A most remarkable thing happened in Ireland on the weekend. No, I am not referring to the result of the referendum that gave the green light to homosexual marriage in Ireland, although the outcome of the vote was a natural consequence of what happened. I am referring to something else entirely. In the Bible, King Solomon of Israel tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. Both he and Moses talk about times and seasons, referring to particular patterns that God follows in order to reveal his plan for the salvation of mankind and to bring that plan to fruition. What many would not realise is that this past weekend was one such appointed time in God’s diary.
The appointed time, scheduled every year since
the time of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, is the festival of
Shavuot, better known to Christians as Pentecost. For Christians, it is a
celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit in fulfilment of the promise made
by Jesus to send the Comforter to us to be with us forever. For Jews, it is a celebration
of God giving the Torah, the commandments of God, to Moses and the people of
Israel at Mt Sinai. While Christians and Jews each celebrate the festival
differently and for different reasons, it was not meant to be that way. The two
reasons are not mutually exclusive because one cannot comply with the
commandments of God without the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit needs the
commandments of God to lead and guide the people.
At Mt Sinai, God had invited the
people of Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation set apart from
all others. All they had to do was to obey Him and keep the covenant, to which
they readily agreed. Israel witnessed God descend upon the mountain in fire and
smoke, with lightning and thunder, and with the sound of a trumpet blast. Such
was the fear and trembling of the people of Israel that they asked for God to not
speak to them. Their refusal to allow God to speak was the first time that the
people of Israel wholly rejected the word of God, and in all probability, the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit that was to come with the giving of the
commandments. After this, it did not go well for them. The people soon fashioned
a golden calf to worship as the God who brought them out of Egypt. Then they
complained about the manna from heaven and many died after eating quail.
Finally, they were condemned to spend 40 years in the desert for believing the
bad report of the Promised Land. The generation that escaped the bondage of
slavery in Egypt died there in the desert.
The comparison for Ireland is
stark. On the very day of the celebration of the commandments of God being
given to his people, Ireland votes for constitutional recognition of same sex
marriage, effectively questioning the efficacy of God’s commandments regarding
homosexuality and marriage. While only 37.3% of the electorate voted in favour,
the 40% who didn’t bother voting effectively took an affirmative position
regardless of whether they were disengaged or protesting the vote. Together,
they asked for God to not speak to them.
While it can be argued as to why
Ireland would reject God’s commandments, one would not have to look too much
further than the Catholic Church and their handling of the child sexual abuse
scandal. In not dealing with the issue openly and compassionately, the Catholic
Church surrendered the moral high ground and echoed hypocrisy in mounting a
defence for traditional marriage. The public, rightly or wrongly, rejected
their position as hollow grandstanding and voted accordingly, at the same time
rejecting God who was seen as being represented by the Catholic Church.
Now that the resolution is passed
in Ireland, it is certainly a history making event. Previously, in countries
and states where same sex marriage became legal, it was due to a handful of people,
judges and politicians, making the decision on behalf of the population. It is
certainly unique in my lifetime that an entire population has voted to reject
God outright. Being the loving God that He is, He will step back and not poke
His nose in where it is not wanted. He will let his beloved children walk away.
Meanwhile, we will wait the unfolding of the rest of the pattern: the building
of the golden calf; the complaints about the manna from heaven; the bad reports
of this Promised Land; and the most frightening prospect of all, of how it will
conclude after one generation.
