The following is a homily that I gave to the LGBTQ church community, Dignity-Integrity Rochester, and their allies on June 10, 2018.
I call my homily:
A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND:
A MIND DIVIDED CANNOT FIND PEACE
And I draw insight from 3 of the readings.
In the first reading from Genesis, Gn 3:9-15, there seems to be a lot of finger pointing and blame going on about the eating of the forbidden fruit.
Allow me to quote some of those passages we just heard:
11 And God said to Adam, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Basically, it’s a replay of the old Flip Wilson line, “The devil made me do it!
What does “the devil” make any of us do?
And, who or what is the devil?
And…what is God asking Adam and Eve?
What is the symbolism in the reading from Genesis?
I’ll give you my thoughts. Yours may be similar or may differ.
Adam and Eve: For me they represent the Yin and the Yang; the opposition of powers within us; when one is out of balance, so must the other be. These are forces within us that we constantly strive to keep in equilibrium.
The Serpent: represents the devil; or our ego; that voice that keeps yelling in our ear, “Go ahead, do it. Go ahead, I’ve got your back.” When in essence, the devil, or our ego, is pushing on our back to choose anything other than God.
The Garden: Heaven; the awareness of love, peace, joy, abundance, innocence and grace.
The Tree: temptations of the ego that God has told us to avoid because it will make us forget who we really are; our True identity; our Truth.
Being Naked: A dream state where we forget that we are one with God; where we forget that we are NOT vulnerable; a state of fear.
The devil doesn’t make us do anything. Remember, God told us that he imbued us with FREE WILL. The free will to make choices. And if we make mistakes, Holy Spirit says, we can always choose again…because we have FREE WILL.
***
And, isn’t Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians beautiful? 2 Cor 4:13-5:1
Please allow me to interpret this passage from Paul’s Letter through the lens of the Holy Spirit:
Belief in this earthly world places the veil of darkness over our mind, but the veil was not placed there by God or Holy Spirit. This veil is an obstacle that can be lifted through our own desire. It was placed over the truth through our own desire to see apart from truth. Therefore, the veil is lifted through our desire to lay down untruth and see through Christ Vision, once again.
What is Christ Vision? It is that I see only your truth and not the stories I’ve made up about you; not the arguments or disagreements we’ve had. Not the fear that I place in you. But simply your light.
What is the veil but our belief in separation; our belief that we somehow denied God; our belief that we have to go it alone, without Guidance from Holy Spirit. The belief that we have been abandoned.
We express our beliefs in the way we think and how we act. So, we need to watch our thoughts. What are we allowing ourselves to think? Are we thinking of the illusion of the world as if it is real? If so, we are expressing our desire to accept the veil of darkness. Is this our true desire? If not, why do we permit ourselves to express it through activity of our thoughts?
BE VIGILANT. DO NOT ALLOW A THIEF IN THE NIGHT TO STEAL YOUR SERENITY!
We need to watch our thoughts. Let them express our true desire. If they do not, we need let them go.
We must fix our eyes and our thoughts on the true desire of our Heart, not because it is our hope for the future, but because it IS our reality now.
REALITY AND NOW ARE SYNONYMOUS. REALITY CAN ONLY EXIST IN THE PRESENT, IN THE NOW. IF WE ARE EXPERIENCING ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE PEACE OF REALITY, WE ARE NOT LIVING IN THE NOW; WE HAVE NOT GONE THROUGH THE WORMHOLE OF ILLUSION INTO REALITY/HEAVEN/ENLIGHTENMENT/TRUTH.
We are what our Heart tells we are. Only we do not see it, because we do not focus ourselves there.
WE ARE WHAT GOD, THROUGH SPIRIT TELLS US WE ARE. ARE WE LISTENING. ARE WE WILLING TO: STOP. ASK. LISTEN?
Focus on the ego-driven world and we will believe the world. Believe what the world tells us, and we choose to keep the veil, which hides our truth.
WE HAVE A CHOICE: FOCUS ON HEAVEN OR FOCUS ON THIS WORLD OF HELL. WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE?
***
Focus on your Heart (YOUR SPIRIT/HOLY SPIRIT WHO LIVES WITH EACH OF US) in all your thoughts, and you choose against the veil, darkness. Choose, instead that the veil may be lifted, that you may see your truth and your brother’s and sister’s truth and know in the joy of your Heart that it is true.
