#queer lent

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Palm Sunday Was a Pride Parade

A reflection by K Kriesel, shared with their permission.

Rev. Winnie Varghese preached on Palm Sunday a decade ago "When there was a parade [in Jesus's time], it was Rome coming in to show them they were conquered, that their God had been humiliated, that they would never be free. And Jesus comes in looking like David... This is not a bunch of people thinking resurrection comes at the end of this week."

Each Palm Sunday we celebrate the Lenten Pride parade - the one without corporate sponsorship. While everyone lays palms down, they form a can-can line and sing "Hosanna to the son of David! We are the Stonewall girls! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We wear our hair in curls! Hosanna in the highest!"

Irreverence in the face of somber Empire. A parade that says "you might extract taxes from us but you don't own us. You might put your soldiers on this land but it's not your land." After all, a “Lord” owns land/labor so those who laid down palms were very clear about who they were celebrating, and it wasn’t the Roman Empire.

Within Holy Week we have a sharp pivot from celebratory procession to an unjust execution. This clash in tone is not unlike switching from June 30 to July 1, when the thirteen colonies replace the rainbow; Empire doesn’t care who you celebrate, it exerts power. The wheel of Empire crushed Jesus’ followers just days after they celebrated His arrival, and it continues to crush us.

We need the camp of Palm Sunday, to lay down bedazzled palms and sequins-covered cloaks. When church/state pass laws to restrict us & to protect those who harm us, irreverence shows we won’t be touched at our core. Don your septum piercing and laugh in the face of fear!

In John’s gospel there were 2 angels inside the tomb, they were Trixie Mattel & Katya Zamolodchikova and the sound of the stone being rolled away was UNHhhh. When Mary Magdalene tried to embrace the risen Christ, Jesus saith unto her “touch me not, for my nails are not yet dry.” 💅🏻

Find more of K's art and words at kkriesel.com or on Instagram at kkrieselart. You can also hear my podcast interview with them here.

[psalmlover]

wishing y’all a happy easter <3

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Tim’s done a great job of introducing Marisol says Ryan - yes he saw how bad her acting was and gave her as little screen time as possible while still having her there 🤭🤭🤭

[holyandhaunted]

Preparing for Lent this year and i'm really excited

Lent has been such a thoughtful time for me so far in the past years. It gives me space and opportunities to reflect and try to grow my relationship with God

my current goals are, besides fasting, to read the Bible daily (even if just for a verse or two) and try to pray every day too

this year for Lent i really want to build a stronger connection with God

[echoingredemption]

it's literally insane when christians get so upset over things like pride month or ramadan or literally any other holidays celebrated by other religions and then go "oh! what about christians! what about us! why don't we get a holy month/month dedicated just to christians!" like first of all. december basically is the way the western world has capitalised on christmas but like if you want an actual holy month. lent is right there. it's before easter, typically characterised by fasting, etc, and all that. even better, it's 40 days, so it's longer than a month. so. literally don't come crying about holy months just because you conveniently haven't done your research on lent. unless this isn't really about christians getting a holy month...?

[v-tired-queer]

THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'M GIVING UP ICE CREAM FOR LENT. THE LAST TIME.

[a-queer-seminarian]

What I’ve added to my home altar for Lent. For me, Lent intermingles grief and joy, beauty and pain. Remember: we are dust, and we are splendor.

[blessedarethequeer]

an excerpt from my sermon for this first Sunday of Lent

Each year in the sanctuaries throughout the world, we repeatedly trace the path of Christ’s life, walking each Sunday from the tears and blood and sweat of fragile human flesh in His annunciation and birth, to the weeping and blood and sweat of fragile human flesh in His crucifixion in front of the roaring crowd.  We accompany Christ as we endure the pain, the trials, the betrayal; we steel ourselves with bated breath as we step closer and closer to the violence at the hands of those in power, the blood of the innocent, the death of the undeserving, We walk these footsteps again and again and again and again each journey through the liturgical cycle, just as we witness cycles of violence and oppression repeat each day.

But you see, what we often allow ourselves to forget is this: we walk this path knowing how it ends.

Hope.

It ends in hope, not as a naive, far-off dream, but as a promise and as a certainty.

“If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

We do not say this together each Sunday as an ask of plea, but as a renewal and re-commitment to that certainty. It is promise made to us that the violence of Empire, whether that of Rome or of those who seek to rebuild it today, two thousand years later, will not have the last word.

Beloved, the veil is torn. 

The hope that awaits us at the end of yet another Lenten journey assures us that the brutality of Empire’s oppression is not strong enough to hold us to the cross forever. The resurrection of Christ is promise that the best is yet to come ahead. 

Our call to follow in Christ’s own path, worn down by the feet of Christ and so many who have followed Him before us, tells us that things will get better, because we will make it so, building the foundations of the Kingdom that is to come with our own hands together in the solidarity of God’s justice, brick by loving brick.

[jaimeblancarte]

@jaimeblancarte

Autoportrait, Qro 2023

[no1l1keme]

I'm suddenly getting a bunch of ads saying stuff like "enrich your lent" "use [product/service] to improve your lent"

my brother in christ lent ends tomorrow*

[giantkillerjack]

It helps me to think about caring for myself like I think about caring for a child.

Like, 'yes, I know you feel fine, but I think you've watched enough scary things before bed. Let's watch something nice now, okay?'

[halflingkima]

a hill i will die on: a very potter musical trilogy may have been built upon the work of T*rf Supreme but it embodied the spirit and magic of the series far better than the original ever did and it has fully usurped the original in my heart & soul

[sailoreuterpe]

I remember reading She's Come Undone in my late teens and having a visceral, traumatized reaction to it. Now, having processed some shit--well, things make a lot more sense.

[holyandhaunted]

I will forever be grateful for the way I've been introduced to a deeper understanding of faith, christianity and God.

For me, I learned it all through companionship and community.

I grew up with religious studies in elementary school and my family went to church on christmas, sure. But I didn't really believe.

Not until I met a new friend in secondary school. Her parents were pastors and very involved in youth activities in our church. And she invited me to join them. And I did. I joined the youth group at church (as well as a "bible circle" at school later). It brought me so much joy!

We would do activities together, play, cook...and read the bible or sing hymns or just talk about what it means to have faith and what it means to let God into your life. I formed friendships and great companionship with people at the group - and with God.

I got introduced to God in loving, caring ways. I found Him in laughter and song. I was shown a God that loves all. That loves everyone and everything. And how we can celebrate Him in all the small, every day things.

I am no longer in contact with that friend but I think of her often. She took my hand and unknowingly guided me towards my path to God. Or perhaps God himself sent her to make me see. Either way, I am eternally grateful.

My first true contact with church and faith was so positive and loving. It still shapes the way I think about christianity.

For me, christianity is all about community. And God is all about love.

[whatarethedykesupto]

[v-tired-queer]

Started veiling again yesterday for Lent, and oh my gosh I missed it so much, I'm so glad I chose to veil again for a Lenten practice this year 🩷

I'd be even happier if it fucking stayed in place where I pinned it, though.

. . . listen, I gave up ice cream for my fast this year (a popular go-to dessert in my house that happens to be my favorite indulgence) and meat in Friday's and Holy days, not swearing.