There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
like the wideness of the sea.
There’s a kindness in God’s justice,
which is more than liberty.
When I was in college at Baylor in the late 90s, I was struggling with my sexuality and emerging sense of my self as a gay man, which seemed to be in conflict with my Christian faith and my sense of call to the ministry. In those days before social media, when the web was in its infancy, there weren’t many places I could turn to for help in figuring out whether and how I could integrate those two parts of my self. So, I spent a lot of time in the library. The third floor of Moody Library at Baylor houses the religion section, and I sought every book I could find on homosexuality and the bible, spending hours in secluded corners reading and praying and trying to figure out my identity and my faith. The year I started college, a renowned New Testament professor named Richard Hays published his magnum opus, “The Moral Vision of the New Testament.” In that book, he wrote a chapter on homosexuality in which he reaffirmed the traditional teaching that same-sex relationships were incompatible with Christian moral ethics. I came across that book, along with many others, in my journey, and for decades afterwards, I would see it quoted in debates on sexuality.
But somewhere along the way, something happened to Dr. Hays. He said in an interview that he always felt uneasy about the chapter in his book, and particularly the way that some people weaponized it to demean and oppress LGBTQ people, and as he wrestled with that reality, he encountered LGBTQ students and fellow church members who were committed to the church and to Jesus Christ, just as he was. And he began to see the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their lives. After almost three decades of being the leading New Testament scholar defending the traditional position, he sat down with his son Christopher, an Old Testament scholar at the evangelical Fuller Seminary, to write a book describing how he came to see the bible as a story of God’s welcome and inclusion widening to all people.
Richard Hays died on January 3rd at the age of 76, after battling pancreatic cancer. But before his passing, as his book “The Widening of God’s Mercy” was released, he went on a speaking tour to tell people about it and witness to his story of transformation. In October, he attended an LGBTQ Christian conference in Dallas, where he presented on the book and in the process asked for forgiveness for his previous work. As reported by a theologian who was present, a woman in the back of the room stood up and shouted, “in the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!” The room erupted with applause.
That’s the church at its best. Seeking to know God’s love more fully, extending forgiveness, and working together to witness to the good news of God’s endlessly wide mercy and love. Rest well, Dr. Hays, good and faithful servant.
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