Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say, The Lord will surely separate me from his people;and do not let the eunuch say, I am just a dry tree. For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls,a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. Isaiah 56:3-5

This reference to eunochs who are castrated men has me questioning how we look at gender.

Eunochs had a place in the ancient societies of the middle east. They looked after the harems. Being castrated meant that even if they were to have sex with the women of the Harem, no pregnancy would result.  Castration was also a way of subjecting and controlling these men.  Removing their ‘manhood’ would devalue the man, making him inferior to other men.  Some Eunochs are born that way. These persons can do nothing about it. Similarly with the differently able persons. It is something they live with, and we should accept them as they are – human beings.

Today, we have several genders, each type seeking to value and include different groups of people. These persons do not fit the stereotypes we have given ‘normal’ people and are excluded in many ways. These persons would have otherwise been considered outcasts or less than others.  But God values them even if the rest of society does not.  We who walk in God’s ways should value and not devalue the persons who are “differently gendered” too. The distinctions may not mean anything to us who society accept as normal, but it means the world to those who are unable to see their place in society, and those whose normal behaviour is not the same as most persons in the society.

In this passage, God gives value to the eunoch.  God says they have humiliated you belittled you, made you less in the eyes of society, but what they have done is unimportant.  Whether your able to have children or not doesn’t matter, even if you are impotent it does not matter. What matters is paying attention to God and God’s word. God says to the eunuch I value you.  God says I will make a monument in your honour within my house.  You will have a legacy greater than children if you follow me. 

We may like the comfort and security of knowing that others think like us and will behave like us, but God’s way has variety within it.  Paul speaks about people being as different as the parts of the body but like the body, we work together for the common good. 

This is a valuable lesson to learn.  When all is said and done, it is not what people think that matters but what God thinks. How God sees us as an individual counts.  God made us and said we are all good; not some good and others not good. All are good. All are worthy. All have a place, all have a legacy, but we must own it.  We must step into we we are to be by walking in God’s ways.

Each of us, whether we are differently abled or differently gendered, we can walk with grateful hearts feeling whole, and not inferior to others because God values us.  If God values you, God’s people in time will come to value you too.  In time they will come to understand that diversity is one of the laws of nature and it cannot be changed.  It’s God’s way of bringing harmony in a chaotic world, showing that all things and all peoples belong. They will see you as you are another human being.

Let us pray. God who is a God of diversity and uniqueness. who in creating life, did different things but brought them into one big space the universe. Help us to accept firstly who we are, each of us a mere human. secondly give us grace to accept that others differently abled or differently gendered is acceptable to you. In your sight while we may consider them blemished, they are whole and have the same value as we who consider ourselves normal. Help us Lord to be more loving and lovable. We ask this in the name of Christ. Amen.