IDAHOBIT Vigils 2020: the new verse will be Galatians 3,28
Like every year, the verse to headline Vigils on International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and transphobia (IDAHOBIT) 2020 was voted online. The verse that received the most votes was taken from the letter of St Paul to the Galatians (Gal 3, 28): “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”.
The letter to the Galatians is the manifesto of the new born Christian religion. In it, the Apostle Paul opposed the first attempts to make void the core message of the Gospel and replace it with a rid of laws, rules and regulations. Paul reminds us that God is love and the only law for all human beings is freedom in love as well as to be loved. Any kind of barriers, either social, cultural, religious or gender, are taken down. There is no division, we are all children of the same Father, brothers and sisters that welcome each other with their own differences.
Paul invites us to get over divisions, categorisation and classifications. This is not about seeking an equality that erases all differences, but rather accepting diversity as an enriching gift. The body is made by many parts and each of them is different, but we are one in Christ. The conclusion is simple: “baptism makes us all children of God as equal and this is the base that let us call everyone brothers and sisters, especially those different from us (Pastor Martin Ibarra)”.
On and around 17th of May (IDAHOBIT) many associations and people of good will reunite in prayer, joined by these reflections, so that our society and our Christian communities may be more and more welcoming beacons to support LGBT people and all people who are discriminated against.
Kind regards from the volunteers of Progetto Gionata and Tenda di Gionata.
