Prophetic Love: Day 3
‘Some within the Church…claim that the homosexual condition is an expression of the variety in creation that God intended. “Why–if God made them this way—should their right to genital intimacy be considered immoral?”…In all this I sense the presence of the phallic god…Bright Chastity and the joys of celibacy cannot be talked about in such company. Sweet Reason also hangs her head and exits. I feel a revulsion, not in the presence of one who needs release from the homosexual condition, but in the presence of such trumpeting before a phallic god. The tragic effect of all this, is to bar persons from the healing they need.
Perhaps those demands from within the Church, outrageous as they are, have done us all a favor. They’ve pointed quite forcefully to the fact that the Church as a whole has not known how to minister the healing these sufferers need. Therefore, those that hold to the traditional biblical view concerning both the sinfulness and the healing of the homosexuality (‘Such were some of you’) are looking hard for pastoral answers…To cry out for pastoral answers is to cry out for the power to heal the lame in spirt and soul. Homosexual behavior is at once sinful and immature. The sinful aspect has to do with the lameness of the human spirit and is healed through confession and absolution of personal sin. The immature aspect is part of the lameness of soul—that which is set straight so that both spirit and soul can grow into freedom.’ (The Broken Image, pp. 37, 8)
Leanne wrote this observation on the Church 40-years-ago; it is prophetic, more relevant today than ever before. Her deft reasoning gives rise to compassion. Payne asserts that normalizing homosexuality bars persons from the healing they need. By insisting that spiritual and psychological brokenness undergirds same-sex desires, she lovingly corrects those who advocate for LGBT+ inclusion in the Church.
More importantly, she challenges all of us by pointing out our lack of faith and insight in offering real healing for the real problem of homosexuality. Not enough to just quote biblical prohibitions—discover biblical healing, says this merciful prophet! Bravo, Leanne. We hear you today. Your light shines brighter than ever.
‘Jesus, forgive us for becoming worldly, unsure and untrue about the disorder of homosexuality and other sexual identity problems. Forgive us too for not believing that You help us to become ordered in our sexuality, for our sake, and for the glory of Your Name. Let Your Kingdom of profound healing come afresh to us. Restore our faith and our wisdom so that we might impart Your healing to the sexually broken.
‘Jesus, please confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court.’
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