In the Promised Land of Israel, whilst their neighbours in the name of religious faith in other gods are persecuting and putting gays to death like never before, the reign of God's grace and mercy seem to bless the nation of Israel for the GLBT community.

In a milestone,  the Israel interior ministry granted citizenship to Bayardo Alvarez. a non Jew, the spouse of a new Jewish immigrant, Joshua Goldberg.

The "law of return" in Israel grants citizenship to the Jews in the diaspora particularly from Europe, Rusia, and America. The citizenship is granted for the spouse as well and does not discriminate between a heterosexual spouse or a single sex spouse.

Whilst one could be put to death just for being gay by the people of faith in the surrounding Arab nations, since 1963, the Government in Israel had announced that they would not enforced the former British laws against gays. The laws against gays were finally repealed in 1988.

We are reminded of the story of the Leper in Luke 17:15-18.

  (Luke 17:15 NKJV) And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,

(Luke 17:16 NKJV) and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

(Luke 17:17 NKJV) So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?

(Luke 17:18 NKJV) "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"

Here, the 10 lepers (9 Jews and 1 Samaritan), hearing how powerful Jesus was, greeted Jesus with loud appeals as the Jesus entourage enters the city. The local Jewish priests have no power to heal the lepers, and the lepers would have normally cried out "Unclean, unclean ..." to the passing throng following Jesus. But instead, they followed the crowd and pleaded "Jesus, Master, Have mercy on us".

Jesus asked the lepers to go their way to the priests and on the journey of faith they will receive healing. And it was by faith, for instead of declaring "unclean, unclean.." along the way into the  temple, they had to believe and have faith that Jesus had healed them. When they reached the priests, they were healed.

The Leprosy of the Jews negated their rights as Jews and they were rejected outcasts from their religious faith. The Samaritan was already rejected because he was a samaritan. But by being with the Jewish lot, he was identified with them and received mercy from Jesus.

When the Samaritan reached the Jewish temple, there was no fear of rejection, because he was in a group with his Jewish leper friends. He became identified with and became one with them. And the priests didn't reject him, and when the healing was confirmed, he was also confirmed into the Jewish faith.

After the healings were confirmed, the ex-lepers would have rejoiced and start living the life they had lost. They had forgotten about Jesus, their healer and didn't return to bow down to worship Him. Many a times, gays are touched by God's love to reveal an acceptance of their innate sexual orientation. They come out of the closet, perhaps go for a season to a gay affirmative church, but seldom do they become more zealous for Jesus. Most would not want to have anything to do with religion but more on spirituality.

Why did the Samaritan returned to Jesus when his Jewish leper friends did not? Because, the Jewish Leper friends considered blessings as a right and a privilege because they were of the Jewish faith and people. The Samaritan knew that he had no right to healing because he was not a Jew, and therefore healing came because of the Grace of God.

As gay christians, are we grateful to God's grace to for taking us out of the closet, to be free and to live a life God has ordained for us. It is time that we give thanks for Jesus for revealing the secrets of our hearts that we have been hiding from others. Whom God has accepted no one could reject.

When the Samaritan aligned himself with the Jews, the God of Israel, He met Jesus, the God of love, mercy and grace. He became with them and accepted into the faith. Their blessings also became His.

God's grace is moving in Israel, and the Gay Arabs are escaping from death and torture to move and escape into Jerusalem and Tel-aviv. They were willing to set aside their own faith who had persecuted them, to seek God's grace in the "enemy" which their nations had despised but who accepts their innate sexual orientation beyond the identification of them as non-Jews.

As Gay Arabs escaped into Israel accross the walls that were meant to stop suicide bombers, they are attaching themselves to the God of Israel. The blessings of God, the blessings of Abraham will also flow to them and they will receive honey from the rock.

These Gay Arabs will one day join themselves with Israel and play a vital part in Israel's claim of their promised land. For God will exalt the least to come against the mighty.

Just as Bayardo Alvarez a gay non-Jew became accepted and a new citizen in Israel, through being a spouse of a Jewish men, blessed be the name of the Lord of God of Israel for His mercy and grace upon the Gay tribe. We give God the glory and honour due. Jesus is God's mercy and acceptance for the GLBT community who are coming to Him for love, rest and acceptance.

The Germans (majority whom are Catholics and Prebyterians) killed more than 150,000 gays in World War II simply because they were gays in the same concentration camps that the Jews were interned. There their fates and blessings were intertwined, and when Israel became a nation, so too would Gays find refuge in this nation.

We pray today for a rainbow road above the clouds that will bring the persecuted Gay Arabs into Israel. Despite the tight security, we pray for God's grace to make open a door of escape for Gays that they may come safety into the cities of refuge in Israel.

May the blessings of God come upon Israel.

Israel Shalom Adonai.