Sermon 06.25.2023: Clean or Unclean

On this LGBTQ+ Pride Sunday, Rev. Victor invites you to tune in to everyone's favorite Old Testament game show: CLEAN OR UNCLEAN! Afterwards, we will march down Market Street with the United in Spirit interfaith contingent. All are welcome. Always.

Scripture

Leviticus 13:1-46

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a leprous disease on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. The priest shall examine the disease on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous disease; after the priest has examined him he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean. But if the spot is white in the skin of his body, and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall confine the diseased person for seven days. The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if he sees that the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall confine him for seven days more. The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the disease has abated and the disease has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption; and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. But if the eruption spreads in the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest. The priest shall make an examination, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous disease.

When a person contracts a leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest. The priest shall make an examination, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is quick raw flesh in the swelling, it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not confine him, for he is unclean. But if the disease breaks out in the skin, so that it covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, then the priest shall make an examination, and if the disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; since it has all turned white, he is clean. But if raw flesh ever appears on him, he shall be unclean; the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean, for it is a leprous disease. But if the raw flesh again turns white, he shall come to the priest; the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean. He is clean.

When there is on the skin of one’s body a boil that has healed, and in the place of the boil there appears a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, it shall be shown to the priest. The priest shall make an examination, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; this is a leprous disease, broken out in the boil. But if the priest examines it and the hair on it is not white, nor is it deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him for seven days. If it spreads in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is diseased. But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil; the priest shall pronounce him clean.

Or, when the body has a burn on the skin and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white, the priest shall examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, it is a leprous disease; it has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous disease. But if the priest examines it and the hair in the spot is not white, and it is no deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him for seven days. The priest shall examine him on the seventh day; if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous disease. But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin but has abated, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar of the burn.

When a man or woman has a disease on the head or in the beard, the priest shall examine the disease. If it appears deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an itch, a leprous disease of the head or the beard. If the priest examines the itching disease, and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall confine the person with the itching disease for seven days. On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the itch appears to be no deeper than the skin, he shall shave, but the itch he shall not shave. The priest shall confine the person with the itch for seven days more. On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean. But if the itch spreads in the skin after he was pronounced clean, the priest shall examine him. If the itch has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean. But if in his eyes the itch is checked, and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed, he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

When a man or a woman has spots on the skin of the body, white spots, the priest shall make an examination, and if the spots on the skin of the body are of a dull white, it is a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.

If anyone loses the hair from his head, he is bald but he is clean. If he loses the hair from his forehead and temples, he has baldness of the forehead but he is clean. But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white diseased spot, it is a leprous disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. The priest shall examine him; if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, which resembles a leprous disease in the skin of the body, he is leprous, he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; the disease is on his head.

The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be dishevelled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

Mark 1:40-45

A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesuscould no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Sermon Text 

Last Sunday afternoon, we hosted two Christian drag artists in the chapel. We expected about 40 people to attend, and 80 showed up. Our Drag Queen Bible Story Hour made the news on KQED, KCBS and NBC Bay Area. We have received communications from all over the country. Most emails were from internet trolls. We knew that would happen. But some emails were from people who had all but given up on the church, and themselves, thanking us for our ministry of inclusion and healing past wounds.

Today is LGBTQ Pride, our city’s largest annual event, upwards of a million visitors pouring into the city. It is our opportunity to welcome the stranger and preach the gospel with our actions.

Nada Bolz Weber writes, “Jesus seemed to want connection with those around him, not separation. He touched human bodies deemed unclean as if they were themselves holy: dead little girls, lepers, menstruating women. People of his day were disgusted…”[1] His standards were too low. He broke the unjust laws. He was unorthodox and offensive. Too prophetic. Too loving.

No matter what the world tells you, you are not a mistake. God does not make mistakes. Jesus did not condemn anybody. Well, except those who offered no food to the hungry, no drink to the thirsty, those who refused to welcome strangers. It’s all there in the gospel.[2] So let’s be clear in our welcome. All are welcome here. Every person. Every body. Every soul. Let Calvary Presbyterian Church be a house of prayer for all people.

Prayer for Illumination. Your ways are not our ways, your thoughts not our thoughts, but if you can use anyone to preach your gospel of love, Holy Spirit, use me. And let those with ears to hear, hear. Amen.

The Scope of Leprosy. All through the Bible, the term leprosy is used to describe any kind of visible disease the religious leaders call contagious. The Bible, written before Christianity, depicts priests as special rabbis charged with deciding who is clean and who is unclean—not the doctors, not the healers, not even the insurance companies, Unclean meant toxic and contagious, and liable to be spread by association. Today, some unloving people with cultural megaphones have expanded the vocabulary of unclean to include anyone they disagree with. The most common epithet, shockingly, is to call your enemy a pedophile or a groomer, with no authority or evidence based in reality.

In the gay community, the word clean means a person does not have a sexually transmittable disease. In the broader community, the word cleanis used to describe people who don’t do drugs. In TV police dramas, a suspect’s criminal record is often described as clean or in need of cleaning up. Of course, once someone is suspected of something like grooming children, they are unclean by way of slander. They are suddenly to be feared. The person accusing the groomer falsely grows in authority and power. It’s an old, cheap trick: scapegoat the vulnerable. (Didn’t somebody say something about perfect love casting out fear?[3]) This is how we, self-included, categorize whole groups of people: safe or unsafe, worthy or unworthy, good or bad, clean or unclean.

