When Being Right is Wrong...

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves in Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." -Galatians 3:26-28

"Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged." -Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address

This blog will not be without disagreement I am sure. But I am also sure that it is important nonetheless. Heck, disagreement is what moves us forward. It isn't a bad thing.

A little more than a month ago the Boy Scouts of America made the decision to allow openly gay youth to full admittance. This week, the Supreme Court will render a decision about the Defense of Marriage Act and Prop 8.

Today, the issue of gay marriage, and more globally, of homosexuality itself, is a heavy one, no longer waiting in the shadows but at our very feet, demanding a voice.

You would've had to have been under a rock the past couple of years to be unaware that the issue has been rising, as magma rises in a volcano, ready to explode. Lines have been drawn and people have been aligning themselves on either side, for and against. Voices have become louder, and most often angrier.

And it has become a defining question of and for the church. Heck, if you Google "What did Jesus..." one of the first auto-fill selections is "say about homosexuality." Christians, particularly straight Christians, have been forced to wrestle with how to understand homosexuality.

Here's the truth: I have great and dear friends who read scripture and pray and live lives desperately fumbling to follow in the example of Jesus who have no problem with homosexuality at all. They've read the texts of the bible which they take incredibly seriously and they've prayed in earnest for understanding and wisdom and come out fully convinced and trusting that the movement of God is towards inclusion and wholeness and that includes homosexuals.

And I have other great and dear friends who read scripture and pray and live lives desperately fumbling to follow in the example of Jesus who cannot reconcile homosexuality with the God they know. They've studied scripture and prayed and thoughtfully wrestled with the nature of God and His creation and cannot reconcile homosexuality with the Christian faith.

It's true that there exists a tension between certain texts of scripture and homosexuality. It cannot be denied. That's why Christians are divided just as the rest of the country and world is divided.

I know some very simple, everyday folk who have voted Republican their whole lives who whole-heartedly support gay rights. And I know some very highly educated, metropolitan people who don't. People of all shapes, colors and backgrounds fall on all different angles of this conversation.

But that is just it. This must become and remain a conversation. Wherever you fall in this debate, I am ABSOLUTELY convinced that the arc of scripture and the nature of who God is are defined with arms open for embracing our neighbors and with a grace and love that overflows. And in this conversation, it is much more important that our words be filled with grace and love than anger and hate.

Sometimes, it's more important to be gracious than to be right! Through the years, our words have become more violent, more angry. We have groups like Westboro Baptist Church picketing funerals with signs declaring "God Hates Fags." But they're not alone, just a little bit louder. If someone's being right comes at the expense of someone associating the Father with hatred, then we've messed up, no matter what our words say, no matter our position.

I know and trust with the entirety of my being that God is and that God is moving and that God's love and grace are of a nature I cannot possibly wrap my mind around. And I have a lot of hunches about what God is like. I take the words of the Bible, particularly in the four gospels, incredibly seriously. I try my best to listen, both in prayer and in conversations with friends (and even people who aren't so friendly.) And all of that has shaped the way that I see God's nature and character. And I think I have a pretty good picture of who God is.

However, I am neither arrogant nor ignorant enough to imagine that my finite mind can fathom the infinite nature of a God who is beyond imagining. And I will not presume to speak for the God of the universe, on this issue or any other. I believe there is truth, that it's not all just relative, but I'm equally sure I'm not the only one to understand it. I will gladly share my hunches and explain where they come from, but to speak for the Father I dare not. I hope that my picture of God is never set in stone, but that He is always teaching me and pushing me to understand who He is in new ways.

This is why we have to learn how to speak with our brothers and sisters who disagree with us. Can't reconcile homosexuality with your faith? Talk with someone who's gay. Maybe it'll help give you a deeper and fuller picture of what is going on. I have a number of very dear and very gay friends, and our conversations about it are some of the most honest and special conversations I've ever had. Convinced homosexuality is at peace with God's nature? Listen to someone who doesn't. Allow yourself to be stretched. Study and talk and wrestle and pray and never stop growing and discerning and listening.

But we've got to learn to listen and speak with people who don't always fall in line with our thinking. We've got to remember that there is always room at God's table. We've got to remember that if our words build walls between us and others, and especially between others and the Father, then we have missed the mark. It's OK to disagree. In fact it's really important to have deeply held convictions and opinions. Conversations and differences lead to deeper and richer understanding and relationships. Let's stop being so loud and so angry trying to convince people we are right that we also convince them we don't love them. We've got to learn to disagree well. Because there is ALWAYS room at the table!

forever unfinished...