Queer Theology

In this episode, we talk about:

• How we spent our new year’s eve
• New Year resolutions vs goals vs word of the year
• Sexual resolutions
• Upcoming courses (how to queer the Bible! trans theology! and more!)
• Update on our Patreon campaign
• How you can be featured on the podcast

What are you looking forward to in 2020? We’d love to hear from you. Tag us on social media to let us know.

If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology

If you’d like to be featured in the episode, email your question or Bible passage suggestion to [email protected] (more deets in the ep)

The post New Year Goals, Sexual Resolutions, Trans Theology (and more!) appeared first on Queer Theology.

As you may know by now, we’re taking a break this December to work on things behind the scenes. We are reorganizing and redesigning the website to make it more helpful for everyone. Also, we are taking this time to brainstorm on how to make the podcast even better. So stay tuned for that. Until then, here’s one of our favorite Christmas-themed podcasts.

The birth of Jesus brings out a lot of emotions and learnings for Christianity, but most especially to queer folks. As we fight against injustice and oppression, we sometimes get frustrated at ourselves, at our lack of power, and our lack of time. But the narrative reminds us of someone who was born a child, learned His way through life and experience, and ultimately fulfilled His purpose on Earth. So take the time to learn. Breathe deeply. Be patient.

Brian: Welcome to the Queer Theology podcast!

Fr. Shay: Where each episode, we take a queer look at the week’s lectionary readings. We’re the co-founders of QueerTheology.com and the hosts for this podcast. I’m Father Shay Kearns 

B: And I’m Brian G. Murphy.

FS: Welcome back to the Queer Theology podcast, Father Shay here. Brian and I are taking a bit of a break for the month of December. So we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes from Advent and Christmas’ past. We hope you enjoy them!

This week, Brian and I are looking at the lectionary text for December 22 and we are gonna take a look at the Matthew text which is Matthew 1:18-24 which is a pretty common one read around this time of the year. One of the birth narratives of Jesus. So Brian, what comes up for you when you read this?

B: I’m really glad that we get to look at this passage because my understanding of this story from when I was an Evangelical to how I understand this today is just so different. I think it really sort of highlights the value that Queer Theology brings to people. Not just Queer Theology, but progressive theology, liberation theology. And so what sticks out to me is that Jesus the Messiah, was born to an unwed woman living under occupation in the Middle East right? I mean that’s just not at all how I imagined Jesus being born. After his birth, they have to flee, so they’re immigrants. So I think it’s really interesting where God chooses to become incarnate and dwell among us and with whom. Right from the very beginning, right from the birth of Jesus, God is doing that in the margins. As a Queer Christian who finds himself marginalized through times, I find that really powerful to imagine that God didn’t come to the seat of power. He came to the margins. 

What about you Shay?

FS: You know I resonate with all of that for sure. I think also in this passage, I’m fascinated by Joseph and it’s funny because the different birth narratives in Matthew and Luke, they are so different. In this one, pretty much the whole thing is told through Joseph’s perspective. I just find him to be this, a really fascinating figure. Obviously, he was engaged to be married and finds out his beloved or his betrothed is pregnant from the Holy Spirit. And he tries to do right by her. I’m just really kind of touched by that. Also, fascinated by the fact that he then kind of disappears from the narrative. Like he is around for Jesus’ birth and then he’s gone. So I have a lot of questions about what happened to Joseph and what role did he have in Jesus’ life. I think that’s a really fascinating story.

There was this great scene in the nativity story which as a film – there are things to quibble with. There’s this lovely scene where he and Mary are on the road to Bethlehem and they’re finally talking about how they feel about what’s happening to them. Joseph says to Mary, “I wonder if I’ll be able to teach him anything.” I thought it was such a touching moment in the film and showed the humanity of this man about to become a father, but clearly, there’s something special about this kid, and so what do you do with that? I think that’s really interesting.

