Caitlyn and Christ

Last updated on: June 8, 2015 at 6:16 pm by Guest Contributor

Caitlyn and Christ 2015-06-08T18:16:54-05:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Caitlyn Jenner is on the cover of Vanity Fair. Meanwhile, transgender guests Lucy, Jeralyn, and Patty (not their real names) were all at Manna House this week, some homeless, all poor, enjoying the hospitality.

These guests at Manna House likely reflect the harshest truths about being transgendered in our society, and they face those truths without the shields of fame or wealth. Those harsh truths include homelessness as they are rejected by family, along with physical threats and beatings, and verbal harassment. There are many studies that show the emotional, physical, and spiritual abuse transgendered people endure in our society.

I have learned a great deal from the transgender guests at Manna House. They have taught me about their dignity, their perseverance, their sense of humor, and their struggle to survive in a society that is largely hostile toward them. I wish those who are repulsed by them or respond to them with derisive laughter (and worse) could meet them and learn from them too.

I confess to some unease around the first transgender guests who came to Manna House some ten years ago. Like everyone else at Manna House, I was committed to providing hospitality to whoever showed up. Basic to that hospitality is treating everyone with respect; recognizing their human dignity as made in the image of God. So when Coco came for a shower and a change of clothes, we welcomed her. But I was not sure what to make of her, and never really entered into much conversation with her.

It was another transgender guest who transformed me. I was on the front porch of Manna House one morning and “Suzy” approached me. “Will you pray for me?” she asked. As a Roman Catholic raised in the Midwest I had gained enough Southern Evangelical experience to say, “Sure. What would you like me to pray for?”

“Pray that I don’t give up. Pray that I don’t kill myself. Pray that I find a church where I will be loved. Pray that people will love me.” As all of those requests spilled out of Suzy, she began to cry.

Then she took my hands into hers and said through her tears, “Just pray.” She bowed her head and I turned my eyes heavenward. I had never made such a heartfelt prayer in my life. I asked God to bless Suzy in each of the ways she had requested. Suzy thanked me and went into the house. I stood on the porch shaking.

Basic to Christian hospitality is the passage from Matthew 25:31-46 in which Christ identifies with “the least of these” as he says, “whatever you do unto the least of these you do unto me.” Christ, I know, spoke to me that morning in Suzy. Christ identifies with the transgender as they are ostracized and rejected, and that might even include one on the cover of Vanity Fair.

Dr. Peter R. Gathje currently serves as Professor of Christian Ethics at Memphis Theological Seminary. He is a founder and co-director of Manna House, a place of hospitality for homeless persons located in Memphis and blogs at Radical Hospitality.

Previous Post

June 5, 2015

"Preach Woman Preach!": The Stole Sisters Podcast

Next Post

June 8, 2015 Emigration and the #BlackChurch: The Rhetoric of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner-Pt. 2

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Amy Steele Andre E. Johnson Book Reviews/Series Brian Foulks Call for Chapters Carol Howard Merritt Classes Conferences Contributors Crystal St.Marie Lewis Daniel White Hodge Earle Fisher Eulogy Fredrick Robinson Guest Contributions Henry McNeal Turner Institutes Interviews Joseph Boston Katherine Whitfield Kimberly Peeler-Ringer Lectures/Roundtables Natalie Bullock Brown R3 Book Series R3 Contributor Rashad Grove Readers Reflections Symposiums Teaching Traci Ellis Travis Harris Uncategorized Video

Select a Month June 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 October 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz