The first stone

The recessional hymn at today's service was Fill My Cup, Lord:

Like the woman at the well I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy
And then I heard my Savior speaking:
"Draw from my well that never shall run dry".

Chorus
Fill my cup Lord,
I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!

There are millions in this world who are craving
The pleasures earthly things afford;
But none can match the wondrous treasure
That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord.

The inspiration for this song was verse John 4:14, which says "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst;but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

I have always supported gay rights. Many other Christians do not agree. They say that homosexuality is a sin, so Christians should condemn gays, and should not support any measures that would encourage such behavior. And these Christians happen to form the bulk of the people that are anti-gay rights.

Well, make no mistake, I too believe that homosexuals engage in sinful behavior. However, they deserve rights as much as any other humans deserve rights! Jesus said that we should not be the judge of saint or sinner, but in fact embrace the sinner with our love, just as Jesus accepted the prostitute as his follower, and eventually she repented. How can we expect the sinner to ever repent if all we show is our hatred? Indeed, let he who has no sin cast the first stone against the homosexual sinner...

I remember a song we always sung in church when I was a kid. There was a part that goes:
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yes they'll know we are Christians by our love!
So tell me, where is the love when we Christians are condemning gays and depriving them of their rights?

There is one tricky question, however. Let's say we forget the rights, what about gay marriage? Well, marriage is a union between man and woman, in the eyes of God. If gays want to have a legalised marriage, that's up to the courts to decide, but it won't be valid in the eyes of God. However, should cohabiting gays get as much rights and as much benefits and welfare as cohabiting heterosexuals who are not married? Why not? They need to live too, they need food on the table don't they? Who are we to cast the first stone at these fellow human beings?

By the way, the Catholic Church is one of the most conservative Christian Churches out there. So conservative that some Protestants (especially here in Singapore) don't consider Catholics Christians (wonder who put that idea into their head) because they are too conservative. Yet Newman Hall, Church of the Holy Spirit, which serves the Catholic community in Berkeley, has an LGBT club. LGBT stands for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender. The Catholic community doesn't condone sinful behavior, but yet they invite the sinner to come to church. For we are not worthy to be the judge, or cast the first stone; we are only worthy to shower our love on our fellow brothers and sisters. We Christians need to learn from Newman Hall....