I open this reflection with a direct quote from sermon seeds
a ucc online resource because it sums up all that is happening so well…
“This
scene from the early part of Jesus' ministry, right after he has chosen his
twelve apostles, feels almost as chaotic to read about as it must have seemed
to those gathered around Jesus. It might be helpful to get a sense of how the
Gospel of Mark itself feels--it's no leisurely story with nice, long sermons
and extended conversations (think the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, and the
woman at the well, or Nicodemus, in John). The Marcan Jesus is on the move
constantly, like a man on a mission with little time to spare and even less
patience with people who like to criticize everything he does.
We're only in the third chapter of
Mark now, but a quick read of those first chapters is exhausting: Jesus has
gone from his hometown to the wilderness to Galilee to the sea to Capernaum to
a house to a deserted place and back out to the towns of Galilee (in just the
first chapter) and then back to Capernaum and home, and then to the sea, and to
Levi's house, through the grain fields and to the synagogue, and then back to
the sea, into a boat, before heading up the mountain where he gathers those
twelve apostles around him, and then, finally, he goes home.
Imagine all this travel with
desperate crowds around him (people "from every quarter," 1:45),
clinging to him, begging for healing, begging to be released from the demons
that had hold of them, and then picture a group of carping critics picking at
everything he did--breaking the rules about healing on the Sabbath, eating with
tax collectors and sinners, and not fasting as they should. In other words,
finding it more lawful to meet human need than to let human suffering go on
unnecessarily: Jesus understood the heart of God's Law.
Of course, we can understand that
the crowds couldn't help themselves: who among us would not do whatever it took
to get our sick child, for example, to a healer who was doing the amazing
things being attributed to Jesus? Still, it's poignant to see how Jesus
couldn't even go home and have a meal in peace (a practice with much greater significance
in that culture than we allow in our own).
In chapter two, people dig through
his roof and drop a paralyzed person right next to him, hoping for a cure, and
after admiring their faith and handling the criticism of the scribes when he
forgives the man's sins, Jesus tells the man to get up and walk. That healing
amazes the crowd, of course, and makes Jesus even more sought-after, but it
really gets the attention of the powers that be, which explains why they're
back again, all the way from Jerusalem, here in the third chapter, as Jesus
tries once more to go into a house for a break from all this activity.
The problems with crowd control
persist, so much so that Jesus can't even have supper with his friends, his
disciples. But he isn't surrounded only by people who were willing to admit
their brokenness and their need, along with those institutional critics who, we
suspect by this time, are looking to find fault with Jesus rather than to
affirm the wonderful thing God is doing in him. The growing crowd also
includes, of all people, the family of Jesus: his mother and his brothers, who
can't even get inside the house and talk to him face to face.”[1]
Now this brings us to the part that
many just glance over or shrug off as ancient superstition. What the ancient world viewed as demonic
possession today we know as well other conditions. What was demonic then we now
explain as deafness, blindness, epilepsy, mental illness, allergies. Anything that could not be explained or
understood the devil got the blame.
But the exorcism isn’t really the
point. The point is the power of sin
isn’t going to cast itself out because it is doing the job of dividing a
community, creating distraction from the truth.
The truth is “People will be forgiven their sins!” Jesus is proclaiming forgiveness of sins and
that is what truly has the scribes upset.
Without sin management, which is the business of the temple, we have no
order. We cannot proclaim who is with
the in crowd and who is with the out crowd.
That brings the next part of the
text…Jesus’ family. We do not know exactly what prompted Jesus’ mother and
brothers to come and well, give him a talking too…but it may have been the
stirring up of the crowds…it may have been the exorcisms… Jesus was changing
the conversation around sin and heaven and well it scared some people and his
family might have been just scared for him too. It may have been they felt he
needed a break…we just don’t know.
But here in the midst of bickering
and crowds and confusion and family trying to push in and other people probably
yelling hey we were here first. Your
wrong about Jesus no your wrong about Jesus …Jesus heal me. Jesus teach me …in
the middle of that confusion some one pauses and says hey Jesus your family is
here…Jesus paused looked around him and said you are my family. Right here, right now, you are my family ….”
whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and mother.”
