The Good News For All Creation - and the Strange Wonder of God’s People | Lent Devotional Day 24

Exploring the Meaning of Jesus’ Death
March 13, 2026
Written by Adam Baker

The Good News For All Creation - and the Strange Wonder of God’s People

Scripture:

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved… And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Mark 16:15-20

Reflection:

At The Gathering, we want to help new people to know the love of Jesus. We believe that the good news of the Gospel is that God’s love is for everyone. None of this should sound strange to someone familiar with Christianity - instead, the call to “go into all the world and preach the gospel” is a pretty basic understanding of what followers of Jesus have always been called to do.

What makes us different, however, is that we believe that “all the world” includes LGBTQIA+ people. We welcome queer people into the full life and ministry of the church, not understanding who they are to be a reason for them to be separate or unwelcome but rather meeting Jesus at work in and through them in beautiful, expansive ways.

At The Gathering, we are a church whose shared life of faith is better because of LGBTQIA+ people, but our leadership and congregations (like most of the world around us) continue to predominantly identify as cisgender and heterosexual. This isn’t a fault, but it is a fact. Queer theology and queer atonement theories therefore invite even a LGBTQIA+-celebrating space like The Gathering to continue to grow, learn from, and be changed by the ongoing work of Jesus when it comes to faithful inclusivity. While we often ask, “Who’s not here yet?,” we can also be curious about who remains at our margins, both in presence and in our ability/willingness to hear their voices.

Christ’s invocation in Mark 16 is odd: strange signs would happen among those who shared the love of Jesus, showing those around them that something different was taking place. While I don’t think that we’re actually meant to handle snakes or drink poison, when people come to know the love of Jesus, healing and miraculous things happen. In a divided world, diverse communities can emerge. Those who’ve known hatred and exclusion can be changed by strange friendships. A heterosexual, cisgender majority can find their hearts, minds, and lives changed by a queer Jesus who never stops inviting us into new miracles.

May it be so.

Prayer:

Oh God of miracles and wonders, give us eyes to see and ears to hear the good news of the Gospel. May we be forever changed by its invitation to know your forgiving and welcoming love. May we be freed into spaces and places of joy, kindness, healing, and care, meeting Jesus face to face in those who are different from us - and especially those whom the majority deem to be “at the margins”. May you meet us differently, queerly, in strange and beautiful ways, and may those signs of your presence - and the incredible possibility of what can happen when we follow Jesus together - inspire the world around us toward holy welcome and love.

We ask in the name of Jesus, your son,

Amen.

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