by David Cassidy, Pastor at Christ Community Church, Franklin
Last week our nation was united in shock, anger, and grief over the massacre in Charleston. We also stood amazed in wonder and gratitude for the words of mercy and forgiveness that flowed from the hearts of the families most deeply affected by this murderous rampage. We all celebrated the Faith that would by such words defuse the hate the moved the shooter, turning his hoped for race war into a new day of reconciliation.
This week our nation is divided over the ruling of the United States Supreme Court that declared unconstitutional all laws in every state that restrict marriage to the union of people of differing genders. Same-Sex marriage is now the Law of the Land. Many people are celebrating this decision, others are grieving and decrying it, and the division in our culture over it – depending on where one lives geographically – is about as deep as the Court’s own divide.
Friday afternoon, we saw the President lead a congregation of mourners in singing Amazing Grace. That same evening we saw the White House lit up like a rainbow to celebrate the Supreme Court’s ruling. That’s some pretty significant theological and cultural whiplash for many people, while others would see it as completely consistent. Confusing times? Yes indeed.
My own church has these words in our bulletin every week:
To all who are weary and seek rest; to all who mourn and seek comfort;
To all who sin and need a Savior;
To all who are friendless and need community;
To all who are broken and seek wholeness;
To all who hunger and thirst for righteousness …
Christ Community Church opens wide her doors and says, “Welcome!”
The Church is not a storefront displaying perfect people as an enticement to enter; it’s a hospital caring for the broken of all ages afflicted with the disease called ‘sin’. We seek to offer Christ in a way that he claimed represented his mission – he was a physician who’d come not for the healthy who need no assistance but for all those who know they are unwell and desire healing, for sinners who know they need saving.
Christians and Churches live in the tension of this message, for the Gospel affirms both love and brokenness. Those believers and congregations that have their feet firmly rooted in the unmistakable clarity of what constitutes sin and brokenness, as well as what is allowable as a marriage, know they can’t affirm that same-sex unions are Biblically acceptable. That’s true even if they conclude that our Faith’s doctrine on such matters cannot inform the Court’s ruling or society’s laws – a rather novel view in American history it must be said, though certainly today’s prevailing cultural wisdom. They also know they are to love their neighbors as themselves, and that their LGBT friends, family members, colleagues, and fellow citizens cannot be excluded from that sacrificial service. Truth uncompromised and love undiminished walk together and form the fabric of our lives and witness. Christians – and other Faith traditions too – must affirm what sin is if indeed they wish to offer a Savior, and that includes our sexual sins, but while doing so they must also graciously serve those who disagree with them on this issue.
There’s another issue on the truth end of the argument though. Its the uncomfortable truth that the Church has been utterly hypocritical on matters of sexuality and sin. It simply has little credibility in the eyes of many because its most ardent representatives have often secretly pursued the sins they condemn in others, sexually abused children and had their leaders cover it up, and conveniently ignored Jesus’ teaching on divorce, greed, and murderous hatred, while singling out some sexual sins for special attention. As one of my LGBT friends once said. “If I can’t marry, you can’t divorce.” Yes indeed.
The Church has also done a lousy job of acknowledging the extraordinary gifts their LGBT friends have given to our world. Yes, there are LGBT friends who won’t acknowledge that their abilities come from God, but that’s true of all kinds of people in all walks of life. The issue is, do Christians recognize these gifts and say, ‘Thank you’? In every field of human endeavor LGBT people have made incredible contributions. Not acknowledging that, pretending that LGBT people exist in some special category of ‘sinner’, is simply ill-informed and dishonoring to them and to God.
The Church’s sinful failures, however, don’t nullify the teaching of Scripture, and in fact point us all directly to the supreme truth the Supreme Court won’t ever be able to overturn nor need affirm: we all need a Savior. The Church has a lot of work to do in house before it starts protesting in the streets about this decision. That should start right away, and in the meantime the Christian community should get busy with the labors of love that serve all people.
For those who disagree with the Church’s position on this, I hope you recognize that the Faith that inspired the words of forgiveness last week in Charleston is the same Faith that this week inspires words of defiance across the land. Love and Truth are not enemies.
At the end of the day, you can’t drive a two ton truck of truth over a paper bridge. Jesus’ words on love resonate with all people for the same reason you can’t ignore Mother Teresa on pro-life issues: he lived and died it. People who denounce the SCOTUS decision have some bridges to build before they can begin to unload the truth they want to deliver. Its time for a lot more action and neighborly affection. We stand with open arms for all, open homes to all, and open hands ready to serve all, even in our disagreements. ‘The love of Christ controls us’ – St Paul.
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