Kittredge Cherry's Blog: Q Spirit, page 57

Holy Week offering for Jesus In Love

Kittredge Cherry holding “Jesus Rises” by Douglas Blanchard (photo by Audrey)


I am collecting a Holy Week offering to support my work at Jesus in Love for LGBT spirituality and the arts.



Give now by clicking the “GoFundMe” button below or visiting my donate page .



Thank you! I am also seeking people to subscribe for $25 a month. Click here for subscription info. Your gifts help me provide resources such as the Gay Passion of Christ series and the LGBT Stations of the Cross, plus much more throughout the year.

The Jesus in Love Blog gets 187,000 pageviews per year and my e-newsletter has more than 800 subscribers. Numbers alone can’t express the impact of Jesus in Love on people’s lives. Listen to the voices of readers:

“It’s very, very important to reach LGBTQ's with the love of God, and I don’t know anyone who does that better than you.” -- Josh Thomas

“Your boldness for the Queer Christ inspires me and gives me joy.” -- Brian Hutchison “Thank you for keeping the flame of the LGBT creative spirit burning bright!” -- Stephen Mead

Right-wing rants also show that my work at Jesus in Love is effective:

Blasphemy 101: ‘Lesbian Christian’ Kittredge Cherry Offers ‘Rainbow Christ Prayer’ was posted by Americans for Truth about Homosexuality. Headed by Peter LaBarbera, it is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

My ideas on the queer Christ are labeled “bizarre” in “Rewriting the Bible: The Gospel According to Liberals” at Newsbusters, a big conservative watchdog group. They lumped me in with such liberal luminaries as President Obama, Lady Gaga and Rev. Jesse Jackson!

The Dumb Dora Award for Blasphemous Burlesque Goes to Kittredge Cherry…  was posted at the Ignorance is Plentiful Blog, saying “Hollywood-based Kittredge Cherry is an author and ordained priest in the Gay-founded Metropolitan Community Church. In recent years, this sweet-faced old lady has become an aggressive exponent of ‘Queer Christ’ theology. … I call it sacrilege-with-a-smile!”

By supporting Jesus in Love, you stand up for freedom of speech and freedom of religion. You empower people to experience the divine in new ways. Jesus in Love is my gift to the world. What do you feel called to give in return? Click here to give now.



I am passionately committed to Jesus in Love because it grew out of my own personal journey as a lesbian Christian. Since I launched JesusInLove.org in 2005, it has grown to include a popular blog and e-newsletter. You can read my bio at this link.



Many thanks to EVERYONE who has given their time, talent and resources. May you and your loved ones find strength and new understanding this Holy Week!

Palm Sunday offering for Jesus In Love

Kittredge Cherry holding “Jesus Rises” by Douglas Blanchard (photo by Audrey)

I am collecting a Holy Week offering to support my work at Jesus in Love for LGBT spirituality and the arts.



Give now by clicking the “GoFundMe” button below or visiting my donate page .

Thank you! I am also seeking people to subscribe for $25 a month. Click here for subscription info. Your gifts help me provide resources such as the Gay Passion of Christ series and the LGBT Stations of the Cross, plus much more throughout the year.

The Jesus in Love Blog gets 187,000 pageviews per year and my e-newsletter has more than 800 subscribers. Numbers alone can’t express the impact of Jesus in Love on people’s lives. Listen to the voices of readers:

“It’s very, very important to reach LGBTQ's with the love of God, and I don’t know anyone who does that better than you.” -- Josh Thomas

“Your boldness for the Queer Christ inspires me and gives me joy.” -- Brian Hutchison “Thank you for keeping the flame of the LGBT creative spirit burning bright!” -- Stephen Mead

Right-wing rants also show that my work at Jesus in Love is effective:

Blasphemy 101: ‘Lesbian Christian’ Kittredge Cherry Offers ‘Rainbow Christ Prayer’ was posted by Americans for Truth about Homosexuality. Headed by Peter LaBarbera, it is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

My ideas on the queer Christ are labeled “bizarre” in “Rewriting the Bible: The Gospel According to Liberals” at Newsbusters, a big conservative watchdog group. They lumped me in with such liberal luminaries as President Obama, Lady Gaga and Rev. Jesse Jackson!

