Sexual Morality Homily: The Rainbow as a sign of God's Covenant

The Rainbow as a Sign of God’s Covenant

As we come to the conclusion of our Pre-Cana marriage-prep retreat, it is fitting that this Sunday’s first reading for the First Sunday of Lent are on covenant. Marriage is a covenant. This has been the theme of our retreat in the course of our time together. While the world reduces marriage to the signing of papers, Jesus Christ has raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament. While the signing of papers is most definitely involved in a marriage, there is much more to the sacrament of matrimony than that. Matrimony is not merely a contract. Recall that the difference between a contract and a covenant is this: while a contract is an exchange of goods, services, or property, a covenant is an exchange of persons. Matrimony is not just a contract to be signed by two parties; it is a covenant between two people (more specifically, between a man and a woman) who desire and freely chose a life of communion together that is faithful, fruitful, and forever.

Covenant not only gets to the heart of marriage, but it gets to the heart of the Bible too! According to Scott Hahn, if one were to look at the Bible through the lens of “covenant” it makes more sense. As Catholic Christians, this is most easily recognized in the context of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Jesus Christ established the new covenant in his blood (Lk 22:20). However, in the Old Testament, there was the old covenant God made with man. In fact, there were several. Without going into each of these in turn, I’d like to focus on one: God’s covenant with Noah.

We’re all familiar with the story of Noah and the flood. God sends a powerful flood over the earth to destroy everything save Noah and his family. Then what happens? God establishes a covenant with Noah and his descendants: “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you (Gen 9:9). In this covenantal promise, not only does God spare Noah and his family, but he promises to never flood the earth again! “I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood (9:11).

This was good news for Noah, and it is good news for us! Next, we read that the Lord’s covenantal promise came with a sign. What was it? The bow in the clouds: "This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you. I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth” (9:12-13).

Here is a question: do we recognize the rainbow as the covenantal sign of God’s promise? Many of us will be quick to realize that the rainbow has taken on a different meaning today. The rainbow has become a symbol that represents the diversity of human sexuality and gender identity. It’s no secret that the Church’s understanding of sexuality and gender is radically different from what the world understands each of these to mean. I can’t speak on everything here, so I would like to shift the focus to the Church’s teaching on same-sex attraction.

Now, I know this is an uncomfortable topic. Most of us (if not all of us) have loved ones who struggle with the Church’s teaching on sexuality, especially when it comes to the Church’s teaching on same-sex attraction. However, it is important for us to know what we believe as Catholics, why we believe it, and how to share our faith with others in a loving and respectful way.

I will not be able to get to everything in this homily so I will be sure to provide solid resources before concluding. First, as Catholics, what do we believe regarding same-sex attraction? As Catholic Christians we recognize that many people in our world are sexually attracted to members of the same sex. Now, before getting into the morality of homosexual acts, there is something worth acknowledging: every single human being is loved by God. The Church teaches that there is not a single human being who has lived, is living, or will live, that Jesus Christ did not suffer and die for. No matter what someone has done or what they struggle with, there is always hope in the love and mercy of God. God predestines no-one to hell; everyone is called to heaven through the blood of Jesus Christ poured out for us on the cross for our salvation.

When it comes to a person who finds themselves with same-sex attraction, the starting point is that they are loved by God just like anyone else. In fact, it’s not just that they are loved by God, but that we are loved by God. In other words, it’s not just “those people” who need a reminder of God’s love; it’s all of “us” the human family. It’s not an us and them mentality that is needed. God’s love is unconditional for each person. If the love of God and the acknowledgment that all of us God’s merciful love is not our point of departure, then we are stepping off on the wrong foot.

Being loved by God does not mean he approves all our attractions and or our actions. We all have attractions to things that are sinful (like stealing, lying, fornication, etc.) this is called “concupiscence”. This fancy term means, as G.K. Chesterton put it, “we’re all in the same boat and we’re all sea-sick.” Again, we’re all sinner in need of God’s mercy because not only do we have illicit desires, but we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.

Within this framework we can understand that the Church teaches, based on Sacred Scripture that it is a sin to be sexually intimate with members of the same sex.