Purity of Heart, Not Puritanism

Philippians 2:14-16 (GNB) "14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and [unloving] people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky, 16 as you offer them the message of life."

A point I often struggle with in my writing and preaching concerns "purity of heart" vs "puritanism." The word "pure" may evoke strong images of up-tight ultra-religious people who refuse to have any fun. I rather view purity as releasing unloving thought and action from ourselves. This release has nothing to do with judging ourselves harshly or punishing ourselves for past unloving action. This release rather has to do with growing up spiritually by choosing Love over ego.  It's one of the hardest things to do, as ego gives us a false sense of control; and in a fearful world, security becomes our primary concern. True courage is shown in our ability to choose loving action over "being right." In practicing release of ego, ask yourself often, "Would you rather be right or be happy?"

Sexism is the Root of Homophobia

Historically in the Western world, male bodies have been revered as dominant, stable, and honorable. Female bodies have been treated as objects, property, unpredictable, and messy. Though the rigid ancient social hierarchy is long gone, its remnants remain. Women are still viewed as objects in popular culture. Men are still the "untouchable" unless seduced into being touched. Women are permitted to dress "sexier," not just because of the benefits of the sexual revolution, but because we still hold to the notion that women are to be objects of male gaze. As these norms are slowly changing to a more egalitarian sexual freedom, those who still hold to the hierarchy feel threatened and pull the "morality" or "values" card. Sexism/misogyny is at the heart of current culture wars. Same-gender-loving relationships threaten social conservatives precisely because we dismiss any notion of inequality between the sexes.

For Integrity's Sake

“For Integrity’s Sake”

Sermon for Celebration MCC; Naples, FL

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Rev. Brian Hutchison, M.Div.

Texts:

James 1:17-27

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21a

Ten years ago, I was given the “bless-ed” opportunity to meet Fred Phelps, the pastor of the notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church. He and his church were protesting the play The Laramie Project at the University of Maryland where I was a student. The Laramie Project is a play about the murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998. I joined the school’s LGBT Pride Alliance in an organized counter-protest outside of the theatre. I decided at the protest that I had to face my fears and approach Mr. Phelps, peacefully of course.

I crossed the line that had been drawn by police in order to approach the crowd of people holdings signs that said things such as “God Hates Fags,” “God Hates America,” and “Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” I have always said to this proof-texted verse that I don’t lie with man as with a woman; I lie with man as with a man. We know that in the ancient Near East, the receiving partner of any gender was thought of as being on a lower level in the social hierarchy and any male receiving partner was shamed for being feminine, as it was dishonoring the power that men held. We do not have the same kind of honor-shame society, but religious fundamentalists would have us believe that we still do.

In MCC, we have always dismissed the use of this verse against us, knowing full well that its use is always hypocritical. After all, no Christian can or should follow the Levite Holiness Code in modern times. So there is no need to continue to argue over it. I consider the argument over long ago.

Back to the story… I had taken time before the protest to “get myself prayed-up” so that I would not be consumed with fear upon facing Phelps. So when I approached him, I introduced myself. “My name is Brian and I am gay and I am a Christian. And God loves me for who I am.” I looked into his eyes, somewhat hidden by the shadow of a cowboy hat. And what I saw surprised me. Unlike most people I meet from day to day, there was no light behind his eyes. He appeared to me as an empty shell, void of life, void of joy. Instead of having the anger response I had anticipated, I rather had pity. I wondered to myself, “What happened to this man to make him into what stands before me?”

Considering today’s scripture passage from the book of James, I now wonder, “What does he see when he looks in the mirror each day? Can he see a child of God with sacred worth or does he see something that he hates?” I don’t know him personally, so I don’t know the answer to that question. But I can bet that it is the latter.