The Dumb Dora Award for Blasphemous Burlesque Goes to Kittredge Cherry…  was posted at the Ignorance is Plentiful Blog, saying “Hollywood-based Kittredge Cherry is an author and ordained priest in the Gay-founded Metropolitan Community Church. In recent years, this sweet-faced old lady has become an aggressive exponent of ‘Queer Christ’ theology. … I call it sacrilege-with-a-smile!”

By supporting Jesus in Love, you stand up for freedom of speech and freedom of religion. You empower people to experience the divine in new ways. Jesus in Love is my gift to the world. What do you feel called to give in return? Click here to give now.

I am passionately committed to Jesus in Love because it grew out of my own personal journey as a lesbian Christian. Since I launched JesusInLove.org in 2005, it has grown to include a popular blog and e-newsletter. You can read my bio at this link.

Many thanks to EVERYONE who has given their time, talent and resources. May you and your loved ones find strength and new understanding this Holy Week!

Day 1: Jesus with the prophets (Gay Passion of Christ series)

1. The Son of Man with Job and Isaiah (from The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision) by Douglas Blanchard


“God has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” -- Isaiah 61:1 (Inclusive Language Lectionary)



A contemporary Jesus arrives as a prisoner in the painting that launches the series “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision” by Douglas Blanchard. Jesus stands half-naked in blue jeans and handcuffs, attractive even in adversity. Blanchard paints an accessible Jesus that 21st-century readers can know and touch in his Passion series. The 24 paintings portray Jesus as a gay man of today in a modern city, experiencing the events of Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, and his arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection. The beardless young Christ is unfamiliar to modern eyes, but Blanchard harkens back to the most ancient images of Jesus. The gay vision of Christ’s Passion promises to address the suffering of queer people today -- and thereby speak to the human condition. Christ the liberator comes as a prisoner. With this first painting, the stage is set and the viewer is invited to join Jesus on a journey that leads from prison to paradise.



God’s solidarity with people amid human suffering is emphasized from the first image in Blanchard’s Passion series. The pathway from bondage to freedom leads through the Passion, moving from death to new life. The word “passion” comes from the Latin word for suffering, and has become a theological term for the hardships that Jesus experienced in the week before his death.



Jesus shares his dark prison cell with a pair of older men in “The Son of Man (Human One) with Job and Isaiah.” His warm, pink flesh is bleeding. In a modern form of dehumanization, Jesus is labeled with a number, “124,” hanging on a tag around his neck. A barred window behind an arch gives him a crude halo. His queer identity is not apparent, as often happens with contemporary lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people. The title of this painting refers to Jesus as “Son of Man,” a mysterious, multi-purpose phrase that is translated as “Human One” in gender-inclusive language. Names painted on the sides of the frame identify his two companions as Job and Isaiah, prophets from the Hebrew scriptures. Their presence signals that themes of suffering and redemption will run through this series.



Blanchard, a gay artist based in New York, painted this scene at the dawn of the new millennium in summer 2001. His Lower East Side studio was only a couple of miles away from the World Trade Center. Little did he know that a few months later, on September 11, a terrorist attack there would make him confront suffering and death in a 21st-century Passion. Blanchard used the series to wrestle with his faith in the aftermath of 9/11.



The opening image is also one of the most cryptic paintings in the series. It may be tempting to skip over it and jump ahead to the next scene, where Jesus enters the city. Even the prophets turn their faces away. Job seems unable to bear seeing the bloody martyr in chains, while Isaiah appears to be lost in thought. Together the three men form a kind of Trinity. A close look reveals a surprise: The ancient prophets are wearing modern suits under their robes. The lapel of a business suit is visible beneath Job’s ancient garment, and the fringes of Isaiah’s robe dangle over modern shoes. They present a message for today clothed in an archetypal story from long ago. Jesus faces the viewer with a full frontal gaze, ready to engage in dialogue. But he doesn’t say a word. He carries nothing, no stone tablets -- not even a tablet computer. Jesus himself is the message. Just by being here, he proclaims freedom.



Both Job and Isaiah are associated with suffering. Job was a righteous man who kept his faith despite horrible calamities. Throughout the whole Book of Job he wrestles with the question: Why do bad things happen to good people? A major theme in the Book of Isaiah is God’s Suffering Servant or “Man of Sorrows” who brings justice, but is abused and rejected.



