Home Is Where the Heart Is

Recently I have had some email correspondence with Ann, whose blogs Roc Rebel Granny and Is America Burning I really must add to my list of Great Blogs to Read.

Part of our dialogue has revolved around homophobia and the prejudice against gays and Lesbians that seems to be increasing in the United States.

Tonight, as I have been unable to sleep, I was thinking about that as the Peter, Paul, and Mary CD, Songs of Conscience and Concern, that was playing came to the song by Sally Fingerett, Home Is Where the Heart Is.

Sometimes, especially at 3:00 a.m. when one wants to sleep, but can't, music can trigger images of events and people in ways that are, for lack of a better word, unique--different from previous memories. As I listened to the acceptance and love expressed in Home Is Where the Heart Is, my mind turned to the Gay and Lesbian people who have touched my life: my cousin (has he really be dead over a year) and his daughter; my ex-wife and her sister; the pastors who have influenced my understanding and theology; the folks who were taken from this life at such young ages by AIDS.

I thought of their stories, especially the non-acceptance, prejudice, and even hostility that they encountered from people and, in many cases, their own families. And I weighed those images against the love and acceptance with which the mother and daughter in this song express toward their neighbors. I remember that line from the Ash Wednesday service: As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to struggle against everything that leads us away from the love of God and neighbor.

I replayed the song, three times, and realized that it says more than I could ever write about love, compassion, and acceptance. So I decided that I want to share it with you and hope that I am not violating any copyright, since it is more potent than any sermon I have ever written or heard on the issue.

You can hear the song here: Home Is Where The Heart Is by Peter, Paul and Mary

Home Is Where the Heart Is
(Sally Fingerett)

On the corner there's this nice man
His name is Mark, He's always smiling
He's got this mom who comes on Wednesdays
In the evening with soup so steaming
He shares his house with his friend Martin
They're not brothers, they're not cousins
My little girl wonders all about these men
I take hold of her hand, and I begin

[Chorus:]
Home is where the heart is
No matter how the heart lives
Inside your heart where love is
That's where you've got to make yourself
At home

Across the yard live Deb and Tricia
With their tools and ladders
And their room addition
My kid yells over, "Are ya having a baby?"
They wink and smile, they say, "Someday maybe."
But through their doors go kids and mommies
Funny how you don't see the daddies go in
My little girl wonders
'Bout this house with no men,
I take hold of her hand
And I begin

[Chorus]

'Round the corner, here comes Martin
He's alone now, he tries smiling
He roams around his well stocked kitchen
He knows that fate will soon be coming
My little girl wonders where he will live
I take hold of her hand and I begin

[Chorus]

Martin sits and waits with his windows open
His house is empty, his heart is broken
We bring him toys and watercolors
He loves to hear my little baby's stories
She's the gift I share
She's his companion
She's the string on the kite
She guides him into the wind
My little girl wonders who will care for him
We take hold of his hand and we begin