James writes, “If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are. They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like.” Surely people like Phelps who preach a message of hate have read the loving words of Jesus that cover the gospels. They must know that the Greatest Commandment is to love God, neighbor, and self with our whole being. They have listened to it, but at least publicly they certainly do not put it into practice. It seems like we are reading two different bibles, and I don’t just mean two different translations.

In MCC, we preach the Unconditional Love of God, which has no bounds. It is not just for one class or type of people. We know that it is for all because this Divine Love is within all and around us all. We need to hear this message because as James points out, many in the world have a very different message. It is that ego message that he says to keep yourself “unstained” or from being “corrupted” by.

When you look into the mirror, what do you see? Do you see beauty? Do you see a miracle? Do you see sacred value? Do you see God’s beloved? Do you see a persona of the self you show to the world or do you see beyond that façade to the Inner Light? Can you see the infant that came into this world with Original Blessing?

We too often fail to see God’s beautiful creation when we look at ourselves. Too often we see our failures, our regrets, our worries, and our insecurities. We focus on these things because we want so badly for them to change. We stare at them as if our eyes could shine a laser beam to blast them into oblivion. But instead, we are mesmerized by them and sometimes obsess over them, cycling into a downward spiral of despair.

A colleague of mine, Rev. Terri Echelbarger reminds her congregation of the words of Saint Michael; Michael Jackson that is. I’m sure many of you know the song. I won’t sing it, but here are some of the lyrics: “I'm starting with the man in the mirror, I'm asking him to change his ways, And no message could have been any clearer, If you wanna make the world a better place, Take a look at yourself and then make a change.”

It’s easy to look at other people and say, “How terrible is that person!” or “What a mess!” We justify talking about other people in saying that we don’t want to be like them. But in doing so, we forget Jesus’ words in the 25^th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew: Whatever you do to the least of these, you do it to me.” Those we judge aren’t always the poor or other marginalized people we tend to think of “the least of these.” But every person we judge has still experienced the human experience of suffering in some way. Often it is this kind of suffering that leads people to have unattractive attitudes or personalities. Can we have compassion for their pain?

It’s been all too easy over the two millennia since Jesus walked the earth for Christians to scapegoat certain groups of people. When reading the gospels, we can easily scapegoat the Pharisees. We have been taught that they were these nasty religious leaders who just didn’t get what Jesus was talking about. Actually, they were a minority group of lay Jews who worked for reform in the practice of Judaism. They wanted to make a change for their people, just as Jesus did. Just like Jesus, the Pharisees knew all too well the harsh oppression of the Roman Empire. The difference is Jesus took his message a step further. Jesus’ message of looking within to see what is in the human heart without guilt or beating yourself up was radical for his time. Jesus’ radical compassion pushed the edge of his tradition.

Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen tells us this: “A great deal of energy goes into the process of fixing and editing ourselves. We may have even come to admire in ourselves what is admired, expect what is expected, and value what is valued by others. We have changed ourselves into someone that the people who matter to us can love. Sometimes we no longer know what is true for us, in which direction our own integrity lies.

We surrender our wholeness for a variety of reasons. Among the most compelling are our ideas of what being a good person is all about.... Few of us are able to love ourselves as we are. We may have even become ashamed of our wholeness. Parts of ourselves which we may have hidden all of our lives out of shame are often the source of our healing....

Reclaiming ourselves usually means coming to recognize and accept that we have in us both sides of everything. We are capable of fear and courage, generosity and selfishness, vulnerability and strength. These things do not cancel each other out but offer us a full range of power and response to life.

Life is as complex as we are. Sometimes our vulnerability is our strength, our fear develops our courage, and our woundedness is the road to our integrity.”

An old African proverb says what Dr. Remen is talking about. It says, “The blessing is next to the wound.” We all have wounds, whether we want to admit it or not. But that does not mean that we are not whole. Our natural state is wholeness. Nothing in this world can touch the perfect unity of spirit that lies within you! We are not our wounds. But we still need to recognize that they are there because they hold next to them the blessing, the healing balm that will lead to realizing our wholeness.