Jesus chose to quote Isaiah when he launched his public ministry. He told the people at the synagogue in Nazareth that he was fulfilling this prophecy: “The Spirit of God is upon me, because God has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, and has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1) Isaiah also is known for his prophecy about a savior named Immanuel, which is Hebrew for “God with Us.” Christians believe these prophecies pointed to Jesus, the compassionate follower of God who was crucified. The New Testament describes how Christ emptied himself and took human form, living among us as the Word made flesh.



Jesus, Job, and Isaiah all used the phrase translated as “Son of Man” or “Human One.” It can mean a generic human being (male or female) or a divine ruler envisioned by the prophet Daniel. Jesus often referred to himself as “son of man,” thereby emphasizing his own humanity and perhaps also invoking ancient prophecies of a messiah. By using “Son of Man” in the title, Blanchard underscores the humanity of Jesus while honoring his divinity. Blanchard’s choice of words reveals that this vision is progressive but not necessarily politically correct. His Jesus remains unapologetically male.



The scene of Jesus in jail with Job and Isaiah does not occur in scripture, leaving room for the viewer to speculate. Is Jesus arriving in prison or leaving? Maybe the painting represents Jesus’ own vision while he prayed in prison before he was sentenced to death. He may have remembered the ancient prophets as the crowds outside shouted for his death -- just a week after they roared their approval when he entered the city. Or does it show how society locks away today’s prophets along with those of the past?



The prison scene is an enigmatic prelude for the “gay vision” proclaimed in the subtitle of the series. Americans have been imprisoned for homosexual acts within living memory. The last sodomy laws in the United States were not overturned until 2003. Consensual homosexual acts remain a crime in many countries and a few still impose the death penalty. Many queers still imprison themselves in self-imposed mental closets.



Early Christian artists commonly pictured Jesus as a youthful Good Shepherd without a beard. The bearded Christ motif developed around the sixth century. The crucifixion images that dominate current Christian thought didn’t arise until a thousand years after he died. A Jesus in modern dress may come as a surprise, but he promised his disciples, “Lo, I am with you always.” [Matthew 28:20 RSV]



Artists almost never portray Jesus in prison. A rare exception is 19th-century French painter James Tissot. He painted Jesus with hands lifted in prayer, chained to a stone between two sleeping guards in “Good Friday Morning: Jesus in Prison.” Likewise Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte is one of the few artists in history who ever attempted to give visual form to the phrase “Son of Man.” His famous “Son of Man” is a self portrait of the artist in a suit with an oversized apple covering his face.



The gay Passion series operates on two levels as a story within a story. The first and last paintings function like bookends, putting the gospel narrative into a larger context not limited by time and space. For those who take time to decode the rich symbolism of this painting, it foreshadows and sums up the whole series. This will be no ordinary Stations of the Cross, with a hopelessly distant Jesus moving predictably from trial to tomb. Blanchard’s vision is broader. With this first painting, Blanchard honors human suffering by invoking major Biblical models of Christ: the Son of Man / Human One, the Suffering Servant, and Immanuel. As the averted eyes of Job and Isaiah indicate, many prophets desired to see the freedom embodied by Christ, but did not. Viewers are blessed with the chance to see it played out as the gay vision of the Passion unfolds.




“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” -- John 1:14 (RSV)





Jesus was one of us, a real human being. He loved everybody, including his enemies. And yet some say that LGBT people don’t belong in the story of Jesus Christ. There’s black Jesus, Asian Jesus -- and now gay Jesus to heal the hate and discrimination done in Christ’s name. This is the story of a Jesus who emphasized his humanity by calling himself the Human One.* He doesn’t look very gay. Young and attractive, he can pass for straight. He is fully in the present, yet feels kinship with the ancient prophets Job and Isaiah who understood suffering. He wanted to serve God by healing people and setting them free. Here we remember his last days, his death and his resurrection. Jesus was a child of God who embodied love so completely that he transcended death. But while it was all happening, people didn’t understand. Society rejected him. They locked the liberator in prison.





Jesus, show me how you lived and loved.





*Son of Man can be translated as Human One.



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This is part of a series based on “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision,” a set of 24 paintings by Douglas Blanchard, with text by Kittredge Cherry.  For the whole series, click here.



