The Gospel That Includes Everyone Romans 2:1 5, 3:21 26 You have heard me say from this pulpit on at least one previous occasion that I am supportive of the rights of the LGBTQ community, so it will come as no surprise to hear me say that I fully support the vote of a majority of the presbyteries in the PC(USA) in approving same-sex marriage. You are also no doubt aware that our Session recently voted that same-sex marriages may occur here at Southminster. Our Session s answer to this question was a resounding Yes. The vote was not unanimous but it was a better than strong Yes. I know that there are passages in the Bible that condemn what we refer to as homosexuality, and l want you to know that I do believe the Bible is the word of God. As the ordination vow puts it, the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ and God s word to us. I also believe, however, that scripture is interpreted at every point along the way by all of us. For example, I know there are people who think that, because the Bible says it, same-sex sexual activity is sinful. But most if not all of us are willing to airbrush from our Bibles certain other parts of scripture. For example, the Holiness Code in Leviticus says, If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death. People who believe that homosexuality is wrong take the first part of that verse as scripture but not the second part. I dare to say that no one here this morning thinks that homosexuals should be executed simply because they are homosexual. Other examples: Leviticus 25 approves of having slaves so long as they are acquired from surrounding nations. Who believes that? Leviticus 21 indicates that it s OK to sell one s daughter into slavery. We don t believe that! In Exodus 35 we are told that a person who works on the Sabbath Day shall be put to death. Does anyone here believe that? Leviticus 21 says that it is wrong to approach altar of God if one has a blemish, and goes on to say, one who is blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand, or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a blemish in his eyes. Do we really believe that one has to have 20/20 vision in order to approach God or that a person who has a broken foot must stay away? Leviticus 19 says, You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. If that s the case, I m in big trouble! Last night I shaved my head and Margaret marred the edges of my beard with a pair of scissors! Does anyone here believe that a farmer should not sow the field with two different kinds of seed, or that it s wrong to wear a garment made of two different materials? Mind you, I ll be checking the tags on your clothing at the door on your way out this morning! Or to move to the New Testament, Jesus says that, if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off. If we were to take that to heart, then everyone here this morning would be without hands and feet. And as Teyve says in Fiddler on the Roof, it we were to take seriously the
Old Testament admonition of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, then the whole world would be blind and toothless! My point simply is that everyone interprets scripture; no one believes every word of the Bible literally. We all select what we think is important and what we think is less important or not important at all. So let s be honest about that. I personally support same-sex marriage for some very specific reasons. For one thing, I believe the passages in both Old and New Testaments that condemn same-sex sexual activity are conditioned by the culture in which they originated. One of the things that I ve learned in studying this issue comes from Mark Achtemeier s own study of the award-winning writing of a Finnish scholar named Martti Nissinen. One of the things that I found illumining is the notion that homosexuality is a distinctly modern concept unknown in ancient world. There is no word in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek that can be translated gay or homosexual and furthermore the biblical world had no concept of a person s sexual orientation. Certainly, the biblical writers had no concept of gay people who partner together as a way of living out their sexual orientation. 1 That s what this is about not promiscuity and sexual license to do anything and everything one wants. What I m talking about is gay people partnering together in a committed, lifelong relationship of love without the church telling them that they love the wrong person. I do not believe that homosexual activity, within the context of a committed and loving relationship, is sin and this is why Pastor Jackie and I support same-sex marriage. For one thing, it encourages gay couples, just as it does in heterosexual marriage, to stay true to their commitment to one another. You know, the mainline church has for the most part shunned the homosexual community, and I think it sets us apart that we are open and welcoming. It says a lot about the forward-thinking character of this faith community and our faithful interaction with the world around us. It says that we truly do believe that the gospel is for everyone. Let me be clear. The Session s position continues to be that we do not do non-member weddings, and if a gay couple, one or both of whom are members of Southminster, comes to Pastor Jackie or me and asks to be married, they would go through the same pre-marital counseling sessions as a heterosexual couple. I would only marry a gay couple if they expressed their intent that their union be lifelong and deeply rooted in love. The Session, with help from Pastor Jackie and me, is in the process of writing a wedding policy that spells out all of this. I believe that one s sexual orientation is not a choice; one is born with whatever sexual orientation one has. Part of this discussion means putting the Bible in conversation with the modern insights of psychology 1 Parts of this paragraph are taken from Mark Achtemeier, The Bible s Yes to Same-Sex Marriage (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2014), 76 77. Achtemeier is drawing on Martti Nissinen, Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: A Historical Perspective, trans. Kirsi Stjerna (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998).
