Queer Prodigal (Luke 15:11-13)

This beloved parable of the prodigal, with all its beauty and sensitivity, is for me a text of terror.

(Jesus) added, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to their father, ‘Give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.’ So the father divided up the property between them. Some days later, the younger son gathered up his belongings and went off to a distant land…

Luke 15:11-13

He Qi Prodigal Son 2

Thus begins the beloved parable of the prodigal son. This parable unfolds family relationships in the midst of loss, pain, forgiveness, and restoration. We flinch at the damage of arrogance, cry at the humble moment the prodigal "comes to his senses," take joy in the reconciliation experienced and ponder the older brother's jealousy. This parable is a favorite because we identify with its sadness and rejoice in its hope.

Phyllis Tribble coined the term "texts of terror" to identify those scriptures used as a warrant to treat women as objects of lesser value than men. Queers also deal with well-known texts of terror: Sodom and Gomorrah, the Holiness Code of Leviticus, Paul's reasoning in the opening of the Letter to the Romans. This beloved parable of the prodigal, with all its beauty and sensitivity, is for me a text of terror.

When I came out, my family dutifully placed me in the role of the prodigal. Unfortunately, I accepted the roll equating my homosexuality with the foreign land of the parable. A land unknown and feared by my parents, my brother, my sisters. I also assumed that the issue of distance and familial strain lay within me, as the parable illustrates for the prodigal.

The worse damage of this text was the false hope it gave my family. As good conforming christians they patiently waited, and fervently prayed, for the day I would "come to my senses." The irony is that it was coming to my senses which caused them to cast me as the prodigal, to begin with.

To be sure the mapping of the parable upon my life was only partial at best. Owning my homosexuality did not put me among foreigners as a second class alien. Instead, I began to find my home, and figure out I was not alien after all. Far from longing for the land of heterosexual conformity, I became grateful for a wholeness that had eluded me. Still, with great piety, my family assumed the role of the wounded father who loved the sinner but hated the sin. This sacred text caused me great pain until I realized it had been wrongly applied.

Queer persons are not and cannot be the prodigal. We have not left home instead we have found home. If we are to appropriately map this parable, we must understand that our role is that of the parent. We are the ones who patiently wait, scanning the road from time to time for a hint that our families have come to themselves and are returning from the foreign land of intolerance. This text models for us the forgiveness we can give: forgiveness given not in the paternal "if you had listened to me" way, but forgiveness given out of the sheer joy that comes with authentic reconciliation.

A Drag Queen In Revelation (Revelation 22:17)

Revelation speaks poignantly to the queer experience.

The Spirit and the Betrothed say, "Come!"
Let the one who hears it answer, "Come!"
Let the thirsty come forward. Let all who desire it accept the gift of life-giving water.
Revelation 22:17

Eva Young

At first glance the writer of Revelation appears well known to us, he is John of Patmos. He should not be confused with the anonymous writer of the fourth gospel. He may or may not be the John of Jesus inner-circle, and he may or may not be a John known to christian or jewish history. Tongue-in-check, I think John of Patmos is the best candidate for a drag queen author of a book of the bible.

The images and language of Revelation, raw even in translation, speak to me of my drag-queen sisters' imagination: multi-headed beasts, whores, wrath and plagues, a savior in white, and at the end, hope for reconciliation and renewal. All of it sounds like a queen rant to me. I wonder if our failure to understand this book is born out our failure to appreciate the author's social location.

All punning and stereotyping aside, Revelation speaks poignantly to the queer experience. It speaks from the low point of view, the underbelly of life. John does not write from a position of privilege or power. The book of Revelation is dark and brooding because John's world is foreboding and dangerous. It seems to be that this is often the queer experience. And like John we often find dominant religious and cultural voices allied against us.

Our straight brothers and sisters in the faith often miss this struggle. For they have not been engaged in the daily exertion for dignity. John of Patmos has, and his experience of fear, uncertainty, and worry – of closet dynamics – mirrors the queer experience on multiple levels. His community has been decimated, his society is uncaring. His world is filled with monsters and armies coming for him. Terrifying shadows drift across his soulscape.

Only great conflict can resolve the weighty oppression John is caught in. The moon will need to be ex-sponged and the sun to burn blood-red before John is rescued from a closed–off life. Nothing in all the earth is scarier than an unhinged queen – we fight like cats and spit like vipers.

More so the beauty of the closing chapters where John, freed of his fears and demons, describes the world set right by a gracious and welcoming God. The closing includes a vision of a new heavenly Jerusalem. From her center flows the river of life carrying in her waters the hope of sustenance and abundance for a weary land. Following this description is the great invitation "Come all who are thirsty and drink."

Thank you my sister John, for I am thirsty, my throat is dry and cracked. I need the sacred water of the Divine to revive a life worth celebrating.

