Gay Marriage

With the legalization of gay marriage in several states, gay marriage is well on it way to being fully acceptable and legitimatized throughout the entire US. Especially with such a mobile population that moves from state to state regularly. I suspect that states that do not currently recognize homosexual marriage will in fact have to accept the legitimacy of the marriages from other states in the near future. When this happens and what is happening is that we have entire generations of young people (and older people) being formed and reformed according to secular views rather than Traditional Orthodox Christian principles.

Fr. John McCuen provided some great advice regarding this topic on his blog see here

"If we are going to seek to uproot and destroy evil, as we should, let us begin with ourselves; but let us be merciful and gentle to all others, praying earnestly for them to be delivered from their passions and the sins to which the passions lead them, and judge them not, lest we also be judged."

I do have to admit that it is difficult to preserve in silence and non-judgment. This is due to my own weaknesses and the fact that we as Christians are exposed to a gay agenda on a daily basis when we turn on the TV, read the newspaper, go shopping, school, etc. The gay agenda is shoved down our throats daily, so I can really appreciate distinguishing between others sins that are discreet as opposed to in your face.

However as I mentioned already our "godless authority" seems intent on putting the gay lifestyle on equal footing to the Christian union of Husband and Wife. This is inevitable I guess, and when the law of the whole land is gay friendly we must take a stand and take heed to the the advice of St. Euphemia:

“Both the Emperor’s commands and yours [a person in authority] must be obeyed if they are not contrary to the God of heaven. If they are, they must not only not be obeyed; they must be resisted.”

Then at this point we will need to be even more so a voice of reason and love and vocalize what Christian(and Natural law) teachings are. However, As Fr. John's blog has expressed - "We also need to be careful, in our words and in our actions, not to vilify those persons who may have been misled by our culture into believing that any impulse they experience is meant to be expressed."

Truly wise advice!

Reminds me of a St. John Climacus saying:

"If you want, or rather intend, to take a splinter out of another person, then do not hack at it with a stick instead of a lancet, for you will only drive it in deeper. And this is a stick – rude speech and rough gestures. And this is a lancet – tempered instruction and patient reprimand. “Reprove,” says the Apostle, “rebuke, exhort,” but he did not say “beat.” (II Timothy 4:2) And if even this is required, do it rarely, and not with your own hand."

Michael
Sinner Servant