Animals make peace at Christmas

Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks

Animals often symbolize peace at Christmastime -- from the dove to the ox and donkey in the stable where Jesus was born. Animals are important in the lives of many LGBT people, and sometimes become our “surrogate children,” so I gladly devote this Christmas post to animals.

Jesus tells the story of his birth to animals in the following scene from my novel “Jesus in Love.”

Another vision of animals living in harmony is the painting “Peaceable Kingdom” by Edward Hicks, a 19th-century American folk painter and Quaker minister. Hicks’ art is set to music in a video by James Hilden-Minton, a financial analyst and theology student who writes short contemplative songs for churches and spiritual groups.

Jesus is so in tune with nature that he can converse with animals in my novel “Jesus in Love.” While the book is known for exploring Jesus’ bisexual and trangender feelings, many readers say that this retelling of the Christmas story is one of their favorite scenes. The following scene takes place during Jesus’ wilderness fast.

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The cave was filled with animals and angels. The angels were like snatches of melody or wisps of light, singing a prophecy from Isaiah that I had loved since childhood. As they sang, Isaiah’s vision materialized right before my eyes and I was part of it: “The wolf shall live with the lamb. The leopard and the young goat shall lie down together while the lion cub makes friends with the calf, with a little child to guide them. The baby shall play near the cobra’s hole. Nobody will
be hurt or injured on my holy mountain, for the earth will be flooded with the knowledge of God as water fills the sea.”…

The scene reminded me of a story that Mom and Papa-Joe told me about my birth, so I tried to share it with the animals. “I was born in a stable, a place kind f like this cave,” I began. It was tricky translating my thoughts into the vibrations of so many different species at once. Some understood more than others.

“Animals were with me when I was born. There were some like you...and you...and you.” I pointed at the sheep, the goats, the donkeys, and the oxen. “After I was born, I slept in a manger, a place where animals ate their food.”

“Food!” Everyone was interested in this part of my story. We talked about food for a long time, until the sun began to set.

“You are like food. You make me feel good,” Old Snake said to me, and the others sounded their agreement.

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A wonderful song about the animals and baby Jesus is “The Friendly Beasts” by an unknown 12th-century author. Thanks to C.W.S., a friend of this blog, for alerting us to the hymn, which begins:

Jesus, our Brother, strong and good,
Was humbly born in a stable rude,
And the friendly beasts around Him stood,
Jesus, our Brother, strong and good.

“I,” said the donkey, shaggy and brown,
“I carried His mother uphill and down,
I carried His mother to Bethlehem town;
I,” said the donkey, shaggy and brown...

Click here for the whole song
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Turtle by Trudie Barreras

A reminder for pet lovers: Artist Trudie Barreras has generously offered to do a personalized pet portrait for anyone who makes a $25 donation to the Jesus In Love Blog. Click here for details.

Lesbian Madonnas speak

What did the lesbian Madonna say to the dog in the gingerbread house?

The ever-witty blogger Madpriest gives a funny answer by fixing up one of our gay and lesbian Nativity cards.

“We were all set to go with the artificial insemination option, but…”

Thanks, Madpriest, for making us smile!

Madpriest blogs from a queer Christian perspective at Of Course I Could Be Wrong.

It’s not too late to buy or get more info on our Christmas cards with gay and lesbian Nativity scenes. You can watch the video too.

I got a nice surprise this morning when I saw the list of the week’s most popular posts here. Shooting up to Number Four is “Can you imagine? A gay Nativity scene” from two years ago. It has video and commentary about Amsterdam’s “Pink Christmas” gay Nativity scene with live actors.

Ruth and Naomi: Love between women

“Ruth’s Wise Choice,” 1907 Bible card by the Providence Lithograph Company (Wikimedia Commons)

Love between women is honored in the lives of Biblical figures Ruth and Naomi. Some churches observe their feast day today (Dec. 20).

Ruth’s famous vows to Naomi are often used in weddings -- heterosexual as well as same-sex marriages. Few people realize that these beautiful promises were originally spoken by one woman to another:

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
(Ruth 1:16)


For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net:
Ruth and Naomi: Biblical women who loved each other

The old-fashioned King James translation, still beloved by many, begins, “Whither thou goest, I will go…”

In the Bible Ruth was born to a pagan family and married the Jewish man Boaz. In Judaism she is honored as a convert. Ruth is an ancestor of Jesus Christ, listed in his genealogy in the gospel of Matthew. It reports mostly a male lineage, and Ruth is one of only four women who are included.

