25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

            Last Monday evening the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens squared off on Monday Night Football.  At one point the Broncos were penalized a normal five yard penalty for having too many men on the field.  (In the NFL you are allowed eleven men on the field and they had twelve).  Even after this obvious penalty, the Broncos coach went nuts.  He was livid.  He was red in the face, screaming at the officials…screaming things that I can’t say in Church.  He gestured to the officials that his team had eleven men and that the refs could should go away.  Immediately after this penalty the TV showed a still shot of the field with both teams.  Next to the Broncos players were the numbers one through twelve.  Perhaps the best moment of this all was the commentator who simply stated, “Well…they had twelve men on the field.”

            The Broncos coach lost his cool due to his frustrations with the game and the referees.  His emotions took over to the point that he couldn’t count the difference between eleven and twelve.

Today St. James warns us about our passions.  “Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?  Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?”

We have all gotten caught in the heat of the moment and made a decision we regret.  Whether we said something we wished we didn’t to our siblings, parents, children or friends, overindulged in food or drink, gave a cheap shot in sports or have had a bout of road rage, we have all lost our cool at one moment or another due to our human passions, emotions and drives.

We are entering a season in our society in which our passions and emotions are easily triggered—election season.  In our particular state we face one such issue that is contentiously heated, divisive and controversial—the marriage amendment.

Whenever we face controversy—times in which our passions and emotions are easily put in overdrive—we want to avoid being like the Broncos coach and allowing such experiences to override good decision making to the point we can't count the difference between eleven and twelve.

With respect to the marriage amendment, we would do well to consider a few different thoughts.  First, and at the most general level, we must always remember that we are each created good by God and are His beloved.  This is true about those who have attacked American embassies in the Middle East, the person on the opposite side of the political spectrum, the person we think is in error, or the person who actually is in error.  God loves that person as much as He loves you.  God sent His son to die on the cross for that person as much as you.  Christ calls us to love our enemies.

Second, the whole Marriage Amendment discussion can be boiled down to one key question: is the reality of marriage in our society human made, or is it a gift from God?  Is it simply a societal construct, similar to what we find in the animal kingdom, or is it an essential dimension to our being male and female created by an all good and all loving God?  Is it true that God created us male and female, telling our first parents, “Be fruitful and multiply” and that “…a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh”?  Is it true that throughout the Scriptures one of the key images the Israelites and now Christians have reflected on to understand God’s love for His is people is the unity of a man and a woman?  Is it true that Jesus Christ affirmed this belief in His teachings about marriage, adultery and divorce?  Is it true that Jesus Christ attended at least one marriage at Cana in which He provided an abundance of wine, affirming the abundant graces capable in a marriage of a man and a woman?  If these latter are true, who am I as an individual to try to redefine marriage at any level?

Third, many people in our society, perhaps many people here at Mass, may say, “Fr. Ben, I believe this is true and that God has given us marriage, but I cannot legislate my faith.  Besides, it really doesn’t affect me if a same-sex couple is united.”  I would answer, “Why can’t you, as a Christian, legislate your faith?”  We have been given so much as Christians and as Catholics—in fact, we have been given every gift needed for union with God here on earth and in heaven.  Why shouldn’t we bring this faith, the Good News of Jesus Christ, into our society and into our civil law?  In fact, if our society and laws are not driven by the Gospel of Christ, what exactly does drive our society and laws?

Finally, we ought to reflect on what exactly freedom means.  Does freedom mean I, or others, can do anything they want?  Or is freedom something more?  To illustrate this, consider someone playing a piano.  I suppose someone could say they are free to bang their fists on the piano in any way they want.  Yet if this person was playing here at Mass, they would also be free to find a new job!  Isn’t the truly free pianist one who has practiced for years and years, spending countless hours working on basic chords and basic music principles, learning from teachers and the great pianists who have come to before them?  Isn’t the truly free pianist the one who can excel on the piano in an ordered and beautiful way?

My brothers and sisters, as election season approaches—as we vote on the marriage amendment—please don’t be like the Broncos coach.  The Church, not only the bishops in Minnesota, but also the Church throughout the centuries (including God’s revelation, Jesus’ Christ’s teaching, the Scriptures and Sacred Tradition) has spoken about marriage—in another way simply stating in charity, “Well, there is twelve men on the field.”  Marriage is between one man and one woman and our civil law ought to reflect that fact. 

Please think about such questions and pray about them in the weeks to come.  Know that Fr. Rich and I are here to pray for you and continue the discussion about the Marriage Amendment and are available to speak.  This is especially true if the personal experiences in your life—situations in which your loved ones may be directly impacted—really strike a nerve.  
Pray well, reflect well, and then vote well.