I've been thinking about this particular blog post for several days now, and I still have absolutely no idea how to start. I'm currently starting over for probably the 5th time....and I'm not promising the crap I'm typing right now won't become another victim of the Delete button in a few minutes.
You see.....this recent election has really done a number on my head...and my heart. And I don't know what to do about it.
I mean, there are some really good people out there who definitely think I'll be ruining the institution of marriage if gay marriage becomes legal and Amy and I decide to take the plunge (which we're doing anyway, even though it will bring no legal benefits). And in this world of the WWJD t-shirts and rubber bracelets and bumper stickers, do these people honestly believe Jesus would have their backs on this one? The same Jesus who preached the Beatitudes? The same Jesus who clothed the naked and fed the hungry? The same Jesus who cured the blind man? The same Jesus who told the crowd "you who have not sinned may cast the first stone?"
Because in my relatively simple mind, the answer is "no."
So can someone please help me understand something? If these good people are hearing these "gay marriage will ruin the world" messages from their churches....and at least some people in attendance haven't lost the gift of common sense.....then why in the hell aren't more people standing up and saying "Bullshit!"?
I'm serious.
The whole thing brings to mind that question our mothers asked us when they feared we were being too influenced by someone or something else.....you remember it....."so please tell me, sweetheart - if ____ told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it??"
And I don't know about you, but I always answered that question in one of two ways.....either with a sarcastic "NOOO, Mom - geez!" or with complete silence.....because I knew she was right.....I was allowing myself to be influenced in potentially unhealthy ways, and I was losing the ability to think for myself.
For instance, I remember something I was told back when I was in the convent.....basically, I was told I was honoring God with my promise of obedience to my superiors.....so much so that even if I felt God was asking something of me that wasn't necessarily in harmony with what my superiors were asking of me, it would be better for me to be obedient to my superiors than ignore what they were asking in favor of what I thought God was asking. And although I never said it outloud, I sure as hell said it to myself - Bullshit. But then again, I did only last a mere 18 months in that place.....
But seriously - common sense, which I believe is a gift from God, needs to come alive in us....especially when people in authority are telling us to do something that stirs up that feeling inside us that says "something isn't right here"......
So when a church says something like "we believe in the dignity of homosexual persons..." but then, what? You give us dignity while making it perfectly clear you won't allow us to be happy? Because our happiness will somehow act as a poison for all those "traditional marriages" out there? You think that's dignifying behavior? Bullshit.
And for those of you out there reading this who believe it's possible to push those nasty same-sex desires out of your heart because that's what the church has told you to do, the only thing I can say to you is, well, Bullshit.
Because as surely as I know the sun rose this morning and set again this evening, I know God is the mastermind behind my relationship with Amy. And if you think that's an impossibility, then I think you already know what my response will be. Bullshit. Because as I mentioned in a much earlier blog entry, we either believe all things are possible with God, or we don't. There simply isn't room for anything in the middle.
And if you're still stuck with this image of a God who can't bless or find joy in a love between two people, regardless of their genders, then I will pray for your God to become bigger in your heart.....even if that means you'll end up shouting "Bullshit" in the middle of Mass someday.
And when that happens, give me a call. And if that call comes after 9/20/13, we'll go out for a beer....and I'll show you our wedding pictures.
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