Born This Way

Despite its brevity – only 105 verses in all – much of the material in First Peter is the stuff of basic Christian teaching. 

Peter states his reason for writing: to encourage his readers, who were facing persecution for their faith, to stand firm.  Christians back then were persecuted after Nero blamed them for the burning of Rome.

What I’m most intrigued with , however, is I Peter 2:19: “For one is approved if, mindful of God, he (or she) endures pain … while suffering unjustly.”

That’s a condition we’re all too familiar with, one that afflicts LGBT people … as well as everyone born with an identity or status that society despises or deems inferior – through no fault or credit of our own.

As Peter states, “What credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it, you take it patiently?  But if, when you do right and suffer for it, you take it patiently … you have God’s approval!”

Most of us have suffered simply because we were born this way … through no fault of our own.  Try as we might, we cannot deny who we are or to whom we’re attracted. 

We’re not doing wrong; we’re just being the loving people God created us to be.

We’re simply coming out of the closet as Christians.

We can – and should – rest confidently, because God has approved our conduct … even if other people – or those whose religion is too narrow to accept us – don’t.

Back in Peter’s day, the position of a household slave was tenuous … subject to the character, position, and even moods of the owner.  And often, simply because they weren’t considered “full people,” slaves suffered, despite their goodness and righteous conduct.

We, too, can expect that our behavior will draw derision and undeserved hate from the people of our day who condemn and deny us because they believe that they own the Word of God and control its interpretation.

In one of the earliest books of the Bible, Job asks a question that haunts us to this day: Why do the righteous suffer? 

Nothing seems more intolerable than undeserved suffering.  But, as Peter reminds us, when we turn our eyes and cry out to Jesus, this bitterness is lessened somewhat.  After all, who here can compare our own suffering with what Jesus endured … quietly and without scorn or retaliation?

Selma Fraiberg, a 20^th century U.S. child psychoanalyst, wrote this in her 1959 book, The Magic Years:

“The two-year-old loves deeply, tenderly, extravagantly … and he holds the love of his parents more dearly than anything in the world.  He wants to be good so that he can love himself.  That is what we mean, later, by self-esteem.”

None of us here is two-years-old … though, sometimes, we may stubbornly act that way. J  But, in a sense, the same can be said of us:

While we no longer need to earn God’s love – that’s unconditional, a free gift we call "grace" – as God’s children, made in our Creator’s image, we want to be good … to be approved … by ourselves, our relations, and our holy God who grants nothing less for us.

Grace Redeems Disgrace!

Elizabeth's story tends to be eclipsed by Mary's, since it's hard not to focus on the virgin birth. But Elizabeth has a miraculous birth as well, finding herself pregnant well beyond the time to have children.

Elizabeth, after all, was barren.

Barren means more than just infertile; it can mean unproductive, unattractive, unfruitful, dull, empty, devoid, lacking, bereft.

Originally, I was going to conclude my message today with the thought that we should take heart from Elizabeth’s story because, at one time or another – maybe even many times! – like Elizabeth, we have felt barren … unproductive … empty … lacking … or bereft. 

Sometimes, God has reasons for not answering our prayers—or not answering them when or how we want them to be answered. Being human, it’s hard to wait … and wait … and wait … for our prayers to be answered. 

So, I was going to advise you to do like Elizabeth: Go about your daily life and business, loving the people God has placed in your life while never giving up your faith or hope.

That would have been a fine and fitting ending to this story.

But the more I read about Elizabeth, the more I found myself riveted on her words of redemption, in Luke 1:25:

“The Lord has done this for me … he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Think about these words, will you?  Not only did Elizabeth do nothing wrong ... instead, we’re informed, she did everything right.  Right from the beginning, we’re told that she was “blameless” in front of the Lord.

Yet society judged her to be shameful, disgraceful, lacking in God’s grace … as if it were her fault that she hadn’t conceived and given birth to children as expected.

