Finding Our Voice
Originally Published at Faithfully Liberal -- Finding Our Voice
John the Baptist, the Gospel of John records, identified himself his own calling and mission with a passage from the prophet Isaiah:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,Make straight the way of the Lord” (John 1:23).
From what we know of John, he saw himself as a rather lone voice, being that he was crying in the wilderness. At times, we who identify ourselves as moderate to liberal or progressive Christians sense that we too are lone voices. We wonder if anyone is listening – (or reading our blogs). More likely, we have kept quiet. I have written before of my own sense of caution, a caution rooted in some ways in the fact that I’ve lost two jobs – one as a college theology professor and then later as a pastor – because my views weren’t in accord with some in those institutions. So, maybe my reticence is understandable, but maybe more is required of me.
The question is, by our silence or at least our timidness, have we left the world without an authentic witness of God’s gracious and welcoming love? Have we let those with a politics of fear and exclusion have the upper hand, when in fact there are so many people out there who are waiting to hear a different voice?
On Saturday I had the privilege of being a panelist at the Santa Barbara LBGTQ Film Festival’s screening of For the Bible Tells Me So, the wonderful Daniel Karslake directed documentary (see my earlier review here and reflections posted here). For me this was a first – for the first time in a very public setting I identified myself as on the side of the LBGTQ community. Oh, I’ve written about it and I’ve talked about it in safe places, but here I was in a rather full theater sharing my own story of moving from an exclusionary to welcoming position. I will confess to being very nervous, not sure what I would say, but somehow I found my voice. When one member of the audience asked what the church had to say to LBGTQ children who have been either rejected or become estranged from parents and family through our teachings about homosexuality, I felt compelled to apologize for the church and ask for both forgiveness and patience with our caution. Afterwards several people came to me to thank me for what I said and commended me for my courage. Ah, if only I were truly courageous. Another person came to me and said that this was the first time she had ever heard a pastor apologize for the church’s role in excluding Gays and Lesbians. Perhaps that’s was a start, but there’s so much more to be done. So, at least for a moment I joined others like Mary Lou Wallner, Gene Robinson, Jake Reitan, and others profiled in the film, who have become true voices in the wilderness.
Let us make our voice heard in the wilderness, but let us do so humbly and without hubris.
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