Faith Matters | Take pride in our LGBTQ friends. They are ‘beloved of God and beautiful people’
As we move through June, joyfully coming out of isolation with our masks removed and celebrating the freedom given us by declining numbers of COVID-19, I am reminded of the historic “masking” of our LGBTQ friends — from fear of rejection.
It makes me sad to think of the years of isolation created by the hurtful misunderstanding of friends and family, not to mention faith communities, schools, and culture. As a pastor for more than 30 years, I have seen this hardship bravely and painfully endured by so many faithful followers of Christ who are LGBTQ. I say to all of you, my known and unknown LGBTQ friends, whether you are Christian or not: You are beloved of God and beautiful people. You deserve love, dignity, and safety in church and culture. I pray you may find it.
Over the years, I have faced questions from those who disagreed with me on these matters of life and death as I sought to encourage congregations toward a more inclusive welcome. It has been a blessing to be part of a church tradition that wrestles hard with scripture and church history, believing that by the power of the Spirit, we are always being reformed according to the Word of God. It is valuable to have a faith seeking understanding, as St. Augustine said, and to be open to the transformation of Christ in the renewing of our minds of which Paul speaks in Romans 12. God’s truth is enduring, but that does not mean that its expression is unchanged over time and place.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) is shaped by an understanding of Christ as the One who opens God’s covenant of steadfast love to all, especially those whom the world rejects. Notice, in the Gospels, how often conflicts between Jesus and the Pharisees result from Jesus bending rigid rules to an arc of loving kindness. Be aware of Peter’s open-eyed moment in Acts 10 and 11, when he realized the Gospel of Christ was not just for his kind of people. The Apostle Paul, formerly a persecutor of the Christians, realized that his old way of dividing people was wrong — that there is “no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female” because we are all one in Christ Jesus.
To those who will argue points of what is natural or unnatural from Romans 1 or Genesis 3, I encourage you to remember that what is natural is determined by one’s God-given nature. It is unnatural to try to force a person to be someone they are not.
Churches like Peace Presbyterian declare “the value of love and faithfulness and the disaster of lust and faithlessness in all our relationships.” (A Declaration of Faith, 1977) We celebrate dignity and pride in June as we recognize that God created all of us in a wide spectrum of sexuality and gender. Within faithful relationships of covenantal love, God has given us the capacity to live out those differences in ways that are pleasing in God’s sight and healthy for humanity.
Faith Matters is written by members of the Bradenton clerical community. Rev. Elizabeth Deibert is pastor and head of staff at Peace Presbyterian Church in Lakewood Ranch, http://peacepcusa.com/