Scripture quotations are from Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.



Scripture quotations are from the Inclusive Language Lectionary (Year C), copyright © 1985-88 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Gay Passion of Christ series starts Sunday

“The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision” by Douglas Blanchard, at JHS Gallery in Taos, NM (Photo by Dorie Hagler)


A gay vision of Christ’s Passion starts this Sunday here at the Jesus in Love Blog. New posts will run daily from Palm Sunday through Easter.





Jesus is a young man of today

in a detail from the first painting

in Blanchard's gay Passion series

All 24 paintings in Douglas Blanchard’s “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision” will be posted here with newly expanded and improved commentary by Kittredge Cherry and short Bible passages.



Artist Douglas Blanchard paints Jesus as a young gay man of today in a modern city. He takes the most important narrative in Western culture and rescues it from fundamentalists and also from over-familiarity. The series shines a queer light on Jesus’ final days, including the arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.



Click the titles below to view individual paintings and text in the series. Links will be added as the series is posted.



1. Son of Man (Human One) with Job and Isaiah

2. Jesus Enters the City

3. Jesus Drives Out the Money Changers

4. Jesus Preaches in the Temple

5. The Last Supper

6. Jesus Prays Alone

7. Jesus Is Arrested

8. Jesus Before the Priests

9. Jesus Before the Magistrate

10. Jesus Before the People

11. Jesus Before the Soldiers

12. Jesus Is Beaten

13. Jesus Goes to His Execution

14. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross

15. Jesus Dies

16. Jesus Is Buried

17. Jesus Among the Dead

18. Jesus Rises

19. Jesus Appears to Mary

20. Jesus Appears at Emmaus

21. Jesus Appears to His Friends

22. Jesus Returns to God

23. The Holy Spirit Arrives

24. The Trinity



Click here to see the whole Gay Passion series in order



The Holy Week posts are timed so that Christ dies on Good Friday and rises again on Easter itself. Blanchard, a gay painter based in New York, and Cherry, a lesbian author and art historian in Los Angeles, plan to turn this series into a book.



Your comments on the gay Passion series are strongly encouraged to help ensure that the book version addresses the issues that are most important to readers.



Blanchard’s images show Jesus being jeered by fundamentalists, tortured by Marine look-alikes and rising again to enjoy homoerotic moments with God and friends. He faces forms of rejection that feel familiar to contemporary lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. He stands up to priests, businessmen, lawyers, and soldiers—all of whom look eerily similar to the people holding those jobs today.



“The purpose of reflecting on the Passion is not necessarily to worship Christ, but to remember with compassion the endless crosses upon which people continue to be crucified, and to seek a way to move from suffering to freedom,” Cherry said.



She was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches and served as its national ecumenical officer. In 2005 she created Jesus in Love to support LGBT spirituality and the arts and show God’s love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It has grown to include a popular blog, e-newsletter and website.



“Christ’s story is for everyone, but queer people often feel left out because conservatives use Christian rhetoric to justify hate and discrimination,” she said.



Blanchard, an Episcopalian “agnostic believer” who teaches college art history, spent four years painting the gay Passion. He started in summer 2001, but it took on new meaning on Sept. 11 when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center near his studio on New York’s Lower East Side.



“I understand that a lot of people rediscovered religious faith after September 11th. I had the opposite reaction,” Blanchard said. “I was horrified by the religious motivation of those attacks.” He used the paintings to address this conflict, concluding that Christ’s resurrection reverses the “grim arithmetic of power.”



Selections from Blanchard’s Passion appear in “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More” by Kittredge Cherry. “Art That Dares,” a Lambda Literary Award finalist, is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists from the U.S. and Europe.



The New York Times Book Review praised Cherry’s “very graceful, erudite” writing style. She has written six books, including “Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and Celebrations” and “Jesus in Love: A Novel.”



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Give now: Holy Week / Easter offering

for Jesus in Love



Kittredge Cherry is collecting a Holy Week / Easter offering to support here work at Jesus in Love for LGBT spirituality and the arts. Give now by visiting her donate page.



Your gifts help her provide Holy Week resources such as the Gay Passion of Christ series and the LGBT Stations of the Cross, plus much more throughout the year.



