NO EXCEPTIONS

March 30, 2008

“I am absolutely convinced that nothing – nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable – absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus has embraced us.”

Romans 8:37-39, The Message

            His name is Greg. He was seventeen.  So was I.  We shared a birthday. We had been good friends in our church youth group, attending summer camp and mission trips together.  We sang in the church choir. We went to the same junior and senior high schools.  I still remember the night a small group of us gathered in the youth minister’s office at church to share from that deep soul place that United Methodists speak of as John Wesley’s “How is it with your soul?” place.  In the safety of that community, Greg shared that he was gay.   His parents didn’t know.  He said they would never understand.  But Greg trusted his church family to understand and to accept.  He trusted us to affirm his place as a child of God.  It was 1969.

            In 1969 there was no statement about homosexuality in The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church.

            Her name is Micah.  She was a young adult who had just moved with her partner to the community where we were serving the church.  They came to worship and began to become involved in the congregation.  I remember the day Micah came to our office and wanted to talk.  She told us that she and her partner were lesbians.  They were hoping to have a baby and wanted to know if we would baptize their child even though that child would have two mothers.  Micah had moved as far away from home as possible because her parents could not make peace with her sexual orientation and the church community she had called home said she was a sinner.  But she was beginning to trust us to understand and accept her as a child of God.  It was 1982.

            By 1972 the first statement about homosexuality appeared in The Book of Discipline.  Amended during debate at the meeting of the General Conference, the statement said: “Homosexuals no less than heterosexuals are persons of sacred worth, who need the ministry and guidance of the church in their struggles for human fulfillment, as well as the spiritual and emotional care of a fellowship which enables reconciling relationships with God, with others, and with self.  Further we insist that all persons are entitled to have their human and civil rights ensured, though we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching.”  With a few relatively minor changes, this statement stands today. 

            Her name is Lee.  She was married for twenty-two years to her high school sweetheart.  She was the mother of two adolescent children, active in her United Methodist Church and in her community.  No longer able to live a lie she came out to her husband and family.  While the marriage ended, the high school friendship did not and to this day they remain close friends, parenting their now young adult children.  While her family’s love did not diminish, her mother-in-law chose not to speak of what was happening when she was at her church.  She knew that no one would understand and she feared that her grandchildren would become the subject of whispering and finger pointing.  It was 1994.

            In 1994, despite growing efforts throughout The United Methodist Church to study homosexuality we were unable to agree that we were not of “a common mind on the compatibility of homosexual practice with Christian faith.”  As a denomination we were not willing to affirm that while “many consider the practice incompatible with Christian teaching, others believe it acceptable when practiced in a context of human caring and covenantal faithfulness.”

            I could go on and on with stories of these real people who have touched my life and with these denominational statements, but in light of our limited time this morning, I want to speak to some of the questions and concerns that I have heard as we have been talking together about becoming a Reconciling Congregation. A Reconciling congregation is a congregation “that makes a public statement welcoming all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, to participate fully in its congregational life.” 

            First, what does the Bible say?  Many who acknowledge that the Bible is the basis for their non-acceptance of homosexuality, point to six passages out of 66 books and more than 1000 pages (depending on your Bible) which are interpreted to condemn the practice of homosexuality.  But as United Methodists, we approach Bible study in a non-literal fashion and encourage any study of individual verses to be understood in the context of the whole biblical story.  I believe, for too many years, we have pulled the six passages out of context and used them to argue our positions.  In the Old Testament we cling to a literal interpretation of the Holiness Code when it comes to homosexuality but we ignore the Holiness Code when it comes to feeding the poor. In the New Testament, we hold up a few mis-translated statements in the letters of Paul as Gospel truth and ignore the fact that Jesus had nothing to say about the subject.  

Think of it, Jesus Christ said nothing about homosexuality.  It did not make his list of the ways humanity sinned.  Again and again he spoke of love and acceptance… of forgiveness and grace.  Through his actions and his teachings… in his life and through his death… Jesus sided with the outsider, replaced the law with love, and offered unconditional grace.  That’s what I believe the Bible says.  But, no matter what the Bible says, I am not willing to, borrowing another’s words, “…put the book ahead of the people whom the book calls me to love and serve.”

Second, isn’t homosexuality a sin and if we become a Reconciling Congregation won’t we be accepting sinners?   I know that there are good, loving, faithful people who believe that homosexuality is a sin.  But I don’t.  I believe a person’s sexual orientation is a natural expression of who God created us to be.  And I believe we can disagree about this.  The disagreement is nothing new.  I heard this week on the news that some scientists are getting close to discovering DNA proof that our sexual orientation is genetic.  The same story interviewed another scientist who said this is impossible. 