B: I’m also fascinating – or think it’s powerful, that at one point the Messiah was a child, and Joseph probably did teach him things, and Mary and Joseph fed him and clothe him. He went and learned in the synagogue. So, not to compare myself to Jesus [laughs] but, I think that we’re all on our own journeys and we don’t come into this world knowing everything. So if the Christ can be born a child and have to learn, certainly Brian G. Murphy, who is trying to be a better person and live my life justly, surely I have things to learn as well. To give myself permission to not get hung up when I mess up or when I don’t know something. To always be learning and growing so that I can continue that journey of growth. 

FS: Yeah, I mean if you think about it, Jesus didn’t really start His ministry until He was in His 30’s. So I wonder, too, and I think this is a really important point. It took Him a while to find what exactly was that He was called to do. It took Him 30 years to start His public ministry and we don’t really know what He was doing during that time. But one would assume that He was learning. One would assume that living under occupation was shaping His consciousness and was maybe creating in Him an activist spirit that was getting ready, but that He wasn’t ready until He was 30 to really start a movement. I think that’s something that’s – I often feel impatient, right? Or I’m too old to be doing anything, and I’m 33…

B: Time to get crucified! [laughs]

FS: Time to get crucified right? But sometimes worried that like: “Oh man! I’ve missed out on being able to be a part of the movement.” It’s like, “No! It takes time, just chill out and it will happen.”

B: Yeah. I think also that’s a good reminder to me as a white man that I often feel this, “Oh! Now I learned about something and now I wanna fix it!” Sometimes it takes time to learn enough and formulate a plan and talk with other people before you launch your movement. So to folks in all different strides, it’s okay to be patient. Maybe at the first sight of injustice, you gotta have to start your own movement, but take the time to learn and be shaped by experiences around you. And when the time comes to enter Jerusalem and take the stand, ride in on a donkey and take your stand, but it’s okay to build the movement.

FS: We hope you enjoyed this vintage Queer Theology podcast. Just as a reminder, we are taking a break for the month of December so that we can regroup, and recoup, and head into the New Year feeling fresh. If you want to support us, you can go to patreon.com/queertheology. Your support is making all of the difference in making this work sustainable. We’ll see you next time. 

[outro music plays]

B: The Queer Theology podcast is just one of many things that we do at QueerTheology.com which provides resources, community, and inspiration for LGBTQ Christians and straight cisgender supporters. 

FS: To dive into more of the action, visit us at QueerTheology.com. You can also connect with us online: on Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter, and Instagram.

B: We’ll see you next week.

Download the transcript (PDF)

Today’s episode highlights:

• What’s up with Matthew’s birth narrative? 
• What does it mean that the child Jesus was born where and when he was? 
• What can we learn from this story as queer people? 
• Brian and Shay tackle a common Christmas story and put a queer spin on it.

Thank you for listening to this podcast. If this or any of our podcasts mean something to you, or you find the articles and videos transformative, engaging and inspiring we would like to ask for your support in order for us to continue with this work and touch more lives. It would mean the world to us if you can visit and support us at patreon.com/queertheology.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly. As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:

Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son,
And they will call him, Emmanuel.

(Emmanuel means “God with us.”)

When Joseph woke up, he did just as an angel from God commanded and took Mary as his wife.

Photo by Pro Church Media

The post What Child Is This? Matthew 1:18-24 appeared first on Queer Theology.

This December, we are taking a break from the regular lectionary reading to recoup, regroup and redesign the website. We are working hard at making sure that for 2020, Queer Theology will be even more useful. So for this week, here’s a vintage podcast—one of our best Advent podcasts.

This week’s passage is part of Mary’s Magnificat — a badass hymn that shows how she understands God. Already, before Jesus is even born, we see the seeds of what will become his ministry planted and nurtured by his mother Mary.

Brian: Welcome to the Queer Theology podcast!

Fr. Shay: Where each episode, we take a queer look at the week’s lectionary readings. We’re the co-founders of QueerTheology.com and the hosts for this podcast. I’m Father Shay Kearns

B: And I’m Brian G. Murphy.

B: Hello there! It’s Brian G. Murphy, I’m one of the co-founders of QueerTheology.com and one of the hosts of this podcast.

As you may know, the Queer Theology podcast has been around for a long time and so this year for Advent, we’re digging into the archives and republishing some of our favorite and most popular Advent and Christmas-themed episodes. So we’ve got that coming for you shortly. We also, as you may have heard, recently launched a Patreon campaign to make this work more sustainable.

So thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has donated. It has made a huge difference in our lives and warmed my heart. I’m super thankful and grateful for that. We still have a bit of a ways to go to reach our goal, so if you’re interested in keeping the podcast, and the website, and the articles, and the emails, and all that good stuff alive we would treasure your support. You can go to patreon.com/queertheology to make a pledge. But we are not wasting any time even though we’re not quite at our goal. We’re getting started on the work of re-working this work, [laughs] lots of work words there. So we’re taking December to do some behind the scenes work. We’re regrouping here on the podcast and we’re redesigning the website, so even though these are old episodes we are still hard at work, and we’re looking forward to sharing all that with you soon. But for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy this Advent-themed episode.

Merry almost Christmas from the Queer Theology podcast! This week we’re taking a look at a lectionary text for Sunday, December 24th. We’re going to be looking at Luke 1:47-55. I will read it to you now from the Common English Bible.

In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior. He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.

Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored because the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name.

He shows mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, who honors him as God.

He has shown strength with his arm.

He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.

He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty-handed.

He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, just as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever. [CEB]

A-men.

FS: Amen indeed.

B: [laughs] Shay. Okay. How do we – what’s queer about this passage?

FS: Oh – all of it. [both laugh] I love that this is the passage that is for Christmas Eve. This is Mary’s song – this is part of the Magnificat. We have this hymn, basically, sung by a young woman, who is a person of color, a refugee, pregnant and unmarried, and basically she sings this badass song saying, “God is going to send the rich away empty-handed, pull the arrogant down from their thrones, and lift up the lowly and fill the hungry. If that isn’t radical, I don’t know what is. And yet—

B: Amen.

FS: —how rarely did I hear anything like this preached in my churches growing up. I have never heard a, like, eff-the-rich Christmas Eve sermon at the candlelight service before we sing Silent Night. Right? [Brian laughs] It’s all about this sanitized, cute, baby being born. And maybe the baby does some good stuff in the world, but, like, I know in my churches growing up, that baby was on the cross before Christmas Eve even got over. He hadn’t even been born, and we had skipped his entire ministry. So I love this passage. I love that this is set up. I love that Mary gets to speak and have this huge hymn that becomes this hymn of the church. And I think that it’s queer because, a, women are still silent in our churches, especially young women. And b, this kind of upheaval of the order, where the hungry are fed and the poor are lifted up; that’s such a radical thing, and I think that, when we talk about who are the most marginalized, we’re still talking about – they’re still hungry people. There are still people who are poor and lowly who need to be lifted up. I think that we have, in this passage, this vision of what Jesus is coming to do and who he’s coming to be. I think that’s really beautiful. I have to laugh a little bit, because Rachel Held Evans on twitter the other day quoted Luke, and someone commented – a dude, of course—

B: Duh.

FS: —commented back, “You know, I was really on board with you, but your line about ‘the rich,’ that’s really offensive.” And she was like, “I was literally quoting the gospel. I don’t know what you want me to do.” I think that so often we ignore what is literally written in the gospel in order to make something else into our gospel. So, I love this passage of bringing this back, of like, ‘this is what it’s about.’ It’s uncomfortable sometimes. And that’s probably as it should be.

B: You know, one of the sort of sayings that some folks bandy about about Christmas is like, a child came to save the world. For many people, that gets played out as like, this child came to grow up to get crucified on the cross to forgive us of our sins so we could get into Heaven. But here we have Mary, the mother of Jesus, being like, “No! This is what this means.” All those things that you just said, that the hungry are filled with good things, that the rich are sent away empty-handed, that the powerful are pulled down from their thrones. This was said at a time when there was a powerful person sitting on a throne. And obviously the gospels were written after Jesus’s ministry had concluded – he was no longer on earth anymore [laughs] but the movement was continuing on. To include this passage in what became the canon – not every single thing that was ever written about Jesus made it into our sacred text, our scripture. That could be a whole, multiple-episode look into why and what didn’t. But this got in! That early Christians were like, no, this right here, this is critical to the gospel. And what it means is, at a time when we’re being persecuted by the powerful, we’re going to still include that part of this movement is to pull the powerful down from their thrones and to lift up the lonely. That this was included matters. We’ve had a few really great passages over the past few weeks, sort of getting at the heart of God, and what it means to encounter the divine, and what salvation means and looks like. And that these really radical texts are right in our sacred texts and our Bibles that are in every single church in America, that these passages are included in the lectionary – it’s all sitting there, right in front of our faces, hiding in plain sight, just waiting for us to pay attention. So, if you’re a queer person, a progressive person, a radical person, who’s listening to this – who you are and the work that you’re doing is integral to the story of God. We need you to stick around and keep doing that work, and continuing to be a badass like Mary. That’s the Christmas story.

