Be Christian. Do crimes.

 

2 Kings 2: 1-2, 6-14
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
June 26, 2022

Photo of a gray cement and hexagonal block wall with graffiti in purple paint: "Be Gay. Do Crimes."

Earlier this week I was having a conversation with one of the other regulars at Grain. He said to me, “I probably wouldn’t come to your church. I’m too conservative.” Having gotten to know him over the past few years, I pushed back and replied, “What about gay people? Would welcoming everyone stop you from coming?” And as I’ve heard other straight men of his generation, he said, “No, I just don’t like it shoved in my face.” He went on, “Don’t get me wrong. A dear friend of mine died of AIDS. Really tore me up when he died.”



Who and what is dominant never considers itself shoved in the faces of who and what is dominated and marginalized. Who and what is dominant rarely has to think about its own safety or place in the world. Who and what is dominant never questions its right to exist. Empire is the culture of domination, and anything that attaches itself to such power also becomes part of the culture of domination. From the very beginning of this nation, Whiteness, patriarchy, and Christianity have asserted themselves as dominant, marginalizing and dehumanizing anyone who is not White, who is not Christian, who is not cisgender male.



Over the last three years an intensive research study was conducted regarding race and religion in the United States. Sociology professors Michael Emerson and Glenn Bracey found that two-thirds of white Christians in the U.S. practice a “religion of Whiteness”, that in their actions they favor being White over being Christian. In their findings they report that “an entire religion has developed around the worship of the dominance, centrality, privilege, and assumed universality of being White. …[It] has developed a particular set of beliefs, practices (such as a highly selective use of biblical scriptures), and organizations to support, defend, and teach its ‘faith’.” Emerson warns, “The middle ground is ending.”



And we know that this isn’t only about race. White Christian nationalism, also called Christofascism is positioning itself to take away the rights of self-determination and privacy, the rights of women, the rights of queer and transgender folx, which will affect disabled and impoverished people, and make no mistake, it will affect all of us. It’s about shoving people into a box, and they don’t care if it winds up being your grave.



But even the granting of rights has been about the right to fit the so-called dominant norms, about the right to assimilate: the right live like, to be like White people, to have what White people have, the right to be privileged and entitled, the right to have relationships and to be wed like straight people, the right to the accessibility abled people take for granted, all while the dominant class gets to keep what it has.

Black poster with white italic script that reads "Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself." - Robert Green Ingersoll

And so queer and trans activists in their rejection of dominant culture took up the catchphrase “Be gay. Do crimes.” Don’t even try to fit in. Break the unjust laws. Protest is never acceptable to the oppressor. Remember that Stonewall was a riot. Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera threw bricks at the police when they raided the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969. Crime can also refer to the survival tactics many queer and trans folx must use in order to stay alive.



So when I read this story of Elijah and Elisha, I hear tired poor, queer, trans, people of color, indigenous, disabled activists passing on the mantle to justice-minded, privileged, straight, abled, cisgender White Christians. I say Christians because one, I can only speak to my own tradition, and two, the prophets made Jesus who he was and we have some repenting and repairing to do. It is a warped and twisted Christianity that has enabled every anti-trans, anti-queer, anti-woman, anti-gun safety piece of legislation. It is a warped and twisted Christianity that will never acknowledge the necessary end of Christendom, that will never admit that the Way of Jesus is the antithesis of empire, capitalism, domination, and supremacy. It is a warped and twisted Christianity that is leading us straight toward fascism.

Photo of a rainbow colored brick standing upright on broken glass on a gray cloth, in front of a gray background, with these words in white print on the brick: "No Pride for some of us without liberation for all of us." - Marsha P. Johnson

It is also a weak Christianity that is more concerned with institutional survival than people survival, more concerned with property than with people’s lives. It is a weak Christianity that is performative rather than substantive. It is a weak Christianity that favors respectability rather than risk. It is a weak Christianity that in its actions favors being White over being Christian. In order to receive a mantle, one must stick one’s neck out. Elisha wanted a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, we who have never had to do crimes in order to survive, we who have always had gender-affirming healthcare, we who have never really had to question our right to exist safely in public space.



We cannot claim the title of “ally” for ourselves; it can only be conferred upon us by those who must do crimes and boldly be themselves in a world that still seeks to destroy them. We cannot work for freedom, for liberation, for liberty and justice for all and expect to keep what we have, expect to keep what was taken. What we can do is be Christian, people who follow Jesus not Whiteness, and do crimes for those who suffer because of this warped and twisted Christianity joined to power. The middle ground is ending.



We’ve had our Pride flag stolen four times. I gave up after the last time because they stole the flagpole, and I was tired of replacing it. But you know what? I shouldn’t get to give up. I don’t really get to be tired. My queer and trans family members, my friends and neighbors are exhausted and angry from sticking their necks out just by living. Some of you are exhausted and angry for just trying to live your lives. Even if not one person comes to this church because of a Pride flag out front, broadcasting our identity as an Open and Affirming church is important because if one kid, one young adult, one person knows there is a church where they are wholeheartedly welcome, it could very well save their life.

Cartoon of a brown dog with black ears, wielding a fire extinguisher at a table on fire with a coffee mug on it, with a caption that reads "It's not fine, and you have a responsibility to act."

But we can’t stop there. Let’s be the gay church! Let’s really make our welcome extravagant and heartfelt. Don’t just wear Pride gear in June; wear it every chance you get. Wear it out. Educate yourself about gender identity and gender expression and why pronouns matter. Volunteer to mentor a queer kid. Join the NAACP. Aid and abet the poor. Welcome out of state guests from West Virginia and Ohio who need an abortion. Let there be no question that you are a safe haven, that this is a courageous space for those who need to know that they are beloved of God, whose lives are depending on it, on us. Be Christian. Do crimes. You know Jesus would and did, for love’s sake.

Benediction – by Harold Warheim



Because the world is poor and starving,
Go with bread.

Because the world is filled with fear,
Go with courage.

Because the world is in despair,
Go with hope.

Because the world is living lies,
Go with truth.

Because the world is sick with sorrow,
Go with joy.

Because the world is weary of wars,
Go with peace.

Because the world is seldom fair,
Go with justice.

Because the world is under judgment,
Go with mercy.

Because the world will die without it,
Go with love.