I
thought I was too worn out with stuff you can’t make up to comment on the Kim Davis situation, but I
found I can't help myself. (Once you're in the rabbit hole of organized religion, you might as well just find a comfortable spot.) Ms. Davis, a County Clerk in Rowan County,
Kentucky, is in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples because it
is against her religion. She says that
forcing her to do so is to deny her religious freedom. Really, what can you say about this
logic? Maybe Holy Crap.
I
posted a comment on Facebook that I wasn’t going to comment on the situation except
to say that I was too weary to comment, which was probably a comment. I thought of saying that Ms. Davis’s behavior
gives Christians a bad name, but I realized that many people would say she is
not a Christian. Frankly, I’m not sure
if she is not a Christian or is just a terrible one. And who am I to judge? Maybe the best thing to do is to just think
of her as a person, as I am.
So,
I figured I had said enough.
And
then . . .
I read a post from the Father Marcus Halley’s blog, Black and White and in Living Color. I liked what he was saying. He thanked Ms. Davis for giving him the opportunity to see her as a child of God, to love her, and to pray for her. A common reaction to reading this might be, “Say whaaat? Good one, Father. You had me going there for a minute.” That Father Halley is gay makes this even more extraordinary.
So, perhaps in
response to Father Halley or perhaps because I don’t want to hide my light
under a bushel or maybe because I just like to see myself write, I would like
to offer a few random thoughts. They may
be random, but at least they are few.
1.
Father Halley is doing what we are supposed to do, what we are told to do, not
only in sermons, but by the Bible. God
loves Kim Davis and so should I. (God is
a lot nicer than I am.) I try. I really
do. I have used quite a bit of energy
and oxygen thanking God for opportunities to look for Jesus in others and praying
for them. Sometimes it works. We need to be told this as forcefully as possible
and maybe even as often as possible.
2. Ms. Davis belongs in jail, and I'm glad
that she if she is convicted she won't get to keep any money she makes from the
book she will probably write.
3.
I have to admit I might consider a County Clerk who issued marriage licenses to
same sex couples in defiance of anti-marriage equality laws to be a hero and if
he or she went to jail, a martyr. And
although I fault Ms. Davis for not upholding the law, as she is required to
do as a public official, I don’t know how much significance I would give to
this hypothetical public official’s responsibility. And I would think it was a terrible
injustice that he or she wouldn't get money for a book. I would probably be
reminded of Henry David Thoreau who went to jail for refusing to pay taxes that
supported the Mexican-American war and a government that allowed slavery. (Legend has it that when Emerson asked him,
“What are you doing in there?” he replied, “What are you doing out there?”)
4.
Ms. Davis has had a varied marital history.
(This is Episcopalianspeak. I am
trying to restrain myself.) I
acknowledge that this is none of my business.
But I wonder how much respect she showed for marriage and the Bible
before she came to her decision. Once again, Holy Crap!
5.
Finally, we are told there is hope for everyone, no matter what they have
done. God is not finished with Ms.
Davis. She has only been a Christian for
four years and, like St. Paul, may experience an epiphany. God is not finished
with me, either.
I need that hope as much as she does.
I need that hope as much as she does.
