Blogger Sara Miles writes about her marriage to her same sex partner Katie in San Fransisco last year. From the Beatitudes Society:
But what had happened to us in the blessing of our marriage was outside both the law and the Law. Our marriages had happened on God’s time, in God’s space. The irregular rites became an icon, a metaphor for the difficult and vital imperative to love others. And they belonged not just to individual couples, but to the community —to everyone reaching out a hand for blessing.
I cried as I read over the prayer from the marriage rite in the Book of Common Prayer. It had new meaning for me.
“Make their life together a sign of Christ’s love to this sinful and broken world,†the prayer said, “that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guilt, and joy conquer despair.â€
I understand the need to be accepting and loving of everyone, despite their sin. But supporting them to continue on in sin by blessing their same-sex marriage in church is a bit much for me. Yet I look at the opposite side and think about what Jesus said about divorce:
“Remember the Scripture that says, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights’? Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are ‘legal.’ Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife, you’re responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced adulteress, you’re automatically an adulterer yourself. You can’t use legal cover to mask a moral failure. – Matthew 5:31-32
Should the church bless marriages of individuals who have split a previous marriage in divorce? Is there a difference? I think there is. One side is publicly acknowledging that they plan to continue living in sin. The other may likely (though not always the case) be repentive of their previous sin. As an American I struggle with the idea of granting equal rights to some but not all – regardless of their religious beliefs or convictions. But as a Christian I don’t believe we as a church should bless those who are choosing to continue living in sin. What about you?
