Jesus and Proposition 8
Yesterday, thousands of people joined demonstrations and rallies in major cities across America to protest the passing of Proposition 8 in California two weeks ago. I have friends and family who participated in those rallies in California, Texas, Oklahoma, and New York. This is an extremely controversial issue, with people taking strong stances on either side. And with the heated discussions going on and people becoming defensive and angry, I couldn’t help but ask myself what Jesus thinks about all this. To ask that cliched question, What would Jesus do?
For those who are not news junkies, Proposition 8 was a state question on the California ballot during the election on whether to amend the state constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. It passed with 52% approving and 48% against, effectively removing the legal standing of thousands of already-married same-sex couples, and denying the future ability of gay men and lesbian women to form permanent legal bonds. In the process, it denied them access to many civil rights and benefits offered to heterosexual couples. In a word, it defined them as second-class citizens. Defenders of the amendment argue that it merely codifies what is already our traditional and religious understanding, and is critical to protect our families and preserve our valued traditions. Similar initiatives passed in other states as well.
I’m breaking my own rule here in discussing social or political topics. The mission of Cafe Inspirado is to encourage people and bring them into a more fulfilling life with God. But at the risk of offending friends on both sides, my gut tells me that there are seriously hurting people out there who need some reassuring words, people who feel shoved aside, rejected and despised — by society, their own families, the Church and by God. And while some will likely see things differently than I do, if we call ourselves followers of Christ, I think we should examine his attitude and actions towards those who were socially or religiously unacceptable in his day, and let them serve as our model.
Some obvious passages from Sunday School lessons come to mind. In one scene, Jesus is teaching in the Temple, and some teachers of the Law drag before him a woman caught in adultery. They quote the Law to him, “Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” In words burned into our cultural memory, Jesus responds, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone” (John 8:7). And as the accusers leave in shame, he tells the woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go now and sin no more.” Jesus’ message: Though the religious rules and establishment condemn you, I do not reject you.
At another point, when asked by an expert in the Law what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus encourages him to love God and to love his neighbor. “Do this and you will live.” But the man, still unsatisfied, wants clarification. “Who is my neighbor?” Then comes the famous parable about the Good Samaritan who takes care of a wounded man after all the religious people of the day had ignored him. And Jesus turns the question back on the lawyer, “Which of these was a neighbor?” The lawyer replies, “The one who had mercy”. Jesus then instructs him, “Go and do likewise”. (Luke 10:25-37) Samaritans were despised by Jews back in those days. They were racially impure, descendents of captives brought from Babylon and other places by the king of Assyria who intermarried with the Jews still remaining in the land. They practiced a different form of the Old Testament faith, even having a temple of their own, and the religious defenders of pure Judaism considered them “unclean”. Yet Jesus chose one of them as our example for the life we should live. Jesus’ message: though others find you unacceptable, I call you neighbor.
In another account, on the long walk back to Galilee from Judea, Jesus stops and asks for water from a Samaritan woman at a well — to her great astonishment. “How can you ask me for a drink? For Jews do not associate with Samaritans” (John 4:9) Yet the people of that Samaritan town welcome him, and he and his disciples stay with them for two days. And because of his teachings, many become believers. Jesus’ message: though society labels you unclean, you are valuable to me.
In each of these instances Jesus overlooks the stricter interpretations of the Law, and emphasizes what is in his heart: mercy and compassion, not condemnation or pushing unpopular groups further away. Establishing redeeming relationships was more important to him than being legally righteous. In fact, Jesus was even accused by the more traditional Jews of his day of being a drunk, glutton, partier, even demon possessed because he hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors (corrupt officials), and other socially unacceptable people. Far from ostracizing them further, he welcomes them. And instead of the religiously observant, these outcasts become his favorite people — one of them, Matthew, even becomes one of his chosen twelve.
