Welcome or Rejection?

Luke 4:25-28 (NABRE): Welcome or Rejection?

[Jesus said,] “Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury.

I take part in a men's ministry at my church. Less than a dozen of us gather on a Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. to discuss our walk of faith and Scripture. Sometimes difficult questions arise, and as I discovered this time, some difficult reactions take place, too.

At our most recent meeting, I brought up a challenging topic that was a segway out of the conversation we were having. I asked, “Why does the church ostracize and demonize those among the faithful who are from the LGBTQIA+ community?” It was a natural question that dovetailed from the direction of our discussion. Many were condemning the “relativization” of our culture, a culture where everything is okay because the times dictate such. My argument was that “relativization” has become a buzz word for the insensitive, small-minded way of handling society’s progression. Why, my train of thought continued, do we demonize and exclude people in same-sex relationships when it was Christ himself who reached out to society’s marginalized -- the leper, the prostitute, the demon-possessed, the tax collector, etc? My questions, passionate and clear, were met with the following response: “This is a good discussion for next month.” Nobody wanted to handle the issue head on. And it was, I fear, a sign of the times.

In this week's Gospel, Jesus is giving a sermon inside of his hometown synagogue. But when he mentions God’s grace given to the gentile widow of Zarephath and Naaman the gentile Syrian soldier, the people of Israel rise up and try to murder Jesus. How dare he preach about God’s love for the outsider over the chosen people of Israel. Our world today is no different.

I am saddened that people like my adult son and the many beautiful students I serve who are of the LGBTQIA+ community feel ostracized, hated, and branded as incompatible or disordered by many Christian church doctrines. The irony is, however, that in God’s mercy and love, he seeks out each and every one of us, especially the most vulnerable in our world, those who are marginalized, ostracized, and hated by people who self-righteously put themselves above others. And it is my prayer that our churches rectify this deficit, opening the doors to all people, welcoming all to the table of God’s love.

Have a blessed week!

Stan