Leviticus 20:13 "If a male lies with a man as with a woman..."

“If a male lies with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them.” (Leviticus 20:13)

Comment:

On its surface, the passage means just what it says. Most of Leviticus and all of Chapter 20 represent an attempt by a small, primitive nomadic tribe to maintain their identity and separate themselves from the other peoples in the land. Maintaining what they considered to be an orthodox sexuality was a part of that attempt. In particular, the people were warned against the practice of temple prostitution involving both males and females. 

Metaphysically, the Bible is a record of spiritual progression. It describes our own inner journey as we move forward in understanding, until we reach the point at which we are ready to hear the truth Jesus came to share: the fact that we are all One with the Power of God through the Christ Presence that he demonstrated through himself and calls us to express through ourselves. To stay stuck in old superstitions, fears and limitations is to miss the point of Scripture, the message of Jesus, and the purpose of our own human experiences. Jesus was constantly calling his followers to release themselves from fear-based understandings of the law and step up in consciousness to a higher understanding.  “You have heard it said,” he acknowledges frequently in the Sermon on the Mount, “but I say to you....” In every case the progression is from a literal understanding to a new awareness centered in love. 

We understand this, of course, when it comes to all the many other rules and regulations included in the early books of Hebrew Scripture. We no longer assume we have the right to sell our daughters into slavery, even though we’re told we do (Exodus 21:7). We don’t consider it a sin to eat shellfish (Leviticus 11:10). We no longer believe that God supports the idea of slavery, although it’s specifically approved of (Leviticus 25:44). We no longer judge people for sowing two crops in one field, or wearing clothing made of two different fabrics (Leviticus 19:19). In all these cases and many more, we realize that we have grown beyond the limited understanding of a primitive desert tribe. It’s sad that some people insist on clinging to the letter of archaic law in the single instance of homosexual relationships.

It’s also true, given the attitude of the time toward women, that the underlying issue here may not be sex but power. Women were inferior beings, the property of their fathers and then of their husbands. For a man to treat another man as property would have been demeaning and unacceptable. Metaphysically, we must overcome the same tendency within ourselves to assume that the loving, creative feminine part of our nature must be inferior to the more active and aggressive masculine elements within us. I think—I sincerely hope!—that we can appreciate an element of metaphysical guidance in this passage without staying stuck in a limited consciousness that thinks homosexuals should be put to death.

Blessings! Rev. Ed