Christmas is About Justice

On December 20, for the 6th Simbang gabi of 2010, I had the honor of being invited to worship with and bring a message to the faithful Christians of MCC Quezon City, augmented by the good members of Bacardi.




Pastor Ceejay asked me to give a Christmas message on “Justice.”



The traffic is worse than ever this year, but it brings joy to my heart that the people are better than ever.



People ask me why I stay here. It’s not the climate. It’s not the money. It’s the people. God’s people, God’s beloved LGBT people.



May I share that Christnas message with you as my Christmas Message to you – along with a sincere prayer for you to have a blessed and merry Christmas and holidays.







Christmas is all about Justice



We are here tonight for one reason

-- and one only –

to honor Our Lord Jesus Christ,

to commemorate

the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.



One time someone said to me: What’s the difference?

What’s wrong with being a Moslem?

Or a Jew or an Iglesia ni Christo? They believe good things. What’s wrong with that?



I said, nothing is wrong --

except the same thing

that would be wrong with Christmas with only a Santa Claus. I would miss

my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – no matter how much good

there would be

in those other religions,

the most important person

would be missing.



Why is the birth

of Our Lord Jesus Christ significant?

Why do we observe it every year with so much pomp and ceremony and festivity?



The CBCP (Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines) says that Christ should be the center

of the Christmas celebration –

not Santa Claus or elfs or reindeer or beautiful Christmas trees.

Make Christ the center, they say.



Oo, sige, yann. Right on!

The CBCP hit the nail on the head. Just as a religion

without Christ as the center,

Christmas

without Christ as the center

loses all the luster of its other goodies.



But, why on earth

was Jesus born as one of us,

as a human person

who lived and loved

as we live and love?

Why did he become

A person with

Intellectual, bodily,

spiritual, and emotional characteristics just like we have.



Our Christian faith tells us that Jesus came into this world

to set us free.

To set us free from what?

St. Paul says, to set us free

from sin, death, and the Old Law.



The CBCP says we should

make Christ the center

of our celebration of Christ’s birth.

Ok! Sige! But does that mean

the whole obligation

is servewd by placing a doll baby

in swaddling clothes in a manger instead of a Santa Claus

on a one horse open sleigh?



But what about the real purpose of Jesus becoming one of us,

starting as a baby in swaddling clothes in a manager?

Should we not look

at His purpose?

And that, we said,

was to set us free –

free from sin, death,

and the Old Law?



Would that not be a just and proper celebration of Christmas?



Now just look at what happened two days ago in Washington DC. There was a law for almost 20 years that said gays and lesbians had to stay in the closet

if they wanted to be

in the US military.

The would-be good Christian fundamentalist homophobic bigots wanted to keep that law.

They put heavy pressure

on congress to keep that law.

But two days ago,

justice triumphed

in Washington DC in spite of the so-called

good Christians

who wanted to save the military from the gays and the lesbians. The old “don’t ask don’t tell” law

is gone

(don’t ask if a military person is gay; don’t tell if you are a LGBT military person)

with the signature

of President Obama.

Now which of these is the justice of Jesus Christ who never in his whole life showed prejudice?

The prejudice of the good Christian bigots,

or the justice

of the Congress and president

who finally overturned the law?



Will we ever see such justice

in our country?

Will our congress ever put justice above their fear of the CBCP bishops (who would use their power to get the congress member not elected

the next time around?



What law are we thinking about that screams for justice?

One is the anti-discrimination law, to reduce the discrimination against LGBT people.

Another one is the no-divorce law. Yes, the Philippines sits

as the only country in the world besides the island of Malta

which does not give its citizens

the freedom of divorce.

Is that justice?

200+ nations see it

as a human right.

One country’s bishops block it.

So far, justice has taken

a back seat to fear of the bishops.



The church which says

make Jesus the center of Christmas –

is the same church which completely violates

the justice of Jesus,

the same church which deprives its citizens decade after decade, from the days of Damaso

to the present,

deprives its citizens

of their God-given rights to human life and dignity,

as that church just clings

to their Old Laws

of NO NO NO: no masturbation, no sex except

in marriage to make a baby,

no sex ever in your whole life, never in any way,

never in any place,

never in any position

or circumstance –

if you are gay or lesbian.



The church who says keep Christ in Christmas,

instead of living and teaching

by the teachings

and example of Jesus,

instead of freeing us

from sin and death,

imposes sin

and condemns us to death

in the fires of hell.

They would declare our love sin. What’s the justice in that?

They would declare

that divorce is sin

and pressure Congress

never to allow any Filipino – Christian, Moslem , or atheist – the right to choose divorce

in their circumstances of life.

Is that justice?



They would impose the sentence of death in hell

for the natural harmless pleasure

of masturbation.

Is that justice?



They would insist that Catholic parents of many children with no ulam, no baon,

stick to that church’s demand

of NO CONDOMS.

Is that justice?

Is that common sense?

They would likewise resist reproductive health

with the possibility of condoms

for all Filipinos.

Is that the justice of Jesus?

Is that why Jesus was born

to live and love as we live and love?



Jesus came to Bethlehem

to set us free,

Jesus said

the truth will set you free.

Jesus said, I am the truth.



My friends, The life and total lack of prejudice in the life of Jesus gives us a glimpse of the Truth. The Truth that Jesus is

sets us free

from the sin declared by the CBCP,

from the sentence of death, declared by the CBCP,

from the Old Laws

declared by the CBCP.

These old laws do not give us

the freedom that Jesus brought us. They bring slavery,

moral slavery to a list of

sexual NO No No’s

including No Condoms,

No divorce, and no same sex love.



Yes, let’s put Christ in Christmas; let’s put Christ

in the center of Christmas;

let’s put Jesus and His Truth

in the center of our lives.

Let us honor Christ at Christmas; let us honor the Christ

who is the Truth.

And the truth is

that we are

God’s beloved LGBT children

and our God sets us free to love.



But my dear friends,

we cannot just demand

that the CBCP do justice

to the message

and mission of Jesus Christ.

Is that enough?

Where is our own loyalty to the message and mission

of Jesus Christ?



We say,

THEY should allow us to love.



Do we love,

or do we seek

only our own pleasure?



Jesus Christ came to Bethlehem, yes, but he came

and lived and loved and died –

not for himself – but for others, for us, his friends.

Is the other a priority for you,

for me?

Do we want sex

just for our own pleasure?

Do we treat our partner

as a body we have used for our fun, or do we treat our partner

as a person whom we have loved?



And do I always want

to WIN every argument?

Do I always in a relationship want to get my own way?

Do I always plot –

how can I get what I want?

OR do I follow

the life and example of Jesus whom we see as one who came

not to be loved, not to be served, but to love and to serve?

When I have a disagreement with my loved one,

do I ponder how to win,

or do I do it the Jesus way,

and ponder

“WHAT CAN I DO

for my LOVED ONE?

What can I DO

TO MAKE

MY LOVED ONE HAPPY?

How can I be like Jesus who came to set us free

from selfishness and sin?



Yes, we are here to honor Jesus, to commemorate his birth among us –

Not just with a doll baby in swaddling clothes in a crib, but with our love and justice. Maybe justice is the real meaning of “Peace on earth,

good will to all.”



God bless us all.