Sermon for the queer service held as a part of the
Otago University
orientation week.
All Saints Church, Dunedin, 28 February 1999.
Readings: Susanna 28-63 (=Daniel 13:28-63), John 3:1-10, 19-21.
RECLAIMING THE SPIRIT
FROM THE FUNDAMENTALISTS
Sisters, this is a rare and precious time for us. A place to share our joy, our
determination, and our secret scars. In this beautiful church, where we have
often
been hidden, we claim our inheritance, and we stand with all the glory of those
who
every day of our lives show the image of a hurting, unsettling, but infinitely life-
giving God.
Thank you to the organising group for your hard work, and your invitation to be
here.
And to the straight people who are here I say welcome. It is good to be sharing
this
time with our friends.
I want to take you all on a journey through what is called a gay
hermeneutic:
looking
at the bible through our own context, and applying them to our collective life
stories.
One thing I have found is that lesbian, transgender and gay people do share some
collective stories. Here is our time to look at the bible, and see what its outside
input
can bring to light in our lives today.
In the story of Susanna, two judges got so distracted by her looks that they failed
to
administer justice properly. In the end they caught her bathing in the garden by
herself; they demanded sex and threatened her. She didn't give in to their
threats,
so they made up a false accusation that would have her put to death.
But that was not enough, in the very process of her trial they insisted that she
was
unveiled "so that they may feast their eyes upon her beauty". They totally
objectified
her and ignored her basic human dignity.
It seems to me that these actions are similar to the strange
relationship we have
with
our society. They are fascinated by us, and in some ways want to court us - but
forget that we are people, citizens, clients and school pupils whom their positions
of
responsibility impinge upon. They, also, turn away from their duty to administer
justice.
I think an example of this is the prime minister who has gone to the Hero parade
two
years in a row, but between those parades her minority government introduced a
bill
to decrease the protection that the Human Rights Act gives us. I am pleased that
she
wants to be associated with us! Even more, I want her to do her job properly and
ensure our human rights.
It can be similar in the church, when people get all very excited about "the
homosexual issue" (as they call it) but fail to run a church in a way which is
faithful
to the most basic vows their congregations make when a child is baptised and
WELCOMED on behalf of the whole church.
Let us look at how Susanna acted towards authority: She did not give in. She
rejected the dominance of the men, despite their obvious power. She cried out for
life, rather than give up her personhood. But to claim autonomy of our
own
bodies is
to make a challenge. It makes a challenge that strikes at the very heart of an
oppressive society. The claim of personhood upsets the social order.
To claim dignity is a challenge. And I want to suggest that it is a
divine challenge.
God is the force of life in the universe. We know that in human beings that force
is
expressed within both relationship and autonomy. somewhere between being an
individual and living in community with others lies our fullest potential, our true
personhood. The Spirit of God spreads through us when we say no to the actions
of
others that treat us as non-persons and distort their relationship with us by
claiming
too much power over us.
We need to find inspiration. We must be able to be identified in society as a force
to
be reckoned with. People must know that if they attack us there will be a voice
that
will speak out - every time!
How do we gain this inspiration to speak out? To refuse to see death take
place?
In the Christian tradition, inspiration comes from the Spirit. The writer of the
Gospel
of John says that the wind, or spirit (and they get all a bit confused here) "blows
where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it
comes
from or where it goes."
So it is with the Daniel's of this world, people who find their voice,
who find
resting in
themselves the strength to finally stop buying into the lie of a straight society;
and
tell Mum or Dad that they are gay, or to put words around the knowledge that
their
sense of self does not fit their body's sex.
I admire every one of you who has done that. You have spoken with the voice of
the
Divine Spirit. That is part of redeeming our first birth with our
second.
And what is this second birth? I put it to you that the second birth is where you
got
the guts to tell them.
You were born physically of your parents, but you were born spiritually of God
and of
your own community; whether that be bisexual, lesbian, gay, transgendered, or a
combination. That is where we chase the spirit to. We see the affect it has in our
lives, and follow it into the arms of our lovers. We see the affect it has in society
and
in trying to trace where it comes from we find ourselves surrounded by the most
amazing queer people who have spent their lives working for justice and seeking
their hearts desire.
And when I say we have been born again in God, what do I mean by God? I
mean
that spirit of life that was before the world, that created the world, and is an
intimate
part of the ongoing creation of life whether that happens in the midst of pain or
joy.
We are born first into our bodies and we are born second into living. The Spirit is
visible when we refuse the dehumanisation that others push onto us, like Susanna
did.
When Daniel cried out! I'm sure he didn't know where that cry came from, or
where
it would take him. But he heard its sound, and it was the Divine speaking in him.
He
was born again into a whole new set of consequences and necessities (which
luckily
came out OK - but not all bible stories do!) The Spirit is living when we are so
moved
by compassion for one another that we cry out like Daniel.
Daniel saw Susanna being led to death: | 