One More Go at This

The last couple of posts have felt scattered and not exactly to the point. Here's one more attempt, from an illustration a pastor used some time ago, in regard to GLBT folk and the church.

Being gay is a bit like being an Israelite slave in Egypt. The Israelites were told to make more bricks and faster, but without the materials to make them.

For gay folk in the church, it's like this: We're told we're promiscuous, that we don't form lasting relationships, that for these and other reasons, we are denied full access to leadership in the church. At the same time, the church gives us nothing to help us create lasting relationships, to help stabilize our lives. We are not given a rite to make public our relationships, we are not given the opportunity to ask the community to pray for our relationships and support them. We're told that if we're going to do these things, then don't mention it too often or in certain circles---which, again, leads to secrets and shame.

The crazy thing is that, like the Children of Israel who made bricks without straw, GLBT folk are also making lasting relationships and are finding ways to stabilize their lives so that they can have some measure of security that any other marriage has. We do this without the straw of rites or public support.

If the story continues as in the Bible, I believe that GLBT folk will also one day be free. Whether this means leaving Egypt (the church, or at least a specific denomination like the ELCA) or if it means finding some way to live peaceably with the former oppressors---this remains to be seen.

God is always doing a new thing. Not every retelling (or re-living) of a Bible story has to end the same way.