“I Mean To Stay At Your House” November 17, 2009
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Uncategorized.Tags: Bible, Christianity, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, Love, Relationships, Religion, Spirituality
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Luke 19: 1-10
To be chosen is a wonderful thing. Remember when your partner chose you? Remember the day someone looked at you and said they loved you? Or, better yet, having known you a long time, knowing your faults and foibles, that person still loves you?
What a great thing it is to be chosen; not only at first, but day after day. What a great thing it is to be loved, despite one’s weaknesses or failures.
It must have been what Zacchaeus felt when Jesus said: “Hurry down, I mean to stay at your house.” What a wonderful thing it must have been for Zacchaeus, who was despised because he was a tax collector, to feel invited to become a part of the group again. How healing this must have been. We don’t know, but I wonder what happened to Zacchaeus over time? And notice too, despite the grumblings of the righteous folk around that Jesus was going to “go to a sinner’s house,” Jesus did not back down.
God doesn’t want to hang around on the periphery. She wants to come inside our house, the place where we are fully ourselves, gifts and warts and all. He desires to come to the place where we are fully known and there speak a word of love that has the power to move us beyond mere observers in a tree to participants in life and community. I mean to stay at your house.
Are You Willing? August 18, 2009
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Uncategorized.Tags: Bible, Catholicism, Christianity, Courage, Dreams, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, GLBT, Prophets, Religion, Spirituality
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I admire the courage of those who have risked their jobs and the support of family, friends and associates to take a stance, to walk in a new way and to make a new dream a reality. It is such people that make things change. It’s like the thoughts that many have, the conversations about how this or that should be different, suddenly become REAL when someone stops talking and starts doing.
“Everyone who has given up home, brothers or sisters, father or mother, wife or children or property for my sake, will receive many times as much . . .” (See Matthew 19: 23-30)
What am I being called to let go of in order to make a new dream a reality?
Not Living To See the Dream August 11, 2009
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Uncategorized.Tags: Bible, Catholicism, Christianity, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Personal Growth, Religion, Spirituality
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Moses, the man who lead Israel out of Egypt to the promised land, never himself made it to the promised land. He died before they got there, surrendering the people and the dream into God’s hands.
Those of us who dream a new dream and who work for gay rights, church renewal, the end of hunger and poverty, equality among all people (and the list goes on) may never live to see the “promised land.” We may never live to see the dream take shape. Does that mean that we should not, like Moses, lead others through the desert to this land?
We are sometimes the cornerstone, the building blocks that make a dream a reality – but we may never live to see the dream take shape.
What is your dream? What is a vision for a better world that you hold in your heart?
What is a step that we can take today to get to the promised land? Instead of wondering if we’ll actually see our dream realized, perhaps we should just act as if it will.
Stay Connected . . . And Do It! August 10, 2009
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Uncategorized.Tags: Action, Bible, Catholicsm, Christianity, Fear, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, LGBT, Religion, Spirituality, Work
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When I am connected to my Source, taking the time to pray, meditate and read all of a sudden it seems that life begins to flow, take shape and my work is given wings. Life takes off. Conversely, when I am not connected, I am like a hampster in a cage that runs and runs and gets nowhere – fast.
“God is able to make every grace abundant for you.” (See 2Corinthians 9: 6-10).
I have of late been taking some risks. At times I have been frightened, but I have to believe that, if what I am doing is in the flow of Divine grace – God will provide – and provide ABUNDANTLY. The important thing is that I stay connected and then, just do it.
There Is A Santa Claus! December 18, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Uncategorized.Tags: Advent, Christmas, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, Miracle on 34th Street, Polar Express, Relgion, Santa Claus, Spirituality
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I can understand now where in the Gospels Jesus says, “But when the Son of Man comes will he find any faith on the earth?” We are beckoned in this season to believe in the seemingly impossible! The readings that we have at this time of year from Isaiah bring tears to my eyes. They are so blasted beautiful! For me it’s like watching one of those sweet syrupy Christmas movies where the guy always gets the right girl (or guy as the case may be!). I’ll admit it, when I watch one of those movies I cry. And when I read these absolutely beautiful readings from Isaiah, I sometimes cry. I cry because I am sad because this vision that Isaiah describes isn’t a reality. But I also cry because it beckons me to hope, to believe again. The movie “Polar Express” is a wonderful expression of the belief to which we’re called. When we believe, magical things begin to happen! We begin to hear and see things that we previously did not! “Remember, the magic of Christmas lays in your heart!” (From the movie “Polar Express”)
We’re called in this Advent season to be absolute fools and believe in the seemingly impossible! We’re called to believe that the blind can see, the deaf can hear, that the tyrant will be no more, the arrogant are gone and that the shame of any wrongdoing on our part is removed.
