This morning, I was grateful and honored to be able to see Bishop Gene Robinson, who gave the sermon at the Church of the Advent in Louisville at this morning's liturgy. Robinson has Kentucky roots, and is a friend of the rector of the Church of the Advent, Rev. Dr. Tim Mitchell. Bishop Robinson is well-known as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church; his election in 2003 as the Bishop of New Hampshire triggered a crisis in the world-wide Anglican Communion to which the Episcopal Church belongs. But to his diocese in New Hampshire, his election was much more about his caring leadership than about politics, and this was very evident this morning as he gave a wonderful sermon.
He preached on the Gospel reading for this Sunday, which was the Parable of the Weeds (also known as the Parable of the Wheat and Tares, Matthew 13). In this parable, Jesus likened evil people to weeds in a wheat field, who would be left to God's judgment at the end of time. Robinson began by mentioning that he and his husband are gardeners, and he gave a good test for whether a plant is a week or a flower: weeds are hard to pull out but flowers are easy to pull out---but then it would be too late, so as a gardener, you have to wait until the flowers bloom. This led to the idea that we as Christians shouldn't try to pull out the weeds; it is difficult to tell who is evil and who is not. Robinson mentioned the hate directed to gay people, but what he emphasized is that Christians should love their enemies.
Robinson developed the idea further by telling a story about soldiers at war in Europe who asked a priest if they could bury their fallen comrade in the lovely cemetery for that parish. The priest asked them if their comrade had been baptized, but they didn't know, so he said he wouldn't be able to let them bury their comrade there. However, he did let them bury him on the other side of the fence; they left a stone to mark the grave. After the war, the soldiers returned to the cemetery to pay their respects to their comrade, but they were surprised to find the grave was not there; it was if the lawn there had never been disturbed. They asked the priest what had been done to their comrade. The priest told them that he felt very bad about not allowing their comrade to be buried there--so he moved the fence outwards so he would be inside the cemetery. Robinson asked the congregation to work to move fences to include more people.
Bishop Robinson ended his sermon by saying that Jesus has too many admirers; we should be followers and disciples of Jesus. This struck me because it reminded me of a theme in the preaching of a large, local evangelical megachurch (Southeast Christian Church), one of whose pastors has written a book "Not a Fan" (meaning Jesus doesn't need fans, he needs followers). Politically if not theologically, Southeast Christian Church and the Episcopal Church are far apart, but it is remarkable that they teach this same message. This speaks to a commonality in Christianity across these doctrinal lines, to seek to be a caring and active presence in the world.
After the liturgy, Bishop Robinson lead an adult education hour, where he answered a variety of questions from parishioners and visitors. He was asked if the coming out process (as gay) was difficult for him. He said it was, and explained that as he was born in 1947 and grew up in the 1950s, there were no role models for gay people; being gay was like being a drug addict---it could cost you your career or any normal life. He went through two years of therapy, two sessions a week, at considerable expense. He then mentioned that he was recently asked to give a keynote address at a convention of the American Psychiatric Association, and asked his audience if his old therapist were present---he wanted his money back. Bishop Robinson also described becoming married to a woman, Isabella "Boo" McDaniels, a marriage that lasted 13 years; he told her at the outset about his same-sex attractions, and she understood that this might someday end the marriage. Eventually, it did, but with many tears they both knew that they were honoring their marriage vows to care for each other by ending their union amicably. (Conservatives have alleged that he left her for a man. In fact, he met his husband Mark Andrew in the Virgin Islands months after his marriage to Boo ended. He and Mark have been together for 25 years. Mark was there at Church of the Advent, by the way.)
Bishop Robinson also talked about the furor that surrounded his election to bishop; the controversy was worse than they anticipated. He said they don't give you classes in seminary about how to deal with death threats. He described a recent incident involving a man who was arrested with a shotgun allegedly on his way to New Hampshire to "kill the bishop and save the church."
In response to another question, Bishop Robinson suggested that parishioners ask their friends to attend their church, not because their friends need to go to church or because it might meet all of their needs, but simply for their sake as a friend. He said that we are willing to go a ballet performance of six-year-olds not because we expect to see good ballet, but because we care for our friends or relatives whose six-year-olds are performing. Robinson described how his parish grew in this way; he said the Episcopal Church is home to many people who have come from other churches. In particular, many new members are former Roman Catholics, young adults with families who decided they do not want to raise their children in a church that teaches what that church teaches about women and gay people.