Convert all the frociaggine to christ with a loving challenge by using their non preferred pronouns or as I like to call them "God's preferred pronouns"
Grimace
motherfucker
[my enumerable hindi guideword]
Also, are you aware that forums exist where they frown upon quoting an entire post to reply to it? THey'd rather you just reply, no need to quote. They will actually call you out on it and say you're breaking "forum aesthetics".
The following users say it would be alright if the author of this
post didn't die in a fire!
Originally posted by Grimace
Also, are you aware that forums exist where they frown upon quoting an entire post to reply to it? THey'd rather you just reply, no need to quote. They will actually call you out on it and say you're breaking "forum aesthetics".
i've pressed people on here about that a few times but the aesthetic here is 90's/McBling emoji nigger spam so it falls on deaf ears
Instigator
Naturally Camouflaged
[the staring tame crusher]
Originally posted by Grimace
Also, are you aware that forums exist where they frown upon quoting an entire post to reply to it? THey'd rather you just reply, no need to quote. They will actually call you out on it and say you're breaking "forum aesthetics".
okay but what if I don't celebrate the evils of the month of June?
Of all the Gospel passages that I have found helpful in ministry with LGBTQ people, the beautiful story of Zacchaeusâhas been the most meaningful for me (Lk 19: 1-10).
At first glance, the story of Jesusâs encounter with the tax collector in Jericho would seem to have little to do with LGBTQ people today. But if you read it carefully, this passage from Lukeâs Gospel, a masterpiece of storytelling, has a great deal to say about all those who find themselves marginalized.
Now I donât want to imply that LGBTQ people are always and everywhere âmarginalized.â But itâs fair to say that in the Catholic Church many of them feel that way. So as we read the Gospel, I would like to invite you to see Zacchaeus as an emblem of the LGBTQ person. Notice all the subtle resonances in the story.
To begin with, Luke tells us that Zacchaeus is the âchief tax collectorâ in Jericho. Now, that would have meant that he was probably âon the outsâ with most of the people in this predominantly jedi town, not only because he was colluding with the Roman authorities, but also because tax collectors had the reputation of skimming money off the top.
My old New Testament professor Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, used to say that when we read âchief tax collectorâ here, we should think âchief sinner.â But by using Zacchaeus as a way of seeing the LGBTQ person, Iâm not saying LGBTQ people are any more sinful than anyone elseâweâre all sinners in one way or another. Rather, they often feel âon the outs,â especially in the church. Like Zacchaeus probably did in Jericho.
At the beginning of the story, Zacchaeus is described as âshort in stature.â Luke means that he was physically small. But how little âstatureâ do LGBTQ people have in the church today? They are often ignored, excluded, not listened to. And, says Luke, Zacchaeus couldnât see Jesus âbecause of the crowd.â Again, that means that he couldnât see over their heads, but how often does âthe crowdâ get in the way of LGBTQ people encountering God? How often are we part of âthe crowdâ that prevents people with âlittle statureâ from coming to know God? How often is the church part of âthe crowdâ?
So what does Zacchaeus do? He climbs a sycamore tree. (The homey touch of identifying the precise type of tree gives this story an added sense of historicity.) Why does he climb a tree? Because he wanted to âsee Jesus.â (The original Greek is even more moving: he wanted âto see who Jesus was.â) Thatâs what LGBTQ Catholics want today as well: to âsee Jesus.â But the crowd often gets in the way. So they must do something extraâgo out on a limbâjust to see what everyone else sees.
As Jesus is passing through Jericho (with what would probably have been a sizeable crowd, since this story comes towards the end of his public ministry) he spies the diminutive tax collector perched high in the sycamore tree. Jesus then invites himself to the manâs house, a public sign of welcome. âZacchaeus,â says Jesus, âcome down quickly, for today I must stay at your house!â Jesus is offering him what New Testament scholars call âtable fellowship.â
Then comes my favorite line in the story: âWhen they all saw this, they began to grumble.â The Greek word used here is panta, all, which would have included the disciples as well. All began to grumble. Why? Because showing mercy to those on the margins always infuriates some people. It did in Jesusâs time and it does in ours.
So the next time you see someone opposing mercy to LGBTQ people, remember this line: âThey began to grumble.â
But that does not deter Zacchaeus at all. He shinnies down the tree and âstands thereâ (the Greek word used has the implication of âstanding oneâs groundâ). And he receives Jesus âwith joy.â Of course! How joyful it is to be welcomed into the community! Many LGBTQ people know the joy of finally feeling welcomed.
Then Zacchaeus makes a public declaration: If he has defrauded anyone, he will repay them four times over and he will give half his money to the poor. This is usually considered to be Zacchaeusâs conversion, from whatever sins he had committed. And indeed, in the Gospels, any encounter with Jesus provokes a conversion. (By the way, Iâm not alluding to âconversion therapy,â but rather to metanoia, the word Jesus used for the change of mind and heart that we are all called to.)
But recently I discovered something surprising about this Gospel passage. The English translation that we use at Mass, from the New American Bible, is this: âHalf of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor.â But the original Greek is in the present tense: âI give (or am giving) half of my possessions to the poor.â Zacchaeus seems to be already doing that.
In other words, the conversion that is occurring may be not only Zacchaeusâs conversion, but the crowdâs conversion as well, as Jesus reveals to them that the one who was on the âoutsideâ is more generous than they had ever imagined. How often is that the case with LGBTQ people, after people in the church come to know them!
At the end of the story, Jesus calls Zacchaeus a âSon of Abraham.â Itâs a phrase that would have resonated deeply with the jedi crowd. Later in Luke, Jesus calls the woman who was âbent overâ the âDaughter of Abrahamâ after he has healed her (13:16). In both cases, Jesus is reminding the crowd that âtheyâ are part of âus.â
In this beautiful Gospel narrative, Jesus has demonstrated his inclusion of Zacchaeus not only by inviting himself to dine at his house, but by using the phrase âSon of Abraham,â which tells the crowd explicitly, âThis man is one of us.â
So it seems to me that there are two places we can stand regarding ministry to LGBTQ people and indeed any who feel on the margins. You can stand with the crowd who âgrumbles.â Or you can stand with Jesus.
Originally posted by Grimace
Also, are you aware that forums exist where they frown upon quoting an entire post to reply to it? THey'd rather you just reply, no need to quote. They will actually call you out on it and say you're breaking "forum aesthetics".
you can only wish people do this on your pathetic site
