Whole and holy, cut or uncut?

       Here it is folks, that age old question, cut or uncut?  Well, this is a blog called Beloved Gay Disciple after all.  How many times might a gay man come across such a queery in a posting? Heck, even women might have a preference, cur or uncut?Some things never change.

       Today's passage from Scripture relates what might easily be called 'the first Vatican Council' if the Vatican had existed at that point in time. Among the faithful, it was a battle royal about whether converts to Christianity had to be come Jewish first ( as Jesus was ). The definitive question and rather personal concern became, did converts have to be circumcised?  Cut or uncut as it were.

         Despite those opening two paragraphs, the question might be, how Jewish do we have to be in order to be a good Christian? Let's carry it out a bit further, what physical attributes, what clothes, rules, dogmas do you have to hold to be a good Christian, or a good anything?  We place so much on the physicality of things that we miss the whole intent which is our soul, which is unseen.  Well, that is not quite true. We can see the essence of your soul by one's actions. Truly though, no physicality can adequately represent a true faith and a clean soul. My blessed father-in-law referred to the Hasidim as "the Hats". Perhaps irreverently but the question is, does the clothing really make them holier or better people?  That is part of what the Apostles struggled with and we struggle with today. 

          It seems there are many that are not content unless a physical sign is shown, irrespective of what is in their heart.  Flags, physical gestures, clothing all carry disproportionate weight in our minds. The ultimate gesture I suppose is a wiliness to have your body mutilated in the name of God, whatever good intent it may hold medically. 

       If we are believers that God made us whole and holy, how can we start with the premise that we are flawed and need to be 'cut' to be whole and holy?  I suppose the question goes even further, do we believe in original sin?  Do we begin with the premise that we are flawed at birth or blessed at birth?  I will not answer that here. I will note that current Christian belief at least in the Roman Church is that Original Sin is a given irrevocable dogma. Still, however rationalized, it is a man made concept.

        This is all moot I suppose, the decisions have been made, eh? Truth be told, one of the joys of being an Episcopalian is that we can decide these things for ourselves and hold personal beliefs that we do not have to hide in our hearts like a kid who just swiped a candy bar. We are free to believe and free to grow and free to be whom God made us to be , whole and holy. Just as we are.

Acts 15:1-11

Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders. So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.’

 The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter. After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, ‘My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers. And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us. Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.’