Saint of the Month: Ellen Page

I love Ellen Page. Of the new crop of young screen actresses, I think this tiny lady is one of the most talented and touching. I loved Juno and Whip It. I thought they were mini masterpieces of simple, honest, American story-telling—and Ellen Page was brilliant in both of them.

Last Friday, at the Human Rights Campaign's Time to Thrive event, Miss Page delivered a simple and poignant address during which she told the audience that she is gay. The press made this admission by the actress the focus of their coverage, but I would compliment Miss Page for the entirety of her speech. As a pastor, I found her remarks led me to theological reflection, and I applaud her for her honesty and simplicity.

Miss Page began by thanking the Human Rights Campaign for their efforts on behalf of LGBT youngsters. She then warned of the temptation to succumb to the world's expectations at the expense of self-honesty, compassion, and acceptance of ourselves.

It's my understanding that Miss Page has studied Buddhism, but I think she and Martin Luther would get along just fine. Luther believed that the three great causes of sin were the devil, our own willful nature, and the culture which surrounds us (see his explanation to the sixth petition of the Lord's Prayer in The Small Catechism). Indeed, our world—with it's emphasis on physical beauty, position, and wealth—constantly leads us into temptation, offering an open door to disappointment, despair, and self-loathing.

In sweetly expressed and gentle words, Ellen Page urged her listeners to love themselves, and, through self-charity, honesty, and forgiveness, to learn to love others without criticism or rancor. At least that's what I took away from her speech. I also applaud her for reminding her audience that we can do so much more for justice and dignity by working together than any of us can do on his or her own, and that we all need to be supported. In an ideal world, that is what the church should be doing.

Unfortunately, I'm not above sin myself. Moments after listening to Miss Page's lovely talk on the internet, I caught a sermon on the Trinity Broadcasting Network by a famous televangelist, a rotund and bombastic preacher whose ministry logo displayed a globe but no cross. I wallowed in self-satisfied indignation as the famous preacher launched into a loud vitriolic harangue (in a sermon about “peace” no less!) in which he likened the US negotiations with Iran to Neville Chamberlain's Munich Pact, urged Congress to expand the military, and railed against same-gender marriage. How ugly and forbidding this sermon sounded when compared to Ellen Page's kind and pastoral words. If this is what American Christianity is like, I thought, no wonder the churches are losing members.

But I got over myself. I guess I have to love even the preachers with whom I so passionately disagree. Nevertheless, I couldn't escape the feeling that in the TV preacher I was seeing the world, a world of hypocrisy and bullying; whereas, in the petite young--and at the time quite vulnerable--actress I was seeing the cross of Jesus. Ellen Page hung herself out and exposed herself to all the ridicule and possible negative career consequences that will come with the admission of her sexual orientation. But, like Jesus, any sacrifice she made will have redemptive power for many whom she will never meet or know personally.

You can listen to Miss Page's address by clicking on Ellen Page.

PS-As Jesus and the Beatles have pointed out, all we need is love. So let's see if we can find some love between Lutherans and Roman Catholics. Seriously, it's been almost 500 years  since we've shared a good meal together. Let's ask Pope Francis to change some rules and bring everyone back to the table. Just click here.