Casting Stones November 10, 2013 Text: John 8:2-9 Early in the morning he came again to the temple.

All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. PRAYER From time to time, we as individuals and the church have to be challenged into new ways of thinking. Fifty years ago, I would not have been standing here because I am a woman. After the Civil War Methodist Churches split along the Mason-Dixon Line over the issue of slavery. It wasn't until well after the Civil

Rights Act became the law of the land that churches would marry inter-racial couples. It seems that every generation has their own challenge and must struggle with Scripture and long-held beliefs before positive change is possible. Our current struggle is with homosexuality. As a whole, our society is growing more accepting. We see on the news that more and more states are allowing same-sex marriage, including our neighbor Illinois. Federal laws are changing to bring equality for gay individuals and families in areas like employment benefits and discrimination. As attitudes and laws change, churches are wrestling with polity over inclusion. It is tough stuff and very confusing. A couple of months ago Becky announced that the Mission and Evangelism Committee that she chairs wanted to launch an outreach to the gay and lesbian community in Miller Beach. We have a larger than average percentage of LGBT neighbors that are largely unchurched. The program received the approval of the Administrative Council and it was launched yesterday with coffee and conversation at the Bakers House. We have no idea how this outreach will go. We may eventually add 10 or 20 or more new members from the community, we may add none. Regardless I thought it was important for us to have a conversation on this issue. Actually, the

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Holy Spirit led me to this conversation. All I ask of you is that you listen with an open heart and mind. The controversy over homosexuality is of course based in Scripture. The same is true of the other generational struggles I've mentioned including slavery. The Old Testament includes several strong statements about homosexuality. The most often quoted comes from Leviticus 18:22: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. Thats what the Bible says. Amen. (Turn as if leaving the pulpit) Obviously there is more to the story. First we need to place Scripture in context. We have a habit of plucking text from the Bible without considering the historical and social context it is placed in and proclaim, "The Bible says..." That is called proof texting and it has been done for centuries to justify hatred and persecution. Hitler quoted Scripture to support genocide. My ancestors quoted Scripture in justifying the Crusades that resulted in thousands of deaths in the name of Jesus Christ. Christians for nearly a century quoted Scripture to support slavery. The Bible says There are a couple of problems here. First, Leviticus and Deuteronomy are part of the 613 Jewish laws governing everything from food preparation to purity to human relations. The key term here is Jewish law. At the very start of the
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Christian church, leaders from Jerusalem led by Peter met with leaders of the Gentile movement led by Paul. At that time, there was no separate Christian church. Followers of Jesus remained Jewish and kept the laws. The meeting was over what would be required of the gentile converts which would include you and me. How much of the Jewish law would they be required to uphold? It was decided then that Gentile converts were not bound to the Law. We as Christians are not bound by Jewish law. Jewish law contains many mandates we do not follow today. An Old Testament professor wrote blog post recently that challenged Christian claims that homosexuality is a sin according to Leviticus. He asked a series of questions about how we are to proceed in keeping the law. Here are a few of his questions: 1. I have a neighbor who works on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it? 2. My friend feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination under Leviticus 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I disagree. Can you settle this? Are there degrees of abomination?

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3. Leviticus 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I wear glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20 or is there some wiggle room here? 4. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her: 5. And one last note appropriate for a Sunday afternoon in AutumnI know from Leviticus 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves? See his point? We pick and choose what applies to us and what doesnt. That part about shellfish doesnt apply to us and we would never sell our children into slavery. And yet we raise up Leviticus 18:20 to prove that homosexuality is a sin because the Bible says United Methodist pastor and author Adam Hamilton wrote an op-ed piece in the Washington Post addressing Scripture and homosexuality. He said there are a handful of Scriptures (five or eight depending upon how one counts) that specifically speak of same-sex intimacy as unacceptable to God. Conservatives or traditionalists see these as reflecting Gods timeless will for human relationships. Progressives look at these same scriptures in much the same way that progressives in the nineteenth century looked at the Bibles teaching on slavery.
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They believe that these verses capture the cultural understandings and practices of sexuality in biblical times, but do not reflect Gods will for gay and lesbian people. Hamilton goes on to say that for many Christians today, particularly young adults, the handful of Bible verses related to same sex intimacy seem more like the 100 plus verses on slavery than they do the teachings of Jesus and his great commandments to love God and neighbor. Their gay and lesbian friends are people, just like them, in need of love and community. He says, I believe that in the years ahead an increasing number of Christians, not only progressives, but also conservatives, will read the Bibles passages regarding homosexuality as all Christians today read the Bibles passages on slavery. And the sermons preached from Americas pulpits decrying the rights of homosexuals today will sound to future generations much like the pro-slavery sermons sound to us today. Now you may be thinking, "I don't care what you say, Pastor Sharon. Homosexuality is a sin. The Bible says so." Okay. What now? Our Gospel lesson gives us the answer. The temple authorities bring a woman guilty of adultery to Jesus to see if he would keep the law and condemn her to death by stoning. Instead he challenges them. If you are free from sin then

