In the seventh chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus is found in the midst of a verbal assault perpetrated by the family of Jesus. They were ashamed of who Jesus most authentically was. They were even more disturbed by Jesus’ insistence on claiming his authentic or actualized self. Sound familiar?
So often in life when we begin to claim the queer within, there are attacks by those who live comfortably immersed in the evils of normativity and self-denial. The family of Jesus just wanted Jesus to just remain quiet and closeted. Jesus would not be Jesus if Jesus had stayed in the closet.
The Festival of the Tabernacles or Booths was going on in Jerusalem. Knowing that there might be violence perpetrated against Jesus, the family of Jesus dares Jesus to go. So what does Jesus do? Jesus ventures to the party in drag.
“When I am on that stage dancing and singing, I feel the authentic presence of God well up within myself. There is no time in my life that I feel more authentically who God has created me to be than when I am in drag,” were the words relayed to me recently by a friend in drag. One has to wonder if Jesus felt the same.
The conundrum of authenticity haunts the reader of the Gospels. Jesus is persecuted and eventually killed for being authentically the queer child of God that Jesus was created to be.
Make no mistake dear friends…the only liberation that we can conjure up within the self is to be the queer that God has created us to be. You consistently speak of a desire to free the world from oppression, but you cannot free anything until you free yourself. Queer is the only way to be authentic.
The words of my friend in drag speak volumes. The person in drag in this talk represents the most authentic person. So this morning I invite you to find your drag and be the queer God has created you to be.
Amen.
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