Over the Rainbow by Todrick Hall
Come Out. Come In. Come Home.
Scripture – Acts 9: 1-19 (Saul’s Conversion)
Thanks to all of you for being here today as Lincoln Temple recognizes National Coming Out Day. I’m excited to share my reflections about coming out with you this morning. The song I just played is from the album “Straight Outta Oz” by Todrick Hall. Both David and I love it not only because Todrick Hall is insanely talented, but also because the music holds deep meaning for us. Todrick retells the story of the Wizard of Oz through the eyes of a little boy growing up different – deep in the heart – and the churches – of Texas. It’s Todrick’s coming out story.
If you heard all of the words to this song, you might be wondering why I chose a song where a dad figuratively throws the Bible at his son and tells him he’ll never get to heaven if he doesn’t change the way he loves. I chose it because it reflects an unfortunate reality for many people. It reflects the pain inflicted on LGBT people by the church, the pain that many people carry with them as they seek spiritual refuge here at Lincoln Temple and at other Open and Affirming congregations. The message I want to share with you today is how we, the church, the Body of Christ, are called to help people work through that pain and come out of the closet.
Please pray with me…
Stillspeaking God. You are so great, so beyond understanding that we know your truth is not contained to just one book scribed in parts by different people over many years long ago. As you have spoken to us from the beginning of time through those whom you have chosen to share the truth, we know you are still speaking to us – sometimes through unlikely people in unlikely ways. God, I’m not a preacher, a teacher, a prophet nor a poet. I am an unlikely vessel. Speak through me today so that your truth is revealed to all who are here to listen. Amen.
As I look out at all of you, I’m pretty sure most you have a good understanding of what it means to come out. But just in case there might be one or two of you who don’t, let me quickly share with you how our nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization – The Human Rights Campaign –– defines coming out.
“Coming out is the process in which a person first acknowledges, accepts and appreciates his or her sexual orientation or gender identity and begins to share that with others.”
While coming out is often used to describe that exact moment when someone tells someone else that they are lesbian, gay, transgender or bisexual, it’s actually a process that occurs over time. Think of coming out as three phases: 1) Opening Up, 2) Coming Out, and 3) Living Openly.
The coming out journey begins when we first hear the whispers that we’re different, when we feel something nudging us in a different direction than everyone else, when we start to seek out people who share our difference.
The journey continues when we start to come out to the people we love the most – our family and friends. This part of the journey is different for everyone. Some people come out to love and acceptance and others come out to disappointment, hostility, and even estrangement.
The journey is completed when we live our lives openly all the time to all people. We are at home with ourselves in the world. It does not mean that we are longer oppressed.
“Coming Out” are words that have been used primarily by LGBT people, but if you think about what coming out really means and the process of coming out, we could easily be talking about any marginalized people…anyone or any group of people who has been forced to squelch their truth because it doesn’t jibe with the conventional wisdom of the day.
Has anyone here seen the movie, “Hidden Figures?” It’s the true story of three black women who are mathematicians at NASA during the Space Race of the 1960’s – Taraji P. Henson plays Katherine Johnson, Octavia Spencer plays Dorothy Vaughan, and Janelle Monáe plays Mary Jackson. All three of the women are brilliant, but in the white-male dominated world of NASA, they are kept hidden in the basement and assigned to menial computations. One by one, they emerge from the basement and are assigned to different divisions of NASA. Even as they make significant contributions in their new roles they remain largely invisible – both by their own choice (preferring to stay under the radar) and by a deeply-rooted system of inequality. But as the story unfolds, each of the women experiences a “coming out” process where, with the help of each other and allies like astronaut John Glenn, they begin to realize their own worth, excel in their careers, stand up for themselves, and demand to be recognized.
The first point I hope to impress upon you today is that even though YOU may not be lesbian, gay, transgender or bi, if you’ve ever had to find the strength and courage to find your way out of the darkness and loneliness of a basement or a closet – if you’ve overcome false stereotypes people have held about you because they perceived you as different than the norm – if with the help of your of your friends and allies, you’ve found yourself in a better place – then you know something about coming out and you are a living witness to the possibility of transformation.
Let’s take Paul as another example. Paul – who was also known as Saul and is the subject of our scripture lesson today – was a powerful man. He was a Roman citizen and he was Jewish – a Pharisee, a member of the very group that Jesus condemned as hypocritical, illegitimate and corrupt. Our scripture lesson tells us that Paul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill Jesus’ followers. He wanted to seek out followers of The Way and bring them back in chains. Paul would be the most unlikely person to “come out” as Christian, but he did…and in a really big way.
The scripture lesson tells us that while he was traveling to Damascus on his mission of persecuting Christians, Paul experienced something that began to open him up to the truth. A light shone down on him, he fell to the ground, and he experienced the risen Christ for the first time.
Paul’s companions picked him up and took him to Damascus where he laid blind for three days – not eating or drinking – until a messenger of God showed up and laid hands on him. The scripture tells us that scales fell from Paul’s eyes and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. With his sight fully restored, he got up and was baptized.
