Revelation
It was Sunday, and that meant going to church. Nothing like making the newly realized rabbit feel welcome then a sexually repressive gathering of conservatives! He grimaced at the thought, dressing in his more formal attire for church.
They were Catholic. At least his family was. He himself had a different thought on what religion was. It was his own thing, you know? There was somewhat of an omnipotent being out there, but They came in different forms. That's why They had different names. Allah, Jehovah, God, The Great Spirit. Kind of like Gandalf the Grey in a sense. It was a funny analogy, but it fit the bill. What's more, he believed that this being had actually spawned from the minds of the intelligent races here on Earth. A sort of flock initiative like the birds did as they migrated for the winter to warmer climates. It coalesced in to a common mind set. It kind of explains the common themes in the stories used for the religions of the world.
The family huddled in to the car, Alli tired from a night of partying and Fred having nearly missed the car altogether. Daniel and his mother were the only real lucid ones. It was a quiet drive there, Alli complaining about some random girl thing and Fred silent and stoic as ever. Only Daniel looked out the window, silently dreading what church had to behold on this holy day.
It was actually not a bad church, but horror stories about their treatment of homosexuals in the Catholic Church ran deep. They were nice people, sure, but it gets a little old when, every Sunday, they ask "So have you found a nice girl yet?" It's like he had just gotten to like them and, unbeknownst to them, they had made him retreat further back then a turtle does in to its shell. Thankfully they didn't have any zealots in the church. Even the priest, Father Mike, was pretty lax. It was a nice change of pace then what you saw on the TV like the televangelist or Rev. Wright.
They pulled in to the parking lot, the church sitting amongst the trees. It was of a decent size to fit their congregation as the rabbit family stepped out of the car. Oh what he would give to be out of this dress shirt and tie. They were like little nooses. The people smiled at them as they entered, handing out song and prayer books, and his mother dipped her pawtip in to the holy water and dabbed her forehead. She was a devout Catholic, coming from an Irish family. You know the one where Corned Beef and Cabbage was sacred on St. Patrick's Day and Guinness was drunk at every meal. He gave a small chuckle as he thinks of his Grandpa, an older brown rabbit, who still kept up that particular tradition.
The sermon had started, people walking in, the robed canine bringing the very large bound bible to the altar. People bowed their heads in prayer, people sang, that sort of thing. Now the homily. The priest went up and held up his hands as he spoke. Now this was the interesting part. The homily was always some real life story from the priest's or the deacon's perspective that really tied in to the story. Today though, it was something really meaningful to Daniel. "I'd like to start a little different today." the priest started, "Something that has affected me deeply in recent months. Gays." Some people blinked, some just stared. Daniel was the latter, surprised at it. The priest nods, "Homosexuals, queers, nancy boys... a lot of names for men who have been teased and berated for their sexuality." Some people were actually nodding, and Daniel was horrified! He was trying to talk to his mom to excuse himself to the bathroom. "But.." the priest said, pausing, Daniel looking to him, "Those men are excluded because they are different?" His tone was an incredulous one, the nodding heads pausing. "That's like saying you should dislike me because I am different. I'm over 60 years old, I have bad knees and have had cataract surgery. Some say I should be in a nursing home! And all those in the nursing home, they are then excluded. Should they be hated for it? No!" People gasped, Daniel stared in shock. "These men should not be judged by their sexuality, just as a man should not be judged by the color of skin. They should be judged by the content of their character!" he was really getting in to it, even going on to paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr. "It astounds me that people could spawn such hatred like that of Satan to God over a way a person is and not by their character. Those who hate should be ashamed of themselves, for they are like Hitler himself!" People gasped. Older and hardnosed individuals stormed off. Daniel was just surprised at all of this, mouth hanging open. "I've seen people treat others horribly. And within the scope of my voice, I want to change that. My own nephew.... My own nephew was beaten for being the way he was, and if I can protect any or give solace to any men who love men, then so be it." It was oddly quiet as they waited there in shocked silence. A clap. Another. The church was soon a roar of clapping. Daniel was just staring, hearing the claps. "Are you ok, hun?" his mother asks, leaning over to her son as she clapped. "Huh?" he replied, and then noticed his eyes were wet. He was crying. "Mm, yeah mom, I'm ok."
The rest of the service went by rather the same, but Daniel was feeling just too good and it felt like he was experiencing it again. Oddly enough, his mind went back to Psychology, a class he had taken last semester. "Correlation doesn't always mean causation." And yeah, it was true.
And now he could say this without feeling awkward as he went up to accept his communion. He held out his paw and quietly said "Amen."