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There are so many tortured queer folks out there, desperately searching the scriptures for affirmation, reading and watching everything they can get their hands on. Brownson convinces them that they can be a faithful gay Christian, then Gagnon convinces them they can’t. They volley back and forth between Gushee and Sprinkle, Justin Lee and Jackie Hill Perry… It’s endless. It’s maddening. I often tell people that we can ALWAYS find a compelling argument either for or against whatever we want to be true.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. No argument can stand against the embodied witness of faith queer Christians.
Could I be wrong about theology? Of course I could be. It’s not intellectually honest to claim that I know the truth with 100% certainty. But this much I *can* know:
- When I look around my screen on Monday nights, when I see my precious LGBTQIA+ siblings joining me in prayer and lovingly holding space for one another, I know that I am in the Presence of God.
- When I see queer people laying down their lives for one another, being the hands and feet of Jesus in some of the most difficult circumstances, I know that God is glorified. I see Jesus enfleshed in human beings, the Body of Christ.
- When I see LGBTQIA+ people meeting insults with kindness, loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us… I know I am in the Divine flow.
- When I hear the Word of God powerfully proclaimed by queer preachers: “Good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed…” I recognize the Spirit of Christ speaking so clearly.
- When Alejandro holds me close and prays over me, prayers for comfort, healing, strength, courage, guidance, I know that God is with us, that this “cord of three strands” is not easily broken.
Be free, siblings. Live and love and serve. We don’t need permission. We don’t need to have all the doctrine squared away. The Spirit is with us, in us… Amen and amen.
(This post began, as so many of my posts do, as a Twitter thread. If you’re not following me there, come join the conversation!)
