The Outting of Christ
It has been said that Scripture is the greatest love story ever told. That it is the epitome of what it means to love. An all-powerful, eternal being chose to create out of nothing, stepping into their creation to demonstrate God's love for creation. But what if Scripture, and the New Testament in particular, could be read as a coming out story? The idea of coming out is usually in reference to those in the LGBTQ+ community coming to terms with their sexual or gender diversity, and begin living authentic lives by telling others. Coming out is a powerful, and often anxiety ridden, time in a queer persons life. In similar way that queer individuals come out about their sexual or gender diversity, in Christ we have God’s coming out story. In From Sin to Amazing Grace, Cheng’s second model of the Queer Christ is all about the Out Christ. In this model, we see “that God reveals Godself most fully in the person of Jesus Christ. In other words, God “comes out of the closet” in the person of Jesus Christ.” (Cheng, From Sin to Amazing Grace, 127) While we see God coming out to humanity and coming out as being on the side of the oppressed throughout the Old Testament, discussion will be limited to the New Testament and Christ’s coming out. There are four main instances in Scripture that we will focus on and they are the transfiguration (Matt 17: 1-8), the messianic secret passages (Mark 1: 43-45; 8: 29-30), Jesus’ appearances to the Mary’s post-resurrection (Matt 28: 1-10; John 20: 11-18), and lastly Jesus’ appearance on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-35).
The first text we will look at is the Transfiguration. There are several accounts of the Transfiguration, all very similar to one another and for the sake of analysis, we will look at Matthew 17:1-8. In this passage we see that Jesus and three of his disciples go up high on the mountain and are in a secluded area. Here we read that Jesus’s physical appearance changed and the disciples beheld a dazzling light shining from Jesus. At this point, Jesus was no longer alone but is talking with Elijah and Moses. Peter tries to interrupt what is happening and God speaks from heaven telling the disciples to listen and revealing to them that Jesus is God’s Son. Then the disciples fell in fear. After some time, the disciples and Jesus began descending down the mountain. This passage ends with Jesus telling them that Elijah has already come, and that no one listened to them. The text states that the disciples understood that Jesus was speaking of John the Baptist as the forerunner to the Son of God.
There are several things that need to be pointed out in this narrative. Here, his hybridity is on display and being shown to the disciples around him. His appearance is altered and he appears in a way that he previously had not appeared. The word that is used here is μεταμορφόω. This word is used four times in Scripture and each time is it in reference to being changed in some way. Two of those times are within the transfiguration narrative, and the next two are placed within Pauline literature. The two occurrences of μεταμορφόω in Matthew and Mark refer to a transformation of Jesus, while the Pauline references (in Romans 1:12, and 2 Corinthians 3:18) are referencing believers being changed, or transformed into the image of Christ. In the same way that Christ changes his image, and Christians are encouraged to be transformed by and into the image of Crhist, queer Christians also go through a transformation. When an individual comes out of the closet it often happens at different levels, and it is a never ending process. Queer Christians need to have an internal coming out story; a time when they realize they dont fit the heternormative narrative. The second layer of coming out is more relatable to the transfiguration narrative. In this layer of coming out, LGBTQ+ individuals come out to others. Often this takes place by coming out to their closest circle, like Jesus came out to some of his closet disciples. It is this announcement of a change that often shocks people, and they have questions. In a similar fashion to Jesus they may also tell the person to not tell others about what was just disclosed. While Jesus’ motivations for telling the disciples not to tell anyone until an appointed time, the queer person may have different reasons for asking for non-disclosure. This request of non-disclosure leads to the second set of passages regarding God coming out in Christ.
In Mark 1:43-45, and Mark 8:29-30 we have the messianic secret passages. In Mark 1:40-45 we see that Jesus healed a man of his leprosy, and it immediately left him. Jesus warns the man not to tell anyone of what Jesus had done. The man did not listen, but instead Scripture tells us that the man proclaims to everyone what Jesus had done, and this had real life consequences for Jesus and he could no longer enter the city. The next messianic secret passage we see is in Mark 8:29-30. In this passage Jesus is questioning his disciples and asking them who they think he is. It is Peter’s response of knowing exactly who Jesus is, the Christ, that leads to Jesus warning his disciples not to tell anyone. Jesus then goes on to explain that the Christ must suffer and be rejected. It is here that the queer person can most identify.
