Our Bodies, Our Souls, Ourselves Pt II

Note: This is part II of a devotional homily I wrote for a queer Christian retreat.






“Whatever other reasons we have for coming to such a place, if we come also to give each other our love and to give God our love, then together with Gabriel and Michael, and the fat parson, and Sebastian pierced with arrows, and the old lady whose teeth don’t fit, and Teresa in her ecstasy, we are the communion of saints.” - Frederick Buechner





“But God has composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” -1st Corinthians 12:21-27





As loving members of the Body of Christ, how then are we to live? And what do we as LGBTQ+ Christians have to uniquely offer to our brothers and sisters, both in the church and outside of the church? In thinking about these questions, I am reminded of the words and witness of the saints. The term “saint” has often been obscured by debates between denominations, but at its core, the saints are simply the body of Christ throughout the ages and today. The church often focuses on particular holy people from the past who did great things for God, but we are also a part of the great story of God’s redeeming work in the world. We are all the communion of saints as we seek to bring about God’s Kingdom on earth.





In working to become our best selves, we can be inspired by one another. Each of us has different gifts to bring to the table. Each gift is essential. In another passage, Buechner suggests that “the grace of God means something like, ‘Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you.’” I deeply believe that this grace holds true at every level of our being. God has created us with our unique identities (sexuality, gender, race, background, etc). And God has also created each of us as an irreplaceable soul. When we can bring our best selves to the work of helping one another, we are joined in spirit and in action by those who have come before us. So many followers of Christ who, like us, chose to live their faith boldly into action. We have a lot in common with those saints, perhaps more than we realize. Like the Apostles, we have each been called by name to follow Jesus and “to proclaim good news to the poor”. Like the early Christians, many of us have weathered persecution and emerged stronger than ever. Like the holy hermits, we continually pray in love for one another. Like the theologians and doctors of the church, we are unveiling the endless Mysteries of God’s truth and grace in ways that the church has never seen before. As emerging saints and members of the Body of Christ, we will stand together, guided by the love of God and supported by one another. And it is my hope and trust that we will not rest until all of humanity is brought to God’s loving table, where everyone will be given an equal part in the Kingdom, where we can all rejoice in the God-given beauty of our souls and selves.