Brian’s Reflection: Thursday, October 4, 2007


I want to love all the children of God - Christian, Jew,
Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist - everyone. I want to love gay
Christians and straight Christians.

- Anne Rice, author, born on this day, 1941


This, from the woman who said, “I broke with my religion in college.” Somehow I doubt it. She sounds like she found religion when she broke with religion. Strange: more and more people are having the same experience. This is, I think, a good thing.

We live in such “interesting times”. Remember the ancient Chinese proverb about that. I think we are in a “time”, an “age”, of disintegration. This is like dying. And this is Good. The Gospel is clear that embracing death leads to New Life. And so I choose to believe that we are headed - God knows how long it will take - towards New Life. And we all must decide how we are going to respond.

Ann Rice may have broken with religion - but she found (in my perspective) the Heart of the Christ. Love everyone. Do not judge. Do not pre-judge. Do not assume that your prejudices or your cultural background are reality. The Christian Faith is all about transformation. About change. We may, as children, be taught tribalism, exclusion, fear. Legion are the people I know whose childhood religion taught them these things - and many of them are becoming Episcopalians these days as a rejection of what they were taught. They learned that Christ calls us to leave the bitter, fear-filled places and enter into the Light.

“I want to love all the children of God.”

Good plan.

Brian+