Human Sexuality and the Sermon

In one way I want to ask the question, does sexuality belong in the pulpit? I know in many congregations and for many individuals the immediate response would be no! Not in my church and not on any Sunday!Yet, I wonder if what gets people's backs up is that they don't want something that is private, that is the sex act itself, made public and preached from the pulpit. The church has no place in the beds of those that come to worship and yet, if we're going to try and preach and talk about the fullness of human experience and how that relates to our understanding of God's love for all of us and the birthing of the kingdom. Now I'm not saying that I think we should be describing the sex act itself from the pulpit on Sunday morning. What I am wrestling with is the call of the gospel to preach on the fullness of the human experience, one part of which is human sexuality - different from the act itself. How can we proclaim an open and inclusive faith community that seeks to share the love of God with all, then I must also proclaim the universal acceptance of mutually caring and loving relationships by that same God who welcomes us all to the table of Jesus Christ. At its core, when you drill down to the depths of the subject, is the issue of God's justice right here and right now and not somewhere off in an eschatological future. So, is there a difference about preaching on sex and sexuality? Absolutely! and if we believe that we're all created as equals before God then we need to preach on the reality that sexuality has been used as a tool of power to oppress and segregate and disempower and malign and isolate individuals as other. And friends, that'll preach!