Today's Homily: Charity, as taken from the play "The Laramie Project".

Secondhand bookstores can provide a unique thrill, if what rocks your boat is the same as what rocks mine. When I'm in Booksale, I look for the "hhhh" moment: you're browsing in the least promising pile of old books, and you come across a beat-up volume that nonetheless provides the impetus for a sharp intake of breath.

This week"s "hhhh" moment was brought to you by the Laramie Project. As described on the HBO movie listings, it seemed like a nothing tearjerker-of-the-week, but reading through the script (slight scratches, P75.00) made me wish I had the patience to wait for its debut on cable.

The interviewees recount how the news of a gay man"s murder hit home for the residents of the small Wyoming town where it happened. Particularly interesting was how the different religious congregations reacted to the gay man"s death. Remember, no judgments are passed by the script: what we have are the unfiltered words of the people who were there, with no editorializing from the writers.

Baptist Minister (wished to remain anonymous):

"As for the victim, I know that that lifestyle is legal, but I will tell you one thing: I hope that Matthew Shepard as he was tied to that fence, that he had time to reflect on a moment when someone had spoken the word of the Lord to him - and that before he slipped into a coma he had a chance to reflect on his lifestyle."

Stephen Mead Johnson, Unitarian Minister:

"To his credit, Father Roger, Catholic priest, who is well-established here, and God bless him - he did not equivocate at all when this happened - he hosted the vigil for Matthew."

Catholic Priest, Father Roger Schmit:

"I was really jolted because, you know, when we did the vigil - we wanted to get other ministers involved and we called some of them, and they were not going to get involved. And it was like, 'We are gonna stand back and wait and see which way the wind is blowing.' And that angered me immensely. We are supposed to stand out as leaders. I thought, 'Wow, what's going on here?'"

I thought back then to some Christians I know, and the invisible line that divides them. (not an easy thing to reflect on in the middle of Booksale Megamall.) I"ve met Christians who hold their faith to a single imperative – "God is Love" - and feel free to interpret it in ways that are often surprising, sometimes shocking, but always reflective of real generosity, real love that they share with everyone regardless of their religion.

Across the line, you have Laramie's Baptist Minister, standing with some other Christians I've met. Their faith is contained in the endless minutiae of the Bible - and you must live your whole life to its letter. "The word is either sufficient," says the minister, "or it is not. Scientists tell me that the world is five billion or six billion years old. The Bible tells me that human history is six thousand years old. The word is either sufficient, or it is not."

Taken to the limits that the Minister's side of the line often goes, the sufficiency of the word means a literal belief in Genesis (never mind the countless whispers to the contrary by science); a legalistic interpretation of how you or me or any other person may go to heaven or hell, and a rather uncharitable view of those who stand on the margins of the Bible"s prescriptions of Right, Good, and True.

In this blissful myopia, some of Laramie's Christian leaders missed the opportunity to walk in Jesus' real footsteps. Having trapped themselves on their side of the line, the Baptist Minister and his ilk played Pharisee: reserving their "Christian" love for fellow Bible-believers, forgetting that Christ broke bread with the sinners too. They missed a golden opportunity to show what Christianity should be all about, but I doubt they regret it.

The Word is either sufficient, or it is not: and, in the aftermath of Matthew Shepard's murder, it was not: a gay man's agony made some Christians draw the line between the Bible-believing saved (always one's own side) and the damned, counting those who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them, thanking God for their blessings - all while Jesus walked in the presence of those on the other side of the line.

I didn't come up with all this as I was in Booksale - or I would have, if the lady next to me didn"t have such bad breath and distracted me from my reverie.

Further reading: "Everybody Hates Us" by Michael Spencer