By Rev. Aaron Lauer

If I had to pick the gayest of holidays, I would have to say Christmas tops the list. All the decorations, the dazzling lights, the flirtatious kisses under the mistletoe; not to mention the gay apparel we get to don! 

And as a gay pastor myself, I can’t help but notice how queer the Christmas story from the Bible is, as well. We’ve got:

A woman who gets pregnant and doesn’t need a man

A bright, shining angel who appears in the sky and starts conducting a choir

Three men traveling together from afar, bringing fabulously impractical gifts to baby Jesus

But, honestly, the story of Christmas is a truly queer tale; a subversive story that challenges us to find the holy in the ordinary stuff of life. At Christmas, God takes on human flesh, which shows us that our bodies are good, beautiful things. At Christmas, a courageous young girl says, “Yes!” to her Creator and brings new life into the world. At Christmas, the poor and lowly shepherds are the first to witness the birth of their Savior.  

Indeed, Christmas is the queerest of holidays; when all the norms and conventions of our world get turned on their heads. In this world of fear and hatred, we get to proclaim peace and love! In a time with plenty of Scrooges, we get to deck the halls and sing fa la la la la! And when others tell us the future is nothing but doom and gloom, we get to say, “There is hope, for God is with us!”

I hope you all have a fabulously queer holiday season! Let’s make the yuletide gay!

Pastor Aaron