Today’s Readings: Psalm 70; Joshua 3:9-17; John 5:30-47; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; Psalm 66
There have been many stages in my journey toward ordained ministry. One of the more interesting stages was when I spent two years working as an HIV/AIDS educator/outreach worker. I was specifically hired to work a program called Friend to Friend. The purpose of the program was to reach community opinion leaders in 11 rural counties in Eastern Washington. Once I reached them, I worked to give them skills so that they could have conversations with their friends regarding risk reduction behaviors so that we could limit the spread of HIV/AIDS. Now for someone who was raised in a repressed Scandinavian/German household where a word like sex was never said aloud, this was quite a challenge. I swear I blushed for the first two months I was on the job! During the two years I spent in the position, however, I learned a valuable lesson that has stayed with me over the years: there are dozens of reasons people decide to be sexually active. It’s not just because people want to have fun, like some of my more moralistic Sunday school teachers told me years ago. Some of the other reasons they are sexually active include they want to feel loved and/or accepted by another, they want to feel desirable, and they want to exert power over another. I could go on and on with the list of reasons. Today’s reading from 1 Corinthians is a wonderful passage where we have the opportunity to hear one of the apostles talk rather frankly about sex and sexuality. I appreciate Paul’s words because they invite (or should I say challenge) us to think about what it is that lies at the root of our own sexuality and sexual behavior. Today, I would invite you to explore your own attitudes towards sexuality. The time you spend exploring the dimensions of your sexual being will help you accomplish what Paul wanted us to do: bring our sexuality in line with our spirituality. Til next time…
There have been many stages in my journey toward ordained ministry. One of the more interesting stages was when I spent two years working as an HIV/AIDS educator/outreach worker. I was specifically hired to work a program called Friend to Friend. The purpose of the program was to reach community opinion leaders in 11 rural counties in Eastern Washington. Once I reached them, I worked to give them skills so that they could have conversations with their friends regarding risk reduction behaviors so that we could limit the spread of HIV/AIDS. Now for someone who was raised in a repressed Scandinavian/German household where a word like sex was never said aloud, this was quite a challenge. I swear I blushed for the first two months I was on the job! During the two years I spent in the position, however, I learned a valuable lesson that has stayed with me over the years: there are dozens of reasons people decide to be sexually active. It’s not just because people want to have fun, like some of my more moralistic Sunday school teachers told me years ago. Some of the other reasons they are sexually active include they want to feel loved and/or accepted by another, they want to feel desirable, and they want to exert power over another. I could go on and on with the list of reasons. Today’s reading from 1 Corinthians is a wonderful passage where we have the opportunity to hear one of the apostles talk rather frankly about sex and sexuality. I appreciate Paul’s words because they invite (or should I say challenge) us to think about what it is that lies at the root of our own sexuality and sexual behavior. Today, I would invite you to explore your own attitudes towards sexuality. The time you spend exploring the dimensions of your sexual being will help you accomplish what Paul wanted us to do: bring our sexuality in line with our spirituality. Til next time…
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