Rev. George Miller
Jan 16, 2022
John 2:23-25
Growing up was not easy for me, as I suspect it wasn’t easy for many of
you.
I was the awkward child who was falsely led to believe that I was less
than, ugly, and not good enough.
Where other kids had designer jeans, and the newest Nikes, I had the
Sears brand Husky Jeans and the no-name Velcro-sneakers.
Growing up where I did, you were either Irish or Italian, Jewish or
Catholic. We were Protestant, and reminded
of that.
One of life’s greatest hurts occurred when I was a child, inflicted by a
person who smiled with Christian love.
Her name was Marty. She lived in
the 1st house on the block; a Catholic woman who taught catechism.
One day Marty invited all the kids from the neighborhood inside for treats.
Everyone except me.
Marty said I could sit outside on the stoop, which I did, as she handed me
my own bowl of popcorn.
When my Mom found out…she went right over to give Marty a “what for”, but
Marty proceeded to shame and humiliate my Mom in front of the kids.
I’ll never forget that experience.
7th grade was the worst year of my life. Turns out many people will say that.
7th grade in 1982 on Long Island is when you go from elementary
school to Jr. High, from cubby holes in the classroom to lockers in the
hallway.
Back then was the time when gym teachers instituted and encouraged a
pecking order, with events like dodge ball to the face, mandatory open showers,
and picking on the fat boy.
I was that fat boy, not knowing how to stop my peers when they would grab
my chest and pull.
During 7th grade I walked to school rather than endure the torment
of a bus ride. Lunch was the loneliest experience
because no one wanted me to sit with them, not even the nerds.
But then 1984 came along, and the change began. I was best friends with the best-looking girl
in school. Started jogging. Madonna and
Prince were all over the airwaves, making me want to dance.
By 1986 I lost the baby fat, hit my growth spurt and started school in skinny
jeans with everyone saying “Who’s that?”.
But no one ever tells you that when you were fat and teased, that no
matter how skinny or handsome you become, you will always feel like that fat,
ugly kid…
Thankfully, I’ve been able to learn who I truly am along this journey
called life.
Thankfully, college and career and good, good friends have reshaped seeing
myself as who I truly am.
Coming to Sebring has allowed me
to grow, shed perceptions, and become part of something so much bigger.
The late Rev. Andy Conyer from Unity Church once said “Sebring has a way
to call people here so they can work through their stuff.” Rev. Conyer was right.
Living in a town like ours has allowed me to see and be seen, to be
welcome “as is,” to know that I never have to eat at a table alone, unless if I
choose too.
Sebring has taught me that being alone is not the same as being lonely, that
life is really about having a house you can call a home, a ministry that makes
a difference, and the people you choose to surround yourself with.
Everything else is basically secondary.
So last year, when I began growing out my beard or wearing blue nail
polish, it wasn’t to shock or seek attention, but it was a way of saying that I
am finally comfortable in my own skin.
The beard and nail polish was also a way to travel back in time and say
to that terrified 12-year-old “No one can use my appearance against me again.”
Now, my story is mine, but it is not that unique. If we sat down in a circle and told our
truth, we’d find
-men who were told to “man up”
-women who were accused being too strong
-girls who developed early being shamed
-boys who developed late being teased
-people who were told they were too dark or too light
Truth be told, it can feel like we are all living 7th grade again and again.
Worrying what others might say.
Wanting to be part of the in-crowd.
Yearning to be popular; afraid to be different.
Not wanting to cause a disturbance lest the Head Cheerleader or school bully
decides to zero in on you.
And yet- here is the greatest truth you can learn - no one really cares who
are and how you live once they know that you are unapologetically you.
The only people who are threatened by your unique self are those who have
yet to find out who they are.
The only power people have over you is what you think they think about
you. As long as worry about what others
think, they have won, and they have the control.
THAT is a huge part of what the Gospel of John is about.
The Gospel of John was written by a Jewish person for other Jewish people
who were having a shared experience-
They were being kicked out of their homes of worship for who they were
and what they believed.
John’s Gospel was written at a time in which the followers of Christ were
still primarily identifying themselves as Jewish, and because they were seen as
odd balls, they were being kicked out of the synagogues and the Temple.
And who can blame them?
The Jewish faith was rooted in the idea that God cannot be seen, idolatry
was wrong, and those who followed Kosher laws were acceptable.
