One of my favorite ministry magazines arrived in the mail this week.    I love to read through this resource because I find it such a great source of information and inspiration.   One particular article grabbed my attention in this issue, probably because it was on the topic of homosexuality and I knew I would soon be preaching on this issue.   The article is entitled, "Who's Your Leper?"     The article asks, "Who is not welcome in your church?  in your circle of friends?  in your life at all?"      It's tough to really answer these questions honestly .  And if we are truthful the honest answers can be difficult to hear and process.  There is a list of those who are shunned by some Christians and the list includes homosexuals, divorced people, the homeless, HIV/AIDS survivors, those with addictions, and many more.
As we read through the Gospel accounts we observe Jesus time and time again reaching out to the outcast and the downtrodden - those who are misfits and shunned from society.

The Pharisees - the religious leaders of Jesus' day - were horrified at Jesus' willingness to associate with those they considered untouchable.    No one who was truly holy would even consider any form of contact with a woman who had ever been a "sinner" (Luke 7:37).  Yet Jesus did not discourage such a woman from kissing his feet and rubbing them with her hair.   And, rather than avoid lepers, Jesus willingly reached out to them with his loving, healing touch.

When it comes to the issue of homosexuality, or any other issue for that matter, how many of us act more like the Pharisees than like Jesus?  Thanks be to God, Jesus does not look at us through a stereotypical lens or label.     According to the scripture I read and the Jesus I know he looks upon each one of us as a child of God - - his child, created in the image of God and loved by God.    Certainly there are sins of which the homosexual and the heterosexual need to repent.    But let us not, fellow Christians, appoint ourself as judge of another.   Instead, let us reach out with love and acceptance in the same way God has demonstrated gracious acceptance and tolerance of you and me.  I invite us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to reflect honestly upon these questions as they apply to our life and living:    Who is not welcome in our church?   Who is not welcome in your life?