We are becoming. It is a process that is ever on-going and no matter what we encounter, the process of becoming is only enriched by every single experience we live. Some of those experiences are more beneficial than others, but no matter what, we are becoming. This process of becoming, however, has its hurdles. From the moment our memory begins recording the many wondrous things that we encounter, there are those voices, people, things, etc, that have a negative impact on us, and for some reason, it is those voices that seem to be the loudest when we hit the rewind button and play those voices. The audio is crystal clear and somehow, it manages to be louder than anything else positive that we may have in our memories. This past weekend, I was honored to be a part of the Out In West Texas Transgender Symposium. I was asked to give a talk about Faith and Spirituality and how religious and spiritual places are to respond to the needs of our Transgender Brothers and Sisters as well as how ministers are called upon to serve in a loving manner. I believe that the two of us present at this talk did very well and I was amazed at how fast the time flew by as we engaged with the people who attended the talk. What most impacted me throughout this symposium, was the Gospel for Sunday. It was on the Beatitudes of Jesus. I was particularly struck by the neatness with which I have always envisioned this story. For as long as I can remember, the story of Jesus and the Beatitudes was one where everyone gathered in love. Jesus was there, did his thing and then everyone goes home happy. But after this past weekend, I was moved to think of those people who perhaps were present who may have perhaps not been welcome. What about those people who had been hurt because from a very young age, they had grown up hearing that they were bad, or sinful or whatever. What about those people who just followed the crowd for the sake of seeing what was happening? Or maybe those who were just at the right place at the right time? No matter who those individuals are, the reality is that those who gathered around Jesus were each bringing their own reality to this moment. Each must have heard a unique message that may be changed their life, or not. Either way, I can't help but think of what that would look like today, and more specifically, what that looks like in the context of a church where so many of us have grown up hearing just how bad we are. Hell is an easy place to put a person that doesn't fit our idea of "normal," but that isn't what the Beatitudes are about, instead, what Jesus offers is a glimpse of the richness and dignity of each and every one of us as God's beloved children. What we are offered isn't a throwaway teaching that is meant to make us feel better, instead, what Jesus offers is a mirror into which we are invited to look, and to recognize the inherent beauty and love with which we have each been gifted. No matter who I am, I am loved and I am beautiful and that is something that cannot be taken away by a member of the church or even by the pastor. By extension, the question falls to me, who will I be in the face of difficulty? How will I respond when called to love in a radically different manner that calls me to celebrate my brother or sister, someone that is seen as "not fitting the norm." In my experience of Christ and of God's love, I would like to believe that I would love, not because I wanted to be radical, but because of the recognition of Christ and the presence of the Divine touch in that person, a touch that I myself have already experienced and continue to experience profoundly each day. This also leads me to talk about the horrible incidents that happened in Sutherland, Texas at First Baptist Church. There is nothing that I can say that could ever suffice to explain or shed a comforting light on those horrible incidents. In light of the Beatitudes, however, there is an awareness that even in death, we are alive in Christ, we are alive in the Love that conquers death and we are made new in Him who looks upon us with love and shares life. In all this tragedy, we are called to remember that in Christ we are called to live in love. Love. Love. Love. That's what it is about and we as we share that love with one another, in the sharing, we glimpse the life-giving power of God's love. Let us not be afraid to love, may we never be afraid to be love, and in our love, may we be radically connected to the one who looked death and hate in the face and who stepped out of the cold darkness of death's tomb. You are beautiful. You are loved. And together, we shall live because in our becoming, we are made new!