So they didn’t know how to respond when into their houses of worship came
others who claimed that God came down in human flesh, it was OK to call Christ
LORD, and eating pork rinds and shrimp scampi was now acceptable.
Not only that, these oddball followers of Christ were welcoming people of
other beliefs to come and participate.
People were being allowed to worship God without being circumcised or
refraining from polyester blends and lobster thermidor.
Imagine the shock of the faithful who have been living and worshipping in
such a way for 2,000 years when they hear about this guy named Jesus who met a
Samaritan woman at the well and offered her the same reward as what the cool
kids were getting?
Jesus meeting a woman at the well and speaking to her as a peer is like hearing
that Scarlett Ohara had supper with President Lincoln or that Fauci spent his
weekend at an anti-vaxxer retreat.
There is nooo way the cool kids of Temple are going to allow the
followers of Jesus to worship in their space.
So the author of John, and his friends, are tossed out.
They’re not even allowed to sit on the stoop and eat a bowl of popcorn.
They are told they aren’t good enough; there’s something wrong with them.
And instead of conforming to be like the popular kids, instead of changing
who they are, or apologizing for what they believe, John starts his Gospel with
these in your face, I’m not going to back down words of extreme faith-
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was
God.”
And the world has never been the same since.
So…..why are we sharing this?
It’s because we, as church, having voted to be Open and Affirming, have
reached the next logical, predictable step of our journey-
Some folks are now second guessing and wondering if we have gone too far.
After a week of changing our website banner to feature a rainbow and a sign
that says “We are an Open and Affirming Church”, there are a few people who are
worried.
They are worried about what others think.
They are worried if the cool kids of Highlands County won’t want to play
with us.
They are also worried that because we are now Open and Affirming
everything will be “gay, gay, gay” and we will no longer focus on humility, justice
and kindness to everyone.
In other words, there are those who feel we may have stepped a foot too
far out of the closet and maybe we should step back in, where it appears to be
safe.
I think the author of John would say “No.
That’d what the world wants you to do, but that’s not who you are.”
I think Jesus would say “I met you at the well knowing exactly who you
are, why you want to go back to how you used to be?”
It is important for us to speak this out loud and put it out there so
everyone can hear, and everyone watching from home can see-
Becoming Open and Affirming means “We are accepting and welcoming to the
LGBTQIA community.”
This is important, because in a county with 100,000 residents, there are 5
to 10,000 people who have been waiting for a place to belong and feel safe.
If we hide our message, that means we are doing so because we are not strong
enough to stand before the naysayers.
But here’s the great thing- in our very nature by saying we are Open and
Affirming, folks who are outsiders will know they are welcome to so many, be it
race, gender, status, relationship.
If anyone is worried that I will not continue to work for and pastor a
diverse group of folks- have you not met me?
If you worry about us neglecting all the other people in our community,
may we remind you that we are constructing a Handicap Accessible
Community Garden.
We are feeding the hungry. We are
sending students in Haiti to school.
We are building homes in Biloxi.
We’ve held community conversations about women, men, veterans, Civil
Rights.
We have connections with the NAACP, Ridge SDA, Boys and Girls Club,
County Commissioners.
Not to mention all the work you all individually do, and the organizations
you belong to.
So as we continue 2022 embracing our new identity as Open and Affirming, let
us be bold like John, let us be bold like the earliest followers of Christ, let
us be bold like Jesus himself.
In 2022 let us be unapologetically us.
Because when we are us, we welcome and celebrate others no one else can.
Yes, we now openly celebrate the LGBTQ community, but we also celebrate
Haiti and Cuba, America, the Philippines and Canada, golfers and grandparents,
mothers and fathers, veterans and those who’ve lost a child.
Don’t be afraid when you see the occasional rainbow flag, see it as a form
of identity, just as you would see the flag of Haiti, the flag of Scottland,
the flag of America.
If you still are unsure, if you still have questions and figuring out
what it means to say that Emmanuel UCC is Open and Affirming, we will be patient,
we will explain, and we will give you time.
What we don’t want is for you to be afraid or give in to what others may
think.
We are Emmanuel UCC. We love we
give we share.
We have a passion for God and compassion for all.
That is never going to change.
We just now have a new addition to what “all” means.
And I’m sure that makes God smile.
Amen and amen.
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