Dangerously Life-Giving Dignity

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity, one God. Amen.

I must confess something…I’m not a morning person. I’m decent after 10 AM…and even better after 2 PM. I drink coffee like I’m a fish out of water…not really to wake up, more to be tired and fast as I do what I can to get on with the day. It’s sometimes a miracle that I remember how to put on shoes in the morning, let alone have responses to complex questions like –

What is sin?

What is the cost of discipleship?

How much ibuprofen does it take to recover after celebrating and marching in a pride parade on Saturday to then hike up the steps of a pulpit and attempt to deliver something somewhat coherent on a weekend packed with celebrations that are bearing the weight of the current political and irresponsible theological climate of this country and the world without sound like I’m simply offering fire insurance?

More importantly…Can one have coffee delivered while on camera?

On Friday, we marked Juneteenth…and we celebrated here just last Sunday
…that more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and two months after the Confederacy surrendered
…the news reached enslaved persons in Galveston, Texas
…freeing them into a new life and work of liberation.

Yesterday, The Alliance Ministry of the Cathedral’s Congregation marched in DC’s Pride Parade
…bearing witness to all those in attendance and to the world that this month
…57 years after the Stonewall Riots
…50 years after the Episcopal Church recognized that LGBTQ persons have a full and equal claim to pastoral care and support
…that we still gather to celebrate and mark the beginning of liberation.

We also celebrate Father’s day
…honoring all those who have protected, guided, nurtured us and provided fatherly love
…remembering all in our lives who have had such influence.

It is in this whirlwind of emotional celebrations and remembrances
…we gather here to be refreshed
…to be grounded
…to take a deep breath together
…for there is work to be done
…and we have a responsibility to take it on.

 

And so we begin with the simple scripture readings offered this morning.

First we have Jeremiah the prophet
…offering a critique of God
…hollering at God for being enticed into something that he felt was never his choice.

The prophet bemoans his existence and exclaims in fear that he will be derided…yet he doesn’t quit.

Then we have the Psalm
…opening with talk of suffering and shame
…calling on God to respond with mercy and loving kindness
…never ceasing to praise.

With Paul’s letter to the Romans, we get a real doozy of an opening line, “should we continue to sin in order that grace may abound?”

Finally the Gospel
…with the words of Jesus warning of all being revealed
…of some kind of division rather than peace
…of losing our very lives…

But drawing from the signs we see at Pride parades and festivals in the month of June

…I want to talk about SIN.

In today’s lesson from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, we hear good news! We are alive is Jesus Christ! We turn away from sin, having our lives broken open to receive only grace in abundance
…forgiveness in abundance
…and because we follow the risen Christ
…work to be done in abundance.

But first…we need to get through the opening line of our lesson, “ Should we continue to sin in order that grace may abound?”

What sin or sins are we talking about?

If we look at those who protest the celebration of Pride Parades and festivals…the sin seems to be apparent – being LGBTQ is sinful….

I want to offer clarity here, saying this plainly]…being gay or lesbian or bisexual
…transgender or nonbinary
…is not sin.

For living abundantly and flourishing in the fullness of who we are as diverse creations and reflections of an infinitely loving God beyond our comprehension is not sin.

Sin is anything that distorts our relationship with God, with one another, and with all creation. Being a part of the LGBTQ community is not sin…being a part of the LGBTQ is flourishing as part of the creation of God.

It is the distortion of scripture that leads to this harmful understanding…limiting the abundant grace and mercy and love of God for the sake of maintaining power.

When the word of God is read irresponsibly
…when it is not taken seriously enough and is taken literally
…it becomes the dangerous weapon that is used to damage, destroy, separate, and kill the people of God and creation.

When the word of God is used as a weapon
…we are able to uphold the utter destruction and demonization of entire people groups.

That is sin…that is distorting the relationship with God and one another.