To approach this topic from a different angle, no one grounded in the Faith can deny that there are genuine believers out there who call Jesus their Lord and also happen to be gay or lesbian. Whether or not we approve of their actions, whether they are caught in sin like the adulterous woman, these believers are brothers and sisters of Christ. They are joint heirs of the Kingdom, washed in his blood, righteous and pure in God’s eyes — whether they threaten our traditional values or not. Who are we, any of us, to point our fingers? Disagree or disapprove, we might. But I am sobered by the certain future of standing before this same Jesus at his Throne of Glory and being examined by him. “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Mt 25:40).
If Jesus were physically present in America today, what would he do? Would he be casting votes to deny modern-day Samaritans basic rights enjoyed by others? Would he stand today with the defenders of tradition? Did he in the past? Would he join in civil protest, picket or carry signs at demonstrations to overturn cultural norms? In my opinion, the answer to each of these questions is No. My reading of the Gospels does not paint a picture of Jesus as a social activist. He did not lobby the Sanhedrin, he did not rebel against Rome or even his own religious leaders. He instructed, he coached, he challenged conventional interpretations. And in their synagogues, he taught God’s love and brought people’s attention away from the letter of the Law which kills, and drew them to the spirit of the Law which gives life. And he demonstrated this in his own personal life. Not with picket signs, but in acts of love, kindness, compassion, and mercy. Yesterday, if he were here, would he have been protesting at City Hall? Probably not. But he would be in our churches, confronting those of us who claim to be God’s chosen, standing in our faces, and asking each of us in his quiet and loving voice, “Who is my brother?”
This past election cycle voted in major changes for Americans. And with those changes come questions about what is right, what is traditional, what is moral, what is constitutional. Serious men and women of faith will form different conclusions. But it has caused me to ask again that ancient and most basic of questions, “What does the Lord expect of me in this?” And the ancient answer is still the same. “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Mic 6:8)
My purpose in writing this is not to advocate the Biblical or spiritual validity of same-sex couples, nor to argue the sinfulness of such relationships. And although I have formed my own opinion of what Jesus would have done, neither is it my purpose to judge the decision of American voters. But to God’s people, I would ask that they examine their hearts and consider Jesus’ view on the matter. And to those wounded by this decision, I offer the words I think Jesus used to speak in the old days, and still calls out today to those with ears to hear: Come! You are loved, you are accepted by God. Though others reject you, I will never forsake you There is no condemnation, no accusation. You are the ones I came to embrace; you are important to me. The Father is waiting, and has paid all your debts. My Blood is for you. You are righteous and have peace with God. You are a valued member of God’s Family, and are welcome in His Church. Just come!
This entry is filed under Coffee with Steve, Rethinking church. And tagged with gay, gay Christians, GLBT, Proposition 8, Samaritans, same-sex marriage. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Hi, I agree that Jesus would treat people with love but notice his words “Go now and sin no more.”
God loves people but He hates sin so like God Christians should love these people but we still can not condone the sin.
When Jesus took our sins on Himself when He was crucified, God could not look at Him, thus Jesus asked why have You forsaken Me. God still loved Jesus but the sin separated Them. Afterward God restored Jesus to glory why…No Sin.
Christians should learn that we can’t change people minds we need to change their hearts through the Holy Spirit. We can’t change the world to suite us so that we can live comfortably…its not our home…Heaven is. Protesting and marching is what Judas thought Jesus was here to do.
“Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36
WOW! the same should be said for all sins. like racism, obesity, classism- all of which are prevalent in the church. it’s too dangerous to make generalizations. thoughts like that push people away from god, and that is dangerous. i just recall stories of people who are searching, but have second thoughts about our god because of the hurt the received from our people. it’s difficult to maintain balance (we need to find it).
Mario,
Thanks for contributing to the discussion.
In my modest opinion, I think Jesus demonstrated the difficulty in living out that “love the sinner, hate the sin” philosophy when he dealt with the stoning of the adulterous woman. It is extremely difficult for human beings to separate the person from his/her actions — we end up throwing stones “in love”.