“The family of Jesus--his mother
and brothers--make their way through much of the crowd to reach the outside
door of the house where Jesus was sitting. Scholars note that even such a small
detail is significant: Judith Hoch Wray says that "house" is the
"key word" here, and the understanding of who is on the inside and
who is on the outside is central to the meaning of this passage .”[2]
Who is inside and who is outside of
the “house?” Who is inside or outside of the church. That is a question that comes at me from so
many ways. It stirs me up. It upsets me.
It brings pain and joy and understanding and confusion all at once.
I have been paying a bit more
attention to this lately. Maybe because
it is Pride month…I don’t know…I think it started on face book someone asked
what is cis gender? They wanted to know
what it meant.
“Ryan Ashley Caldwell It’s when the
gender you were assigned at birth actually matches the cultural gender
expectations for presentation once older. It’s as if you’re saying “yes!” To
your assigned at birth gender. (All this assumes a binary system and not a
queer identity)”[3]
That is a great description it’s
all very scientific…. until…one-person claims “labels used to divide and
separate!” I pointed out that here are more terms to help understand and lift
up and celebrate our glorious differences.
He didn’t like that too much the conversation went on until this
“The less united we are as a
population (through divisive labels), the more manipulation can occur by the
media and the more control can occur by the government. We can no longer be
______Insert name here (identified by those that know me with my
quirks, foibles, etc.), we now have to be known by our labels... race, color,
religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, citizenship, familial status,
disability, veteran, genetic information... and yes, all the above are protected
with the only class of people remaining without protection are white males
19-39 years of age unless they're a religion other than Christian, are married,
are disabled, or are a veteran.”[4]
Well I am assuming, from this post, this young
man is white between the ages of 18-39 single, and considers himself
Christian. Yikes …. who is in and who is
out? Who is my family?
Before I started writing this I
happened to catch the Pride flag raising from Hart plaza in Detroit…When I was
young and in Detroit we could barely have a pride rally for fear of retaliation
and now they wave the pride flag with the mayor present and council people
present. It really is amazing to see how
far we come and yet…It was pointed out that just a few days before a young
transgender person of color was murdered.
This Wednesday morning as I am writing this a
minister who is serving in a UCC church shared some pain. “This last Sunday during my sermon, I
revealed that I was transgender and transitioning. (I should begin by saying we
are an ONA congregation, and the leadership of the church already knew I was
transgender.)
The initial response from the
congregation was either positive and supportive, or neutral. I heard nothing
that was negative to my face. All day Monday I was in the office and not a word
was said to me about my revelation. There was a great deal more silence in my
presence than normal from the church staff who are also on council (I know, you
bad idea, small congregation, old practices die hard.)
I found out last night that our
Council President had called in our Association General Minister to attend our
Council Meeting this evening (and did so without consulting with other folks on
Council.) Please pray that tonight's meeting will be civil, that love will
prevail, and God's will be done.”
I reached out to her and she
basically said I am treading water right now…No one…no one should have to tread
water in the United Church of Christ, or any Church for that matter! This is
unacceptable and yet it goes on day after day.
Sometimes more subtle ways…If we hire a gay pastor they will turn us
into a gay church! Its okay to be a gay Pastor just don’t talk about it. Here
is one I got from the LAPD before being approved as a chaplain …please do not
evangelize your openly gay agenda??? I am not sure what that would even mean.
To this day there are 70 countries
that still have anti homosexuality laws on their books 8 countries where it is
punishable by death and yet our own administration opposed a resolution
condemning the use of the death penalty as punishment for consensual gay
relations. It passed the UN without our support.
One other note about this week this
Sunday they are celebrating Pride in Los Angeles, which incidently was founded
by Christian ministers, Rev. Bob Humphries (founder of the United States
Mission), Morris Kight (a founder of the Gay Liberation Front), and Rev. Troy
Perry (founder of the Metropolitan Community Church) came up with the idea as a
way to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. but before
all the festivities today thousands of
people on Bikes rode in after riding all week, 545 miles from San Francisco to
los Angeles raising over 65.5 million dollars for the san Francisco Aids
foundation and los Angeles LGBT Center both supplying life saving service to
people living with HIV/AIDS…who is my family?
Who is in and who is out?
