First appeared in November/December 2012 issue of Open Door magazine.
The year 1988—the year I was born—marked the first global observance of World AIDS Day. For twenty-five years the world has paused on December 1st to lift prayers, sing hymns, march and wear red ribbons. For twenty-five years the world has paused to remember that great silence of the 1980s. For twenty-five years the world has paused to hold in our hearts the memories of those lost—our friends, our families. December television programs feature documentaries on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, retelling the horrors of those early days and point to the travesties of the present.
This is true: as the crisis swept the globe, many churches stood silent. The Christian faith was put to the test and failed. Jesus and his teachings stood largely ignored while the poor and homosexuals suffered and died.
When HIV/AIDS reached the doorstep of Old South Church, however, some responded. Just as Jesus did not turn away from the sick, the poor, and those rejected by institutions or society, leaders of Old South Church quietly offered sanctuary and love to the least and lost ... to the lepers of the 1980s. A small group of those affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic began to meet in a private home for a time of prayer and fellowship eventually evolving into Healing Worship. Over time Old South grew to become the host of countless interfaith meetings, healing services and AIDS related charities. Members collected clothing and cooked hot meals for those in need. Members went into homes and hospitals to sit, to pray, and be present.
In a time of fear and panic, Christian communities across the city of Boston closed their doors to those living with AIDS. They closed their doors on those struggling to make sense of their lives, their suffering and their deaths. But Old South followed in the footsteps of that radical rabbi Jesus, whom the Gospel calls “a prophet mighty in word and deed.”
Old South Church is no stranger to prophecy. As a congregation we have stood strong and firm on the side of justice and mercy when others dared not. From the abolition of slavery to the struggle against homophobia, our forebears have taken seriously Jesus’ command to “go and do likewise.” Mohandas Gandhi considered the Parable of the Good Samaritan to be the true ‘Great Commission’, the parable in which Jesus commands us to go forth into the world to show love and mercy to our neighbors.
“By the time you finish perusing this magazine another person—someone’s mother, someone’s son, a friend, a neighbor—will contract HIV.”
Today, HIV/AIDS is most acute among the poorest of the world’s poor. It is rapidly spreading among women across the world. It is leaving families broken, children orphaned. By the time you finish perusing this magazine another person—someone’s mother, someone’s son, a friend, a neighbor—will contract HIV. This pandemic is an outrage. It begs a response from Christians. It begs action from us.
For twenty-five years we have worn red ribbons, remembered, and mourned those persons and families touched by HIV/AIDS. And our children and grandchildren will be watching what we do to mark the next twenty-five years. Jesus calls his disciples to embrace those whom society has forgotten. He calls us to turn toward those from whom society has turned away. On this World AIDS Day, may we heed Jesus’ call not only to remembrance and reflection, but also to anger and to action. To learn more about World AIDS Day, visit WorldAIDSDay.org.
Authored by Shawn Fiedler