Queer Sheep: Square One to Square Forty-Four

“Queer Sheep: Square One to Square Forty-Four”

Sermon for MCC New Haven

September 15, 2013

Rev. Brian Hutchison, M.Div.

Luke 15:1-10

         Rev. Elder Freda Smith was the first woman ordained in Metropolitan Community Churches in 1971. She was also the first female Elder in MCC and was Vice Moderator of MCC for decades. Freda Smith is significant to MCC’s history because she brought feminism to a male-led denomination. She insisted that our bylaws were fully inclusive of women. She also insisted that gender-inclusive language is used throughout our churches. So since 1981, MCC has had a policy of Inclusive Language, which has expanded to also include issues of racism, classism, ablism, and more.

         I mention Rev. Elder Freda today because the gospel reading today from Luke is one of her favorites. She has a famous sermon she preaches around the world called, “Purple Grass.” In that sermon, Freda imagines a flock of sheep. They are good sheep. They generally listen to the shepherd and go where he leads. They bleat their prayers before counting shepherds at night. But in that flock was one sheep that did not like to graze the way the other sheep did. The other sheep liked to eat green grass, while this sheep preferred purple grass. She had tried eating green grass but just didn’t like it. But purple grass- now that she found delicious! She would search the whole pasture just to find patches of purple grass to eat. The other sheep found this odd. They would bleat at her angrily for not liking the same grass as them. “Baaaaad!” This discouraged the poor little sheep. She knew she was different but didn’t know why there was anything wrong with that.

         One day, the flock bleated so angrily at the sheep that enjoyed purple grass that she ran away from the flock. She had been shunned. Cold and alone at night, she feared wolves. She missed her shepherd. She thought to herself, “I bet the shepherd wouldn’t mind if he knew I liked purple grass. I miss him.” Then seemingly out of nowhere, the shepherd appeared, happy to have found his lost sheep. He picked her up, wrapped her around his shoulders and brought her back to the flock.

         When they returned, the shepherd placed her right in the middle of a patch of purple grass. “He knows!” she thought. She happily began to graze away. Seeing how the shepherd had encouraged that peculiar little sheep to eat what she liked, the flock stopped bothering her. Finally, the flock was whole again.

         I didn’t tell this story the same way Freda Smith does. Freda tells it with a special radiance that has made it a well-loved tale. But the moral of the story still rings true for us all these decades later. It still has the power to touch our lives the way it has changed the lives of many over the years.

         I don’t know about you, but I love me some purple grass! I could graze all day, amen?? I first knew that I liked purple grass when I was four years old and I haven’t ever gotten sick of it. I know within the depths of my soul that God is the one who gave me the appetite for purple grass and I am no longer ashamed to eat it every day.

         Jesus asks in the parable from the Gospel of Luke today, “Which one of you having a hundred sheep and losing one wouldn’t have the heart to go looking for the lost one until it is found?” Fundamentalists tend to twist this passage to say that the so-called “sinner” needs to be brought back to the flock to stop sinning. He had wandered away from the straight path. She was on the road to hell. But this is all read into the text. The shepherd doesn’t shame the sheep for leaving. He doesn’t threaten to make her into lamb chops J. What does he do? He rejoices! He throws a party for finding the lost sheep again.

         Though this is commonly called, “The Parable of the Lost Sheep,” we have to remember a very important spiritual truth: we are never truly lost. Remember the words of Psalm 139 (7-12), “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”

         Children of the Omnipresent God, there is nowhere you can go where God is not present for you! You can be in the middle of a natural disaster and God is still there holding you. You can hit rock bottom on drugs or alcohol or overeating and feel like life isn’t worth living anymore, and God is still there trying to breathe life back into you. God sits with those in prison. God plots against those who run the worldwide sex trafficking business. God was in every room of every floor of the twin towers when they collapsed twelve years ago in New York City. And God kissed the wounds of the children in Syria who were victims of chemical warfare.

         I believe the phrase, “Home is where your heart is.” And I also believe with all my heart that God seeks continually to lead us all home. When we sing songs about God leading us home, it’s not just about the afterlife. The Good Shepherd seeks to bring us home to ourselves, to our most authentic and loving selves.

         In the Gospel of John (10:14-16), Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as [Abba] knows me and I know [Abba]. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” In 1992, an international organization called Other Sheep began as a ministry to LGBT people around the world. In addition to MCC’s ministry around the world, Other Sheep has preached the Good News of God’s radically inclusive love to queer folks around the world, even when there wasn’t a faith community like MCC that would take us in.

         Square one of our ministry in 1968 when MCC was founded was to help individuals to accept themselves as children of God just as they are. After that, our mission was to change society to be more accepting. We are still doing that important work. But there are still more “other sheep” who avoid religion like a plague. Two of the largest demographics in the US are “spiritual but not religious” and “spiritual and also religious.” The number of people who have been either shunned from the flock or turned off by the flock’s behavior has risen consistently over the past thirty years. We now find ourselves in a postmodern, post-church world. We are not alone in struggling to attract new people. Our society is just plain tired of being preached at and chooses to stay estranged from the flock.

         You may have noticed that I use the word “queer” a lot. I don’t do it just because I like the word or because I personally identify as such. I know that there is a generation that had this word used against them. But today, if someone called me queer, I would smile and agree!

         In the wider sense of the word as it is used now, queer is not just an easier way of saying LGBT. “Queer” smears the lines between and among these modern categories. It recognizes that people do not fit neatly into boxes, into strict categories. And God is the same way. God cannot be put in a box! Christians have been attempting to seal God into chapels and cathedrals for centuries. But their efforts have never kept God out of the bars, the bathhouses, and the back alleys.

         If we want to be relevant in the 21^st century, we need to break out of the box as a community of faith. We can’t do things “the way they have always been done.” It has been said that the “Last Seven Words of the Church” will be “We have always done it that way.” There are some gems that are worth keeping. And there are some antiques that are worth restoring. But there are is a field of purple grass that God has prepared for our future. That is our dream. But in order for the dream to become a reality, you have to believe it. Will you believe the dream with me? If so, say “Amen!” Amen.

“Never for the sake of peace and quiet deny your convictions.” – Dag Hammarskjold, First Secretary General of the UN

Abundance in the Potter's Hand

“Abundance In The Potter’s Hand”

Sermon for MCC New Haven

September 8, 2013

Rev. Brian Hutchison, M.Div.

Jeremiah 18:1-6

Luke 14:25-33

·      The Potter’s House

o  Come on down with me to the Potter’s House!

o  The Still Small Voice of God calls us to where we should be at any given moment.

o  No matter where we are in the world, God will use the situation to teach us wisdom.

o  We are each vessels in God’s hands. God molds us to be the best we can be. But unlike clay, we have free will. So we can choose to be stubborn. We can throw rocks into our clay. We can dry ourselves up.

o  The best clay for God to work with is flexible, wet, and malleable. How do we stay wet and flexible? We have to dip into the waters of Deep Discipleship.

·      The Cost of Discipleship

o  Jesus warns those who want to follow him that it is not an easy path. It is an anti-empire path. It is an anti-oppression path. It may mean leaving some people behind who do not foster your spiritual growth.

o  In the words of ACIM, we must make the choice of shifting our perception from fear to Love. This process is counter-intuitive. The world teaches us to fear and that love shows weakness. It takes relearning love in order to live it.

o  Jesus does not instruct to “hate” your family. What he meant was that we need to love God above all else, even our own lives, comforts, and opinions. (The Good News Bible got it right.)

o  Following Jesus means also letting go of attachment to belongings. We are not required to sell everything we have and live in poverty. But we are required to be grateful for what we have and to value people over possessions and value God over people.

o  I have seen victims of natural disasters lose everything they own. They are naturally devastated, but they always say the same thing, “I have my loved ones and that’s all that matters.”

o  At the heart of Buddhism is the letting go of attachments. The Buddha said himself, “You only lose what you cling to.”

·      Building for the Future

o  Instead of attaching, Jesus gives us an alternative option: center in the Now and move forward.

o  Jesus gives us the analogy of preparing to build a tower. It’s a very simple metaphor that everyone can understand. You don’t start building until you have first planned out your materials, how much it will cost, etc.

o  We have the same task on our hands. As we look into our future, we cannot just hope for the best. We have to make an intentional decision to invest in our future as a community.

o  Do you realize what a beacon of light this community has been, is now, and can be in the future in New Haven?

o  When we have prepared ourselves to be true disciples, clay in God’s hands, we are ready to be joyful givers…

Faithful Stewardship at MCC New Haven

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Faithful Stewardship 2013/2014

At first glace, you may look at a stewardship campaign and think a number of things: 1) “It must be that time of year again.” 2) “The church must need money.” or 3) “What’s stewardship?” I’ll answer those questions transparently.

