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“For
you have been purchased at a price. It may surprise many of us, but in this quote taken from the First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul is calling to mind the images of pornography and prostitution as these were commonplace and practiced in ancient Corinth. Recall that both of these behaviors require human beings to sell their bodies to other human beings who, in turn, have the sole purpose of engaging in sexual actions to experience sexual pleasure (in Greek, pornh). Whether in ancient Corinth or today, people engage in these behaviors based upon the false principle that they “own” their bodies and are their “masters.” Considered in another way, St. Paul is highlighting the difference between sexual relations as these occur in a sacramental marriage and those occurring when an individual hires a prostitute or purchases pornography. The “acts” themselves aren’t much different; but, the purpose for engaging in those acts is entirely different. In a sacramental marriage, sexual relations fulfill a unitive purpose. That is, they unite husband and wife in body, mind, and heart, so that the two become one flesh, united in God’s love. Sexual relations in a sacramental marriage also fulfill a procreative purpose. That is, assisted by God’s grace, husbands and wives participate in God’s on-going creative activity by begetting children and building holy families whose members glorify God in and through their bodies. In contrast to this divine plan, prostitution has as its sole purpose achieving sexual gratification by paying another individual to engage in sexual relations. Neither party to this monetary transaction has any unitive or procreative intent whatsoever. After all, that would be to violate the terms of the contract! Similarly, pornography has as its sole purpose achieving auto-sexual gratification by observing third parties who have engaged in or are engaging in sexual relations. And, because pornography does not involve direct contact with another human being, there is absolutely no unitive or procreative intent and there can be absolutely no unitive or procreative outcome. Sometimes pornography must be paid for; but, with the invention of the Internet, a lot of pornography is available for free. Viewed from this perspective, prostitution and pornography are “fraudulent” or “counterfeit” expressions of human sexuality. They make what is secondary—pleasure—primary and what is primary—its unitive and procreative aspects—secondary. These sins invert the proper ordering of human sexuality according to God’s plan because human beings come to believe that they understand all of these matters so much better than does God. In short, human beings make god and goddesses of themselves, idolize their sexuality, and worship at the altar of pleasure. Never do they consider what God has made their bodies for or their responsibilities to exert dominion over all of creation by “ordering the chaos,” just as God did at the creation of the universe. Insofar as St. Paul is concerned, if one is to live in Christ, that individual must reject any immoral use of the body—seeking pleasure for its own sake in the body—because God sent his only begotten Son to free humanity from the power of sin and insofar as St. Paul is concerned when this comes to the Corinthians, to liberate humanity from the seductive, addictive, and imprisoning power of experiencing bodily pleasure for its own sake. St. Paul reiterates that the human body “is not for immorality, but for the Lord,” because God purchased it at a higher price than any human being could ever pay a prostitute or a pornographer. What was that price? God sent his only begotten Son and Christ who, in turn, gave his life—which no sane person would willingly do simply to engage in sexual relations with a prostitute or pay for a pornographer’s movies, videos, magazines, or live shows. Historians and archeologists teach that ancient Corinth was very much like San Francisco, a bustling port city with hundreds of thousands if not millions of visitors who desired to take advantage of all that a bustling port city has to offer. In Corinth, prostitution was a very big business in that only one in three residents was a freeman, hopefully earning honorable wages. The other two thirds of the city’s residents were servants or slaves. To earn money to enjoy life in a bustling port city, many servants and slaves sold their bodies to provide sexual services to the welter of visitors who seemed to arrive with each high tide. In fact, promiscuity was so rampant in ancient Corinth that, unlike Las Vegas where “what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas,” people in the ancient world knew all about what was going on in Corinth and anyone who was accused of sexual impropriety was branded a “Corinthian.” Against this cultural background, St. Paul arrived in Corinth preaching a different way of life. Apparently, St. Paul was very successful in converting many who belonged to the servant and slave classes. However, after setting sail for other destinations, St. Paul was informed that many of his converts had lapsed back into their former way of life. That is why St. Paul wrote the Corinthians, invoking the images of prostitution and pornography so as to reinforce his teaching that Jesus came to set humanity free from sin, especially sins associated with abusing the gift of human sexuality by using their bodies for entirely selfish purposes, that is, absent its primary unitive and procreative purposes. Prostitution may not be as rampant in our culture as it was in ancient Corinth. But, Internet pornography is. Not only is adult pornography readily available and legal, but because it is so easily shrouded behind the fig leaves of privacy by those who use it, many people don’t realize that its pervasive presence makes pornography as addictive as any narcotic or drug. Nor do those who imbibe in pornography realize that it damages the unitive purpose of marriage and is now a growing cause of divorce. After all, what wife in her right mind aspires to be her husband’s “porno queen” and whose sole purpose is to provide sexual ecstasy to her husband, a Comcast of Verizon/Fios version of “On Demand”? Furthermore, Internet pornography doesn’t discriminate between religions, races, or cultures. It’s an equal opportunity slave owner. Pornography is also creating multiple psychological and sexual problems, especially for young males who feel powerless to extract themselves from this modern-day Arachne’s web once they are ensnared in it or have become like Tantalus whose eternal punishment was to keep grasping for what would always be just a bit beyond his reach. How very sad, no? And not just for those wives whose husbands who are addicted to pornography. What about those parents whose children have become entranced by what is nothing more than a bunch of electrified tantalizing pixels. See how thinking that one “owns” his or her body opens the door to using the body immorally and all rationality is out the door? As as as all of that is, how extremely sad it must be for young people—having made gods and goddesses of themselves, idolizing their sexuality, and now worshipping at the altar of pleasure—to feel so absolutely powerless that they are incapable of extricating themselves from this irrational self-deceit! What all of these people need is a divine Savior. And that is the point St. Paul is making to the Corinthians. Sin leads to powerlessness and the only power that is capable of lifting the powerless up is God’s almighty power. But, that requires admitting one’s powerlessness—that one doesn’t “own” one’s body—and to entrust one’s body back to its proper owner. How contradictory that is to how so many (if not most) people in our culture think! In his epistle, St. Paul was reminding the Corinthians that they had to change their minds as well as their behavior if they were to become free from the web of prostitution and pornography in which they, along with their culture, had become entangled. The change St. Paul was calling for was nothing short of radical, in the sense that it required learning that human beings don’t own their bodies, as if they are a commodity that can be sold and bought in the marketplace for the right price, of course. No, St. Paul taught, the human body belongs to God who has entrusted each of those bodies to a particular human being. God has also already freed every human being from sin—like the sins of prostitution and pornography—by paying the highest of all prices, namely, the death and resurrection of his only begotten Son. “The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body....you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body,” St. Paul challenges each of us today. We do so as we use our bodies to glorify God by uniting ourselves in God. Just because we may not engage in pornography or prostitution doesn’t mean we aren’t impacted by it. As these sins evolve beyond individuals, the poison spreads into marriages and families and then, into the fabric of culture itself. So, this week, let’s pray for all of those who are struggling mightily to be freed from these sins by realizing that God has already freed them and owns their bodies, paying for them at a very high price, indeed! Let’s also pray for those who aren’t even aware of their need to be freed from their slavery these sins. Finally, let’s pray for all of those who suffer due to their loved one’s participation in these sins. After all, Jesus taught that some demons can only be healed through prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21), making our prayers on behalf of these people an active sign of our love of God and neighbor.
A brief
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HOMILY
