Remembering

Earlier this semester I was sitting in my Third World Issues class, when my teacher put in a film called "Living With Slim: HIV/AIDS in Africa."
(Please watch the trailer here http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi761922585/ )
I immediately geared up for another gut wrenching film, preparing myself to hear a message of how guilty I was for not helping those struggling to survive while I lived a life of affluent luxury.
I was in for a surprise.
Half way through the film, one of the young girls interviewed began to weep, telling her story of silence and shame. She told of how she has told no one of her being HIV positive, because of the stigma, the shame, and the open abuse that she faces. She begged her community, through broken sobs, to look at her as a human, for she was born HIV positive. She had no choice in the matter, but because of the stigma, the shame, and the fear, she was forced into a closet of silence.
That day in my Third World Issues class, I wept.
HIV/AIDS became real to me that day. As I watched the documentary, the horror of that closet of silence placed on this girl hit me in a whole new understanding. I realized that my own journey paralleled her story as well. I never chose my sexuality. I had no choice, but because of the fear, the hatred, and the stigma of my community, I hid. Like the African girl in the film, I hid. As I watched her tears, my eyes flushed as well. The horror of that closet of AIDS became real to me that day.
Fighting HIV/AIDS has deep held meaning for many in the gay community. As I reflect on the horrors of the disease on this International AIDS day, I am broken by the scars that AIDS has left. I am hurt as I look into the past, at the way the church reacted as a whole, blaming those that had the disease as "lifestyle choices," or even a "curse" to root out those that in their minds were God's unlovables. I am saddened by the misunderstandings surronding this horrid disease, where friends and families throw out their positive family members just because of their own fears. I am angry to see the images of orphans, left alone as the disease slowly killed off all that was left of their family.
Are we not called to love? It is only God who judges, we are called to love. For myself anyway, allow me to quote John 8:7. "They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!"
On this day, let us take a moment to pray for this world. Let us ask God to forgive us of our immobility in dealing with the AIDS crises. There are modern lepers around us, lepers who life the documentary remind us never chose this path, never chose their predicament, yet are forced into the closet of shame out of fear. Let us be the generation that is remembered for our love, especially to those with HIV/AIDS. Let us be a generation of lovers, eager to put down our stones and love those that God has called us too.