A Hermeneutic of Love

On Sunday at church, I preached about one of our core values, "We are people of God's extravagant welcome" and then invited response from the conversation.

One of the questions that was asked was regarding how we assimilate the idea of extravagant welcome with passages in the Bible that appear to exclude certain people or behaviors, in this instance specifically homosexuality.

I responded with the notion that every time we approach scripture we make a choice of how we will interpret it and that we, or I, choose to interpret it in a certain way. On reflection, I realized that, while true, it was about 30% of an answer. And I want to get it up to a good 80-85% here.

Yes, every time we engage scripture we do so through a particular lens or a system of interpretation called a hermeneutic. I know, big word. But it's a very useful word. The Bible is so vast and deep and varied and, dare I say, messy at times that one may find it useful to have a guiding principle when approaching it. That guiding principle is a "hermeneutic."

"Well," one may respond, "I believe the Bible says what it means and means what it says. I just take it at face value." And that is a good way to start reading these sacred scriptures. However, it has been my experience that as I spend more and more time in scripture, which I love to do, I find parts that seem to contradict other parts. I encounter a God that commanded that an entire nation be killed, not because they did anything wrong, but because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time (Joshua 6). Elsewhere, I encounter a God that loved humanity so much, that this God took the form of a human just to be with us and reveal his love and grace to us in a way we could understand. As a result, I must choose how to read a passage of scripture; I must make a hermeneutical choice.

I could choose to read the Bible as one long story from beginning to end, written, without error, by the hands of men controlled exactly and precisely by God. That choice would require me to come up with some pretty creative explanations of parts of the Bible that seem to be in contradiction to one another.
That was a choice that I grew uncomfortable with.

The story I tell about God, based on my understanding from scripture, my observation of how God has worked in history, and my experience of God in my own life, is that God is a God of unfathomable, super-human, love, grace, and acceptance. That understanding of God in scripture eclipses other understandings, in my most humble opinion. So, I choose to read scripture with the hermeneutic of love. Every passage I read, I read through the glasses of a God of radical, extravagant welcome and acceptance. And guess what...that choice requires that I come up with some pretty creative explanations of parts of the Bible that seem to be in contradiction to my understanding of God, but no more or less creative than other hermeneutics.

So, briefly, with every intention of filling these out in greater detail at another time: When I read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), I don't see God angry at a people because of homosexuality, but because of, among other things, being inhospitable.  When I read laws supposedly given by God against homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), I see a necessary rule for a particular time and place to ensure the fruitfulness of a particular tribe, not an all-time and forever rule. When I read Paul's inclusion of homosexuality in a list of sins seen as symptoms of a people who do hot acknowledge God (Romans 1), I assume that Paul is speaking of the only homosexuality he knew at the time, prostitution and slavery, not same-sex couples that choose to form loving, sexual relationships.

Do these require some creative interpretations? Yes, as a matter of fact, they do. Are there other ways that these, and all scriptures, can be read? Most certainly. However, my life and ministry is based on a particular hermeneutical choice, a hermeneutic of love.

My Spiritual Choice

I read an article this morning that really nudged me over the edge. There are a myriad of spiritualities one could live. Even within Christianity, there are several doctrinal stories in which one could engage. Most of them, when followed authentically, are benign and there are more than one that could lead to a rich, transformative, productive life with God. Most of us "good Christians," in my opinion, would do better to pick one and live it than to argue about them.

Here is the one I am choosing: love God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27). As Paul Allen, the author of the article states, "there is no mention of balance, just pure devotion." What if Jesus' statement that if we seek first the Kingdom of God, everything else will be added, is a true statement about spiritual life? It seems so simple. What if I focused on loving God and loving those around me: my family, my patients, my parishioners, my co-workers, my friends.

This is what I am choosing. I am not saying it is he only doctrinal story one could live or even the best. However, I feel it is the best for me.

God, I am giving it over to you. I want my heart to be transformed. In loving you, I want to be transformed into a lover of my neighbors. I can't wait to see how you will shape me.