FS: We know that that kind of work does start to take its toll on people, and especially around the holidays, when many of us have to deal with unaffirming family or churches. That can be really tough. We also just really want to encourage you to take care of yourself during this holiday season, to do the things you need to do to make sure that you can continue to do this work, to make sure that you are connecting with people who care about you and love you just as you are, to shore you up to continue to do this work. We’ve created all sorts of resources around self-care and around self-care at the holidays in particular over at Queer Theology. Brian, where can they find those?

B: You can just go to QueerTheology.com/selfcare and we’ll send you over some videos and articles and worksheets, all about taking care of yourself, especially around the holidays, especially around unaffirming family and friends and churches.

FS: We’re going to take next week off of the podcast to celebrate the holidays and to get ready for the new year ahead. We’ve got some really exciting stuff coming up, starting off right in January. We’re going to take a week off to get ready for that. We hope you have a wonderful holiday. We’ll be around if you need to reach out to us – you can always reach us at [email protected]. We’re really grateful for you all and hope that you have a great holiday and head into the new year feeling rested and loved and ready to take on the world.

B: If you enjoyed this episode we would love to hear from you. We would love to hear your new thoughts on this old episode, so find us at any of the social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, all of that jazz. Send us a message, tag us in a post, whatever floats your boat. Remember we still need some more help on Patreon to make this work possible: to continue the podcast; to continue the articles and the videos; the workshops and all that. If this work has been meaningful to you and you want to make sure that it survives, and thrives, and continues to touch lives. You can help us by pledging your support at patreon.com/queertheology. Thank you so much and we will see you next week.

[outro music plays]

B: The Queer Theology podcast is just one of many things that we do at QueerTheology.com which provides resources, community, and inspiration for LGBTQ Christians and straight cisgender supporters.

FS: To dive into more of the action, visit us at QueerTheology.com. You can also connect with us online: on Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter, and Instagram.

B: We’ll see you next week.

Download the transcript (PDF)

Today’s episode highlights:

• How is this hymn relates to queer folks?
• Mary’s side and her “truth”

Holidays can be tough for LGBTQ folks with unaffirming families or churches. We put together a 3-part video series to help you through it. Get it here.

Thank you for listening to this podcast. If this or any of our podcasts mean something to you, or you find the articles and videos transformative, engaging and inspiring we would like to ask for your support in order for us to continue with this work and touch more lives. It would mean the world to us if you can visit and support us at patreon.com/queertheology.

In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty-handed.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy,
just as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”

The post Mary’s understanding of God – Luke 1:47-55 appeared first on Queer Theology.

December is probably the busiest time of the year, but at Queer Theology, December 2019 is a time to work extra hard from the backend to make sure that Queer Theology 2020 is LIT! So Brian and Shay are taking a break from the regular lectionary reading and instead, we will be showcasing some of our best Advent podcasts.

So this week, it’s all about the meaning of Advent and how counter-cultural it is. What can we learn from waiting and longing? How does the Christmas story go against our American sensibilities?