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you cast the first stone. Of course no one can claim they are without sin so they all slowly turn and walk away leaving just Jesus and the condemned woman. So I'll ask the same question of you. If you are without sin, stand up. I'd be sitting too. None of us are free of sin. As a pastor, you can imagine the things I know about people. We don't have formal confession in the Methodist church but I hear a lot of them. In nine plus years of ministry I have stood at pulpits like these and looked at people I know have cheated on their spouses, who have embezzled from their employer, even stole money from the church. I have looked at people who started knowingly false rumors about people -- including me -- just to hurt or discredit them. Ive had dinner at the homes of recovering addicts who stole from their family and friends, even robbed a convenience store, to support their habit. I could go on but you get the idea. When I look at these people on Sunday morning or shake their hands after the service or sit with them as their loved one lay dying, I don't see their sin. I just see them as children of God just as worthy of His love as I am. And I am called to love them the same. That's why I dislike the popular saying, "love the sinner, hate the sin." It is inapposite to what Jesus taught. Jesus said to love the sinner and hate your own sin. Once you are freed from your own sin, then and only then can you hate the sin in another.

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The United Methodist Church makes a few statements on homosexuality. Just like the lines from Leviticus I quoted earlier, one is held up as rejection of homosexuality. The Book of Disciple states that the church does not condone homosexual practices because it is inconsistent with Biblical teaching. That statement is likely to pass away as early as our next General Conference in 2016. But for now it is there and it is the rallying cry for those who want to exclude homosexuals from the church. What the Discipline also says that everyone seems to forget is that all persons are beloved of God and all are invited into the church. And all means all, just like our sign says. Even beyond that, we are specifically called into ministry with the LGBT community and their families. I can't preach this message without revealing my own bias on this issue. My brother is gay and legally married. I dont believe homosexuality is a choice any more than I believe skin color is a choice. After he came out to my family, my brother said, Remember how we watched Bonanza when we were little and you had such a crush on Little Joe? So did I. I have had and continue to have many gay and lesbian friends. I have had to do my own struggling with Scripture and my denomination's polity in this area. What motivates me is the love I have for my family and friends and what I have witnessed. My high school boyfriend broke up with me two weeks before my senior prom. My brothers very gay best
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friend stepped up and went as my date. No one knew he was gay. He treated me like a princess and since he was very handsome and a college sophomore, everyone was very impressed. A few years later, he became very ill from a genetic kidney disease, the same disease that claimed his older brothers life. Not long before he died, he told his parents he was gay. They rejected him, disowned him, refused to speak to him. When he died a few months later, it was my parents who gave him a funeral. His parents were invited but did not attend. After his grave went unmarked for a year, we all pitched in to buy a headstone. I cannot tell you the number of young gay men my parents took in on holidays because their families did not want them to come home. I was very close to a gay couple together 32 years when one had a heart attack and was on life support. His partner, his husband in all aspects except legal, was not allowed in his hospital room, had no say in his care, and was not allowed to participate in funeral arrangements. I have cleaned the scrapes of a friend shoved to the pavement after being called faggot by teenage boys. Every single man I have mentioned or referenced were good, kind, caring and loving. They did not deserve the pain they suffered. Thats why I chose the Old Testament lesson I did for today. It reminds us that God looks to a persons heart. Sexual orientation does not define us as human beings. It is part of us, of
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course, but we are much more than that. What matters is the heart and what resides there. That is what God sees and that is what we need to look at too. So where does bigotry and hatred toward our LGBT brothers and sisters come from? Sad to say, most of it comes from the church. We all know about Westboro Baptist Church and their God Hates Fags signs at military funerals. Talk about an abomination. But that is just one example of hatred coming from so-called Christians. Ive read statements from Christian groups like Focus on the Family and the American Family Association calling for a new underground railroad to kidnap kids from gay parents to save them or establishing concentration camps for gays to isolate them from society or how every gay man is a pedophile and should be thrown in jail. Some even say we should follow Leviticus 20:13 which states: "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them." Yep, we should kill all the gays because thats what the Bible says Imagine if you were gay. Would you want to come to church any church -- on Sunday morning? Im not asking you to change your feelings on homosexuality. If you believe it is a sin and an abomination, then that is what you believe. There is room at the table for every point of view. What I am asking you is this: I am asking you to
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follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. We may not be required to follow Jewish laws but we are required to follow the commandments Christ taught us. Jesus calls us to love our neighbor without exception, even to love our enemies. He calls us to see the other as a brother or sister without passing judgment. And you cant love someone while passing judgment on them. Mother Theresa said if you are busy judging someone you dont have time to love them. Every person who walks through the doors of this church should be welcomed in Christian love. They should be treated equally. They should be taken as they are, flaws and sins and all. I dont care if it is a gay man or a lesbian couple or a homeless woman with cardboard for shoes. Every person in this room and every person who walks through those doors has sacred worth because they are beloved of God. They are equal in his sight and should be equal in ours. They are seeking a loving relationship with Christ and a community where they can belong. We extend welcome, we invite them to participate, we show we care about them for exactly who they are. That is what we are called to do. That is what the church is called to do. Solike I said in the beginning, we dont know how this outreach to the gay community will work out. We could have visits from gay individuals, couples, and families, or we could see no one new come through the doors. I believe it will
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take some time, some patience, and some tenderness, but I think our church will grow because of this outreach. There is only one thing you need to do and that is love them. Love each person who walks through those doors. And why should you do that? Because Jesus does, and he calls us to do the same. Amen.

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