My Dad Definitely Doesn't Hate You - Part II
Here is the second item from my last post - the letter from Rev'd Tim (and from my Father). Oh, it helps to read this post first.
November 9, 2008
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Dear friends,
What follows, though written by Tim, is a pastoral letter from both clergy at Grace.
It was a day of mourning.
A day which in memory will be ritualized in many of our hearts in years to come.
Those are words from a parishioner who wrote after Proposition 8 passed.
Most of you know that I firmly believe that religion and faith can’t be separated from politics. Incarnational faith-whether one is a Christian or not-leads to moral beliefs, which then form and inform our worldview, relationships with others, and political views and votes. My family, for example, reflecting our politics and our beliefs, had yard signs for Obama and “Vote No on 8.” We have parishioners at Grace who voted for Senator McCain but opposed Proposition 8.
I think-despite what my biases and prejudices want me to believe-that many or most of those who voted for Prop. 8 did so in good faith. Electoral post-mortems are showing that we can’t blame the passing of Proposition 8 solely on Mormons or “those who hate.”
Life, and theology, is not that simple. We need understanding, not blaming. Most Latinos voted for Obama and, because they are culturally conservative and because of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, many voted for 8; an article in the Los Angeles Times yesterday shows that many African-Americans believe that sexual orientation is a choice and that equal marriage rights are not a civil rights issue.
Many of you know that when the United States invaded Iraq, leading to Gulf War II, I resigned in protest as assisting priest at St. Paul’s. In con-versation at that time with my priest friend Gary, I said that the people who supported the invasion were not Christian. “No,” Gary wisely said, “they’re just not being good Christians right now.”
Right now. Vern and I pray and hope (in that order) that in the future more of us will vote out of love; we pray that all of us, right now, will believe and act out of love, as St. Paul asks: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7).
First Corinthians 13 can give you the warm and fuzzies at a wedding, but Paul’s words pierce the heart and mind and soul with their truthfulness and, yes, realism. Paul calls us to be real, not gooey, in love. Now, bless him or curse him, Paul’s given us one hell of a reality check. As in Jesus’ parables, God is now asking us to invest that check, that reality, not bury it in the ground or hide it under a basket.
Love teaches us that we should-we must-remember that “they,” those who voted for Prop. 8, are not horrible, wicked people. Love tells us that “they” can be members of our parish. Those who voted for 8 are, believe it or not, us. If some people did vote out of hatred, then, as believers in goodness and God’s grace, we need to remember what Jesus says: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).
Many of those who voted for Proposition 8 would disagree that many of us at Grace voted against Prop. 8 because of our understanding of God’s will and work in the world, even our understanding of God’s very being. But at this painful time all of us at Grace, whether we voted for or against 8, should-must-remember that a very important part of our Episcopal ethos is to act and live from all of scripture-not just selected passages from Genesis, Leviticus, Paul, and the Pastoral Epistles-and that, in addition to scripture, we have Church tradition, reason, and experience to guide us.
Yes, I too have selected passages above, but I believe-as a priest, a pastor, a scholar, and as a person of faith-that an ethic of love, an ethic of redemptive and reconciling love in the face of opposition and even persecution, is inscribed on the cornerstone of our Judeo-Christian faith and heritage.
Those of us you reading this pastoral letter who are also Christians and Episcopalians recently reaffirmed on All Saints’ Day, and will affirm and reaffirm with baptism on the Feast of the Epiphany in January, your baptismal covenant, which can guide and reassure us:
We will, with God’s help, seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves.
We will, with God’s help, strive for justice and peace among all people.
We will, with God’s help, respect the dignity of every human being.
Guidance and reassurance, though, will not always protect us. For many of us, these are difficult, even bitter, times. I do not wish in any way to under-estimate the pain, grief, hurt, and suffering that many of you feel now. As a heterosexual, I know I can’t fully feel the depths of the sorrow many of you have. One parishioner made the excellent suggestion that we all stop for a time, breathe, and re-connect with the spiritual aspect of our lives.
Re-connect with the spiritual aspect of our lives. Evagrius of Pontus (4th c.), one of the great spiritual-theologians of the Early Church, memorably said that “a theologian is the person who prays, and the person who prays is a theologian.” As Evelyn Waugh inscribed at the beginning of Brideshead Revisited, “Only connect.” And reconnect, and reconnect, and. . . . All of us, when we take our faith seriously, are theologians. All of us have so much to offer: to ourselves, to our friends and neighbors, to our parish and the world-and to those with whom we disagree, even those with whom we disagree strongly or passionately or violently.
As a theologian from our parish recently wrote, “In the years to come, it is important to not lose hope. We must reach those who did not vote. We must reach those who were on the margin and barely voted yes. I as a Christian realize” that it is we who are continuing “the works Jesus started [and continued from his Jewish tradition] . . . to make a more loving world.”
It’s up to us, with God’s help and by God’s grace, to make a more loving world.
Please know that Vern and I also have heavy hearts now. But please know, too-and this is extremely important-that we are here for all of you. Please know that we are always available as friends and pastors. To those of you who are hurting and in pain, share your pain and hurt with others: with God, with friends, with your beloved, with your enemies and, if needed, with Vern and me as your pastors. If needed, share with us your disagreements with this letter (in person). Vern and I are here, as fellow theologians and as fellow wounded healers, to listen and to offer not our help, but God’s loving embrace through us.
