Crossing the Threshold: Advent of Integration 4

‘When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home’ (Mt 1:24).

I write this in sheer relief. I just finished preparing my home for my bride. Ania didn’t make many requests, but I heeded her few. Whew! Who’d have thought hanging curtains required a YouTube tutorial on power drills for this awkward bridegroom?

My home now ready, I depart for our wedding in Poland. By the time you read this, we’ll be on our honeymoon!

Joseph took Mary, large with Jesus, into his home. This ‘righteous man’ (Mt 1:19) guarded the Incarnation. He took seriously the Messiah-Babe and His mom. A man of fortitude, Joseph helps me say ‘yes’ to the seemingly impossible.

Joseph crossed a monumental threshold. So must I.

I follow his faithful lead. He didn’t need to figure out all the risks. Trust God. Welcome His Mother. The rest will fall into place.

Four years ago, I attended my first Living Waters Training, a week that changed my life. I awoke to a new horizon for my masculine sexuality.

Andrew writes about me: ‘There he became aware of a quiet agreement that he had made between his same-sex attraction and a perceived disqualification from “normal” married life. Loving Jesus much, he opted for priestly formation and, prior to meeting us, had never taken a good, hard look as to whether he was capable of a life outside of the celibate priesthood’ (Rediscovering Our Lost Fullness, 92).

I attribute this wake-up call to the Incarnation. Jesus—God-in-the-flesh--jolts us to Reality.

God made me a man for woman. Period. Priest or not, the nature of my sexual humanity is for her. Before renouncing marriage for the sake of the Kingdom, I had to reconcile with her good. Living Waters taught this to me through faithful ‘Joseph-like’ men who said ‘yes’ to His Incarnation.

Could I be a responsible man like Joseph? Doesn’t same-sex attraction disqualify me? Thank God for ‘good, hard looks’ into our sexual/relational decisions. To my surprise, God called me to embrace marital gift-giving, not to renounce it.

Utterly incarnational. In Jesus, sexuality is elevated by grace and perfected in its plan and purpose. Our response? Wake up! Cross the threshold into gift reconciliation and giving.

Jesus assumed sexual human nature as His own, revealing to me the saving value of being reconciled to my masculine gift. Incarnate Jesus crossed a threshold with eternal implications. Deck the halls of your heart! Incarnate Jesus draws near this Christmas!

Jesus released me from the low ceiling of ‘gay celibacy’; He released me for Ania, a love I didn’t think I would ever experience. Risky yes, but we have good models to follow.

In Jesus, God crossed a threshold. Joseph crossed one too. So must I. And you. Here goes.