Last weekend I was privileged to share in part of the celebration for the fiftieth anniversary of the ordination of a remarkable Episcopal priest. Canon John Andrew, formerly Rector of St Thomas’ Fifth Ave, was at the heart of the celebration and rightly so. He embodies in himself the best qualities of Anglican priesthood, marked by deep devotion to God and his Christ; by a love of the church and its liturgy; by a compassionate and generous heart; and by a breadth of theological and spiritual insight. When you think of Father John Andrew you think of a faithful and much-loved priest. That has become his identity over those many years of service. Of course Father Andrew would be the first to say that he is only an ordinary soul whom God has called and equipped and given wonderful opportunities. That maybe so. But nevertheless he has grown into his priestly identity so much so that you think of John and priest at the same time. “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Father Andrew is a fine example of that process.

The other experience occurred last Tuesday when I attended a presentation at Holy Apostles’ in 9th Ave. by Davis Mac-Iyalla, a Nigerian Anglican gay activist. If that sounds like an oxymoron that is because we have been so bombarded by the Primate of Nigeria, Archbishop Peter Akinola, that we almost believe his rhetoric. He says of course that there are no gays or lesbians in Nigeria and that the whole concept of homosexuality is a Western lifestyle import. Well this brave man certainly demonstrated with passion and commitment that the Archbishop is wrong. Davis Mac-Iyalla was the Prinicipal of an Anglican High School and a secretary and friend to his Anglican bishop. He is a cradle Anglican but he has always known he was gay. It was the Archbishop’s repeated statements that there were no gays in the Nigerian church that drove him to take a stand and to reveal his true identity. Not only did he come out personally but he organized a gathering of likeminded Anglicans. Over 1000 people gathered to the delight of the organizers but to the dismay of the Archbishop and the authorities. Not only did the church take retribution by dismissing Davis from his school principalship but they also tried to defame him with falsehoods. And on top of that the police arrested and gaoled Davis and several of his organizers until protests from far and wide shamed the police into releasing them.

Sadly as a result of death threats Davis is fearful of returning to Nigeria. At present he is touring this country and then the United Kingdom with the English based group Changing Attitudes to tell his story and speak on behalf of many African gays and lesbians. One point he did make which fascinated me was that long before the British came to West Africa there were words in many of the tribal languages for same sex relationships. Far from them being Western imports as many claim homosexuality was already present in the indigenous cultures. Davis Mac-Iyalla’s presence in this city during Gay Pride Week is an important reminder that for many people in the world the struggle for identity is just beginning. It is easy as Americans and as Westerners to forget that the various struggles by oppressed groups be they slaves, people of color, women, gays or lesbians, or immigrants still go on both in this country and in so much of our world. That is one of the underlying reasons for the current tensions in the Anglican Communion. I so well remember at the 1998 Lambeth Conference as one of the African bishops was going on about the fact that there were no gays in Africa, that the then Archbishop of Central Africa, who I knew a little, muttered “rubbish”. However like a good African he found it difficult to contradict an African brother in public.

These two very different stories do however speak of the same issue and that is finding our true identity. They are stories that touch upon our personal search for identity as both human beings and as people of faith.

So let us return to Jesus. In response to that question to his disciples, “who do the crowds say that I am?” the disciples reply “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” Jesus did not let them off the hook: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter bravely and insightfully answered, “The Messiah of God.” To that reply Jesus not only counselled silence but told the disciples of his suffering, death and resurrection that is to come. In other words Jesus’ true identity, that is as God’s Messiah, as the Savior of the World, will only be truly known, in the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. As if that was not enough Jesus added “if any want to come my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” That is to be “like Jesus”, to identify with Christ, means following the way he will tread.

It is that teaching that Paul takes up and expands in his seminal letter to the Galatians, that forerunner to the Letter to the Romans. There Paul proclaims: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” What this means is that through our faith in God’s Saving work of Love brought about through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus and through our Baptism into Jesus we in fact gain our true identity as sons and daughters of God. If you like it is through Jesus and his great love for us demonstrated for all time on the cross that we discover the foundation of who we really are. Jesus disclosed what it is to be fully human in his life, in his teaching and ultimately in his death.

To put it another way, we are no longer limited and diminished by what other people think of us or by how they treat us; we are no longer victims to our personal histories or to our addictions or infirmities be they of mind or body; we are no longer marginalized or defined by our gender, race, socio-economic status, education or by our sexual makeup, for as Paul so radically proclaims “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” That is the good news of the gospel. It is good news to each of us as we seek to understand ourselves; it is a word of hope to people who are marginalized and oppressed everywhere; and it is a word that gives us heart as we seek to be God’s faithful and loving people in this place. Amen

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