The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Dear brothers and sisters,
Friday’s not unexpected decision of the
Supreme Court Obergefell vs. Hodges
stands as a stark reminder of why the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops chose the “Freedom to Bear Witness” as the theme for this year’s
Fortnight for Freedom. In response to this decision which attempts to redefine
the essential characteristics of marriage, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz said,
Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may
declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage
remains unchanged and unchangeable. Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the
question of abortion over forty years ago, Obergefell v. Hodges does not settle
the question of marriage today. Neither decision is rooted in the truth, and as
a result, both will eventually fail. Today the Court is wrong again. It is profoundly
immoral and unjust for the government to declare that two people of the same
sex can constitute a marriage.
The unique meaning of marriage as the union of one man and one
woman is inscribed in our bodies as male and female. The protection of this meaning
is a critical dimension of the “integral ecology” that Pope Francis has called
us to promote. Mandating marriage redefinition across the country is a tragic
error that harms the common good and most vulnerable among us, especially
children. The law has a duty to support every child’s basic right to be raised,
where possible, by his or her married mother and father in a stable home.
Jesus Christ, with great love, taught unambiguously that from the beginning marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman. As Catholic bishops, we follow our Lord and will continue to teach and to act according to this truth.[1]
Every moment of every day, our thoughts and
our deeds demonstrate whom it is that we follow.
As those who bear the noble name of Christian,
we claim to follow Christ Jesus, but would someone looking at our lives be able
to know this? Would someone see in my actions the same yearning to draw close
to Jesus, the same longing to experience his power, as we see in the woman
afflicted with hemorrhages (see Mark 5:25-27)? Would someone reading my
thoughts find the same confident trust in Jesus as we see in Jairus (see Mark 5:22-23)? At the end of the day, would someone see me with the majority of the
crowd who once pressed in upon Jesus, but now stand apart from him, mocking and
taunting him in rejection of his clear teachings, or would they find me
gathered close to him? The manner in which we received Friday’s Supreme Court
decision demonstrates whom it is that we follow. We cannot forget the words of
Jesus himself that “he who is not with me is against me, and he who does not
gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30).
Even Justice Kennedy, who wrote the opinion
of the Court on behalf of the simple majority, acknowledged that this decision
does not, as Archbishop Kurtz said, settle the question of marriage. Indeed,
Justice Kennedy, after explaining the rationale of the decision, gave an
important reminder that will likely receive very little consideration in the
press or in society as a whole. He said:
Finally, it must be
emphasized that religions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may
continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts,
same-sex marriage should not be condoned. The First Amendment ensures that
religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to
teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and
faiths, and to their own deep aspirations to continue the family structure they
have long revered.[2]
This statement of the Supreme Court
notwithstanding, we can surely expect those who rejoice in the decision of Obergefell vs. Hodges to attempt to
silence us whenever we speak of the truth of marriage as created by God as a
means for one man and one woman to grow in holiness together. Just as many seek
to use the Supreme Court decision Roe vs.
Wade to silence our voices when we speak of the beauty and dignity of life,
many will likewise seek to use this decision to silence our voices when we speak
of the beauty and dignity of marriage and of the high calling a husband and
wife receive from God to reflect his love to the world.
Indeed, we have already experienced such a
move to silence us not too long ago. When the so-called Religious Freedom
Protection and Civil Union Act was being considered, we were assured it would
in no way, shape, or form affect foster care and adoptions. Yet within six
months of the bill being signed into law, the state of Illinois forced Catholic
Charities out of foster care and adoption services. The next assault against
the freedom of religion – the freedom to live out one’s faith in every aspect
of life – will likely fall upon our schools because we cannot teach that so-called
same-sex marriages are the same as marriages that adhere to the will of God.
This will simply not be tolerated by those who oppose the Gospel.
What, then, are we to do? First, we must
remember this advice of Saint Paul: “Have nothing to do with stupid, senseless
controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must
not be quarrelsome but kindly to every one, an apt teacher, forbearing,
correcting his opponents with gentleness” (II Timothy 2:23-24). Second, we must
proclaim the Gospel in its fullness and invite everyone to embrace it in full,
beginning even with ourselves.
The voice of the Church, and of her
members, cannot be silenced. We cannot allow ourselves to be pushed out of the
public square and relegated only to our homes and church buildings. We have received
the Great Commission from the Lord Jesus to “go therefore and make disciples of
all nations … teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19). We cannot shy away from this command.
What, then, should our response be when others
attempt to silence our voices, our voices raised only in genuine love and the
desire for the true and lasting good of all? We must, as Saint Paul instructs
us today, know and excel in “the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you
might become rich” (II Corinthians 8:9). Through these poetic words, the
Apostle alludes to the Incarnation by which the only Son of God abandoned the
glory of heaven, taking our frail humanity upon himself, to suffer and die for
us. His is the most gracious act there ever was and no act can ever be more
gracious. Even so, we, as those who claim to follow him, as those who bear his
name, must strive to make all of our actions resemble this supreme act of
grace.
Jesus gave everything he had because “God
did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living”
(Wisdom 1:13). As he ministered among us, he healed the sick and raised the
dead to foreshadow the fruits of his own death on the Cross through which he
destroyed the power of death and opened for us the way to life, to life without
end! So it is that we can rightly sing, “O Lord, you brought me up from the
netherworld; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit” (Psalm 30:3).
This life is promised us in Baptism, but we
can reject this gift through a life lived in grave sin. The Church wants no one
to lose this life and so calls everyone to follow Christ in fidelity, using his
own words to do so: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15).
The Church insists on having the freedom to
bear witness to the truth because of her desire – a desire that comes first from
Christ - that no one remain in death but that everyone hear the invitation to
life unending. The truth, we know, is not a thing to be studied but a person to
be known, loved, and followed; the truth is Jesus Christ – who is also the way
and the life – and no one can go to the Father except through him (see John 14:6). The Church desires to help everyone draw near to Christ to experience
the power of his healing touch, but she can only do so if she is free to bear
witness to the truth.
The founding fathers of these United States
of America sought to protect this liberty of the Church and of her members in
the first amendment to the Constitution. The “free exercise of religion” is our
first and most cherished liberty, yet it is increasingly under attack on a
great many fronts today. The Bishops have called us to this Fortnight for
Freedom to study the growing infringements on religious liberty, to advocate
for the protection of the freedom of religion, and to implore the Lord that
this most cherished liberty will be maintained and strengthened.
The Holy Father Pope Francis has called us
to a renewed evangelical zeal, to a deeper commitment to follow Christ
faithfully in all things:
We must not be afraid of
being Christian and living as Christians! We must have this courage to go and
proclaim the Risen Christ, for he is our peace; he made peace with his love,
with his forgiveness, with his blood and with his mercy.[3]
Let
us take up the call of Pope Francis to imitate the gracious act of Christ, to
imitate his act calls all people from darkness to light. Let us, with humility
and love, help others to draw close to Christ, to reach out and touch his hand,
so that they might be saved from death. Let us strive to bring others with us
on the way of Christ, the only way that leads to true and lasting happiness,
joy, and peace. Amen.
[1]
Statement of Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, President of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops, June 26, 2015. Accessed June 26, 2015.
Available at http://www.usccb.org/news/2015/15-103.cfm.
[2]
Obergefell vs. Hodges, IV.
[3]
Pope Francis, Regina Caeli Address, 7
April 2013.
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