Over the Rainbow - a message for Polk Pride 2017: Pride in Faith

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:19-20)

One can only wonder at the effect of those words on the Ephesian community to whom they were written. The Ephesians were, after all, Gentile outcasts long thought to be excluded from God’s covenant with Israel. And while Scripture doesn’t record their reaction there is a parallel that we might draw from Acts 10 in which Peter visits the home of Cornelius, a devout Gentile. Cornelius initiates the meeting after having had a vision to invite Peter to his home in Caesarea. Cornelius dutifully sends some servants to find Peter in Joppa. Meanwhile, Peter also had a vision, a puzzling one in which he was given permission to eat all sorts of food prohibited by the Levitical purity code. As the servants of Cornelius arrive at the place where Peter is staying, the Spirit speaks to Peter telling him to go to Cornelius.

When Peter arrives in Caesarea and meets Cornelius, Peter says to him and his household,

"You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean." (Acts 10:28)

Cornelius then asks Peter to tell the story of God in Jesus Christ. As James Alison describes in On Being Liked this must have been a disconcerting change for Peter. Assuming that the story was for the benefit of the Jewish people, Peter undergoes “a stomach-churning process of disorientation,” a “cultural earthquake” in which he “finds his world being deconstructed in what must have been a very muddling and painful way before recognizing that that deconstruction and that pain was a good thing, having come from God…” (Alison, On Being Liked, x-xi).

Even before Peter finishes the story, the Spirit fell upon all who heard causing even more disorientation:

“The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:45).

The Jews saw their identity being challenged. It was through their election, in their begin chosen that they found their goodness and holiness. But now the Spirit was being poured out even on the goyim! Yes, the listeners now find themselves overwhelmed with delight. The holy story had always been about God delighting in the purity of the chosen people and hating the impurity of the others but now there is a dawning realization that God actually likes the other. God wants the other to be on the inside of God’s own story. And just as they are. God is not challenging them to become something other than they are – at least not in any way different than the Jews were challenged to transform themselves in love and hope. No, God is instead possessing them with delight and they are delighting in being possessed.

As we look back 2,000 years to when these scriptures were written, we note with sadness that somehow the message has reverted to the original story: There are the chosen and there are the impure. There is a new confrontation to make the others feel other and strange and alien. But, hear this, there is also a new dawning of a realization that God actually likes the other and God wants the other on the inside of God’s story. Just as we are.

In a few days, on June 28, we will remember and maybe celebrate the fact that in 1969, after centuries in which it was impossible for the LGBTQ+ community to find a place in salvation history – to find themselves on the inside of God’s story – the Spirit of the Living God descended. And the Spirit descended in a very unlikely place. “…you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God…” is the message (though not in those exact words) that were transmitted lovingly, in word and song and dance, by Judy Garland Over the Rainbow to a bunch of drag queens who were uplifted by her message of hope and love and respect. And they loved her back so when she died they attended her funeral. After the funeral they returned to the Stonewall Bar to both mourn and celebrate. It was not a good moment to stage a harassing police raid. But even in the midst of this God works in wonderful and mysterious ways. And the Spirit gave birth to the Gay Liberation Movement that day. In weeks past and in weeks to come, hundreds of thousands will have marched in parades and gathered in parks and on streets to their Pride and to liberate. Remember, liberation always frees not only the oppressed but also the oppressor.

The dictionary defines authentic as “worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to fact or reality; not imaginary, false or imitation.” As people of God, whether we are gay or straight, we are called to be authentic people – to live in our very unique places over the rainbow. We are called to be authentic people created by a loving God who knew us before we were formed in the womb and who consecrated us in life (cf. Jeremiah 1:5). Like Jesus and Mary Magdalene, like Mary and John the Baptist, like Cornelius and Peter we must work to be authentic people because we are people worthy of acceptance, no matter our race or gender or where we dance on the spectrum of human sexuality. You have come amongst a people tonight that proudly and warmly proclaims a genuine welcome with radical hospitality to all.

So I conclude with words of assurance, welcome, and life from one of my favorite songs,

Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,

a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.

Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;

here the love of Christ shall end divisions.

All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true,

where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew.

Here the cross shall stand as witness and as symbol of God’s grace;

here as one we claim the faith of Jesus.

All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine and wheat:

a banquet hall on holy ground where peace and justice meet.

Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space;

as we share in Christ the feast that frees us.

All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone

to heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and live the Word they’ve known.

Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face;

let us bring an end to fear and danger.

All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard

and loved and treasured, taught and claimed as words within the Word.

Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace,

let this house proclaim from floor to rafter.

All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.