From our field organizer Michael Adee
Of Advent and Christmas, Madeline L'Engle in her book,
The Winter of the Heart, said: "This is the irrational season when love blooms bright and wild. Had Mary been filled with reason, there'd have been no room for the Child."
Today is the third Sunday in Advent. The third candle is Joy and its color is pink. Why is this candle different from the others? Some would say, this candle is pink as the color of the Rose that blooms in the midst of winter echoing the promise of the prophet Isaiah that even in the desert there would be life and a blossom.
I must confess that I have not noticed or either not paid attention to this color of pink on the third Sunday in Advent until this morning at church. Looking back to dozens of Advent Seasons in many Presbyterian and other churches over the years, I do not recall a pink candle. They said it was the third candle, it was the candle of Joy. I could be wrong, of course. And, I do not believe any of those churches had a pink candle until this morning at the United Church of Christ in Santa Fe.
Not coincidentally last night I watched the extraordinary French film, "A Love to Hide" by Christian Faure. The film's story is set in Paris,1942 under German occupation with the Vichy persecution of the "third sex." Two young Parisian gay lovers, Jean and Philippe must keep their love and relationship a secret. Jean and Philippe provide sanctuary for Sara, a Jewish childhood friend of Jean's to protect her from the Nazis. Jean and Philippe had to hide their love, deny their identities to survive, just as Sara had to hide to stay alive.
During the Nazi persecution and the Holocaust, over 100,000 gay men were arrested, 50,000 served prison terms. Over 15,000 gay men were killed, most tortured to death in concentration camps. Pink triangles were the symbols for homosexuals, as yellow stars were the symbols for Jews. Even though the war ended in 1945, it was not until 1969 that the Nazi anti-gay law was repealed. In 2002, the German government released an official apology to the gay community.
Since 1974 with the witness of David Sindt and the genesis of the More Light Movement, the Presbyterian Church has been debating the acceptance, the equal and spiritual status of gay persons -- understood now as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender persons and our families. Anti-gay church policies are not quite Paragraph 175 of the German Reich and at the same time, the results are often the same, forcing LGBT persons to hide, to deny who we are, to disguise our love for another of the same sex, particularly if we want to serve God in the church.
Recently while working with a local Session and its pastors in a more light
discernment process, several said that they were not comfortable with their church taking on a "label" of more light. Underneath the discomfort I believe lay the reality that they could not admit to -- they would be embarrassed to be part of a pro-gay church, one that offered sanctuary, an unconditional welcome and affirmation to LGBT persons and our families, that took a stand for justice.
Is this embarrassment, discomfort with gays or sexuality behind the lack of pink candles the Third Sunday in Advent? I do not know. I can only speak from my experience of being a cradle Presbyterian not recognizing or experiencing a pink candle at Advent until this morning.
While I am deeply grateful for the progress made since World War II, those of us who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender are still denied spiritual, civil and marriage equality in our own country, in our own Church. We are still second-class citizens, second-class church members and second-class human beings because of the persistent homophobia and heterosexism, too often sanctioned and fueled by religious persons and beliefs. For many other places in the world, it is much worse and the threat of death or imprisonment for gays is real.
Pink triangles as a symbol of persecution of gay persons have been transformed into symbols of acceptance, pride, safety and sanctuary. Teachers and counselors in high schools and colleges often choose to place a pink triangle on their doors to signify their acceptance, that their office is a hate-free zone, a safe place for gays and their friends. More Light, welcoming and affirming churches commit and strive to being safe, hate-free zones.
My reflections this Advent are not the typical nostalgic recounting of angels with golden wings, a creche' with a special star. I suppose this is what happens when you watch a very serious film on a Saturday night before Sunday morning church. It is uncomfortable, even disturbing to be thinking about the Holocaust, the most horrific discrimination and hate crimes of the modern era during Advent.
Or, at Christmas to be so keenly aware of the need to be vigilant in removing the barriers to LGBT persons knowing they are children of God, loved by God and welcome in Church alongside their heterosexual sisters and brothers. Same-sex love is not a love to hide or deny any more than opposite-sex love. Either we are all children of God created in the image of God, or none of us are. I believe all of us are children of God -- created in the image of God -- unconditionally loved by God, and all offered the grace of God. Period.
Maybe, just maybe these Advent reflections even if challenging are closer to the heart of the story of the Incarnation, of why Jesus became flesh to dwell among us. And, that "us" cannot have a possessive cast any more than we could claim God's love for us alone, or God's favor for persons like us, or the life-giving, life-saving Christmas story only for ourselves. The promise and offering of Immanuel, God with us, is for all of God's creation. No exceptions.
Pink. The third candle of Advent reminding of the promise of life in the midst of wilderness. Pink, the candle of joy. Maybe an angel would say to us, "fear not" when it comes to pink. What are we scared of ...Love? I say, bring it on.
I have been thinking "pink" all day long since the lighting of a pink Candle of Joy this morning in church. I believe Madeline L'Engle has it right: Christmas is the season where love blooms wild and bright -- if we will let this Love in and allow it to flow through us embracing all those in our midst.
May Love bloom wild and bright this Advent, Christmas season and into a new year.
with hope and grace,
Michael
Ref: http://www.mlp.org/article.php/20061219063527392