Matthew Shepard Story
Doctors do not care for an individual patient by going into the next room and comparing that patient’s symptoms or story to the other. When we check on our health, we do not take the temperature or blood pressure of the person next us. Humans have sadly measured how they are doing, how their church or workplace is doing by comparing themselves to how others are doing. Canada is #6 in the world for being tolerant. Have you ever walked into a room where you were tolerated? Doesn't feel good, healthy or welcoming, does it. The ways of Christ, the love of the Divine, call us to love unconditionally, never never to tolerate. Toleration is tribal thinking.
The Bible was written during tribal times by men deciding what and who belonged to them, and they created tribal laws to keep who belonged to them as subjects to be used and ruled for their civil pleasures and political purposes. In the last two decades, understanding historical cultural contexts and science has helped us to begin moving from a tribal literal lens in reading sacred texts to a look at them through a meaningful and universal lens. On 9/11 the U.S. was attacked by radicalized Muslims because they believed their sacred text said they were the demon people. They believed they had the truth. In the 4th century Constantine and the Vatican made changes to the scriptures to keep the oppressed in fear of God and to continue paying taxes and giving money to the church. There was a time when some believed all sickness was sent to sinners by God to purify for the common good. So, illness was sent by God for punishment. Timothy Dwight called for all vaccination to be stopped – if God wants someone to die of something they should die. Then the time came when a woman who had been brain dead for fifteen years could not have her stomach tube removed because it was deemed anti-religious. It’s interesting how the debate on who God loves and favors has been twisted down through the centuries. Today, the new bottom of the barrel is the LGBTQ2 humans nicknamed faggots, with Trans humans being the worst of the worst. The nickname faggot derives from the little stick used to light the fires that burned gay people to death. Humans burned – murdered so many of them, that the little stick became the synonym for the victim.
Is anyone here today, naming themselves as a Christian, which means, “little Christ” or a follower of the ways of Jesus, is proud of our heritage?
There are seven clobber scriptures that have been taken out of their historical context, therefore removed from the original language and redefined into words that many read as literal fact, without knowing how to explore the texts, and too lazy or self-centered to participate in hermeneutics exposition, and interpreted a literal lens, these texts have become Fred Flintstone clubs to dehumanize others for being who they are - for living authentic lives, for loving who they love.
Imagine if heterosexuals were told they were deviant for loving who they love. Imagine if ……you were told you could pray your love away for your person, and once you did, and repented of your love, you would be welcome in the church, in your community, in your schools, in your places of work and on the battlefield next to your comrade, fighting for your country. Imagine not being free to hold your person’s hand in public, kiss them at midnight on New Year’s Eve, or not welcome at your family’s Christmas table?
Story Spong told about the gay man (Chad) and the chaplain.
For a moment, I want us to consider taking one of the clobber texts literally…
The story of Sodom and Gomorrah – tell the story – then end with imagine this text being read in church ending with “this is the word of the Lord”. That’s ludicrous! We claim to be people who have evolved – who understand that the divine spark in us, our souls, have all been created with mystery and stardust – each soul whole and perfect and beloved by a divine consciousness we will never understand while we – we who are fully eternal souls are wrapped – contained – in human form.
If we are to take the Sodom story literally, why aren’t we taking the law in (text) that says you will be stoned to death if you do not have sex with your mother-in-law! Or we cannot wear garments made of two types of fabric – which means everyone in this room that is wearing a garment with two types of fabrics will be taken out into the parking before coffee today and the rest of will stone them to death. I’ve brought some stones in here today, and I’ve seen a lot of them on the rail while I walked Ruby, so we’re in luck. Won’t have to worry about making much coffee and hot water for tea next Sunday, that’s a relief, right Karen – because you graciously step in when no one has signed up.
Some of the stories in the bible, not the laws or wisdom literature, or events that can be historically traced through documentation, some stories were written in myth – in story form, to try and create understanding and meaning around why things happened – how some animals and people survived a flood – making those who didn’t, worthy of God’s punishment. No human can survive sitting in the belly of a whale for three days, so what’s the story of Jonah really about?
We can trace the story of David, his family of origin, his rumble with Saul, his ascent and fall from the throne, his dysfunctional incest infected home…we can track that story down.
We can track part of the story of Jesus from Nazareth, however the gospel writer’s inked their parchments long after Jesus had been murdered, long after Jerusalem fell to Rome, and the Essene’s (the batch of radical believers’ John belonged to, had run into desert caves – today we know them as Desert Fathers and Harlots of the Desert the wise ones – early monks and nuns - who told their own stories. The first gospel written was the gospel of Mark that ends with Jesus in the tomb. The next to ink their parchments could not leave him there, that would mean Rome had won – and that all future empires would keep their tribes in oppression. Paul and Peter, who never met Jesus, slugged out their theology for years, Paul going to help the gentiles, Peter the Jews, essentially becoming the first Pope until he was sitting o a rooftop and had a vision that people could eat pork and beef together, meaning the Gentiles were actually human beings, no longer lower than their cocker spaniels and bulldogs.
When we do not know who we are – when we do not understand that we are - that everyone human that has ever lived, who is alive today, and every human born after today has the DNA of Mystery – of eternal Love – inside of them – that are souls are indeed perfect LOVE, we will feel less than others and continue to put all others who we feel threaten our ways of believing and loving, into a form pf oppression which is slavery.
The reality is – please do not miss this – the realty is, that when any human being looks down on another, that person is actually looking down on themselves – choosing to live unconscious lives, we become slave to everything but love. The image of God is not a physical image – it is the eternal love – eternal soul of God – however you understand or name God – that is the image – LOVE is what we are created in and called to be on our human journey.
No one deserves to feel the heartache of the abandonment of love and existence from a torn-up birth certificate. No senior deserves to feel less than because of their age or changes in their health or cognitive ability. No person deserves to live among assumption and any type of human supremacy because of the color of their skin, lack of money, or lack of education. Can anyone here this morning say I picked to be born or adopted into my white family? Can anyone say that they controlled their gestation and human birth, therefore, they are better than others who are different from them? What if we were born old and died young? All of us were born helpless, needing others, and we will die helpless, depending on others. In the meantime – let’s not make our journeys and the journeys of others mean. We are here to love – to love our neighbours, and our perceived or real enemies as ourselves. So, the real question we are facing this morning is, “Do we know who we are, and if we are not LOVE, what are we going to do about it?”
Psalm 139
Aren’t you dying to know and experience a love that will not let you go? If you know you are loved, I am happy. But I grieve because there are so many others around us who do not know this because of many reasons…sadly, a big one is the church has made them feel unwelcome, less than, and unloved. That’s not what a divine spark exists for – that’s a dagger through the heart.
I am who I am…trying my best to become like the LOVE that created me, sustains me, and will welcome me home. It’s a journey folks, that’s for sure. But it’s not uphill both ways. Let’s give everyone their birth certificates back – let’s welcome all humans at our table. Because truth is, we all have the same parent…we are family. All of us have been fearfully and wonderfully made. May we literally live out this truth. May it be so, amen.
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