“For
I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I
needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after
me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous
will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or
thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a
stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When
did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will
reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of
these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” ~Matthew
25:35-40 NIV
Have you ever thought about who the
strangers Jesus talks about in Matthew
25:31-46 are?
The entire passage is profound in what
it demands of Christ-followers. The “goats” and “sheep” both
appear to be the folks that have accepted Jesus as their Lord and
King. The people being judged are Christians. And they are separated
out according to their actions regarding the most marginalized and
vulnerable in our society – the poor, the sick, the oppressed, the
“strangers.”
Who are the strangers?
Dictionary.com defines “stranger”
in part: “an outsider;” “a person who is unaquainted with
something;” and “a person who is not part of the community, as a
visitor or guest.” I would submit that any one of these does a good
job of describing the gay or lesbian or trans person who encounters a
Christian in America today, at least or especially in conservative or
traditionalist circles. But are they really being invited in?
In my experience as a transgender
Christian, no. Even though I identify as part of the Christian
community, a member of the body of Christ, I feel like an outsider
and I'm treated that way. For instance, I used to have a close friend
who now shuns me for my “blatant lifestyle of sin,” even though I
strive to follow Jesus to the best of my ability, and have been
celibate for six years. Similarly, I find almost nothing I can relate
to in GotQuestions
treatment of Gender Dysphoria (GD). (I hope to break that down in
a future post.) I wrote to them about it, and when I questioned their
use of condemnations against homosexuality to condemn GD, they
refused to answer. Part of inviting someone in is to listen to them,
to hear what they say and recognize the validity of their experience,
whether you agree with it or not. Too often, that doesn't happen.
Inviting the strangers in doesn't mean
you have to agree with them. It just means you embrace them as Jesus'
loved little ones, and trust Him to transform their lives. That's His
job. Ours is to open the door.
But based on the many Christian doors
that have slammed shut in my face, I'm guessing there will be a lot
of Christian goats on Judgment Day.
