Today’s Scripture Reading (September
2, 2015): Leviticus 18
Homosexuality.
There might not be a bigger hot button topic in our culture today. And I have
to admit that as I write these words there is much fear and trembling on my
side of the keyboard. Part of the problem is that no matter what I say about homosexuality,
I will most likely be branded by people on both sides of the argument as a
heretic. There is no discussion allowed over this issue. The Bible says what
the Bible says (and I can’t argue with that.) The Bible condemns homosexuality
absolutely – in this text calling it detestable. And so our response tends to
be that we believe exactly what the Bible says and never speak of it again. But
there is a problem with that reaction – our silence and unwillingness to
wrestle with this and the other homosexuality texts does not honor the biblical
instruction. We are called to wrestle and meditate on the text, even when deep
down we might not want to do that.
I have for a
long time simply declared that the issue of homosexuality is simply beyond my
pay grade. It is in God’s hands. If we follow the example of Jesus – the one
who partied with tax-collectors and prostitutes – what we believe really
shouldn’t impact our ministry. We, as the Christian Church, are here to love
sinners – including the homosexual community – because we realize that that is
who we are – sinners. Donald Trump may insist that he has never had to ask God
for forgiveness, but as far as I can tell that puts him in an exclusive club
consisting of him and Jesus – the rest of us have all had to ask for
forgiveness for our actions and our inactions. And Jesus clearly states that it is the Holy
Spirit’s task to convict the world of sin. “When he [Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit] comes, he will prove the world to be in the
wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about
sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where
you can see me no longer; and
about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned (John
15:8-11). It is just not our job to convict
of sin. And if the Holy Spirit does not convict, there is little that we can do
about it.
But another problem is that the question over homosexuality is loaded
with cultural issues. A while back I read James Burton Coffman’s response to
this passage, and he referred to Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction being over
this issue. But that is not true. The prophet Ezekiel tells us exactly why
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were
arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They
were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with
them as you have seen” (Ezekiel 16:49-50). Sodom and Gomorrah used homosexuality
as a tool to keep the needy away from their door – and for that reason they
were destroyed.
It is also important to note that the Hebrew language does not really have
a word for the practice of homosexuality, so they use a phrase - sexual relations with a man as one does
with a woman. But the phrase alone opens up a number of cultural issues,
including the idea that, in a male dominated society, a man taking
on the role of a woman in any way was detestable to the people of the culture.
I don’t have the answers – except that I think we need to talk. For the
church that might mean stuffing our “the Bible says” reaction down and loving
the homosexual community without any expectations – giving ourselves for them
the way that Jesus did for us. To the GBLTQ Community, I ask for a little more
patience. We need to learn to love each other – and we need to find ways into
the conversation – together.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading:
Leviticus 19
Disclaimer: These are my thoughts and
do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton)
or the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada. Just thought I might need to stress
that.
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