And that brings me to the second point I hope to make today. Sometimes the people, who are most in need of a good coming out, are the people you would least suspect. They are people of power – the oppressors, not the oppressed. These people can be hard to love, but they actually need it more than anyone. They are trapped themselves in closets full of hate and need someone to open the door for them, and guide them out of the darkness and into the light. As I look at what’s going in places like Charlottesville and other places around our nation and the world, I think this is especially true right now.
Let me now get straight to the final point I hope to share with you today. Where today’s scripture lesson leaves off is where I believe the real message for all of us begins.
After Paul is baptized, he begins to eat and regain his strength. And the very next verse tells us this. “Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”
Paul begins to convince people that Jesus is the Messiah. There were some among the believers who doubted Paul’s intentions, but those who had spent time with him vouched for him. He remained with the apostles and was sent out with them to continue preaching. And the scripture tells us that church experienced peace and grew in numbers.
Is there a lesson in Paul’s coming out story for modern churches like Lincoln Temple?
This is the big message I have for you today. If you remember only one thing, remember this. In the same way that the disciples of the early Christian church took Paul in, cared for him, encouraged him and sent him out to do God’s work, we are being called to do the same for the people who walk through the doors of this church.
Like the churches of the early Christians, we are a small and growing community. New people visit our church almost every week. Many, if not most, of the people that God has sent our way are here because we are an Open and Affirming congregation. Some of these people have been completely out of the closet for many years and are seeking to live within a community of other LGBT believers and allies. Some have just come out to disastrous results, like being kicked out of there home with nothing but the clothes on their back and money for a one-way bus ticket. And others have just started to explore their gender identity, feeling trapped between their physical body and the gender that they most identify with. We became an ONA church two years ago because, although we had always extended a radical welcome to LGBT people, we hadn’t proclaimed that welcome through official ONA status within the United Church of Christ.
It’s time for Lincoln Temple to continue our own coming out journey. That’s why Rev. Breland challenged me to start thinking about how Lincoln Temple could grow our LGBT Ministry. In fact, she asked to put together a write up and share it with her. This isn’t it, Rev. Breland – still coming. There are just some preliminary thoughts and a request for help from all of you.
After taking time to talk to all kinds of people, observing how this church engages its LGBT members and visitors, and praying for direction from God, I’ve come to three conclusions:
- This isn’t a job for one or two people. Paul didn’t act alone. He worked with a broad network of churches and church leaders while establishing his ministry. Especially because we’re a small church and all of us are spread thin, this is something that the entire church has to embrace and support. And this is where my first point comes in. Even if you’re not lesbian, gay, transgender or bi, you have something to offer. From the outside to the inside of the church, from the organizations we partner with to the way we conduct our worship service, there are things that each of us can do to ensure that we are here to welcome LGBT people and encourage them on their spiritual journey. Think about what you can do and share your ideas with Rev. Breland and me.
- We need to live our ONA status out loud. You’ve probably noticed the big multicultural rainbow Pride flag hanging above the entrance to our church. That’s a start but its not enough. Each of us – on our way into church, during the passing of the peace, after church is over, on our walk back to our cars, as we live our lives throughout the week, on our website, on our Facebook page, through new partnerships – needs to let people know that Lincoln Temple is here for them. And this is where my second point comes in. Sometimes it’s the people you would least expect that are most in need of our unconditional love and acceptance. Don’t make assumptions about where people are on their faith journey. As the body of Christ, we are called to love everyone unconditionally. We often say, “No Matter Who You Are or Where You Are on Life’s Journey, You are Welcome Here.” If we say that, we have to mean it, and put it into practice. Even if that means someone who threatens our current way of doing things. If you meet a visitor and your Stranger Danger lights go off – I know mine have – that’s ok…just do like the apostles of the early church did with Paul. Get to know that person and engage them in our ministry.
- Finally, it’s not enough to just extend a welcome hand to LGBT people and provide a safe space for them to worship and fellowship. In the same way the early church leaders took a leap of faith by sending Paul out to preach, we must get to know people as unique individuals, identify their spiritual gifts and get them involved. The early apostles didn’t provide a waiting period before John was accepted in to the church. They didn’t put him through three months of new member classes. They got him going immediately and taught him on the job as he was out preaching. We may not have a lot of time to provide ministry to some of the new folks joining our church, especially the young ones. As their housing and job situations change, they will move on and away from us. We should treat every week with them like its our last chance to help them come out, take off the shackles and pain of oppression, and let them know how much God loves them and wants them to be a part of the church no matter where they end up. We’re already connecting with other ONA churches to partner on opportunities for ministry and fellowship, but there’s more to be done. We invite all of you to join with other Potomac Association ONA churches in the Walk to End HIV on October 18th
Lincoln Temple, are you ready to come out of closet? We’re almost there! We’ve heard the whispers and felt the nudges from God. We know who we are, and we know how important LGBT people are to grow our church and our ministry. We proclaimed our ONA status so now the whole world knows that we affirm the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual people in the life and ministry of the church. We need to back that up living loudly every where we can both inside and outside the walls of this church. There’s just one more thing we need to do. We need frequent opportunities for LGBT to fellowship with each other and to become ministers of the Good News to other LGBT people. Once we’ve accomplished those three things, we will have built a church that helps LGBT people – no matter where they are on their journey – Come Out. Come In. Come Home.
Thank you.