Sunday, January 25, 2009

For Such a Time as This...

In the Old Testament, Queen Esther was asked a rhetorical question that has come to symbolize all the poignancy and the potential of the courage it takes to face destiny and act in the face of fear.

"Who knows if you have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this...?"

Last night, I watched Prayers for Bobby on the Lifetime channel. This is the true story of a Christian mother coming to terms with the suicide of her gay son. Because of the subject matter, it is at once heart-rending but also uplifting.


(view the trailer)

It shows that from the deepest agony and the bitterest sorrow and the most intense regret can grow the greatest courage, love and virtue.

Although this incident happened several decades ago, something in me knows that this film is for our time.

This film is essential. Why? Because my brothers and sisters still suffer. They cry. They depress. And they die. And it is enough.

Those of us who claim the name of Christ should have been the first to speak for the unspoken for, not the last. We are here. We must appear. We must speak. We must be.

And we must each--gay, straight, human--speak with kindness and love. Let us err on the side of love. And let the words of Bobby's mother be our admonition.

"Before you echo Amen in your home or place of worship, think and
remember, a child is listening."

1 comment:

Heather said...

I haven't had a chance to watch this yet.... but I can imagine the emotion that it evokes in those of us who've gone through similar struggles!