Mt 14:1-12 Angry Birds
Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
The best thing a despot could do is kill his enemies. The worst thing a despot could do is create martyrs. Herod was no dummy. He knew that, but forgot it. John’s death exposed Herod’s weakness. The tetrarch was not as strong and powerful as he made himself out to be. His arrogance brought about Christ’s emergence.
This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead. Herod was no superstitious guy. He knew what he was saying. He knowingly killed John and unknowingly raised a million more like him. Even better, he raised, from obscurity to center stage, someone a million times more powerful than the Baptist who was ready to take it to the next level.
Herod placed his hands over his head. He knew he was through. The Jews knew that. Jesus knew that. The end of an era was fast approaching.
Let us not forget what caused John to lose his head: his unwavering support for the dignity of marriage. How bizarre is history. No matter how much we study it, we continue to forget it.
August 1st, 2012. What started off as an individual’s sincere acknowledgement of the dignity and sanctity of marriage ended with millions and millions of people across the country supporting religious liberty and freedom of speech. Just two months ago, the supporters of gay marriage were riding high with unprecedented victories. They had won the support of the President of the United States. They had won recognition and support from the NAACP. They were stronger than ever; more powerful than ever. The only thing they did not need to do was turn their rainbow into a storm. And they did.
They gay community, once considered victims of discrimination, became ferocious abusers. Many people in the country were shocked and outraged at their lack of understanding, charity and overall conduct towards American citizens of Christian belief. Of course they would never dare attack American Muslims and their beliefs for they know that Muslims strike back… and hard. Instead, they went after a soft spot, a scapegoat, and found a sleeping giant.
On August 1st, 2012, millions of supporters of free speech and religious liberty (and marriage) turned out in record numbers to support Dan Cathy and his company, Chic-Fil-A. This day (“Appreciation Day”) was organized in response to a gay community’s nationwide boycott of the fast food chain. It was their attempt to bring a Christian organization and Christian individuals to submit or to fail. If they had won, it would send a clear message to all Christian organizations.
It failed, and failed miserably.
But not only did it fail; it created a backlash that has galvanized millions of people. It was the “shot heard round the world”; the spark that lit the world on fire. The question on the minds of millions was: “Will this happen to me if I disagree???”
August 1st, 2012 was the most successful day in Chic-Fil-A’s history. Last year the company made 4.1 billion dollars in sales, up 13% from the previous year; a company that closes its doors every Sunday. On the other hand, the so-called “kiss-in” protest turned out to be an abysmal failure. Not only did their manner of protesting disgust the general community, it also opened a window to the community at large at how the gay-community wishes to represent itself: in hyper-hysterical sexual postures.
How did the two communities react? During the boycott, customers often saw Chic-Fil-A employees offering free water to gay protestors. They continued, as always, to serve everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or preference. But as gay marriage supporters continued to shoot themselves in the foot with bad publicity, they finally shot themselves in the head with a hate filled bigoted gay marriage supporter verbally assaulting and abusing a young employee at the drive-thru.
By the end of the week, most supporters of gay-marriage had been silenced, embarrassed and set back. “No comment” was their only way to save face. In a single day, they managed to destroy whatever achievements they had made with the general population. They thought they had found a chicken. They never imagined creating an angry bird.
He has been raised from the dead. Let us all learn from a chapter in the life of the Baptist. The blood of the martyrs is seed for the Church.
Gays are still victims of discrimination. This whole thing started because of the hate that chick-fil-a shows towards other groups. If they had said that they do not accept asians, or hispanics, would the reaction not be similar? Jesus taught us to love, be kind, and accept others. Thats what I believe and do. I accept anyone no mater their color, religion, or sexual orientation. They are people and deserve to be treated like everyone else. Chick-fil-a dondated millions of dollars to hate-groups and anti-gay groups. They are entitled to have their oppinion, as anyone does, about same sex marriage, but they should not impose it on their employees like they have. Imposing religious beliefs in the workplace is not right. They even supported a legislation bill from Uganda where gays are killed for who they are. That is hateful. Everyone has the right to not support or not support a company or group for their own reasons. Lastly, the group has not been silenced and will continue to fight for equal rights. Jesus did not judge others and neither will I.
ReplyDeleteGays are still victims of discrimination. [So are Christians.]
ReplyDeleteThis whole thing started because of the hate that chick-fil-a shows towards other groups. [They serve anyone who pays.]
If they had said that they do not accept asians, or hispanics, would the reaction not be similar? [You are right. But they are not against gays. They are against gay marriage…like me]
Jesus taught us to love, be kind, and accept others. [He did not teach to accept others. He taught to accept the truth. He not only taught us to love one another. He taught us to love as He loves us. Scripture makes that clear. Don’t pick and choose what Christ said. Take and receive the whole truth.]
