The Left-Handed Lactose-Intolerant People’s Bible

February 22, 2008

At some undetermined moment in history, slightly after the ink dried on the first run edition of Johann Gutenberg’s Bible and before last Tuesday, it was decided that every focus group needed their own translation of the Bible. I’m inclined to believe this has a little less to do with providing tools for the spiritual formation of the complex diversity of humanity and more about increased revenue through target marketing by large Christian publication houses but then I might feel different after I reach the bottom of my coffee cup. Cynicism aside, but within easy reach, stroll through a Christian bookstore sometime and check it out for yourself. There are Bibles for men, women, children, teens, tweens, college students, families, soldiers and firemen, moms and couples, 12-steppers, and then there’s my personal favorite, The One Minute Pocket Bible for the Business Professional. Nothing says it’s going to be a great day in the world of corporate mergers like starting your morning with 60 seconds of Bible reading and reflection. I hear a companion book called “Half Minute Prayer and Meditation for Executives” in the works. I can hardly wait.

This far-reaching hodgepodge of Bibles speaks to our deep desire as humans for its stories and words to relate to us in the place where we live and as the people we are, whether we’re addicts in recovery, carpool-weary moms or university undergraduates. This yearning is magnified for those who are told that not only is a positive word of their kind non-existent in the Bible but that within it’s pages only condemnation and rejection of their unique identity is to be found. Additionally there appears on first read or sixtieth to be no LGBTQ people in the Biblical narrative and the Gospel accounts lack any mention of homosexuality by Jesus or show him encountering any LGBTQ people in his ministry. For these reasons and others, many queer folk shy aware from thinking the Bible has anything to do with them or can ever speak to their lives and struggles. In this belief, the Scriptures as the Word of God are words only for heterosexuals. No others need apply.

But here’s the question. If you as an LGBTQ Christian can’t find meaning in the Scriptures for your own life then who will you empower to tell you what its words mean to you? Who will be the person you entrust to decide whether or not your story is found within its pages?

One of the greatest obstacles to our faith as GLBT Christians is forgetting what we know. Or at least what we once knew before we knew we were gay. Before we knew of our sexual orientation we knew God loved us and we knew who we were in Christ. We heard it from our parents, and learned it from our Sunday School teachers and church camp leaders. We memorized verses that affirmed God’s love for us. We sang hymns, choruses, and praise music that were filled with messages of the love of God for the human race in general and for each of us in particular. You. Me. Us.

For those struggling to reconcile their faith and sexuality I encourage you to remember who you are (Romans 8:15, Ephesians 2:8-10, Hebrews 10:10, I John 3:1, Galatians 4:7, Ephesians 1:4-5), how much you’re loved (Psalm 139:14-17, Romans 8:31-39), and for what you were created (Ephesians 5:1-2, Philippians 2:1-5, Micah 6:8, Colossians 2:6-7). Don’t give anyone else the power to tell you who you are in Christ and just how deep the love of God is for you. And if you think your story isn’t in the Bible, if you can’t hear your voice within its pages, then find it again because as LGBTQ people:

• We are the children of Israel seeking freedom from the bondage of oppression
• We are Lazarus called by Jesus to come out into new life
• We are Jeremiah speaking the truth of God in love though we are ridiculed and mocked
• We are Esther stepping out in courage to declare who we are so that others might be saved from future suffering
• We are Jacob wrestling with God through the night and holding onto to our faith and our God
• We are the beloved Disciple, placing our head on the shoulder of Jesus to seek a moment of intimacy and closeness with the one we love above all others.

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Posted in Christian Lesbian Identity, Love and Grace, The Bible and Homosexuality