As you can see, I left the T out because I included that yesterday in my consideration about gender. I have gotten into the habit of saying, as former PA Rep. Brian Sims’s mom used to say, “Anything but straight”, but for today’s purposes, let’s go with the usual terminology. And yes, I have dealt with this topic many times, but I want to do this series now as a response to some of the ugliness we have seen coming out of churches in recent years. I also am doing this so that you can offer it to your friends who have given up on God, the church, and Christianity in general. We all need to show them that not every person of faith is hateful. And while the rest of the world has moved on, it seems that people of faith are still focused on this question: how should Christians respond to people who aren’t straight?
The Bible says very little about this; yes, Leviticus 18 and 20 say a man shall not lie down with a man as with a woman and, yes, Romans 1 adds women to this condemnation. The Apostle Paul gives the reason – those who have same-sex relationships are idol worshipers, so God allows them to stop being straight. Yes – that’s what Romans 1 says. We then turn to the sayings of Jesus, and what we find there is (drum roll, please…) – nothing. Jesus never mentions any of the letters we are discussing. Leviticus also says that men and women committing adultery are to both be put to death, and tattoos and gashes/piercings are also condemned in Leviticus 19. Bonus – Deuteronomy 21 gives parents’ permission to have unruly sons stoned to death. I’m adding all of these to remind everyone that the Bible has rules against a lot of things we ignore. So why are so many people fixated on people who aren’t straight?
In my life, I have evolved concerning sexuality; I used to think it was weird to not be straight, then I excused it as one sin among many that we (myself included) all have. For many years, though, I have settled into the idea that God makes all of us to live and love in different ways. The diversity of creation is what makes it beautiful – the Apostle Paul speaks to this in 1 Corinthians, pointing to the amazing diversity of spiritual gifts that all come from the same spirit. When we love, we need to do it with integrity and fidelity. Or, in modern terms, love is love. Don’t cheat but commit yourself to your relationship. It doesn’t matter which letter we embrace, as long as we are focused on nurturing that relationship. If we choose to spend our lives with someone, God calls us to live in equality and respect. And God makes each one of us uniquely who we are. How should Christians respond to LGBTQ+ people? Like they are people. Because they are. Just like you. Just like me.
Prayer – Holy God, thank You for making us so different, but from the same Spirit. Amen.
Today’s art is “Harmony in Chaos” by Jin Lim.