Sermon “Crying Out of the Depths”
This psalm begins in despair. There is hope at the end, but you can tell that the psalmist is going through some tough stuff.
This is not the only psalm like this; many of the psalms are psalms of lament. They are expressions of pain. Anguish. Sorrow. Despair.
I have heard cries of despair, similar to the cries of the psalmists, from folks struggling with their sexuality or gender identity. I have heard them cry out of the depths to God, longing to be heard, begging to be accepted, to be known, to be loved… or, in some cases, they have begged for God to change them, because they hadn’t yet learned to love and accept themselves as they are.
And they, like the psalmist, waited for God to answer. And they waited for change to come. Their souls waited for the Lord.
And they waited for the church to offer them a word of hope. But the church offered only condemnation, or silence.
The church has been a source of pain and anguish for so many. It breaks my heart to say that.
When it comes to sexuality, the church has allowed its own fears, prejudices and biases to taint how it presents the gospel, and how it presents scripture.
As many of you are well aware, the church has taken a few randomly scattered Bible verses, misinterpreted them, and has blown them up in prominence way out of proportion in relation to the overall gospel message, with devastating results.
You know the verses I’m talking about. If you were a part of the Open and Affirming process here a few years ago, you studied them in depth.
There are several in the Old Testament, and several in the New Testament, and I don’t have time in this sermon to examine each one of them in detail, but simply put, they don’t say what people often think they say.
Generally speaking, the Old Testament scriptures are about rape. The story of Sodom, for example, is about rape. It’s about the unwanted abuse inflicted on two people from another region, in violation of the ancient code of hospitality.
The gender of the people in this story really doesn’t matter. If you’re raped and abused by someone, it’s horrible whether that person is of the same gender as you or not. If the perpetrators in this story were of the opposite sex of the victims, would this rape and abuse be acceptable? No! So to say that these verses are about homosexuality completely misses the point.
Likewise, in the New Testament, the actions condemned are, generally, acts between two people who are not equal in status. An adult male and a young boy, for example; or a master and a slave. Situations where the person of lower status had no ability or power to refuse or say no.
And again, that’s something that is offensive and deplorable, regardless of the gender of the people involved. Whether the sexual act is between people of the same gender or people of opposite genders doesn’t matter: rape and coercion and abuse are always wrong, regardless of gender.
These verses are about the abuse and misuse of power. They are about failing to protect the vulnerable. To say that these verses condemn homosexuality as we understand it completely misses the point.
And yet, so many Christians have said and still say that homosexuality is what these verses are about. It’s just one example of people misinterpreting, twisting the meaning of scripture in order to justify their own prejudice and bigotry.
It’s the same thing that slave owners did in the first half of the 19th century: Find some verses that appear to support their own opinions, ignore the context of those verses, and slap them on to a modern situation that those verses really weren’t intended to address and that they really don’t apply to.
And the pain and trauma caused by such Biblical misinterpretation is why it’s so important that we celebrate Pride in worship. The pain and trauma caused by such Biblical misinterpretation is why it’s important that we boldly state that we are an Open and Affirming congregation.
Because, as I said, there are many who, like the psalmist, are right now crying out of the depths, crying out in despair, crying out to God, wondering how God could have possibly made them the way they are. They’ve been told, repeatedly, by people they trust, by people in positions of authority, that God condemns them for being who God made them to be.
And they’re trying to love God, and they’re trying to love Jesus… but the church has told them NO. You are not acceptable. You are not loved. God hates you. God condemns you. God is sending you to hell.
And I can’t imagine what it must be like, growing up, hearing that message, wanting with all my heart to love Jesus, to follow Jesus, yet believing that Jesus doesn’t love me. Not unless I change who I am. Not unless I become something other than the person God created me to be.
I’ve met too many people who do believe that, or who have believed that at one point in their lives. I’ve had too many people come to me and tell me that they just can’t let go of the guilt and the shame.
I do my best to assure them that God loves them, that God loves all of who they are, that God has no intention of sending them to hell, but it’s hard to undo a lifetime of them hearing other voices, other pastors, teachers, politicians, and parents, all telling them otherwise. That message of condemnation has penetrated too deeply into them.
So they need to hear, not just once, not just twice, but over and over and over again, that God does love them. They need to hear it from us, over and over and over again, that God does love them.
They need to hear it from people who love Jesus and who love them. They need to hear it over and over and over again, until they finally are able to believe what is actually true: that God does love them, and God does accept them, and that God does affirm the person who they are.
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The word gospel literally means “good news.” Many of you know that. So any message the church preaches should be good news. It should be good news especially to those who have been hurt, to those who have been traumatized, to those who have had very little good news preached to them in their lives.
But for too many, the version of the gospel that has been preached to them has been nothing but bad news.
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I don’t know what the exact situation of the psalmist was, that he was in such despair. In some of the other psalms of lament, the psalmist speaks of being thrown into a pit, sinking in the mud, in the mire, in the muck, with the water coming up to their chest, their neck, over their head. They are drowning in their suffering, in their sorrow, and they can’t hold on much longer.
And I know that there are people in our world today, who have been tossed into that pit, with the mud, the muck, the mire, rising up over their heads.
There are people who are no longer with us, because the words of prejudice and hate turned into actions of hate and violence.
And there are people who are no longer with us because of the harassment and the condemnation they received; it was all too much, and they couldn’t go on another day.
There are people who are no longer with us because of the harassment and condemnation they received from the church.
They were made to feel shame, and that shame was too much. It was too great a burden. And all those words of condemnation came up, rose up to their chest, to their neck, and over their head, and they couldn’t keep their head above the surface, because the weight, the burden, was just too much.
And I mourn and I grieve over each and every one. And I lament the role the church has played in all this.
But I also know that there are people who ARE here today, because someone said IT’S OKAY. IT gets better. I’M WITH YOU. I AFFIRM YOU. I’LL FIGHT FOR YOU. I love you.
There are people who are here today who thought they wouldn’t be, people who saw no future for themselves, until someone said: Hey! You are a beloved child of God, beautiful and precious in God’s sight. God loves everything about you, just as you are. … and so do I.
And, praise God! They came to believe that these words of affirmation were true. And they chose to live another day.
And there are people who are here today because they heard in church a message of love, of affirmation, of hope, and that was enough to make them decide to stick around for another day.
And that is a miracle! If you are one of those people, YOU are a miracle. And I am so glad you are here. Your presence is a blessing. YOU are a blessing. Everything about you is a blessing. And I am so thankful for you.
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This is why it’s important for us to have a Pride Sunday, a Pride worship, because the gospel that is good news has been turned into bad news for too many, and we need to reclaim the true gospel and proclaim that good news.
We need to let the world know that God does rescue, God does redeem, God does save; and that the hope people cling to is not a false hope.
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In the 2nd chapter of Philippians, there’s a verse that says: “In the midst of your enemies, shine like stars.” Shine like stars! This brings glory to God. Let the light in you shine brightly. Don’t let anyone dim your sparkle.
When God created you, God put God’s own image within you. That sparkle in you is holy. It is divine. It is sacred.
As the psalmist says: You are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
As Zephaniah says: the one who created you will rejoice over you with gladness and with singing. That’s incredible! We gather every Sunday to sing God’s praises, but, according to Zephaniah, God is also singing your praises. God is also rejoicing over you. You bring joy to God, just by being you; just by being who God created you to be.
This is the heart of the gospel: God loves you. You are loved.
It's all about love. A love that is complete. Whole. Unconditional. Radically inclusive. Affirming. All-encompassing.
It’s all about love.
And that’s the gospel truth.
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