Choose Love, Not Fear
By Rev. Julie Yarborough
May 6, 2012
Acts 8: 26-40, 1 John 4: 7-21
[ Audio
(mp3, 6.8Mb) ]
Note:
Before starting her sermon, Rev. Yarborough
asked Music Director Mark Miller to say a few words about his experiences at
the recent United Methodist Church General Conference.
Reflections by Mark A. Miller
Every four years the United Methodist
Church gets together to decide its rule book. That's our polity. We have
something similar to the US government. We have the bishops who are the Executive who don't
get to make the laws. Instead delegates are elected
every four years to meet and make up the law book -- the Book of Discipline of the United
Methodist Church.
For the last four General Conferences I've
been elected to that body to represent New Jersey along with 10 other
people. Since the year 2000 that I've
been going, we've been dealing with a whole host of issues, but the issue
that seems to be the most contentious and the one that most divides us is that
of human sexuality and specifically homosexuality.
In 1972, forty years ago, the Methodists
passed a law in our Discipline that says that homosexuality is incompatible
with Christian teaching. Since 1972
we have added more and more layers onto that. We will not ordain gay people,
we will not bless same-sex unions, and so on.
So as places like Christ Church in Summit and the UCC have become more
accepting and open, places like the Methodist Church have become more
reactionary.
At the beginning of this particular
General Conference two weeks ago in Florida we had conversations in small groups of
delegates – there were 1,000 of us. We
met in groups of around ten to talk about these issues.
Many of us, the openly gay delegates, and
our allies and friends, found a lot of these conversations disturbing.
The language used to describe people was…
less than Christian, let us say. Unfotunately it seems like in the places where we
should be expressing God's love the most
in Christian churches, people are sometimes the cruelest.
After speaking with several of my delegate colleagues
about this we decided to raise the issue on the floor of the general
conference, which hadn't been done before by any openly gay delegates.
And so they said
“Mark, why don't you go ahead and speak up…”
And so I did. I was recognized from the floor
and said that this process has been very harmful to some people, and harmful specifically
to the people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender brothers and
sisters who are elected delegates here at his body, and we would call on all
of us to look for a way forward that doesn't harm people, but respects people
even through our differences and disagreements. People using language of spiritual
violence doesn't help. People came
away from conversations where they were compared to animals, or others wanted
them to be exorcised of the demon that is in them – all of the language that
is causing a lot of violence in our society today, as you know.
My first impulse is never to lash out back
and say “we hate you” or “you hate us, so we hate you”. I
never have that feeling in my heart. I just feel that we need to show more love, and understand somewhat
where the other person is coming from, but try to engage in dialog and
continue to show that if we return judgment and hate for judgment and hate, then
there's no way forward.
So I appreciate Julie giving me the time to speak this morning.
I hope that you will pray for the United Methodist Church and its 10
million members, that we would find ways to meet one-on-one and
dialog in a way that asks the hard questions and shows that the
right way is love and acceptance, somehow, and not judgment and
hate. Thank you.
[Note: You can view a video of Mark's statement on the floor of the UMC General Conference here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vKTP7IEBjJk,
and you can read an account of the event here:
http://www.unyumc.org/news/detail/1118.]
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his marvelous book,
Tattoos on the
Heart” [1],
Father Gregory Boyle, or “G” as he is known on the streets of LA, offers stories of his work with gang members. Each page of the book offers glimpses into what G calls, “the No-Matter-Whatness of God.” God's love is so expansive and inclusive that it surrounds us and welcomes us no matter what we have done in our lives or who others say we are. G's ministry is all about communicating the message of God's “No-Matter-Whatness” to those who need to hear it. Gang members are not the only ones who need to hear that message. There are many people in this world who have been told over and over again that they are not worthy of being loved for who they are. They've received messages of negativity and hate most of their lives, and they desperately need to hear of God's grace and love, and be welcomed into Christian community.
In
this morning's passage from Acts we heard a story of God's “no-matter-whatness.” Philip was not one of the 12 original disciples
of Jesus, but he was in the second wave, chosen by the twelve to serve the
early church. We know from scripture that he was an effective evangelist,
teacher and healer. He was also an eager servant – as soon as the Holy Spirit
told him to go toward the South on the road that leads from Jerusalem
to Gaza, he did
so at once. And when prompted to
approach the chariot of the Ethiopian
Court Official, he didn't just walk over there, he
ran to it! When invited to get into the chariot, Philip
hopped right up and began to offer instruction about the scripture. While
others might have been reluctant or fearful of approaching, Philip,
grounded in the Spirit and responding in love, didn't hesitate.
You
see, the Ethiopian Court
Official was a eunuch. It was common practice in those days for young boys to
be castrated before puberty in order to serve in the Queen's court and inner
chambers. Although eunuchs served in the court and had opportunities to
advance, they were relegated to a lower class in general society. Unable to get
married and father children, they were considered sexually immoral. Levitical and Deuteronomic law excluded them from participating fully in
the assembly of Israel. The eunuch was an outsider, used to messages
of negativity and scorn. And yet, this man had risen quite high in the Ethiopian
Queen's court. He was in charge of the Queen's entire treasury. He had a
chariot, and was returning from a personal trip to the Temple
in Jerusalem
(where, incidentally, he would not have been welcome into the inner courtyard
with all of the other men).
