Sermon for 4th Pentecost
Love Endures
By The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer -
Anniversaries are markers, dates to remember in our lives. Often they are positive memories – a wedding anniversary or a birthday or a high school or college graduation, for example. This past week marked the 44th anniversary of my ordination as a Lutheran pastor, a happy reflection for me, although sobered by the fact that of the nine of us who were ordained together 44 years ago, at least three have died.
Then there are those other dates that stick in our minds. If I say “911” most of you will not think of the telephone number to call for help, but of that infamous date when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C. Those of us who are older can remember where we were when we heard the news of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, or when Martin Luther King Jr. or Robert Kennedy were shot. Many will now remember where they were when they first heard of Kobe Bryant’s death this past January. Other sadder, more personal, anniversaries are the dates when loved ones left us, like our Mt. Olive member Miriam Rogers who died this past week.
Two weeks ago at worship we marked the 5th anniversary of the “Emanuel Nine,” those nine fellow Christians who were gunned down while at Bible study at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina, gunned down by a young White Supremacist man. A sad anniversary, to be sure, but one that must be remembered as we work to eliminate White Supremacy and racism from our land.
There was another anniversary earlier this month, the 4th anniversary of the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the killing of 49 innocents by a shooter determined to kill gay and lesbian people. At that time it was the largest mass shooting in US history. I am sad to say that that marker was eclipsed in 2017 by the mass shooting of 58 in Las Vegas.
I well remember the sermon I shared the week after the Pulse shooting. I reflected on the vigil that had occurred that past week on the steps of the Santa Monica City Hall during which we read the names of all those who had perished in that shooting, and during which our good friend Pastor Jim Boline of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Santa Monica spoke for us all when he read from 1st Corinthians 13, “love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
I was angry when I preached that day. I spoke of the need to ban assault weapons and enact other sensible gun regulations. I spoke of how I was “done” with leading moments of silent prayer after mass shootings.
And I spoke of how I was “done” with the church’s and society’s treatment of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.
As I shared with you that day, I was one of the many who worked to for, and rejoiced when, our Lutheran church took action in 2009 to open the way for the open ordination of gay and lesbian pastors in our church. That action led to the ordination of a pastor who soon afterwards became our synod bishop, the Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin who, when he was elected our bishop seven years ago, was the first openly gay Lutheran bishop in North America. Another important anniversary and marker in our church’s history.
Shortly after the Pulse mass shooting, Mt. Olive hosted "Love Orlando, Music Heals" a benefit concert here at Mt. Olive to raise funds for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Central Florida. We even had to turn away some well-known professional musicians who wanted to be part of that very successful effort. It was something positive we could do in the face of so much evil.
But, my friends, as current events have shown us so well, we still have such a long way to go to become a society, a church, which is not racist or homophobic.
Make no mistake – God is very clear on this. No matter who we are – gay or straight or transgender; no matter what faith we hold dear – Christianity, Judaism, Islam or even no faith at all; no matter what race we are – Black, White, Brown; no matter who we are, God loves and accepts us. We are all God’s children. No exceptions. No loopholes.
For years, our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters have been condemned by some so-called Christians who use what I call the “clobber texts” in the bible to justify their hate. They even sometimes say that they “love the sinner but hate the sin.” Think about how hateful those words really are.
And, they do this despite the fact that the word homosexuality does not appear anywhere in the Bible. In Bible times there was no word in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek for "homosexual" or "homosexuality."
One of the central “clobber” texts has been the story of Sodom and Gomorrah from the book of Genesis, with the claim that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God because of “abominable things” that happened there and that these abominable things involved homosexual relationships. This is a gross misinterpretation of this text. Later in Ezekiel, the prophet, speaking for God, makes it clear that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their lack of hospitality to strangers, more specifically that they were wealthy and did not aid the poor and needy!
That certainly redefines the word “sodomy,” doesn’t it?
I could go through each of the other of these “clobber texts” used against homosexuals, but the results would be similar. Except for the book of Leviticus, where some same-sex relationships appear to be forbidden, every other example pulled from these texts is taken way out of context and not related to homosexuality as we know it today. And, if you have studied the book of Leviticus at all, you know that the use of many of its rules, which may have been helpful in Old Testament times, many of the rules of Leviticus make no sense today and are even dangerous and evil by today’s standards.
Homosexual relationships are not condemned by God. Heterosexual relationships are not condemned by God. Both are affirmed, they are blessed, by God. God wants people to be in relationship with each other. God loves and welcomes all into God’s kingdom.
Jesus says it clearly in today’s Gospel lesson – if you welcome someone, if you welcome anyone, you are welcoming Jesus, you are welcoming God.
And, Jesus does not say we are to welcome only some people. Jesus calls us to welcome, to value, everyone.
Every human being shares in the image of God and therefore shares the same dignity without regard to racial or ethnic distinction, family status, age, economic status, gender, sexual orientation, or differing abilities. Period.
As St. Paul says in 1st Corinthians 13, “Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Shortly after the Pulse nightclub shootings, playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, accepting the 2016 Tony Award for his play, Hamilton, Miranda read from a poem he had written following these shootings. Miranda said, in part, “Love is love is love is love is love is love is love” and noted that such love “cannot be killed or swept aside”.
God’s love for us cannot be killed or swept aside. In all of our relationships let us all exemplify this love.
Amen
The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer
Senior Pastor - Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
Sermon for:
June 28, 2020
