Those serving the HIV-infected/affected are presently faced with a difficult dilemma. While most federal funding streams are being reduced, the number being infected with this dreaded virus relentlessly grows. Epidemiologists were correct in predicting that, after the initial crisis of the 80’s, there would be subsequent “waves” of new infections. Just last month, Proyecto Luz, our Nazarene project in Cleveland, Ohio, ministered to 20 new, infected individuals and their families.

Proyecto Luz – an HIV/AIDS ministry, – was created in 1999 with the explicit mission to meet the needs of underserved afflicted Latinos. At the time this population was not being helped because of linguistic and cultural insensitivities exhibited by a variety of AIDS service organizations. Yet the ministry does not serve exclusively Latinos. We offer our services indiscriminately to African Americans and Caucasians alike.

For over 17 years I have been disappointed by the lack of involvement of the traditional churches in HIV ministries. I hear people “being called” into all kinds of ministries but rarely do they hear the call to the “least, the lost and the last.” How reluctant we are to engage the tough, urban neighborhoods populated by people of color, instead, feeling our call to those who are more comfortable and affluent.

In my opinion there are at least three reasons why the body of Christ has abandoned these populations:

1. Any HIV discussion invariably leads one into difficult issues concerning sexuality. We get embarrassed or irritated when someone suggests a connection between theology and sexuality. When I first got involved in HIV ministries, some church leaders suspected that I was a sexual deviant or confused because of my commitment to this ministry. Even today, there is a reluctance for many to get involved because they don’t want to deal with the philosophical and theological issues it raises.

2. HIV-infected individuals upset the conceptual perfect worlds we create in our imagination. These immuno-suppressed people are an affront to our sensitivities in their need and destitution. At times this response reminds me of that deformed individual begging at the side of the road. He stares at you, and you can’t help but look back at him. It’s disturbing, uncomfortable and convicting. Furthermore, the reality of AIDS exposes the inequalities of our world, contrasting their sickness and our health; their incoherence and our coherence; their need and our resources. Incidentally, most of our clients receive public assistance because it is the only way to pay for astronomically expensive medications (as high as $40,000 a year) food and rent at the same time. The HIV-infected remind us of our self-indulgence of consumerism and religious piety.

I am reminded of Luke 10’s story of the Good Samaritan. Satisfied and busy, we pass by on the other side. Personally, my ministry to “the neighbor that is down” allows me to hold in tension the Wesleyan understanding to minister to the sick and poor rather than the trendy and popular. While it may be normal for humans to reject the less fortunate, this is not a Kingdom alternative. I have discovered that my friendship with HIV- infected individuals has humanized my theology and forced me to see what I did not see before.

3. Lastly, we have avoided involvement in HIV ministries because we over-spiritualize the disease, allowing us to escape responsibility by blaming the victim. “This is a gay disease,” we say, and quietly comfort ourselves with the rationale of divine judgment. Now, the “face of AIDS” is one of color but clothed as women and children, and yet the indifference is just the same. We still “pray for these poor folks,” but do nothing concretely. Yet the Bible shows us that Jesus was not about saving detached souls but about restoring whole people. The Kingdom is not limited to Sunday religious exercises or academic knowledge, but in serving those who cannot help themselves. “But Lord, when did we see you sick and visited you? …As much as you did it to the least of my brothers, you did it unto me.” (Matt. 25). Let’s quit over spiritualizing the disease but rather, reach out practically to help those who hurt so much!

by Max Rodas