Today, “coming out” is a common phrase for a person publically sharing a gender or sexual orientation that is different from the dominant culture.
But coming out is not a new phrase, Jesus uses it in the gospel of John as he raises his friend Lazarus from the dead.
Jesus says, “Lazarus, come out.”
Father James Martin writes that to come out means to “accept, embrace, and love who you are, especially your sexuality and the way God made you.”
To come out is a bold statement that who we are does not need to be hidden in a cave, but when we come out we come alive.
We might think of coming out as an individual act. But coming out is not a solitary or one-time thing. Living in to all of who we are is a process.
The story of Lazarus doesn’t end with Jesus’ coming out invitation, Jesus goes on to say to the people gathered round, “unbind him and let him go.”
We unbind one another when we create safe and brave spaces for people to be fully know, fully accepted, fully celebrated.
In a world that tries to bind us for any aspect of our identity that is not considered the norm, let us all dedicate ourselves to unbinding each other, so we call all be free.
Come out. Unbind. Let them go. So we all can fly.