We could spend our lifetimes crusading against other people’s sins. But then, our churches would be empty.
My personal conviction is that when we stand before the Throne of Christ, he will be less concerned with our judging abilities than with how we actually treated one another.
As he said, “With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” That’s why I think Love and Mercy should be our only responses. ‘Cause I’m gonna need alot of them.
whew! i usually feel alone in this stance. thank you for writing this. i feel encouraged when i read that there are people who think outside of the box (tradition, norms, rules) and see how much more complex and beautiful God is.
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It was great! And it wasn’t hostile to the faith community (at least, not here in Houston). Good times. And hope for progress on this issue in the future.
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I appreciate your articulations. Cliche or not, what would Jesus do is a fascinating question. I think sometimes those of us who dwell in the faith (some of us not as much as others!), need to stop believing we must agree on all issues. I think as a subculture we need to do much more thinking, pondering, processing, contemplating, and meditating and much less slurring.
I agree that there are many wounded by this decisions. I speak from personal experience when I say that there are many who have felt unwelcomed, unwanted, and rejected by the church — and therefore God — because of differing views. By making sweeping generalizations some of “God’s people” are assisting the opposition by pushing folks further away and enforcing the white-bearded-pointed-fingered-judgemental-curmudgeon-in-the-sky.
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and it’s dangerous when we push people away from god, what ever their sin/lifestyle/belief.
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define “hate” in this context
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Rita, I didn’t talk about hate at all. I believe the opposing positions are honest, sincere disagreements in perspective, not necessarily rooted in hate. I used the photo only as a colorful graphic for the Note, and because it was an icon used by the protest movement. (Perhaps I should have chosen another.)
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How many of us Christians are “throwing” stones but we ourselves don’t repent of our sins?
i like the icon steve. it will ruffle feathers, but when they begin to read, then they will get it. but it’s funny to see how people begin to judge just by the picture. it’s a lesson to learn!!!!
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It’s always confusing when people say that they are acting in the name of the Lord, yet they ignore what Jesus had tried to teach. Did he not say; “judge not, lest ye be judged.” Still people sit in constant judgment of who or what is right or wrong. It is refreshing to see that not everyone is that way.
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remember bros and sistahs. we are open letters for the world to read. one day someone will be searching for God, and they will remember us by our actions. would you like to turn to a religion that shows disdain and disgust towards you? we can quote all we want, but it’s much more complicated than that. the challenge is to find a balance.
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That’s great stuff, man! Great stuff indeed. A discussion that’s very interesting to me. I don’t intend anything I say to be offensive to anyone, I usually stay out of discussions like these out of that apprehension. But I will weigh-in, those days are changing. I hope you don’t mind…
What would he do indeed? He lived in a time just as corrupt as this one, something about things being common, Romans were a pretty culturally bankrupt people. I’m sure there was much mention of boy-lovers in those days. So, you can read what he would do, I think that he would do now what he did then. From what comes to mind I think that as far as he got into it was usually just to say not to do it… Then he would focus on what was truly important. Which is to spread a fertilizer over all, rather than manually tend only one area.
You chose some great passages for representation of the issue. I particularly enjoy the last one, the reference to all of us being accepted by God. I wish it would be interesting to the protesters, that both they are accepted by God and those they protest against. Interesting because they’re sinners completely focused on other sinners when the ideal would be for sinners to be focused on God.
I believe that’s what God wants first, our focus on him. It especially comes before protest of social issues which can become idols of the heart. With life in general it’s very easy to get caught up in things that aren’t important to us, or focusing on unimportant issues of something very important to us. That’s why forgiveness exists… I know that’s why it exists for me!
I can just see my pastor explaining to me all of the reasons why staying with your ministry trumps going cross-country to dispute social issues as a mob. Partnering spiritually with un-spiritual people who have in mind not edification, but social agendas. It would share the same argument as being equally yoked for a married couple.
