{"id":13040,"date":"2025-01-27T22:30:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T04:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jeffhood\/?p=13040"},"modified":"2025-01-28T10:55:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T16:55:22","slug":"jesus-is-transgender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jeffhood\/jesus-is-transgender\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Is Trans: Remembering Shade Schuler\u2019s Life and Death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"
Rev. Carmarion Anderson-Harvey and I presided over the memorial service for Shade Schuler in 2015. \/ The black spot was where her body was left to decompose for months before she was found.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jesus is Transgender<\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Less than a hundred feet from residences, local authorities discovered the murdered and badly decomposed body of a transgender woman of color. The Dallas Police Department put out a detailed description of the body and asked for help. For weeks, no one had seemed to know who this woman was. Finally, when the woman was identified as 22-year-old Ms. Shade Schuler, I realized she\u2019d been forgotten.\u00a0 Nobody seemed to care that a crime of hate had struck her down.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the twilight of that August 2015 evening, the heat was excruciating. With every breath, I sweated through my shirt. The jokes of children filled the air. I laughed too. When we stepped onto the hidden gravel road, things got real. I knew we were on holy ground. No one spoke much. Everyone just seemed to be concentrating on the next step. The smell lingered. The heat didn\u2019t stop. I worried that the bread and chalice would slip out of my hands. The screech startled me. Perhaps, the bird was warning us that we were nearing the point of no return. I assumed it was an old fire pit. When I saw the black spot was in the shape of a body, I knew better.<\/p>\n

This Is My Body<\/h2>\n

Rev. Carmarion Anderson-Harvey* and I led the group in a variety of prayers and then lifted up the elements to the heavens.\u00a0 \u201cThis is my body.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThis is my blood.\u201d\u00a0 The presence of God was unmistakable. It was electric.\u00a0 We remembered the oppression that Schuler faced in life, the horrific way she died and the beautiful resurrection in Christ that we knew she\u2019d experienced in death.\u00a0 As each of us bent down to touch the spot, everything seemed to stop and Jesus softly whispered, \u201cWhat you have done to the least of these you have done to me\u2026\u201d Looking at that empty spot on the ground, I believed the words as much as I ever had.<\/p>\n

The inaugural address of President Donald Trump was certainly not short on bluster.\u00a0 But, one moment in particular stood out to me, \u201cAs of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.\u201d*\u00a0 In addition to these words, Trump has immediately signed numerous executive orders targeting the Transgender community that will have detrimental effect on everything from passports to the military to prisons to countless other juxtapositions.*<\/p>\n

You Have Done To Me<\/h2>\n

I couldn\u2019t help but think about Ms. Shade Schuler.\u00a0 Reckless statements of erasure only give permission for oppression.\u00a0 Undoubtedly, there was someone who told Schuler\u2019s murderer similar things.\u00a0 Indeed, the actions of the Schuler\u2019s murderer and Trump\u2019s executive actions of metaphorical murder today are not all that different, they both seek to disenfranchise and destroy.<\/p>\n

Jesus said, \u201cWhat you have done to the least of these you have done to me.\u201d\u00a0 Those who are oppressed, marginalized, put down and left out are the least of these Christ spoke of. \u00a0Today, based on both statements and actions, President Trump has left no doubt that the Transgender community is now at the epicenter of abuse.\u00a0 Jesus is incarnate in the least of these.\u00a0 So, from this moment forth, let there be no doubt, Jesus is Transgender.<\/p>\n

*a Trans woman who presently serves as the Alabama State Director with the Human Rights Campaign<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.fox32chicago.com\/news\/trump-inauguration-speech-us-policy-will-reflect-only-two-genders<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.politico.com\/live-updates\/2025\/01\/20\/donald-trump-inauguration-day-news-updates-analysis\/trump-removes-nonbinary-gender-00199264<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Jesus is Transgender \u00a0 Less than a hundred feet from residences, local authorities discovered the murdered and badly decomposed body of a transgender woman of color. The Dallas Police Department put out a detailed description of the body and asked for help. For weeks, no one had seemed to know who this woman was. 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