This week I’m beginning a project that, in the midst of planning a wedding, might be a squeench cray cray. So be it.

I’ve assigned myself the task of blogging through the Revised Common Lectionary. For normal, non-theologically nerdy people, that is the three year cycle of scripture that many pastors in churches of multiple denominations follow as they prepare their sermons each week. Now, there are plenty of lectionary commentaries out there, most of them far more intelligent than I will be capable of producing here. The absolute best place online to find legit commentaries can be found at The Text This Week.

What I intend to do is walk diligently with a collection of texts that many know as sacred and that I am struggling mightily to stay in love with. It’s sorta like a long term commitment to marriage counseling when the fire has died, but you are convinced that somewhere, deep down inside there is still a spark that can be ignited again if you just listen to each other, see each other, and be intentional about caring for your relationship. This is going to be a problematic task for many reasons.

Understanding the lens through which one reads is critical, being honest about it is a whole different ball of wax. But I have to do that first before I can begin this journey, so here is how I presently understand the cracked and warped lenses through with I view scripture:

I am a lesbian. My own lived experience on the margins of a predominately heterosexual culture is one of the filters though which I see scripture. I am a middle age woman born too late to be a Boomer and too early to be GenEx. I was raised in the south by working class, conservative Christian parents. I was theologically educated at a moderate, mainline seminary by some progressive theologians. I am heavily influenced, though with much to learn, by liberation and queer theology. I am a white woman. No matter how aware I am of the diversity of lives in creation, I cannot even begin to speak from within the lived experience of people of color. In fact, I can only speak from within my own lived experience, so there are many perspectives that I will fail to represent here. I’m a bleeding heart liberal Democrat living in a land about to be under the thumb of megalomaniacal, self-serving, fear-mongering, greedy faux Republican president. I struggle deeply with my relationship to scripture. Some days I cling to it with all my heart and other days I find every syllable to be utterly ridiculous and am not sure how the hell I can call myself Christian. I love Jesus, but I drink and cuss a little.

I have no idea what is going to happen as I sally forth with a Bible in one hand and the New York Times in the other. Either I will be all in, all out, or still grappling with this thing called faith. And truth be told, this may very well end up being of little use to anyone out there, but you are welcome to follow along and openly gawk at the train wreck or marvel at a miracle as it happens.

Tune in later week when we hear Kimberly say “How the hell did we go from precious baby Jesus in manger to grown ass Jesus getting dunked in the Jordan in just two weeks?”