One of my very favorite songs that I play when I’m feeling down is by Saint Michael’s sister, Saint Janet. She sings, “Afraid of my reflection
Tell me that's not me I see
That's who I wanna be
Stuck somewhere in the middle
On half full or half empty
Waiting for somebody to come and rescue me

Can't let that petty attitude
Start to jade my point of view
Only thing that does is bring me down
So I'm

I'm about to change my vibe
Today the sun's gonna shine
'Cause I made up my mind
That today will be the start of better days”

Friends, make this day the start of better days. As the Psalmist tells us, though weeping may endure for the night, joy comes with the morning!”

I offer you this final blessing from songwriter Libby Roderick:

HOW COULD ANYONE EVER TELL YOU
YOU WERE ANYTHING LESS THAN BEAUTIFUL?

HOW COULD ANYONE EVER TELL YOU
YOU WERE LESS THAN WHOLE?

HOW COULD ANYONE FAIL TO NOTICE
THAT YOUR LOVING IS A MIRACLE?

HOW DEEPLY YOU’RE CONNECTED TO MY SOUL.

Ego vs True Self

The ego despises our inner Wisdom, which knows that when we change our thoughts, we change our lives. The ego fears change because it thrives on control. Changing ourselves for the better may lead to a move, a new job, a new partner, or a new community. But yes, the change has to first come from within- a denial of the fear that ego propagates. Only then do we know what outer things will align with our True Self.

"Lifestyle"

Please stop calling my life a "lifestyle." Remember "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" with Robin Leach? Collecting mansions like a certain presidential candidate is a lifestyle. The fact I am attracted to men and love men intimately is not. I have a life and I like to think I have style, but please keep them apart!

Sustaining Unity

“Sustaining Unity”

Sermon for Celebration MCC; Naples, FL

August 5, 2012

Rev. Brian Hutchison, M.Div.

Texts: John 6:24-35, Ephesians 4:4-7,11-16

I think Spirit’s work is pretty apparent today considering that the texts given to us in the lectionary ask us to unite in Christ, while in the United States over the past week thousands of Christians have lined up at Chic-fil-a restaurants in protest of same-sex marriage. Their action, the religiously-based anti-gay words of the company’s president Dan Cathy, and the company’s financial support (in the millions) to organizations deemed “hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center leave the rest of us more progressive Christians wondering if the church can ever be whole. Will the body of Christ always be broken? Needless to say, this week has made it very difficult to follow Jesus’ command to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

            This kind of culture war may be depressing, frustrating, and tiring to us by now. I know it is to me. But if we look into our history in the LGBT movement, we know this is not the first time this kind of culture war has happened. In 1973, the LGBT community in San Francisco led by activist Harvey Milk boycotted Coors Beer Company for requiring polygraph tests for all employees to ensure they were not homosexual. Gay bars across the country followed suite in the boycott. Five years later in 1978, the company finally removed its ban on gay employees. In 1995, the company even gave domestic partnership benefits to same-sex couples. But to this day, it’s still hard to find a Coors beer in San Francisco.

            Then in 1976, the LGBT community (including Metropolitan Community Churches) boycotted any orange juice made in the state of Florida, as the Florida Citrus Commission had hired anti-gay spokeswoman Anita Bryant for their ads. For those who don’t know, Bryant was vehemently homophobic, calling all gay men pedophiles. She strongly supported the Briggs Initiative in California, which would have put a ban on gay teachers in the public school system. The unofficial but still very real ugly side of that debate brought about bumper stickers that stated, “Kill a queer for Christ.” Fortunately, that bill was defeated, but not without a lot of time, money, and effort put to fighting it. And the messages that were put out through the media certainly reached the ears of millions of vulnerable LGBT youth that internalized their hatred.