___

Related links:



“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” by Mary Button with commentary by Kittredge Cherry



Excerpts from "Jesus in Love: At the Cross" by Kittredge Cherry



Trans Passion narrative by Anarchist Reverend Shannon Kearns



Made In God's Image: Stations of the Cross for Inclusive and Affirming Communities by Rev. Janine C. Stock



Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.

http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/

Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts



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This post is part of the Queer Christ series series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series gathers together visions of the queer Christ as presented by artists, writers, theologians and others.

John Boswell: Historian of gays and lesbians in Christianity

John Boswell

John Boswell (1947-1994) was a prominent scholar who researched and wrote about the importance of gays and lesbians in Christian history. He was born 66 years ago today on March 20, 1947.



Boswell, a history professor at Yale University, wrote such influential classics as Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality (1980) and Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe (1994).



Boswell converted from the Episcopal Church of his upbringing to Roman Catholicism at age 16. He attended mass daily until his death, even though as an openly gay Christian he disagreed with church teachings on homosexuality. He also helped found Yale’s Lesbian and Gay Studies Center in the late 1980s.



A linguistic genius, he used his knowledge of more than 15 languages to argue that the Roman Catholic Church did not condemn homosexuality until at least the 12th century in his book Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the 14th Century.



Using some of his last strength as he battled AIDS, Boswell translated many rites of adelphopoiesis (Greek for making brothers) in his book Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, presenting evidence that they were sexual unions similar to marriage.



Boswell died an untimely death at age 47 from AIDS-related illness on Christmas Eve 1994. He remains an unofficial saint to the many LGBT Christians who find life-giving spiritual value in his historical research that affirms the value of queer people in Christian history.



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Boswell’s books include:

Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the 14th Century



Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe

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Related links:



John Boswell Page at Fordham University



John Boswell profile at LGBT Religious Archives Network



John Boswell profile at Elisa Reviews

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This post is part of a new effort to add authors and theologians to the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, heroes, holy people, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.

Station 14: Jesus in tomb / LGBT youth suicides

Jesus is laid in his tomb as LGBT youths commit suicide in Station 14 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud

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2010: A string of high profile suicides of gay teenagers makes national news, sparking debate on the high rates of suicide among LGBT youth and the culture of bullying that exists in many American schools. Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller found the It Gets Better Project.

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:





LGBT people who were driven to suicide watch as Jesus is laid in his tomb. Jesus is not separate from humanity, but with us even in death. These queer martyrs join the “great cloud of witnesses” who surround us and encourage us to run the race ahead (Hebrews 12:1).



Names of LGBT youth who killed themselves include Tyler Clementi, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase, Asher Brown, Cody J. Barker, Harrison Chase Brown, Caleb Nolt; Billy Lucas, Jeanine Blanchette, and Chantal Dube.

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LGBT Stations of the Cross come together like a patchwork quilt in this image from Believe Out Loud



The LGBT Stations of the Cross ends here -- but only temporarily! After Easter artist Mary Button plans to paint Station 15 showing the resurrection. “I’m hopeful that the Supreme Court will rule DOMA unconstitutional and I'll be able to create a Resurrection piece about the ruling!” she told the Jesus in Love Blog.

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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series was posted here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 13: Jesus removed from cross / same-sex marriage ban

Jesus is taken down from the cross as same-sex marriage is banned in Station 13 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



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2004: In sweeping homophobic legislative measures same-sex marriage is banned in Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Wisconsin

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



A map of states banning same-sex marriage forms a colorful backdrop as Jesus is taken down from the cross. Denying legal rights to lesbian and gay couples is another insult to the body of Christ. Is the body of Christ buried in states without marriage equality?



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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 12: Jesus dies / transgender people murdered

Jesus dies as transgender woman Rita Hester is murdered in Station 12 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



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1998: On November 28, 1998 a transgender African American woman named Rita Hester was murdered in Allston, MA. The outpouring of grief and anger over her death inspired the founding of the International Transgender Day of Rememberance. The background image in this piece is from one of these vigils.

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



Jesus’ death on the cross is boldly identified with the murder of Rita Hester, an African American transgender woman. A banner carried by people at a Transgender Day of Remembrance march stretches across Jesus on the cross: “How many transgenders have to die before you get involved?” The text on the banner comes from an actual news photo.



