It was a
critical moment in Christian history.
The Church, including the Methodist Church, was deeply divided over a
pressing social concern. On the one
hand, there was a group of Methodists who were convinced that they had
discerned God’s Will on this critical social issue, and they were also
convinced that God wanted them to prophetically claim their position to the
secular American society. They had built
a very, very persuasive argument for their position, based upon careful scriptural
research. And, their diligent search of
the scriptures for guidance on this issue revealed many, many scriptural verses
that clearly substantiated their perspective.
Yet, on the
other hand, there was another group of Methodists who were equally convinced
that they had discerned God’s Will on this critical social issue and through
their discernment this second group was thoroughly convinced that the first
group was absolutely, positively, dead-wrong on the issue. Still, like the first group, this second
group was also convinced that God wanted them to prophetically champion their
position to the secular American society.
And, like the first group, this group could build a very, very
persuasive argument for their position, based upon careful scriptural
research. Further, their diligent search
of the scriptures for guidance on this issue revealed many, many scriptural
verses that clearly substantiated their perspective.
The year in
which Methodists were so deeply and passionately divided was ….1855, and the
pressing social issue was….slavery.
Eventually this hugely divisive issue would split Methodists into two
separate denominations, one Northern and opposed to slavery; the other Southern
and in favor of slavery.
Today, in
2013, we are once again one United
Methodist Church. Yet, at the same time,
we are once again divided by a critical social issue. This time, the question is: “Can I Be a Christian and Gay?”
Through a
faithful and careful reading of scriptures, some Christians of good will
believe that homosexuality is immoral and incompatible with Christian
teachings. Their position is grounded
primarily upon eight scattered biblical passages that appear to condemn
homosexuality as morally corrupt and evil.
David Kinaman and Gabe Lyons take this position that homosexuality is
sinful in their book, unChristian. Yet, they hasten to draw a distinction
between a “sin” which they hate and the “sinner” which they continue to
love. They also point out that each and
every Christian continues to be afflicted by their sinfulness so that all of us
stand in need of God’s constant forgiveness.
For these authors, homosexuality is no greater sin than stealing or
pride or jealousy or selfishness. Jesus
himself cautions his followers from obsessing too much on other persons’ sins,
which ignoring or minimizing our own sin, when he asks in Matthew 7: “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s
eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” All of us stand in need of forgiveness, and
God calls upon us to love everyone, regardless of who they are or what they
have done.
They
write: “It is one thing to be against homosexuality, to affirm that
the Bible rejects the practice of same-sex lifestyles, but it is another to be against homosexuals, to let your disappointment with their behavior spill
out in your feelings and words toward them as people. It is unChristian to lose your sense that
everyone’s fallen nature affects all aspects of his or her life…”. (p. 84)
By
contrast, through a faithful and careful reading of scriptures, other
Christians of good will are not so sure that the Bible condemns or rejects
same-sex relationships, so long as these relationships are loving and mutually
affirming—just as heterosexual relationships should be. For these Christians, the authority of
scripture is just powerful as it is for Christians who condemn
homosexuality. However, these Christians
interpret scripture differently. In the
first place, it is not clear that those 8 scriptural passages are condemning a
mutually affirming, loving relationship between two gay men or women. For instance, two of the passages in Genesis
19: 1-11 and Judges 19: 22-26 are about gang rape as acts of violence towards
strangers. Certainly, Christians would
condemn these acts as evil, regardless of whether it was homosexual or
heterosexual rape.
It is also
important to recognize that strong biblical arguments can made that support
slavery—as we saw in my introduction this morning—the subordination of women to
men—especially in the church—and sexual ethics.
Commenting on sexual ethics, Adam Hamilton has observed: “The [Bible] condones polygamy, concubines,
and the forcing of slaves to sleep with their master in order to bear him
children. Do these practices represent
God’s timeless will for sexual ethics? I
hope not.” (p. 60) Two of the most
explicit Biblical condemnations of homosexuality appear in the “holiness code”
of Leviticus: 18:22 and 20:13. However, biblical
scholars point out that interspersed between these two condemnations in chapter
19:19 is a prohibition against wearing any garment made from two different
types of fibers. These scholars note
that most of us frequently wear blended garments made of cotton, wool,
polyester, and other fabrics, yet we never think of that as a heinous sin.
So, what
emerges here is a question of consistency in how the Bible is interpreted. Why do we reject slavery, the subordination
of women, and the use of concubines, even though they are biblically justified,
while condemning homosexuality? Why do
we believe that it is permissible to wear blended garments, even though the
Bible prohibits that practice, yet we believe the Bible condemns loving,
mutually affirming gay relationships?
How is that consistent?
There is a
third perspective concerning how we should view, treat, and respond to gay and
lesbian persons. Some people believe
that homosexuality is such a heinous sin that there is no possible hope for gay
and lesbian persons. This group fervently
believes that “God hates fags.” This
perspective is epitomized by the Westboro Baptist Church. Some of you may have seen and encountered
some Westboro members who were protesting in front of our church this
morning.
