Matthew 3,13-17                                                         Feast of the Lord’s Baptism: the 9^th January 2005

Isaiah 42,1-4.6f. Psalm 29. Acts 10,34-38

            “This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased” [Mt 3,17]. With these words the Father confirms the status of this man: now it is known to all of us. It is not that through baptism Jesus is something that He was not before, but through baptism Jesus makes clear to the Father that He wants to be who He is and that He is ready to be sent. The Father then declares that this is His beloved Son; He is with Him, behind Him, for Him [Ac 10,38 cf. Rm 8,31], like any father and mother would be (or should be) in respect of their child. The relation between God and this man is characterized as the relation between a father and a son, a parent and his/her child: it cannot be broken, destroyed [Rm 8,38f] or forgotten [Is 49,14f].

            Ever since this baptism people who wanted to be baptised or wanted their children to be baptised have expressed the same desire: I want to be who I am, I want my child to be who he/she is; I acknowledge who I am in the deepest of my being, how the Almighty has made me: God’s beloved son, God’s beloved daughter; I long for a God who is like a father in the true sense of the word [Eph 3,14f], like a mother as a mother should be, not only bringing forth, but also caring, loving, providing what is good, helping me. Asking to be baptized is our reaction to God’s creation of us and to God’s calling: Yes, I want to be what you want me to be: a person who can be recognized by everybody as Your son, Your beloved child.

            Not only men who have children, also priests are called “father”. The term “father” implies “son” or “daughter” and also “mother”: Mary in the case of Christ and “holy mother the Church” for all believers and those who seek to believe. Thus the relationship between a priest and the people entrusted to his care is characterized with a word – father – which signifies care, love, providing what is good. A father throws himself in the breach for his beloved child, in particular when injustice is done unto him/her [cf. Jgs 18,19. Ps 68,6. Is 42,6. Jr 31,9 etc.].

            “You are My beloved Son” [Mk 1,11. Lk 3,22 cit. Ps 2,7]. Parents want the best for their children. I remember that my parents were not really amused when I told them that I was going to enter a religious order and felt called to be a priest – not because they were against it as such, but they were worried, worried that I would not be happy in the end: no partner, no children, no house of my own. I could understand my parents’ worries, for I was going to live a life which the majority of people do not lead. It seemed it was not going to be the easiest way of life; I would have to find pretty much my own way. In a sense my parents were right. But at the same time I realized that this was my way: I felt, I knew, I believed that this was how God made me and that this was whither He called me. And as I proceeded and looked back from time to time, step by step I experienced that it was the Lord Himself Who like a loving father and a mother willing the best guided me on the way. So with the critical support of my (believing and non-believing) friends and the unremitting caring attitude of my parents I grew into a believing, loving, hopeful and happy person, and thus eventually their worries disappeared.

            Mary too was very worried about her son: if he continued to live as a loving prophetic teacher and healer beyond the strictness of the Law, his life would come to no good [Mt 12,46]. In a sense this was true. And yet looking back we see how her son Jesus lived His life in a way in which He found fulfilment [Jn 19,28.30]: “For this I was born and for this I came into the world [Jn 18,37]. And although she had great difficulties with the way in which He lived [cf. Lk 2,35], she remained a true mother for Him, till the very end [Jn 19,25].

            We see similar worries expressed by “holy mother the Church” and “fathers” as for their “sons” and “daughters” who are homosexual. It is not so much that these children should not be who they are, but the problems arise when these children begin to live a life which the majority of the people do not lead, starting with finding a partner of the same sex. Why these worries? When we read the bishops’ letter “Always Our Children” (1997) we see that these fathers, as true mothers, want the best for their children. Living a life of love and faithfulness with a partner of the same sex, however, is not part of that, in their view. This should not come as a surprise in view of official Church teachings since the Middle Ages, to which the bishops refer a few times in their letter (though never with specific references). It is good to know, though, that in the Middle Ages, on whose ideas the present Church teachings are based, the category “homosexual” did not yet exist: people who were sexually involved with someone of the same sex were performing “acts of sodomy”. That they were (desperately) seeking a way of life in accordance with their sexual nature was beyond the mediaeval imagination (although I think that Thomas Aquinas already observed the existence of something like a homosexual identity or nature). And also the very people who were attracted to someone of the same sex rather than to someone of the opposite sex would not have a sense of a homosexual identity yet. Their sexual acts were therefore seen as unordered. Logical, for in a constellation in which a heterosexual nature coincides with the human nature, someone with homosexual feelings is to ignore, suppress or change these tendencies.

            In the letter “Always Our Children” as well as in other official Church documents on homosexuality we see that the thinking of the mother has changed, for the better, I would say: the documents speak of people who ARE homosexual. This is in accordance with reality: most gay people consider themselves homosexual, not as a choice, but as their identity which they have discovered in the course of time and events. But what has not changed (yet) in the mother’s teachings is that living a life according to this identity is morally wrong. On the one hand I think the mother’s and fathers’ worries expressed in their documents are justified; many gay people lose themselves in hedonism and promiscuity – although this is true for many heterosexual people too! [cf. 1Co 6,9f etc.] But on the other hand, if you want the best for your children, why would “the best” not be a life in accordance with their nature? Fact is that many are not called to live a celibate life. Fact is that many homosexual couples live a life of faith, hope and true love and find happiness in it. And quite a few of them raise children and are active in the Church – for me a sign of the strongest faith [cf. Mt 8,10]; it cannot be stopped by anyone [cf. Rm 8,38f]. Such people can, no should be recognized by everyone who has eyes and understanding as God’s children, God’s beloved sons and daughters.

            In their letter “Always Our Children” the bishops urge parents to love their children and not to throw them out because they are gay. In line with this, as a member of  “holy mother the Church” (as every person baptized in the Lord’s Name is) and as a father in that Church I tell you in the Name of the Lord: “Homosexual or heterosexual, you are my beloved son, you are my beloved daughter, you are my brother, my sister, with whom I am well pleased” [cf. Ac 10,34f] – a relationship that must never be broken or forgotten. May this sound, the sound of the Lord’s voice, echo over the whole world, sea and land, shocking as it may be [cf. Ps 29,3-9]: not causing another devastating tsunami, but establishing true peace [Is 42,3f; Ps 65,8. Mk 4,39 etc.]. May the Spirit of this Lord make us ready to be sent [Is 42,1.7. 61,1. Ac 10,38 etc.] and guide us on that way, so that all of us may be recognizable as God’s beloved sons and daughters. Amen.

Father Hope