If you've been anywhere on the internet the past few days, you have no doubt seen the firestorm of comments that have arisen from both sides of the aisle over the Supreme Court's Decision to strike down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), thus allowing, among other things, same-sex couples to qualify for the same benefits that heterosexual married couples qualify for. While leaving the decision up to the individual states as to whether to legalize Same-sex marriage, this does show a significant change in our Country's policy towards same-sex Marriage.
When the Deacon at the Mass we went to today mentioned this decision, he said, quoting New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan (who is also the President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops) that the day the Supreme Court struck down parts of DOMA "A tragic day for marriage and our nation."
I for one, am not happy with this being the message that is being proclaimed to the world from the Catholic Church, because in my humble opinion, there are a lot of things that this soundbyte does not take into account. Yes, it is true that the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church teach that Same Sex Marriage goes against the natural created order. But it is also true that in the Gospel of John, 13:34, Jesus gives us the Command to "love one another as I have loved you." And statements such as the one made by Cardinal Dolan do very little to make people who do not share the Catholic Church's viewpoint feel loved.
It's amazing to me that every time secular society makes a decision that contradicts Church teaching, many of the members of the Church heirarchy seem to be thrown into a panic. Granted, some issues (such as the HHS mandate) deserve such attention, because there is a lot more at stake than even I probably realize. But at the same time, we must look back into our own history and realize that for 2000 years, the Church has existed among cultures that did not share their views, practiced pagan religions, and so on. This is evident when we read Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans. In Chapter 12, He instructs the Church at Rome: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." These are words that are still just as true as they were when they were written almost 2000 years ago.
And yet, despite all this struggle, the Church continues to thrive, even though many of the cultures and societies that have threatened the Church have long since disappeared. Why is this? It's simple. Because God is bigger than any government, or court decision, or law that does not conform to "our" set of values. In saying this, I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't make our viewpoint known, because as Christians, we have a duty to stand for what we believe in. However, it MUST be done with LOVE!
Christ did not command us to put down and condemn others who did not share our beliefs. He called us to love them. He did not call us to judge the sinner- he called us to love them. He did not call us to hide behind our doctrines and our teachings and use that as a basis of not reaching out to others- he called us to "get our hands dirty" and love and serve others. When we become a follower of Christ, there is only one place that leads us- to the cross. We are called to share in the sufferings of Christ by helping those who suffer to know that they matter- to know that Christ loves them and cares about them, and wants to call them to greater holiness. Too often we condemn the person and not the act. It's high time that we start becoming witnesses of the Gospel by our lives- NOT by just speaking empty words that we don't put into action ourselves. When we begin to do that, we begin to see that LOVE truly is at the heart of the Gospel Message.
The saying "you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" couldn't be more true. If we show people that we love them, regardless of how they are living their lives, then we can inspire them by OUR actions to greater holiness. If we just condemn others because what they are doing is wrong, why should we expect them to change? How is the Gospel going to speak to them if it is preached in hatred?
Too many battles have been fought, too many lives have been lost, because the Church has failed to see the primacy of Love in the Gospel. So to answer the question I posed in the title of this blog, the Supreme Court decision means that now more than ever, we MUST work to ensure that the Gospel we preach is one of Love. It must not be a Gospel of Acceptance, because Christ is always calling us to Greater Holiness, and telling us that we cannot be content with just staying where we are. But he does it by giving us a model to follow, and inviting us to come after him. And we are called to do the same.
May we always strive to let the Love of Christ shine forth in all we do. AMEN!
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