Brian: Welcome to the Queer Theology podcast! Fr. Shay: Where each episode, we take a queer look at the week’s lectionary readings. We’re the co-founders of QueerTheology.com and the hosts for this podcast. I’m Father Shay Kearns  B: And I’m Brian G. Murphy. FS: Welcome back to the Queer Theology podcast, Father Shay here. Brian and I are taking a bit of a break for the month of December. So we’re replaying some of our favorite episodes from Advent and Christmas’ past. We hope you enjoy them! This week, Brian and I are talking about the third Sunday of Advent and we’re gonna take a look at the Isaiah passage and the Psalm. So, Brian, you seem pretty excited about Advent this year. What is resonating with you in these passages? B: These passages remind me that I’m not crazy. I think every year I get less and less excited about Christmas and more, and more, and more over it. I recently read this article about Advent and Christmas on the Huffington post and I realized/remembered that we’re not in Christmas time yet, we’re in Advent. I really love Advent. Ever since I was a little kid, O Come, O Come Emmanuel has been my favorite Christmas song. There’s just something about Emmanuel – God with us that’s why I find the Christian stories so compelling. So as I was reading the Isiah and the Psalm passages I remembered the things that I don’t like about modern Christmas, modern Christianity are not the Biblical parts of the story. And that we don’t wait for Jesus to be born so that He can make up for our pitiful existence and get us into heaven. We wait for Jesus to be born because it’s God incarnate in a broken world. He is coming to heal it. And so I look at this Isaiah passage where they talk about: “The desert and the dry land will be glad. The eyes of the blind will be opened, The ears of the deaf will be cleared.” I look at the Psalm passage and it says:  “The Lord: who makes prisoners free. The Lord: who makes the blind see. The Lord: who straightens up those who are bent low. The Lord: who loves the righteous. The Lord: who protects immigrants.” I’m like, “Yes!” this is the type of God that I believe in. Jesus was an immigrant, He was born to a single mother and we read at Psalm that we’re waiting for this Messiah and that is just really exciting to me. Especially as a queer person who spends a lot of time waiting for justice and equality. For the family to accept me. I understand the waiting and it’s also a really exciting time to be a queer person because lots of those things are coming to fruition. So these passages really resonate with me. FS: You know, at the church we’ve been reading The First Christmas by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, and that book really takes a look at the differences between the Matthew and Luke accounts of the Christmas story. But really, even more so, it takes a look at the ways in which the Christmas story is very much a setup in opposition to Rome. That all of the titles that Jesus was called in the gospels are the ones that were Ceasars’ title. So very much this idea that the Christmas story is really subversive. I think this idea of Advent is really subversive. It’s a time of waiting and I think for Americans were not very good often at waiting.  B: No. FS: It’s a time of longing and a culture that’s very much “I’m gonna get what I want, and I’m gonna get it right this second”, the idea of longing for something is not something that we talk about very often. So I love those ideas and those themes of Advent. But I also love this idea that the story of Christmas isn’t just something that happened 2000 years ago, nor is it something that’s just were waiting around until Jesus comes back. Right? But there’s something really present about this story. The fact that God is with us means that we can still be about the business of standing in opposition to empire and we can be about building the kingdom of God now. That’s really exciting to me. Much more exciting than kind of a sanitized and sentimental manger scene. FS: We hope you enjoyed this vintage Queer Theology podcast. Just as a reminder, we are taking a break for the month of December so that we can regroup, and recoup, and head into the New Year feeling fresh. If you want to support us, you can go to patreon.com/queertheology. Your support is making all of the difference in making this work sustainable. We’ll see you next time.  [outro music plays] B: The Queer Theology podcast is just one of many things that we do at QueerTheology.com which provides resources, community, and inspiration for LGBTQ Christians and straight cisgender supporters.  FS: To dive into more of the action, visit us at QueerTheology.com. You can also connect with us online: on Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter, and Instagram. B: We’ll see you next week. 

Download the transcript (PDF)

Today’s episode highlights:

Thank you for listening to this podcast. If this or any of our podcasts mean something to you, or you find the articles and videos transformative, engaging and inspiring we would like to ask for your support in order for us to continue with this work and touch more lives. It would mean the world to us if you can visit and support us at patreon.com/queertheology.

Photo by Zach Lucero

The post Waiting on Advent – Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalm 146:5-10 appeared first on Queer Theology.

Brian: Welcome to the Queer Theology podcast!

The post Advent: What Are We Waiting For? appeared first on Queer Theology.