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Lighthouse or Clubhouse by Fr. John Crepeau (Ed. Note: The following is the Homily given by Fr. John Crepeau on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, at our Dignity Liturgy, Sunday, January 11, 1998) Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! Now and forever! Amen! Once again the Word of God this week consoles and challenges us. First, the message of consolation. As I reflected on the gospel selection from Luke's account of the beginning of the Lord’s public ministry, the last sentence made me think of my own relationship with my parents. I don’t know about you but I don’t recall (which is not to say that it never happened) my dad or mom ever saying to me, "You are my beloved, I am so proud of you!" Even if they had, I probably would have found it difficult to hear because of my "secret" that made me feel different and ashamed. I often felt that I had to earn my parents’ love and affirmation. In retrospect a very frustrating way to grow up. It was so important to Jesus to be completely grounded in the unconditional love of His Parent-God. As difficult as the journey would be, He would constantly return to that one, abiding fact: He was loved NOT because of what He was doing or about to do, but just because! It’s taken me a long time to come to that same realization. God doesn’t love me because of what I do. God doesn’t love me because I try hard. God doesn’t love me because I am Gay. God loves me… just because! I have been loved into life by a loving God who loves me… just because! And so everything I do, everything I become, everything I say and believe can and should be a response to that "knowledge which seems almost too wonderful to me!" (Psalm 139) What a wonderful, comforting realization! The Lord says to all of us today, "You are my beloved child; with you I am well pleased!" There is also a wider challenge in today’s lessons and feast that I would like to address now. Because of our baptism we are called to be "church", the Lord’s body in the world. Sometimes I think that we view our faith and religion in a very narrow way. We can personalize our faith to such an extent that we forget the broader challenges of the gospel. To bring home my point I would like to share a little parable with you: Once upon a time, a group of people built a lighthouse to save people from the dangerous ocean. Everyone who joined the group knew their commitment was to go out and rescue people in peril. But, after a while, they decided there was no reason for all of them to risk their lives. Some of them should staff the lighthouse. After another passage of time, they decided they all should stay home and keep the light bright so people in danger could find their own way. After another while, the group was not quite sure they even wanted bedraggled people dripping all over the carpet, so they dimmed the light a little. And after another while, they decided they needed a new carpet and maybe an elevator. When the light went out, no one noticed. And after another while, someone quietly changed the sign outside from "Lighthouse" to "Clubhouse." As a church community, Dignity must continually examine what it is about. We know we are here to be a safe and comfortable place to pray and worship. We know that we exist as a human and political organization so that our message and issues can be made known to the larger church and society. However, if we lose sight of our calling, because of our baptism, to be "leaven" and "light" in the world, we might as well turn the light off ourselves and go home. We’ve lost it! I would hope that our Community Council and other committees would continually search out ways to challenge us to be a service organization. There are so many opportunities in the larger community where Dignity members can make a difference. Albert Schweitzer, in addressing a group of college graduates said: "I don’t know who among you will be successful or famous, but I do know this: the only ones among you who will be happy are those who will learn what it means to serve." I would challenge each of us today to ask the question: Is there anything I do with my time, talents or treasures each week that I do for NO OTHER REASON than to help someone else, where there is NOTHING in it for me? A good personal question to begin the New Year with! One of my favorite definitions of church comes from a South American liberation theologian, Juan Arias: "The church I love is the one who always has the fire lighted for all those who are cold and lonely; the bread newly baked for all those who are hungry, and the door open, the lamp lighted and the bed made for all those who walk the road, tired, in search of a truth and a love they have not yet found." |