Rousing Her Radiance: Day 14
Author: Andrew Comiskey
October 24, 2023
How Did We Get Here?
‘The distortion of the beautiful is the self-irony of lost truth.’ - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Sociologists marvel at the speed with which the western world changed its mind on homosexuality: from disdain to reserve then tolerance and now embrace of ‘gay’ anything, including an ever-growing acronym of other options (LGBTQ+ and so on).
Add to that Pope Francis and cronies who kicked off the latest synod by announcing their advocacy of the Church ‘blessing’ same-sex unions.
Arguably, this is the last century’s swiftest shift in social opinion. How did we get here?
It’s unhelpful to glower at the sexually unidentifiable person checking your groceries or the ‘gay’ dude next door and his multiple ‘friendships.’ We all contributed to weakening our moral ground.
Let’s start with our divorce culture. Marriage was once binding, divorce shameful. Civil authorities refused to grant divorce until both parties jumped through hoops. Then came no-fault divorce. Boom: out of one union, into another. We define marriage now. It’s on our terms.
Porn breaks our dignity and enslaves us to countless indignities. False images spoil us for real people, while diminishing our sexual confidence. Next stop, objectifying others for sex outside of love and relationship. Then, of course, we must separate sex from conceiving children. Contraception ensures that what we do with our bodies doesn’t produce other bodies, increasing our detachment from the meaning of love and responsibility to a person. If our device fails, we atone through abortion.
If Jim and Jane can have multiple partnerships and ensure no children, why shouldn’t Jim and John? Think about it. If our sexuality is not about children, then ‘gay’ unions are just as valid as ‘straight’ ones. And if sexual complementarity is no longer needed or esteemed, then why shouldn’t we traipse around in any sexual ‘self’ that seems right to us?
We have all broken facets of the Imago Dei. Just as the events of Jesus’ story are all related, so are the sexual idolatries of our day. For our muddying the waters, we repent; in our turning and rising, we seek new authority to rouse her Radiance. May a Spirited recommitment to chastity overtake our enslaving liberties. Come Lord.
‘Jesus, we are sorry for the mess we made. We contributed. We repent freely as to release liberty for captives, grace for their repentance. Thank You for Your house in which all persons can take shelter and begin again.’
‘Father, we thank You for Jesus who established the Church on a Rock against which hell will not prevail (Matt 16:18). We pray for every Christian leader to build on Her firm foundation of sexual clarity and integrity. Father, unmask the deceiver and divider of Christians and unite us in one Spirit. As weak members of Christ, we ask for truth to guide our pursuit of sexual wholeness, for grace to sustain it, and for spiritual power to transform us. May we reflect the chaste radiance of Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18) as we “shine like stars in the universe, holding out the word of life” (Phil. 2:15-16) to a lost and hurting world.’
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