Another high-profile murder victim was transgender man Brandon Teena, subject of the movie “Boys Don’t Cry,” who was killed in 1993. The list of unlawfully killed transgender people is long and still growing. Jesus said, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.”



_________________________________________________

“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 12: Jesus dies / Transgender murdered

Jesus dies as transgender Rita Hester is murdered in Station 12 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



_________________________________________________



1998: On November 28, 1998 a transgender African American woman named Rita Hester was murdered in Allston, MA. The outpouring of grief and anger over her death inspired the founding of the International Transgender Day of Rememberance. The background image in this piece is from one of these vigils.

_________________________________________________



Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



Jesus’ death on the cross is boldly identified with the murder of Rita Hester, an African American transgender woman. A banner carried by people today stretches across Jesus on the cross: “How many transgenders have to die before you get involved?”



Another high-profile transgender murder victim was transman Brandon Teena, subject of the movie “Boys Don’t Cry,” who was killed in 1993. The list of unlawfully killed transgender people is long and still growing. Jesus said, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.”



_________________________________________________

“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Gay centurion: Jesus heals a soldier’s boyfriend in the Bible

Jesus praised a gay soldier as a model of faith and healed his male lover in the gospels, according to many Bible experts. The soldier, a centurion in the Roman army, is highlighted here today (March 15) for the feast day of Longinus, another centurion in Jesus’ life.





“Centurion”

by Luc Viatour

www.Lucnix.be
Both Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 tell how a centurion asked Jesus to heal the young man referred to in Greek as his “pais.” The word was commonly used for the younger partner in a same-sex relationship. It is usually translated as boy, servant or slave. In recent years progressive Bible scholars have concluded that the centurion was in a homosexual relationship with the “slave who was dear to him” in the gospel story.



Jesus was willing to go into the centurion’s house to heal his lover, but the centurion stopped him, saying, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.”



Jesus marveled and told the crowd around him, “Not even in Israel have I found such faith!” To the centurion he said, “Go; be it done for you as you have believed.” And his boyfriend was healed at that moment.



Scholars believe that “boy” was the centurion’s sex partner not only due to the word “pais,” but also because it is unlikely that a soldier would care so much about an ordinary slave. It was common in Greco-Roman culture for mature men to pair up with a young man as his lover.



Books that explore the homosexuality of the centurion include:



Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times by Tom Horner



Freedom, Glorious Freedom: The Spiritual Journey to the Fullness of Life for Gays, Lesbians, and Everybody Else by John McNeill



The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships by Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley



What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality by Daniel Helminiak



The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament by Theodore Jennings



This interpretation is promoted by LGBT-friendly church groups such as WouldJesusDiscriminate.org and WhyWouldWe.org on billboards stating “Jesus affirmed a gay couple.” For more info, see my previous post, Billboards show gay-friendly Jesus.







The centurion’s story has gotten surprisingly little attention throughout history considering that Jesus himself was impressed by his faith. But the Roman soldier has always been an unlikely role model. Jesus’ contemporaries were probably shocked that the great healer would praise a military man who enforced Roman occupation of their land. Today people may find the centurion unappealing because he may have been gay, or a slave owner, or both. It was just like Jesus to take someone disreputable and praise them as holy.



While the faithful centurion himself is rarely mentioned, his words do live on in a prayer used in many Catholic and Protestant eucharistic liturgies. For example, the prayer immediately before communion at Catholic mass paraphrases his words: “Lord I am not worthy to receive you under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”



Saint Longinus, whose feast day is today (March 15) is the centurion who pierced Christ’s side at the crucifixion and declared, “Truly this man was the son of God.” It’s possible that he is the same faithful gay centurion whose beloved boyfriend was healed by Jesus.



“Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant” by Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) (Wikimedia Commons)___

Related links:



A gay centurion comes out to Jesus (Gay Christian 101)



Jesus and the centurion (Wild Reed)



Gay centurion (My Queer Scripture)



The centurion of great faith (Homosexuality and Scripture by Pharsea)



Jesus, the centurion, and his lover (Jack Clark Robinson at Gay and Lesbian Review)



When Jesus Healed a Same-Sex Partner by Jay Michaelson (Huffington Post)



Image at top:

Detail from “Healing the Centurion’s Servant” in Mother Stories From the New Testament by Anonymous, 1906

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This post is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, heroes, holy people, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.