This week in light of the Bakers
ruling another UCC Clergy wrote a letter
“Open Letter to the UCC: The LGBTQ
Right to Distrust God (and even the Progressive Church)
For my Beloved United Church of
Christ,
I have written in my ordination paper, essays
in seminary, and many other forums of my love for this denomination as an
out-LGBTQ clergyperson and Christian. This Pride Month 2018, however, it is
time to issue a loving challenge.
Twenty-five percent of
congregations Open and Affirming, thirty-three years of the Open and Affirming
(ONA) Statement, and many other signs and sacrifices for the LGBTQ community in
the National Setting and Local Settings of the UCC (including countless
congregational and individual member departures) are a great start. Thank you,
UCC, for your dedication, help, and sacrifice. I know how hard your work for
LGBTQ people has been: sometimes splitting congregations, families,
friendships, and decimating church budgets. Likewise, I know sometimes it has
brought new life to congregations in need of new inclusive vision, members, or
hope. I look for more examples of the latter as we move forward as a faith
tradition into an uncertain future.
That said, I want to address an
attitude in the UCC: shock when LGBTQ people don’t understand that this
denomination is a safe space. Moreover, I have witnessed straight-privileged
anger, indignation, and desperate need for gratitude. Open and Affirming
Churches want gratitude from the LGBTQ community, which is something we really
cannot emotionally provide.
In order to be theologically healthy
and authentic as an Open and Affirming Movement, we need to first affirm the
following difficult reality: The LGBTQ community does not owe the United Church
of Christ anything in return for its theologically driven move towards
inclusion—even if that has meant great sacrifices. We are delighted to be
included in pews, pulpits, pastorates, and pensions, but the wider LGBTQ
family’s hurt and continued endangerment (especially with the current political
winds) is greater than anything the UCC alone can heal, apologize for, or save
us from. Additionally, LGBTQ spiritual gifts, theology, and radically unique
perspective on liberation didn’t end with marriage equality. Marriage Equality
is not synonymous with LGBTQ Liberation. There is so much more wisdom capacity
and value yet untapped by the UCC from our diverse queer perspectives and
fabulous presence.
The UCC’s openness is deeply
appreciated by those of us in the LGBTQ community whom have chosen to do the
HARD WORK (daily, complicated, painful) of reclaiming and living as religious
Christians, but It doesn’t mean that gay and queer people owe you, the
institution, our love and devotion. ONA isn’t transactional in that way. The
popular attitude that the UCC is the gift that the LGBTQ community is looking for
but hasn't found yet must be tempered with an understanding that church PTSD is
real even for those who have never been inside a church.
As an example, I have never been
inside of a haunted house attraction or a haunted corn maze, but I know that it
would NOT be a safe, fun, or good experience for me. I know that from my
outside experience with horror movies, people jumping at me, and even being
alone at Plymouth at night (yes, this is a scary building when empty). Every
experience I have had informs me to stay away from haunted houses. Likewise,
even for LGBTQ people who have never had a direct experience with church (not
even to mention the countless who have been emotionally abused and damaged by
our wider Christian family), convincing us LGBTQ people that churches are safe
and trustworthy is a multi-generational, long-term effort that must be rooted
in meaningful mission and ministry rather than money and marketing. I have yet,
sticking with my above example, to be convinced that a haunted house would result
in anything other than a heart attack and my own early demise on the spot! In
short, we are a hard sell.
Having an out minister doesn’t cure
that fear or fulfill your ONA promise. Yes, I can speak with my friends and
sometimes open doors of understanding, but I am not called to evangelize the
LGBTQ community. Hiring me or my predecessor didn’t mean a cure to any fear
others have. If anything, it just means that Gerhard and I have a lot of
trouble finding friends who understand me or want to be around us, and I never
ever blame anyone for this. I knew what I was signing-up for. It is a sacrifice
I have been willing to make. It does mean that I understand and respect the
healthy distance people who have been hurt need to keep from religion—even if that
means keeping me as out gay clergyperson at a distance too. It is just too
risky, confusing, or painful to befriend even a gay minister.
The LGBTQ community still has the
right to distrust the God of Christianity after 2,000 years of oppression and
continued alienation like yesterday.
