In Matthew 19 we see a long discussion about divorce, and the disciples wonder if they should even get married at all! Then Jesus says this very strange thing: “But He said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” According to N.S. Gill (Types of Eunuchs in Imperial Rome) there were 5 kinds of eunuchs in the ancient Roman world, ranging from men who were asexual – what we might call non-binary or non-sexual, to those who were either castrated by force or choice. It seems that Jesus was telling the crowd that not everyone will fit in with what the culture considers to be the “norm”, and that is perfectly fine. As far as we know, Jesus and Paul were not married, nor did they engage in sex, but at least Peter (the Rock) was married.
There are a number of mentions of eunuchs in the Hebrew Scriptures, but the one most Christians know comes from Acts 8. The apostle Philip was sent by an angel to the Jerusalem-Gaza Road to meet the Treasurer of Candace, Queen of Ethiopia, who happened to be a eunuch. This unnamed man was reading from Isaiah and was stuck on a passage about someone who was like a sheep that was slaughtered. Philip explained that this is Jesus, and the man is so moved that he asks to be baptized, which Philip does. The Treasurer of Ethiopia goes on his merry way and, we believe, starts one of the first Christian congregations outside of Israel. And while there are some positive/accepting passages in the Hebrew Scriptures about eunuchs, Deuteronomy 23 clearly bans men with crushed testicles or cut-off testicles/penises in the sanctuary.
Seems pretty woke to me. Jesus, as a rabbi, had to know about this rule, yet He and Philip welcomed eunuchs – those who were forbidden to participate in the worship of God in the sanctuary – into the Christian community. Which means, at least to me, that the early church ignored parts of the Bible that didn’t fit with the new era. It didn’t matter if you were married or single, sexual or not, male or female or a eunuch – you were welcomed into the Kingdom of God. Pretty radical stuff, don’t you think?
Prayer – Holy God, You have made each one of us as special, beautiful creations. Open our eyes to the diversity of that beauty. Amen.
Today’s art is An Icon of Saint Philip the Deacon with the Ethiopian Eunuch, by Ann Chapin (2008).