Mk 6:17-29 Marriage And Murder
Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Today, kings and queens and swords and empires seem to be the thing of fairy-tales. It’s hard for us to understand how one man could wield so much power; judge so swiftly; and engulf an entire people into chaos so easily. It’s hard to relate to centuries old occurrences.
But if we closely examine today’s gospel, and sift our way through the archaic names, ancient dances and dungeons and fantastic promises made by a king to his step-daughter, we can begin to see a glance of what binds our world to theirs; and what lies in store for us.
That is, we begin to see what we will suffer to save the institution of marriage.
Is God’s word relevant in our world? You bet! And more than ever before!
Just recently, an activist and volunteer worker for an LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender) organization stormed into the Washington based pro-family and pro-marriage Family Research Council (FRC) with over fifty rounds of ammunition and 15 Chic-Fil-A sandwiches in his backpack. He shot the security guard, who not only survived but miraculously stripped the assailant of his gun and detained him until the police arrived.
The security guard, a devout Christian, could have killed the man who wanted to kill him, but he chose not to, even though he had every legal right to do so. By all accounts, the would-be-murderer had ever intent of killing every single employee in that building.
A few days before the shooting, a well known gay-rights organization labeled the FRC a “hate-group”, a label typically reserved for Nazis and racists. They also called the founder of the FRC, Tony Perkins, a racist, a bigot, a homophobe and a hate-monger. After the shooting, only forty-four LGBT groups condemned the attack. The general media has pretty much ignored this story; in no way has it received the same media attention that Trayvon Martin’s case continues to receive today.
And while we all think that the security guard did not deserve to be shot, I am sure that some good people - loving and very tolerant people - will attempt to justify, in one way or another, the actions of the LGBT volunteer. After all, he truly cares about extending the rights of marriage to all individuals.
How in the world did we ever get to the point of calling an organization that defends the dignity and sanctity of marriage and family a hate-group? Is this the stuff of some fairy-tale gone bad? Is this the stuff of some ancient, bizarre, and insane emperor who went wild on his very own people?
Not only have we crossed great distances in time, but we have gone where no man has ever gone before. We have gone where no man has ever gone before because we have sinned like no man ever sinned.
Sure, over time, names may change…a dungeon easily becomes a correctional facility; my spouse, my “mate” or my “partner”; an infidelity is considered a slip; sin is a lack of judgment; etc… But what doesn’t seem to change is how intolerant are the so-called tolerant and to what extent the non-believer will go to silence his opponent. This is the advantage of being a non-believer. There are no rules, no qualms, no conscience, no commandments and no beatitudes to abide to; especially when it comes to getting what one wants.
There is nothing holding them back.
St. John the Baptist, pray for us!
You do realize that in every large group there are going to be a few that go too far. I do not identify with the assailant, as he was a lone person who may have been messed up in the head.
ReplyDeleteBut the issue of marriage is not a simple religious one. In the eyes of the law a marriage is a contract between two people. You don't have to be part of the same religion to get married. You don't even have to love each other. In a nation where people of many different beliefs, or even no belief whatsoever, are getting married why are opposite genders allowed to get married and same genders not?
John. You are right. But...given the roughly equal number of people who sympathize with gay-marriage and those who oppose it, it would be common to find, on the other end, the loose cannon.
DeleteThe problem with the LGBT movement is the same with the occupy movement and the hippy movement. Everyone is welcomed as well as everything.
It actually is a simple religious one. Marriage only became convoluted recently. Men marrying men, women marrying women....what next a man marrying a dog, his sister or himself? If you want to be with someone of the same sex...fine...but why do you have to be married? There are so many people who marry for the wrong reason, but that doesn't make it right. And it certainly doesn't mean we should completely warp the idea completely. And by no means am I trying to start an ugly dialogue here. I strictly read these meditations to increase my CATHOLIC faith. Why are you here if you don't believe the fundamental tenants? I don't go to gay-lesbian blogs to post my views. What would the point be? Strike up a conversation? Understand where you are and have respect please.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous-
DeleteThere was nothing disrespectful in John's comments.
