I remember the last time someone told me that I was demon possessed.  Yes, it happened in modern America.  There are plenty of folks who believe in literal demonic spirits and believe that these spirits can possess other people.  This person believed that I was possessed because I had learned that human sexuality as not a simple choice that people make.  We don’t control who we are attracted to, it just happens.  Because of this belief, it was concluded that I was possessed. 

My response to the accusation was that in order to prove the possession, the person should cast the demon out of me.  If they could successfully do so, then I would reconsider my position.  They didn’t even try.  If they really believed me to be possessed, and had faith in the power of Christ then they should have been able to cast it out of me.

I can recall exorcisms of demons in the Pentecostal churches of my youth.  They were usually quite dramatic, and included a great deal of emotional catharsis.  Some people laughed, others cried.  Some prayed fervently.  One man grabbed his toddler son and ran from the church to make sure his son didn’t become possessed when the demon left the one being prayed for.  You have not truly seen drama until you have seen an exorcism in an old-fashioned Pentecostal church. 

Most folks today tend to stay away from the topic of demon possession.  Even Pentecostals have stopped focusing on the issue much.  I know of one television preacher who teaches that sickness is caused by demon possession.  Most of Christianity recognizes that the concept of demon possession is one that was part of first century culture, but not necessarily an essential doctrine of the Christian faith.

Our Gospel lesson for this Fourth Sunday after Epiphany shows that Christ was revealed through his teaching in the Synagogue.  The people were amazed because he didn’t speak the same as the scribes of the day.  Jesus spoke with authority.  When Jesus spoke, people listened because of his charismatic and powerful style.  He challenged them with new ideas and took responsibility for his own teaching.  He didn’t attribute what he said to one rabbi or another; instead he spoke as if he knew God and therefore knew what he was talking about.   He didn’t need to cite the latest scholar in order to validate what he had to say.  He spoke with his own authority.

While Jesus was in the synagogue he was interrupted by a man who called out to him.  He is described as having been possessed of demons.  He recognized the authority of Jesus and Jesus immediately ordered the demon out of the man.  It wasn’t a great dramatic moment.  The people were not worked up into frenzy by the worship leaders and didn’t have to repeat prayers over and over again.  Jesus simply told the demon to leave the man, and according to Mark, he was free from that time forward.

Jesus was one who had authority.  Not only did he talk the talk, but he walked the walk.  Jesus backed up what he claimed with actions; bringing healing and salvation to all.  He revealed a new message, one of hope and tolerance.  A message that, if it were to ever be truly be put into practice by a society, would radically reshape the way human beings interact with one another.  The world would be a far different place if most Christians truly put Christ’s teachings into practice by following Jesus.

Our epistle lesson for this week comes from the first letter to the Corinthians.  The believers at Corinth were well established in their faith.  They thought of themselves as mature Christians and exercised a large number of spiritual gifts.  But, there was an argument among them.  Some people believed that they shouldn’t eat food sacrificed to idols. The author began the discussion of this topic with the idea that knowledge may make someone proud, but love builds us up.  Knowledge may benefit the individual but love benefits everyone.

The epistle does not dictate a specific rule about whether meat that has been a part of pagan religious practices should be eaten or not.  On the one hand, according to the letter, we know that idols do not represent true gods.  On the other hand, if the freedom to eat the food offends another’s conscience, love requires that we not eat the meat.  This may seem like a strange debate for us today, but in the culture at Corinth this was a major issue.  It was hard to find meat in the city that had not been a part of some idolatrous practice since most of the labor guilds were connected to idolatry.  Christianity also presented itself as an exclusive religion and this could be construed by some people as a compromise with a false religion.

Not everyone understands Christian freedom.  Just because something may be allowed, doesn’t mean that we should do it.  It is perfectly OK to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols, but we must be willing to give up eating meat if it will harm the conscience of someone else and cause division among Christians.    What really matters is not a list of what we can and cannot do.  In truth, we are free to do anything with only one limitation.  Our freedom is limited by love.  Sometimes we must give up some of our personal preferences in order to be tolerant of others through love.

We are free to be tolerant of others.  Jesus taught that what really matters is to love one another.  When we disagree we are to disagree in love and be tolerant of those who have different opinions.  Those who think they have great knowledge must accept those who have a different point of view.  It is the appreciation of differences and the ability to act lovingly, regardless of our differences, that makes one truly a follower of Jesus.  It is time for all believers to put aside our personal demons of bigotry and prejudice and follow Christ in appreciating one another’s differences through love.

Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm 111
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28

I know a “Full Gospel” minister who believes that he is a prophet of God.  He doesn’t think of himself as one who predicts the future, but does think he hears directly from God and speaks for God at times.  Back in the 1970s he predicted over and over again that the Soviet Union was about to attack the United States with nuclear missiles as the judgment of God.  He believed that God would use the Soviet Union to punish the United States for our sins.  He believes in an angry God who is bringing judgment on what he believes to be our evil society.

During the last conversation I had with this man, who was my pastor as a teenager, he condemned me to hell because I am a sexual minority.  He said he could do no other, and he would not speak to me about anything else unless I would immediately repent and turn straight.  I know that he doesn’t meet the Old Testament standard of a prophet because the law, that he seems to love so much, demands that a prophet be put to death if his predictions don’t come true.  I’m sure has a multitude of reasons for his fundamentalism.

This week we celebrate the third Sunday after Epiphany; a time of reflecting on how God is revealed to us.  We often overlook the spiritual part of our lives.  Often spiritual needs take last place until something happens to remind us of our spiritual selves.  Millions of people only think of God and spirituality at times of change.   The priorities of our lives can dramatically change when we face the loss of a loved one, violence, oppression, or war.   It isn’t only negative changes that cause a reminder of spiritual needs, but things like the joining of our lives together in love, the birth of a child, and the passage into maturity can all be times when we remember God.

Our Old Testament lesson this week is from Jonah.  According to the story, the people of Nineveh discovered their spiritual needs when confronted by an angry prophet of God who warned them that God was about to destroy their city.  The people immediately began to pray and follow religious practices and they were spared.  Our epistle lesson tells of the people at Corinth.  For them epiphany came through the recognition of the potential for an apocalypse and the end of the world.  From our Gospel lesson we learn that the earliest disciples of Jesus gained their spiritual insight by the words of Christ who said, “Come and follow me.”  They were changed by being near the Savior and having a relationship with Christ.

I think believers miss a great number of opportunities to both receive revelation and share Christ with others.  The church often fails to be a source of revelation of God because of an unwillingness to adapt to the culture as a whole.  All too often the servants of the church have become angry prophets who have nothing to say except condemnation toward others.  I can easily see these same prophets becoming angry, like Jonah did, when God shows mercy rather than condemnation.  

Since the 1980s the church had a great opportunity to be a true vehicle of revelation and epiphany to gays and lesbian people; as millions died of AIDS, the church could have been a voice of love and mercy for those who suffered.   All too often, those who reached out for blessing from the church because of their pain received a curse instead.   The angry prophets were too scared to be ministers of God.  Instead they condemned and claimed that AIDS is a curse from God toward homosexuals.  God is not a God of curses, but is a God of blessing.

I’m reminded of all the television preachers and pundits who used the AIDS health crisis to raise millions of dollars in order to build their religious and political empires all the while preaching hate.  Rather than take advantage of an opportunity to be an agent of God’s love, much of the church has spread messages that bred hate, harassment and violence.  One priest I know pointedly raised the question, “With all the evil in the world, why does the church have time to worry about who other people are having sex with?”   

This decade has brought another opportunity for the church to be a witness of love to sexual minorities.  One of the most important rites of passage we enjoy as adults is marriage, when our loving relationship is recognized and affirmed by our community.  The church can help make same sex marriages legal and affirm same sex weddings in our spiritual communities.  So far only a handful of smaller denominations and the Metropolitan Community Church have decided to endorse gay marriage.  The only mainline denomination to do so is the United Church of Christ, but the resolution isn’t binding on local congregations.  Some will marry people of the same sex and some will not.  People think the Episcopal Church has endorsed gay marriage, but this is far from true.  The Episcopal Church continues to only allow “blessing” of same sex couples in some diocese.  The Episcopal Church continues to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

The greatest way any of us can have spiritual revelation is through relationship; relationship with one another and relationship with Christ.  Just like Jesus asked the brothers on the shores of Galilee to enter into relationship with Him, we can have quality relationships with those around us.  It is time for the church to come back to those she has cast aside.  Sexual minorities are some of the most spiritual and sensitive people on the planet.  The church now has an opportunity to rise to the standard of Jesus and welcome everyone back into the fold equally.

Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Psalm 62: 6-14
1 Corinthians 7: 29-31
Mark 1:14-20

An epiphany is a revelation of the divine.  It can also be an illuminating revelation or discovery leading to sense of elation, awe, or wonder.  Some years ago I was on an outing with a youth group and we climbed a mountain overlooking the Shenandoah River.  It was a great morning.  We climbed the damp mountain while there was still fog in the valley.  When we reached the top, and looked out from a rock over a bend of the river, the sun had melted away the fog; it was a moment of epiphany.  The kids expressed their wonder in various ways, and I stood there and began to thank God in my mind for the wonder of creation.  The natural beauty of the place was overwhelming for us.  We stayed there for quite a while and enjoyed the wonder and diversity of what God made. 

Different people experience illumination in different ways.  Nature has always been a tremendous way for me to appreciate the divine.  I’m impressed with the beauty, intricacy, and diversity of God’s design.  We can each experience the divine in our own way.  We are not limited to finding God in church or a grand cathedral.  I like the smells and bells of the liturgy as much as anyone, but nothing can compare to finding God in the freedom of nature. Often, I think we miss many great opportunities to experience God simply because we do not pay attention to what is around us.   We may fail to appreciate nature.  Perhaps we fail to appreciate God’s revelation through other human beings.  Often we fail to appreciate God’s revelation within ourselves. 

This is the season of Epiphany in Western Christian tradition.  Beginning with the feast of Epiphany which commemorates God’s first revelation of Christ to the gentiles through the visit of the wise men on January sixth, Epiphany continues over the next seven Sundays until the season of Lent, which starts in March this year.  That means that most of January and all of February should be a time when we are sensitive to God’s ability to reveal deity to us.  I believe that if we look for God we may find the divine in some unexpected places.

This week’s Old Testament lesson is the story of how God reached out to communicate to the prophet Samuel in a dream.  Samuel kept confusing the voice of God with the voice of his teacher.  He thought the voice calling to him at night was a human voice, when in reality it was God, who wanted to make sure Samuel was prepared for the great things God had in store for him.  Perhaps if we sought to discover the divine we might find that God has a plan for us as well.  God comes up with some unconventional plans.  Not everything and everyone has to be exactly the same.

A revelation of the divine does not have to be an explosive dramatic event.  We more often find God in some simple and otherwise mundane areas of life.  Our Gospel reading tells us of Philip bringing his brother Nathaniel to Jesus.  Nathaniel believed in Christ because Jesus told him that he had been sitting under a fig tree.  We can’t be sure what happened under that tree, but apparently Nathaniel had a revelation of God while resting under the tree and Jesus knew about it.  The fact that Jesus was aware of his divine experience convinced Nathaniel that Jesus was indeed the Christ.  Jesus promised many more marvelous revelations to come.

It is amazing how we can find divine revelation and wisdom in different ways.  While struggling with accepting myself as a homosexual, I attended counseling with a therapist who was also a Lutheran minister.  I had immense guilt and was worried that I would not be accepted by God or my family if I admit my true nature.  I lived in rural Virginia at the time.  The therapist told me to go to DuPont Circle in Washington DC and see if I could connect with another man there.  I drove into the city and amazingly was able to connect with another gay man.  My assignment from my minister/therapist was to pray to see if God was present following sex with another man.  It was a strange assignment but it was an epiphany for me.

Not only did I have a great deal of fun with the guy I met, but I was able to do so without the heavy weight of guilt that had plagued so many of my previous experiences with both men and women, as limited as they were.  God was indeed present with two men having sex.  That may sound like an amazing statement, but it shouldn’t be.  God created us the way we are.  God made us to derive pleasure from sex.  God is not so fiendishly evil to create us to enjoy sex, design us to enjoy sex with one of the same gender, and then punish us for doing what we are designed to do.  That is not the God of justice and love that we know from the Bible.  Who would want to worship a God who punished people for behaving the way they were designed to behave?

Some Christians have trouble thinking of God and sex together.  Interestingly, sex is probably one of the most spiritual things we can do.  It is a communion with another soul that is deeper than most anything human beings do.   The required vulnerability and intimacy makes sex a deeply emotional, physical, and spiritual activity.  Why would God not be present in sex?  Most of us have sex as a part of a loving relationship.  When that is true, nothing can be more rewarding and interpersonally powerful.

Millions of people provide pleasure for one another through sex each day.  They share the joy of intimacy.  They are willing to risk making themselves vulnerable with their partner.  Many believers pray and ask God to bless their sex lives.  Couples, whether homosexual or heterosexual, pray together each night and then go to bed and have sex.  What could possibly be more natural?  Perhaps it could even be an epiphany.

1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20)
Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
John 1:43-51