Monday, June 16, 2008

This Is the Day

This is the day our God has made!
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

This is the day that thousands of faithful, loving couples will celebrate their long awaited weddings as the California Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage goes into effect at 8 PM EDT.

Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin will be the first couple to tie the knot in San Francisco, waiting over 55 years for their partnership and love to finally be made legal. First married during the Winter of Love in San Francisco when same-sex marriage licenses were issued but then later nullified, Lyon and Martin are looking forward to this evening's service as a sign and symbol of both their lifelong love and advocacy. The two of them, along with six other women, founded the first national lesbian advocacy organization in 1955. Now, half a decade later, they celebrate just one of the many fruits of their labors as they marry.

This is the day our God has made! We should rejoice and be glad in it for faithful couples are celebrating mutual love, commitment and equality. Just as May 17th, 2004 has gone down in the history books as the day marriage became equal in Massachusetts, so also will the world remember June 16th. These days mark the moments when justice prevailed and marriage became more meaningful for all...heterosexual and same-sex couples alike.

Although this fall there will be a ballot initiative seeking to nullify these Californian marriages, the Spirit of equality is sweeping through our nation. It will not be long now before all will enjoy the right to marry who they love.

Our faith tradition tells us that in the end love is always more powerful than hate. And so, today we celebrate this victory of love in our midst and glimpse for a moment the kin-dom of God made real in the life and loves of these Californian couples. Thanks be to God for their faithfulness, love and commitment!

This is the day our God has made!
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am committed Christian, and I feel somewhat guilty, but I harbor such hate for the bigots who want to take marriage and the affirmation that it brings away from us.

This is the day to be glad, indeed. But I can never forget that there is a large number of people who hate us, and who need to be fought tooth and nail until their hatred and bigotry no longer have power to harm.