Op-Ed: The law of love
I am the Presbyterian Campus Minister for the United Campus Christian Ministry at Stanford University. I am opposed to Proposition 8, which will eliminate the right to marry for same-sex couples, for two reasons.
The first reason is entirely secular but nonetheless important. Prop. 8 is unjust because it will make gay and lesbian members of our community second-class citizens who have most of the rights, but not all the rights that the rest of us enjoy. It allows the rights of a minority to be taken away by the vote of the majority. Those of us who may be in the majority today may find ourselves in the minority tomorrow or the next day. Would we want our rights eliminated by a vote of the majority, however well rationalized? I dare say we would not.
Second, as a Christian, I believe that Prop. 8 violates the law of love. This may require some explanation. Jesus’ ministry was directed towards those who were the outcasts of society whether they were the poor, the sick and lame, non-Jews (such as Greeks and Samaritans) or sinners — in other words, all those who were considered to be ritualistically “unclean.” Jesus’ ministry was a ministry of inclusion, not exclusion. Jesus broke down the walls of division and proclaimed that the reign of God is without borders. The Apostle Paul goes so far as to proclaim: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28, New Revised Standard Version)
Why does the reign of God have no fences or borders? Because the love of God knows no limit — it is boundless. Contrary to what you may have heard, there is no “in” group or “out” group. So what does this have to do with the law of love? It means that we are guided not by the religious checklist of “do’s” and “don’ts,” but by a higher and truer law of love. Does that mean that anything goes or that there are no guidelines? Quite the contrary, we are compelled to speak and act for those things in life that expand, enlarge and spread the message and actions of love. It means that we must surrender to the mystery of love and to the realization that our attempts to fence it in and define it are at best feeble and perhaps even arrogant.
I have been fortunate enough to know many same-sex couples, and they have never failed to deepen my understanding of love and commitment. Just as we once thought that the definition of family was Ozzie and Harriet and 2.4 children, so now we know that families come in all shapes and sizes, colors and genders. The law of love, like the laws of nature, will not be controlled or confined. Such is the law of love, always breaking boundaries. It’s time to get out of the way and let love have its way. Our world will be the better for it.
The Rev. Geoff Browning
Campus Minister, United Campus Christian Ministry at Stanford University
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