DON'T MAKE IT ANY WORSE

When he would leave his office

and his staff,

he would say to them all,

Don't make it any worse.

Imagine it a word

we could speak

to those who come after.

Imagine it a word spoken by

those who came before.

Gary

WHILE OUT WALKING

While out walking one cool morning,

I passed a rabbit sitting alone.

He happened to be eating breakfast.

“Good morning Rabbit,”

I said with a smile.

“Good morning” said he,

with his mouth full of green.

“May you have a good day,” said I.

“May you also,” said he.

And while Rabbit

finished his breakfast,

I walked on,

feeling even better than before.

I hoped he felt as good as I

for our meeting.

Gary

IF I COULD GO BACK

I suppose it happens to all of us.

We simply are incapable of knowing.

Until we trade places.

Until we are no longer the child.

Until we become the parent of the child.

Perhaps then we see the truth of how we were.

When I consider my own children,

I wonder why they do not ask:

How was it when you were a child?

How did you meet?

Did you ever doubt yourself?

Were you ever afraid?

If I could go back,

I would ask to hear the stories

and about falling in love.

If I could go back,

I would ask, What was it like

when you were me?

And I would listen more.

If I could go back,

I would listen to their lives

before I was me.

Gary

WHAT DOES JESUS HAVE TO SAY?

True story. He is a lawyer, a good one, who has argued before the Supreme Court. Not long ago he stood before that Court on behalf of those who wished to uphold California's ban on gay marriage. He supported the ban. While making arguments in the case, he learned that one of his children is gay. Now he is helping his daughter plan her wedding with another woman. In other words, he changed his mind.

About a year ago, a United States Senator, who was on record as opposed to gay marriage, also changed his mind when his son announced he was a gay man. The Senator said, "It allowed me to think of this issue from a new perspective, and that's of a Dad who loves his son a lot and wants him to have the same opportunities that his brother and sister would have--to have a relationship like Jane and I have had for over 26 years.”

In the Christian Church when one changes their mind it is called repentance.

I am glad these gentlemen love their children enough to see with new eyes, are willing to change their minds, willing to repent, and willing to say so out loud.

What makes me sad, a bit angry, is the fact that these two men were not able to see that everyone who is gay is someone's son or daughter. These men changed their minds only when they looked into the eyes of their own children. They failed to look into the eyes of other people's children.

We share this earth with a great variety of people. I remember in Sunday School singing “Red, brown, yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

When God completed creation, “God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good (Genesis 1:31).” In truth, some of God's children are gay. They are born that way. And they are loved by God. Shame on us when we make others feel guilty or less or ashamed for who they are.

About this time, some of you reading these words are getting more than a bit upset with me. You will tell me to read my Bible. Fair enough. But then let us also ask some questions of the Bible.

I quote from David Lose, professor at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, who asks, “What does the Bible really say about homosexuality?” Here is a part of his answer:

“Actually, a whole lot less than you might imagine! That may be hard to believe given the fierce rhetoric Christians often employ when talking about homosexuality, but there are really only seven passages in the Bible that refer directly to homosexual behavior, and none of them are associated with Jesus. Compare that to the more than 250 verses on the proper use of wealth or more than 300 on our responsibility to care for the poor and work for justice, and you appreciate quickly that homosexuality was not exactly a major theme of the Bible.”

(Huffington Post, Oct. 10, 2011.)

Leviticus (chapters 18 and 20) does include verses that speak of homosexual behavior as an abomination. But Leviticus (chapter 19) also gives instruction on how men should cut their hair and commands that no one get a tattoo. So what does one do with this book? Do the words of Leviticus finally guide us in faith and life?

The Apostle Paul, in letters to the Christian congregations in Rome (Romans 1:26-27) and Corinth (I Corinthians 6:9-11), and to his friend Timothy (I Timothy 1:9-11), wrote words of judgment upon homosexual behavior. But the passages raise the question of whether Paul was speaking of consensual, loving, committed relationships or was he speaking of rape?

I am a Christian who leans Lutheran. The Apostle Paul is important to me. “Justification by grace through faith” is a central tenant of our Church. But I don't agree with everything Paul says. Writing to the congregation in Corinth, Paul concludes “ . . . in all the churches of the saints, women should be silent in the churches . . . should be subordinate, . . .” (I Corinthians 14).

Paul lived in a different time. I believe today he would come to a different conclusion about the participation of women in the Church. In the same way, today we have a better understanding about what it means to be gay. That being gay is not a matter of choice, but a matter of birth.

So I ask myself, what kind of life do I want to lead? More importantly, who do I want to follow?

I do not wish to live my life making judgments upon others. Finally God will judge us all, and as Frederick Buechner writes, “the one who judges us most finally will be the one who loves us most fully.” (Listening to Your Life)

It is much more fun to live a life of welcome, seeing each person as a child of God, an heir to the kingdom of heaven, and enjoying their company while we share this earth for a brief time.

Finally, the writer of Leviticus is not Jesus. Moses is not Jesus. Paul is not Jesus. And I have decided to follow Jesus.

So then, what does Jesus have to say about homosexuality? Absolutely nothing.

Gary

Morning Benediction

It was early when

I stepped into Hardee’s

to pick up breakfast.

He looked tired already.

Perhaps because of the time.

Perhaps because of the job.

His voice carried no emotion.

Take your order?

For here or to go?

Routine.

Said it too often already.

I stepped to the counter.

Take your order?

For here or to go?

I handed him my credit card.

He swiped it, looked at it.

Thank you Gary Westgard.

I looked at his name tag.

Thank you Charlie.

I backed away, waited.

My order came.

Leaving,

I shouted across the room.

Hey Charlie!

He looked up.

Have a good day, Charlie.

He smiled.

Then, almost at the door,

he shouted back to me.

Thank you.

Then added with

that smile now in his voice.

God bless.

Gary

What if we talked with adults

What if we talked with adults

in the same way we talk to children?

What if we said, my how big you have gotten!

Or, on your birthday, how old will you be then?

When we talk with adults,

we ask, where do you work? Do you like your new car?

What if we asked, what makes you sad?

Or looked them in the eye and said, how beautiful you are.

When we talk with adults,

we talk about what shows on the outside.

Children, still new, still learning to pretend,

are not so concerned about their pride or your pride.

Children ask the honest questions,

speak what is on their minds,

don’t really know how to cover up,

hide the truth, shut the blinds.

Jesus desires we come like children,

not meaning we cast away the years,

dispense with wisdom that comes from living.

Rather, we tell the truth, speak even of our fears.

So be the child! Cry when you are hurting.

Tell another you may have lost your way,

that you are not so sure about yourself;

could use some help to get through the day.

Gary

She Forgets

She forgets.

It troubles her.

There is this desire

to fix it, make it better,

but no one knows how.

So it is her present and

her future.

It is and it will be

this way now.

To forget one's keys

or an appointment,

is frustrating.

But this is something else.

This losing of self,

of one's recent past.

The childhood is there,

but yesterday is gone.

Birthdays and family

are in the mind,

but this morning's

conversation has

disappeared.

Whole pieces of life

gone.  But where?

She remembers

that she forgets,

and therein lies

the sorrow.

Gary