Biblical Passages:
Deuteronomy 23:1
1“No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall come into the assembly of the Lord.
Isaiah 56:3–5
3 Do not let the foreigner who joins the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people,” and do not let the eunuch say, “I am just a dry tree.” 4 For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, 5 I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.
Reflection
There continues to be so many faith traditions that find reason to excommunicate and ostracise gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and intersexed people based on a small number of obscure Old Testament passages. Is this truly what God desires?
There are certain verses in the earliest books of the Old Testament, such as Deuteronomy 23:1, which states, “No man with crushed or severed genitals may enter the assembly of the Lord.” In today’s world, legalistic people who want to excommunicate and exclude others can then cherry-pick this verse out of context and declare that transwomen who undergo gender affirming surgery, intersex people born with genital birth defects, and even men who may need surgery on their body parts for medical reasons cannot enter into a relationship with God.
But even later in the Old Testament and certainly throughout the New Testament, the paradigm shifted to one of inclusion. Isaiah 56:3-5 states:
3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” 4 For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, 5 I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.
Throughout the New Testament, Jesus continued to minister to the downtrodden in society, while pointing out the hypocrisy of those in power who spent much of their time condemning and excluding others.
I remember back in my own life, I was a member of a Southern Baptist Church while dealing with coming out to myself as gay. Even though I had heard from many church leaders that homosexuality was up there on the list of most egregious sins along with murder and theft, I did not inwardly feel the spirit of God condemning me for who I was. The church called a membership meeting to actually vote me out of membership for “gross immorality,” but fortunately, I found and joined the very inclusive Metropolitan Community Church before my “excommunication vote” was taken.
Let us all rejoice and continue to share the good news that our loving God does not exclude their LGBTQ+ children, but instead, as Isaiah 56:5 states, we will be given a place even better than sons and daughters.
Prayer:
May we rejoice and share with others this message of hope – that God does not exclude, but instead opens their arms wide to include and embrace all their queer children. Amen.
Author: Stan Kimer
About the Author: Stan Kimer is a long-time lay leader with Metropolitan Community Churches, long-time board chair of Other Sheep, and past president of the North Carolina Council of Churches.
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