So, I just finished reading and commenting on a dear friend's blog (which you can read here) about the recent vote on Prop 8 in California. A lot of my friends expressed dismay and disappointment when the Proposition was passed last week, resulting in the upholding of the legal ban against gay marriage in California.
The issue of gay marriage and the gay rights is one that is going to be debated increasingly over the coming years. The issue has become heated, divisive and strongly contested in America. It's a huge issue within the church right now - the Episcopal church split over the issue of the ordination of a gay bishop, and many other churches, such as the United Methodist church are struggling over the issue of the ordination of gay pastors and similar issues that will affect people in the lgbt community.
I remember my first encounter with this issue arose when as a teenager I worked with a young, capable seminary student who helped lead students as part of the National Youth Ministry organization within the United Methodist church. He was a loving, devoted and highly capable leader and mentor to the youth group under his care, but when it came time for his ordination, the Board revoked his candidacy after he revealed that he was homosexual. When I found out, I was both saddened and disappointed to see this young man's dream of pursuing the ministry completely destroyed in that one moment. I have a number of friends who are gay, or who have come out of the closet since I knew them in college. I see them as loving, wonderful people who I am glad to call my friends. Acts which oppress, stigmatize, discriminate or exclude such people disturb and sadden me deeply. I have wrestled with the biblical view on this issue and the question, "what would Jesus do?" and I can only come to the conclusion that on the one hand, Christ and God make clear that homosexuality - the act of engaging in sexual acts with a partner of the same sex is sin. There is no if, ands or buts about that. However, and this is a big however, Jesus's response to people who sin (that would be everyone - regardless of who you are!) was to offer love, grace, acceptance and the desire to offer a new way of living. One that brings us out of bondage and into greater freedom. As difficult and unpopular as it is to state my views on this issue (particularly because I know that it is not one that is publicly or openly voiced - and I think that is a subject worthy of a whole other topic), I believe it is important to understand that it is one that cannot be hidden or watered down. I believe so strongly in the love of Christ and in his truth - and I believe that He loves us too much to let even our understanding of what is right or wrong stand in the way of the life He has to offer.
My own struggles and sins are different from those who are gay - but they are no less sinful. Believe me. In fact, I'm almost inclined to give a full account here - I struggle with issues of sexual purity, of materialism, of greed, selfishness, and ohhh so many more. I seriously am the last person to 'preach' about what is right and wrong. I am a singularly sinful person. Yet, I believe that the redemptive love Christ offers is far more than our minds and bodies can fathom. He lived a life of perfect holiness. And in doing so, and calling us to the same, he offered a completely different way of living, a way of being that calls us to something far greater, higher, more beautiful, freer, loving than we could EVER imagine. I've experienced glimpses, moments at my best hours of worship and prayer - but until I am on the other side of the grave, I don't know if I will ever fully comprehend what it means to live without sin and in the freedom that Christ offers through his salvation.
I say this because I believe that there are few people who are talking about this issue, really struggling with it in a way that I think reflects Christ's call to holiness on the hand, and love and acceptance of others on the other hand. I believe that God made it clear that marriage by definition is between a man and woman, and yes, that engaging in sexual relations with someone of the same sex is sin and will lead to spiritual death. There is just no way of getting around that. However, his invitation to a new kingdom was an invitation that no other thing can compare to...it is a call that requires us to lay down our lives for something and someone better. I am not sure how to articulate this any better than he did when he died on the cross for our sins. He died for the very people who killed him. And he did it because He loved us. That is the kind of sacrificial love he wants us to show to others. Impossible? Yes, perhaps, except that he showed us that he could do it and inspired generations with his message of love, forgiveness and grace. I think that call is no less for us - to love another and to love with a love that is completely contrary to the ways, the laws and the order of this world. A world which says a simple law is all that is needed to make others accepted, loved, and free. The laws of this world will grant rights, but they will never grant the true freedom that Christ has to offer. Does this mean that Prop 8 is right or wrong? Well, i believe that many silent, unnumbered people voted on the basis of their conscience - and that it may change - but I support those who voted yes on it, because I believe that marriage is what God defined and created it to be - between and man and a woman. A civil union, perhaps for gay couples, with all the same rights and responsibilities by law, but not marriage.
I speak on my conscience and just to say that I believe doing this is true, right and good. (See the verse above).