LGBTQ+ individuals are attacked because of their bodies, the changes that are made to reflect who they are as well as who the body loves. In the same way, Jesus is asking his disciples not to prematurely “out” him because of what he must go through. There will always be the question of Christ’s omnipotence, and if he knew exactly what was going to happen. We clearly see that Christ knew he must suffer and that there would be physical ramifications when he identifies as the Messiah. It could be argued that Jesus felt fear about the prospect of what was to come. We know that Jesus felt everything humanity did, so fear was most likely not out of the realm of possibilities. We also see him praying fervently in Gethsemane on the night he was betrayed asking God to let this cup pass from him. (Matt 26: 36-46) During the coming out process to themselves, many LGBTQ+ individuals have told me they have also prayed that prayer. They know that the ramifications of coming out can lead to betrayal and neglect from family and friends, bodily harm, and rejection from their entire support network. We even see Jesus being betrayed by one of his closest disciples once his identity is revealed in Luke 22:54-62. The fact that Jesus came out as the Christ led to his death because his mission was to subvert societal norms, structures and systems of oppression. The queer risk of coming out is very real and it is rooted in “challenging the norms of heteronormative society.” (Osinski, Queering Wesley, loc 1041) In her work, Osinski talks about Elizabeth Edman’s work on queer risk. Edman states that there is real risk in identity-based risk because you are putting very real parts of you on display. (Osinski, Queering Wesley, loc 1041) When Christ revealed himself he was crucified and the love of God was displayed for everyone. This love is not only for individuals but it is a love that subverts systems of oppression and marginality.
Lastly, we see aspects of God coming out in Jesus through the post resurrection appearances to the Mary’s in Matthew 28:1-10, and John 20:11-18. In these passages we see that Mary Magdalene (and other disciples) went to visit Jesus’ tomb. In both instances, she sees that the tomb is empty and begins to weep. She is weeping because she is unsure of where Jesus’ body has been taken. It is at this point that Jesus enters the picture and tells her not to weep, and not to be afraid. Here the accounts from Matthew and John diverge. In Matthew we see that the narrative is about the chief priests covering up the resurrection, while in the John narrative Jesus tells Mary that he is going to ascend to his Father and that she needs to tell the other disciples. These stories continue to reveal how God comes out in Christ. The first way these passages do this is through Christ’s bodily resurrection. As has been stated in previous sections, this bodily resurrection is God demonstrating his power, and love for humanity through Christ. This act of literally coming out of the grave causes immense emotions for Jesus’ loved ones, and a response from his opponents.
Jesus’ loved ones are initially met with shock and fear. We see Mary weeping over not just the death of her beloved, but weeping over the mystery of his missing body. When LGBTQ+ persons come out, they are faced with uncertain reactions from their loved ones. Sometimes they are met with a warm embrace, like Mary was with Jesus, but sometimes they are met with the same reaction of the chief priests. They are met with disdain, confusion, and a sense that their very existence needs an excuse or needs to be covered up to avoid scandal. Jesus’ resurrection was met with both embrace, and seen as a scandal. The interesting aspect of Jesus’ resurrection is that he did not just appear to Mary and his immediate disciples, but he was appearing to people for 40 days before his ascension, and each appearance is another “coming out” story. He repeatedly comes out to demonstrate the power of God.
Coming out should be viewed as a christic act and this is why a Queer Christology should be rooted in viewing Christ as the coming out of God. This is because in the process of coming out, the person is stating that they are transgressing societal norms. Often the coming out process is emotionally draining and comes with inherent risks. In the same way, Jesus came against the spirit of the age, and his love was seen as transgressive. There are many examples throughout Scripture of Jesus loving those that society, and Jewish religious leaders, deemed as unloveable. In this way, Jesus was acting against the cultural norms of his time. The New Testament repeatedly shows that God comes out on the side of the marginalized and oppressed. (Cheng, From Sin to Amazing Grace, 127) It is the job of the Church to allow queer peron’s coming out stories to be helf as scared so that quuer persons can be honoured and respected. (Shore-Goss, “Spiritual Companioning,” 388)
Bibliography
Cheng, Patrick. From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ. New York: Seabury Books, 2012. Kindle edition.
Osinski, Keegan. Queering Wesley, Queering the Church. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2021. Kindle edition.
Shore-Goss, Joseph. “Spiritual Companioning: The Art of Being Present to the Spiritual Traveler and Lighting the Path” in Queering Christianity: Finding a Place at the Table for LGBTQI Christians. Colorado: Praeger (2013) 382-. Kindle edition.