Why it matters---the Rev. Frank Schaefer trial.

Why it matters

Why does the Frank Schaefer trial matter to us? (Rev. Frank Schaefer had his license suspended for officiating at the same-sex wedding of his son, 7 years ago.)

It matters because as United Methodists the world is watching us.  They are watching us not only on issues of gay marriage but on how we are treating each other as we disagree.

It matters because I love and I mean really LOVE people who disagree with me on this issue.  As the only Democrat in my biological family, I admit I have practice at this (I say this with a smile on my face)

Unfortunately what is published or sticks out about the church is our unloving treatment of each other when we disagree.  God never said we had to like each other or each other's ways...just that we sit at each other's table and try the food and talk.  Respecting each other enough to talk, that is what makes real love so hard. 

1 John 4:14 (in part) says: "God is love. Anyone who leads a life of love shows that he is joined to God. And God is joined to him."  Where love is God is.

It matters because we are a church (United Methodists) who disagree and can't agree that we disagree and so what is lost?  Love. We are no different than the world's solution when we are a "don't ask, don't tell" church or an uncompromising body that comes to a stalemate; setting us up for failure. 

It matters because it is cold outside and gas and fuel are expensive and jobs are limited and while we argue to be a body of one mind-- people are cold and hungry and living on the streets and we may be talking/thinking less about them than this trial. 

It matters because as a pastor I have had to say no to two weddings for gay couples-- one was the wedding of one of my best friend's daughter and the other was for a couple that had been together over 10 years.

             I said no because I am a Martha and for the most part a rule follower, though like Martha I am also a Jesus follower who taught all of us it is sometimes necessary to break the rules.

Saying no denied what I believe to be my call –which is to support and include all God's people in love.  And so while others may not agree with me, it matters that people know this about me and other clergy.

In Dr. Seuss's movie The Lorax, the Lorax asks the Once-ler a rhetorical question-"Which way does a tree fall?—the answer…The way it leans."

This conversation matters because if we lean into each other with love we may actually stop the collapse of this house.

Walking with Scarecrows

Richmond Maine downtown scarecrow contest

            Ask me the main reason I belong to a church, outside of my job of course, and I will tell you it is because of the amazing and baffling love I have found through a variety of people.  This love keeps me grounded and life very interesting.

   I recently served on a young women's youth retreat.  The young women arrived Friday night to a team of other women ranging in age from mid-teens to mid-70s.  What do 17 year olds have in common with 70 year olds?  Nothing and everything.

"AND FINALLY THE Gospel itself as comedy—the coming together of Mutt and Jeff, the Captain and the Kids, the Wizard of Oz and the Scarecrow: the coming together of God in his unending greatness and glory and man in his unending littleness, prepared for the worst but rarely for the best, prepared for the possible but rarely for the impossible. The good news breaks into a world where the news has been so bad for so long that when it is good nobody hears it much except for a few."  Frederick Buechner

     I shared with the young women that I am friends with unlikely people, like the Scarecrow and Mutt and Jeff, and my world is bigger and better because of it. Because of them I have more opportunity to see, hear and experience the good news. 

    

 Acts 2:17--"'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young people will see visions, your old people will dream dreams."

     What does it mean to see young people as prophetic and elderly people as dreamers?  It means that we live with respect and value toward all people.  It means a 17 year old can answer a call to ministry with words of encouragement rather than "You can't!"  It means a 90 year old author living with dementia still dreams of helping others tell their story and still sees the world as full of opportunity.

     Is there no better hope in the world than a young person who sees into the future?  Is there no better hope in the world than a 90 year old dreamer?  All is not lost, both are saying "There is more to come, there is more to come."

     I challenged the women on this weekend to look at their Facebook friends and take an honest look at who they are friends with.  What does it say if everyone is related or looks the same?  What would it mean to have people look at our friends list and say "Who is that and why are you friends with them?"  The people on that list who actually stand by you in times of sorrow and joy may actually surprise you.

    When I was first diagnosed with M.S. at the age of 35 it was the people 50 and older who took me to appointments and fed our children.  A retired woman from the military with a bit of a stern approach to children, gathered us up one day, packed a picnic and took us to a playground telling me "the children need some sun and fun, let's go" and she was right.  Listening to WWII vets in a bible study share their stories allowed me to keep dreaming just as they had. It was the young people who let me rest knowing that the world was (and is) in good hands, go to any middle school science fair and you will walk away understanding they really so have visions for tomorrow.

     There may be bad news in the world but the good news comes when we see all that is possible while walking alongside the Scarecrow.

Another Richmond scarecrow.