Gospel For Gays

A people alert to the signs of the time

by Jeremiah Bartram on 23/11/09 at 9:05 am

Jesus spoke to his disciples of his coming.  “There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.  People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap.  For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.  Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21, 25-28; 34-36; reading for November 29, the First Sunday of Advent.

Commentators

Hardy:  “It would be signs such as these, and not the familiar vicissitudes of history, which must be read as heralding the coming of the Son of Man.  But that coming – and the language of clouds and glory borrowed from Daniel’s vision (7.13-14) shows that it would be a moment of vindication – and would also put an end to the tribulations of the church; therefore it would be the moment to ‘stand up and raise your heads’.”

He also speculates that by the time Luke’s account was written, “dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life” may already have been present in some Christian communities.  “Luke has edited this final exhortation in such a way that it could serve as the end of a sermon to the church at any time, whether or not the ‘portents’ had begun to appear.  In a subtle way he has adapted material that was originally conditioned by expectation of an imminent end to the needs of a church that was beginning to accept the indefinite continuation of the present world order.”

Gospel for Gays

Why on earth would the church propose this reading for the first Sunday of Advent?

Didn’t we have Mark’s very similar version of this end-of-time prophecy, only two weeks ago?  And here we are, at the beginning, not the end, of the liturgical year.  How does this make sense?

Today’s first reading provides the clue.  It’s from Jeremiah, the prophet most like Jesus:

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem, will live in safety.  And this is the name by which it will be called:  “The LORD is our righteousness.” Jeremiah 33, 14-16.

This gives us the insight we need:  the Lord is coming, bringing justice and righteousness, bringing salvation and “safety” for his people.  That’s what Advent is all about:  preparing for the coming of the Lord – specifically, at Christmas.

His coming is not something to fear.  On the contrary, it is good news:  “stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

And the emphasis in the passage from Luke is on being alert, being prepared – “…so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life.”

I’ve placed the emphasis on the latter, very matter-of-fact counsel:  don’t get weighed down by the distractions and anxieties and cares of this life, which are always with us, which are normal, and which crowd out God.  We need to put these aside – along with late nights and overindulgence and various forms of dissipation, including consumerism – if we are to be ready to welcome the kingdom of God, which is coming; which, indeed, is almost here.

**

“Be alert at all times.”  Be alert.

But to what?

The reading seems to focus on the big stuff, the signs of the end time – and we don’t suffer from a shortage of signs in 2009.

In fact, two of our global issues are far larger than what Hardy terms “the familiar vicissitudes of history”.  I’m thinking of the growing environmental crisis, and continued nuclear proliferation.  Either has the potential to end life as we know it on this planet; and both are wholly of human making.

But Luke’s point is that we have nothing to fear from global paroxysms; that, whatever the travails of the time may turn out to be, the Lord is bringing an age of justice and righteousness and peace for his people.

So being alert is more about being aware of the possibly unnoticed signs of hope than worrying about catastrophes; being alert to the presence of God right now, here, in this moment, in the unfolding richness of intimate life, in relationships, in prayer.

**

That said, I can propose another sign that is very particular to our time.  It’s revolutionary in its implications, and it’s of great importance to us, gay people.

It’s the gender revolution that began with feminism, and which is still unfolding, often in violence – in honor killings, for example.

Does it carry the destructive potential of nuclear annihilation or climate change?  I don’t believe it does.  Indeed, I believe that it may be one of those obscure and confusing transformations through which God works out his often surprising will in human history.

It’s a revolution that greatly concerns Pope Benedict.  In an address to officials of the Roman Curia just before Christmas last year (December 22, 2008 to be precise), he said that the church “has a responsibility towards creation, and must also publicly assert this responsibility. In so doing, she must not only defend earth, water and air as gifts of creation belonging to all. She must also protect man from self-destruction. What is needed is something like a human ecology, correctly understood.”

He went on to say:  “What is often expressed and understood by the term ‘gender’ ultimately ends up being man’s attempt at self-emancipation from creation and the Creator.  Man wants to be his own master, and alone – always and exclusively – to determine everything that concerns him.  Yet in this way he lives in opposition to the truth, in opposition to the Creator Spirit.”

Who among us could disagree with those observations?  The church – that is, the whole people of God – has a responsibility toward the whole of creation, and must protect humanity from self destruction.  And humanity – individually and collectively – wants to be its own master:  to determine “alone” everything that concerns it.

But with respect to gender, and the issues around gender, are we absolutely sure that the old formulations remain valid?

Given the importance of this new sign of the times, why not open up the questions, and in particular seek out and listen to the experience of the people of God, rather than continue to rely on the formulations of the past?

The lived experience of men and women, including gay people, concerning sexuality and the spiritual life, sexuality in our relationships, the function of sexuality in growing into responsible and self-disciplined and – dare I say it? – holy people.

Prayerful people.

The people of God.

Wouldn’t that be a timely subject for a church council?

A listening council.

A council that trusts the Holy Spirit, who makes all things new – and who even went so far as to redeem us through the conception and birth of Jesus in Mary, a Virgin.

That is (to speak the obvious):  in an unconsummated and therefore officially non-procreative marriage – which might as well have been gay!

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