Don’t we feel that way, too, sometimes because we don’t exactly conform to society’s norms and expectations? 

“What did I do to deserve this?” we ask ourselves.  “Why was I created this way?  What should I do now to feel better about myself … and not so barren or empty?”

When I began to come to grips with my own gender identity and sexuality, I already knew that I didn’t make myself this way … nor did I believe that environment or other people caused me to become the person I am.  I regretted that I wasn’t like everyone else.   It certainly wasn’t easy to make believe, hide in the closet, and try to deny the person I was meant to be.

Yet because society deemed it wrong, shameful, disgraceful, with an ugly stigma attached to it, like Elizabeth I felt barren … empty … unfaithful … and void.

I remember going to a “Coming Out Group” led by a Christian man named Paul.  “BUT … how can you reconcile being gay with all those clobber verses in the Bible?” I asked him.

He just smiled oh-so-sweetly and told me that the God he worshipped loved him … just as he is … and that – no matter what other people might tell me or what could be taken out of context from the Scriptures – that it really is all about grace.

Amazing grace!

It’s got nothing to do with what we do or don’t do that earns us God’s love and our salvation. 

It’s not about rules, regulations, and restrictions that lead to heavenly rewards or rejection.

Nope, it’s all about grace.  Even now, I’m just coming to understand and accept this astounding truth.

Being loved by someone who I deeply love in return certainly helped me to feel somewhat better about myself … but I still was alone, if not so lonely anymore.

It wasn’t until I met God more intimately – not someone else’s idea of God – and spent time in God’s company that I truly began to feel better about being myself and not quite so empty.  God’s grace and my belief that God purposefully created me to be exactly the person I am has turned my life around—blessing me and making me barren no more.

Listen carefully, again, my friends, to the redeeming words of Elizabeth as found in Luke 1:25:  “The Lord has done this for me … he has shown his favor … and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Now, here's where all God’s people should say a mighty, “Amen!” as we give thanks for our many blessings and gifts.

Holy Smoke!

At Mount Sinai, the people of God were instructed to make themselves ceremonially clean in order to hear and receive the Word of God.

For the Hebrew people – and throughout the Hebrew Testament – the people were excluded from drawing close to their God because, as Moses said to the LORD and we’re told in Exodus 19:23, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”

When the Israelites saw the thunder and lightning, the mountain in smoke while the trumpet sounded, what did they do then?  They trembled with fear.  They kept their distance and stayed away.  And they pleaded with Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen.  But do not have God speak to us or we will die!” 

Now, that’s the part about this passage that really got to me:  What was it that scared them?  That they would die?  That they would draw close to God?  That God wanted to touch them personally and instill in each of them a fear for the LORD?

Indeed, they should have been scared! 

Why?  Because they knew that God had come to test them.  Because they knew God wanted them to keep from wandering.  Because they knew that God expects respect and to be revered.

But what did the Hebrew people do during those 40 days when Moses was with the LORD on Mount Sinai receiving these Ten Commandments (and other laws)? 

They turned to Aaron … building and worshipping a golden calf!

Over the years, many – maybe millions – of messages and sermons have been based on worshipping idols or on one or more of these Ten Commandments.  Here, instead, I would like to focus on the fears of the Hebrews and their words: 

“Speak to us yourself and we will listen.  But do not have God speak to us or we will die!” 

The people are telling Moses, “YOU do it … not us.  You tell us what the LORD God says.  We’re afraid to hear it directly from God.  We don’t want to die!”

None of us wants to deal with death or dying.

That we’re going to die doesn’t frighten us as much though, I suspect, as how we’re going to die.

What concerns us, really, is:

--Will we lose our minds?

--Will our bodies betray us?

--Will we be by ourselves, left all alone?

--Will we suffer a long and debilitating disease that leaves us without dignity, let alone our humanity?

No, I’m really not afraid to die at this point.  Oh, I’m scared of flying over the Atlantic to Spain and going down in an airplane.  I’m afraid of the doctors telling me that I have something incurable that needs to be removed … and then they keep cutting and cutting and cutting until there’s nothing left of me.

