tuesday reflection for week 5

At one point in time, two women fell in love. Not the kind of sisterly love, but they became the kind of lovers that most people picture between a man and a woman. People in our society would label these women either "gay" or "lesbian." Both women were ostracized in their city for being lesbians. They were even mistreated by many of the churches in town where the pastors and people talked about love, grace, and forgiveness that goes beyond all boundaries. As these two women became closer and closer, they decided that they wanted to fully commitment to each other. They wanted to get married. They were denied by church after church and pastor after pastor. Truly, I say to you that in the kingdom of God these two women will be able to fully express their love and commitment to one another without being ostracized.

If Jesus were alive today, would this be the kind of thing that he would be saying to us? I never realized that Jesus' message was so controversial and revolutionary to the people in Israel. He came as a prophet teaching stories in which the outcome of the story is opposite of what was expected. He came as a political revolutionist, a prophet, riding on a donkey, a symbol for peace not war, preaching about a new kingdom in which the poor and weak prevail. He came redeeming ties between the poor and the rich, subverting the table fellowship laws, and the sanctification laws of the Temple. He completely flipped the world view of the Israelites upside down.

The story that began this blog was hard for me to write because I do not agree with the lifestyle of the people in the story. However, this is the kind of story that would be turning the heads of religious leaders everywhere if a long awaited messiah came preaching it. We would label this messiah heretical. I am not trying to argue that Jesus would tell such a story to us today. He might tell it or he might not. However, I do know he used the language and concepts of the time in order to get his message across. What kind of language would Jesus use today? Would he talk about environmental problems? Would he talk against corporate power? Would he speak against our beloved president? Would he talk about homosexuals? I do not know for sure, but the chances of these topics and others coming up in his teachings are pretty high.