Grace, peace, and God’s blessings,
Tim Vern
The Rev. Dr. Tim Vivian The Rev. Vern Hill
Vicar Associate Vicar
The Episcopal Church is a member of the Anglican Communion
November 9, 2008
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Dear friends,
What follows, though written by Tim, is a pastoral letter from both clergy at Grace.
It was a day of mourning.
A day which in memory will be ritualized in many of our hearts in years to come.
Those are words from a parishioner who wrote after Proposition 8 passed.
Most of you know that I firmly believe that religion and faith can’t be separated from politics. Incarnational faith-whether one is a Christian or not-leads to moral beliefs, which then form and inform our worldview, relationships with others, and political views and votes. My family, for example, reflecting our politics and our beliefs, had yard signs for Obama and “Vote No on 8.” We have parishioners at Grace who voted for Senator McCain but opposed Proposition 8.
I think-despite what my biases and prejudices want me to believe-that many or most of those who voted for Prop. 8 did so in good faith. Electoral post-mortems are showing that we can’t blame the passing of Proposition 8 solely on Mormons or “those who hate.”
Life, and theology, is not that simple. We need understanding, not blaming. Most Latinos voted for Obama and, because they are culturally conservative and because of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, many voted for 8; an article in the Los Angeles Times yesterday shows that many African-Americans believe that sexual orientation is a choice and that equal marriage rights are not a civil rights issue.
Many of you know that when the United States invaded Iraq, leading to Gulf War II, I resigned in protest as assisting priest at St. Paul’s. In con-versation at that time with my priest friend Gary, I said that the people who supported the invasion were not Christian. “No,” Gary wisely said, “they’re just not being good Christians right now.”
Right now. Vern and I pray and hope (in that order) that in the future more of us will vote out of love; we pray that all of us, right now, will believe and act out of love, as St. Paul asks: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7).
First Corinthians 13 can give you the warm and fuzzies at a wedding, but Paul’s words pierce the heart and mind and soul with their truthfulness and, yes, realism. Paul calls us to be real, not gooey, in love. Now, bless him or curse him, Paul’s given us one hell of a reality check. As in Jesus’ parables, God is now asking us to invest that check, that reality, not bury it in the ground or hide it under a basket.
Love teaches us that we should-we must-remember that “they,” those who voted for Prop. 8, are not horrible, wicked people. Love tells us that “they” can be members of our parish. Those who voted for 8 are, believe it or not, us. If some people did vote out of hatred, then, as believers in goodness and God’s grace, we need to remember what Jesus says: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).
Many of those who voted for Proposition 8 would disagree that many of us at Grace voted against Prop. 8 because of our understanding of God’s will and work in the world, even our understanding of God’s very being. But at this painful time all of us at Grace, whether we voted for or against 8, should-must-remember that a very important part of our Episcopal ethos is to act and live from all of scripture-not just selected passages from Genesis, Leviticus, Paul, and the Pastoral Epistles-and that, in addition to scripture, we have Church tradition, reason, and experience to guide us.
Yes, I too have selected passages above, but I believe-as a priest, a pastor, a scholar, and as a person of faith-that an ethic of love, an ethic of redemptive and reconciling love in the face of opposition and even persecution, is inscribed on the cornerstone of our Judeo-Christian faith and heritage.
Those of us you reading this pastoral letter who are also Christians and Episcopalians recently reaffirmed on All Saints’ Day, and will affirm and reaffirm with baptism on the Feast of the Epiphany in January, your baptismal covenant, which can guide and reassure us:
We will, with God’s help, seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves.
We will, with God’s help, strive for justice and peace among all people.
We will, with God’s help, respect the dignity of every human being.
Guidance and reassurance, though, will not always protect us. For many of us, these are difficult, even bitter, times. I do not wish in any way to under-estimate the pain, grief, hurt, and suffering that many of you feel now. As a heterosexual, I know I can’t fully feel the depths of the sorrow many of you have. One parishioner made the excellent suggestion that we all stop for a time, breathe, and re-connect with the spiritual aspect of our lives.
Re-connect with the spiritual aspect of our lives. Evagrius of Pontus (4th c.), one of the great spiritual-theologians of the Early Church, memorably said that “a theologian is the person who prays, and the person who prays is a theologian.” As Evelyn Waugh inscribed at the beginning of Brideshead Revisited, “Only connect.” And reconnect, and reconnect, and. . . . All of us, when we take our faith seriously, are theologians. All of us have so much to offer: to ourselves, to our friends and neighbors, to our parish and the world-and to those with whom we disagree, even those with whom we disagree strongly or passionately or violently.
As a theologian from our parish recently wrote, “In the years to come, it is important to not lose hope. We must reach those who did not vote. We must reach those who were on the margin and barely voted yes. I as a Christian realize” that it is we who are continuing “the works Jesus started [and continued from his Jewish tradition] . . . to make a more loving world.”
It’s up to us, with God’s help and by God’s grace, to make a more loving world.
Please know that Vern and I also have heavy hearts now. But please know, too-and this is extremely important-that we are here for all of you. Please know that we are always available as friends and pastors. To those of you who are hurting and in pain, share your pain and hurt with others: with God, with friends, with your beloved, with your enemies and, if needed, with Vern and me as your pastors. If needed, share with us your disagreements with this letter (in person). Vern and I are here, as fellow theologians and as fellow wounded healers, to listen and to offer not our help, but God’s loving embrace through us.
Grace, peace, and God’s blessings,
Tim Vern
The Rev. Dr. Tim Vivian The Rev. Vern Hill
Vicar Associate Vicar
The Episcopal Church is a member of the Anglican Communion