In June every year I am reminded of the biblical account of the creation of the world – specifically an interpretation of it I first heard from a queer theologian.
The story of creation is one of the passages Christians most often use to erase nonbinary folks, because the story specifically talks about the creation of man and woman, and does not include any other genders.
And truth be told, the entire creation narrative is full of binaries. God separates the light from the dark, night and day. God separates the seas from the land, the sun and the stars, the birds and the land creatures. Yet we recognize that none of those things are actually binaries, don’t we? Indeed, the most interesting and beautiful parts of creation are found in the spaces between those binaries. Between night and day we recognize dusk and dawn, those magical moments of possibility and anticipation. Between the seas and the land are marshes and swamps and bogs, to say nothing of beaches and the ever-changing rivers and creeks. Our sun itself is actually no different than every other star in the universe. And we recognize the existence of flightless birds, the penguins and ostriches and kiwi.
When we read the creation story in this light, we confess that the narrative isn’t meant to be a scientific treatise providing definitive categories of existence. No, the creation story is a reminder to us that we are all – from the stars to the birds to each and every person in our world – declared “very good” by the God who formed us.
We are unique and we are beautiful exactly as we are. Exactly as God created us. That brings me joy, brings me peace, and it challenges me to see the beauty in each person around me as they live fully as the person God created them to be.