Tonight I went to Holy Thursday Mass, which celebrates the Last Supper. One of the readings, which comes from Jesus’ last meal with the disciples before he is taken away and then crucified, struck me:
John chapter 13, verses 34-5:
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Why this verse? Because a month ago I was asked to speak a conclave of Presbyterian ministers in North Carolina about what their “Christian duty” towards LGBT youth was. In essence, this is what I preached – the words of John 13. Yet a number of ministers came to the microphone in the question and answer period and said that they could not reconcile what I was saying with what the Scriptures told them was their duty.
Seems to me Jesus is pretty crystal clear here: that the myriad invocations of the Old Testament not to do certain things – like not to shave, not to eat shell fish, not to wear garments of mixed raiment and, yes, that “mankind shall not lie with mankind” – are superseded by the commandment to love one another as he loved us. And how did he love us? Jesus embraced the most marginal and devalued members of his society. Then he told us to do the same. So when we side with those with power against the disenfranchised, we break his most fundamental commandment.
The Word of the Lord.
Kevin, I was at that Presbytery meeting. I felt so uplifted by everything you said, and my heart just sunk when the first guy got up to speak when you were done. I’ve been told that he speaks against something at every Presbytery meeting, though. I was just made an elder in January so that was my first meeting. I was the second person who stood up to talk and I said that it was clear to me that the Holy Spirit is guiding you. I meant it. I wished I could have said more, but I had no idea where to go from there. I believe it is somewhat poetic that you were at my first presbytery meeting because inclusion and open affirmation in the PCUSA for GLBT folks is important to me. My heritage as a Presbyterian goes back at least to the early 1700s and at times I’ve been ready to leave the denomination over this… so far my need for ancestor worship has overcome my need to worship in an open community. That’s pretty sick, huh? :)
I believe the story of Peter’s Vision (Acts 10) is key in understanding the role of Gentiles (us) in the church today. Those rules you quote from the OT are part of a body of rules that exclude probably everyone at that Presbytery meeting from inclusion in the church. It wasn’t until Peter had a vision that compelled him to include Gentiles in the early church that it was even a possibility for any of us to be included. That vision was one that made it clear to the church that the inclusion of all of God’s children is what the church is called to aspire to. That vision told us that shellfish and poly-cotton blends are not the deal breakers that they used to be. “The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’” (Acts 10:15)
I told this to another elder at my church and she said that no one had had a vision like Peter that said that GLBTs were “clean”. I told her that this is where she is wrong. This vision has come to Christians everywhere, and it is only the bad theology and narrow-mindedness of the church that hasn’t accepted it. I once preached on this passage (I’m not a minister, I’m a seminary school drop out (I think it should be sung to “Beauty School Drop-out” from Grease), so I preach from time to time) and I said that I thought the most amazing thing about the story is that when Peter’s colleagues questioned him about what he had done, after he had eaten with and baptized the Gentiles, they said “Okay!” and decided that Gentiles were in. This is the part that our churches today don’t seem to be able to do. We are so deafened by our orthodoxy, that we can’t see hear the revelations that God is showering down around us.
At the end of that meeting there were several calls for having someone come to speak representing the “other side.” It was all I could do not to say, “Well, sure! Hey! I know! Let’s have someone come who de-gays people, and we can have someone from the Klan, and someone who is involved in modern day slavery (the bible says it’s okay, you know) and the anti-ordaining-women folks and we’ll just have a big ol’ tailgate, back-to-the-dark-ages party! They can all share their side of the story because, by God, we are going to be fair!! I’ll bring the confederate flag and someone else bring the wooden crosses and gasoline! Yee Haw!”
It is very true that there needs to be a dialogue and those sorts of comments aren’t a good place to start. But it sure feels like after all this time we should be PAST “starting.” We should be getting somewhere by now. This is why I envy Peter. He said “God told me…” and his people said “Okay, the Gentiles are in…” and that was that. Well, except for the circumcision issue. That got a lot of ink.
Anyway, I want you to know how glad I am that you were at my first meeting and that maybe you moved the dialogue ahead a few inches. You spoke so well, and you represented the issues flawlessly. You are truly gifted in your diplomacy! Thank you!
Shannon Ward
Huntersville, NC
Left by peacemongernc on April 2nd, 2008