
The work of Satan, the great divider, or separator, is not new, it goes back to Christ, Himself, His Apostles and Disciples and many early Christians. They were criminals in the eyes of the law, the state. We know from the Holy Gospels and historical accounts that real possession by Satan can occur. However as one Christian author C.S. Lewis, has pointed out most of the work of Satan is not done by him or his demons, but by us, that is to say, people like you and I. Lewis writes a fictional account of an experienced devil or demon named Screwtape who teaching a novice devil, his nephew called Wormwood to adopt a “war aim,” that would entail a, “world in which Our Father Below has drawn all other beings to himself….” (p. 38). The moral of the story boils down to this: ‘you don’t have to do much, you can more or less stand back and people will do the Devil’s work for you.’ This is due to the brokenness, weaknesses, biases, foibles, prejudices and passions we all have, which of course we have inherited from our ancestral parents. (Gn 3)

A couple decades ago some individuals were saying that the ultimate goal of the gay-rights movement was the ‘criminalization of Christianity.’ I would not have believed it if I had heard of it at that time – but I surely know it is true now. A self-proclaimed lesbian mayor of a major Texas city recently tried to subpoena the homilies of pastors in her jurisdiction. She was looking for any criticism of so called ‘gay-marriage’ as it would be a hate-crime subject to prosecution. Her office was flooded with books of the Sacred Scriptures. Because of the public outcry the investigation has been temporarily halted. However in Europe, supposedly an enlightened area of the world, criminalization of church leaders who preached on homosexuality have already been prosecuted. A Swedish court sentenced a pastor to a month in prison by inciting hate by quoting Scripture and thus offending gays and lesbians. A news account reported that the prosecutor said the homilist crossed the line when he recited Scriptural verses referencing homosexuality. (Folger, 2005) By the way, the term ‘gay marriage’ is an oxymoron – that is to say a contradiction of terms. The Apostolic Churches have taught that the marital commitment is a reflection of the love of the persons of the Holy Trinity amongst themselves and that the potential for procreation between the male and female united in a blessed marriage reflects God’s creation of the cosmos and specifically mankind. “Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh.” (Gn 2: 24).

Where is this reflection leading? It is leading to saying that that segment of secular and politically correct society and sadly even among those claiming to be Christian themselves, that seeks to persecute and criminalize Christ and His Church Christians for proclaiming God’s message to mankind is in dire need of healing. It is also to point out the unique diaconia of the SSJC and actually all who are baptized unto Christ is to witness the solidarity of the Apostolic Churches on such moral matters. The grace to do this was by our entry into the Royal Priesthood of Christ bestowed on us at Holy Baptism. Let us all exercise this gift according to our state of life and become the physicians, next to Christ, the chief physician, of ourselves and all whom we touch.