Harvest Time (Mark 4: 26-34)

What a beautiful and glorious day to gather here and worship God.  I am glad that you are here today on this Father’s Day.  I personally am blessed by your presence here today; and I pray that you may know the presence of the Spirit of God, the Spirit that is present with you, within you, every moment of your life.

One of the things that the Spirit of God does is plant ideas in people.  The Spirit plants little seeds of wisdom.  With water, sunlight, and nourishment, those seeds of wisdom grow.  Through discernment, prayer, contemplation, and conversation with other people of faith, those ideas take root and grow into something wonderful.

For much of human history, it was believed that God created people differently, that individuals were destined to various roles in society.  Some were created to be kings and rulers; others, wealthy landowners and aristocrats.  A great many were destined to be peasants.  And some, it was believed, were destined to be slaves.  It was their place in life, preordained before they were born.

In Biblical times, slavery was mostly the result of economics or war.  If you couldn’t afford to pay your debts, or if your nation lost a war against another nation, you might become a slave.

About 300 or so years ago, God’s Spirit planted a seed of wisdom which grew into the idea that all men were created equal.  It was a whole new and different way of understanding the world. 

As that idea continued to grow, it came to be understood that “all men” really meant all people:  men

and women.

However, the issue of slavery was an obstacle to this idea.  By this time in history, slavery was more an issue of race than it was of economics or war.  And soon, people began to realize that the idea that “all men are created equal” was contradicted by the ongoing practice of slavery.

In the United States, a growing number of people began to view slavery as morally wrong.  Others, however, continued to defend slavery.  They pointed out the economic necessity of slavery, how slavery was a traditional part of human society, and the fact that slavery was condoned and not condemned in scripture.

Eventually, President Abraham Lincoln decided that the idea that “all men are created equal” had been sprouting and growing long enough, and that it was now harvest time.  He issued an “Emancipation Proclamation,” ending slavery in the United States.

Communication was slow in those days.  There was a terrible civil war taking place, further slowing communication; and, in some regions, this news of emancipation was not welcome news, and communication of the Emancipation Proclamation was deliberately slowed down.

So it wasn’t until June 19, 1865 – 30 months after the Emancipation Proclamation – that word reached parts of Texas and the last legally held slave in the United States was set free.  The final harvest of that Spirit-planted idea had finally been completed.

Today, the third Sunday in June, many congregations in

the South and throughout the United States celebrate this act of freedom.  It’s a day known as Juneteeth; it’s a celebration of freedom; it’s a celebration of an idea planted by God’s Spirit – nurtured, watered, and cared for by many over countless years – and harvested for the benefit of all.

On this day of Juneteenth, I am aware of another idea that has been growing slowly, in the shadows, but which is receiving more and more sunlight.  In fact, it is an idea that has been growing for so long, that I think we are now past the time when this idea is ready to be harvested.

I’m talking about equal rights for people of different sexual orientations.  I’m talking about this church becoming – officially – open and affirming in regards to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Christians.

Over four years ago, when I was discerning my call to come to Bixby Knolls Christian Church, this congregation presented to me a mission plan that those of you who were here then worked very hard on.  Although this mission plan was obviously not written just for me, at times it seemed almost as if it were a letter written from you, to me, in which you said, “this is where we believe God is calling us; this is where we need you, our pastor, to lead us.”

And one of the items in the mission says that the members of this church want educational opportunities that will help us become “open and affirming.”

The time is right.  The plants are ready for harvest.  For two decades, our denomination – the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) – has been in an official “process of discernment” on this issue.  Studies out just this month indicate that, for the first time ever, a majority of Americans favor the legalization of same-sex marriage – among them, President Obama.  I really believe that churches and organizations that do not support equal rights for people regardless of sexual orientation will soon find themselves on the wrong side of history, just like those churches and organizations of 150 years ago, which defended slavery on the grounds that it was traditional and scriptural.

I have always supported welcoming and including all people in the church, something that Bixby Knolls Christian Church does very well.  Visitors consistently tell me that we are a welcoming church.  I think many of us are a part of this congregation specifically because it really does welcome all people at the Lord’s Table, just as God welcomes us.

But most of us, I suspect, had or have ongoing questions.  The educational opportunities called for in the mission plan require much more than a sermon, but I will attempt to begin the process in the time I have left this morning.

Certainly the most prominent question is: “What about those scriptures that condemn homosexuality?”