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Anthony, I like what you say about being open letters to the world. We are indeed. How many times do people judge Christianity — and reject a relationship with Jesus — because of how they’ve been treated by Christians, by church-people. We are instructed to let our light so shine that men will see our good works and glority our Father in Heaven. And, sadly, we have been dismal failures.
Hey David, thanks for chiming in. Like you, I’m not much on the Church becoming activist and trying to be a driving force in society. As individuals and citizens, we have the duty to vote our consciences, even protest if necessary. Hey, our Founding Fathers fought a war for what they believed. But it wasn’t a “church action”. As others have pointed out, Jesus did say that his Kingdom was not of this world. If it had been, he would have set up his throne in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, and we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
Our roles as citizens of a democracy aside, as Believers our job is shine. To show love. To show mercy where it is not deserved, and compassion even when we disapprove. In a word, to be like our Father who is kind even to ungrateful and evil men.
David, you mentioned “I’m sure there was much mention of boy-lovers in those days. So, you can read what he would do, I think that he would do now what he did then.”
This may be opening another can of worms here, but some theologians argue that Jesus did indeed encounter same-sex relationships in his day. Some think his references to eunuchs refers (at least partly) to them. Perhaps; but I’m not completely convinced. Then there’s the reference to the Centurion who came to Jesus to ask for his slave’s healing. That word “pais” which we translate “slave” or “servant” literally means “boy”, and was used commonly to refer both to slaves and to younger male lovers. (Uh oh; I can feel the resistance rising.) I’m making no assertions here. Simply stating that it is possible — perhaps even likely, considering Roman occupation of Judea — that this was not unfamiliar to Jesus who lived among Gentiles. (Ever heard the phrase “Galilee of the Gentiles”?) But regardless of whether the biblical evidence is convincing or not, Jesus makes no reference to it, and heals the Centurion’s slave because of the man’s faith and hisown compassion. And whether we approve or not, THAT’S how we should respond as well: compassionately.
So to gay and lesbian men and women out there who, like the Centurion, place their faith in Jesus, just know that He loves you, He accepts you and will never reject you — regardless of what society (or even church-people) think about it.
well put steve. thank you for an encouraging post.
PS: as i look back on my trip to rome, jesus would have most def have encountered homosexual activity, since many of the artifacts that i saw that had older men and younger men as lovers came from the same time period jesus walked on earth. remember, nothing is new under the sun (except for maybe iphones and twitter).
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No no Steve, no can of worms for me, maybe others, but not me. That was exactly the point I was driving at! To ask what he would do is fine. But maybe I wasn’t clear, I mean that I know for a fact there were homosexual relationships during his time on Earth. It definitely wasn’t invented in the ’60s… Maybe the man he healed was homosexual, or heterosexual, definitely didn’t matter to Jesus, doesn’t matter to me. I think it’s my place to simply show love to the many different shaped and colored people in this world, not to marginalize! I myself am oddly shaped in my own ways…
Yes, we are responsible to the world in-so-far as to advocate for ‘right and wrong’. The point I was expressing is that it is negative to what would be a spiritual goal to stand next to the people expressing social and cultural goals. To partner with someone in an objective who desires a much different intention and outcome. That if it truly were a spiritual objective it would need to be done completely in that spirit, not polluted by any sign-waving hate-mongers. Not to say that they all are hate-mongers, but I use that for reference, because there are hate-mongers in that crowd. All any observer could see is the negative in you when you mix your goals with them, I’m suggesting the imprudence of that.
Speaking of goals, what’s important is like you said, that He loves (us).
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This is SO on the mark! And just a comment on your statement, “I’m breaking my own rule here in discussing social or political topics. The mission of Cafe Inspirado is to encourage people and bring them into a more fulfilling life with God.” That you addressed this subject as you did, in fact, DOES contribute to bringing others to a more fulfilling life with God!
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