeds and is even being conspired against—another moment of darkness.  But, through his own respect and life in God, the king finally praises him, and, in the reading for tomorrow, punishes the advisor who had conspired against Mordecai.
And what about us? What kinds of darkness are we going through?  On the surface, sometimes we prefer to retreat from the light of God into the darkness of bars and clubs and motel rooms.  Sometimes we like to retreat into the darkness of closing our eyes to the radiance of Jesus.  Even more so, we face persecution from many out there who wish to exterminate the LGBT community.  They like to throw bible verses and shout and shoot and stone and beat.  But, remembering the psalm, we too can rest assured that God's love is here for us.  In God's word we can find all the comfort we need.  The Bible is a testament to God's love for each and every one of us.  There is darkness, but the light of reconciliation and, ultimately, salvation outshines and extinguishes the darkness.

To God be the Glory

The gospel reading for today is about John preparing his followers for Jesus.  Even though many suspected and believed in some sort of divinity in John, he made sure to explain that, "One who is more powerful than I is coming." (Luke 3:16) John's humility is a message for us today.  It teaches us to give God the glory. Does someone compliment you on being happy all the time? On being very talented? On having a good life? Tell that person about God.  Faith in God brings joy to our lives.  That joy is what we need to live through every day, regardless of any threat or persecution.

God's Calling

Today's readings are about God's calling to each of us.  We commemorate when Jesus called Matthew to join Him in His ministry today.  Jesus called the traitor, a Jew working for the enemy Roman state, and told him to follow Him.  That may seem like a very odd thing for the King of the Jews to do.  However, the lesson is that Matthew followed Jesus.  He left his old ways and ministered.  Jesus also calls each one of us.  He comes to the gay bars and asks us to follow Him.  He waits for us during our one night stands.  He wakes us up in the morning after a hard night of drinking.  Are we ready to give up our old ways to follow him?
Paul also writes that God's calling is to each one of us, for there are no divisions in this church of God.  In the same way, there are no divisions among us, the assembled members of God's church.  We all have heads, we have brains, we have blood, we have hearts.  We all have souls, and we all have emotions.  There is no bear or twink; no butch or femme; no cis or trans; no male or female.  There are just sheep waiting for a shepherd.
Accompanying these, we hear one of my favorite series of parables, the ones where people find great treasures and give their lives to keep them.  What do we do all day? We look for things to sustain us.  We work to have money; we plan so we can enjoy our time; we read so we can know.  What would we do if we found the one thing that sustains us today, tomorrow, and after death?  Surely we would rejoice over that discovery.  And that is what we have.  We must celebrate that Jesus sustains us throughout our lives on earth and past our deaths into His eternal kingdom.  We must go out and share that we are all saved!
God calls us to be unified in God, and we must be ready to push the answer button and listen to the voice of God telling us what we must do in our lives.

God's Grace

So, today's readings are all about God's grace.  The parable for today can seem difficult to understand, for it exhibits what seems to be inequality among the workers.  However, as Jesus says, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?" (Matthew 20:15, NKJV)  This passage reminds me of another parable, where a servant is forgiven of all of his debts, but then that same servant goes out to demand the debts of his workers.  After remembering that, I remember what I did yesterday.
I had decided to wear a new shirt that my mom had gotten me two weeks ago.  The thing about the shirt is that it was a tank top, a shirt style I had never worn before (gasp! I know).  Moreover, it had the word "proud" written in rainbow letters on the front. So, when I was walking about, I felt a little bare and nervous, but that did not stop me entirely from going about my normal day.  When I walked to the pizza joint just outside of my house, I hesitated to walk any farther, for a man was walking in before me: baggy, long sleeved shirt reading "Born Fly" on the back, pants sagging lower than the knees, basketball shorts breathing in the wind, and tattoos on either cheekbone and forehead.  He placed his order.  I placed mine.  He got his food and took a seat.  I got my food to go.  There was no interaction between the two of us, and there was no harm done.  No harm.
I judged.  I projected my own prejudices towards that man.  I accused him of planning and conspiring things against me and all of my fabulous family that had never crossed his mind.  In fact, it crossed my mind before his.  Who am I to determine what he is going to do? Who am I to judge him for his outward appearance? Who am I to take out my own fears and angers on him?
In the same way, who are we to judge who gets God's grace? Who are we to call ourselves saints and everybody else sinners?  God has the last say.  God has the grace and the punishments.  I, like Jonah, must eat my hateful thoughts.  I, like Christ, must prepare myself as a worthy sacrifice to the living God, the God of abounding grace and reluctant punishment.