Drunk with New Wine Cindi Knox

May 19, 2013
Year C, Pentecost

Podcast: drunkwithnewwine.mp3


Today is the day we remember the Holy Spirit being poured out on many people - not just the twelve.

Some of you may remember how, a few weeks ago, I talked about Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit into the apostles. But now the Spirit is spreading.

If you've been to church on Pentecost before, you may have heard the story from Acts chapter 2.  We didn't read it today, but I'm going to put it into today's context.

We have been celebrating the resurrection for fifty days, and now the day of Pentecost has come, and we are all together in one place.

We may not have a sound from heaven like a mighty wind.

We may not have divided tongues, as of fire, among us.

Yet all of us are filled with the Holy Spirit, and are able to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gives  us ability.

Wait...what?

Some of us can speak another language or two, but I don't think we're all multilingual.

Well, maybe we are.

Now there were people of every type under heaven living in Downers Grove.

And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in ways they could understand.

Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Christians from Downers Grove?

And how is it that we hear, each of us, in ways that make sense to us?

Youth, adults, men and women, people with developmental differences and people with physical challenges,

Conservative and liberal, orthodox  and cutting-edge theology, and visitors from other churches, both believers and seekers,

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender - in ways that have meaning to us, we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power."


 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"

But others sneered and said, "They're drunk."

But tell those who doubt our sanity and sobriety:
let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.
Indeed, we are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only 10:30 in the morning.
No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young people shall see visions, and your elders shall dream dreams.

The story of Pentecost isn't just about what happened in Jerusalem two thousand years ago: it's about what is happening right here, right now, in this very church!

Right now, some of us are feeling fired up about meeting youth where they are. Some of us are excited about meeting homeless people where they are. Some of us are thrilled at the prospect of welcoming newcomers to St. Paul's. Some of us are deeply moved to care for members who aren't able to make it to worship with us in the morning. Some of us are greatly interested in reaching out to people who feel they were burned by the church. Some of us love the idea of living out the spirit of Open and Affirming. Some of us are eagerly anticipating opportunities to invite in people of different cultural backgrounds.

Yes, the Holy Spirit is alive at St. Paul's, and we are having a Pentecost moment every day, whether we recognize it or not. Every day one of us is inspired to do something. And to be "inspired" means to have the spirit in us.

In the fourteenth century, Catherine Benincasa of Siena Italy said "If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world on fire!"

But what will people think?

Will they think we're weird? Crazy? Drunk?

Maybe.

But as we heard in the reading today:

All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

For we did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but we have received a spirit of adoption.

When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness
with our spirit that we are children of God,

and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ
 if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

There's that suffer word. I don't know about you, but it makes me want to pull back a little.
I don't want to suffer.

But we just read about not falling back into fear.
What if people think we're a little goofy?
What if people whisper things like "that's the church that those kind of people go to?"

Christianity is not about keeping up appearances.

Christianity is not about being the popular kid.

Christianity is not about hanging out with the right crowd.

Christianity is about letting the Holy Spirit move us to have passion for the work of Christ in this world - God's world - with the people we will encounter right here, right now.

You've heard me preach about letting our Naomi qualities show.
You've heard me preach about finding Jesus among us.
You've heard me preach about being too busy with what we're called to do to be busy dying.
And you've heard me preach about our being sent.

They say a pastor really preaches only one sermon, and if you've been paying attention, you may have figured out what mine is.

Here's a summary:

Trust that God is equipping you as a minister
as a priest -
to bless this church, this village, this nation, and this world.

Follow Jesus into the places where love is needed most.
Let the Holy Spirit move you to meet people where they are, right here, right now.
And do not be afraid or self conscious.

That's the assignment I leave you, for this week, and for the years ahead.

Blessings to you all, servants of God.

Amen.

Fourteen years ago today, Mary and I exchanged vows & rings, and began a covenanted relationship. But we had been together for ten years before that (two relatively short breakups notwithstanding). So today, on the 24th day of April, we're celebrating 24 years together.

In that time, we've fought, cried, worried, laughed, loved, and cared for each other. We've survived surgeries, cancer, emotional upheaval, loss, and even seminary.

We haven't, however, been recognized by the government as a couple. The government of the United States of America regards us as mere roommates. While the State of Illinois will allow us status as in a "Civil Union," we're holding out for marriage.

Why marriage?

For one, we believe it's inevitable that marriage equality will come to Illinois. We already had a "church wedding" - a Holy Union. We were registered as domestic partners in another city where we once lived. If we now choose "civil union," we don't want to take another step to get the "marriage" title. Enough baby steps.

For another, we want the same status as others. You can say "a rose by any other name," but in the real world, words have connotations as well as denotations.  Don't believe me? Would you buy rapeseed oil [that's not a typographical error for grapeseed oil] and, if so, what would you use it for? There will be a hint later on in this article.

Finally, we are confident that the federal government will come to recognize marriages regardless of the sex identifications of the couple. We are less confident that the federal government will recognize civil unions. In fact, it appears that many couples - same sex and mixed sex - prefer civil unions because they are not recognized the same way as marriage.

