Love Right

Embracing humility in order to love rightly

02/14/2017

Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10 

So the LORD said: "I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them." But Noah found favor with the LORD. Then the LORD said to Noah: "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this age have I found to be truly just. Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of the unclean animals, one pair, a male and its mate; likewise, of every clean bird of the air, seven pairs, a male and a female, and of all the unclean birds, one pair, a male and a female. Thus you will keep their issue alive over all the earth. Seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and so I will wipe out from the surface of the earth every moving creature that I have made." Noah did just as the LORD had commanded him.

          Boys and girls, today is St. Valentine’s Day so congratulations to all you love-birds out there. If any love-birds are perched a little too close, Mr. Plake, would you sit between them? People nowadays like to talk about love a lot. For instance, have you heard the popular slogan, “Love wins”? Back in the 60’s and 70’s people protested the Vietnam War by chanting, “Make love not war!” As far back at the 5th century, St. Augustine gave a sermon on love in which he boldly said, “Love, and do what you will.” In other words, if you get love right, everything else will take care of itself, but I’m afraid getting love right is not very easy at all.

          What I’m going to say today many of you (maybe most of you!) will not like to hear: I’m going to touch the subject of same-sex attraction. Whether you agree with me or disagree with me, try to listen with an open mind. I frequently find that I learn a lot more from people who disagree or contradict me because they tell me something I had not thought of before. I learn something new from my opponents. On the other hand, those who agree with me, just confirm things I already knew; I don’t learn anything new from my friends. So, please listen with an open mind and with open eyes (don’t fall asleep!).

          Yesterday morning at 7 a.m. Mass the altar server, Lauren Seiter, asked me a really tough question. It was only a few minutes before 7 and she asked: “Fr. John, why can’t girls become priests?” So, I thought quickly and replied, “Well, Lauren, for the same reason that girls cannot grow up and become husbands and fathers in a family. Girls grow up to be wives and mothers.” Then I said, “Whoa! Look at the time, we’ll talk about this later!” I mention that little anecdote because Lauren wasn’t only asking about the possibility of female priests, but she was also scratching the surface of the deeper difference between men and women. What makes a man a man, and what makes a woman a woman? Or, are we basically like that child’s toy, “Mr. Potato Head,” where our bodies have interchangeable parts? That’s the question that Lauren Seiter was really asking: she’s a pretty smart little girl!

          In the first reading today, God commands Noah to fill the Ark with all living creatures. God says: “Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of the unclean animals, one pair, a male and its mate…Thus you will keep their issue alive over all the earth.” God told Noah to take pairs of each animal – a male and a female – aboard the Ark. But what if Noah had thought: hey, I don’t think that’s fair. I’m going to take two male giraffes instead of a male and female giraffe; these two male giraffes are best friends. What would happen to the giraffes after they got off the Ark? They would become extinct because they would not be able to reproduce. Obviously, human beings are not the same as animals, but in this respect – the complimentarity of the sexes – we human beings, too, need a mate of the opposite sex. That’s why girls cannot grow up to be priests: that would violate that male-female complimentarity.

          Boys and girls, I have a sneaking suspicion that some of you do not agree with what I’m saying, maybe most of you disagree with me. Nevertheless, I want you to think about it, and pray about it. But let me also invite you to be humble when you approach difficult or disagreeable Catholic teachings, especially the subject of same-sex attraction. Sooner or later we all find something we don’t like about our faith.  In the face of that difficult teaching, be humble and you will find the truth. Last year Pope Benedict did an interview with Peter Seewald which resulted in a book called Last Testament: In His Own Words. Pope Benedict said that when he reads a Bible verse that is especially puzzling or confusing, he doesn’t jump to conclusions and think that the Bible is wrong. Rather, he believes there is something he must have missed and asks the Holy Spirit to help him understand. That’s humility. On the other hand, have you heard of the “Jefferson Bible”? President Thomas Jefferson, near the end of his life, took a razor and cut out parts of the Bible he didn’t understand or agree with (like Jesus’ miracles and his resurrection). He pieced together the rest of the Bible – the parts he liked and agreed with – and read that Bible instead. That’s not very humble. You won’t learn much if you only hang out with people who agree with you.

          Boys and girls, be humble when it comes to discussing difficulty and disagreeable issues like homosexuality and same-sex attraction or any other tough topic. Only when you are humble, you will eventually find the truth. Only those who are humble will get love right, like Noah did. By the way, I really like that line in Genesis where it reads: “And Noah found favor with the Lord” - makes me think of my nephew Noah.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!