Should We Be Surprised?

As we all know, the California Supreme Court recently decided to make same sex marriage a fundamental right. Needless to say, this has created quite a stir. Michael Uhlmann states in his article A New Sexual Constitution?:

On May 15, a 4-3 majority of the California Supreme Court rewrote the state constitution and decreed that same-sex marriage was now a “fundamental” right. In a stunning display of disingenuous humility, the court had the brass to assert that it was not stating a policy preference, but only interpreting the people’s will as expressed in the state’s highest law. But California’s constitution says nothing about same-sex marriage, and the people of California made their will abundantly clear as recently as 2000, when they overwhelmingly passed a legislative initiative defining marriage as a union between man and woman.

The thing that strikes me about this is that four people made this decision for the entire state. Four People! I have no idea how they find same sex marriage addressed in the constitution. But, then again, I am not a lawyer. Chief Justice, Ronald M. George wrote the majority opinion and was quoted as saying, "I think there are times when doing the right thing means not playing it safe." I agree with that quote. Doing the right thing does mean not playing it safe; especially when one is defending the rights of others, which is what the Court believes it has done.

The problem is that they are dealing with marriage. The sacrament of matrimony is more than just two people who love each other getting together to share a life. It is more than being able to file a joint tax return or reap legal benefits granted by the government. Matrimony is about the communion of persons as God intended from the beginning. Look no further than Matthew 19 to see Jesus' teaching on marriage:

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?" [4] He answered, "Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, [5] and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? [6] So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."

Notice that Jesus is referring to the "beginning." Genesis 1:27 states: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Male and female make up "man." And "man" is created in the image of God. Male and Female image God in the one flesh union of the marriage act. That can't take place in a same sex union. It requires a male and a female. Why?

If God is a communion of persons, then we are to be a communion of persons. But wait, God is the communion of Three Persons in the Blessed Trinity and Man is just a communion of two persons. Where is the third person of the human communion of persons? Well my wife and I have four of them. They are named Dawson, Nevan, Aidan and Jabin. The love between a husband and wife is so real that a third person is created. That is how we image God.

The problem is that many of the folks who are screaming about the sanctity of marriage don't see it that way. With rampant use of contraceptives most married couples have negated the third person of the family by reducing the marital act to a pleasurable experience. Husbands and wives are simply using each other for pleasure. How is that different from that which a same sex couple can accomplish? The thing that sets a marriage apart is life giving love. If the life is taken out of the equation by way of contraception, then it is no different than any other act between two people who "love" each other.

If we want to protect the sanctity of marriage, then we better take a hard look at how we can protect the sanctity of life. When it comes to life and marriage, God has brought them together, let no man put them asunder. So really, should we be surprised?