“Vergogna & Compost”

Christ Episcopal Church

June 16, 2024 – LGBTQ+ Sunday: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen.

For the past three weeks, I have been trying to live into our State nickname – you know, The Garden State. As you know, I live up in Sussex County, where there are farms, cows, sheep, and horses. So, I figured I better do my part. However, the area is filled with Martinsburg Formation, the slate/shale that is all over New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and other parts of the Appalachian Valley (or in my neck of the woods – Kittatinny Valley). So, to plant anything, you need to use a pick axe to dig, and it takes a lot of muscle and time.

Which is why I decided to give the no-dig garden a try. It is where you put cardboard and/or newspaper over the area you want to garden. You water that, and then put a layer of soil/compost. Water that too. Then – you are done! You put in your plants, and BAM! Instant garden. Except, mine is on a slope, so I have lots of that shale to find, load into a wheelbarrow, and add to a dry stone wall I am building to prevent soil run-off. This, folks, is gonna take awhile.

So, I say all this because I laughed so hard when I heard the gospel today. I mean, Jesus tells his followers a parable about a farmer who puts seeds into the ground, goes to bed, gets up, day after day after day, and TA-DA! The earth just produces everything all by itself! The plants just come right up without the farmer having any idea how. Clearly Jesus never saw me try to garden.

Now, this first of two parables we hear is only in the gospel of Mark – the second one is also in Matthew and Luke, but with some changes. Several of you participated in the book club study of the Gospel of Mark as story. And in Mark, the first of the canonical gospels to be written, nothing is put in there without significance. This author was not interested in lots of detail, but rather had a sense of urgency throughout the gospel narrative. So for Mark to pair this unique story about the farmer who does not know how the seed that he planted ends up growing from the earth, with the other one about the mustard seed, there must be some reason.

I was thinking about that and these parables as we approached this LGBTQ+ Sunday in this Pride Month. Earlier this month, a news agencies reported that a political party in Colorado sent out an email that “referred to LGBTQ+ people as “barbaric,” “creeps,” “degenerates,” “godless,” “groomers,” “predators,” “radicals,” and “reprobates.” The message also linked to a sermon from Pastor Mark Driscoll, which proclaimed in the video thumbnail “God hates flags,” wordplay on a popular conservative slogan that uses a derogatory slur.”[1]

That type of vitriolic and sinful hate is sadly not new, nor is the fact of that sort of speech coming from so-called Christians. Hate, bigotry, violence – it has been a part of humanity since the dawn of time. However, when it comes from the mouths of those who were baptized into Christ, it is a stark reminder of just how little some people actually understand the Savior they claim to follow, and what that means for them.

Worse, they act as if the bible told them to hate. Nothing could be further from the truth. It makes me wonder if any of them ever really read it. Take the story we are beginning to hear this morning about the young handsome boy with beautiful eyes God chooses to make King over Israel, David. Something tells me that folks never read anything more about David, especially about his rather intimate love relationship with Jonathan, King Saul’s son. Now that’ll rock the world of those gay bashing folks, well, it would, except they would need to actually read it and not ignore what they read, or try to twist it into something that fits their narrative – you know, like David and Jonathan were like really, really, great pals.

King Saul didn’t think they were just buddies, because he exploded on his son at dinner once saying “‘You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?” Not sure why he had to bring up his mother’s nakedness, talk about being a bit perverse (but that is also putting my 21^st century lens on it, and we shouldn’t do that). But to put those words of Saul into today’s parlance – “You are no son of ours for choosing David as your soul mate. Your mother and I are really upset.” Many gay folks can relate to that story, to be sure.

See – the bible really is filled with cool stuff for everyone. Want more – try the Song of Solomon. That will read like one of those many, many, many sex scenes in Bridgerton. Honestly, can’t those screenwriters come up with dialog?

Now, back to our parables today, because in this world where people get all crazy about what they do not know or understand – we need to really listen to what Jesus is saying.

Here’s one way to think of it – Every day of our lives are like a seed God planted into soil. We don’t always know how things are going to go. You know – that soil I used over the cardboard – it was dark – I can’t see what’s going on in there. And…it’s full of compost, which means it is basically organic waste. I suppose you could say that when God plants us, we can’t really know how things are going to go – the future is dark to us, and a boatload of crap is going to be a part of our growing process. And through it all, the sun will rise and set as the years go by and we grow into all God hoped for us, unless, of course, someone dumps a whole lot of toxic stuff on us.

But, for followers of Jesus, there is more to it, which is why these two parables may have been joined together by this gospel author. We are seeds, but we are also the farmer too. And you know what is really awesome about these two parables being side by side? Sometimes, as we follow Jesus into the world, we will plant mustard seeds too. In fact, we must.

As you already know, most of you, from past sermons, the humble mustard plant was to Jesus’ audience as the pesky Russian Olive shrub is to NJ homeowners. No one would ever plant it. Those mustard shrubs were invasive – they exploded everywhere and got into everything. So, to the folks Jesus was speaking to, this was a riddle – a joke – like Jesus telling you to plant dandelions in your yard. Crazy, right? Well…not so really – dandelions feed our much needed pollinators – the bees.

