Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Gen 2: 18-25; Mark 7: 24-30
Deacon Larry Brockman
“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.” That’s what we just heard God say in the book of Genesis. And so God is the architect of marriage. God made man; God made woman to be a suitable partner for man; and God willed that they should cling together as one as husband and wife. Nowadays our society is trying to redefine marriage without taking into account what God said about it. And that is a problem, a big problem for all of us. But it is only a sign of the times. Permit me to explain.
You see, life is not all about living and let living; life is not all about just getting along; and life is not all about our rights as individuals because all three of these philosophies of life are all about us- what we want. Life, rather, is all about what God wants. God’s plan was that man and woman be joined in marriage. Yes, his plan was for man and woman, and any other arrangement is not a marriage.
There are lots of other ways that our society is redefining the goals of society, and doing it in such a way that God’s input is missing . Now we need to understand that when society doesn’t live according to God’s plan, then there will be consequences of that. The entire Old Testament is a cycle of events that show what happens when people first listen to God; and then don’t listen to God. Societies thrive when they put God first; and then crumble when they take control for themselves and ignore God’s will. Our society will be no different.
Our American government was framed by the country’s founders on the basis of Judeo-Christian values. To be explicit- the ten commandments and the teachings of the Bible. That’s why the ten commandments are copied on to the walls of our courthouses and state houses. They are not posted there to endorse a religion. They are posted there because our founding fathers universally recognized that laws of the land needed to reflect them: “Thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not lie, and thou shalt not covet.” It was just something that was understood. Likewise, that’s why all our legal processes related to marriage up until now were predicated on marriage between a man and a woman. Everyone just knew what marriage meant and why, because everybody was familiar with the Bible version- the Genesis reading and others.
But not now; as we find our nation marching down a path to redefine marriage. Why is that so important to all of us? Well, because God is watching us, just as he watched his people in the Old Testament, that‘s why. The reality of life is that God not only wants us to live his plan for us as individuals; He also wants us to collectively live the life He wills for all of us. And history has shown that when we don’t live collectively in harmony with God’s overall plan, disaster strikes. It sure did strike for the Israeli nation over and over again in the Old Testament. And it could happen to us.
So, what can or should we do about our society as we watch it slip away from its Judeo-Christian roots? First, we need to keep the faith, the faith that God’s word is the real authority; that God, not man knows best; and that God can and will conquer all evil in his own time. To do that, we have to know our faith like it was second nature to us. And it should be second nature to us.
Second, we need to teach that faith, and we need to be explicit about what is wrong with the alternatives. That means teaching our children; our coworkers; and our political representatives. We cannot afford to be passive- live and let live is not the answer. We must personally stand up for our faith because that is the best way to teach our children and our coworkers. That means getting involved- writing letters, speaking up at the office; participating in events like 40 days for life.
Look at the faith of the woman in the Gospel as an example. She heard that there was something special about Jesus’ teaching. And so, she learned about him, and went to see him despite the fact that she was not a Jew. She had three strikes against her- she was a woman; she was not a Jew or Jewish sympathizer, and she belonged to the pagans. But she was willing to stand up and be counted in front of strangers and in opposition to her own people because she believed in Jesus and his message.
If all of us stood up for Jesus as this woman did, our children, our coworkers, and our politicians would get the point.
