(an
excerpt from homily for January 21)
Jesus
was not a preserver of the status quo or conserver of people’s status and
privilege, instead he encouraged them to share what they have, give honor to
those whom they may have been taught to segregate from or discriminate against.
For this reason I do not understand how some invoke the name of Jesus to
denigrate whole people groups. It is the life and teachings of Jesus who
inspired our own baptismal covenant to “respect the dignity of all human
beings.
It
was Jesus who infuriated those who believed their tradition and religion gave
them special privilege or access to God. It was the life and teachings of Jesus
that inspired the dream of The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to dream of the day
when “his children would be judged not by the color of their skin but by their
character.” It was the teachings and life of Jesus that inspired our own
Episcopal tradition to challenge our culture and church’s systematic
condemnation of those who are Gay. It is Jesus pointing to the dignity and
goodness and holiness of the marginalized and the hypocrisy, arrogance, and
self-righteousness of those who claimed to be “the chosen ones.”
Fr.
Richard
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