July 24, 2011
There are those who ask, “Why do we need to keep on talking about GLBT rights ? Is this really something we need to talk about in a church or congregational setting.†Then there are those who are just tired of hearing about it. Some wish we would just move on and talk about something else. It is my greatest hope that the day will come when we can stop talking about this.
The goal of any great movement; women’s rights, reproductive rights, the right to die, racial equality, the green movement, the peace movement, and the right to love whomever one chooses to love, ought to have as the final goal, becoming obsolete. The sure sign of the success of ANY movement is when the movement is no longer needed. When speaking about the goals or beliefs of the movement becomes redundant. This morning, in our choral reading called, “The Arc of the Universe Bends Toward Justice,†we retraced the steps of the GLBT movement. Of course, the movement is much older that the reading would indicate; There were countless others who stood for this movement. Thousands of others who gave their careers, resources, and even their lives. Thousands of others who were murdered or tortured for the cause….
But, in the brief summary we heard today of this movement, we realize that we are standing on the shoulders of those who went before us. We realize that any progress we have made, any rights we have gained, have been passed to us as a gift from those who stood strong in the face of insurmountable odds
Many of the worlds religious movements have at their core the ideal of self-sacrifice for one’s beliefs. Before Christianity became entrenched in doctrinal and theological debates over the meaning of the atonement and the death of Christ on a cross, we had a simple truth. The world does not like to be challenged. Society does not like to be questioned about assumed values. The status quo enjoys the power of being in charge.
When a person or a group questions the norms, speaks the truth that there may be a different way of believing, they are often punished and sacrificed for having the audacity to challenge what theologian Walter Wink calls, “The Power That Be.†As a result, those who spoke a different truth have been sacrificed on any number of crosses throughout world history. History bears testimony to individuals and entire populations that have been silenced for the sake of maintaining the status quo. It is a bloody history.
Why do we need to keep talking ? Why do we need to have a PRIDE day each year ? Why has HUU completed the process for becoming a Welcoming Congregation ? Why do we still need to wear the rainbow ribbons and bother to have a rally at the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists in Charlotte, NC ? Because the work is not yet done. Our society is not yet one that affirms the right of all persons to love whomever they choose to love. Society in many states still criminalizes the lives of millions of GLBT persons. Many states, Virginia being one of these, still do not recognize acts against GLBT persons as a protected class. Same-sex couples who have lived together as long if not longer than many heterosexual couples still do not enjoy the financial and legal protections that would give evidence of a just society. They are not entitled to survivors benefits, health insurance, and in many cases, will be excluded if their partner becomes critically ill from even being allowed to visit let alone carry out the clearly stated wishes of their life-partner.
This is why we still talk about these rights, why we still write letters, make calls, join in rallies, and at times, protest. We will need to keep doing these things until the day comes when persons can walk down the street and hold hands with whomever they love. When all persons are considered as adoptive parents not based on their gender, but on their ability to love a child. When it is possible to place a photo of whomever you love on your desk at work and not be afraid. When kids in schools are no longer called fag or queer. When teens can take whomever they wish to the prom. When the newspapers are willing to publish engagement and marriage announcements based on love, not gender. When two persons, no matter their gender or gender identity, can care for those they love with health and life insurance through their employer and when social security benefits pass to the person you have loved for decades. And maybe, just maybe, the person elected to hold the highest office in this land can have a first lady, or first man even if they share the same gender or gender identity. Imagine that !
We have a lot to do yet before we become obsolete as a movement. But, at the same time we cannot ignore what has happened. Marriage is now legal in several states and partners are afforded the same rights. Don’t ask, Don’t tell is gone. We have “log cabin Republicans.†In many communities, elected public officials are open and out. As of this date, with the Unitarian Universalists leading the way nearly 40 years ago, churches, including The Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, United Church of Christ, and most recently, The Presbyterian Church USA now ordain openly gay clergy. 40 years ago, when the Unitarian Universalists took this step, who could have imagined ? I stand here today, on the one hand a victim of hateful church teachings and doctrine; and on the other hand, as the grateful beneficiary of those who fought for my right to stand in the pulpit of a church before I was even old enough to understand who I was or that it was OK to love whomever I chose to love.
So we will gather today in the park… for the 5th year in a row now. We will cast a vision of what might be, what could be, if we don’t lose heart and surrender to fear. And finally, we join together to help bring that day when we are no longer needed. When the message is redundant and obsolete and when the right to love anyone is assumed and cherished. Is that an impossible dream ? Tell Harvey Milk… Tell Mat Shepard… Tell the folks who have now been legally married when before they couldn’t… Tell those who have formed families of many varieties and shapes through adoption… Tell those who bravely defended our country, who endured don’t ask, don’t tell… Tell the queens who were at the Stonewall Inn who took to the streets in leather and heels… Tell those who now hold elected offices…Tell ministers who now stand behind the pulpits of major denominations… Tell all of these that change is not possible; That their work and the price they paid was in vain; That society will never change; Tell them, and you will hear a resounding chorus of joyful voices who believed the fight was worth the effort and the cost was worth the goal and who freely gave of their resources and even their lives to pave the way to where we are today…. Tell them things will never change. They will tell you to look around. Look all around you.
May the day come when we are obsolete and redundant. But, until that day…. May we keep talking, keep working, Keep moving forward. The Arc of the universe is bent toward justice. But it is our work, our hands, our voices, that bring justice to pass and hand down to generations yet born the blessings of liberty and self-determination which we received at great price.
So May It Be.