Every time I read the bible, not depending on translations y paraphrases that seek to simplify it’s subjects for impatient modern readers (like myself) and the light of new discoveries of interpretation from it’s original language, I never stop being amused, especially when the translations are applied to modern situations.

Soon in CITY we will have out fourth GLBT Pride Parade, and coincidentally, on one of the best examples of a Pride Parade is outlined in the New Testament.

Almost 2000 years ago, in a Jewish city called Jerusalem a person named Jesus of Nazareth, a popular preacher, entered the city in a sort of pride parade.

How was that triumphant entrance that Jesus made into Jerusalem?

The four gospels tell us that he arrived on the back of a donkey and that the people came out to greet him making a carpet with their clothes and with tree branches placed on his path on the road and they lifted their hands to the heavens yelling:

Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the named of God.

But. Was Jesus always proud of who he was?

The answer is: NO, apparently, Jesus was not always proud of who he was.

Jesus was the incarnation of God. God made to be a human. And being human meant for him to doubt himself and his mission, just like you and I doubt some of the moments in out lives.

In that sense, Jesus was so much like you and I that we can’t doubt it.

Jesus was one of us.

Jesus knew he was different.

Jesus knew that he possessed certain qualities and gifts that only some possessed.

Jesus knew that for being different, he would be oppressed, persecuted and marginalized.

Jesus knew that the people around him would see him with with shame.

And, Jesus knew that he had no idea why he was like that, different.

How many of you have felt like Jesus felt?

How many of you have been judged without people truly knowing what you were like?

During his life, Jesus was rejected many times.

Joseph, acting in solidarity and justice, married Mary even though she was pregnant and knowing that she was not pregnant with his son, liberating her from a great embarrassment and a great punishment, her death.

However, for many of his contemporaries, especially the religious extremists, he was bastard.

I must point out that illegitimate children are a sexual minority excluded from the temple. Jesus, like many of us, asked himself many questions like these during a great part of his life.

Why God? Why am I different? Why me?

During a great part of his life, Jesus tried to deny to himself, who he really was. It wasn’t until he was about 30 years old that he began to ask himself those questions in a different way. How come God? How come I am different? How come you chose me? And he started his journey to find the answers.

Jesus separated himself from his familiar world and did not return until he had found the answers to every single one of his questions. He discovered he was different because of the grace of God and thanks to God.

God him/her-self had told him. But strangely enough, Jesus decided to keep who he really was a secret to everyone.

Had you ever thought about Jesus as a “Closet Messiah”?

The gospel of Mark speaks to us frequently of a “Jesus in the Closet”

A Jesus that while performing miracles with his own hands always asks to “not tell anyone” of what he has done.

In Mark, 1:24-25, 1:34 and 3:11-12, he tells off the demons for peeking in at the closet.

In Mark 1:44, 5:43, 7:36 and 8:26, after healing a leper, bringing a child back from the dead, heal a deaf person, and give sight to a blind person, he asks them to keep this all a secret. “Shhhh, don’t let anyone know!”

And in Mark 8:29-30 and 9:9 he orders his disciples to not reveal to anyone that he is the Messiah, the one sent by God.

But, why does Jesus keep asking not to reveal who he really is and of his mission?

The greak knowledge of the bible involves our knowing when to speak up and when to remain silent.

“There is a time to speak up and a time to keep silent” Ecclesiastes 3:7b

This is fundamental knowledge to those who are persecuted and oppressed.

Jesus knew that he was the Messiah that would liberate the city of Israel.

And he also knew that he would not be able to liberate the city physically unless he first did it spiritually.

Why can’t one feel liberated on the outside without being liberated on the inside?

But then, why does Jesus continuously insist on silence over his real identity and muission?

Jesus, precisely in solidarity with the persecuted and oppressed, decides to jealously hide his “Messianic secret”, lock himself up in the closet.

Confronting a tyrannous system that invades our privacy in violent and harmful manners, a lie is not an “obstruction of justice”, or a sin but rather, the expression of courage and solidarity with the oppressed. The situation of the Jews and the homosexuals during the Nazi Holocaust teaches us that “Always telling the truth is a luxury that the oppressed, the persecuted and marginalized can’t always enjoy.”

In the context of intolerance and religious fundamentalism, as is lived in Latin American countries, where the Bible is often used as a weapon to harm and kill, under the belief to have the absolute truth, it is often easy to forget about the solidarity with the oppressed.

We see this in COUNTRY, in actuality under great influence from the Opus Dei in both social and political life, many churches where daily it is asked that the people practice their sexuality clandestinely, asking that they suppress their true identity, suppressing said solidarity through religious abuse.

But, just as there is a time to remain silent, there is also a time to speak up. And Jesus from within the closet, decides to speak up, loud, preparing and fortifying his people getting them ready for when he will reveal himself with pride just as he is.

Jesus lives the pain of the abusive language for being a sexual minority of his time (being an illegitimate son). That is the reason why in the “Sermon on the Mount”, we see Jesus in solidarity with other sexual minorities prohibiting the use of word that harm others: “If you get mad with your brother or sister, you will be taken to court; and if you call your brother effeminate you will be arrested; but if you call someone who is your brother a faggot, you will end up in hell” (Matthew 5:22, New Testament, Pesita Version)

Later on, Jesus opens the door to his closet and is sincere with his people, first with his apostles, then with whom had followed him for a long time, and confessing to them who he really is. However he continues telling them not to tell anybody else.

And just as there is a time for everything, I feel there is a time to hide yourself and another time to show yourself.

With his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, Jesus ultimately comes out of the closet and presents himself in front of all as the Messiah, the messenger of the good news of God.

