I speak in the name of God: Our most holy, glorious and undivided Trinity. 

 

Happy Pride!  It is hard to believe that this is The Beloved Community’s second Pride Sunday.  In some ways it feels as if we just started gathering together as a community, but in reality we are well into our second year.  And, as we’ve formed this community, we’ve begun to learn what it means to be God’s Beloved.  Sadly, some of us are here because we’ve also experienced churches and theologies that taught us that we are anything but beloved.  We’ve been told that others are “in” and we are “out.”  Or, we’ve been told that to stay “in” we have to follow certain rules, believe what we’ve been told to believe, not ask questions, and to be like everyone else.  And for some of us, the message we received was that in coming out and living into the fullness of who God created us to be, we are worthy of damnation.  I certainly heard that one. 

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Our reading from Luke today tells us that those harmful messages of exclusion and judgement are anything but the truth.  In our reading we find Jesus on a journey to Jerusalem as he approaches a Samaritan village.  He sends messengers ahead of him to request a place to rest, but that request is denied.  Now, it would be easy to assume the Samaritans are the bad ones in an “us versus them” reading of this passage.  But that’s simply not the case because in Christ there is no us or them.  The truth is that we are all God’s beloved.  But, when the messengers report back to Jesus, James and John ask, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"  In other words, those people didn’t let us enter their village.  They aren’t doing what we want them to do.  So, can we kill everyone there?  Of course, Jesus rebukes them and goes on to another village.  

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As you are aware there was division between the Samaritans and those who worshiped in Jerusalem.  Both groups worshipped God, but had differing theologies and practices of worship.  But, it was those who felt they knew God more intimately, those who followed the law, and those who had intimate knowledge of Jesus because they travelled with him who believed that their closeness with God allowed them to enact violence in the name of God onto those who did not fall in line and do what was expected of them.  And Jesus, God incarnate, rebuked them.  Jesus, the one who would ultimately suffer violence and death as the highest act of love, tells them that they are wrong to suggest violence against the other.  

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Simply put, it was those who wanted to use God’s name for power that were rebuked, while Jesus protected those who simply named a boundary and worshipped differently.  I’m sure you can easily draw the connection to our current political reality.  We live in a time when those in power are using the name of Jesus to enact violence on the stranger, the weak, the unfortunate, and anyone they consider the “other.”  And this is taking a toll on many, but especially queer youth.  

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According to the latest research from the Trevor Project regarding queer youth ages 13-24 in North Carolina- 

• 41% of young queer people in our state seriously considered suicide in the past yer, including 47% of transgender and nonbinary young people 

• 12% of young queer people in NC attempted suicide in the past year, 15% for trangender and nonbinary young people

• 51% wanted mental health care but did not receive it, most often out of fear of self-identifying

• 23% reported being physically harmed in the past year for sexual orientation or gender identity

• 63% reported discrimination based on identity and orientation

• And most frightening, every 45 seconds a queer youth attempts suicide in this country
   

Research tells us that to lower the rate of suicide among queer youth we need to focus on three things.  First, we need to create safe and affirming spaces for queer youth.  Second, we need to use every tool at our disposal, including our voices, to rebuke the threats of violence against queer youth. Finally, we must ensure that every young queer person knows that they are loved, and I’ll add, to know that they are God’s Beloved.  But, in so many ways, that’s not what’s happening.  Instead, the current administration has proposed eliminating suicide hotline services for queer youth.  This hotline received more than 1.3 million contacts since it started in 2022.  I fear what will happen when this hotline is taken away.  And just this week, the supreme court sided with those who use their faith to justify removing representation of queerness from classrooms and libraries, rendering those spaces even more unsafe for queer youth.  Worse still, the court recently upheld a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for minors, specifically puberty blockers and hormone therapy, which we know are life saving medications.    

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Sadly, all we have to do is turn on the news to know that someone is sending down fire from on high and harming our queer youth.  And, I can tell you that that fire is not coming from heaven or from the God who died on the cross to show us all how much we are loved.  We live in a country of James and Johns who believe that their understanding of God allows them to judge, punish, and physically harm others because this is what Christian Nationalism teaches them to believe.  And, Jesus is saying NO!  Jesus continues to rebuke those who use God’s name to enact violence!!  And Jesus is asking us to do the same.

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Jesus is asking us to pick up the tools of liberation and to plow fields that are sewn with seeds of hope and love and to continue to move forward and not look back until every queer child, everyone on a journey of gender transition, everyone who is lonely, everyone who is unhoused, everyone who is living fear, everyone facing violence, everyone othered due to race, gender, sexual orientation, or any other minority identity…until everyone…everyone, knows that they are God’s Beloved! 

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Jesus is inviting us to the work of becoming God’s Beloved Community.  And we certainly have work to do.  But don’t worry, on this journey Jesus is still leading the way.  Even when the James and Johns threaten us with fire from above, we, this Beloved Community, are going to continue to walk with Jesus.  We are going to pray for our enemies.  We are going to keep moving forward.  And we are going to keep letting everyone know that we are ALL God’s Beloved, even the James and Johns.  And, as our baptismal covenant reminds us, we are going to do this “with God’s help.”  So Beloved Community, grab your plow or whatever tool of liberation God has given you to use, set your eyes on the Kingdom of God, and don’t look back until everyone rests in the assurance of peace and love that God desires for God’s Beloved!  Because at the heart of it, that is what Pride is all about. Amen!! 

 

Sunday, June 29, 2025
The Beloved Community at The Trees

Pride Sunday

Rev. Phillip Bass