Author\u2019s note: This was originally delivered as a talk at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL on April 1, 2011, as part of a series of chapel service talks titled \u201cSexuality and Wholeness.\u201d The theme for this third talk in the series was \u201cHomosexuality.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to frame what I have to say today with a story from the Gospel of Mark (10:23-31). In this story, Jesus\u2019 disciples are afraid of being left on the outside of the circle of God\u2019s saving grace. Having just seen a rich man depart with Jesus\u2019 pronouncement, \u201cHow difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!,\u201d the disciples wonder about their own fate. If the rich\u2014those who were supposed to be a sure bet as candidates for salvation\u2014may miss the kingdom, then what hope is there for the rest of us?<\/p>\n
In an effort to shore up his own chances, Peter blurts out to Jesus, \u201cSee, we have left everything and followed you.\u201d He seems to be hoping for Jesus\u2019 affirmation here: Yes, Peter, I can see that. You\u2019re safe! Since you made such a great sacrifice on my behalf, I\u2019ll guarantee you a spot at the heavenly banquet.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, that\u2019s not the response Jesus gives. Rather than buttress Peter\u2019s confidence in his own heroic efforts, Jesus undercuts that sort of self-reliance. He says, \u201cTruly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notice, Jesus doesn\u2019t condemn Peter\u2019s choice to leave behind his fishing nets and follow Jesus. After all, Jesus is the one who had commanded him to do so (Mark 1:16-17)! Instead, Jesus shifts Peter\u2019s perspective on that act of self-denial. Rather than view it as a badge of honor, or a kind of qualification ensuring him a place on heaven\u2019s roster, Peter should understand his forsaking the life he\u2019d always known as a venture in receiving from Jesus a life so staggeringly full of grace and glory that any sacrifice made to obtain it pales by comparison. If Peter has left behind his family, Jesus says, he receives a new family in his discipleship. If Peter has given up property, he inherits a choicer piece of real estate. If he forsakes a fine house, he gains a mansion. If he gives up his life, then\u2014in Jesus\u2019 favorite paradox\u2014he gains it. Following me, Jesus seems to say, isn\u2019t simply about relinquishing things. It is about receiving the abundance of eternal life. \u2026<\/p>\n
In the years since I have begun to tell the story of my sexuality to my fellow Christians in the churches I have been a part of, I have found Jesus\u2019 words to be true. Jesus has given me brothers and sisters and mothers and children. Knowing my celibate lifestyle, the Christians I\u2019ve befriended have committed themselves, through the unity secured by the Holy Spirit rather than through biological ties, to being my family, whether or not I ever experience marriage myself. They have invited me into their homes, taken me on vacation with them, and encouraged me to consider myself an older sibling to their children.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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