The page number for the first reading is not included in the bulletin, and this is on purpose. Please read it for yourself after the service. For now, please don’t cheat as we play a game I’m calling Clean or Unclean. Before anyone jumps to a conclusion about my commitment to the Bible, rest assured I love the Holy Bible and don’t consider it a game. I love it enough to go to seminary—and into debt—to learn how to read it better. However, I do not worship the Bible. That would be idolatry. I worship God. We worship God. I think it is somehow providential that Hippocrates was working on his famous oath — “first, do no harm” — about the same time the laws of Leviticus were recorded. Now, without reading along, let’s hear the old law from the 13th chapter of Leviticus as I invite you to play Clean or Unclean. [The congregation fills in the words “clean” or “unclean” as the scripture is read.]

Leviticus 13:1-46, alt., selected verses. When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a leprous disease on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. The priest…shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean. But if the spot is white in the skin of his body, and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall confine the diseased person for seven days… and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. But if the eruption spreads in the skin…the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous disease. When a person contracts a leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest. The priest shall make an examination, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is [persistent] raw flesh in the swelling, it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; But he shall not confine him, for he is unclean. But if the disease breaks out in the skin, so that it covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, then the priest shall make an examination, and if the disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean… But if raw flesh ever appears on him…the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean, for it is a leprous disease. When there is on the skin of one’s body a boil that has healed, and in the place of the boil there appears a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, it shall be shown to the priest. The priest shall make an examination, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; this is a leprous disease, broken out in the boil. But if the priest examines it and the hair on it is not white, nor is it deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him for seven days. If it spreads in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is diseased. But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil; the priest shall pronounce him clean. Or, when the body has a burn on the skin and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white, the priest shall examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin…the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous disease. …if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin but has abated, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar of the burn. When a man or woman has a disease on the head or in the beard, the priest shall examine the disease. If it appears deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an itch, a leprous disease of the head or the beard. If the priest examines the itching disease, and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall confine the person with the itching disease for seven days. On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the itch appears to be no deeper than the skin, he shall shave, but the itch he shall not shave. … [if] the itch has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean. But if the itch spreads in the skin after he was pronounced clean, the priest shall examine him….the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean. But if …black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed, he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean. When a man or a woman has spots on the skin of the body, white spots, the priest shall make an examination, and if the spots on the skin of the body are of a dull white, it is a rash that has broken out on the skin; [they are] clean. If anyone loses the hair from his head, he is bald but he is clean…he has baldness of the forehead but he is clean. But if there is on the…bald forehead a reddish-white diseased spot… The priest shall pronounce him unclean; the disease is on his head. The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 

Let’s tally up the points for this round of Clean or Unclean. It seems that we all have lost. And that’s the point. Yes, the old law served specific useful purposes, but for the most part, purity codes are about separation. Jesus wants unity.[4] Rabbi Jesus knew Leviticus, inside out, the constitution of the ancient Hebrews. Now, hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mark 1:40-42. A leper came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling he said to [Jesus], ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.’

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 

This is how simple it is. The church is now the ministry of Jesus. When the Body of Christ so chooses, the people are clean. It’s that easy to divorce the church from the self-serving tirades of the trolls from coast to coast that dare to get in God’s way deciding who is unclean. That’s God’s job. Good people do not spend their time demonizing the down and out. Good people do not think they’re better than someone else. Good people do not go after minors who already feel like misfits and take those innocent trans children away from their loving families.[5] Good people do not say and do things that cause others to consider suicide.

If the Body of Christ, the church, so chooses, the people are clean. When did Jesus ever declare someone unclean? He called out the power-hungry religious hacks of his time, but he told us to pray for our enemies, to forgive those who offend us, to offer them the other cheek.

Jesus healed that leper with words and actions. This story is bigger than one leper. It is a story of religious reformation. Jesus repairs the harm done by the mistaken, especially the damage done willfully. This gospel message is for all the unclean, even you and me, who have somehow been judged by this world. Agape love demands calls us to consider how we might be wrong. And to make sacrifices as we love our neighbors. After they departed from Jesus, he went around the region telling everyone, “I’m clean, I’m clean. Jesus says I’m clean, and I’ve been clean all along.” And people thronged to see him. If you’ve been made clean by Jesus, you are called to be such an evangelist.

When the unclean come forward to testify to God’s love, the old guard clutch their pearls, and that’s just how it has to be. They are mistaken. They may be powerful, but they’re mistaken. They may have their Bibles opened to Leviticus, or Romans, or any of the clobber passages used against God’s queer children, but they are mistaken.

Over the past ten years, we’ve undergone a transformation in this congregation. Our welcome has widened. Our tent is now big enough for everybody. Today in San Francisco, hundreds of thousands of God’s people are pouring into this city from all over the globe, celebrating how the old ways can be repaired. Our group of Calvary marchers will step off onto the Parade route soon to cheers from the crowd. I must admit that it makes me feel like Jesus on Palm Sunday, riding that donkey[6] into Jerusalem, the crowds finally hopeful for some good news from the religious establishment.

If the Body of Christ so chooses, the people are made clean. We so choose, be made clean. Amen.

[1] Nadia Bolz-Weber at <https://email.cac.org/t/d-e-zutbkk-tlkrtjkukr-f/>

[2] Calvary is a Matthew 25 congregation.

[3] 1 John 4:18

[4] John 17:21

[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/04/17/anti-trans-bills-map/?fbclid=IwAR0s_pzF2Rv78bTBovTdR0RjETmc3a6Q7pqJYM9KRPKw73UOlwR8wb9JUyo

[6] < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumphal_entry_into_Jerusalem>