There are a number of things to consider here.  One is the issue of translation.  Translation is never exact.  Changes in meaning are inevitable, despite the translators’ best intentions.  That’s why my son’s best friend is currently taking Hebrew classes at the Jewish congregation where he worships.  It’s why Muslims believe that to really read the Quran, one must read it in Arabic.

I just finished reading a book by the Dalai Lama.  He wrote the book in English, but several times he struggled to find an English word or phrase that accurately translates a word or phrase from other languages.

For example, he tried to translate the word chogshé into English.  He wrote: “I do not know of any simple translations of this term in English or any other western language, and since it is generally translated as ‘contentment,’ I also use that term.  However, what chogshé really means is an absence of greed. Literally it means ‘knowing [what is] enough’ or ‘knowing when to be contented.’ It means being able to find satisfaction without looking for more.”

Now, imagine if the biblical translators – in the interest of accuracy – wrote a whole paragraph like this every time they needed to translate a word.  You can forget about carrying that Bible around in your pocket or even in your backpack!

Regarding the word homosexual or homosexuality:  even though these words appear in our English translations, there is no word in Hebrew or Greek that means what we mean by these words. 

In ancient times, there was no understanding of a sexual orientation. The situation in scripture refers to a man who is assumed to be heterosexual, who nevertheless has sex with another man or even a young boy.  The Greek word here is arsenokoitēs, which refers to someone who was an unequal partner: a slave; a social inferior; someone who could not say no.  This was not a consensual relationship.  It may in fact have been a young boy who had absolutely no say in the matter.  This means that, instead of homosexuality, a better way to translate this would be statutory rape or sexual abuse.  And condemnation of rape and abuse is a no-brainer.  But when it comes to consensual same-sex relationships, scripture is silent.

So that’s the translation consideration.

Now, let’s assume – just for the sake of argument – that the Bible does condemn homosexuality as we understand the term.  You’ve heard me say before that some people see scripture through the lens of their own fears, while others see scripture through the lens of God’s love.  Those who choose fear will pick and choose scriptures that reinforce their fears.  Those who choose love will pick and choose scriptures that reinforce God’s love.

We all pick and choose.  No one – not even the most literal reader of scripture – can avoid picking and choosing.

Someone recently shared with me this photograph of a tattoo of a Bible verse that is used to condemn homosexuality.  The obvious question is:  did that person choose to ignore the verse that comes after it, a verse which condemns permanent markings on the body?  Or was he just ignorant of what the Bible says?

I’m reminded of a speech Barack Obama gave in 2006, in which he asked, “Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is okay and that eating shellfish is an abomination?  How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick with the Sermon on the Mount, a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application?  So before we get carried away, let’s read our Bibles.  Folks haven’t been reading their Bibles.”

How do we choose which scriptural passages to emphasize?  Remember the door with two hinges:  Jesus said that everything in scripture – all the teachings of the law and all the words of the prophets – hang on two hinges just as a door hangs on two hinges.  One of those hinges is love of God.  The other hinge is love of neighbor.

So that is Jesus’s guiding principle when it comes to interpreting scripture:  Does it reinforce love of God?  Does it reinforce love of neighbor?

These are the questions I believe Philip asked himself when he met the Ethiopian eunuch.  Philip knew that one scripture says that foreigners were not welcome in the temple, and that another scripture says that eunuchs were not welcome in the temple, but that a third scripture declared that the temple is a house of prayer for all people, including foreigners and eunuchs.

How did Philip choose which scripture to pay attention to?  He picked and chose on the basis of love.  He recognized that love drives out fear, and that a fearful person has not been made perfect in God’s love [1 John 4:18].

Shall we officially declare ourselves an “open and affirming” congregation?  Doing so would let our community and our world know that membership and positions of leadership would be open to all, that sexual orientation in and of itself would not be a basis for denying anyone membership or a leadership role.

This is, in fact, the way we already operate, so it makes sense that we make it official.

Being open and affirming does not mean that there is no room for questions or doubts.  As an individual in this congregation, you may have concerns, and you may disagree with what I’ve said today.  That’s okay.

One of the remarkable things about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is our ability to welcome and talk with people who have different opinions than we do, and to still greet and welcome one another at the Lord’s Table.

In a recent pastoral letter to the church, our General Minister, Sharon Watkins, celebrated the fact that all are invited and welcome at the Lord’s Table.  Bixby Knolls Christian Church already has a long and proud history of welcoming people no matter their race, income level, age, gender, or political opinions.  We have become a very welcoming place for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities.  And we do well at welcoming folks with different understandings of faith and scripture.

In that sense, becoming open and affirming is consistent with our history and our identity:  We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.  As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table, as God has welcomed us.