He is a seeker of truth and is making bravely making himself vulnerable to one who may be able to sway him from his current opinions.
If all we do is pat eachother on the back on this blog, then Fr. Alfonse may as well go back to bed and get another hour of sleep. . . .
Jan Nathan
I don't know but I'd like to take a stab at this.
ReplyDeleteFirst it is true that there are always some lone crazies in groups. That is true, but I don't think Father is talking about one person or one incident. You can look at the liberal agenda and it is clear that they are hypocrites. They want to be free to do whatever they want to do, but they do not want others, who disagree with them to be able to do what they choose to do. The evidence is all over the place. I won't even try to prove it. If one can't see that, then they do not have their eyes open.
A marriage is a covenant between the man and woman and God.
I have to say that what the law calls marriage is not marriage, in my book, much of the time. If God is not part of the equation then it is simply a civil union, a contract.
The purpose for marriage is for procreation, which cannot happen with two men or two women. Our society has already thrown the aspect of procreation and raising families out the window and see where that has landed us.
God did not make men to be with men and women to be with women. Their parts aren't made to fit that way.
Have you ever seen male and female electrical parts, like a plug and a socket? They do not work unless you have one male part and one female part. That is how they are made. It's not some big conspiracy that electricians made up. It is the way it works.
If gay 'marriage' was legalized, what would be next? Pedophiles are already getting ready for their case, just waiting in the wings. And what about five women and one man? And what about animals? Bestiality has been around a long time as well. This may sound 'way out there', but so did gay marriage not that long ago.
It always amuses me that so many liberal tree hugging, lets do everything natural the way nature intended it, people are also the people promoting gay marriage, the most unnatural thing on earth.
Different religions or races are not the same as the same gender. Their parts still fit together the way God intended and they will do the job God made them to do, enable humankind to continue to grow. But like I said, that has become pretty twisted too and we're about to contracept ourselves out of existence anyway.
I do understand that sometimes reality and truth are not what we would like them to be. We can redefine anything but that does not change it. I can redefine my dog as a cat, but that doesn't change a thing. It only confuses the dog. Truth is truth, reality is reality and we cannot change what is true and real. We can fantasize all day about anything, but does that make it real?
I am going on and on, and these are just random thoughts that came to mind when I read John's comment.
God Bless and I hope you figure it out. Our society has twisted everything so much that we cannot see how things started out, how they were made to be.
To add to this post Anonymous, my thoughts often lead to this: If Jesus Christ himself were to physically, in human form, be standing next to us where we could look him in the eye, would we stand and argue these gay marriage rights with him? We are certainly all guilty of some sort of sin, whether it's gossip, fornication, (straight or gay) etc., but would we do it anyway if he were next to us? NO! Why? Because we know deep down that it's not what our Lord wants us to do. I know it's hard for homosexuals to imagine their physical/sexual relationships to be a sin because it is what feels right to them. But lots of sinful things feel good. Drunkenness can feel good, at the time anyway, but that doesn't make it right. (I would eat three pieces of cheesecake every day because I love cheesecake, but that doesn't make it right and it's not good for me.) There are many homosexuals who choose to live out a heterosexual lifestyle because they know deep in their hearts that living the homosexual lifestyle is not a part of God's natural plan.
DeleteJohn, I understand where you're coming from, but perhaps our Lord is calling you to live a life of celibacy? Perhaps you're having trouble believing in a God who created you the way you are, and you're having trouble understanding what His plan is for you? I've been married for over 20 years, but that doesn't mean that I'm married to my soul mate. Not even close. It has been a tremendously rocky road for me physically and emotionally and is excruciating at times. It would be easier to be single! But that's where prayer, faith and trust in God comes in. Maybe you struggle with these things - most of us do. But the fight is worth fighting if you're plan is to spend eternity with our Father.
Jesus said following him wouldn't be easy.