SAME SEX MARRIAGE

                                                          SAME SEX MARRIAGE

    Same sex marriage is a hot topic, and is much more than the title
suggests. You need to have a "calm" mind to understand the full meaning
of the term. The bible makes no bones about same sex marriage being
a sin. For all those "Christians" with a dirty mind when they hear the word
"sex", I ask only that you consider all the aspects of the word "marriage"
before you spout an opinion. And I am not saying a same sex marriage is
NOT a sin. It clearly is a sin in the strict context of the word "sex." This
is not the end of the subject. If you have a bit of patience, I'll explain how
we have corrupted a subject by the combination of two words. Yes, the
full meaning of same sex marriage has been corrupted. 

    To the horror of some reading this message, it gets worse. I officiate
at marriages occasionally, but none have been same sex unions. I want
to stress the word UNION USED instead of marriage. There is a huge
difference between marriage and union. Both mean "joining together",
but not in the same way. The former Soviet Union was a joining together
of several states, but there was no sex involved. The United Auto Union
does not involve sex. A union of churches does not involve sex. We
loosely use the word marriage to mean joining together in these instances, but there is no sexual implication. In a marriage, it is a HOLY UNION. That is different than a civil union.

    Unfortunately we have accepted the terminology of marriage to be a
part of both sexual marriage and non sexual marriage. Except for the
scriptural message listing same sex marriage as a sin, the bible does
not touch on the subject of non sexual union. The culture of Israel, and
later teaching by Christ, fill in the difference between marriage and
union. Marriage is for procreation, while a union is for supporting a
common goal. Christians tend to consider only sex when evaluating
same sex marriage. This, in itself, is a sin, and I'll tell you why. We go
directly to scripture for the explanation.

    Give serious consideration to Matt. 22:38 and 39. Did you ever

wonder why Christ added an Eleventh Commandment to the original
Ten Commandments? I thought not. God knew that when Gentiles were
added to the original priesthood people (Israel), they would not know
the culture of Israel. The concept of family and care for every person,
even slaves, was ingrained in the culture of Israel. This total care
for everyone is something still not understood today by Christians.

    Turn to Matt. . "This is the first and great commandment." You need to refresh your mind by backing up one verse to Matt.  22:37. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." Now that Christ has reinforced the "great" commandment meaning, we see the addition of another commandment, and it is a COMMANDMENT, not a suggestion. This is a commandment Christians have been tricked by the secular world into misunderstanding. Matt., "And the second is like  it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Christ actually inserted His Eleventh Commandment after the original first commandment to emphasize its extreme importance. He concludes in Matt.  22:39, "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

    There is a huge difference between Matt. 22:39 and the "shall
not" commandments. Christ is telling us this is a commandment,
it is something we MUST do. If we don't, it's a sin of OMISSION.
We all should know what "love your neighbor" means. That includes,
old, young, smart or challenged, rich or poor, race or religion. I
admit, some people are difficult to love. But we must try to help
them when they need help, even if we judge them to be lazy or one
of the (wrongly identified) majority of Americans who are on the
"entitlement" roll.

    By ignoring or refusing to follow Matt. 22:39, a Christian is actually
committing a sin of omission. Worse yet, you are accusing and judging
another of committing a sin when no sin is being committed. In short,
you are placing yourself in double jeopardy. In our society, there is no
longer the total "family" concept. Families are further separated
today than ever before. Multiple marriages, children out of wedlock,
separations and other conditions have moved people further and
further apart. There is little semblance of families as just a few decades
ago in America. That is especially true for older Americans who have
no family remaining or children to rely upon. A marriage or union is
for them a condition of companionship and mutual assistance. How
many 80 year olds are obsessed with sex? How many widows or
widowers are obsessed with sex? Certainly there may be a few, but
most simply desire not to be alone without any assistance at all.

    In the extended time I spent recovering from surgery, I saw the
terrible time many people were experiencing because they were
alone. This is an especially vulnerable time of life for an elderly
person. One of the saddest experiences I had was realizing the
trauma this caused some patients. When a physician came to me
and asked if I'd like to go home, I responded happily. "Would anyone
refuse that offer?" He had a very sad expression when he answered,
"Unfortunately that happens quite often. They want to stay because
there is no one at "home" and no one to help them."

    A "dirty-minded" person immediately thinks of sex when hearing
about or seeing a same sex couple. Hasn't anyone heard about a
platonic relationship? This is when two people of same or different
sex have a relationship based solely on friendship. In holy matrimony
I stress the need for the couple to have a deep friendship. If they
have a "best friends" relationship and are committed to Christ, they
are on the road to total happiness together. A union marriage is
about being best friends, not sex.

    Our society is geared towards secularism, and requires sameness
to qualify for civil benefits. Thus, a traditionally married couple can
receive certain tax payer benefits that have not in the past been
available to unmarried couples. Rather than considering the unfairness
of this, we have "punished" people who aren't married. Most of them
have paid taxes, too. This is actually a violation of the Constitution,
and goes against the freedom of religion. In this situation, Christians
ignore the tax payers' right to receive benefits they have paid just as
holy married people have paid. 
    
    It is not a sin for opposite sexes to be together unless the reason is
homosexuality or lesbianism. Even that is a forgivable sin. Don't
believe me, just read Matt.12:31,32. What I personally have witnessed
in Christian conversations and some churches is the ostracism of gays
and same sex marrieds. These ("holy?) people are turning people away for sins or imagined sins that are no worse than the sinners who attend
church every week. Now they are guilty of judging others that Christ
warns about in Matt. 7:1, "Judge not, that you be not judged." You
can hide your "little" sins from most of the public, but not from God.
There is but one ordained judge of our life and sins, and He has already
paid the price for us if we really committed to Him in our heart.

    The church and committed Christians were put in place by Christ to
bring the Word of God to all people. That clearly means everyone, since
we are all sinners. Don't think your sins aren't as bad as others, because
Isaiah 64:6 tells us how God looks upon us. "But we are all like an 
unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags, We all 
fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind, Have taken us away."
If you feel pretty good about your Christian walk compared to those
"dirty sinners" with sexual problems, you probably haven't understood
Isaiah, and you certainly are violating Christ's teaching in the Four
Gospels. As Mohandas Gandhi stated, if Christians he encountered 
practiced what they preached, he would have become a Christian.
Many Christian leaders--in church and out--are setting a bad example
that is eating away at the foundation of Christianity. They don't know
and may not want to know the Word of God. Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem, because that will be the location of Christ's return. He
is seeing disobedient Jews and Christians speeding up His return.

Rev. Walbear