Homily for Sunday, May 23, 2010, Pentecost, 5:00pm Taize Service

St. Thomas' Parish, Dupont Circle, Episcopal Church

Written by David Perez

As we often do at our Sunday evening services, I will be sharing some thoughts on my faith journey. It's been a couple of years since I last delivered the homily. Last time, I spoke about my faith journey from a young age and the first time I came to St. Thomas'. Today I would like to share a little bit about how my faith has grown and changed over my spiritual journey from an upbringing with an emphasis on Bible Study and prayer to a more comprehensive view of faith including living it out in daily actions. In particular I would like share how I reconciled a conservative evangelical view of my Christian faith with a more progressive view of my Christianity and the important brothers and sisters who impacted my life in this process as I found a church home here at St. Thomas' Parish.

• How my understanding of faith and why I act it out has changed over time
• o I grew up in a fairly conservative Evangelical Christian home; now this was between Los Angeles and San Diego so many not as conservative as other parts of the country, but still conservative basic Evangelical, Bible-believing literal interpretation of Scripture type of church.
• o Though, I do not remember it, my mother tells me about how when I was 6 years old I prayed with her to accept Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior. As you can see I have been involved with the church for a long time with my family.
• o I earned my B.A. at Biola University, originally known as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. We all minored 30 units in Biblical Studies and adhered to community standards over the four years such as no drinking, smoking, university-sponsored dances, sex before marriage, or homosexual activity among many others.
• o As I had various experiences in life and saw faith in action, I begin to open and question some conservative principals to which I had held fast.
• o During my study abroad semester in San Jose Costa Rica and various Spring Break mission trips to Mexico, I encountered female pastors of local churches. In Costa Rica, I studied in a concentration program with all women. My upbringing had focused on texts in Scripture focusing on the limited role of women in the church and that only men could be head pastors in a church. My horizons were expanded as I saw excellent examples of women leading spiritual communities in Latin America. Though challenging at first, over time, I was able to fully embrace the equality of women in all positions in the church and embracing the words spoken by Peter at Pentecost, "That I will pour forth my spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams" (Acts 2:17, NASB). I even championed this inclusive vision of a faith community as I urged my mother, as a church council member to vote for the first ever female elder at our church in San Diego. How times had changed.
• o In part, I owe this ability to use reason and think critically about my faith to the teachings at my conservative evangelical university Biblical Studies professors. Though, the university adhered to strict doctrinal statements, they did equip us with the tools to think critically about our faith and when doubting it-which indeed I did at times-to seek out the answers through Scripture, prayer, and counsel of fellow believers.
• o However, there were limits in this conservative community about what may be openly discussed. I had dark secrets hidden in my heart. The thoughts half-way through college realizing I may be physically attracted to men. I remember praying to God that it wasn't so.
• o Then after moving to Washington, DC for graduate school, I final came out to my friends in August 2006. Immediately after coming out of the closet, I attended the next service I could find at St. Thomas'. I did not want a lapse of my relationship with Christ. I knew that God was real and his love and community with other Christians a valuable part of my life.
• o And it is in St. Thomas' Parish, where I have found an inclusive, accepting and radically hospitable community of faith. A place where all questions are on the table. I think one reason I have been so drawn to the Episcopal Church is the pillars of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason that guide our faith. The skills of thinking critically about my faith I learned at Biola University, are taken to the next level in the Episcopal Church, where we can balance Scripture, Church traditions, and human reason as we explore tough questions such as the place of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender persons in the Church.

Influencers of faith journey:

• o The transition from a conservative evangelical background to a more progressive church community-where the Holy Spirit may even be referred to as She was not an easy one, was a bit unsettling at first.
• o There but there were important brothers and sisters, such as Jeremy Ayers & Ryan Winfield who helped me how do I reconcile my conservative Evangelical principals of faith in this new context and framework of a progressive Episcopalian faith community at St. Thomas'.
• o For example, I had been waiting to marry one woman and consummate our relationship after marriage. Suddenly I had to come to terms with the idea that I am not attracted to nor will ever marry a woman. Pillars of thought that had oriented me for so long had been turned upside down. Ryan and Jeremy hey had similar evangelical backgrounds like myself and were extremely helpful as I probed there minds on theology and how to live out that theology in a new context.
• o Another example of the important persons here at St. Thomas' that have eased my transition and helped me stay connected is our very own Rector Nancy Lee Jose. Her exemplary actions of warmth and hospitality at this Parish have been very encouraging to me. I began coming here in August 2006 (four years this August), but over the past year as my attendance dwindled a little I have received more than one personal note at the appropriate times letting me know that I was missed and that Nancy Lee would love to see me back around soon. Such kindness and interest in my well being has kept me connected with this special faith community that I hold dear to my heart.

Faith Expressed through Action

Another important person in my life her at St. Thomas has been Kay Johnson. She is a priest that would often give the homily at the 11:00am service when I first started attending St. Thomas'. Her homilies focus on the serving those underserved communities who often do not have a voice. Demanding labor rights for underpaid person in Washington, DC. Her sermons have always been an inspiration to me in how I view the Kingdom of God and encourage my faith journey that has changed by placing more emphasizing actions of faith lived out daily, manifestations of the Holy Spirit's work in my life. On my Facebook profile I love the juxtaposition of two Bible verses that are important to me:

• § "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."(Ephesians 2:8-9) and
• § "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself." (James 2:17)
• o For me, this sums up my faith journey. Though I value the study of God's Word and mediation on the Scriptures, I have found that it is not the only place to emphasize how I live out my faith as I did at my evangelical university.
• o Now I have found out many ways to live out my faith through many actions that contribute to my faith community and to principles of social justice as we attempt to bring to fruition small glimpses of the Kingdom of God here on earth
• o Whether it be contributing to the ardent fight to demand equal civil rights for Latinos living in the United States and immigration reform at my job; volunteering with the Human Rights Campaign to demand equality for the LGBT community or creating space in Washington, DC for the Queer Latino community through the Latino GLBT History Project.
• o All of these are ways in which I express my faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Demanding equality for all persons, bring in God's reign as we demand social justice for the voiceless. These actions express my faith and why I love and am so drawn to God. He loved us while we were sinners, gave his life for us. This ultimate sacrifice and expression of love encourages me to attempt to love my neighbor as myself and God with all my heart
• o A God that champions the voiceless, oppressed, and lefts them up to victory as described in many Old Testament Scriptures referring to the people of Israel. After all God manifested himself to us on earth in the human form of a baby born to a carpenter and an unmarried mother in a humble stable. This example, as well as Christ dining with the worst sinners of the day (tax collectors, prostitutes) sets an example for us all in how we should life to not exclude anyone and to share the love of God with all persons.

This just a little bit of my faith journey, how is has developed over time, and some stories about the fruitful experiences I have had here at St. Thomas'. I invite you to come back and worship with the amazing community again soon. Amen.