I guess what I’m saying is that, like many of us, I don’t want to feel pain and hurt, whether mine or others'.  Like most of us, if I had my druthers, I’d rather meet my Maker quickly than to lose my mind or have parts of my body taken from me.

What, I believe, it really comes down to for most of us is that dying means ceasing to be.  There’s no more “me.”  And that part of myself which I refer to as “me” isn’t body or mind … it’s something much more vital: my spirit, my soul.  It’s that God-given spark that defines who I am.  Take that away from me and I’m no longer myself, a separate and unique being.

That’s what I’m afraid of losing, when I think about dying.

And you know something?  I believe even Jesus feared that, too.  Remember when, in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed, asking that – if possible – this cup be passed, that he didn’t have to die for us to be born again?  Then, He quickly recanted and said to God, “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done!”

The Israelites knew something that many people, by and large, have forgotten: The thought of approaching the Holy One is a fearful thing, not to be tread upon lightly. 

Therefore, staying at a distance can be prudent.

Then, again, what they didn’t know is that God has authored a New Covenant with God’s people, where the sacrifice for all sins and wicked ways has been paid and given freely to us in the gift of grace.  We are the righteousness of God now in Christ Jesus … and God welcomes us, spiritually, even into the Holy of Holies!

Jesus refers any number of times to the need for us to die to old ways – to leave behind ourselves – and, come, follow Him.

Dying to ourselves and our self-centered lives is an exercise in that we need to do daily, day after day.

“If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.  For whoever wants to safe his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it,” Jesus tells us in Luke 9:23-24.

In other words, when we die to ourselves, we indeed are born again to a new life in the Lord.

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds,” says Jesus in John 12:24.

And ain’t that the truth!

Those who choose to follow Jesus and His teachings will make physical sacrifices – even unto death – for spiritual rewards.

Calling the crowd to join his disciples, Jesus warned, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.  And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?" 

That, my friends, comes from Mark 8:34-36.

Yes, God does call us to give up our souls, to forfeit ourselves, to die if you will, for the sake of God and God’s Kingdom.

I truly understand how scary that can be.  But I have also seen what becomes of some people who consider themselves more sacred than the Holy One of Israel and refuse to let go.

A few weeks ago, we visited and paid our respects to Riverside Baptist Church where we had the honor of worshipping with Rev. David Holladay and his congregation. 

These words, used at the church to introduce the Prayers of the People and the Lord’s Prayer, are the same words with which I’d like to conclude this message:

“We fear to approach you with our confession, holy God, for you may require changes in us that are costly.

“You ask us to have the mind of Christ, a mind free of pretense and self-interest.

“You challenge us to lay aside our advantages, to go where you send us.

“We fear loss of security and loss of advantage if we are obedient.

“We confess our need for you and our desire to find your purpose for us.

“More than any change for which we yearn, we need a change of mind.  Inspire in us the mind that is in Christ … who humbles himself and is obedient, who is faithful to your will even unto death on a cross.

“Help us to follow him as faithfully as he has followed you, Lord, and we will serve others as he has served us.”

Eunuchs

Imagine if you were a special “type” of person … someone who belonged to what might be referred to as a “sexual minority” … a person who could be conveniently used by others when your special gifts and talented were needed … yet, although you were good-natured, attractive, talented and trustworthy, you had absolutely no rights or legal standing whatsoever.

Not too hard to imagine, huh?

Well, that’s exactly the predicament faced by a group of people known as “eunuchs” in the Bible.

Eunuch.  Even the name, itself, sounds strange.  Be that as it may, some scholars say there upwards of 40 Old Testament verses containing a word – in Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic – used to mean “eunuch” … while, in at least two New Testament passages, eunuchs are at the heart of the message.

