Romans 1:16-17 – “Yes, We Can!” – May 19, 2019

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It’s hard to know where to begin with Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, better known as Romans. On one hand, it is his most sophisticated articulation of his theology, written late in his ministry after refining his message with years of active missionary work. It also probably influenced the Protestant Reformation more than any other single book of the Bible with its emphasis on salvation by faith alone.

On the other hand, Romans can be a daunting read as Paul takes a deep dive into human sinfulness and the nuances of faith with somewhat esoteric arguments based on assumptions we might not have. Further, anyone who has been a victim of anti-gay teaching and preaching in the church may know that just a bit further on in this same first chapter of Romans, we find a passage that has been and is still used repeatedly to bludgeon, shame, and exclude LGBTQ people. And though we can accurately state that Paul did not have a modern understanding of sexual orientation or knowledge of same-gender romantic relationships that were based on love, it is also probably fair to say that even if he had that knowledge, he would have come to the same conclusions as he did. In fact, that particular passage from Romans 1 is one of the passages that led me in my own journey to conclude there are some things in the Bible that do not reflect God’s will for us today, but instead reflect the biases and prejudices of the flawed, sinful people God used to write the Bible. And though the line between the author’s prejudice and God’s will is not always clear, we as modern people of faith have the responsibility to try to figure out which is which.

Matthew 28:1-10 – “Listen” – April 21, 2019

Let’s break this passage down into three basic lessons: listen to women, listen to angels, and listen to Jesus

First, listen to women. The fact that women were ever excluded from leadership in the church and that they are still excluded in many churches, is some truly audacious patriarchy. Because every gospel tells us that women were the most devoted and fearless followers of Jesus and that women were the first witnesses of the resurrection and the first preachers about the resurrection.  The gospels don’t agree on everything but they all agree, the women did not run away at the crucifixion like the men did, they remained faithful even after Jesus’ death, they saw the angels at the tomb, witnessed the empty tomb, saw the Risen Jesus, and proclaimed it to the men who had run away in fear. So, that the patriarchy was able to look at these stories and still come to the conclusion that women should not be allowed into leadership in the church is basically insane.