I want people to know Truth.
Not just some abstract truth, but Truth the Person. There are things about Truth I'm certain of...He's found, in faith, in the person of Jesus Christ, who entrusted His Word and revelation through Scripture and Tradition to His Apostles, who began their ministries baptizing all the nations by the authority which He gave them, and their ordained ministers, to this day, are guided by the Holy Spirit.
In short, I'm Catholic. And because Catholic is my identity, I identify with what the Church teaches to be true and to lead to Truth. And because I believe in Truth, I want others to share in that Truth with me. Truth unavoidably spills over. Truth is wild and powerful.
If you haven't been around me when I get hooked on a subject, especially something that's causing a lot of stir in the media, it might be a good thing. One of my FOCUS missionaries last year said she enjoyed seeing me get excited about defending the faith cause my eyes get all lit up and fiery. Welllll that's not all that happens...it consumes my time. It becomes the focus of my attention. Somehow I let myself believe that if only people would see things from my way, they would really change their mind and heart. Then, the moment someone criticizes or counter-argues, I retreat...I'm okay with starting the fight, but I definitely can't finish it.
One of my favorite stories from the Bible is the story of Paul in Athens, Acts 17:16-34. Paul is in the midst of "heathens". They get a little curious about this Jesus dude...maybe He's another deity they can add to their list. Paul doesn't start out condemning...he actually compliments them on their piety. He finds the common ground he can start from, and
then proceeds to discourse. Paul really employed wisdom: applying knowledge in love. Building relationships.
The Church has a valuable lesson to learn from Paul in our own times. The Church has the answers, but her children need a lesson in how to engage with the public. Paul's model of evangelization is exactly what we need. I think a lot of us are nervous about getting on the level of others for fear of being pulled down. We forget we have a Resurrected Christ who has raised human nature. We need not fear any mistakes we may make in our evangelization, for we have recourse to the Spirit of Wisdom who will support us and raise us up.
So how do we get down to the level of the world without becoming worldly? I think we need to observe what the world is responding to. It certainly hates what the Church says, but loves what the Church does. It hates what we say about abortion, but loves crisis pregnancy centers. It loathes talk of chastity and abstinence, but applauds decreased STDs. It wags its fingers at the beauty inside of churches, but weeps at the picture of a missionary with an impoverished child. In short, the world is impatient with explanation of actions but grasps at effect of those same actions. Why is it that they aren't connecting the Truth we say with the Truth we act out? The only answer I can come up with is that the way we are presenting the Truth we say just isn't coming out as nicely. More often, it sounds like the harsh gong of 1 Corintians 13...an empty sound without love.
Truth seeks connections, not just with concepts but with people. But if we are presenting Truth as cold-hard facts, we've got it all wrong. St. Josemaria Escriva mourned this sad tendency of ours: "Out of ten ways of saying
No, why must you always choose the most disagreeable? Virtue has no wish to hurt."..."Learn how to say
No, without hurting people unnecessarily or having recourse to the kind of abrupt rejection which destroys charity." If our intentions in presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or even getting more secular and giving an argument from a philosophical standpoint which supports the Church, is for the reasons of proving wrong, starting an argument, or getting people to conform to a way of life that makes us more comfortable, then we're just starting a losing battle.
"So what are you going on about here, silly handmaid?" you ask. This is the struggle I've been perceiving in the last week or so with the marriage debate. It's been so interesting to take a step back and see how people are getting involved. And it really is different from the abortion debate. Maybe because with abortion there are really lives at stake, and so some people naturally get more passionate about it. Maybe some people are just plain tired of endless social media debates that give them a million and one notifications. Whatever the case, it appeared to be a kind of fear that settled in. Those who supported a change to marriage proudly showed their equal signs and almost dared others to oppose them, for if they would, they would instantly be labeled a "bigot" (a word which was thrown around excessively...and nobody wants to be called a bigot. I, a people-pleaser by nature, of course stayed out of the Facebook debates this time because I really can't stand people thinking ill of me.). Those who didn't support the change tried their hardest not to step on toes and find the nicest Bible verses they could, the mellowest philosophical arguments, and almost apologized before they even began talking ("I just want you to know I love and support you, but this is what I think..."). What I can glean from this interaction is this: those in support of a change wanted others to rise up to the occasion and give them a good, decent, understandable answer about why marriage shouldn't be between any two caring individuals, and those not supporting the change wanted a straight answer themselves and, not only that, but a way in which to really live out that answer in love. In other words, a way to speak Truth and act in Truth regarding marriage, because they were confused on how to do either.
Perhaps it's not the fault of those in opposition to change that they're starting at a loss of how to defend marriage...it's already at a disadvantage to begin with. Increased divorce rates, prenups presupposing divorce, people putting off marriage in order to not deal with divorce in the first place, the separation of sex from marriage, children from sex, and therefore children from marriage...it's all a mess. Add this issue of whether marriage is for a man and a woman in on top of things and some people are bound to throw up their hands and say it's gone to heck anyways, why not! Marriage obviously has no power over people, why not let people who will actually be committed make something out of it?
I'm not going to just restate all the theological and philosophical reasons that the Church has, as there are many, and if you are reading this and really do want some sources and more information I can certainly pass that on. Instead, I just want to say that the Church has stood by her position not to withhold something good, but to recognize Truth and offer something even better. The way Christians can witness to the Truth of the Church on marriage is by living it out....rescuing marriage from the mire of adultery and callousness, loving those with tendencies different from our own, recognizing inherent human dignity, holding
everyone up to a standard of chastity and fidelity...these are only some of the ways we can witness by our actions the truth of the goodness of God's plan for marriage. The world may not understand the reasons we state, but if it sees how we act out our beliefs it may be more open. Right now our treatment of family and friends who identify themselves as anything along the lines of LGBTQIA is especially the strongest witness, and those are the interactions that everyone in support of a change in the definition of marriage are eying. Hatred, denial, and babying are unacceptable attitudes of a Christian. We must love, we must accept, and we must challenge. We must love them, not in spite of, but because of, who they are. I do not like to say I have gay friends, as I would not like them to say they have a straight friend...rather, I have friends who identify themselves as gay, but they are so much more than their sexuality. Their identity is as a child of God. We must accept them as children of God. And we must challenge them to live as children of God in chastity and humble obedience, which will challenge us in return to do the same. "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?"--Matthew 7:3.
I want people to know the Truth.
And the Truth will set us free.
