Homily

Recently I had watched some episodes of a British television program about a small group of teenagers, 16-18 years old, who are friends with each other, some of them for many years. It’s not “reality TV.” The series is scripted, written, and I guess you could kind of call it a teen-age soap opera. I had read some reviews of this program that criticized its content. What was it about? It’s about a group of 8 English teenagers , most of whom attend the same “junior college/vocational school,” but spend the better part of their days and nights smoking pot at home, school, and in public, and sometimes even just tobacco. They also drink alcohol, a lot, as in morning, noon and night, also at home, school, and in public places. In addition they take drugs, those legal by prescription and those that are illegal, nearly every day, and often along with booze and/or pot.

Their parents are nearly all portrayed as hypocrites or fools who are easily tricked by their children, and most of these kids live in single parent homes, or homes that are in the process of losing a parent. These English teens have sexual relations with each other at the drop of a hat, and one common scene is showing a son or daughter coming down to breakfast and introducing their bed partner to their mother, who then asks whether or not they’d like some breakfast. These kids use profanity all day long, especially with their parents whom they generally disdain. In the daytime they suffer from idiot teachers at school, and most of their nights are spent dancing, smoking, pill popping, and drinking at area clubs.

This show has won awards from the British Academy for Film and Television, it is highly rated and generally liked, and it’s wildly popular with teens and young adults. There are some who criticize the program for its casual treatment of promiscuous sex, drug use, and drinking. Surely I agree with that. But I’m absolutely astounded, shocked, and horrified by something much worse. These kids have no moral reference, no ethical guidelines, no higher authority to look up to in order to judge the goodness or evil of their actions and behavior. There is absolutely no mention of any kind of religious faith by any of them, nor their families (with two exceptions I’ll mention.) There is no sign of any moral or ethical guidelines they might be willing to consult, except for what they consider romantic love, and a type of loyalty they profess for one another as friends. Although I have to say most of them abuse one another more than they actually help one another.

And the two people who do have religious beliefs? One is a boy from a devout Muslim family, who is afraid to tell his father that his best friend is homosexual, because homosexuality is forbidden in Islam, and his father might react badly if he should reveal that his friend is gay. The friend finds out that the boy’s father doesn’t know he is gay, and shocked that his buddy doesn’t want to tell his dad about him. It is so offensive that the father doesn’t know the kid’s sexual identity that he refuses to have anything to do with his best friend until he informs his father. Finally the boy works up his nerve and tells his dad. What does this devout Muslim man say to his son’s gay friend? “I don’t understand why Allah made some of these rules, but people are more important than rules.” It’s not about love the sinner, hate the sin. It’s that religion is restrictive and not compassionate, so ignore your religion to be compassionate.

In the other case, a teen-age boy arrives from Africa to find a better life in England. He is a devout Protestant with high moral values and a great work ethic. In a short time he is adopted into this group of friends. It doesn’t take long before he begins to see that his moral code is holding him back from all the ”fun” his new friends seem to be having every day, so he breaks free from the restrictions of his Christian faith and jumps into bed with the daughter of the minister where he attends church. Two kids shed their morals at the same time.

As I watch, it seems to me that these kids’ lives are bleak, empty, without any focus on attaining anything of value or lasting achievement. They care not much about school, their parents, their futures or any other good, but only for pleasure and gratification. It never occurs to them that there might be something wrong with their lives if they have to get through every day being boozed up and drugged out. There is no beauty, no achievement, no longing for a greater good, no hope for the future, no faith in anything or in anyone. It is so barren and depressing I find it hard to accurately describe their lives. They don’t believe there are any rules and sin would be a foreign concept to people who never worry about right or wrong. If they have been taught some moral rules you never hear of it. If you asked them what a sin was I’m sure you’d get a blank look. The program does not try to show us kids who are lost. Its message is that these teens are just like the rest of us, just trying to make it through, day by day, trying to find some pleasure and fun in a world where there’s a lot of pain.

As you may know Britain has become one of the least Christian nations in Europe over the past few decades. About the only people who practice any kind of faith are the Polish and Pakistani immigrants. So this teen soap opera would shock American audiences, but I think it is just a matter of time before a show like this would be accepted here. As I mentioned last week, citing polls that show where Americans are headed, slowly but surely, we are a people who more and more deny that there are many sins to commit, that there is a moral code we should follow that is greater than our own opinion, a God-given set of rules for our welfare and guidance that we should obey to live well in this life and to enter into eternal happiness. More and more Americans refuse to belong to any church, or, if they do belong they don’t feel bound to accept the teaching of their church.

It’s not simply the case that people are sinning more (although I do think that is the situation). It’s that people deny the wrong they do is sinful in the first place. If I don’t think it’s wrong, then it cannot be wrong. And if you try to tell me it’s wrong, you become a hateful, judgmental bigot who wants to push your religion on me.

One by one we pull down the idea that certain actions or behaviors are wrong. Bit by bit we overturn the teachings of Christ. Year by year more and more people hold to the idea that there is no higher source of wisdom than themselves (and maybe Oprah.) I ask you just to consider how well you think this is working out for us.

So what should we do, what can we do? Commit ourselves to Jesus Christ and put ourselves into His hands, to love Him as best we can, and to try and understand more completely His great love for us. We can accept His Gospel, His Good News, as good news not only for believers but for all mankind. We can struggle against our own weakness and sin, and strive to grow in virtue and holiness, because this is why we were born! We were born to live in, with, and for God, both today and forever! It’s not those who shout the longest and loudest who will win the hearts and souls of men and women and children. Hearts and lives will be changed by those who can point others to Christ because they live as His devoted disciples, and because they love one another with His own love.