Last week, during announcements I invited you guys to join me at Drag Eucharist at the YWCA and I was asked by a few folks about what that experience was like. So I thought I’d share a little bit today.

 

The was led by visiting and local ELCA clergy, one of whom was dressed in pretty incredible drag. This was John Brett, who you may already know. He is from this area, but is now working with the Night Ministry on the streets of San Francisco and is also studying at Luther Seminary.

 

Perhaps the words drag and eucharist make no sense make no sense together in your mind. And I can certainly see how this could be true. This was a service held for the queer community of Wenatchee, for people who may have felt rejected by every religious space they have ever walked in to and by every Christian they’ve ever known.

 

So, it’s a powerful statement for the leader of this worship gathering to be dressed in drag and, at the same time, proclaiming God’s Word and Jesus’ love that includes them. It’s a statement that create a broad space for someone to imagine maybe for the first time that I too might be loved by Jesus.

 

There were about 35 or so folks ranging from young twenties to 70s. The service was beautiful with tears and laughter, prayers and music, all leading up to the bread and wine….then of course cookies at the end, because it was essentially a Lutheran gathering and so there must be cookies. The service was focused on Jesus’ love for us all. Again and again, the liturgy, readings, and sermon affirmed that the people present were wonderfully made by God.

 

It was a service of hope in a place where hope felt sorely needed.

 

The gospel today reminds me a lot of this experience. In fact, part of the liturgy at Drag Eucharist included a list of blessings like today’s reading, naming all the ways people in the queer community are both ostracized by society and blessed by Jesus at the same time. This is just like Jesus saying, “Blessed are you who are poor, hungry, or hated.” Jesus names the shameful or unwanted situations of the people gathered and declares them blessed. In the ways that society says no, Jesus says yes.

 

Drag Eucharist was a gathering of people who really needed to hear that blessing. I was so grateful to be there because it seemed that just by being there, I was able to affirm Jesus’ blessing. I got to be one more person to say, “Yes!”, in this small way for ones who really needed to hear Jesus’ “Yes!” that was for them.

 

I wonder if this is part of the work of the communion of saints who are present with us, loving us, as we are also present and loving each other. We gather today on All Saints Day to remember the saints of our lives. Saints, as Lutherans use that word anyway, are not necessarily spiritual superheroes, but the people in our lives who are united with us in Christ and in love. Today we honor the people who have made a difference in our lives, the people who have shaped us, the people we love and who love us.

 

A saint is one who can look you in the eye and say with confidence that, because of Christ, you are indeed most blessed in the very ways you also feel the most broken.  The wonderful thing is we have the opportunity to do just that for each other; to look each other in the eye and affirm that the other is blessed, wanted, and adored by God.

 

So, how do we do this with intention? We can do this work of the saints anywhere, but while we’re all at church, let’s talk about church. When we come to church on any given Sunday, we might be feeling fine. Or we might be feeling scared, hopeless, or grieved, whether or not we admit that to anyone or even ourselves. If that’s you today, I am so glad you came to church to be in communion with all of us today, either in person or online. But as a gathering of saints, we also have a job to do, particularly those of us who are feeling fine.

 

This holy job is to:

1. Look everyone in the eye you meet and remember that this beloved child of God might be suffering without you knowing or even needing to know
2. Affirm Jesus’ blessing for them with your smile, your welcome, your heart, and your knowing that the gifts of God are indeed for them.

 

Even on our best days, it doesn’t hurt to be affirmed of our place of belonging in the communion of saints through the loving care of others around us. Sometimes Jesus’ love and blessing for us in our brokenness is hard to believe for ourselves. However, I’m sure you’ve noticed it is easier to know this is true for someone else. Without hesitation, I can know that Jesus blesses you down to your toes. You can know that for me, for everyone around you, and for all people, even on the days you don’t know it for yourself.

 

We participate in God’s love by affirming the reality of Jesus’ blessings for others in how we live our lives in relationship with other people and with all of creation. And others do the same for us. That is quite the holy job to be called into!

 

However, Jesus doesn’t just bless us in this gospel. He also admonishes us. Perhaps what he’s talking about in the second half of the gospel is how we tend to hold ourselves apart from each other and from God. What if Jesus is cautioning us against thinking that all that matters is whether I am rich, well fed, and happy. It can indeed be easy for us to not show up in our communities where mutual support happens if all is going well.

 

So, if I decide to not go to book club, or lunch with friends, or bowling night, or church, because I’m not personally needing connection in that moment, then am I not just opting out of the experience, but opting out of the opportunity to be a reminder of God’s love for another.

 

We’d miss the opportunity to do our holy job of affirming the blessedness of the people in our lives, perhaps in the middle of their deep struggle that we may never know about. How many times have we all missed that opportunity?

 

Many times, in my case. Thankfully we have also all been there many times for others. And…we will all have many, many more opportunities to be a person through whom the love of Christ flows to another person who may desperately need it in that moment. This is how we live as saints for each other. What a blessing it is for each of us that this is our holy job and the holy promise that we can give and receive the love of Christ in this way, in our communities and  families.

 

Attending Drag Eucharist was a good reminder to me that it is important to be present and affirm the blessings of Christ for others. Jesus’ blessings are never just for us. We are called into a life of sharing and affirming that blessing for all.

It’s so easy to think our presence doesn’t matter, but this is not true. Each of us showing up matters, because we are all saints in the communion of saints reflecting God’s love to each other.

 

You are blessed. You are wanted. As a communion of saints, we know this for you, just as you know this for the people around you, particularly those who need to hear it the most.

 

AMEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMEN