I always love the irony of this collect for Proper 16 in the dog days of August that the church, gathered in unity by the Holy Spirit, might show forth power among all peoples. Of course, this is one of the three times of the year (the others being Christmas and Easter) when everybody is “on vacation” and “unavailable” to actually be “part” of the church. What a dingbat organization …. (to borrow a phrase from Archie Bunker).
In the Gospel story—this is this great story where Jesus tells Simon his name is now going to be “Rocky”—and the whole lesson is full of word-play about rocks and rocky; it is in this lesson that we learn about the church for the first time. The church is not an organization, and it is not a building, and it is not a foundation; for Jesus, the “church” is the body of Christ, all of the witnesses of resurrection, those who saw and believed, and those who did not see and believed. For, that is indeed how belief works.
As a professor and a scientist I get asked all the time how I could possibly also be a priest. People in academic life think Christianity is some sort of magical sect, and Christians think academics are to be respected but usually full of plentiful waste matter, intellectually-speaking. The truth is, that the truth is, that the truth encompasses both and to understand the truth takes a bit of each. God is, and those of us who know that God is, know it because God has made it known to us. But that does not mean that we know who God is or where God is or what or how God is, all we know, is that God is. And as a scientist, it is perfectly sacrosanct to say, “I know A,” but therefore I do not yet know B or C or anything else that might follow. And that is how it is to be a Christian.
We know that God is, because God has spoken to us in some way that has convinced us that we are part of God’s kingdom. And we know that Jesus is God made human, not just because the scripture says that, but because we also have walked in the shoes Jesus made for us to walk in. And we have felt him lift us up into the boat when we tried to walk on water. And we have understood his gentle chiding when we have messed up, like Peter does. And we know that Jesus knows us intimately, indeed as he knows Peter, and calls him Rock and Rocky in the same breath.
Maybe the interesting surprise for gay and lesbian Christians is that there is no surprise for gay and lesbian Christians. God made us in God’s image, and Jesus walks with us, and Jesus cracks jokes with us, just as easily as we call each other by camp names. That is the level of intimacy with our creator that all of us are given in the instant of our creation. We can choose to be friends, or we can choose to be strangers. That part is up to us.
Paul says to the Romans to present our bodies as a spiritual sacrifice. I want you to think about that. I don’t want you to think Paul means after your diet or after you have worked out for a year. Paul means right now, lumpy and fat and old and whatever else your body looks like (if you’re young and vibrant go with “ripped” or “busty” or whatever else works for you). That is the “you” that God has created. And Paul is reminding you that this body is a spiritual sacrifice, living, holy, acceptable to God, and that using your body is spiritual worship. What could be “gayer”?
Finally Paul reminds us that we all have different abilities (“gifts” he says). Of course we do. Give of your gifts freely. That is what it means to be alive. And live fully into the “rock” Jesus has made of you.
Proper 16 (Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16: 13-20)
©2011 The Rev. Dr. Richard P. Smiraglia. All rights reserved.
Dimensions of Reality: glbt Christian spirituality 