LGBTQ: Living? Or Limited?

 

LGBTQ: Living? Or Limited?

 

Hebrews 4:12-16
4:12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

4:13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

4:14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.

4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.

4:16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

“It slices, it dices, it will even make julienne fries!” This famous catchphrase (widely and wildly satirized over the decades by characters from Dan Aykroyd to Ninja Turtle, Leonardo) launched the famous Veg-O-Matic, way back in 1963. Today, many would adopt the same slogan for God’s Word, citing verse one of a lectionary passage, Hebrews 4:12-16, for October 10. God’s Word, many say, is able “slice and dice,” surgically removing “stuff” from the Body of Christ that should not be there. Historically, these “tumors” have included people who don’t fit the dogmatic mold, whether it is a sect like the Mormons, who didn’t allow black men to be “ordained” until 1978, the Roman Catholic Church that STILL doesn’t allow women to be ordained to the priesthood, or The United Methodist Church that denies full participation—including ordination—to members of the LGBTQ community.

 

But what if the meaning of this text is the exact opposite of what the knife-wielders say it means? Let’s look at that, for a moment.

 

What if the “sharp edge” of God’s Word is sharp precisely because it truly helps us “judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart”? And, if so, what does this mean for an ostracized group such as members of the LGBTQ community?

 

First, let me offer a word of “word” explanation: Following in this message, I’m going to use the term “gay persons” as a collective noun, representing all of those in the LGBTQ community. I’m doing this for several reasons. First of all, I’m a “word” person, and since this message is written out, I do not want to keep using the term LGBTQ, as it looks and sounds too “clinical.” Now, I fully realize and affirm that the phrase “gay persons” is NOT normally considered fully inclusive, as persons may identify with any of the groups signified by one of the letters of the LGBTQ label—lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer, etc., and just saying “gay persons” doesn’t make this direct connection. Again, please humor me, in my effort to refer to persons and not an acronym. I also realize that when I write “LGBTQ” I am “aborting” the term that is preferred, which is even more inclusive, “LGBTQIA+”, representing also the “IA+” persons, or intersex, asexual, and others including those who consider themselves “fluid,” when it comes to sexual identity, putting them in the “+” of this designation. I write LGBTQ as the written, inclusive term, as it is currently the one preferred by the Associated Press Stylebook, the use of which is something I carried over from my journalism days. Again, humor me. If you read the rest of this message, you will see that I am what is known as an “ally” of the LGBTQ community, and certainly do NOT mean to reduce their struggle, or demean them in any way with the use of “gay persons” as a plural, collective noun. Also, I am an ordained elder in a denomination whose “Book of Discipline” uses the ancient and non-biblical phrase “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals” to denote the group it excludes, so I hope my use of “gay persons” is acceptable, at least for this written narrative. (When I am speaking about these concerns, by the way, I DO use the “LGBTQ” acronym, and often add the “IA+” extension, but I admit that when the spoken exchange is with a detractor of LGBTQ religious rights, I can see their countenance fall with each letter of the longer moniker.)

 

SO, back to the sharp edge of the Word of God. Please note that Hebrews 4:12, a famous verse oft-cited to boost the authority of scripture, talks of “judging the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Whose thoughts? Whose intentions? Let’s look at that for a moment.

 

What are the thoughts and intentions of the heart of gay persons? The easiest way to investigate this is to ask them, or read what so many have written, including scientific experts who have studied human sexuality. On the “clinical” end, one first finds out that persons whose sexual orientation does not match their physical biology did not “choose” this difference. Science says they did not make such a choice, and gay persons strongly affirm that they did not, either. When “laying down the gauntlet,” gay persons may say they were “born” this way, but it is probably more accurate to say that as their consciousness developed, they “discovered” that their sexual orientation was clearly different than that of their peers. This part of the journey is even more challenging for trans persons, as they may recognize strongly that their sexual identity does NOT match the body they are in. Hebrews 4:12 gives hope to all who are in the LGBTQ spectrum, in that God “looks on the heart” and knows that these people are not “playing games” or are caught up in some sexual/recreational perversion (as some will claim, bashing them with other ancient texts from a time when NO ONE understood human sexuality), but are honestly assessing what is IN THEIR HEARTS. And regarding intentions, I know of not one single person who, in their struggle with sexual orientation or identity, has any intention other than to come to terms, live at peace with themselves, and be accepted by others for who they are. Hebrews 4:12 affirms that God fully understands this. It is a scriptural way of saying “God’s OK with this—and YOU!” God knows that the “thoughts and intentions of the heart” of these persons are genuine and pure, seeking only understanding, love, and acceptance. Of course, some of my LGBTQ acquaintances will now say they are so tired of “fighting for acceptance” among members of the religious community that they are resigned to boldly being who they are, accepting themselves the way they were created, and toughing out the resistance from others who refuse to broaden their understanding.