First, we do not have a “stewardship season.” Though all members vote on our budget once a year, we continually evaluate how we can be better stewards of the many blessings God has given us. It is always time to be part of the divine cycle of giving and receiving! Remember the words of Luke (6:38) “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back." We give continually, not purchasing an experience or a feeling, but rather in trust that God’s cycle of blessing requires joyful giving.

Secondly, yes, the church does need money. In fact, our weekly offering only covers about a third of our expenses (much less our budget). The rest is taken out of investments to cover expenses, but that can’t last forever. Our Board of Directors has done all it can to trim expenses down to absolute basic needs. Our pastor is only paid part-time though he works full-time. (Remember the words of the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 9:14) “[Jesus] commanded that those who proclaim the Gospel should get their living by the Gospel.” We can currently only afford to pay a pianist to play twice per month. We also require more technology in order to improve our worship experience. We have completely emptied our building fund. The need is indeed great. But don’t panic! God has not given up on us, and we have not finished our calling!

Thirdly, stewardship is the prayerful process of assessing the mission of our individual congregation, looking honestly at what it will cost to live it out, and dedicating together to making the dream happen. Stewardship involves each member and friend of the congregation taking ownership of the church’s purpose by making a covenant together. This covenant involves a promise to give Time, Talent, and Treasure. There is no doubt that the majority of the congregation intends to give in these ways in some form, but making a promise in a tangible way keeps us all accountable to working toward our dream together and making it happen.

Today, you will receive a Pledge Card. One side allows you to update your current basic information so that we can best keep in touch with you (even if you think we already have it). The other side allows you to write down how exactly you plan to fulfill your ministry areas of Time, Talent, and Treasure. Do you dedicate to making it to Sunday services and other church activities as often as possible and on time? What hidden talents do you have that the church could benefit from? How much of your income can you pledge to give in the coming year?

That number can be difficult to figure out. Some of us have been part of churches that have a tradition of tithing. Tithing is a principal from the Hebrew Bible in which God’s people were required to give back ten percent of their earnings in order to ensure that the community was taken care of. For the farmers of the time, that meant ten percent of their crops. Though we do not live in Ancient Israel, the idea of looking at percentage rather than just dollar amount still rings true for us.

Today’s economy has made living difficult for the majority of the U.S. Though the recession started five years ago, we are still feeling it. That factor is fully understood. But also keep in mind that other than small fundraisers, weekly offerings are our only income. We do not receive any other outside funds. We give 12% of our offering every month to our denomination, Metropolitan Community Churches. In return, they provide much-needed programming, training, and support for local churches and they do work around the world spreading God’s message of Unconditional Love. Our denomination requires a tithe from local churches, and the local church strongly encourages percentage giving from members as well.

So we come back to that same question: “What percentage works for me?” We suggest a method for choosing:

1)                    Look at your financial records and see how much you have been giving on average per month.  If you didn’t write it down, do an estimate.

2)                    Take that number and divide it by your monthly take-home pay. You should come up with a decimal. For example, $200 offering divided by $2,000 take-home pay equals “.10”. This means you are giving 10% of your income.

3)                    If the number you came up with has a zero (or several zeros) after the decimal point, you are giving less than one percent of your income.

4)                    Choose a percentage to give:

Percentage	Take-Home Pay	Multiplied By	Equals Offering
1%		.01
2%		.02
3%		.03
4%		.04
5%		.05
6%		.06
7%		.07
8%		.08
9%		.09
10%		.10

            Just seeing the number won’t necessarily tell you what percentage to choose. You may see a number and think, “Wow, I could do a lot with that money!” Yes, that is true. But beyond your basic needs, does the work of sharing the All Inclusive Gospel not deserve a strong portion of the fruits of the labor God has blessed you with the ability to do? Pray about it. Talk to God about it. God will lead you to generosity.

            In Luke’s book, The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 4, verse 32, it says this: “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common” (NRSV). We may not be a Christian commune, but we do believe in taking good care of each other. Sometimes that means bringing someone hot soup when they aren’t well or giving someone a ride to the hospital. Just as importantly, it means giving our “best gift” each Sunday so that there is a place for joyful and inspiring worship for us all to start off the week.

            We must never forget that we are also building a future for those yet to come. Do you remember the first time you heard that you are God’s Beloved: Deeply Loved, Richly Gifted, Highly Favored, and Abundantly Blessed? That great cloud of witnesses that came before you made it so that you can have a faith community to call home. They paid it forward. It is now our time to do the same.