Naomi was the mother-in-law of Ruth and Orpah. After their husbands died, Naomi urged both of them to remarry. But Ruth refused, declaring her love in words that have extra meaning for LGBT people because they were spoken between women.

Were Ruth and Naomi lesbians? The same Hebrew word (dabaq) is used to describe Adam’s feelings for Eve and Ruth’s feelings for Naomi. In Genesis 2:24 it says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” The way that Adam “cleaved” to Eve is the way that Ruth “clung” to Naomi. Countless couples have validated this interpretation by using their vows as a model for how spouses should love each other.

The openly lesbian interpretation dates back at least to 1937, when the novel “Pity for Women” by Helen Anderson was published. The two main characters, Ann and Judith, recite Ruth's famous vow to show their commitment as a lesbian couple.

Contemporary Christian singer-songwriter Marsha Stevens of Florida used their vow as the basis for the song she wrote for her legal wedding to Cindy Pino: “Wherever You Go.” She sings about how Cindy grew up feeling alone as “a guest at every wedding, an extra place at meals,” with nobody recognizing her lesbian relationships as family. But the mood shifts after a chorus with Ruth’s vow to Naomi :

Now we stand on sacred ground, our families near,
Law allows these holy vows, your home is here.

“Wherever You Go” is available for listening and download at BALM (Born Again Lesbian Music) Ministries: http://balmministries.net/track/323379/wherever-you-go

Enjoy a selection of Bible illustrations that celebrate the love between these two women of spirit. If you look closely, it sometimes seems that they are about to kiss.

Ruth and Naomi from ChristianImageSource.com

The previous two images are details from larger scenes that show Orpah leaving while Ruth stays with Naomi.

Ruth clings to Naomi (ChristianImageSource.com)

“Naomi and Her Daughters-in-Law” from Doré's English Bible, 1866 (Wikimedia Commons)

“Ruth and Naomi” by Brandon Buehring

Artist Brandon Buehring included Ruth and Naomi in his “Legendary Love: A Queer History Project.” He uses pencil sketches and essays “to remind queer people and our allies of our sacred birthright as healers, educators, truth-tellers, spiritual leaders, warriors and artists.” The project features 20 sketches of queer historical and mythological figures from many cultures around the world. He has a M.Ed. degree in counseling with an LGBT emphasis from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He works in higher education administration as well as being a freelance illustrator based in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Ruth and Naomi’s love has been illustrated by many artists, including the great English Romantic painter William Blake.

“Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab” by William Blake, 1795 (Wikimedia Commons)

The hardships experienced by Ruth and Naomi are often overshadowed by their famous vow of love and their association with the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. Ruth is revered as a Jewish convert and an ancestor of Jesus. But Ruth and her Israelite mother-in-law were so poor that Ruth had to survive by picking up leftover grains of barley in the fields after harvest. Gay Israeli artist Adi Nes brings home the reality of their poverty by showing the pair scavenging onions from a contemporary street littered with trash after an open-air market. They are posed like the peasants in Millet’s “The Gleaners,” a painting well known for showing the dignity of society’s poorest members.

“Untitled (Ruth and Naomi)” by Adi Nes

The careworn faces of Ruth and her beloved Naomi become visible in a second portrait by Nes. He shows that their love for each other is all they have as they sit together among discarded crates. For more about Adi Nes, see my previous post "Adi Nes: Gay Israeli artist humanizes Bible stories."

“Untitled (Ruth and Naomi)” by Adi Nes

The painting below, “Whither Thou Goest” by Trudie Barreras, was commissioned in 2004 by Rev. Paul Graetz, pastor of City of Light / First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta, for a sermon series that he was doing on the Book of Ruth.

“Whither Thou Goest” by Trudie Barreras, 2004
Acrylic, 18” x 14.” Collection of City of Light / First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta, GA.

A billboard featuring Ruth and Naomi is part of the Would Jesus Discriminate project sponsored by Metropolitan Community Churches. It states boldly, “Ruth loved Naomi as Adam loved Eve. Genesis 2:24. Ruth 1:14.” The website WouldJesusDiscriminte.org gives a detailed explanation.

Ruth and Naomi billboard from from WouldJesusDiscriminte.com and WouldJesusDiscriminte.org

For more info on the billboards, see the previous post, “Billboards show gay-friendly Jesus.”


