Stop Judging

Today’s gospel reading is from Luke (6:36-38), and since it is only 3 verses long, it bears repeating here.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you meausre will in return be measured out to you.’

When my son came out, and I shared the news with friends and family I received mixed reactions. Surprisingly, many of my close friends and family members were incredibly supportive of him and my husband and me. It was an immesurable blessing. As you might guess, other people were not supportive, and even cautioned me that I should not support my son. Wasn’t I familiar with church teaching on this subject?

In my role as mother of a transgender person, I grappled with the church’s position on members of the LGBTQ community, and to be honest I still do. God sent my son into our family, and my first job as his mother is to love him and accept him. In order to stay grounded, ( and stay in the church!) I reach for the scripture to ponder what Jesus says. He says: do not judge, do not condemn, forgive, be merciful. Not supporting our son never occurred to us.

Since we offered love, blessings have been given to us, ” a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,”into our lap. I am overwhelmed by how God has blessed us these past three years. I have grown considerably in my faith and as a person. It is the fruit of givng our child unconditional love, no matter the circumstances.

It is difficult to tune out the noise made by others when deciding how to deal with our family members. We have to reach beyond the parameters of what has been previously known to us, even some of the “rules” given us by the big church. When standing between love and church rules, I choose love. My example is Jesus, he always chooses people first, in every interaction.

Dear Lord, bless the parents and families who love and support members of the LGBTQ community. Help us to choose life and love. Send down your spirit of Peace and protection upon us all, and give us the courage to love our family members as you love us.

Amen