It saddens me to think of so many people in America are waking up this morning wondering if rights they have been afforded by previous Supreme Court decisions are now at risk. Our LGBTQ neighbors have fought for so many rights I have without even asking. In fact only this past summer was it confirmed that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 afforded LGBTQ people the protections against discrimination in the workplace that I have had as a woman since the bill was passed. And today the rights of LGBTQ people are threatened by the power grab to fill the Supreme Court position less that 2 weeks before the election.
Under the guise of religion, certain people want to deny LBGTQ citizens rights to marry or receive health care or not face workplace discrimination. Isn’t that the same mentality that was used to deny rights to our black neighbors? The same mentality that made it OK to force them to sit at the back of the bus or drink from different water fountains? Isn’t that the same mentality that denied women like me rights automatically afforded to white men? I say religion because this attitude isn’t Christian. Jesus is no where in the effort to deny basic human rights to LBGTQ people or anyone else for that matter.
All too often the Bible is used as a weapon. Men have read it and then created rules for us to live by based on interpretation. When someone doesn’t comply, they are condemned. Jesus was unencumbered by the religious rules of His day, however. The best example is His repeated challenges to the religious leaders regarding healing on the Sabbath. In dealing with a man with a withered hand in the synagogue, Jesus confronts the Pharisees. “Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or kill?’ But they remain silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched out his hand and it was completely restored.” Mark 3:4-5 NIV What was the response of the religious leaders every time? They started looking for ways to kill Jesus so they might preserve their power and their way of viewing the world.
So here we are more than 2000 years later and religious leaders of our day are seeking ways that they might preserve their power despite the consequences to other people. “Do good or do evil?” I can’t help but wonder what Jesus would say today. Would he look around in anger and be deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts? This issue is divisive even in the Global United Methodist Church of which I am a member. It is expected that the Church will split in part due to how LGBTQ members are allowed to connect within the church. And I don’t imagine it will be an amicable. How sad is that?
All of this comes down to the rules created by men under the guise of religion that ultimately separate people from God. That is not the way of Jesus. Jesus desired to bring people to Him, not keep them away from Him. I pray that I continue to see people thru the lens of Jesus, unencumbered by the religious laws of today.
Discovering Grace 