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For more on Ruth and Naomi, visit the following links:

Queering the Church: Ruth and Naomi

Pharsea’s World: Homosexuality and Tradition: Ruth and Naomi

Stroppy Rabbit Blog: Naomi and Ruth in art

Conjubilant with Song Blog: “Song of Ruth” hymn by Fanny Crosby, 1875

Rut y Noemí: El amor entre mujeres en la Biblia (Santos Queer)

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Special thanks to CJ Barker for the news tip.
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This post is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, prophets, witnesses, heroes, holy people, humanitarians, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.

Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/
Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Inclusive Christmas tree: Anti-gay DVDs become ornaments

DVDs against same-sex marriage are being recycled now as decorations for the inclusive Christmas tree of Minnesota artist Lucinda Naylor. New photos tell recent developments with her amazing “DVD to Art” project.

“DVD to Art” protests the 400,000 sent to Minnesota Catholics by Archbishop John Nienstedt to urge them to seek a constitutional amendment against marriage equality. Naylor responded by asking people to give her their DVDs for recycling into art with an inclusive theme of hope. She was promptly fired as artist in residence at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. Unless otherwise noted, photos come from Lucinda Naylor.

I love the rainbow reflections in this close-up of “The Wave,” a sculpture that Naylor built from the 2,000 anti-gay DVDs that she collected. Look closely and you’ll also see a reflection of the entwined hands of two men: Michael Bayly and his boyfriend Doug. Bayly is a gay Catholic who blogs at the Wild Reed Blog. Before Naylor dyed them blue, the DVDs clearly showed the entwined hands of a man and a woman. Photo by Doug Abbott.

Inspired by the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Naylor arranged the DVD sleeves on a wall so people could tuck their prayers inside on pieces of paper. “Remembering my grandmother's quilting bees, I invited women and girls to sew the sleeves together,” Naylor says.

“May all love be recognized as HOLY!” and “May the Wave and our prayers turn the tide” were among the prayers left at the Wailing Wall near Lucinda Naylor’s “Wave.”

This prayer at the Wave’s Wailing wall shows the smiling faces of mothers Margaret and Cathy with their child Louie -- “a family committed to social justice in all its forms.”

“I am praying for the oppressed people who have been horribly hurt by the Archbishop’s message. I pray for his conversion to Christianity.” -- a prayer left at the DVD to Art Wailing Wall.

After the Wave exhibition, some of the DVDs were sold as mini-sculptures. Most were returned to the Archbishop by a group called Return the DVD. The Archbishop wouldn’t meet with them, but the following video shows their confrontation with his representatives. Naylor saved the last few DVDs for her Christmas tree.



For more info, see our previous posts “Artist turns anti-gay DVD into inclusive art” and “Artist makes waves with protest art for marriage equality” and visit:

DVD to Art Facebook Group

DVD to Art Blog

Lazarus: Jesus’ beloved disciple?

“Raising of Lazarus,” 1905 (Wikimedia Commons)

Some believe that Lazarus of Bethany was the “beloved disciple” of Jesus -- and maybe even his gay lover. His feast day is today (Dec. 17).

Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus in a dramatic miracle told in John: 11. The Bible identifies him as a man living in the village of Bethany with his sisters Mary and Martha. Lazarus falls ill, and the sisters send a message to Jesus that “the one you love is sick.” By the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been dead in his tomb for four days. Jesus weeps at the tomb, then calls, “Lazarus, come out!” To the amazement of all, Lazarus is restored to life.


For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net:
Lazarus: Jesus’ beloved disciple?

Scholars theorize that Lazarus was also the unnamed “one whom Jesus loved,” also known as “the beloved disciple,” referenced at least five times in the Gospel of John. The term implies that Jesus was in love with him, and perhaps they shared the kind of intimacy that today would be called “gay.” Bible experts suggest that Lazarus was the unnamed naked man who ran away when Jesus was arrested in Mark 14:51-52. He may also have been the nameless “rich young ruler” who asks Jesus how to find eternal life in all three synoptic gospels.

Detail from “Stripped of Linen, Stripped of Lord” by Eric Martin, 2012

Gay artist Eric Martin devoted himself to learning about and depicting the nameless nude who ran away when Jesus was arrested in “Stripped of Linen, Stripped of Lord” and other paintings. For more info, see my previous post “Seeking the ‘naked young man’ of Mark’s gospel.”

The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament by Theodore Jennings is a comprehensive book that explores the possibility of Lazarus as Jesus’ lover -- and all the other major queer theories about the beloved disciple.