So, what, exactly is a eunuch? A eunuch is someone who has no physical attraction to people of the opposite sex.  Back in the Bible, eunuchs didn’t have sex with women and they didn’t have children.  Since they had no children, they had no vested interest in leaving a fortune to the next generation.  So they had no reason to be crooked or seek advantage for their own offspring.

Some people were just born that way.  Others were made that way "surgically" in order to serve their masters.  Still others chose to deny themselves and be celibate in order to focus entirely on God.

Translated to English, eunuch essentially means “keeper of the bed chamber” or “overseer of the household.”  Put another way, a eunuch was an “emasculated man.” 

And many historians believe that eunuchs were homosexuals.

In other words, people living thousands of years ago all across Europe and Asia acknowledged a certain category of men as different from the norm.  Their difference consisted in the fact that they had no sex drive toward women and that difference was conceived of as natural and inborn.  We know, too, of ancient cultures where there were women who, by nature, had no lust for men.  Does the island of “Lesbos” ring a bell?

Eunuchs were common in other cultures featured in the Bible.  Remember Potiphar, who managed the household of a high-ranking official in Pharaoh’s court?  He was a eunuch.  Maybe that explains why the official’s wife made a play, instead, for Joseph, he of the coat of many colors.  Joseph tried to escape and left the woman holding his garment but that, my friends, is another story.

Eunuchs were trusted around married women since they weren’t a threat in committing adultery with another man’s wife or engaging in pre-marital sex with a household of women. 

In fact, eunuchs were exalted to such positions that they watched over the harems of the kings they served.  Both boys and girls were sold into slavery as eunuchs by their parents to give their child a better life or to provide for the rest of the family.

Eunuchs could be extremely beautiful and attractive.  Some say that Daniel – along with his friends Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego  -- were virile and handsome men who were castrated before being banished into captivity by the Babylonians and sent to serve Nebuchadnezzar.  First century historian Josephus asserts that Daniel and his three friends were made eunuchs.  Even before that, the writer of 2 Kings 20:18 predicts, “And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood hat will be born to you, will be taken away and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

While in exile, Queen Esther – the wife of Persian King Xerxes – had a eunuch assigned to serve her personal needs, showing that in this time period it was common for such women to be attended by men who didn’t pose a sexual threat.  According to the Book of Esther (1:10), the king had seven eunuchs who served him.

The New Testament also refers to eunuchs.  Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, sent one of her eunuchs to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh, God of the Hebrews.  As the eunuch was drawing close to Jerusalem, the Apostle Phillip, one of the leaders in the early New Testament church, was sent by God to explain and preach the gospel to him.  But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here.  You can read the entire story yourself in Acts 8:26-31.

Ironically, some could say that the Apostle Paul was a eunuch in that he remained single and celibate to fully concentrate on his mission for Christ.

What’s really important here is the idea that even a eunuch could be baptized, draw close to God, and become part of God’s family.  I believe this reaffirms the impartiality of God.  “Whosoever believes,” says the Scripture … and that includes eunuchs.

Which brings us to what Jesus has to say about these extraordinary people.  Look at Matthew 19:8-12, where Jesus and his disciples are discussing marriage and divorce, and conditions under which it is permissible to divorce:

8Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” 10The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” 11Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage^c because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

In this context, Jesus is saying that some people aren’t suitable for marriage.  His reasons are enjoined under the category of being a eunuch.  The Lord himself has expanded the meaning of eunuch to include those who are unmarried for a variety of reasons.  Some were made this way by others.  Some are born this way.  They are unable to get married because they have no natural inclination to have sexual relations with a mate of the opposite sex.

It is highly unlikely that Jesus is referring to a straight, but impotent, male … or a castrated one, for that matter … when he talks about eunuchs, because castrated and impotent men still can be attracted to women. 

A eunuch is a man who can’t reproduce, not necessarily a man who isn’t sexual.  Some men were castrated specifically so they could stay young and pretty and be sexual with other men.

