"I take a lot of comfort in knowing that Jesus had to come out, too. Not about his sexuality or gender identity (at least that we know of), but he still needed to reveal something about his identity to the people in his life. Jesus did so as many queer and trans people do: in stages.
"I wonder when Jesus first started to realize that he was different than the people around him. That he was called to do something greater. That his calling was going to require something of him that he might not have been ready to give. Some people believe that Jesus came out of the womb knowing that he was the Messiah, the Son of God. I’m not so sure. If Jesus was going to really understand what it means to be human, then he would also need to understand the halting and confusing nature of figuring out who you are and how you want to be in the world. …
"One reason people are so strongly drawn to Jesus is his humanity: the depth of it, the way it expanded their own notions of what it means to be human. Jesus was only able to be fully human by also claiming his full divinity. By being all of who he was, and declaring that to others. He knew that he was taking a risk, and that to claim his identity, walk off that mountain, and set his face towards Jerusalem were risky endeavors. He knew his truth might get him killed, and yet he also knew declaring it was something he had to do.
"This, knowing — of the truth of ourselves, of the reality of the risk, and of the willingness to live into the truth anyway — is a holy space. When someone invites you into the space, walk as if you are on sacred ground."
