Today’s Readings: Psalm 50; Exodus 15:1-21; Luke 14:1-11; Romans 13:8-10; Psalm 77
Lots of folks think that when a local church passes an Open & Affirming Statement that welcomes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgendered (LGBT) persons, that the only ones who benefit are LGBT people. I can understand why some folks think that since some Open & Affirming Statements only name LGBT people in their statement of welcome. Over the years, however, I’ve found that its not just LGBT people who benefit from Open & Affirming Statements – it’s EVERYONE in the congregation who benefits. And how is that? Well, once a community publicly welcomes one of the few groups that has been explicitly singled out for rejection by many denominations, it creates an energy that says, “If we can go against public opinion and extend welcome to those whom society would tell us are the ‘least of these’, then maybe the community would accept me for who I am – not who they want me to be!” As a spiritual leader associated with an Open & Affirming community, I’ve experienced this happening tons of times. People have shared pieces of themselves that they would have never thought of sharing with pastors of non-welcoming communities because they knew they were in a safe spiritual community. So what’s all of this have to do with today’s readings? Well, in today’s reading from Matthew, Jesus culminated his teaching with these words: “But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself” (Luke 14:11 from The Message). I’ve seen this happen on a number of occasions. I’ve seen people who have come to terms with their history of abuse open up and become amazing sources of love and support for others. I’ve seen people with mental health issues accept themselves and become advocates for others facing similar challenges. I’ve seen people wrestling with issues of poverty claim their inherent worth and generously share the riches of their spiritual gifts with others. In each and every one of these instances, I saw transformative things happen when people began to love themselves for who they were. All of this was made possible by a community who took seriously Jesus’ Great Command to love one another. So where are you at with all of this? Are you still trying to put on a good public face so that you can be perceived by others as worthy of God’s love, or have you embraced the fullness of your true self? If you haven’t yet accepted the fullness of yourself, take a moment and jot down Jesus’ words in a place where you will regularly encounter them – and then use those words to help move you to a place of self-acceptance. You’ll be surprised at the amazing things that start happening in your life once you do that; as Jesus said, you'll become more than yourself. Til next time…
Lots of folks think that when a local church passes an Open & Affirming Statement that welcomes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgendered (LGBT) persons, that the only ones who benefit are LGBT people. I can understand why some folks think that since some Open & Affirming Statements only name LGBT people in their statement of welcome. Over the years, however, I’ve found that its not just LGBT people who benefit from Open & Affirming Statements – it’s EVERYONE in the congregation who benefits. And how is that? Well, once a community publicly welcomes one of the few groups that has been explicitly singled out for rejection by many denominations, it creates an energy that says, “If we can go against public opinion and extend welcome to those whom society would tell us are the ‘least of these’, then maybe the community would accept me for who I am – not who they want me to be!” As a spiritual leader associated with an Open & Affirming community, I’ve experienced this happening tons of times. People have shared pieces of themselves that they would have never thought of sharing with pastors of non-welcoming communities because they knew they were in a safe spiritual community. So what’s all of this have to do with today’s readings? Well, in today’s reading from Matthew, Jesus culminated his teaching with these words: “But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself” (Luke 14:11 from The Message). I’ve seen this happen on a number of occasions. I’ve seen people who have come to terms with their history of abuse open up and become amazing sources of love and support for others. I’ve seen people with mental health issues accept themselves and become advocates for others facing similar challenges. I’ve seen people wrestling with issues of poverty claim their inherent worth and generously share the riches of their spiritual gifts with others. In each and every one of these instances, I saw transformative things happen when people began to love themselves for who they were. All of this was made possible by a community who took seriously Jesus’ Great Command to love one another. So where are you at with all of this? Are you still trying to put on a good public face so that you can be perceived by others as worthy of God’s love, or have you embraced the fullness of your true self? If you haven’t yet accepted the fullness of yourself, take a moment and jot down Jesus’ words in a place where you will regularly encounter them – and then use those words to help move you to a place of self-acceptance. You’ll be surprised at the amazing things that start happening in your life once you do that; as Jesus said, you'll become more than yourself. Til next time…
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