We’ve all heard the joke about the pamphlet entitled, “What Jesus Said about Homosexuality.”  Open it up and it’s blank.  Of course, that’s true.  Jesus never mentioned homosexuality, per se. 

But as knowing and wise as Jesus was – or, as Scripture-citers like to say, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) – wouldn’t you think that He’d know there would one day be a terrible problem in His church, in Christianity, and in culture over homosexuality, gay rights, and same-sex marriage … then, why didn’t He say anything specific?

I believe he did.  Jesus said, “Let the one who can accept this accept it.” 

Not everyone can accept this.  So, I have to wonder: Is Jesus talking to us, preaching to the choir?  Or is he talking about others in his church who need to understand and accept what he’s saying here about eunuchs … about those of us who don’t conform to society’s norms about gender?

Look at Isaiah 56:4-5, for this is what the LORD says:
Due to one of those damning Deuteronomy verses (23:1), eunuchs were foreigners to God’s temple when Isaiah made this prophecy: 
   “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
   who choose what pleases me
   and hold fast to my covenant—
⁵ to them I will give within my temple and its walls
   a memorial and a name
   better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
   that will endure forever."

Isaiah here states without reservation that God Almighty will wipe away the bonds of the Mosaic Law through his love, mercy, and grace.

It, therefore, becomes clear that eunuchs not only have a place in heaven, but are given “a name better than sons and daughters.”

Can it get any better than that?

Cornelius the Centurion

In Acts 10:34-43, Peter announces that God’s amazing grace is on the move, breaking down traditional boundaries and barriers between the Jews and the nations (gentiles).

Through his encounter with Cornelius, Peter comes to realize that “God shows no partiality” … but in every nation (be that geographical, cultural, or social!), whosoever fears God and does what is right is accepted by God.

WOW! God shows no partiality.

Think about how that statement challenges and undermines our tendency to confine God to the comfortable categories of our own “religion” or religious beliefs.

Consider Cornelius: Why might God have chosen him and his household to be the first gentile converts to Christianity?

We know that he’s a centurion, a notable leader of Roman soldiers. He’s described as “God-fearing,” someone who loves the Lord, prays regularly, and one who helps the poor. We’re told that he even built a synagogue for the Jews. We’re also told that he lives in Caesaria, was part of the Italian regiment, and that his entire “household” – kinfolk, friends, and servants – worshipped God. Given the time, place, and Cornelius’s position, this was truly radical!

Even more radical, though, is that I personally believe Cornelius is the same man referred to either as “a centurion” or “the centurion” whom we’ve met elsewhere in the Gospels.

In Matthew and Luke, we’re told that, at the crucifixion of Jesus, “When the centurion and others keeping watch over Jesus saw … what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54). Luke (23:47) adds, “When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent!’”

I believe this centurion was Cornelius, paying his last respects to the extraordinary man and teacher who earlier had healed his servant.

In my humble opinion, “the centurion” we’re introduced to in Matthew and Luke was Cornelius. Remember the story about the centurion who sought Jesus to heal his servant “who was dear to him”?

Some people – including Bible scholars who have analyzed the words “dear to him” in this passage – believe there was a very special relationship, a deep, loving relationship, between the centurion and his servant. And I believe it was this special, same-sex love that touched Jesus’ heart and motivated him to reach out and heal the man’s servant. Not to mention, accept the relationship between the centurion and his servant!

If you were an exalted soldier of rank and power, respected by your own people, would you beseech help from a wandering rabbi of a foreign religion for a mere servant of yours? Would you forsake your own god or gods and humble yourself in front of the supposedly ignorant natives who were your subjects, just to cure someone who worked for you?

Not likely! Not if you were a Roman Centurion. You would not, could not, risk the ridicule … even if you were in love with another man, as was often the custom among Roman men such as this at the time.

As the centurion made his way toward Jesus, I’m sure he was concerned that Jesus, like other Jewish rabbis, would condemn his “dear” relationship. But he probably decided that if Jesus was able to heal his lover, he was also able to see through any lies or deception.

