Hebrew Scripture Reading: Genesis 37:2-11, 19-24, 29-36
Psalm 139:1-16
New Testament Reading: Acts 8:26-40
Grace and Peace to you from God our Loving Creator, Savior and Breath, Amen
We will not be erased. All of us are here together, in this beautiful sanctuary, in a small town in rural Minnesota, to show the Bemidji community that we will not be erased. We are here to remember the 23 people who are known to have been killed because of their gender identity, in this country. In truth, there are probably more people in this country who were killed for their transness but were never recorded as such. The 23 people that we light candles for today are remembered by 23 candles we shouldn’t have to light.
People who come to know themselves as transgender have stories about their journey to tell. The 23 people we remember today had stories to tell. The hundreds of people around the world who were killed for their gender identity had stories to tell. But these stories shouldn’t end in the violent way as they do. Our stories shouldn’t end in a higher suicide rate. But transphobia is real, folks.
It’s real now as it was in biblical times. We read the passage of Joseph and their coat of many colors. Or technicolor dreamcoat, or more likely a dress. Joseph was beaten for their wearing of this garment, made by their mother, given by their father. Beaten for jealousy, fear, or the beginnings of anti-trans violence, Joseph loved their garment and was beaten and thrown in a hole because of it.
We’re here to remember, and to acknowledge that Trans people die and are killed in violent ways, and to make our community aware of these truths. We are also here to turn that remembrance outward, and say that transphobia has no place in our community. Anti-trans violence has no place in this community.
We read both the passage of Joseph, because it could be read as the first example of anti-trans violence, and that of the Ethiopian Eunuch. Philip the Apostle was walking along the road when he was compelled by the Spirit to join the chariot on which the Eunuch was driving. When Philip joined the eunuch, Philip told them about Jesus, and they asked Philip what it would take to be baptized. Philip and the eunuch stopped, and Philip baptized them, no questions asked.
Eunuchs were sexual minorities of Philip’s day, but were revered in high esteem. We read about Joseph and their dress to read about the people’s violent resistance to expressing one’s gender differently. We read about the Ethiopian Eunuch to hear passionate acceptance of one’s different expression of gender or sexual identity.
As a nation, we’re in between these two realities, outright violence and passionate acceptance. Minnesota was the first state to offer legal protections based on gender identity, but recent federal policies have called those protections into question.
Most of the 23 people who were killed were trans people of color, specifically transwomen of color. Every year, this has been the case. Transwomen of color have a higher likelihood of being killed for their gender identity than any other demographic, and we have to acknowledge that reality.
Today, we will light 23 candles and ring the bell 23 times. Together, we remember the lives that have been lost in this country, and hold their names in our hearts as we pray for courage to fight transphobia in our own lives, in our own community.
We cannot and will not be erased. We gather together today to shout into the darkness, bring the light of these 23 candles and the sound of the bells into the darkness of the world and the silence of our hearts. God is with us in this space, in our hearts, calling us to action.
Amen.
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