Legal is not Moral

I was watching the news yesterday, and heard it was leaked that the United States Supreme Court was going to overturn Roe v Wade when it rules soon on a case it heard recently. On the one hand, this would be a great blessing to our society to end abortion, but I fear it will never end. In light of today’s Scripture passages, and in light of the Saints we commemorate, I was reminded that we don’t need to wait for abortion to be illegal. We can end it now!

We have fallen into a trap as American Christians over the past two centuries. Our faith has been, for the most part, endorsed and upheld by the society laws which govern us. While we have been fighting the legal status of abortion for the past fifty years, more and more Orthodox Christians have chosen abortion over birth, and decided the Church was wrong on her stand against abortion. “But its legal!” These are the words that cry from our own faithful, but it was not always so.

In those days, while the apostles were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the morrow, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to about five thousand. On the morrow their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well.” – Acts 4.1-10

The Lord said to his disciples: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.” – John 3.16-21

It may difficult to remember, but there was a time when faithful Orthodox Christians believed in a moral standard that was NOT endorsed and upheld by the government. The Apostles were arrested ‘just for healing’ in the Name of Jesus. Even face-to-face with Christ, many refused to join the light, because they preferred the darkness of their sin. Not much has changed. There are still Christians persecuted for not believing in the state-sponsored healing practices, and too many (even Orthodox Christians) cling to sin rather than enter the Life-Giving Light we just celebrated at Pascha less than two weeks ago.

Despite the state-sponsored persecution, thousands believed and were baptized. Despite being threatened with martyrdom, countless saints have stood up against sin for centuries. It begs the question. “Why are we waiting for abortion to become illegal to stop it? Why don’t we ‘one-by-one’ work with women in crisis and inspire them to a New Life In Christ? Isn’t that the message of Pascha?

Why do we patiently endure countless women falling into the sin of abortion, when we should be working with them to carry their babies to term, assuring them they are not alone. The Church has done a great job over the years preaching what is wrong, but a lousy job preaching how to repent when we make mistakes. Instead, we leave it to schools and governments to teach the faithful what is moral and right. Legal is not moral, if it goes against the teachings of the Church and love of God.

The issue isn’t limited to abortion. There are many sins that are legal, and therefore endorsed by society. Greed and gluttony might be legal, but they are still not moral. It’s time we chose to Live A New Life In Christ, and stop waiting for the government to endorse us before we change.