Boxed In

          “Boxed In” was preached at Princeton Theological Seminary on Tuesday, April 5, 2016 as the meditation in my Senior Chapel Service. Inspirations and themes found in this short message include Scripture, commentaries, self-identity, perceived societal roles, and personal experiences.

—————————————

Jeremiah 1:4-10

⁴Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ⁵“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” ⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” ⁷But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, ⁸Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” ⁹Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

—————————————

When members of the LGBTQ community come out, we do so to free ourselves from a box of lies in which we feel trapped. We often spend our youth muting ourselves, staying down and hiding away. Our lives seem to be covered in a haze that comes like a thick and terrible fog choking the dreams and aspirations we had set for ourselves until these dreams and aspirations wither and die. This box becomes even smaller as we grow older, and LGBTQ individuals may feel like they have no room to grow or to flourish. As we force ourselves to stay hidden, we realize we cannot live like this anymore. In moments that feel like taking the first breath of air after years of drowning, we come out to our family and our friends, and we reveal an intimate and vulnerable part of ourselves. It is also in these moments that many of us decide to never be forced into a box like that again.

However, more often than not, that would be the exact next thing to happen. When LGBTQ members free themselves from the box they forced themselves into, society would soon force them into a new box. It would be a new box of stereotypes, discrimination, and even hate. Society would use this box as the box to define them. Society would ignore everything else that made members of LGBTQ community as unique and special individuals, but use this as their sole source of judgment for the community as a whole. If you don’t possibly think this could be true, remember there are still states in our country where members of the LGBTQ community can be refused employment for exactly that. And on an even larger scale, remember there are still countries in the world where being queer is a crime or even a death sentence. Once again, we are trapped in a box. Once again, we feel like we are drowning.

The unfortunate truth is we all know this feeling because we have all been trapped in a box of our own. Whether you are a part of the LGBTQ community or not, at one point or another, society has forced you into a box that they would use to define you. For example… If you are a man, you must do this and if you are a woman, you must do that. If you are neither, good luck finding your place in the world. If you are black or Hispanic or Asian or white, you must have defining characteristics that makes you just like everyone else who shares in your skin color. Society has at one point let you know that you are defined by your disability, or society has stopped you from doing something because they have believed you to be too young or too old. Whatever our religious affiliation, we have been given the same set of stereotypes that may or may not describe us at all. We have been forced into a box. We have been trapped by this box. We have been wrongly defined by this box. The moment any of us were set apart for greatness, the world did what it could to limit our potential and make us feel trapped once again.

Jeremiah too once felt trapped in a box that he believed defined him. Jeremiah was a descendent from a line of priests; he was the original Pastor’s Kid. So when the Lord came to Jeremiah and called him into service, you think Jeremiah would respond with eager willingness and authority. But that is not what happened. Jeremiah instead responds with hesitation and worry; there’s a type of concern in his voice. When God calls Jeremiah into service, Jeremiah lists the reasons of why he is not the one for the job. One, he doesn’t know how to speak, and two, he’s only a boy. This was his box. Jeremiah believed no one would listen to a boy who didn’t know how to speak especially when the messages he was called to bring to the people revolved around themes of destruction and devastation. Before Jeremiah would even start his lifetime of ministry, he tried to limit his own potential and stay hidden in that tiny box. But God wouldn’t have any of it. God never seems to have any of it. And we know if you’re called to ministry, then you’re called to ministry. That’s the way it will be. God assured Jeremiah that even before he was born, when he was still in the first physical box that every human experiences – the womb – God knew Jeremiah and God would set Jeremiah apart. He would be consecrated to serve, and he would be set free from all and every human-made box that he believed would define him. It did not matter that he could not speak or that he was only a boy; he was one of God’s and God would use him.

We too can be freed from the boxes that could define us. We too can refuse to let anything limit our potential as we listen to God’s calling in our own lives. Everything that could bring us down, we can instead let God build us up. We are known. We are set apart. We are consecrated. We are made free.

When we are freed from the boxes that once negatively defined us in captivity, maybe our calling is now to look around us at the people we are called to serve. Let us go out and find who else might still be trapped by their own boxes as they await for their release. Let us remember how God has opened our boxes so that we may help others open theirs. Let us call to mind the mighty acts God has performed in our lives so that we may dare try these mighty acts ourselves. Let us rejoice in the fact that no matter what boxes that world may force us into and try to define us by, God has ultimately freed us so that we might take our Christian courage and help free others.

We are not defined by the boxes we have been forced into by society or by ourselves. While we were once in the womb, God has set us apart as one of God’s own. In Christ, we are a new creation. There is no longer Jew or Greek. There is no longer slave or free. There is no longer male or female. We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, one of God’s own people. We may be gay or straight, black or white, male or female, young or old – or anywhere far and in between – embrace that! – but we cannot let any of it limit our potential of what we can do for God and for others. These are not boxes to trap us inside; rather, these are gifts to be opened and shared and celebrated. The greatest gift of all lies at the very core of our identity: we are all children of God fearfully and wonderfully made, unique and special created in God’s image. That is not a limit. That is a gift of infinite possibility. Thanks be to God. Amen.

—————————————