'Is Christian morality really that complicated?'
Sermon preached in St Salvator's Chapel, St Andrews on 23rd October 2011 by the Rev T David Watson
Readings: Leviticus 19: 1 – 2, 15 – 18 and Matthew 22: 34 – 46
Lord, as we study together the teaching of our Saviour Jesus Christ, grant that we may become more truly his disciples. Amen.
When I was at university students there was a massive notice board which was completely covered in advertisements for second hand text books.
One notice stood out it read in large letters Free Sex.
On closer inspection it read not really free sex but these books are for sale…
It was a clever advertising ploy because I would be prepared to bet that most students would have read that advert. When we look at the gospels Jesus rarely mentions sex
In discussing morality Jesus mentions money seven times more often than he mentions sex.
Morality is about how we use our power and influence do we use our money and sexuality and influence for our own selfish ends, or do we think about how God wants us to be? Morality and the choices we make and may seem complicated.
Yet for Jesus morality seems to be surprisingly simple:
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
It seems to me that we in the church tend to get ourselves tied up in knots over sexual morality and in particular over the issue of same sex relationships and gay clergy.
The Scottish Government is currently having a consultation on gay marriage.
At one time the church’s position on sexual morality was clear and simple abstinence before marriage and fidelity within it.
People today typically get married in their late twenties, thirties or forties. It is fine to be chaste if you marry at 16 but morality is a lot more complicated now. So what should be the Christian attitude to sex and sexuality be in 2011?
The church has tended to point out the negative consequences for society in the trends which are perceived to undermine the importance of marriage. The tendency for couples to live together before getting married, the number of children being born outside marriage, sexual promiscuity, unwanted pregnancies and same sex relationships. There is no doubt that children thrive in stable families with two parents who love each other. That is an ideal, but can it work for everyone? What about gay people?
I have a confession to make, I am left handed.
At one time not too long ago people who were left handed were regarded as deviant. The word sinister is the Latin word for left. A left handed child was beaten into submission and made to be right handed.
Now I think we are more enlightened, apart from the fact that pens in the bank are always chained to the right hand side!
Human sexuality is a bit like being right or left handed some people are gay and some people are straight. We don’t choose it but that’s how we are, far from trying to make everyone conform to a norm we should celebrate the glorious diversity of the world that God has made.
Gay rights are a struggle for equality and liberation and it frustrates me that the church which fought for the abolition of slavery for racial equality, for workers rights, for women’s rights, for an end to apartheid, for Fair Trade and global justice and a responsible stewardship of the environment should be so far behind the curve on the issue of issues around human sexuality.
What are the common principles that should inform our thinking about sexual morality irrespective of whether people are gay or heterosexual?
What I think that we in the church should be doing is rather than condemning society’s values, we should try instead to promote Christian values in a positive way that is attractive and that can make sense in the society in which we live.
People do see that a series of shallow relationships is no way to live, there is no satisfaction in relationships which don’t involve love and commitment.
When you look at any piece of fine silver you will find on it the marks placed there by the jeweller or manufacturer. These markings are called hallmarks and they have that name because originally all items made of silver whether jugs, tankards, dishes, salvers, utensils or jewellery were produced by a member of a guild or union, and at one time those guild members both met and worked in large rooms called halls.
Hallmarks are marked into every item for two reasons, Firstly to show that the item is actually what it appears to be that it is in fact an item made of pure silver not some alloy. So a hall mark is a guarantee of purity or quality.
Secondly it tells you where it was manufactured. Hallmarks often incorporate a crest into the markings. If there is a leopard's head - that piece comes from London. If there is a castle is the mark of Edinburgh. Sheffield a crown, Birmingham an anchor and so on.
What should be the hallmarks of a Christian relationship?.
Jesus said :‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
There are I think three key principle to Christian relationships Love, fidelity and respect.
The church has promoted marriage because it embodies those principles of Love, fidelity and respect. It is foolish to pretend that sexual relations can be a recreational activity in which everyone can have fun and no one gets hurt.
People do get hurt and very badly hurt sometimes when relationships break down. Not just the adults involved but the children too.
Sexual promiscuity is also damaging as the more relationships one has, the harder it is to form a relationship which lasts. We all carry baggage from previous relationships to future relationships.
There is a belief by many that the church’s policy is to stop people having fun. Nothing could be further from the truth,
Jesus said: I come to bring you life in all it’s fullness.
We promote marriage because we believe it is God’s will that people should experience relationships that are fulfilling and life enhancing, rather than shallow and superficial and ultimately life denying.
The gospel was preached in a culture where Jewish women had few rights and virtually no grounds for divorce, whereas the man held all the cards.
He merely had to give her a bill of divorce properly written out by a Rabbi in front of two witnesses, return her dowry and the marriage was over.
At that time the very institution of marriage was threatened, because Jewish girls were refusing to marry since their position was so uncertain.
The well-to-do Greeks kept their wives virtual prisoners for the purposes of procreation and household management while they had their courtesans and concubines.
At that time too Roman women too had virtually no rights, Seneca wrote that: women married to divorce and divorced to marry.
Martial tells of one woman who had ten husbands Juvenal tells of one woman who had eight husbands in the space of five years.
The Christian ideal of marriage was very high. .When husbands and wives would honour and respect each other. It is impossible to exaggerate the cleansing effect that Christianity had on home life in the ancient world, and on the benefits it brought to women and children.
Faithfulness fidelity and respect were the principles which were to make Christian relationships distinctive.
All around relationships were made and broken. There was no stability and no security for women or children. Home lives were in utter ruins.
In our modern context my personal view is that we should abolish civil partnerships and make marriage open to couples regardless of their sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is not a matter of choice morality is. The same principles should apply to gay couples as heterosexual couples. Love, fidelity and respect should apply equally to gay couples. Why should gay people aspire to lesser standards than straight people?
Love, fidelity and respect are the hallmarks of Christian relationships. This is the standard by which we measure all our other relationships,
Are we loving, faithful and respectful to our friends?
Are we loving, faithful and respectful to our families?
Are we loving, faithful and respectful to the ones we love?
Are we loving, faithful and respectful to our God?
What makes Christians distinctive is their fidelity, their faithfulness the quality of their commitments to each other and to God.
It’s not that easy to pick ones way through the moral maze. There are a whole lot of complex issues around sexual morality. Sexual promiscuity damages homosexual and heterosexual people.
We cannot choose our sexuality it is largely determined, but we can all decide how we use our sexuality. Morality is about the choices we make.
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
The hallmarks of Christian relationships are love, fidelity, respect. We know in our hearts whether we are being true to God, true to ourselves and true to those who love us.
Glory be to the Father to the Son and the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end, Amen