The power of a wave

This post does not have much to do with the environment, although I suppose it was triggered by my carless status. As a voluntary non-owner, I rely on public transportation, friends, and an occasional rental car to move about the area. Friday called for a long late night subway ride after a charity banquet. Scanning the various free papers for some reading material to take on the journey, I was struck by the lead headline "Pope waves to gay Catholics." I had only picked up a copy of the "Blade" (Washington's gay newspaper) one other time, when Ted Haggard was the cover boy well over a year ago. Both times, the paper has been a fascinating read.

The Blade, claiming a circulation of 95,000, is filled with a mix things you would see in any paper (realty ads, political news, pop culture) plus pure debauchery in an insert that is intentionally placed upside down---perhaps because many of the gay readers themselves are offended by the ads for prostitutes and the like. There are also spots from "welcoming" churches and evidence of the complex role religion plays in the gay community. For example, the "Bitch Session" editor responded to a "wedding" invitation by saying "I'm not much for church, but a weekend sharing your honeymoon suite sounds doable. Make sure there's a mirrored ceiling and a water bed." Into that complex mix of defiance and spiritual yearning came the Pope.

A group called "Dignity" had staked out a fairly deserted spot along the pope-mobile route and stood silently with their large pro-gay banner. One gets the feeling that most expected to be shunned and so they had taken a shunning posture themselves. Yet, they did not turn their backs for they wanted to see what would happen. Their list of grievances is long, but a simple enthusiastic wave and eye-contact from Benedict is what made the headline. As protester said, "He waved in our direction and that was very nice."

The story of Zacchaeus the tax collector comes to mind. Luke tells of the diminutive Roman collaborator (no doubt despised by his fellow Jews) who took to a sycamore tree to see Jesus. It may be reading too much into the text, but it also sounds as though Zacchaeus wanted to be seen by Jesus. How would this holy man react to me, one defiantly flaunting a separation from his own people, Zacchaeus may have wondered in his heart?

Christ responded with a pre-emptive love that led to a radical change. On a less dramatic level, the Pope seems to have responded in a like manner. True, the motorcade did not stop, and today, if asked, most of those present would likely still say that they have it right and the Catholic Church has it wrong. Nevertheless, a simple gesture of compassion broke down some deep walls of animosity, and that is indeed newsworthy.