Tuesday, May 7, 2019

- May 06, 2019

1 Samuel, Chapter 23, Verse 17

He said to him: “Have no fear, my father Saul shall not lay a hand to you. You shall be king of Israel and I shall be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.”

This is the last statement of Jonathan to David where he openly acknowledges that David will be king. Jonathan does not live to see David made king. Jonathan’s visit strengthens David and attests to the hidden care of the Lord for him. During this time David is in his wilderness strongholds.

Q: There are those who say that David and Jonathan had a homosexual relationship to justify the modern homosexual agenda.

Father Edart[1]: The account in 1 Samuel 18:1-5 shows gestures and words that express a profound attachment between Jonathan and David. Although the terms used describe a real affective bond, their usual use in the Old Testament in no way allows for seeing a homosexual relationship there. For an example you can see Jacob and his son Benjamin in Genesis 44:30-31. The expression "to love as oneself" — as his soul — is frequent — Leviticus 19:18.34. The verb "to love," in a context of alliance, takes on a political dimension, the beneficiary being considered as partner or superior. Moreover, the gift that Jonathan made to David of his weapons illustrates the transfer of his prerogatives, among which was the right of succession to his father's throne. It's a political gesture. In the account, nonetheless, David ends up replacing Jonathan — 1 Samuel 23:17. Other passages, developed by Innocent Himbaza in our book, illustrate the friendship between Jonathan and David. All the gestures posed between these two men, however, can take place between parents and children — Jacob and Benjamin; between brothers — Joseph and his brothers; between father-in-law and son-in-law — Jethro and Moses; between close friends — Jonathan and David; between warriors — Saul and David, Jonathan and David; and between brothers and sisters in the faith — Paul and the Ephesians. We risk interpreting the latter askew here, but these are actually normal and usual gestures for people who feel close to one another. We can affirm that nothing in the texts we are faced with allow for seeing any homosexuality between David and Jonathan, not even implicitly. If at times an expression is ambiguous for a modern spirit, reading it in context removes that possibility.

Q: The Church preaches love of neighbor, but is often reproached for wanting to put "barriers" to love, for not understanding every person's profound need to love. If the Church does not approve homosexuality, what message of hope can she give to a person who finds in homosexuality the means to give himself and to love?

Father Edart: The suffering of a homosexual person can be very great and not accessible to people who do not experience this situation. Indeed, our whole world is marked by this fundamental fact of heterosexual love. Even the Chinese civilization, hardly susceptible to having been shaped by Judeo-Christian culture, also lives this reality. In that civilization, homosexuality is also perceived as outside the norm. The homosexual person experiences an internal suffering, attested by psychological studies, but he also suffers from his confrontation with a world that very often will judge and condemn him. This rejection will often even be violent. In fact, everybody passes a phase in their psychological development of ambiguity on the sexual plane in adolescence. A person might be, for some time, attracted by persons of the same sex, without being for all that a homosexual! If this stage of growth is badly lived or unfinished, it results in psychic suffering. Subsequently, every confrontation with homosexuality will trigger this suffering, which will be translated in violent behavior. To learn to consider a homosexual person without reducing him to his sexual orientation can be difficult and lead to recognizing one's personal poverty. In the face of this situation, the Church, in fidelity to the Bible, recognizing that active homosexuality cannot be a good for the person, forcefully affirms, in the same fidelity to the word of God, that every person, regardless of his sexual orientation, has the same dignity and in no way must be the object of unjust discrimination. As every baptized person, homosexual persons are called to holiness and to live here and now a living relationship with Christ in the Church. The message of the Gospel is a source of hope for these persons and the Church witnesses to this. Christian communities can be places where people see their personal suffering accepted and understood. The latter will then be able, with the support of these communities, to seek to correspond to God's call. The development of friendly and fraternal relations lived in chastity is an important place of psychological and spiritual healing. Friendship with Christ is certainly the principal support and guide on this path. He is the best of friends. This friendship is nourished in the life of faith, prayer and the sacraments. The homosexual person desirous of progressing toward Christ will find an indispensable support there. He wants to be in alliance with each one by meeting the person just as he is and to conduct him to himself gradually with the continuous and unconditional support of his mercy. It's a long and difficult but possible path. It is certain that the development of homosexuality in our Western society is an appeal to Christians to create new places to help those who are wounded in their sexuality.

Cosmo Day[2]

Cosmopolitans are probably one of the most famous cocktails out there, where people can go out at night and enjoy and fun night dancing, laughing, and singing in clubs. If you love cosmos, then you’ll love Cosmopolitan Day. This drink has been making the rounds for a while, and it highlights the 90’s as one of the best drinks of its time. Let’s check out Cosmopolitan Day! Although the day itself is coined by freelancer writer, Jace Shoemaker-Galloway, who writes about non-traditional holidays, the history of the Cosmo itself is very murky. According to Vinepair.com, the first tracked origins of the cosmo go back to the late nineteenth century, where a cocktail known as the Daisy emerged as a drink with a recipe that called for spirit, sweetener and citrus. Although this isn’t exactly a cosmo, a more direct line for its origins comes from 1968, when Ocean Spray wanted to advertise cranberry juice to adults.They named the drink “The Harpoon” and it called for an ounce of vodka, an ounce of cranberry and a squeeze of lime, which was close to the Cosmo recipe but missed the Cointreau and/or Triple Sec.

Although legends differ that the Cosmo came from the gay subculture of Miami Beach, Florida and Provincetown, Massachusetts, the formal invention of the drink is credited to a bartender named Toby Cecchini, who made the drink while working at the famous Odeon in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood in 1987. Its popularity spread into celebrity culture, where it ended up in The Rainbow Room, where Madonna is pictured drinking it at a Grammy after party. However, it was brought into mainstream culture by the famous Tv Show Sex and the City, where it appeared multiple times throughout the show, creating a cultural impact on the U.S.

How to Celebrate Cosmopolitan Day

Want a Cosmo? Here’s an amazing recipe you can easily make at home. In a cocktail shaker, mix 1 1/2 ounces vodka (or citrus vodka), 1-ounce Cointreau orange liqueur, 1/2 ounce lime juice (fresh), and 1/4 ounce cranberry juice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass dipped in sugar, then garnish with an orange peel and viola! Cosmo’s can be as strong or tame as you like it, but because it has vodka in it, it isn’t exactly the most innocent drink out there as far as cocktails go. You can also hashtag #CosmopolitanDay on your social media and share you drinking your fancy cocktail with your friends.