I believe
that our scripture reading this morning offers some helpful guidance as we
struggle with this question, “Can I Be Christian and Gay?” 1 Corinthians 13 is nicknamed the great love
chapter in the Bible. Very often,
couples will choose this passage as part of their wedding ceremony. It feels as though the Apostle Paul wrote
this passage specifically for weddings because it captures so beautifully the
romantic love between two individuals.
Yet, weddings were not what Paul was focusing on, when he wrote this
passage.
The early
church in Corinth, to whom the letter was addressed, were a consistent problem
for the Apostle Paul. This church was
deeply divided by several different factors.
There was a deep rift between wealthy and poor Christians. And, there was an especially deep schism
between different factions, based upon who possessed the most important
spiritual gifts. Some thought that
speaking in tongues was the highest spiritual gift, while others thought that
it was knowledge. There was just a
rampant jealousy that was tearing up the church. So, in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul
seeks to address these divisions and bring healing to the congregation. In the 13th Chapter, Paul uses a
rhetorical device called an encomium. Now, in Paul’s day, an encomium praised an individual or a virtue, admonishing listeners
to emulate this ideal. Each encomium followed pre-set outline with
a prologue, a discussion of the virtue, a comparison with other virtues, and a
closing appeal for emulation by listeners.
The first
three verses form the prologue. In these
verses, Paul reminds the Corinthians of his authority as the supreme model of
Christian discipleship. But, he presents
himself hypothetically as a negative example.
He begins, “If I speak in tongues…but do not have love, I am a noisy
gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have
prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I
have all faith…but do not have love, I am nothing.” In verses 4-7, Paul describes what love
is. He writes, “Love is patient; love is
kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way ; it is not
irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the
truth. It bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Continuing, verses 8-13 offer a comparison with other virtues,
culminating in Paul’s famous line, “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these
three but the greatest of these is love.”
In 14:1, Paul concludes with the call, “Pursue love.”
What does
it mean to pursue love on the question of homosexuality?
If we take
this passage seriously, it seems to me that the first two perspectives have
much more in common with each other than they do with the third perspective,
represented outside our doors this morning by Westboro Baptist Church. I believe that it is imperative that
Christians who may disagree on the
morality of homosexuality, stand together united in their condemnation of this
third position of hatred, represented by Westboro Baptist Church. I believe that Jesus Christ in Heaven must
surely weep because of the hatred spewed by Westboro Baptist Church in his
name. Although the two perspectives may
disagree on their interpretation of the scriptures and the morality of
homosexuality, we must stand united in rejecting the third position of hatred,
which is clearly incompatible with scripture and is simply not Christian
belief.
Throughout
this sermon series, I have felt that as your pastor it was important for me to
share my personal, theological position on each of these doubts. Before sharing my position on homosexuality,
however, it is important that I explain the official position of the United
Methodist Church. As a denomination, we
have taken the first position, which sees homosexuality as morally wrong and
sinful, while at the same time recognizing that gay and lesbian persons are children
of God, whom we are called to love and accept just as God does. To quote our official position, “We affirm
that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of
God. All persons need the ministry of
the Church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual
and emotional care of a fellowship…[Yet] The United Methodist Church does not
condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible
with Christian teaching.”
That is the
official position of my church. But, I
believe that my church is dead wrong on this issue. For the question, “Can I Be Christian and
Gay?” my personal response is “Yes.” I
do not believe that a loving and affirming relationship between two gay men or
lesbian women is incompatible with scripture or Christian teaching. It is very, very, very difficult for me to
stand in opposition to my church on this issue.
There was a time, when I thought very seriously about leaving the United
Methodist Church over its stand on homosexuality, and I must confess that I was
heavily, heavily recruited by a United Church of Christ pastor to “switch
teams” and transfer my ordination credentials to that denomination. Ultimately, I discerned that God was calling
me to remain in The United Methodist Church and work for change in this
denomination, which has been spiritual home since the day I was born.
Yet,
regardless of whether you agree with me or agree with our denomination, we can
unanimously agree with each other that guiding principle on this question
should be love. 1 John 4: 19-20
reads: “We love because God first loved
us. Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and
hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother
or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.”
Last month,
I had a conversation with a parishioner, who told me about a gay couple whom
they knew. They said that they really
respected these two men, and had gotten to know them very well. In talking with this gay couple, they learned
that the two men would really like to join a church and attend together as a
couple. When I heard this, my first
reaction was to say, “Well, why don’t you invite this couple to come to church
here at Meriden, with you?” But, I bit
my tongue and didn’t say anything. You
see, even though I was eager to welcome this couple to my congregation, I
didn’t know how the rest of you would react.
I didn’t know for sure, whether you were ready to welcome a gay or
lesbian couple into our community of faith.
I still
don’t know and that’s my question to you.
What about it? Are you ready to
welcome a gay or lesbian couple into our community of faith? Are you ready to take 1 Corinthians 13
seriously? Are you ready to take The
United Methodist Church’s position seriously, when it calls upon us to welcome
gay and lesbian persons?
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