But no matter where we find ourselves in the debate about genetics or choice, the church can never be a place that does not welcome sinners.  Is there anyone here who has not sinned?  What if we were to ask everyone who comes through the doors of our church if they have committed adultery… or coveted a neighbor’s possessions… or spoken disparagingly of a parent… or taken God’s name in vain… or have failed to observe the Sabbath?  These are all on the list of the big ten from the Bible and yet we break these commandments everyday.   The church must never be a place that does not welcome saints and sinners alike, no matter what the standard of judgment.

            Third, will people leave our church if we become a Reconciling Congregation?   To be honest with you, yes – some people may find it necessary to leave this congregation and find a new church home.  Other churches that have chosen to become Reconciling Congregations have had a few people leave because of the decision.  I hope and pray that this does not happen here.  As United Methodists we have a long history of disagreeing in love.  Because we base our beliefs on Wesley’s quadrilateral, using scripture, reason, tradition, and experience as the foundation of our faith practices, we will always disagree on some pretty important things, but we can still worship together and be enriched by each other’s understandings, especially when we choose to listen to each other’s faith stories and accept those stories with compassion and grace. 

The truth is, many Reconciling Congregations have new persons join because of the decision.  In fact, I know that there are people worshipping here today who are here specifically because of the public statement we made several years ago.  I have heard your stories.  You are here because someone you love is a gay or lesbian person and you are seeking a faith community that welcomes all.  You are here because you yourself are a homosexual or trans-gendered person, seeking a church community that will allow you to grow in faith as you participate fully in the life of the congregation.  You are here because being a part of a reconciling ministry is important to you on your faith journey.  You see, there is actually a possibility that some may leave our church if we don’t become reconciling.  Again, I hope and I pray that no one will leave no matter what our decision.

Fourth, isn’t becoming a Reconciling Congregation political?  For some of you, addressing any issues that go beyond your own personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ seems political and you don’t want to mix church and politics.  I can appreciate this.   Some of you have suggested that because this matter seems political maybe it would be better for us to wait since perceptions and attitudes about homosexuality are changing and evolving. 

But I don’t believe that sexual orientation is a matter of politics. I believe it is a God-given part of who we are as human beings.  And I don’t believe it is a social issue that we can simply ignore because it is controversial or that we can wait to talk about it at some future time.   For many of us here, homosexuality is a very personal matter and live depend on people opening hearts and minds.  It is who we are or it is defining for someone we love.  Claiming the promise of God’s love and God’s grace for everyone, no exceptions, isn’t a matter of politics but a matter of faith.

Lastly, a question that I have heard more often than any other about the decision we are making to become a Reconciling Congregation is why make a public statement when we already welcome everyone?  Unfortunately, many of the voices speaking for the Christian community today are voices that are unwelcoming to gay and lesbian persons.  Unfortunately, the anti-gay and anti-lesbian rhetoric has found a home in Christian churches across our community and around the world.  Unfortunately, our own denomination’s continuing statement that we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and find it incompatible with Christian teaching is heard loud and clear beyond the doors of this church building.  The overwhelming perception within the lesbian and gay community today is that they are not welcome in churches.  Our public statement is needed to overcome this perception.

As I talked with the pastor of a church that made the decision to become a Reconciling Congregation last year, she spoke of a young adult who wandered into their church for worship one Sunday.  For several weeks she came and sat quietly in the back of the sanctuary during worship.  Finally, one day she asked if she could speak to the pastor in private.  As she shared her own story of being raised in a church-going family but being rejected when she became honest about her sexual orientation the tears flowed and she kept asking, “Is it really safe here?  Is it really safe for me to be who I am as a lesbian person here?  Am I safe here?”

Why make a public statement?  Because there are people in our community who need to know that this is a safe and welcoming place where we believe that there are no exceptions when it comes to God’s love. 

I know that this is a difficult subject for many of us to consider.  For the past 18 month, the Reconciling Task Force has been engaging us in soul-searching and soul-stretching conversation about becoming a Reconciling Congregation.  You have another opportunity to come this afternoon at 4:00 for a time of holy sharing as we listen to each other… to our hopes and our fears… our questions and our concerns… in a safe, caring environment.  I hope you will come.

Nine years ago, as I sat with the Staff Parish Relations Committee of this church for the first time and talked about my appointment to serve as your pastor, the very first question I was asked after I introduced myself was about my stance on the full inclusion of gay and lesbian persons in the life of this congregation.  I told the truth, as I experience it, then and I am telling the truth, as I experience it, now.  I believe that there are simply no exceptions when it comes to God’s love.  I believe that there is no one beyond God’s reach.  There are no exceptions.  If you ask me why I believe this or how I have come to this place on my own journey of spirit and faith I would simply ask you to listen again to the affirmation of faith from Paul’s letter to the Romans.  It says… “I am absolutely convinced that nothing – nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable – absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus has embraced us.”  There are no exceptions.