Our Gay Sympathizer

        One of the things I have often said at a wake service is just how much Jesus sympathizes with us. Jesus know precisely how we feel, He has been there and more than once. As  completely human we catch of glimpse of the sorrow He felt when he is told of the death of his good friend Lazarus.  More than that, Jesus was a Jewish son saying goodbye to his mother from the cross. Can you imagine how excruciating that must have been?  The last supper I imagine was not picnic either, no matter how good the cook was. Jesus was saying goodbye to his closest friends, people whom he loved, depended on and shared daily life with. They broke bread and undoubtedly shared a fair amount of wine together.

            Today's passage says it all. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.

           People often get lost in the Divinity of Jesus but there is an enormous amount to be said about his humanity even if we only really have snippets of information about him before age 33. The fact is Jesus was a human being fully engaged in life and his humanity. He had feelings. He had the same feelings as we have. To my LGBTQ brethren, I would be remiss not to note that it was a young John who layed his head on Jesus' chest at the last supper. It is John who proclaims himself "the disciple whom Jesus loved".  I am sure all the disciples felt that Jesus loved them but the words from John are quite striking.  Didn't Jesus hand the responsibilities of son to Mary at the foot of the cross? Did not Jesus tell Mary "this is your son".   Perhaps even in the human relation of same sex attraction, well known even in Jesus' time, was not something foreign to our saviour. Was Jesus gay? I have to say, a single thirty three year old Jewish man would raise some eyebrows even today. 

         I would remind you if you have never heard me note it before, a most excellent book about Jesus, definitely blasphemous but it has a great heart and touches some really good concepts.  If you have a good sense of humor and appreciate Jesus in his humanity, even a contrived  vision of his humanity, I suggest you read The Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.

       The point here is not whether Jesus was gay or not, or any specifics of his young life, the point is the depth of human emotions that Jesus felt. Jesus knew full well what it was to be human. Jesus fully sympathized with us in every way. EVERY way.

        It might be easy to get lost in some ultra religious Divine vision of Jesus who will save us and it would be true to an extent but it is also completely true that Jesus was as fully human as you or I.  We are blessed to have or savior knows full well every intricacy and intimacy of human life because he was one of us.

      For our heavenly sympathizer, lover and fully human savior, we give thanks and pray.

Hebrews 4:14-5:6

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honour, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
‘You are my Son,
   today I have begotten you’; 
as he says also in another place,
‘You are a priest for ever,
   according to the order of Melchizedek.’