and science and sociology. Today we know more about this subject that the biblical writers did, and as you are no doubt aware, we in the Reformed tradition open ourselves to the world of learning in which we live. We are not people who put our heads in the cultural sand. And the fact of the matter is that some people come into this world created by God and wired to be homosexual. We in the church are called to love all people, and that includes people who are homosexual. This is because we believe in a gospel that does include everyone. We are not given the luxury of looking for the behavior that we find most offensive, and then say we are against it because the Bible says so. Jesus teaches us to love God with all the heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love the neighbor as the self. And the broader context of the gospel makes it clear that these two loves are intertwined. One of the main ways that we love God is by loving the neighbor as the self and not just people who are like us. As I have done previously, let me point out what happens in Luke 4. Jesus reads in his hometown synagogue from the prophet Isaiah, who basically says that God is about the business of fixing everything that s wrong in the world. The hometown crowd eats it up. But the story takes a nasty turn when Jesus gives two examples of what scripture means, and the two examples involve the prophets Elijah and Elisha reaching out in compassion to Gentiles. The hometown crowd becomes so enraged that they want Jesus dead. They didn t want their God to be God of the outsider, the one who belongs on the other side of the tracks, and they proceed to carry out their death wish for Jesus until he draws away from the crowd and goes his own way. I hope you see what I m saying. The gospel doesn t affirm our prejudices; it challenges them. The great Lutheran preacher Paul Scherer once said that the gospel comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. Unless there are things about the gospel that make you uncomfortable, chances are you have never really heard the gospel at all. I once heard someone say that, yes, the truth shall set you free, but first it ll piss you off. How true! We will all do well to remember what Paul says to the Romans. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We like to pick and choose the sins we condemn. Nothing in my life please! To those who are opposed to same-sex marriage, I would ask, What about the sin that occurs in heterosexual marriage when one person feels unduly pressured to have sex, or when one feels taken advantage of sexually and emotionally by the other, or when one spouse decides to give in to temptation and cheat on the other spouse? Sometimes people want to take a stand against homosexuality without acknowledging that they themselves have sexual sins in the heterosexual realm for which they are culpable. It s worth noting that, if we are honest with ourselves, we all have sexual sin in our lives. This is why Paul says to the Romans, Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. I am reminded of the word of our Lord Jesus who said, Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.
I love the part of Romans 2 where Paul asks rather pointedly, Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? We need not to throw stones at others because of what we think is wrong in their lives; we need to repent ourselves of our own sins. I know that everyone does not agree with my position or with the position the Session recently approved. And that s OK. We don t have to all agree on everything, especially the big social issues of our day. But I want to say something now about this congregation here at Southminster. You all have been through a lot during the past two to three years. There was not only disagreement, but open conflict and hurt feelings and turmoil aplenty. But we have come a long way together over the last year. Healing has taken place, relationships have mended, and I am grateful for these signs of God s grace in our midst. From my perspective this is a positive, happy faith community at the moment. Yes? Well, one of the things I hope that you, as a congregation, have learned coming through all the turmoil is that you can live together and worship together and do the church s ministry together even when there is disagreement. We are called to that kind of unity, the unity of the body of Christ in which no one has the right to say You are not needed; you don t belong. We are called to a kind of togetherness born of the fact we are fully committed to each other and we love each other even when we disagree. And I think this means that we are even willing to be wounded precisely because we love one another that much. There s a wonderful scene in Alan Paton s novel, Ah, But Your Land is Beautiful. Robert Mansfield is a white South African headmaster, who one day resigns his post because his school is not permitted to compete against a team from a black school in a sporting event. Mansfield thinks the decision is patently wrong, and he comes to the painful realization that he cannot preside over an institution that would permit such bigoted injustice. Facing his responsibilities as a Christian, Mansfield resigns. After the resignation, a black man named Emmanuel Nene pays Mansfield a visit, saying that he came to meet the man of courage who had resigned his livelihood because of his convictions, and he wants to shake the hand of the man whose daily life was molded by such a living faith. In the conversation, however, Nene lets it be known that he has also come for another reason. He wants Mansfield to know that he has decided to join a multi-racial political party and join the fight for racial equality. He knows this will brand him as a radical, and make him an enemy of the state, but this is what he has resolved to do. Mansfield warns Nene of some of the consequences he will surely suffer. Yes, I understand, says Nene. I know I am going to get wounded not only by the government but by my own people as well, just like you. Then as Nene stands and prepares to leave, he turns to Mansfield with these words: You know, I don t worry about the wounds. When
I go up there, which is my intention, the big Judge will say, Where are your wounds? Wasn t there anything worth fighting for? And I just couldn t face that question. Steve Plunkett Southminster Presbyterian Church, Centerville, Ohio January 8, 2017