The Rev. Dr. Arvin R. Luchs is the senior pastor at Portland's First United Methodist Church. This is the congregation I served as director of community outreach before leaving for seminary. Every two weeks the church publishes a newsletter called The Circuit Rider. With Arvin’s permission, I’m posting the article he wrote for the most recent edition of the newsletter on gay and lesbian marriages in Multnomah County.

Years ago a colleague observed, "Maturity is the ability to live with ambiguity." If that is true, this is a time that demands exceptional maturity. I am finding that clear answers are elusive-questions persist. Looking at the future there is more uncertainty than clarity. Perhaps that's always the way it is in moments of swift change. And that's what's happening these days.

Like restive magma, boiling, pushing and straining against it's earthen cap, the movement to remove legal barriers to marriage for same-sex couples seems to be erupting in communities large and small across our country--including our own. Some believe the momentum is unstoppable. Six couples in our congregation have already taken vows. For many of us it is a long overdue acknowledgment of basic human rights and dignity. For others, it is a deeply troubling change that augers the erosion of cherished values. And I ask, is this the bellwether of an new age of civility-or the harbinger of protracted conflict and acrimonious polarization?

My heart is touched and I celebrate with friends involved in deeply loving relationships who exuberantly embrace this never-dreamed-possible-day when they can be legally married. To witness any couples who, through tear-streaked eyes and trembling lips, offer their love and faithfulness "as long as we both shall live" is a tender, even sacred moment. For same-sex couples it demands an extraordinary courage. They face troubling questions:
will they be able to grow old together in marriage-or will legal challenges prevail and their license be revoked? Will this day of joy dissolve into nights of despair?

I struggle with the responsibility to be a pastor to all the people in the parish. It is both a humbling duty and a precious trust to serve with you, to search with you for God's will, to laugh with you for joy, to weep with you in distress and to love you through it all. Brenda and I were ordained to do all in our power, with God's help, to provide support and counsel in such moments. Yet the same denomination, which set us to the task, appears to contradict its mandate by forbidding our pastoral care to some of our parishioners when they seek the covenant of marriage. We pray for that day when we will be able to fully participate in this important time in our parishioners' lives. I wonder: will the Spirit mediate change in United Methodism-or will the dissonance continue?

On this issue the people of Christ are deeply divided. Men and women of faith, open to discern the leading of the Spirit, have come to differing conclusions. I'm aware we do not all agree within this congregation--even, sometimes, within our own households. Tony Campolo, speaking last week to an audience in Portland, indicated that he and his wife differ--she supports and he opposes same sex marriages. It has pushed theologians to a core debate about the "authority" of the Bible: does the scripture contain "the Word of God"or is it, literally, "the words of God?" (to borrow a distinction from Marcus Borg [The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith, Harper San Francisco, 2003, p. 8]) Too often the debate has turned to name-calling and judgementalism. Attempts to build bridges of communication between brothers and sisters in faith too often degenerate into frustrating diatribe. I grieve: will we find both the patience and the words that enables us to dialogue and work together--or will the church-the body of Christ-be broken yet further?

The scriptures know about change. The Gospel is about God's reconciling love and about the in-breaking of God's reign. Jesus said none of us have a grasp of what the future will bring. (cf Mt 9:30, 11:37) He urged leaving it to God and living with trust in the present and not in anxiety about tomorrow (see Mt 6:25ff) The letter to the Hebrews says: to be faithful is to accept that we must live with hope and trust in God--not certainty. Good words for changing times.

Arvin R. Luchs

Next Wednesday, as part of the church’s Lenten Supper Series, my friend Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz will be speaking. I’m sorry to miss that.