Thats what I believe and do. [And it’s your right to be wrong]
I accept anyone no mater their color, religion, or sexual orientation. [So do I. But I don’t accept lies or sin].
They are people and deserve to be treated like everyone else. [You are right, but it doesn’t mean you must accept gay marriage].
Chick-fil-a dondated millions of dollars to hate-groups and anti-gay groups. [No. They sent money to organizations that promote marriage and Christian values. Gay organizations donate millions to anti-Christian and hatefilled organizations].
They are entitled to have their oppinion, as anyone does, about same sex marriage, but they should not impose it on their employees like they have. [No, they have every right to impose their values. You have every right not to work for them.]
Imposing religious beliefs in the workplace is not right. [Yes it is. Go work somewhere else. I would not work for Nazis even if my family was starving. Learn to stand up for your beliefs rather than forcing others to submit to your belief.]
They even supported a legislation bill from Uganda where gays are killed for who they are. [That’s not true, period].
That is hateful. [That is misleading]
Everyone has the right to not support or not support a company or group for their own reasons. [Now I finally agree with you].
Lastly, the group has not been silenced and will continue to fight for equal rights. [You are right, and Christian Americans will to].
Jesus did not judge others and neither will I. [He did and you just contradicted everything you wrote in your comment. You judged harshly, incorrectly and misleadingly the marriage and Christian faith. You call others hateful because they disagree with you and you don’t see the contradiction??? You can love someone without agreeing with them. Learn the difference.]
I will think and pray about this, thank you for your reply and meaningful insight. Although I am not judging chick-fil-a, like I said they can think and say whatever they want. Sorry if it came across that way. I don't want nor expect same sex marriage in the catholic church because that is against her teachings, but I am not going to stop a loving couple from getting married through a civil union.
DeleteOh my! Very good, Father. I'm sorry, Anonymous, sounds like your arguments have been refuted!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm in the mood for some Chick-fil-A for lunch....;)
Father, are you on vacation this week? You've been very active in the comments. Figure you must have some extra time on your hands. If so, enjoy the time off.:)
Blessings,
-Jennifer
First, please know I am posting with peace, not anger. What you're forgetting, anonymous, is that the judgement coin has two sides. We cannot judge the heart or motives of someone, but indeed we can and should judge their actions with charity and gentleness if their actions are leading them away from heaven, no matter what their sin may be. It's our moral duty to evangelize the Word of God and being guilty of the sin of omission (not speaking truth when we know it for example) is separating ourselves from God.
ReplyDeleteI saw the video mentioned in the meditation, and what this man who pulled into the drive thru did and said to the Chick-Fil-A employee, (who I'm sure works there by her own free will) was disgraceful on every level! I can't imagine this and the other actions of hate expressed from the pro-gay marriage community, (or whatever title they want to give themselves?) is the reputation they would like to portray. Tolerance seems to be only one sided these days. But as Christians, we know we will be crucified over and over again for our religious morals and values. Jesus warned us about just this. How quickly history is forgotten. I hope we don't ever have to face persecution as John the Baptist did.
I am glad I choose to stand up for my religious liberty and freedom of speech by taking part in "Appreciation Day" regardless if it changes anything, because for now, I'm free to do so. Someday, we may not be so fortunate. Quoting Forrest Gump; "That's all I have to say about that." ;)
May God have mercy on us all.
Suzie
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10
Dr. Fr. Alphonse!!! thank you again for your timely and correct blog!!!! correct me if I am wrong, but didn't that man who harassed the Chick Fil-A employee get fired? His boss obviously did not like what he did. Are the gays going to crucify him next?
ReplyDeleteHe did get fired.
DeleteI just thought I'd clear up one part that was not refuted, from this angle.
ReplyDelete"Imposing religious beliefs in the workplace is not right."
Actually, they do not. In the workplace, anyone is allowed to be an employee, no matter their sexual orientation or marital standings. It is only indirectly that religious beliefs are "imposed", and the employees are not subject to them.
From what I've heard, Chic-fil-a's stores are independent, so things like this can happen:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/01/chick-fil-a-store-breaks-with-founder-to-sponsor-lgbt-pride/
Yep, a store's manager decided it will host the LGBT pride month festival there in a few days. So no, there is no imposing of religious beliefs in the workplace.
By the way, what I do think is "imposing religious beliefs in the workplace" is several mayors hinting that they will block Chic-fil-a from development or expansion in their cities.
-Anon. #3
Wow, what a great thread! Fr Alfonse did a wonderful job responding to the original anonymous. And I have to give that anonymous credit for a humble reply back to Father.
ReplyDeleteThe misinformation (lies) put out by both left and right groups is disturbing. The stuff from the left seems to get more traction thanks to bias--especially anti-Christian--in mainstream media.