           

Our Financial Goals for 2013/2014

1)                    Every member and friend of the church pledges on a percentage basis.

2)                    We meet and surpass our budget each month.

3)                    We supplement our giving with a monthly fundraiser.

4)                    We raise the Pastor’s salary to full-time over 6 months.

5)                    We provide the Pastor with health insurance.

6)                    We hire a musician to play every Sunday.

7)                    We eventually begin to reimburse our Building Fund.

If we truly mean what we say each Sunday, that we are “Abundantly Blessed,” then we need to live it out. Instead of repeating negative statements like, “We are struggling” or “I don’t know how we are going to survive,” start saying, “We are on the way to thriving!” and “We are living abundance!” and “God really has blessed us!”

Please join our Pastor and Board of Directors in building the future of our beloved community together. If we all give 100% of our lives to God, we will see miracles happen! And always remember: “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7, NRSV).

Laboring for Justice

“Laboring For Justice”

Sermon for MCC New Haven

September 1, 2013

Rev. Brian Hutchison, M.Div.

Hebrews 13:1-16

Luke 14:1-14

This man was a socialist. He was pro-choice. He believed strongly in separation of church and state. He advocated for the poor and worked for economic equality. His right-hand man was an openly gay man. This man is now held up as a hero in our nation. He even has a national holiday named after him. He was named “Michael” at birth but was renamed Martin after the German Protestant Reformer Martin Luther of the 16^th century. This man was Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

         When talking about Dr. King, we wonder what new we can say. I could talk forever about what an American icon he is. I could praise him for his leadership and leave it at that. Instead, I chose to give you the lesser-known facts of his life.

         Dr. King was not a traditionalist. He was leery of traditionalism, especially considering that the traditions he knew came from a nation that had been run exclusively by White men since its founding. Yes, he was a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But I believe he truly understood the subversive nature of the Gospel. King did not seek to use the message of Jesus or the authority of the Bible to rule over anyone, as people have done for two millennia. Instead, King sought to liberate African Americans and other oppressed peoples through his understanding of Christ the Liberator, which is the way of Nonviolent Resistance.

         Yes, his enemies tried to tear him down by calling him a Communist, a homosexual sympathizer, and a false prophet. But King was surrounded by those who heard Truth and readily accepted it. They were hungry for freedom and King spoke eloquently about its arrival.

         When he spoke as the mouth of God from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial 50 years ago this week in 1963 when he was only 34 years old, he proved to all good souls that societal equality is indeed the Economy of God.

         Jesus demonstrated this exact thing in the Gospel reading from Luke we just heard. In this text, Jesus turns society on its head. In other words, Jesus “queers” societal norms. To “queer” something is not to make it homosexual. We all know that’s not possible. In the definition of Queer Theory, to “queer” something is to transcend societal boundaries, to turn injustice on its head. In the Luke text, Jesus is sitting with religious officials whose job was to make sure that the Jewish law was followed to the T. In short, they were extreme legalists. Their intention was good, but their impact was horrible and Jesus knew it. So Jesus did not hesitate setting them right.

         To set the scene, know that in ancient times the dinner table was a sacred thing. There was a specific place at the table for certain people depending on their relationship to the host. You may have had a similar arrangement in your home growing up. “Don’t sit in grandpa’s chair… or else!” But this was much more serious. Everyone invited to the table had to be on the same plane of the social hierarchy; no peasants or disabled people at the table. And in that game, the host held the power to rearrange the seating.

         Jesus stirred things up at that dinner party. He pointed out vocally that some people were taking the better seats first. He instructs them to instead allow the host to invite them to those seats. In an instruction on humility, Jesus tells them to take the lowest place. This is where we hear the famous line that sticks in many of our memories: “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Try using this as a mantra in prayer this week.) This philosophy is not only the opposite of what was assumed in Jesus’ time, but also what is assumed in our time.

         We know the social inequality of our time. I have demonstrated to you before that the top one percent of our citizens owns forty percent of the nation’s wealth and the top twenty percent owns eighty percent of the nation’s wealth. Our capitalist system encourages everyone to strive for as much wealth as we can get. We see some people make it big on TV. They make it out of poverty, so we think we may just be able to break out of the lower classes too. We are told that hard work will pay off. But does it?