The UCC must continue in our Open
and Affirming Journey, and that means understanding that what we have begun in
reconciliation, love, and radical inclusion is only the beginning of what could
take generations of Queer acceptance to heal. We do this work of openness not
for ourselves, our full pews, or our budgets, but we do it for God and for
Jesus the Christ whose love we are called to embody.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled
that a local Colorado cake baker could deny a gay couple a wedding cake because
of his belief in God and “religious liberty.” For that decision to come down in
June is particularly difficult. June is LGBTQ Pride Month when we celebrate our
liberation from straight patriarchy beginning with the Stonewall Riots in NYC
in 1969, so this decision is jarring for many. It is days like yesterday that I
find it incredibly difficult to justify the Church, God, and religion to my
LGBTQ community as a Christian Minister of the Gospel. It is days like yesterday
when responses, “sorry,” “we promise we aren’t all like that,” “you should try
the UCC,” “don’t lump us in with those Christians,” or even, “we are just as
angry as you and God loves you… really we promise…” just don’t work. It breaks my heart to watch
my Facebook feed crumble in pain, alienation, and anger after yesterday’s
verdict. It hurts even more to have to admit that my ministry and my Facebook
posts can’t fix it and neither can the UCC alone within one generation.
It isn’t really about the damn cake.
We, LGBTQ individuals and our straight allies alike, all know that we make
better, tastier, more creative cakes anyway when it comes right down to it,
right? Right? You know it’s true. It is really about systemic pain of
rejection, of family alienation, and discrimination happening when trying to do
something as simple as ordering a giant, glorified pastry for a party with a
loved one! For God’s sake… it isn’t about the cake. It is about everything else
that matters.
There is hope yet, friends, in grace!
This is a word many of us only know if we have ventured into Wesleyan
theological territory like I did for seminary, but it can mean so much right
now for us in the United Church of Christ.
Grace means more than changing
ourselves, changing our words, opening our doors and then assuming that we no
longer carry cultural pain. It means coming to terms with our own privilege and
understanding the weight of the history of this wider institution outside of
our control. Grace also means understanding when our invitation of Open and
Affirming welcome isn’t met with enthusiastic embrace. The turning of the
Titanic takes great time. Grace is the humility to know that the doors may have
to remain open for a very longtime before anyone feels safe enough to trust
this institution. Love is loving those who never will enter our churches and
never become pledging units because we are called by God Almighty to do so.
Becoming ONA isn’t a marketing scheme to fill pews, it is a theological
statement on the level of theodicy!
Grace is a grace for ourselves when
we don’t get it right. Grace is love for others when they aren’t quite ready to
accept our invitation to a loving community as we experience and know it. Grace
is what God holds us all in at this time of transformation for the Open and
Affirming Movement. Grace is what happens when we see that becoming Open and
Affirming is more than a marketing statement. When taken seriously, it is a
part of a wider systematic theology of inclusion that has the power to transform
all of us into better people: all of us together…even or especially those whom
we now accept will never join or visit the church.
Yours in Love and Pride,
The Rev. Jake Miles Joseph (or just
Jake)
Associate Minister
Plymouth Congregational UCC, Fort
Collins, CO.
The Rev. Jake Miles Joseph,
Associate Minister
Jake came to Plymouth having served
in the national setting of the UCC on the board of Justice & Witness
Ministries, the Coalition for LGBT Concerns, and the Chairperson of the Council
for Youth and Young Adult Ministries (CYYAM). Jake has a passion for ecumenical
work and has worked in a wide variety of churches and traditions. Jake's
experience include hospice and hospital ministry settings. Jake is a fluent French-speaker
and formerly lived in Nantes, France. He and his husband, Gerhard, live in Fort
Collins where Jake is also a Commissioner on the Fort Collins Housing Authority
(Housing Catalyst). He is a Board Member for the UCC's Archway Housing in
Denver, Habitat for Humanity of Fort Collins, and other non-profit boards. Jake
serves Plymouth as the Associate Minister for pastoral care, outreach, mission,
congregational life, and he supervises church communications.
Jake's academic background:
M.Div. and Graduate Certificate in
Human Rights, Emory University's Candler School of Theology
B.A., Grinnell College”
[1]
http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_10_2018
[2]
http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_10_2018
[3] https://www.facebook.com
[4] https://www.facebook.com
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