Back to Jesus – why would he say that? Why would he give his disciples this riddle of sorts?

Well because like any invasive weed, the mustard plant, will spread incessantly once it takes root. Weeds are like that, as any gardener will attest – especially me. For instance, a single dandelion will cast off loads of seeds, which make it difficult to control. So, Jesus is telling us that the kingdom of God like a humble weed that will not be stopped, cannot be controlled, and will spread far and wide to nourish others, to the annoyance of some. Yet this is only possible, if a single seed is dropped.

So, what has this gospel to do with what is happening here in this country of ours? Everything.

Look, it can be hard for people to really understand what it feels like to be LGBTQ+ if you are not. So, let me tell you my story. I won’t go through the whole growing up bit – we’d be here all day. I can tell you though that as an adult, a woman working in the male dominated tech corporate world, things were tough already. I had to be three times better than the men to get noticed. Worse though, was that I couldn’t be myself. I was gay, and when I would have a wonderful weekend with someone I was dating, I couldn’t share it over lunch with colleagues on Monday.

Many knew, or suspected, but it wasn’t like I could put photos up on my desk. This was especially hard once I met (in church no less) my wife, Brenda. After dating for a year, we became engaged, and then had the wedding and honeymoon of dreams (and o fmany, many dollars). People still talk about it to this day – in fact, just yesterday, someone told me that a mutual friend who attended was just saying the other day that she hadn’t danced that much before or since.

And while the most important day of my life, it would be some time before I would dare to put a photo of our wedding day on my work desk. But things did change, and started to get better for the LGBTQ+ community in those years.

Domestic partnerships, in NJ at least, was passed. It protected us legally, though marriage equality was years away. And when Brenda was diagnosed with metastatic breast, even the large insurance company I worked for gave me the time off I needed to be with her and care for her. So…perhaps things would be fine for us and for all LGBTQ+ people, right?

Well, about that marriage equality – it was not yet a thing in 2006 when eventually, Brenda succumbed to the cancer, and entered the communion of saints in heaven. So, because we were not married in the eyes of the government, I ended up with a huge tax bill, because the government declared her life insurance to be income. It was a devastating financial blow on top of all the grief I was drowning in at the time.

But my church, and the Community of St. John Baptist – the sisters of our Episcopal Convent in Mendham – they were there for the both of us while she was ill, and for me in the years afterward. By God’s grace, they nurtured me back into new life.

They were the mustard plant – feeding me in my time of need, offering shelter in my darkest hours.

And so here we are today – and marriage equality, while a reality now, is under threat.

LGBTQ+ people are still being targeted.

So called “Christians” are not loving their neighbor and welcoming the stranger, but are hating other children of God. Worse – they are creating God in their image – telling people that God just so happens to hate the very things and people they do – talk about idolatry! And, they threaten to harm those very people.

Just this past week, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said this to an undercover operative ““You know what I want? …I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month.” …Ms. Alito said that after sharing this idea with her husband he said, “Oh, please, don’t put up a flag.” Seriously? A flag that is about love and inclusion is that offensive to someone who follows Jesus? Sadly, there is more…

She added that after her husband was “free of this nonsense” (Nonsense? The work of the highest court in our land? I don’t even have time to deal with that one). Anyway, she said she would be putting up flags, including one that would read in Italian, Vergogona, or “Shame.” But she didn’t stop there, she added ““Look at me, look at me. “I’m German, from Germany. My heritage is German. You come after me, I’m going to give it back to you.”

Lordy, that is some crazy, well, keeping it clean – compost – coming out of her mouth and heart. Well, Ms. Alito, I can assure you that while you may be making not so veiled references to a painful time in German history, I know them to be good people, And, surprise! Germany is ranked one of the highest countries for the rights of…wait for it…LGBTQ+ people!

Truth be told though, it is truly sad. Sad that someone has such bitterness in their hearts. What kind of life is that? “Vergogna” is right, but not in the way she intended it to be. If she hung that flag outside of her home, it would indeed be a good fit – but not about her neighbors.

All of this is a reminder that when we have people like her and that pastor in Colorado out there saying crap like that, saying that people like me, like my wife Brenda, like many of you here today, are not worthy of love, of respect, of the ability to feel pride in being children of God, we need to get to work.

We have some planting to do, my friends, and we need to do it with abundance.

The seeds we plant will be mustard seeds – humble seeds of unconditional love and grace that will nourish those in need, and be an invasive annoyance to those who would choke off the life of children of God.

We will plant these seeds abundantly, and like the farmer, we won’t always know how things come about, but be sure that it will. It will by God’s grace.

Then, day by day, seed by seed, humble mustard shrub by mustard shrub, we will build that beloved community – that world of peace God dreams for us all.

Then, we will truly know that love is love is love.

God’s love most of all.

Happy Pride Everyone!

Amen.

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[1] Ryan Adamczeski, Yahoo News

The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox

Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge

June 16, 2024

4th Sunday After Pentecost – LGBTQ+ Sunday

Proper 6 – Track 1

1st Reading – 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

Psalm 20

2nd Reading – 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17

Gospel – Mark 4:26-34

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