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It’s about Identity
As I approach the Advent and Christmas season, the memory of
and the celebration of the incarnation, I often reflect on the relevancy
today of these ancient stories. I remember and celebrate God and man as one
in Jesus the Christ, and by faith, my inclusion in that union. What could be
more relevant? Because I believe that God continually works in human
history, the relevancy of the Christmas story is real and applies to every
situation we encounter in life.
But the Christian church is divided on many fronts. God’s
Spirit given in Christ is a Spirit of unity, so how do we reconcile the many
divisive issues we as Christ’s church face? We look to holy Scripture and
the indwelling presence of the Spirit to further the work of the church.
What are the divisive issues that face the church today?
Well, one of the most controversial in and out of the church is
homosexuality.
Jesus doesn’t teach about homosexuality in the Bible. Jesus
does teach about sexual identity.
There is a wonderful story in the Christian Scriptures
[i]
about an experience between two men and God. One of the men was Philip, an
evangelist in the early church of Jesus the Christ, the other was a very
rich and powerful man who became the first Gentile convert to our faith in
Jesus as the Christ. We don’t know the first convert’s name, but we do know
some important things about him.
We know this: he was rich and powerful because he was in
charge of the entire treasury of Candace, the queen of Ethiopia. He was
riding in a chariot (probably chauffeured) that was large enough for Philip
the evangelist to get in and sit beside him. He was educated because he was
reading the Hebrew Scriptures while riding in his chariot. And we know he
was searching for God’s truth; “he had come to Jerusalem to worship.”
[ii]
We know a little bit about Philip, too. Philip was an
evangelist in the early church who had answered God’s call to proclaim God’s
Good News about Jesus to everyone everywhere. Philip listened to God and
followed God’s leading, and most assuredly God led Philip to this
experience.
First God sent an angel to Philip with the message to go to a
road in the wilderness. “Wilderness;” how many of us have felt like we were
alone in the wilderness in our search for truth? But that’s another story
for another time…. After sending Philip into the wilderness, God spoke to
Philip again in the Spirit and sent him directly to the chariot of this rich
and powerful foreigner from Africa. It is clear that God wanted these two
men to meet, God led Philip to this man through both an angel and the Holy
Spirit!
Philip ran up to the chariot and heard this powerful man
reading from the prophet Isaiah. Probably the passage he was reading he had
internalized; “In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can
describe his generation?” He probably personalized this passage because
this powerful Ethiopian had gone to Jerusalem to worship, but he was not
even allowed in the assembly. He had traveled a long way to worship and I’m
sure he expected to be welcomed if for no other reason than his powerful
position. Instead, he was not even allowed in church! He was rejected by the
church because of his sexual identity. You see, this powerful man was a
eunuch and according to the Law of Moses eunuchs are barred from church.[iii]
In many ways today nothing has changed; people are still rejected by the
church because of their sexual identity.
Many believers try to justify their separation from and
rejection of homosexuals in the church by saying it is not an identity
issue, but rather is a life style choice. There was a time in my journey in
the “wilderness” when that argument carried some weight, but that was before
I risked loving like Jesus loves. In my very small service to the AIDS
community I risked Jesus love. In that risk I learned that members of the
homosexual community are members because of identity not choice – it is who
they are. Just as I was born into the heterosexual community and had
absolutely no choice in that – it is who I am.
In this story from Acts we learn that the God revealed in
Jesus’ does not reject someone because of their sexual identity. In fact,
God blessed with baptism and the Spirit this eunuch who was rejected by the
church. And Christian church tradition and history credits the Christian
church in Ethiopia to this eunuch who returned home declaring God’s love in
Jesus for everyone everywhere.
Our sexual identity is at the core of who we are. In the
world people reject those who are different from themselves, but Jesus’
disciples are not of the world. Jesus’ teaching about the issue of sexual
identity was difficult when he gave that teaching and is still difficult
today for many “religious.” In Jesus’ own words, “Not everyone can accept
this teaching, but only those to whom it is given.”
[iv]
It is only through God’s Holy Spirit that we can be given the understanding
that even people rejected by the church because of their sexual identity can
still glorify God and God’s kingdom.
[v]
The United Church of Christ has encouraged believers to open
themselves to new understanding and living of God’s love for everyone. When
we do that and love as Jesus loves
[vi]
we are blessed by God’s Spirit
[vii]
and God’s Spirit teaches us everything
[viii]
we need to enable us to love everyone and thereby experience “the peace of
God, which surpasses all understanding”.
[ix]
As Jesus’ disciples we are called to love as Jesus loves.
When we study the Gospels we see that many of Jesus’ followers were rejected
by the religious of the day because they were, according to the Law of
Moses, sinners. Jesus’ followers became Jesus’ disciples because he accepted
them for who they were not for who the church thought they should be. The
transformation that happened in their lives by following Jesus was not a
change of identity, but a change in relationship. In love Jesus’ disciples
are transformed in their relationship to God – from knowing God as some
distant, transcendent being apart from humankind and accessible to only a
few selected holy people – to knowing God as Father and knowing God
intimately as Father is the beginning of eternal life,
[x]
and eternal life necessarily mandates we love everyone everywhere, even our
enemies!
[xi]
When we choose to love that way we are truly blessed.
To everyone everywhere; know that at St. John’s United Church
of Christ, God Is Still Speaking and teaching that no matter who you are or
where you are on life’s journey you will find a spiritual home here. And
members of the LGBT community please forgive me for learning to love so
slowly.
Still In One Peace ~ pastor john
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