Unmixing Mixed Marriages

An article in yesterday's New York Times said that the largest and most liberal Jewish group in America, Reformed Judaism wants to unmix mixed marriages by converting the spouse of a Jewish husband or wife. The concern is that the future of Judaism may be at stake.

In the Times article, Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman says,

"It's always been in the pot that's simmering," he said. "Maybe now this gives us a little bit of the O.K. — in Hebrew, hechsher, which means the validation or the stamp of approval — to elevate for discussion, or at least put it out there in a way that says this shouldn't be something we are afraid to do or talk about in a public setting."

What about Christianity? What should we do when a Christian is married to either a non-believer or a person of another faith tradition? The one directly applicable piece of scripture is in I Corinthians 7:12-14 where Paul writes,

Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. And if a Christian woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not have a godly influence, but now they are set apart for him. (New Living Translation)

I know this can be an ongoing struggle within a family. How can a church assist a faithful Christian spouse as he or she seeks to pray their wife or husband into a real and lasting relationship with God through his Son Jesus Christ?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church