4. Jesus Preaches in the Temple (from The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision) by Douglas Blanchard
“And he was teaching daily in the temple.” -- Luke 19:47 (RSV)
All kinds of people crowded around Jesus when he taught at the temple: male and female, young and old, rich and poor, healthy and sick, people from every race and nation -- and the queer ones: women who acted like men, men who acted like women, those who loved someone of the same sex, those with bodies somewhere between male and female. People lumped all of the queers together and called them “eunuchs.” Jesus said some of us were born eunuchs, some were made into eunuchs by others, and some made themselves into eunuchs. He never spoke a word against homosexuality. He just taught about love: Love God, love your neighbor as yourself, love your enemies. Religious leaders felt threatened by his absolute love, but his words and his touch healed people. The religious leaders listened too -- hoping he would say something that they could use to silence.
Christ, teach me, touch me!
___
Next: 5. The Last Supper
Bible background:
Matthew 19:12 RSV: “there are eunuchs who have been so from birth…”
More resources:
Homosexual Eunuchs - Did You Know That Some Eunuchs Were Gay Men Or Lesbians? (GayChristian101.com)
___
This is part of a series based on “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision,” a set of 24 paintings by Douglas Blanchard, with text by Kittredge Cherry.
Click to go to Intro/Part 1
or view the whole series.
Scripture quotation is from Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
2 comments:
The exposition of the use of the term "eunuch" in biblical and Roman legal literature was far more interesting than I expected since the writer's view of the scriptures is not one that I share. Nevertheless, his evidence-based examination of how the texts use the word seems to me to be unexceptionable.
I love the two old farts at the right in the image. They look like they could be bankers (the power guys in our world) but they could as easily be bishops--like, for example, Vatican bureaucrats.
Danny, If you like these “old farts” who look like today’s bankers or bishops, you’re going to love Blanchard’s upcoming paintings of “Jesus Before the Magistrate” and “Jesus Before the Priests.” They (or men like them) will make major appearances.
Post a Comment