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Sermon June 25, 2023
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, MSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, Track 1
https://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp7_RCL.html
‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34
It’s been nearly 50 years and yet it’s one of the things I remember well. It’s the first time I can recall that someone “came out” to me and told me they were a gay man. We were still teens. I remember being very supportive and feeling thankful that this friend of mine could tell me something so important about himself. I am not even in touch with this person and haven’t seen him for decades, but I do remember that important day.
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association homosexuality from the official list of mental health disorders. The Stonewall uprising had happened in 1969 galvanizing efforts to accept a wide range of sexual orientations.
Yes, fifty years ago, we thought we’d turned a corner. Things weren’t perfect, but society was moving. Some of the trips I made to New York City as a young teen, included seeing people who were gay and lesbian being just as open with their affection as people who were heterosexual. Things could only get better, right?
Ah the slow march of time and change. Little by little, laws changed and finally in 2015, a Supreme Court case allowed people to marry someone of the same gender in every state.
Yet, there has been backlash. Seems like every step towards understanding God’s beautiful diversity regarding we human beings is difficult. We find it hard to see the beauty in diversity. Sometimes we find it hard to accept that there could be so many manifestations of God’s creativity.
And unfortunately, there is so much harm done and often done in the name of Jesus Christ.
Today’s words of Jesus remind us how difficult it is to follow him. Many people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and otherwise not fitting the heterosexual frame know what Jesus means about how families break apart.
In trying to be the manifestation of the divine…the image of God that God created them to be, they have lost their families. In some cases, their families have caused great harm to them. In order to be who God created them to be and in order to follow Jesus, they must leave their blood family behind. It is so hard.
Statistics bear this out. Youth who are LGBTQ attempt suicide more often. They find it harder to get mental health care, including in Perry County. They are often made homeless or subject to physical violence based upon their sexual identity.
An article from April on the CNN website reported that 417 bills have been introduced in state legislatures affecting the rights of people who are LGBTQ+ . We keep hearing about legislation that prohibits schools from talking about the reality and breadth of gender and sexual identity. Things are especially difficult for families where a child is transgender.
So much hatred and ignorance. So much destruction of beautiful human beings living the life God created them to live. That’s what we are all trying to do, isn’t it?
And as tough as it is here, Christian groups have taken it upon themselves to transmit this hatred and condemnation to other countries. Uganda is one of them, where you can be put to death for being LGBTQ.
That is why is it so important for us as Christians to stand up to this latest version of cruelty and hatred …this latest version of destroying the beauty God has created.
I know it can be hard. We grew up in a culture where people had to “come out” and be careful about coming out. We grew up in a time when people had quiet and hidden relationships, sometimes for decades…marriages in every sense of the word, but without the state and church blessings and sanction.
Yet, following Jesus means we are the family for those whose families have been torn apart. We are the place for celebration of the wonderful beauty and diversity that God has created. We are the place for celebrating the deep, abiding, and unconditional love shown to us by Jesus Christ. We are the family of Christ.
Amen
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/06/politics/anti-lgbtq-plus-state-bill-rights-dg/index.html