Detail from
“Betrayal of Christ”
by Giuseppe Cesari, 1597

More queer ideas about Lazarus come from the controversial Secret Gospel of Mark, a recently discovered gospel that goes into homoerotic detail about Jesus’ relations with the “naked youth” who is often identified as Lazarus. The lost gospel was discovered in 1958 by Morton Smith, professor of ancient history at Columbia University, and described his his book The Secret Gospel: The Discovery and Interpretation of the Secret Gospel According to Mark. Recently Secret Mark has been discredited as a possible hoax in books such as The Gospel Hoax: Morton Smith's Invention of Secret Mark by Stephen C. Carlson.

Maybe Lazarus’ unusual family also included lesbians. Rev. Nancy Wilson, moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches, raises this possibility in her brochure “Our Story Too:Reading the Bible with New Eyes,” which says:

“Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha. What drew Jesus to this very non-traditional family group of a bachelor brother living with two spinster sisters? Two barren women and a eunuch are Jesus’ adult family of choice. Are we to assume they were all celibate heterosexuals? What if Mary and Martha were not sisters but called each other ‘sister’ as did most lesbian couples throughout recorded history?”

Wilson explores this concept more fully in her book "Outing the Bible: Queer Folks, God, Jesus, and the Christian Scriptures."

Lazarus coming out of the tomb has been seen as a symbol for LGBT people coming out of the closet by many LGBT people of faith.

In my “Jesus in Love” novels, the beloved disciple is John, while Lazarus is a young gay friend. To honor Lazarus on his feast day, I will close with the scene from my novel “Jesus in Love: At the Cross” where Jesus describes raising Lazarus from the dead:

I had counted on getting instructions from the Holy Spirit as soon as I reached the tomb, but no word came. The finality of the tomb scared me. When people healed in my presence, it was their own faith that made them whole—but that wasn’t happening now. Lazarus had crossed the line and no matter how much faith he had, his soul seemed severed from his corpse.

I crouched on the earth in sorrow and supplication. The crowd around me began to murmur. “Look how much he loved him!”

Then came the inevitable naysayers. “Nah—if he really loved him, he would have kept him from dying.”

The tears that I had been holding back overflowed. I blocked out the sounds and sights around me and felt the grief that seemed to be tearing a hole in my divine heart. The impact of my tears on the earth set up a tiny vibration. I tuned into it and recognized the husky whisper of the Holy Spirit. I was surprised that I couldn’t distinguish Her words, but then I realized that She wasn’t talking to me.

Lazarus’ soul was listening intently. I was able to decipher part of the Holy Spirit’s message to him: “Arise, my darling, my beauty, and come away.”

I sighed as I let my friend go. “Okay, take him wherever You will,” I prayed.

Suddenly part of Lazarus’ soul reconnected with the physical world, like a boat dropping anchor. I knew what it meant.

I dashed to the tomb and tried to roll the stone away, but it was too heavy for me. “Let him out!” I shouted, pounding on the stone. I directed my fury against death itself, which took my beloved cousin, but wasn’t going to get away with Lazarus, too.

Martha came up behind me, speaking gently. “Rabbi, there’s already a stench. He died four days ago.”

“Love is as strong as death,” I replied, gritting my teeth as I strained hard against the stone. “Stronger!”

Then John stepped up and positioned himself to push along with me. He placed his long, gnarled fingers next to my younger ones on the stony surface. I turned to look in his eyes. We were reconciled in a single glance. Moving as one, we heaved the stone aside and unsealed the tomb.

The cave gaped open, revealing a darkness as opaque as soot. There was indeed a stink—and a rustling sound, too.

“Lazarus, come out!” I called.

Everyone gasped as a slim figure wrapped in grave clothes hobbled out of the tomb. Strips of linen cloth prevented him from moving his arms and legs much, and his face was covered by a linen scarf. It puffed in and out slightly with each breath. The wind blew the stench away, leaving the air fresh.

I touched Lazarus’ shoulder gently. “It’s me, Jesus,” I said as I began to unfasten his headscarf.

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Related links:

Homosexuality and Tradition: Jesus, John and Lazarus (Pharsea’s World)

"Lazarus Come Out" painting and essay by Richard Stott (I Ask For Wonder) (warning: nudity)

The Raising of Lazarus and the Gay Experience of Coming Out (Wild Reed)

Unbinding (Bible in Drag)

Seeking the “naked young man” of Mark’s gospel (Jesus in Love)

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This post is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, prophets, witnesses, heroes, holy people, humanitarians, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.

Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/
Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts