Homily

The day after the elections the usual writing takes place. Many, many articles everywhere speculating what will or will not happen because of the choices that voters have made. And then there is a second round of articles that agree with or disagree with the first round of articles. This is understandable because elections have consequences. Who is your neighbor?

Now, four states passed laws that will allow for legal marriage to take place between people of the same sex. Marriage, for age upon age, in almost every part of the world has been considered to be a permanent union between a man and a woman and this natural type of bonding has been seen as an expression of natural law. Already Jewish law considered marriage a gift from God, a model of love and faithfulness that was symbolic of the covenant between God and Israel. With the coming of Jesus Christ, marriage is placed on a much higher plane. It is now not just a gift from God, it is a sacrament, a source of grace for a wife and a husband, a means by which people can grow not just in natural love, but in their genuine love for each other they bring one another into a deeper love for God. And that love, and the effects of that spiritual union pour out into family life, and from family life out into the world.

The Christian view of marriage has had a profound impact on the world. And to be brief, I'll just talk about the Western world here. It's hard to imagine Roman society in some ways, but it was in many areas similar to other pagan societies in Europe. The man, the husband, the father had an absolute right to the lives of his wife and children, and if he had money he also had a right to the lives of his slaves. Women had very limited rights. Poor women, which is to say most women, had no rights at all. Children could be killed after birth if the father wished it, and those deemed undesirable could be left to die out in the fields, or killed directly. No laws existed to forbid the brutal beatings of wives or children. No laws demanded a man stay with and support his family. All permitted under Roman law and most forms of tribal law in Europe. As the Christian faith spread and grew throughout Europe, so did the situation for marriage and family life improve. Husbands were to love their wives as they loved themselves and wives their husbands. Children were a blessing from God and therefore contraception was not permitted and abortion, infant and child-killing were acts of murder not only in the eyes of God but also in the laws of the land.

Although cultures often still tended to favor the male's position over his wife in certain areas, the teaching of Christ was clear about the equal spiritual value and worth of each spouse, and their children as well. Nothing, nothing, nothing else elevated the status of women and children in Europe except the Gospel of Christ, which was upheld by most all people in Europe and the Americas, until today. Who is your neighbor?

With the four states that passed laws allowing for so-called same-sex marriage, it is good to ask how this monumental change in the way we see ourselves as a nation has come to pass. Is this vote based on some idea about natural law? Of course not. And how strange that in an era where one of the great virtues is to live and dress using natural, organic food, clothing and life-style, all natural is all best, except in marriage and family. And who is your neighbor?

So what is the reason for creating a new category for marriage? It's not based on natural law, it's not based on Christian teaching (not to mention a whole bunch of other religions). So what is it based on? Most often you will hear the idea that it is based on equality. People attracted to the same sex should be allowed to marry people of the same sex, despite natural law, despite the teachings of Christ. That's equality, because we say its equality. So friends I have to ask you seriously what other types of arrangements between people that are currently illegal might also claim that they are not being treated equally and fairly. And who is your neighbor?

Twenty years ago 8% of Americans had no religious affiliation. This 8% would contain atheists, agnostics and even people who believed in God. They just didn't really bother with Him. Now this number is 20%. Twenty percent of our country believing, or not believing in God, has no particular religious affiliation. They are called the "Nones" as in "not any of the above religions." In a USA Today article, one of these "Nones," a 21-year-old student body president at California Lutheran University said, "I like the ambiguity of going without a label. I prefer to stress the importance of acting with compassion rather than choosing a pre-determined set of beliefs." Well, what if God has predetermined this set of beliefs because He is our Creator and we are made to live according to these truths? And how do you know if you are acting with compassion? What set of rules or guidance outside of your own ideas will guide you in your compassion? If Grandpa is sick and you think it would be more compassionate to end his life, even though he wants to live, should your compassion for him be accepted? What if Grandpa learns of your plans to knock him off and hires a hit man to kill you before you can kill him, because he wouldn't want you to go through the rest of your days suffering as a Grandpa-killer. He feels it would be the compassionate thing to do, because your quality of life would be harmed greatly once you become a murderer, and he's already lived most of his life so taking you out first would not bother him as long at it would bother you if you were the killer.

This is a problem with the "Nones." They tend not to recognize any objective moral authority outside of their own thoughts and ideas. Can you see any potentially bad outcomes when people decide that they are their own source of moral and ethical wisdom? Four states have voted for same sex marriage. What harm could come from that? And the "Nones" were a major force in those elections, along with, sadly, plenty of Christians. And who is your neighbor?

The "Nones" are our neighbors. Christians who have dropped the orthodox Gospel are our neighbors. People who are non-practicing Catholics, non-practicing Orthodox, non-practicing Protestants, and non-practicing Jews are our neighbors. And it is harder for us to stand up for the truth. And it is more—much more—difficult to publically live as a follower of Christ when people, even your own family members, may disagree with you, accuse you, even perhaps revile you, and tell you to keep your religious ideas to yourself, because everyone has to decide for themselves what is right and wrong.

They are our neighbors. We should never let them down by just passing by them without a word. If they have been beaten up with false values, mugged by moral weakness, bruised with a misguided sense of compassion, wounded by the prince of this world and left in a ditch they thought was filled with wisdom and superior values and a genuine sense of secular glory, how can we keep silent when we have such good news to share? If we love our neighbor, we must always be willing to share the truth, even in the face of opposition and ridicule and contempt, because our Savior suffered those same things for us, and for our neighbors. We should never be afraid to offer to others the healing truth which is in Christ our Lord.