            So as annoying as the whole Chic-fil-a controversy may be, it is now a part of our history. Many heterosexuals will look back and see this event as the time when they finally saw the face of bigotry take its kind mask off and show its true ugliness. But at this point in time, what is our work to be as followers of Jesus Christ? I think our texts for today tell us exactly what.

            The Gospel reading you heard today is from the Gospel of John. Bible scholars place John separately from the other gospels- the “synoptic” gospels. Of the four canonical gospels in our Bible, John was written the last. In fact, it was written nearly a century after Jesus’ birth. So there had been time for belief to change within various Christian communities about who exactly Jesus was. This passage from the 6^th chapter addresses that exact question. Even after Jesus is said to have previously fed the 5,000 and had walked on water, the people still demanded a magic trick from him. Or maybe they were just hungry again and knew where their previous meal had come from. But regardless, Jesus takes a different approach and takes up a teaching opportunity.

            In the tradition of the gospel of John, Jesus (who is identified in the first chapter as the ancient entity Holy Wisdom or Sophia) opens their eyes to an eternal truth. Jesus tells them, “I AM the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” In the gospel text, the people are portrayed as kind of dense. They don’t get it. But as the reader or hearer of this story, you are encouraged to get the point. Physical food is important and we should never downplay the incredible amount of poverty in our world. But Jesus knows that before the issue of starvation and all issues of suffering can be solved, a mind shift must happen among the people.

            The people asked Jesus for a miracle, but they were really asking for a magic trick or a supernatural act. In God’s reality, a miracle is actually something quite common, something that God built into the fabric of the world since the beginning. A Course in Miracles teaches that, “Miracles are natural. When they do not occur, something has gone wrong. Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense, everything that comes from love is a miracle.” Think about that. Your loving relationships are miracles. Your gifts of time and kindness to friends and to strangers are miracles. The care you give to your animals is a miracle. Your lovemaking is a miracle. And your support of this church is a miracle.

            I have heard some say, “It would take a miracle to unite the church. Even different sects of the Christian Right can’t get along.” They are correct. It does take a miracle. It takes many miracles! But remember, a miracle is but a mind-shift from fear to love. Miracles are part of the history of Metropolitan Community Churches. In 1983, a worship service was held at the MCC in San Francisco for a meeting of the National Council of Churches. Unbeknownst to the MCCers, the National Council had never in their thirty-year history taken Holy Communion together because they each understood and performed the sacrament in different ways. But Rev. Nancy Wilson and Rev. Freda Smith consecrated communion for that service and invited ALL to the table, as we do in MCC. And as Jesus promised in today’s scripture, none went hungry or thirsty. All received the special blessing of being truly united in Christ. The queer miracle of that day was that all present felt the Spirit moving in the service and even those from traditions that did not ordain women or LGBT people still received communion.

            That is what we are still about. MCC is an ecumenical movement. We have different beliefs, but we share the same value of God’s radically inclusive love. Jesus says that those who believe in him will not be thirsty. Some have interpreted this as a requirement to profess a particular doctrine in order to get a ticket into heaven. But Jesus the Jewish Rabbi was not about creating extensive doctrines of faith. His only doctrine was that of mutual love and respect, which is deeply rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures.

            ACIM also teaches “A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service one individual can render another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself. The doer recognizes his/her own and his/her neighbor’s inestimable worth simultaneously.” In eastern traditions, this is called “Namaste,” “the Divine in me recognizes the Divine in you.” See, to believe IN Jesus is to simultaneously see the Divine/Christ within him AND through his humanity see the Divine/Christ within ourselves.

            We too often downplay our worth. Too many churches have taught us that we are terrible sinners in the hands of an angry God. We are told to fear hell and damnation, and avoid it by conforming to social norms. But we have affirmed for 44 years in MCC that our love is not a sin; rather it is a miracle! In this recent culture war, some have taken the lukewarm middle ground of saying, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” Well guess what- our very lives are what they are calling sin. And I don’t very much appreciate being called a sinner either. Of course we all sin because a sin is simply an action that lacks love. But I refuse to identify with lack of love. I AM a lover, I AM free. These are our affirmations for today.

