Jesus tells listeners a caring “shepherd walks ahead of the sheep, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.” Jesus warns listeners about life’s “thieves and robbers.” “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy.”
Do youth, specifically gender dysphoric and trans youth, have wisdom figures who care about them?” Are some being preyed upon by thieves, and robbers? Boston Children’s Hospital and its teaching affiliate, Harvard Medical School, claim to be wise and caring shepherds. Both perform sex change surgery, for example, hysterectomies and mastectomies. They perform the surgery on persons 18 or older who suffer from gender dysphoria. “Gender dysphoria… is a conflict between the gender… assigned at birth and the gender with which you identity. This can create significant distress, and you may feel uncomfortable in your body. The Center for Gender Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital offers gender affirmation surgery.” Transgender youth have organizations like The World Professional Association for Transgender Health recommending surgery and/or puberty blocking hormones on persons younger than 18 years, asserting “it is unethical and harmful to withhold early treatment.” The group notes alarming rates of harassment, assault, and murder and cites anxiety, depression, and suicide attempts for trans youth. At present there is little research or data on such surgery or hormone treatments some of which are experimental with harmful side-effects. There is no research or data on gender identity and suicide either since gender identity is not recorded on death certificates. Youth are 13% of the population and 13% of those who commit suicide. Data by scientists on babies born with ambiguous genitalia or intersex characteristics, both male and female, indicate its yearly objective occurrence in about 0.018% of births, approximately 62,000 individuals. Questions are surfacing over gender dysphoria and gender transitioning. Current polls by research organizations show about 0.5% of the general population subjectively identify as gender variant or gender transitioning. This is approximately 1.6 million individuals, some of whom are youth, under 18. Data by scientists studying the brain include studies indicating it is not fully formed in youth and continues to develop past the age of 18. Some scientists conducting these studies assert that into a person’s 20s, their brain remains subject to influence by peers. So it is that when society, especially peers, suggest risky behaviors, youth are ill prepared in dealing with them. Are hormones and gender reassignment surgery risky behavior for trans youth whose brains are still developing? Are we living in a culture open to civil questions and discussions on the matter? For example, in the instance of objective physical organs and hormones indicating one sex, and subjective feelings identifying with the other, what is the basis for recommending hormones and/or surgery to alter the objective body as compared to recommending counseling to probe the subjective feelings? Also, is there a bias toward comfort in U.S. culture so that subjective feelings of discomfort are reacted against rather than lived through? Also, to what degree are patriarchy’s socially proscribed stereotypes of masculine and feminine genders with their resultant roles, attributes, and behaviors influencing the transgender issue? In addition, how open is the transgender community and its supporters to scientific research; How open are its opponents to scientific research? Also, how can human rights be maintained for trans individuals and the trans community being denied them, especially by anti-trans legislators are passing anti-trans bills. Lastly, how does society’s ruler-based image of God as a warrior deity who is wrathful and violent, shape people’s responses when facing questions or challenges to conventional ideas and theories, for example about sex and gender? The image of a warrior deity has shaped Michael Knowles, a self-titled ‘Christian’ whose actions show him to be ‘a thief who comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy.’ At the recent Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) Knowles proclaimed “transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely.” His words are reminiscent of another self-titled ‘Christian,’ Adolph Hitler. Hitler was also ‘a thief who came only to steal and slaughter and destroy’ evident when he proclaimed, “We must annihilate the Jews wherever we encounter them and wherever possible.”
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” (Dalai Lama)
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, may we be wisdom guides.
Question: How am I a good shepherd, especially with youth?”
April 30, 2023 Gospel John 10:1-10 Fourth Sunday of Easter