Holy Communion: Not Denied to LGBTQ in Metropolitan Community Churches

Gospel  for August 16, 2015

John 6:53-59

New International Version (NIV)

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ WHOEVER eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.⁵⁶ WHOEVER eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but WHOEVER feeds on this bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Reflection:

Every Sundays, we participate in the Holy Communion as our way of remembering Christ’s suffering, and love for all humanity. Do we still care about that in today’s time and age?

In different places, countries, Churches, we are not allowed to take Communion unless we confess our sins and one of them are homosexual acts, even if it’s done in the context of love. In Metropolitan Community Church of Marikina as well in other MCC's throughout the world, we are not required to confess our homosexual acts because it’s part of our humanity and sexuality, which no one can deny, even those who claim they are celibate or do not engage in pre-marital sex. No one is exempted. We all have our sexuality and humanity in us. 

Even in the Sacred Scriptures, this is described. In the Revelation of Adam, Adam says to his son Seph that the Illuminator's (Jesus) “...god loved a cloud of desire. He fathered him in his hand and cast upon the cloud above him some of the [drop], and he was born.47 He received glory and power there, and in this way he came to the water.” According to Bible scholars, this was an act of masturbation by God to bring about Jesus according to the Gnostic Gospels, which were hidden by the Church fathers to impose a sex-negative theology. Sexuality is part of the Bible, even in the Song of Solomon 1: 2, which is part of the canonical books, saying, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine;” Sexuality is part of God’s gift to us. We should not consider it sinful or against God’s or our nature. If we deny it, problems arise. We need to have a healthy sense of our sexuality and spirituality integrated into one. If we deny either, then we stop being complete or fulfilled.

Holy Communion is part of a Christian’s life and that opportunity is not denied to us in MCC as gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, queer or questioning because God loves us completely with NO conditions. It is our way of eating the “flesh” and drinking the “blood” of Jesus as it is written in our Gospel today, “⁵⁶ WHOEVER eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.” John 6: 56

Prayer:

God, may we not take for granted the opportunity given to us to be able to take you through the Holy Communion. In other Churches, there are conditions of being able to receive you and that one of them is NOT loving romantically someone of the same-sex. However, through MCC, we are given that opportunity to BE ourselves while we love the one we love whatever their gender identity or sexual orientation is. May we cherish, appreciate it and be glad in it. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!