Lent 11

28One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:28-31

I took the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory today as part of my psychological testing for ministry candidacy. I had to determine whether 567 statements were true or false. When I got to the statement "I am uncomfortable talking about sex" I actually laughed out loud to myself in the little conference room where I was working. I have been talking about sex a whole lot lately, actually, as we have been working on a study on the topics of sex and dating for youth in the church. And, incidentally, not too long ago a young United Methodist, single, female pastor gave an interview for Marie Claire in which she talked quite candidly about her sexuality. The ensuing backlash (and fierce support) has led to a series of articles on the topic in Fidelia's Sisters, a favorite read for me. So the topic of sex has been all around me...for a couple of months now. So, no, I'm not uncomfortable discussing the topic.

It is our discomfort with sex that I have found very troubling recently. I have heard at least one parent (and opinions of others) who disagree with a youth series because "this should be taught in the home." I have heard people want to ask about what we're doing but can only whisper the words. I have watched people squirm, and blush, and avoid, and any other expression of discomfort you can imagine. And this amazes me. It is amazing to me that pietistic tradition has forced sexuality out of the church and, thus, out of the realm of ways we love God. The commandment as it comes from Jesus seems to speak about us loving God and ourselves and one another with ALL of our being. It seems to me that we have too often let shame and guilt dominate the subject of sexuality and set it up as the opposite of spirituality. I'm not buying it. The choices I've made with my heart, mind, soul, strength, body, sexuality... the choices I've made have been about loving God and about honoring the gift of grace in God. It seems to me (you'll notice a lot of things 'seem to me') that we need to find a way to become more comfortable with the subject. If we are more comfortable then perhaps our youth and even the adults will feel more comfortable and confident seeking guidance on how to love God with their whole beings...and they might be more comfortable seeking counsel when mistakes have been made and the God of grace needs to be more real to them than a church whose approach is guilt can show them.