July 1, 2011 – Ephesians 5

Here we have the often misunderstood verse about wives being obedient to their husbands. People may not misunderstand the meaning of this verse, but it does seem like they take it out of context. There is nothing about being obedient that is in anyway degrading to women here. Being obedient is not a negative. Wives are called to be obedient, but husbands are not suppose to take advantage of this for their own personal gains. The part that is often omitted is the part where men are to love their wives like Christ loves the Church. That is a sacrificial love, one that puts their life behind that of the other. This analogy to Christ and the Church is one of the reasons that marriage is such a beautiful and mysterious sign we have of God’s love. There is no other union that comes closer to describing God’s love for us than that of the marriage union. When a husband takes advantage the obedience his wife may have, it would be like Christ taking advantage of the Church. Any kind of break in that union would be the end of the union. It is a perfect love and one that is to be emulated. It is not something that husbands are suppose to hold over their wife’s head.

This mystery of God’s love and what we learn from it through the sign of marriage is another reason Catholics are so protective of it. Many find the Catholic teachings on marriage arcane and inappropriate in this day in age. But it is not merely for the sake of marriages, which are much stronger if the Catholic teachings are followed, but to allow us to better understand God’s mysterious love. Using contraception in marriage takes away the complete bonding that takes place between a husband and wife. As if Christ were saying I will give you just some of myself but not all. What if Christ said I will give you only this much because I don’t want the consequences of giving you all I am fully. That is not what He did on the cross and it is not what is suppose to take place in marriage.

What about divorce. Christ says I will be with you always until the end of the age. Catholics believe marriage is a lifelong commitment. What if Christ suddenly said that He was giving up on us because He realized it wasn’t what He signed up for or found someone knew that He was going to give His all too.

Homosexual marriage is another teaching that is often brought up against Catholics. The Catholic teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman is not only because that is what is biblical, but also because of the mysterious giving and receiving that is done and how that relates to God’s love for us. Much like the contraception issue, in the homosexual act there can be nothing fully given or fully received so as to produce anything, except lust and physical pleasure. I think sometimes it is seen that homosexual activity is the next stage of some kind of human evolution. We are made to think that this is the natural succession and it should be promoted on every conceivable level. I just feel nothing could be further from the truth and the more we push this, the harder it is going to be to go back. Do we understand what the repercussions are for allowing this to become as acceptable as people are pushing for. Do people understand what happens if the birthrate in our country goes lower than it already is. Do people understand what happens when marriages and family units become even more unstable and rare then they already are. Not to mention when what I am writing here becomes seen as hate speech because it makes statements against this “acceptable” and promoted way of life. Marriage, the Catholic understanding of marriage, is one of the most beautiful and mysterious gifts God has given the world and one of the most important signs and examples to show us His love. The more we disregard this and trample on it, the more we move away from any true understanding of God and He becomes less and less of what we look to when shaping our country. I guess it’s no wonder NBC took “Under God” out of their televised Pledge of Allegiance.