In response to the centurion’s love and his honesty, Jesus said without reservation: “Then I will come and heal him.”

The centurion replied there is no need, that Jesus’ word was sufficient.

Instead of Jesus saying, “he is healed … go and sin no more,” as he did to the adulterous woman, he said, “I have not found faith this great anywhere in Israel,” and held Cornelius up as a man of real faith.

It’s apparent to me that the Lord was already working in Cornelius’ life, preparing him for the events which would occur to him and his household in Acts chapter ten.

Rather than debate and explain those “clobber verses” we so often hear, I claim this Scriptural account as an affirming one.

For centuries, the church has insisted that loving, homosexual people are nowhere to be found in the Bible and, certainly, never presented in a positive light. Many Christians refuse to believe that God would include a positive story about a manly centurion who loves another person of the same sex.

But I believe that our Creator is doing a new thing today … revealing yet another dimension to what it means to be loved and accepted by God.

A wild and winsome force, God’s love still can win over the hearts of centurions like Cornelius. It says, “Bah-humbug” to the conventional categories of who’s deemed “in” and who’s cast “out.” It eats with sinners, washes the feet of ordinary people, associates with prostitutes and others of ill repute, and upholds loving one’s enemies as a commanding new norm.

A Bigger and Better God

Have you ever met someone who questions your beliefs, assumes that you can’t possibly really believe in God because of your “lifestyle,” and, worse, implies or declares without reservation that, “God couldn’t — wouldn’t — love you" because of this, that, or the other thing? 

Silly questions, huh?

What they’re saying, in effect, is that their God isn’t big enough for you ... or them!

Someone I know, a Seventh Day Adventist, has been e-mailing me Bible verses, all the “usual suspects” plus Genesis 1:27 (“So God created man in his image – male and female he created them.”) & Genesis 2:24 (“For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife.”). 

Apart from not particularly agreeing with the translation, I found myself getting a bit irritated by her insistence on setting me "straight."

After asking why she had felt compelled to send me these Scriptures and being told that she and her religion disagreed about the ability of two men to, indeed, truly love each other and be blessed by God, I gently made my case.

“You know, I grew up Jewish,” I began, relating to her beliefs about worshipping on Saturdays and keeping kosher in diet.

“Be that as it may,” I continued, “the God I now believe in and serve is less concerned about the letters of the law you’re so focused on, than on us loving God and our neighbors, whosoever they may be.”

I certainly don’t mean to pick on Seventh Day Adventists—every religion, every denomination, every Bible believer, tends to place limits on what’s acceptable to God and what’s not. 

Some examples:

~The Bible, and only the King James version at that, is the infallible word of God. 

~We must use wine/not grape juice for communion  … or, we must use grape juice/not wine.

~You’re not “saved” unless you’ve answered an altar call, been baptized … and/or been filled by the Holy Spirit—as evidenced by speaking in tongues.

~Some people are pre-destined to be “saved” … God purposely excludes others.  Or, God loves us unconditionally vs. God loves us when or if …

~If you believe the Bible and faithfully confess what it says, but the expected blessing doesn’t come to you, the problem is your lack of faith.

~We should have poisonous snakes at worship services because the Gospel of Mark says real believers will be able to handle them without any harm.

Because we’re human, all of us tend to limit God.  We make God smaller to ourselves, as well as to others.

I believe that our Creator is doing a new thing today … revealing another dimension to what it means to be loved and accepted by God. 

So, let’s be cautious about attempting to capture and control the parameters by which we define God.  The Holy One of Israel is Almighty and, historically, always has had a way of eluding human attempts to be restricted, restrained, or retained. 

When all is said and done, our ‘gods’ are too small; God is bigger than any and all of our beliefs.

So, rather than argue or debate the religious fundamentalists over their select agenda of Bible verses and interpretations, I now simply say to them:  “My God is bigger – and better – than that!”