Your Love is the Blessing

Rev. Zayna Thomley, UCCPlatt.org

When I write letters or emails to my congregation I most often address them to “Beloved.” As in: “Beloved, thank you for your generous gift!” or “Beloved, this week we’ll be having a special service of…” You get the idea. I’ve been doing it for almost eight years now so they’re mostly used to this term of endearment, but I know it made some uncomfortable in the beginning. 

I call them “Beloved” because at the center of my faith is a fundamental belief that every person comes from Love – that our very existence originates from the Love that moves all of creation. Sappy? Maybe. Sentimental? Perhaps. But it is also rooted deeply in Christianity’s sacred text and experience of God throughout history. 

In the poetry that opens the book of Genesis (literally meaning “origin” or “where we come from”), we’re told that “In the beginning…” God didn’t just create the world, but immediately offered blessing over every living thing. “It is good!” She declared over and over again. From the very start, God’s blessing is poured out with abandon and we do well to remember that. 

This week the Vatican released a decision regarding the blessing of same-sex unions among members of the Roman Catholic Church. I have no interest in repeating the words of that decree but you can Google them if you want the details. (In other news water is wet and the ocean is large.) I was quick to write off this story as another silly proclamation from an outdated and unimaginative religious authority.  

But my colleague, Pastor Sarah, was quick to name what is truly at stake here: 

“I believe it is a sin to knowingly contribute to risk factors for suicide. When the Church excludes LGBTQ+ people from receiving the sacraments, including the sacrament of marriage, the Church is guilty of inflicting soul harm. We can no longer ignore that homophobic and transphobic religious teachings contribute to higher rates of suicide in LGBTQ+ communities. Let’s do whatever we can to help prevent suicide. It begins with unconditional love and equal rights.”

 – Rev. Sarah Lund, Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice

So let me be very clear here: your love, your life, your existence is not a sin. It simply isn’t. The Bible names a lot of things as sin but your relationship with the person you love isn’t one of them. Anyone who tells you differently believes in and worships a very different God than I do. This assertion extends to our Trans and Non-binary siblings as well. You are not a sin, but convincing people that their existence or their love is anything less than beloved most certainly is. 

Not all of our readers here at SWRA are people of faith. If you are, I hope you know that you are indeed beloved. If the abuse and careless words of a religious authority have convinced you otherwise, give me a call (Shoot me an email… Friend me on social media…). I’m ready to remind you of what God already knows: Your very existence is the blessing. The love you share with the world is the blessing. The love you share with your partners is the blessing. LOVE IS THE BLESSING. And no man can convince me otherwise.