            For decades we have taught tolerance. We have figured that tolerating each other is a good middle ground. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to fighting for my essential rights, I don’t want to be tolerated. I want- no I DEMAND freedom. Within our own family relationships and friendships, it is a good expectation that those we share our lives with will not just tolerate us, but will rather affirm and celebrate us. I can’t and won’t demand that of fundamentalist Christians. But I will refuse to stand by idly as one particular brand of the faith is used to lessen my quality of life and the quality of life of those I love. Amen?

            But the same must be expected of us. We must fight for the freedom of all and move ourselves beyond mere tolerance. Theologian John Shore says this:

“How can we not just tolerate someone who believes differently than we do, but actually respect them for those beliefs? Because nothing less than that will do. It can’t. Simply tolerating someone who believes differently than we do isn’t enough. “Accepting” them isn’t enough. Having true and abiding peace with them means loving them. And that means respecting them. Because love without respect isn’t real love at all. It’s at best condescending patronization.

I am a Christian. How do I fully, earnestly, deeply and truly respect the Muslim? The Jew? The Hindu? The Buddhist? The atheist? How do I embrace each one of them with the same respect and love with which I want and even expect them to embrace me?

Here’s how: by telling myself the truth—and reminding myself of that truth, over and over again, for as long as it takes—that what another person believes is none of my business. None. None! The second I start thinking about someone else’s religious beliefs is the second I move out of the realm of my proper concerns and into the realm of concerns that are God and God’s alone. The moment I concern myself with what you believe is the moment that I screw up. That’s the moment in which my claim to be a person of God is shown to be a sham, since I have just proven that I am more concerned with who you are, and with what you believe, than I am with my own relationship with God.”

            As children of God the Holy Parent, we are heirs of all of God’s blessings. In the words of MCC founder Troy Perry, “God does not have stepsons and stepdaughters.” We have every right, and I would argue even the duty to stand up against the modern-day Empire of fear and suffering- both for ourselves and for all people on the margins of society. Companies like Chic-fil-a are part of the Empire. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the organizations that they support (The American Family Association, the ex-gay organization Exodus International, the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, the National Organization for Marriage, and others) are the Empire of our day. They waste endless resources promoting the dogma that one way of living is the only valid way and everything else is immoral. That is the very definition of bigotry. And I cannot believe as a Christian that Jesus was a bigot. To be Christian is to be Christ-like, and I’m frankly not seeing much Christ-like behavior coming from that camp. I affirm everyone’s right to believe as they choose, but as the scripture from the book of Ephesians stated today, we are called to “speak the truth in love.”

            We cannot deny our truth. Our truth, as stated in Ephesians (which was not actually written by the Apostle Paul himself but rather someone who wrote in his name), is that WE ARE fully alive. WE ARE gifted by God with so many wonderful gifts. WE ARE united on the margins to help each other survive and thrive. We step together rhythmically in the great dance of life which is the dance of justice, right-relationship, and peacemaking. The Empire still attempts to intimidate today as it has throughout the ages, even masquerading as Christ. But we shall not be moved. We stand boldly in the knowledge that we are not small in this world. And in doing so, we demonstrate that we don’t have to shove ourselves together to be united as the body of Christ; we just have to see ourselves as God sees us- unbroken and whole. This day we are full of the Christ Presence and empowered to live without fear. And this is truly Good News. Amen.

Priorities

Whether or not you worship "God" is your business; we are all on different journeys of seeking for truth. But please don't worship the Bible. I don't know that anyone would readily admit that they do. But I'll give you a clue: if you consider yourself a Christian and don't honor your God-given mind by considering cultural context and modern ethical repercussions regarding the oppressed in your interpretation of Scripture, you are putting the Bible above the God who speaks to you in THIS moment.