We travel the roughly seven-mile road from Jerusalem to Emmaus in Luke 24 with two other travelers. As they walk, they grieve the loss of Jesus. A man approaches and explains how Jesus’ death fulfills God’s claims in Scripture while sensing their troubles. The traveling companions invite the person and ask him to dine with them. As the man blesses, breaks, and distributes the food, the travelers’ eyes are opened, and they see Jesus.
In Greek, we’re told here that the disciples recognize (ἐπιγινώσκω) Jesus; they “acknowledge” him. According to one interpretation of the story, the people merely acknowledge Jesus when he is greeted at the table. In other words, their hospitality is what makes their seeing possible, not their piety.
The disciples’ hospitality enables them to see Jesus, not their piety.
This year, Easter coincides with the federal Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV), allowing us to contemplate eye-opening kindness. When we acknowledge and welcome newcomers to the table, we immediately recognize Jesus. When we embrace our transgender sisters, we can see Jesus.
The PC(USA) Advocacy Committee for LGBTQIA+ Equity asserts that “TDOV is a day that our local churches can embrace and celebrate the diverse identities of transgender and non-binary people, affirming their intrinsic worth as creations of God.” This is crucial because trans people have been victims of hate crimes and discriminatory laws. The Human Rights Campaign has also declared a state of emergency in response to such crimes.
Judith Butler (they/them) illustrates the increase in violence against trans people in Who’s Afraid of Gender? by examining anti-trans activity, an umbrella term referring to cultural movements opposing what they call “gender ideology,” “gender theory,” or “genderism.” Anti-gender action has taken various forms, including efforts to curtail discussions on gender and sexuality in schools and support legislation that restricts transgender rights.
Butler writes: “In targeting gender, some proponents of anti-gender action claim to defend not merely traditional values but values themselves, not just a way of life but life itself.” According to Butler, trans people are at the forefront of challenging stereotypical systems that conform to cisgender, heterosexual norms, and they face the spread of misinformation and an increase in hostility. This is why TDOV is essential. This year’s coincidence allows for a religious contemplation.
We see Jesus when we embrace our transgender sisters.
The paradox of Jesus’ resurrection invites us to suddenly appear, reconsider, and ultimately, live anew. Therefore, Easter is an ideal time to explore our faith of revelation, embodiment, and materiality. One way to understand Christ’s resurrection is to see Jesus as “a model for other bodily, transfiguring forms,” including trans individuals. Cary Howie, a professor at Cornell who extensively writes on sex and gender, raises this idea in his article “On Transfiguration.” In this line of thought, recognizing transgender individuals allows us to better comprehend Christ’s resurrection because both Jesus and transgender individuals are transformed, transfigured, metamorphosed.
Reflecting on the effects of transformation can also help grasp the resurrection. Howie writes: “To be transfigured is to expose others to your resurrection; it is to suggest that ‘luminous glory’ may emerge from, and within, any body whatsoever. This implication is part of what makes transfiguration terrifying: no one is untransfigurable, and no one is transfigured alone.” When we see others and acknowledge their transfiguring bodies, we too are transfigured and transformed. And all that remains is “us” until the boundaries between “you” and “me” are dissolved.
We witness this in the aftermath of Christ’s resurrection in Scripture. In Luke 24, after Christ’s revelation to the travelers, he appears to the eleven disciples and friends, opening their minds to the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). They become witnesses to Christ’s resurrection and God’s plan for humanity. In Acts, the second book of Luke’s Gospel, we see how they are then tasked with sharing the story of Jesus with the nations (Acts 1:8) and how the Holy Spirit assists in this endeavor (Acts 2). When we witness a transformation, we too are transformed.
This year, we are asked whether we are willing to be transfigured and transformed by acknowledging our trans siblings as images of God because TDOV and Easter are observed on the same day. Do we want to acknowledge their wounds? When we do, Jesus is revealed, and the mystery of Easter is brought back to life.
To our trans siblings:
Forgive us
for the times we didn’t see you,
the times when we didn’t love you.
With your permission and God’s help,
we will love you more faithfully.
We see you, and our hearts burn.
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