The truth of our identity is not in the host of labels that society puts on us, which too many of us believe and then place upon ourselves. The Capital “T” Truth is that, no matter our labels, no matter how society, or we, choose to identity ourselves, in God’s Eyes, our ONLY TRUE IDENTITY IS THAT OF LOVE, PEACE, JOY, INNOCENCE, and ABUNDANCE
***
And finally, let’s unpack Mark’s passage. Mk 3:20-35
Many did not understand Jesus. The pressure put on Jesus was great. The crowds wanted their bodies healed. His family wanted him to come home and rest. The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus to be quieted. And so, one day, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was given the opportunity to address all of them.
In spite of their misunderstandings, people grew quiet when Jesus prepared to speak, so he was able to address them quietly and calmly.
JESUS, THROUGH SPIRIT, DOES NOT NEED TO SPEAK LOUDLY IN ORDER FOR US TO HEAR THEM. HOWEVER, WE MUST QUIET OUR MINDS AND LISTEN. WE MUST STOP. ASK. LISTEN.
Jesus said, as he appealed to the peoples’ ability to reason, “You say that I am possessed of demons and that I also drive out demons? But, if I am a brother to the demons, why would I drive them away? A house divided cannot stand. I am not helpful to a demon if it is demons I drive away.”
“Hmm, that makes sense,” at least some of them must have thought.
Jesus continued, “You say I have lost my mind and forgotten who I am, wandering the countryside like a lunatic, but does a lunatic know love and peace as I do? I have not forgotten who I am. I know who I am fully. A house divided cannot stand, and with this wisdom, I stand lovingly by my brothers now.”
A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND: A MIND DIVIDED CANNOT FIND PEACE AND MUST WITHER UNDER THE STRESS.
Is your mind divided against itself?
Are you real to yourself here, in this safe space, but not so much at home, among your friends, or at work?
Can you find peace if you are divided against yourself?
Can you find peace if you’re open here, in this space, but closeted at work, or with your family and your friends?
Jesus went on. “You say that I have magic to heal the sick and injured, but I say one man cannot heal another. Look within yourself and find what keeps you from being healed, that you may overcome that thing and be healed.”
The way we can be healed is to remember who we truly are. Once we’re aligned with our truth, the peace of God flows over us and through us.
IT IS FEAR THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HEALED. IT IS THE BELIEF IN SEPARATION FROM GOD THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HEALED. WE ARE ONE WITH GOD AND WITH EACH OTHER. WE CAN NEVER BE SEPARATED!
IT IS OUR FEAR OF BEING SEPARATED FROM OUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, JOB. But, how has being closeted worked for any of you, including parents and other family members? How at-peace are you?
Each one knew when Jesus was talking to him or her. And although they may not have understood his words fully, they saw his sincerity. Jesus was able to walk away from the crowd in silence.
WE KNOW WHEN JESUS IS SPEAKING TO US/WHEN GOD, THROUGH HOLY SPIRIT IS TALKING TO US. WE FEEL THE SERENITY OF THEIR WORDS. WE ARE SILENCED BY THE PEACE OF GOD
Jesus’ family followed him and his apostles o a quiet place., and they asked to be admitted inside to speak to him. Jesus knew they had come to ask him to return home, so he sent a messenger out to them to explain that his family is the family of God, and his duty now was to do as his heavenly Father asked. Jesus also sent an invitation to his family to join him, for the family of God is one.
The Holy Spirit’s Interpretation of the New Testament: A Course in Understanding and Acceptance. Foundation for the Holy Spirit, 2007.
WE ARE ALL FAMILY. WE ARE ALL ONE WITH GOD AND WITH EACH OTHER
How do these words, these truths speak to this community, this LGBTQ community and our allies?
The TRUE Words of God are to remind us of our truth
The TRUE Words of God are to remind us that we are all one Family in God.
The TRUE Words of God are to remind us that at the moment of our Creation by our Creator, we were forged out of the LOVE, PEACE, JOY, INNOCENCE, ABUNDANCE AND GRACE OF GOD.
The equation is:
If A = B and B = C, then A = C.
If God is Love, “A”
And if, God Created us, “B” from His Being.
Then, “C” we are the Love of God, which brings with it peace, joy, innocence, abundance and grace.
AMEN? Can I hear an AMEN?
***
So then, my family:
You can relax now.
C’mon and open your eyes to your truth.
Breathe deeply. God is with you.
***SING:(Click on link) “You Can Relax Now”
Written and sung by Shaina Noll
