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The only way I think we can communicate to other Christians who might not be aware of the need for trans rights is through the Bible. First of all let us take the passage in Isaiah 56. This is the writing of a prophet the scholars call Third Isaiah who preached after the return from the Babylonian Exile. The Exile gave the Israelite people a more universal idea of God. Through Cyrus the Persian, a Zoroastrian, the Israelites saw ca righteous Gentile leader who legislated protection is particular passage Third Isaiah does the First and Second Isaiah proud by expanding the message of God's acceptance to eunuch. Eunuchs are the ancient equivalent of Male to Female transsexuals and for the most part, out did themselves as excellent guards to the Gentiles' temples and harems. They could also be righteous Gentiles or God-fearers, non-Jews who practiced some tenets of the Jewish Law. So, Third Isaiah gives them their due through the voice of the Lord:
"Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from his people;' and do not let the eunuch say, 'I am just a dry tree.' For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 56:3-5).
So what if the eunuch cannot follow every iota of the Law i.e. be circumcised? If they keep the Sabbath and do good works that please the Lord, they will have chosen the better part. Even though the names of the average eunuch from the sixth century BCE (when the prophecy was written) are forgotten to human history, the Lord knows all their names. He loves the eunuchs so much that he has built an eternal monument to them and adopts them as his sons and daughters. Certainly, there are trans people in the Church who are faithful. Who are we not to love the people of God's covenant?
As Christians, we believe that Jesus reflected and fulfilled some of the prophecies of the Old Testament. Of course, we all remember Matthew's Gospel misquoting First Isaiah about a Virgin giving birth to a blessed son. But, never, never do we hear the following passage preached in Episcopal churches: "For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. Let any one accept this who can." (Matthew 19:12) This is an amazing verse! First of all Jesus recognizes some of the diversity of Trans people. Some physicians have said that 1 out of 1000 babies are born with ambiguous genitals. Unfortunately, the reaction to such a baby is one of horror. There is usually a secret operation to make the baby a female. Without the possibility of the baby's consent, such an operation is the true horror! Why can't we see that such a baby might have a gift from God to give to the world?
Jesus, then talks of eunuchs made by others. These are again, the ancient transsexuals, who have chosen a way of genital modification. However, remember Third Isaiah, whatever cut off in such operations (different because done by consenting adults) can NOT cut them off from God's covenant.
Then there are eunuchs for the kingdom of God. The preaching of the coming reign of God is the essence of Jesus' earthly ministry. Jesus instructed his disciples to prepare for the reign by practicing God's inclusive love towards their neighbor. ALL their neighbors. The eunuchs for God's reign are the sort of Trans activists who help their Church and secular community live into God's justice.
"Let anyone accept this who can." If God is for transpeople, who are we to be against them? This is a radical case of loving neighbors. May God grant us the grace to accept and live in to by working for Trans Rights in the Church and in the world.
Let us take another reading from the acts of the Apostles:
?Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip , ?Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.? (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ?Go over to this chariot and join it.? So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ?Do you understand what you are reading?? He replied, ?How can I, unless someone guides me?? And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
?Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.?
The eunuch asked Philip, ?About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?? Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ?Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?? He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea? (Acts 8:26-40).
A guardian angel as well as the Holy Spirit lead Philip the deacon a nameless Ethiopian eunuch. What a shock this must have been to Philip! Here is someone who is a Gentile, a foreigner (most definitely a Black African), and a transsexual. Why on earth does the Holy Spirit want Philip to preach to this person?
The Holy Spirit had spoken through the prophet Isaiah about this. Third Isaiah preached after the return from the Babylonian Exile in 537 BCE. The Exile gave the Israelite people a more universal idea of God. The prophet expanded his understanding of God's acceptance to eunuchs. Eunuchs are the ancient equivalent of Male to Female transsexuals and for the most part, they did themselves as excellent guards to the Gentiles' temples and harems. They could also be righteous Gentiles or God-fearers, non-Jews who practiced some tenets of the Jewish Law. So, Third Isaiah gives them their due through the voice of the Lord:
"Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from his people;' and do not let the eunuch say, 'I am just a dry tree.' For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off" (Isaiah 56:3-5).
The Ethiopian Eunuch went to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship. From that we might conclude that he kept the Sabbaths. He was what the first century CE Jews called a ?Godfearer.? The Ethiopian certainly appreciated the Bible and meditating aloud on it. So what if the eunuch could not follow every iota of the Law i.e. be circumcised? If he kept the Sabbath and did good works that pleased the Lord, he had chosen the better part.
Philip has a strong foundation to build on is this well-educated eunuch (he could read and kept the Queen?s treasury in a period when most of the population was illerate). They engaged in an impromptu Bible study over Isaiah?s prophecy in the Servant Songs. Philip told the Ethiopian that Jesus was the One Isaiah was waiting for.
The Eunuch was so enthusiastic about Jesus that he practically begged Philip to baptize him. If God is for transpeople, who are we to be against them? He has given them both the Old and New Testaments. This is a radical case of loving our neighbors no matter the color, race, religion or sexual identity. Jesus said that there would be eunuchs for the kingdom of Heaven (Mt 19:12).Transpeople, like the Ethiopian, have their own charisms for the building of God?s reign.
Prayer: O, Spirit You created us with different colors, races, religions, sexualities, and genders. Help us to love one another and appreciate each of our unique gifts.
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