Marriage equality is a transgender issue

I don't care what you may or may not have heard from someone working for a national gay and lesbian rights organization: marriage equality affects transgender people.

If you've read deeply into my blog, or if you know me fairly well, you know that I have a transgender history. Assigned male at birth, I transitioned to living the way I identify over a quarter century ago, before I met Mary.

One reason we waited ten years to "tie the knot" was that I was still - according to the state of Illinois - legally male until 1998. We would have been able to legally marry, so why didn't we?

First: because we did not want to exploit a loophole that would allow us to do something that our cisgender gay and lesbian siblings could not.

Secondly, it would have required me to be the groom and husband, and that's not how I identify. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not all that butch. Ask Mary. Ask my mom.

For transgender people, the marriage issue is complicated. In some states, one remains legally the sex they were assigned at birth no matter what. In others, the sex marker can be changed only after certain kinds of surgery (requirements vary state to state.) In yet others, documentation from a physician or psychologist is all that's required. Transgender people can be considered different sexes as they cross state lines, causing their marriages to become valid and invalid many times in a cross-country trip.

I know one heterosexual couple who, had they identified as their birth sexes, would have no trouble getting a marriage license. But he was assigned female at birth, and successfully had his documentation changed to male. The state where she was born, however, won't change the sex marker and still has her listed as male. They can't get married because their documentation shows them both as male.

The issue gets even more difficult with non-binary or genderqueer people who do not identify entirely as male or female, and for intersex people whose bodies are not as easy to pigeon-hole in the "male" or "female" spaces.

What is marriage?

Marriage is a personal covenant of mutual support, care, and responsibility. It's important that the covenant be recognized by governments, health care providers, housing providers, and employers. It has real consequences for hospital visitation, inheritance, housing, and benefits.

There are some who say marriage can only be between people who can reproduce together. I've even heard of a Catholic priest who denied marriage to couples where one was infertile. But here's the thing: infertile couples can get married. It happens a lot, and often the couple knows this going into the marriage. I'm friends with a heterosexual couple who have been married for decades and who haven't even had sexual intercourse since the one time on their wedding night. Are they not married? Should they not be married?

There are some who say that allowing couples of the same sex to wed will cause a decrease in heterosexual marriage. My immediate reaction is to wonder how secure someone is in their heterosexuality if they fear that the availability of marriage to couples of the same sex will decrease heterosexual unions. But then I hear that marriage equality would water down the meaning of marriage. That's true if the important part of marriage is being of different sexes. However, if being an exclusive club for heterosexuals is one's primary selling point for marriage, I think the meaning of marriage is already pretty weak.

Myths about marriage equality and religious freedom

There are some who claim they need to be able to ignore our relationship for religious reasons. I understand the basis for these beliefs, but many religious institutions don't recognize marriages done by other religious institutions. Many don't recognize marriages between people of different or no religion. Some even do not recognize marriages between people of different ethnic backgrounds. These distinctions, however, are not valid reasons for denying a couple visitation in the hospital, or government or employment benefits, or housing. Such discrimination is illegal in the USA, and so should discrimination based on the sexes of a married couple.

There are some who claim that our marriage would threaten clergy: that they would be coerced to perform marriages against their will. This is untrue. Clergy have always been able to choose who they marry. No pastor, imam, rabbi, priest, minister, or other religious leader has been forced by the government to perform a rite or sacrament against their will. The only restriction is a negative one: they are not allowed to marry a couple the state does not recognize as eligible for marriage - though they can call it something else, like a Holy Union.

By any other name?

Oh, and as to that rapeseed oil question earlier: it's also sold under the name canola oil. Do you feel differently about it now?

If you're dead-set against my being able to marry the woman with whom I've spent nearly half my life, this article will probably not sway you. I don't think anything I could write or say would do so.

But if you're wondering what all the fuss is about, and why you should care one way or another, here are a few points to ponder:

• If one of us dies, and the other is not able to access the one's survivor benefits, who will be supporting the survivor?
  
• If one of us has high health care costs, and can't be covered on the other's insurance plan, and the other has no legal responsibility to pay, who's going to pay the health care bill?

I'll give you a hint: it's going to either be the government or the hospital. Either way, the costs are passed on to you.

But more simply: it's good to support couples who commit to each other. It hurts your marriage not at all if we marry. And even if denying same-sex marriage did cause people to choose partners of a different sex rather than partners of the same sex: do you want your heterosexual son married to a lesbian? How about your heterosexual daughter married to a gay man? Wouldn't you rather your children marry people who really love them and want to be with them for the rest of their lives?

As far as we're concerned, Mary and I are going to be married for the rest of our lives. The only thing that could change is whether the government recognizes it. It's about time that happened.

If you're in Illinois, please consider contacting your state representative in support of marriage equality. You can find more information at Equality Illinois.A National site is Marriage Equality USA.



For another viewpoint on marriage equality, see Esther and Kati Baruja's post Same-sex Marriage and my Faith on their blog ¡You will fill me with joy in your presence!