Ruminations from the Temple

(adapted from Luke 10:25-37, NRSV) 25 Just then a woman stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” she said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to her, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 She answered, “ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. ” 28 And he said to her, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” 29 But wanting to justify herself, she asked Jesus, “ And who is my neighbor ?” 30 Jesus replied, “A gay man was going down from Seattle to Portland, and fell into the hands of Tradition, who stripped him and beat him, and left him for dead by the side of the road, for Tradition disregarded his humanity and worth within the community, and thus denied any gay person the same privileges of marriage as the rest of society. 31 Now by chance a pastor was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on t