As a current H.I.V./AIDS tester and counselor, and throughout my almost 3 years of professional experience working in the AIDS field, I have frequently come across the most extremely marginalized populations of our society. Everyone from injection drug users, prostitutes, crack-cocaine fiends, sex addicts, homosexuals, and many, many transgender people as well. While all of these people are equally tormented by their circumstances, illnesses, and lifestyles, none are more tormented by Christ than the homosexuals and transgender populations. To many of them, when the church reaches out to everyone else except them, it is clear that Christ refuses to comfort them.

Before I continue, be advised that this post is not a political/theological debate on the moral issues revolving around sexual preferences, same sex marriage, gay parenting, or any other such controversial topic. This is but a mere observation that when Christ is unable to comfort all human sufferings, then the resurrection of Jesus is rendered meaningless.

While the tension mounts outside the walls of faith, and the AIDS epidemic becomes the unifying community cry for justice amongst these marginalized people, I am forced to live in tension at all levels. I am forced to wrestle with extending a positive H.I.V. result to the 20 year old male sitting in front of me, knowing that upon leaving my office, Christ offers him no comfort. There is no community of faith that will endure his pain with him, and there is seemingly no prayer that will remove the stigma attached to his condition.

I often wonder how many of us really know someone living with H.I.V./AIDS. I often wonder what was it about Christ that compelled him to have a sort of ruthless compassion for the lepers by touching them, or his love for the prostitutes by hugging them, or even for the drunkards by sharing meals with them. What kind of man was this Jesus? Perhaps the reality is that at some level, everyone else on this planet matters to Christ, while homosexuals and transgender people don’t. Perhaps we are not called to them at any major compassionate level. Obviously, they must be less than human, and for that, I am sorry. For that, I will apologize to them for us all one by one. I will apologize to them for Christ. For as they come into my office, and as I send them back out into the world with their H.I.V./AIDS results they must remain alone in a world where a suffering Christ with AIDS is nowhere to be found.