Until publicly declaring himself to the high priests, as the Son of God, and assuming all the consequences that this declaration entailed.

Jesus knew very well who he was and also understood that many of his peers considered him crazy and would even hate him to his death for proclaiming himself as the son of God.

MCC’s emphasize the importance of making ourselves visible, to come out of the closet and show our faces. Unfortunately, they always do it from the North American perspective and experience. And it becomes very easy to criticize people when they do not make themselves visible and almost to the point of crucifying them for that same reason.

In other cities and countries, the Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade has turned itself into a multicolor parade, almost a party.

Curiously, these cities and countries have gained much ground and recognition and fairness in areas like human, social and political rights for gays and lesbians. These are more than enough reasons to celebrate.

However, in our city, things have been very different.

Up until seven months ago, a condom in your pocket equaled having to spend a night in jail.

Even less than 6 months ago, gay men were photographed in the streets as possible prostitutes.

Even now, those that are transgendered, for national laws, have no judicial recognition and for the mainstream church, have no soul.

Even now, gay and lesbian couples do not have the same rights as heterosexual couples and are not even recognized as a couple.

Even now, you can’t hold the hand of the person you love and much less kiss them in public.

Even now, gays and lesbians are arrested in downtown CITY, under false charges of immorality.

No wonder it is not strange that gays and lesbian are afraid of coming out.

But, instead of criticizing them, we must stand by them in solidarity, just like Jesus did with the persecuted and oppressed of his time.

And, instead of forcing them to come out of the closet, help them to come out at their own pace and take that important step. Help people to feel comfortable of who they are.

Soon we will have the fourth CITY Gay and Lesbian Pride March. However, it is important to clarify that we must not hit the streets as if this was a carnival or a costume party. The Gay Pride March is not a parade or carnival.

Remember every time you go to a Pride March:

You are free to dress as you like.

But we recommend that you go dressed in your regular clothes. Just like you dress when you go out on the street, like you dress for work, like you dress for church or even like you dress to go out to a club.

But, if you decide to go in costume, do it with pride and with dignity. Remember that it’s not about saying “I’m a fag, so what” or “I’m a dyke, so what” That is not what a Pride March is about.

Well then, what is pride then?

I say, we always speak about gay pride, lesbian pride, regional pride, northern pride, COUNTRY pride.

But what does the word “pride” really mean?

In the dictionary, there are three definitions:

Arrogance. Excess of self definition. For example: You should moderate your own pride (arrogance).

Self esteem. Example: With your words, you hurt her pride (self esteem).

Personal satisfaction that is experienced by something of yourself or relating to oneself and that is considered valuable. Example: Are you really proud? (you feel satisfied and consider yourself valuable) for being who you are?

Well then, what does all this teach us?

That there is a time to be in the closet and a time to be out of it.

That being in the closet does not specifically mean having to stay silent.

That staying always in the closet has a very high cost; to be invisible. And to be invisible is to never be seen, to not exist.

That coming out of the closet has its consequences, but it brings you a great prize; complete liberty.

That if you truly want to be free, you must take that first step.

That it doesn’t matter what your closet is, you must prepare yourself because eventually you will have to come out of it.

But also that you cannot force anyone to come out of the closet or to crucify them for not wanting to come out.

That liberty is something that must be born and raised within you.

That is you’re getting ready, it is time to walk with pride, with your head held high.

That it is very important to know why you’re marching and for what you’re marching. But most importantly is that we must know NOT to march for the wrong reasons.

Brothers and sisters let’s march with pride, feeling happy and valuable of ourselves for being what we are. Let’s not march with arrogance but rather with humility and bravery.

Let’s march announcing the injustices because if we stay quiet, we become accomplices of it.

Let’s march with bravery, demonstrating that we are here and that we remain here even when they have tried to get rid of us. Demonstrating that even if they have slapped us on one cheek, we are ready to show the other cheek and gain our respect.

Let’s march for all those who cannot yet march.

Let’s march so that our governors will make article 1 in our constitution to truly make it “Against the law to discriminate… against human dignity and therefore annul or harm the rights and liberties of all people.”

Let us march so that this country may become an oasis for equality, liberty and justice.

Let’s march so that one day we may all sit together at the table of the brotherhood and sisterhood without our sexual orientation being an issue.

Let’s march so that our people, those who are like you and I, so that we can live in a world in which we will not be judged or rejected because of our sexuality but rather valued for the traits of our personalities.

Let’s march so that those in the world who are different be accepted as they are, rather than being seen as phenomena of the circus or treated as an apocalyptic plague.

Let’s march so that this place, this church in particular, may become a place where heterosexuals, without any fear or prejudice, may unite their hands with the homosexuals and walk together, like siblings in front of Jesus Christ.

Let’s march for the right to love liberty, to give without measure and receive without asking.

Let’s march for a dream of liberty, of justice of equality.

And above all, let’s march so that hopefully we won’t need to march to ask for our basic human rights and civil rights.

So that we no longer will have to march to remind the world that we too are human beings and so that we can turn the Pride March into a Continuous Celebration of Pride.

Preached at "Gay Pride Worship Service" on June, 2003
Casa de Luz (Monterrey, Mexico)

Source:
Metropolitan Community Churches ~ mccchurch.org
<http://www.mccchurch.org/mediaroom/2004/sermoncontest.htm>

Marco Rubio 2003
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License. Permission is granted to copy, distribute, display and/or perform this work for personal use only, under the following conditions*: 1.- You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor [Marco Rubio - abigchild@yahoo.com.mx] and a link to the original source [Metropolitan Community Churches ~ mccchurch.org]; 2.-You may not use this work for commercial or profit purposes; 3.-You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. 4.-For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. (*)Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.