We are called, invited and cajoled in this season to believe in the seemingly impossible! What’s your dream? What’s your dream for our world? Can we believe that it CAN become a reality? “Yes Virginia there IS a Santa Claus! . . . The most real things in this world are those that neither children nor (people) can see.” (From Francis B. Church’s editorial in The New York Sun from 1897, which was later made into the famous movie “Miracle on 34th Street”). “Faith is believing when common sense tells us not to.” (From the movie “Miracle on 34th Street) Can we look beyond the hum drum of our everyday lives and the violence of our world to the Magic underneath it all and to the One who IS there and who so desires to make dreams a reality, . . . if we only believe!
Dysfunction Junction – More on Family December 17, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Uncategorized.Tags: Advent, Christmas, Dysfunctional Family, Family Holidays, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, Religion, Spirituality, The Holidays
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Good things can emerge from seemingly bad or shady experiences. The genealogy of Jesus that we have in Matthew is not an accurate historical record. The purpose of Matthew is to place Jesus in the line of David setting him up as King. As you read the record though, there are some interesting people that emerge like Rahab, the mother of Boaz who was a prostitute, and his wife Ruth who was born of incestuous origins. Of course we also have King David – one of the greats of the Old Testament – who was also an adulterer and murderer. Matthew places Jesus within the lineage of some pretty interesting people! The point is that all is “redeemed.” Our shortcomings, or the shortcomings of our families are not the end of the road. Good things can emerge from seemingly less than perfect people! What one of us is perfect? What one of us does not carry with us some shame of past or present transgressions? Perhaps a lesson today could be to let go of the shame, to let go of the past and to live well in our present, knowing that we are loved, despite our imperfections, and that we can do good, despite our flaws. We need to do what we can to overcome our character defects, . . . yes! But to live in the shame placed on us by ourselves or others only serves to keep us down. It does nothing for us or others. Despite our imperfections, we can still do great good in the world and bring light and life to others!
Family December 17, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Uncategorized.Tags: Belonging, Christmas, Dealing With Famiy, Family, Family Issues, Gay, Gay Catholic, Gay Christian, Gay Family, Gay Life, Genealogy, GLBT, The Holidays
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Some of us who are gay unfortunately have had negative experiences with our families. I know some gay people that were kicked out of their homes when they were teens, others whose partners are never welcome in their family’s homes. I myself was told by my brother around this time last year that I was a spiritual detriment to his family and that he needed to protect them from me. Gratefully I also know families who welcome their gay sons and daughters and their partners with open arms. How blest are they indeed!
Whether we are gay or straight, people sometimes have difficulty with their family. Family issues have a way of coming to the fore around this time when, traditionally, families gather. If you are one who has issues with your family, take heart. Even Jesus‘ family had some issues and his genealogy certainly contained a few characters! I can only imagine what Mary and Joseph’s brothers and sisters must have thought of their nephew at times! No one is really immune. It’s just a part of life.
I think its important, especially this time of year, to have some sense of family, some sense of belonging, particularly for those who have difficulty with their own families. Perhaps it might be a time to look around. Is there someone that we know who is without a sense of family or belonging? Like the One who welcomed all to the table, perhaps we might invite them to our tables. And if you are one who is alone, one who has been rejected, know that you are not rejected from the Divine table, but are embraced in love – no matter what your family, or even your church family may say!
I’m Horny!. . .Erotic Energy and the Divine September 25, 2008
Posted by theguyoutsidethewalls in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
I don’t know if it’s because I had a week without electicity, or that I find myself overwhelmed with work to catch up on, or because I haven’t slept well in a week and a half due to hay fever, . . . but I’ve been very horny lately! I mean VERY! I haven’t felt this horny in a long time! I feel like I did years ago when I could practically get off just by looking at the object of my desire or being near him!
What a wonderful feeling!
Perhaps I’m just looking for an escape, a way to blow off some energy because I’m tired and overworked? I don’t know. Whatever the case, it provides a palatable moment when erotic energy and spiritual energy meet. The other day I sat praying with my mind and body whirling off on some sexual fantasy. When I would wake up out of the fantasy I would try to bring myself back to my prayer. It didn’t work. So instead of fighting it, I welcomed this wonderful flood of eroticism into my prayer experience. It became one of those graced moments of integration where sexuality and spirituality kissed and made love to each other. I breathed prayer energy right into the sexual fantasy and the erotic energy right into my prayer. I have found since that morning, as I continue in a very horny trend, I celebrate the flood of erotic energy that I’m feeling as something sacred and tribal. I find myself welcoming this animal instinct and the desire within to merge with my “tribe” of men, as it were. Almost as if to explore them is to explore the Divine. I’ve not quite felt something like this before to be honest and I’m not even sure where I’m going with this, but something within me is saying “go with it.”
I welcome this teaching of integration, this awakening that I am feeling. It’s an awesome feeling of wholeness and oneness where Divine energy is discovered in the erotic – this spark of the Divine within us. I feel myself being called to explore this integration further as I welcome this flood or eroticism, instead of repressing it. It’s a wonderful feeling to welcome such energy in my spirit life.
Thank you God for this gift!