Irresponsible use of scripture leads to hurt
…and if you’re choosing to use scripture to do anything but offer healing and life to a broken world –
to feed the hungry…
clothe the naked…
to offer shelter…
to affirm the dignity of the diversity of creation…
to liberate the captives…
if it is anything but offering new life and life in abundance…then we are reading two different books and following two different King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Responsible reading and study of scripture in community reveals that the God Jeremiah knew is worthy of praise…
God in the Psalms is praised for the hope of love…
God of abundant Grace and forgiveness we hear in Paul’s letter and
the God revealed in the Gospel of Matthew in the person of Jesus Christ is the same God who grants us new life.

Jesus Christ…revealed in Scripture…came into the world to offer a new life so radical and dangerous it can break open relationships
…not for the sake of destruction
…but for the sake of new life and revelation that can only come when the hard soil has been broken up.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says that he came to bring not peace…but a sword…to do just that.

This seems so uncharacteristic of the Savior of the World who brings so much healing
…but he’s not speaking of a sword that will destroy for the sake of destruction
….but of a sword that can cut open the comfortable
…break open the hardened hearts
…and bring a message so life-giving that it has the power to completely change the way we live
…which is good news.

Paul in his letter teaches that we leave behind that which distorts our relationship with God, one another, and creation when we have new life in Jesus Christ

…and in the Gospel…Jesus teaches that all will be revealed…loved…forgiven…cared for…and we know his eye is on the sparrow…

The work of Christ through baptism and grace and the word of God is so dangerously life-giving that we risk everything for the sake of a new life
…a new world in Jesus Christ
…a new dominion of grace and mercy and love…

And yet…the world is still filled with poisoning hatred of false “Christian love”
…the world is still filled with violence founded on quotes claimed to be scripture
…the world is filled with so much
…and yet we still march
…we still celebrate and mark these days and months.

Why? Because the Good New and New Life of Jesus Christ is to work for the mutual liberation of all people in all of creation for the sake of not only their dignity…but our own.
Christ came into the world to offer new life…a new life of Grace…Christ came into this world to offer healing and reconciliation
…Christ came into the world to offer love
…and the least we can do
…the ABSOLUTE least we could do…is offer that to others.

When the minimum is offering dignity…then we have a chance to save lives.
In a society so willing to demonize the the most vulnerable…the minimum is saving lives.

That’s all.

– To offer dignity to the LGBTQ community saves lives.
– To offer dignity and love in particular to our trans and non-binary siblings saves lives.
– To offer dignity to the stranger and migrant saves lives.
– To offer dignity to our siblings of color saves lives.
– To offer dignity to those who are oppressed and yet still live under the thumb of systemic oppression saves lives.

And if the minimum is offering dignity to save lives…imagine what we could do when we live into our new life in Christ!

Imagine if, instead of being allies…our new life was as accomplices to the work of turning over the tables and disrupting the status quo…

…imagine if we followed the words of our Savior to their fullest and truly worked for a world where no one is excluded
…where the hungry are fed
…the stranger is welcomed
…where human dignity and equity and justice are sought…

What a world that could be…a world where we bring the kingdom of God right here and now.

A world where we are accomplices of Jesus Christ…offering new life…new love…new grace and mercy and justice.

A world where we no longer grieve what is being lost every day
…where policies and laws and statutes that we thought stood the test of time are being toppled
…where the dignity of our fellow children of God are being brought before the courts of this land and argued about in the places where policies are made
…a world where the very dignity of ALL children of God is upheld and we are able to be in right relationship with God, with one another, and with all creation…

– This is the new life and new world offered by Christ.
– This is the dangerous message offered by Jesus.
– This is the work we have to do in our churches…places of worship…our jobs…our communities…our families…and in every place we are able.

This is the new life
…a new life that will save the lives of those who celebrate and strive for justice
…and equity
…and radical flourishing.

– This is the new life revealed in responsible reading of scripture.
– This is the new life we are offered in baptism.
– This is the new life we have in fellowship with one another.
– This life is in Jesus Christ who came into this world to save it.

And, beloved…

I am convinced of this new life…yesterday…today….and tomorrow…

I am convinced that His eye is truly on the sparrow…

And I am fully convinced that there is nothing that can separate you…or you…
or anyone in all creation
from the liberating and
dangerously life-giving love of God in Christ Jesus.

Amen.