High Park's on Fire: Continuing the Conversation

Unsurprisingly, the feedback from the congregation following my sermon this past Sunday was--and is--more extensive than I think any other sermon I have previously given, here or elsewhere.

I anticipated this.  I was nervous.  Very.

So far, at least, though, it has turned out okay.

People pulled me aside after worship when they might otherwise have shook my hand and said, "Good sermon, preacher."

They came here during my office hours to talk with me about what I said.

We wondered and wrestled with God's Word together.

And it was fantastic.

Look.

I don't claim to have all the answers.  The minute that I do, the church had better fire me, because I will have clearly done a nutty.

But this is as close to a definitive, absolute, black-and-white truth as I have for you:

God wants us to talk about Him.

Not in any sort of a needy sense, that God craves attention for its own sake.

But because when we do talk about God, we have fantastic power.

For both good and bad.

And God wants us to use that power for good.

I am continually amazed and humbled by the deference people are sometimes willing to give my opinions simply because I am a pastor.  Me, I think I'm just this kid from Kansas with a sarcastic streak and an unfortunate tendency to run his mouth when asked.

My opinion is not the closing argument.  When I speak, the debate does not end.  My sermon is not the final word, it is a springboard.

That is as it should be.

But by God, I do think we have used our ability to talk about God for bad when it comes to our gay and lesbian neighbors.

And there is no excuse for it.  We don't get to hide behind Scripture on this one.  Leviticus and Romans say to not engage in same-sex intercourse, they do not say that we get to bully, discriminate, exile, or harbor prejudice because of it.

I say this because that has been one of the most frequent questions folks have come to me with in the past 48 or so hours: "What exactly does Scripture say about gay marriage?"

And the honest-to-goodness answer is: "Not a damn thing."  The Bible addresses the intercourse itself.  Not the question of marriage.

There is an old Disciples maxim of "Where the Scriptures speak, we speak.  Where the Scriptures are silent, we must be silent."

It's tough to apply in today's day and age, but the profound humility that sentiment conveys really does matter to me a lot.

The Bible doesn't say a thing about gay marriage.

Which means we have only the Holy Spirit to move and guide us.

And I am so, so grateful for the conversations that have begun, precisely because I can see them being born out of the love we have for one another here.

So the Holy Spirit moves and guides.

(If you want a more fully-fleshed representation of my reflections on marriage equality and the delineation between sex and marriage, you can find it here.)

Yours in Christ,
Eric