Perhaps
even more surprising, he had access to a scroll of Isaiah which he was reading
aloud! In the ages before the printing press, it was rare to be able to read,
much less own your own scrolls. Most teachings about scripture were passed down
orally. The Court Official was clearly a
learned man, yet humble enough to ask for help
interpreting the scriptures. He needed someone to guide him – someone who knew
not only about the ancient texts, but also about the love of God. He needed someone
who was familiar with the exclusive Deuteronomic
texts which forbade eunuchs to gather in the assembly, as well as the more
hospitable texts of Isaiah, which proclaim that eunuchs who “hold fast to God's
covenant” will be welcomed and given “an everlasting name that will not be cut
off.” [2]
The
scripture the Ethiopian happened to be reading was that of the suffering
servant – often seen through the lens of Christianity as referring to Christ,
though written much earlier as part of the Hebrew Scriptures. I can imagine
that the scripture spoke deeply to this man, who heard a description of himself
in the passage as he read the following words:
‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.’
“About
whom did the prophet write?” The Ethiopian asks. “Could this possibly be
written as a message for me?” He implies. And the answer is yes, and it is
written for us as well. God is still
speaking! In this passage, God is speaking a word to all who know suffering, to
all who have experienced humiliation. As
Tom Long says, “The biblical word is never merely about 'back then.' It is
always a word to us, to this moment, to these
circumstances.” [3]
Philip
takes this opportunity to explain the scripture and to talk about Jesus,
another suffering servant, who was led to the slaughter, shorn and humiliated,
and for whom justice was denied. When Philip is finished, the Court Official
asks, “What is to prevent me from being baptized?”
“Actually,”
Philip could have responded, “there are many reasons to prevent you from being
baptized.”
The
Ethiopian Court
Official was a castrated male; he was an outcast; he was a foreigner, from the
edge of the known world, so he was geographically cut off from Israel; and he
may have been a Gentile. (The text is
not clear, and scholars are not in agreement on this point.)
Yet,
Philip acts in accordance with the “No-Matter-Whatness”
of God. It's as if he hears the Spirit whisper, “Absolutely
nothing!” [4]
There is nothing to keep you from being baptized! There is nothing to separate
you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! You are a child of God.
“…Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate [you] from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” [5]
God's love is all inclusive, no matter what.
In
the book of Acts, the community of Christians is growing in surprising and unexpected
ways. The disciples and early followers of Jesus first baptized Jews in Judea. They were later led to baptize Jewish followers in
Samaria. The baptism of the Ethiopian court official in
Acts 8 represents the ever expansive inclusion of people into the Christian
community. In Acts 10, Peter baptized
Cornelius, the first known Gentile. God's acts of inclusion are ever surprising and unexpected. They
continue to be so today!
One
of the helpful things I learned in my introductory Bible courses in divinity
school was this: when reading scripture, pay attention to how many times a word
or phrase or concept appears in the text. The more a word appears, the more
important it is. In 1 John 4:7-21, the
word LOVE is mentioned 28 times. There can be no doubt that this is a very
important concept for us to grasp.
The
scriptures tell us that those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers
and sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they
have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. Loving our neighbor and treating others with
respect even when we disagree is essential for living a life of faith.
There
is so much hate and fear in our world, and much of it is targeted at those we
don't understand. You cannot love God if you do not love others - ALL others –
queer, straight, judgmental, accepting, friends, enemies.
We are called to live a life of love, even in the face of hatred.
Perfect
love can cast out fear. We are far from perfect. We need God's love to help us
love others; we cannot do it on our own. We must root ourselves in the love of
God, by loving others as we love ourselves. Only then will we know the
“no-matter-whatness” of God's love, and be able to
rise above the fear that lives within each of us, that permeates our society
and our world.
Love
is an act of courage. We are called to be people of courage, not people of
fear. Fear leads to distrust,
resentment, suspicion, closed doors, hatred, and violence.
A
few years ago, some friends of mine were told, by the pastor of another church,
that they would not be able to stand together at their children's baptism because
they were gay men.
Just
this week, (as Mark has told us) gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons
were told, once again, by the United Methodist General Conference that who they
are is not compatible with Christian teaching.
And
just this week, a Baptist preacher in NC told his parishioners to punch their
male children, or break their wrists if they appear effeminate, and many in the
congregation shouted “Amen!” as a response.
In
all of those cases people were acting from fear, not love. That is why it is so
important that we are an Open and Affirming church, and that we proclaim that
identity boldly and courageously. That
is why we need to continue to draw the circle wide. Gays and lesbians, bisexual and transgendered
people are being told that they are not fully human, that they are not welcome
at the table, that the circle of God's love doesn't include them. Yet, the
scripture says that EVERYONE who loves God is born of God and knows God. No
matter what!
We
need to be bold in proclaiming to those who have been disenfranchised, “There is
nothing that can separate you from the love of God – absolutely nothing. God loves you no matter what.”
No
matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here.