"What has come into Being in the Word was life, and the life was the light of all people."
--John 1:3b-4
December brought some snow to Chicago...for me that is a sign of Christmas coming.
Christmas is coming, coming soon. This is Advent, as we watch for Jesus to come, our hopes are voiced in the hymns, prayers and preaching of our local congregations. As LGBT people of faith we hope.
Advent is a time of the light breaking into the darkness. As we hope for inclusive church and community, the light may be the thoughtfulness that breaks down ignorance. The light will be those days when "Love your neighbor" activities break into complacency and idle confusion. For the ones who watch and hope in Jesus, the life and the light does come.
In my twenties, coming to full realization that I was lesbian, I turned to scripture not really sure how it would speak to me. As a Christian, naturally I began with the Gospels. Reading page by page in the book of Matthew I saw the stories that I knew from my childhood. Very early in the New Testament is the "Lord's Prayer", the Beatitudes and other stories of God’s love for us. This is Good News!
Thankfully the effort to hate myself for being gay was being healed by the scriptures themselves. The words reinforced my earlier positive experiences of church. Many Christian leaders, theologians and Bible scholars admonish us, "Read the scripture as if it were written to you."
I distinctly remember reading Matthew 5 in those days. I smiled when I read...
It tickled me to realize – Oh! This is where the song comes from! “This little light of mine…” Today I also know that in my Bible is my name; Matt 5 says, “Sue, let your light shine.”
When Julie and I were married at the General Conference last May, the ceremony began inside the convention center. After the welcome, hundreds of us processed out of that place singing the children’s song that is so profound, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” It was sung with passion and power as we brought our light into world. It is more than a children’s song, it carries the hope of Advent.
As Reconciling United Methodists we hope for a truly welcoming Church. We anticipate the joy of the moment when every person will know, and feel it deeply in their souls, that they are precious to God and precious within the human community.
Sometimes it feels like we live in a season of Advent no matter the month or day. We trust in God, we give thanks for the moments when we have seen this light and love, and we let God’s light and love flow through us into the world.
By Sue Laurie for the Grassroots Committee
Sue is the Outreach Coordinator for Reconciling Ministries Network.
Reconciling Ministries Network mobilizes United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform our Church and world into the full expression of Christ’s inclusive love.