         Jesus said, “In my society, no, it doesn’t.” Dr. King said, “In my society, it doesn’t.” That doesn’t mean that we all shouldn’t work hard and take care of our own. What it does mean is that the system is still unjust and has been unjust for far too long. Fast food workers have been on strike around the nation for weeks now demanding higher pay because they can’t afford to feed their families; even with the very food they serve. Farm workers across the country (the vast majority Mexican immigrants) make minimum wage doing backbreaking work that the vast majority of Americans wouldn’t dare to try. I don’t know anyone who would take minimum wage to pick and carry hundreds of pounds of oranges a day. And when a living wage is demanded, billionaire CEOs make the excuse that they could not afford to pay a penny more. The reality is that they could double every worker’s pay and barely feel the change. (The figure I heard most recently was 2% of profits.)

         Today is known as Labor Sunday, the day before Labor Day. Since 1894, Labor Day has been observed as a day of gratitude for workers. It’s a terrible irony that many workers will still return to work tomorrow while others vacation.

         Jesus would be raising hell over this kind of abuse. Dr. King did raise hell in his time over this kind of abuse. The March on Washington in 1963 was called “The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” Jobs were a monumental struggle for lower class folks and especially people of color in King’s time and in some ways that has not changed in fifty years. President Obama spoke from the same spot at the Lincoln Memorial King did fifty years ago this past week. He made this powerful statement, “To secure the gains this country has made requires constant vigilance, not complacency. Whether it's by challenging those who erect new barriers to the vote or ensuring that the scales of justice work equally for all in the criminal justice system and not simply a pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails -- it requires vigilance.”

         I do not attribute individual wrongdoing to the gross number of African Americans in prison today. Individual wrongdoing has been fueled since the moment African feet touched American soil by intentional social inequality. I hear from some bigots statements such as, “The Blacks are ruining this country. Why can’t they get their lives together?” The answer is plain and simple. Social inequality has never disappeared. Wages have never been made equal. Rights have never been fully upheld. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has not been fulfilled in this time and place.

         Jesus tells us in a bold instruction who should be invited to the table: the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. In other words, the most marginalized of society. God’s table is not a country club where the few are invited and the rest are locked out. The table of God is open to all who are willing to be humble and accept that ultimately, God is the only one in control. In fear, we scramble for control over each other, but in due time, we are all dust. (Donald Trump will ultimately be a pile of dust with a toupee :) ).

         The New Testament Book of Hebrews has the same message. I have always been intrigued by the second verse of Hebrews 13: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Do we welcome each new person here as if she were an angel sent by God? A homeless angel? A transgender angel? A physically disabled angel? A mentally disabled angel? God forbid, a heterosexual angel??

         Equality has not been attained in our government. That is a fact, not an opinion. The fact that the Supreme Court repealed part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 just weeks ago proves that there is much work for our legislators to do. It is our job as citizens of this country and as followers of the prophetic Jesus of Nazareth to pressure them to fight for full equality… But equality also starts at the grass roots.

         The Holy Spirit asks your heart today, “Who are you not inviting to the table of MCC New Haven because of your own prejudices or fears?” That’s some tough love, I know. But the Holy Ghost doesn’t mess around! She has been wrestling with humanity for millennia to fulfill God’s vision of a Commonwealth where all are cared for and shown their sacred value and immeasurable worth.

The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you;” (Like Dr. King) “consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” What does it mean for us to imitate Dr. King’s faith today? I think President Obama answered that question in his speech this past week. He said, “Because they marched, America became more free and more fair, not just for African-Americans but for women and Latinos, Asians and Native Americans, for Catholics, Jews and Muslims, for gays, for Americans with disabilities. America changed for you and for me.”

We are called to march each and every day. Marching is about showing your authentic self wherever you can. Those who filled the National Mall on that day in 1963 truly believed in equality and showed it in broad daylight. They had burned down the closet holding racial equality. The same can be said of those who marched in early gay pride parades. They burned down the closet of LGBT equality. Can you do the same? Will you be a Christian just in church on Sundays or will you be a Christian at work, at school, and on the street?

Prophets rarely give comforting words. Instead, they give us tough love in the form of challenges. We have a holy challenge on our hands to embody in this community. But I will remind you of this encouragement from Dr. King: “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” (Here’s another mantra for your prayer life.) May justice and peace come to our people, to the people of Syria, to the people of Russia, and to the whole world “soon and very soon” as we see the Commonwealth of God unfold before our eyes. Amen.