Textual Harassment (1 Timothy 6:1-2a)

I cannot fathom the One who hung on the cross endorsing the sentiment that is shared in this passage. 

Those who are under the yoke of domination (slaves) should consider their superiors as worthy of full respect, so that the Name of God and our teachings may not be brought into disrepute. If their overseers are believers, those who are in subjection should show their overseers (slave owners) even greater respect, for they are members of the same family. Indeed they should be even more diligent in their work, because those who benefit from the work are believers, and they are beloved.  
1 Timothy 6:1-2a                                                                                                                                                  

Sometimes the scriptures get it wrong. Take for example the issue of slavery. Instead of mirroring the freedom and equality which the Sacred extends the scriptures have a long and tortuous affirmation of slavery.

Here in the writings associated with Paul (his authorship is debated) is a somewhat glaring error to encourage slaves to work harder for the master who profits from their sweat. One commentator, in an awkward defense of scriptures odd affirmation, argues that the Bible does "not emphasize individual rights, but individual responsibilities." The same commentator goes as far as to state that the chief concern for scripture is the glory of God and not "manumission of the slaves." Funny, it strikes me that freeing those laden with oppression adds to the glory of God. I think we can safely assume that this commentator is male, white, and heterosexual – a person insulated from any real threat of subjugation.

Another less stringent commentator tried to rescue the passage by defining it as a spiritual care issue. Slaves must have taken great comfort in being afforded admittance to a faith community that treated them as equals. Nevertheless, slaves needed to pay appropriate respect for the "legally designated master." Again I think we can safely assume that this commentator is removed from the threat of any genuine tyranny.

Interestingly, I agree with both commentators, who in one way or another protect the integrity of the text. We cannot make it say "Rebel!" For clearly it says, "Serve harder!"

The resolution of our dilemma as to the harassment of this text can never be resolved in the passage itself. It reflects attitudes and thinking which horrify us. To address the terror of this text and others like it, we must look at scripture from a larger lens, moving from a couple of verses to the entire flow of the sacred stories.

As a christian, the teachings, actions, and resurrection of Jesus forms the lens through which I read and critic any sacred text. How does his love for humanity inform how I receive these instructions? Jesus tells me that the attitude of this particular text is naïve of human deprivation, void of authentic compassion, and ignorant of the damage to personhood done by slavery.

I cannot fathom the One who hung on the cross endorsing the sentiment that is shared in this passage. Therefore, I know the text to be ugly, brutish, and ungodly. I just refuse to take part in the exploitation of others, even if I can justify it from scripture.

Forbidden Eroticism (Song of Songs 1:5-6)

Thank you my black and beautiful sister for singing and raising your voice among the scriptures.             

                Me? Do you think me dark, oh daughters of Jerusalem?

                   Oh, I am; but I’m lovely, yes?

                Dark as the night inside a tent in Kedar;

                  dark as the secrets inside of Solomon’s tents.

                You wonder why I’m so dark? I’ll tell you:

                   it was my brothers – they thought I was loose

                and wild – they put me to work in the vineyards,

                   hoping I would neglect my own vineyard.

                The sun turned me brown like a grape;

                   but, oh, the fire that burns inside me now!

                                                         Song of Songs 1:5-6

Photo by South African photographer Zanele Muholi

It is the voice of an audacious female which is raised in this song. She is “dark” or “black” as other translations render, and she is beautiful. She celebrates and rejoices in the beauty and sensuousness of her body. The female lover of this song is black because her brothers sequestered her as a domestic servant in their fields where the sun bled into her skin.

Society will not support her desire for a beloved who deserves more than a working class girl. She is a peasant and should be satisfied with a peasant’s lot. Boldly she faces down society’s disapproval. Courageously she asserts that being black is not ugly but a mark of beauty. Her work in the fields does not detract from her sensuousness but rather augments and accentuates her sexuality. This extraordinary black and beautiful woman stands strong in the face of cultural norms and dares to transgress societal boundaries of eroticism.

During a milieu steeped in arranged marriages this female celebrates her heart’s desire. It is her determination to share intimacy with the lover of her choice. We can safely assume he is not the affianced of her family’s choosing.

Our proud sister also resists the proscription of sexual etiquette. Her brothers have set her to work in their vineyards to guard her virginity and consequently, the family honor. Yet, she unequivocally proclaims she has not kept her own vineyard – her own virginity, or the family honor.

The Song celebrates the consummation of forbidden love. While queer love knows well the proscriptions and dynamics faced by our audacious sister in these verses, we must not miss what is most brazen here. The voice of the female lover has, through sacred writing, become the voice of God to us. The bible, in celebrating forbidden eroticism, leads us to rejoice in that which resists culture’s prohibitions.

Thank you my black and beautiful sister for singing and raising your voice among the scriptures. You are a part of our spiritual ancestry. May your daring spirit of pride live on through us.