The Good News of Sexuality

Good news is the Greek translation of the expression εὐαγγέλιον (euangélion), that is, gospel. In the religious sphere, sexuality is often relegated to the moral sphere and therefore declined in a series of precepts or, even worse, in norms that try to indicate what is sin and what is not.

To truly understand what sexuality means, it is necessary to go and see what Christian revelation teaches. Corinth was a pagan city, and activities such as prostitution were practiced there. The Christians who lived in that city therefore asked St. Paul how they should live and behave also with regard to the habits and customs of couples. To this community of the faithful, St. Paul explained how they should live their affective relationships and their relationship with their bodies.

It can be said – in summary – that, since man has free will, everyone is given the freedom to do what he wants, but there are edifying behaviors and others that are not. In this sense, the phrase "Glorify God in your body" is of the greatest importance. It is essential to highlight how St. Paul does not say to be on guard against the body, on the contrary he says to glorify God precisely with the body, even through the sexual act. For the Apostle says, "You are the temple of the Holy Spirit."

The body is that dimension in which the work, God's plan, is manifested, which is always a path of salvation and redemption. Redemption that applies in a strong and extraordinary way in our being human. In fact, since "Genesis" the concept of man and woman as "Imago Dei" has been present: the human being was created to represent and express, with his experience, the Love of God. Love in the human experience is realized in the communion between man and woman, which then generates attraction.

Benedict XVI, in the encyclical "Deus Caritas Est," says that "eros and agape" must be together. The Ancients, on the other hand, had isolated Eros and had also represented and deified him. Thanks to Jesus, we know that human love is an expression of divine Love. Even in love, however, there is the need to be always attentive and vigilant to the theme of sin. It is no coincidence that Jesus, according to the Gospel of John, begins his preaching precisely at the wedding feast of Cana, performing that beautiful sign which is the creation of the new wine, transmuting that water that needs to be renewed. Jesus has given us the model of this love which is Eucharistic, since it is a gift that is characterized by a nuptiality that then distinguishes our whole life.

We also find this invitation in the text of the Book of Revelation with the sentence: "Blessed are those who take part in the marriage feast of the Lamb". This is the fulfilment of our life, that is, that full and definitive nuptial union with the Lord which on the earthly journey can have a form of sacramental virginity or a sacramental form in marriage. Marriage represents the good news of a love redeemed and fulfilled in fullness, as Saint Paul recalls in chapter 5 of the Letter to the Ephesians. This mystery is truly great, in that it relates to the proclamation of Christ and to the Church, but also to human love. It is precisely this proclamation that is the good news that becomes the constitutive element of the Christian outlook on sexuality. The Gospel invests us with great responsibility on this journey that we must take when we enter the horizon of the good news that Christ came to give us, also with regard to human sexuality.