 

For some of you who may be slogging through this message, I have possibly opened a “can of worms” by stating that gay persons were “created” that way. If sexual orientation is not a choice, then it stands to reason that persons whose orientation or identity doesn’t exactly match their biology must BE this way from birth—“created,” if you will. Oversimplifying human sexuality, one is tempted to believe the argument that because we have “boy parts” and “girl parts,” and that the interaction of these is generally necessary to propagate the human species, than any deviation from this “plan” is “wrong.” Actually, the propagation of the species has gone quite well throughout the human millennia, such that the planet is, in many cases, over-populated, or at least so over-developed by its current inhabitants, that we are endangering its very survival. This being so, is it not possible that the miraculous process of human evolution that the Creator designed into us is evolving to “allow” different forms of “loving” that do not require that an offspring be produced? Might this not be helpful to the planet, that persons may develop love relationships that are not necessarily procreative? I can hear some of you say, “But God CREATED us “male and female” for each other!” Well, yes, and this “formula” was certainly necessary “in the beginning,” if humanity was to survive, but I submit that the narratives behind this “order” are ancient, primitive, and largely uninformed by modern, “real-life” circumstances. 

 

This is one very good reason why Hebrews 4:12 states that God’s Word is “living and active.” God’s Word is not a collection of diehard, immutable doctrines, but spiritual and social guidance for God’s people, a people who themselves change throughout human history, and who therefore change what their future will be. God’s Word, when interpreted in and to each generation, offers both God’s GRACE to each, and guidance designed to help the human community “all get along,” love one another, and build a sustainable, supportive community for each successive generation. When “God’s Word” is used to throw out an anchor, to “conserve” or “preserve” ancient ways, it does harm to the present and short-circuits the future. This application of scriptural authority does not lead to a sustainable human community. Each generation has had to make “leaps” to get to the next, and this is certainly true in the community of faith, as well. No matter what you may say, the church today (for example) is nothing like the church of Paul’s day, nor should it be. The church has undergone more “reformations” than the one attributed to Luther. How about the one fostered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?

 

Let’s take that little detour for a moment. When I hear a member of the white, privileged majority make a statement like “Racism is no longer an issue,” I immediately ask if they have talked with a Black person about this? Those who are in the white majority, who for generations perpetrated racism against persons of color, are not in any position to judge that “racism is no longer an issue.” One must talk to persons of color to get their opinion, since they have been the victims of it, and frankly, still continue to be. I submit that the same argument works with “straight” persons and any judging of the gay community—have you spent time in conversation with members of the LGBTQ community to see what they say about your assertions that they have “chosen” this lifestyle? Or ask them how they feel about being excluded from full participation in the church because of their sexual orientation? If God’s Word is able to “judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart,” maybe we should listen for this, too. Judging these persons as “sinful” without seeking to understand the “thoughts and intentions of their hearts,” as does the Bible, is NOT practicing belief in a “living and active” Word of God. 

 

To this continuing “debate,” God’s Word has true, living Good News for us in verse 4:15: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. Jesus fully understands all of our struggles, and one of those struggles is defining sin. Throughout his ministry, Jesus’ actions and words demonstrated that sin is that which harms or destroys community. Through his preaching and healing miracles, Jesus sought to forgive, mend, and join human beings into a supportive, sustainable community. He eschewed—and urged us to eschew—anything that damaged or delayed this pursuit, and called it “sin.” Part of our ancient “DNA” is the tribalism that at one time served as a gathering, collaborating, and protective “layer” in the development of human community. However, this “tribalism” and its dogmatic lines it drew between emerging, new communities had shown itself to be detrimental in Jesus’ time, and he modelled a new community of the faithful, uniting Gentile and Jew, slave and free, men and women—steps that were quite revolutionary in the First Century. Jesus understood the problems and the “weaknesses” of these old systems and the friction they were offering to God’s plan to move humanity forward.

 

Hebrews 4:15 also says that Jesus showed us how we could eliminate this sin by crossing all of these ancient, artificial boundaries that walled people off, delaying the emergent new community. He “ate with sinners” that they might be included; he went among the lepers, that they might rejoin the new community; he talked with the gentile woman the well and healed a gentile’s child with the “crumbs” from the table of the dominant community; and he tossed the money-changers in the Temple as a symbol of the New Order that wasn’t valued by “the market,” but by the “thoughts and intentions of the hearts” of God’s new people. Of course this did not sit well with those whose “authority and doctrines” were being questioned, or worse, relegated to the pages of past history, and they stirred up their “base” against him, and we know what happened. 

 

Of course, as the hymn says, he “could have called ten thousand angels” while on the cross, but even in this test, he eschewed the sin of abusing his power and raining retribution against those who were guilty of selfishness, at most, or misunderstanding, at least. And because of this, Hebrews 4:16 says today we can boldly approach the “throne of grace” that we may “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” 

 

Our siblings in the LGBTQ community need those of us in the “straight” majority to rediscover the “living and active” Word of God, the Word that offers guidance, grace, and mercy to all, a Living Word that judges only the “thoughts and intentions of the heart.” For when these are examined, we will find that our LGBTQ siblings have the same bold access to God’s “throne of grace” as do we, and should not be denied full expression of their lives in the life of the church, nor should they be denied full participation in it. Doing so harms God’s emerging, evangelical (Good News) community, and sends a witness that only certain persons need apply in an era when so many people are just sick and tired of being told they are not eligible for the blessing. Amen.