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This Week's Homily

July 20, 2008
16th Sunday of the Year - Cycle A

Gays are Potatoes?
A Homily for Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered People

The "lowly" potato is one of my favorite foods. I read that when it was first introduced to Europe, it took a long time to be accepted because very many people thought that it was poisonous. (Actually, when the potato is still "green", I think that it can be toxic for some people.) Now, however, it is an important source of nutrition in many countries. I think that we GLBT people are "implicated" in the first parable and the other two parables have a message for us. For many in the Christian Churches today, we are thought to be poison, like darnels among the wheat. And, contrary to the message of the parable, the self-styled "good" people are rooting us up and throwing us out. Sadly, they are grossly mistaken. For we are not darnels. We are potatoes, thought to be poisonous, but really very nutritious. As long as they think we are poison, they will not taste what we have to offer. This is a great loss for them and a great injustice for us. Some of these people know better but refuse to change. Some are simply following biased Christian Churches. God will decide this at the end of time as indicated in the parable.

How are we GLBT people to respond? If we listen to the parable of the mustard seed, which grows into the tree, we will have patience while the growth takes place at its own pace. We keep up the challenge and the pressure to be recognized as full sons and daughters through baptism. But, since we cannot force anyone to grow or to change, we are patient while we seek our rights.

It is easy to see us GLBT people in the parable of the yeast. We are already present all through the "dough" of the Churches. Closeted or not, we are ministers and lay people, teachers and students, official leaders and privately ministering, on boards and in committees. We are everywhere. And, as above, through our challenging and pressuring, we will get this "dough to rise."

I submit that we should also take a lesson from our first reading. That is, we, who have been wronged by the Church leaders and people, should be "lenient" toward them. Our strength comes from our God, who forgives all sins, including ours. And, as sons and daughters, we are asked to do the same.

You may be a GLBT person from a Christian background who finds spiritual nourishment in Jewish and Christian Scriptures but does not want to belong to a Christian Church. If so, I/we ask you to please support and pray for those of us who do want to belong fully to a Christian Church and are working for our spiritual inclusion. Encourage us so that we do not lose patience and our yeast fail to rise or our seed fail to grow. And pray for us that our nourishment does not turn to poison.

Background for Today's Scripture Readings

(If you want to get the readings from the Internet, click on this link: www.nccbuscc.org/nab and the date you want.)

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
The Book of Wisdom was written in the 1st Century BC in Alexandria, Egypt. Generally it focuses on God's impact on history. The subject of today's reading is God's leniency to the Canaanites. The point is that a strong person, like God, can afford to be lenient because s/he does not need to prove her/his strength by hurting people. The lesson is that the Israelites should also be kind. And there is hope of repentance after sin.

Romans 8:26-27
Paul speaks of prayer in this reading. He is talking about prayer for final union with God. Since, strictly speaking, we don't even know what that is, he says we don't have words for it. However, the Spirit prays for the saints (us) and is heard because the Spirit knows the mind of God.

Matthew 13:24-43
Our Gospel passage has three parables and one explanation. Two are on the initial smallness of the kingdom and how, with patience, it will grow from a seed to a tree and from just flour and a bit of yeast to fully leavened dough. (Usually yeast is a symbol of corruption, but here it is positive growth.) The parable of the darnel (or tares) sowed among the wheat is explained. (A darnel is a poisonous weed, which initially looks just like wheat. If its roots get entwined with the roots of the wheat, it can't be pulled without taking the wheat with it.) It is a parable of the end of time when the Messiah will hand over his kingdom to the Father/Mother. Until then the evil and good people in the Church and society will live together. The good should not try to purify the Church by "pulling out" the evil ones. In the end the evil ones will be punished while the good will shine.

Copyright (c) 1999  Don Becker, Revised 2005

Copyright © 2004 by Don Becker