Many Families

 Three Sundays ago, I preached about being created in God's image and we read the book, "Bodies are Cool!" Bodies come in all shapes and sizes and all reflect the image of God in whom they were created. We can also proclaim that the diversity of our bodies also reflects the diversity of our identities, who we are, AND who we love! As God proclaimed, "Let us create humankind in our image, according to our likeness" we can rest assured that LGBTQA+ persons are also created in the image of God, PERIOD.

Two Sundays ago, I preached about how the different ways the Bible, Jewish religion, and Christian religion have defined SIN since the story of Adam and Eve and how it has changed, been re-interpreted, transformed, and manipulated by certain churches, religious leaders, and nations. With only 7 verses in the Bible that are interpreted to be about homosexuality and how being LGBTQA+ is a sin didn't make into the 10 Commandments or into the Gospels. We can assuredly state that this is not the sin that some try to proclaim it to be today. Sin is not loving our neighbors, not treating people the way you want to be treated, not caring and watching out for those least of these, the vulnerable, the stranger, and the outcast. Being LGBTQA+ is not a sin and is fact a blessed of God's creation.

Last Sunday, preached about love and sex and tried to lay the groundwork that sex is a gift from God to be explored and cherished by persons who love each other. Many of the restrictions or the associations of sinfulness or the evils of lustfulness are not really found in the Bible. If we stop condemning and start nurturing and affirming relationships that are between caring, loving, respectful adults, then we can lose the stigmas and start to celebrate.

Today we talk about families and the diversity of families going back into Genesis. We can see about Abraham and Sarah and Hagar and their diverse family. We can look at Jacob's family, who was renamed Israel, who have 12 boys, the 12 patriarchs and one daughter with his two wives, Rachel and Leah, and their two slaves, Bilhah and Zilpah. We can talk about King David many wives and concubines and King Solomon's 700 wives and 300 concubines. Virginia Ramey Mollenkott a professor, theologian, and author in her book, "Sensuous Spirituality: Out of Fundamentalism" has an appendix that lists 40 different types of families found in the Bible. Many of these families would not be "allowed" in our nation or supported by our culture. But there are families that truly loved and cared for each other, like the family in the Book of Ruth. Where a daughter-in-law willingly leaves her family, her country, and her god to be family for a widow named Naomi and marries a man named Boaz. She does this out of love and becomes the grandmother of King David. 

We go to the Gospel and listen to Jesus define family. Apparently, his family thought his preaching, traveling, healing, and proclaiming a new kindom was a lot too much and were coming to collect him and bring him home. He proclaimed that his mother, sisters, and brothers where not related by blood but by action. Those who do the will of my father are my mothers, brothers, and sisters. The bonds of family are in covenant, love, and care. 

Growing up, many people wondered about my family as my two younger siblings were adopted and African-American. My younger sister met a woman in the community where I served as pastor and she asked, "If you are Enno's brother, what do you call his parents?" My sister replied, "Mom and Dad". "Well, what do they call you?" She replied, "Daughter." This was 10 years ago. Some people believe that Dad and Mom and biological children are the only true family in our world. They are wrong! WE have single-parent families, grandparents raising grandchildren because of the opioid pandemic, blended families, adoptions, families of circumstance, and WE HAVE same-sex couples and their children, and all the variations thereof. No, we shouldn't go back to patriarchal families as in the fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints of 50 years-old men marrying 12 year-old girls. If we have consenting adults who love each other and treat each other well and are willing to join together into a covenant and a family, who are we to stand in the way?

We are all God's children! We all deserve to have a family of love and laughter, care and concern. We don't get perfect families, that is a given.  But I truly hope, truly wish for, and truly will help as I can, as our church can, healthy and whole families that love each other, take care of each other, watch over each other, and know joy and happiness and get through the bad times, the hard times, and when we lose them. No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here.