Christians who support the same-sex marriage ruling may point to
Mark 12: 31 as a basis for their reasoning.
This passage includes the statement: ”You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.” Furthermore, they might go on
to then utilize the now-popular hashtag “Love wins,” meaning that the Supreme
Court ruling demonstrates our love of neighbor and so it is a good thing. Rather, I believe it demonstrates the direct
opposite, and so, love loses. Let me explain.
It’s very simple, really. In the past, when a man and a woman obtained
a marriage license and subsequently received the sacrament of Matrimony, they
then had our society's blessing to move in together and freely participate in physical acts of love-making. The
Church teaches that the couple then accepts children, if it is God’s will, and
forms a family. Lots of love involved
and no sin, because the couple has acted according to the natural law and the God-willed, man/woman, bodily designs. Love wins in this case, and love of neighbor, as expressed
in the Mark 12:31, is affirmed! With
this new Supreme Court ruling, however, sin enters the picture because a
same-sex couple that participates in physical acts of love-making goes
against the natural law and the God-willed man/woman bodily designs. Love loses because of the sin, and when sin
is a result, Mark 12:31 is NOT affirmed ... we do NOT love our neighbor if we support sin entering their lives.
I must mention the Scripture verses presented immediately preceding
Mark 12:31, which is Mark 12:29-30: “The
Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind, and with all your strength.” Jesus
makes it very clear that love of God is paramount. I would say our focus needs to be on
love of God first (with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength) and then to
let this guide us to proper love of neighbor. This is when love truly wins.
By the way, it seems to me that co-habitation, sex outside of
marriage, and the use artificial means of birth control all fall under these
same principles. I hope and pray that all
my readers would give serious thought to their love of God before considering going forward
with these other sinful actions. Please
see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 6, for a complete discussion
of Church teaching on the sixth commandment, including same-sex attraction and co-habitation.
Speaking of co-habitation, there is an irony in these latest developments. For straight people, there is a trend away from marriage in favor of co-habitation. For gay people, there is a trend away from co-habitation in favor of marriage. Neither of these trends bode well for marriage for the sensible institution that it has been since ancient times. I am probably too old to see a trend back to common sense in my lifetime, but I hope and pray that is what in store for our future.
Speaking of co-habitation, there is an irony in these latest developments. For straight people, there is a trend away from marriage in favor of co-habitation. For gay people, there is a trend away from co-habitation in favor of marriage. Neither of these trends bode well for marriage for the sensible institution that it has been since ancient times. I am probably too old to see a trend back to common sense in my lifetime, but I hope and pray that is what in store for our future.
My prayer for today: “Lord,
please instill in your humble human creatures here on earth an unflinching love
for you, so that your will may be done when it comes to love of neighbor. Amen.”
The photo is of the interior of the chapel on the grounds of the
Monastery of the Holy Spirit near Conyers, Georgia.
No comments:
Post a Comment