Category: Daily Office (Page 52 of 70)

Majority of One – From the Daily Office – November 7, 2012

November 8, 2012 / eric / 0 Comments

From Luke’s Gospel:

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

(From the Daily Office Lectionary – Luke 13:10-17 – November 7, 2012)

Jesus Heals the Crippled Woman Doing that which is right in the face of an opposition which has tradition and law on its side. That’s what this gospel story is about. This is not simply another story of Jesus’ healing someone.

This healing occurred on the sabbath, a day when one was not supposed to do work. Treating the sick was considered work. Jesus’ worked on the sabbath. The synagogue ruler was outraged. But Jesus made a comparison. Untying knots was also considered work, but on the sabbath one would do that to untie a farm animal so that it might drink; can one do less for a human being? The synagogue ruler, and the tradition and the law which he represented, were silenced.

President Andrew Jackson is reported to have said, “One man with courage makes a majority.” In an essay entitled Civil Disobedience in 1849, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one.” They might have used Jesus in this story as an illustration.

A majority of one is not an isolated individual. The person who is committed to standing for and doing that which is right, even in the face of tradition and law, demonstrates a commitment to a way of thinking and feeling, a spritual depth that influences the consciousness of others. By the force of its truth, Jesus compassion for the crippled woman shamed his opponents and converted the crowd to his way of thinking, to his way of being. A person does need not to be the Son of God to do this; he or she needs only to be a majority of one.

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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.

The Sun Will Rise on Wednesday – From the Daily Office – November 6, 2012

November 6, 2012 / eric / 0 Comments

From the Book of Revelation:

I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
“Great and amazing are your deeds,
Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations!
Lord, who will not fear
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your judgements have been revealed.”

(From the Daily Office Lectionary – Revelation 15:2-4 – November 6, 2012)

This song of praise from the Revelation to St. John of Patmos is a wonderful reminder on Election Day: God is the king of the nations; he alone is holy. Remember that when you go to the polls today. We are electing political leaders, not religious ones, and certainly not a savior.

In the Psalms there is another such reminder:

Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, for there is no help in them.
When they breathe their last, they return to earth, and in that day their thoughts perish.
(Ps. 146:2-3, BCP version)

Today just happens to be the commemoration of one of Anglicanism’s greatest theologians, Archbishop William Temple, who served as archbishop of Canterbury near the end of the Second World War. He served in that post only two years, from his appointment in 1942 to his death in October, 1944. He was a prolific author of philosophy and theology, and served in the episcopate for over twenty years (Bishop of Manchester, 1921-29, and Archbishop of York, 1929-42).

Addressing the 1938 Lambeth Conference (a decennial gathering of Anglican bishops), he said:

While we deliberate, God reigns.
When we decide wisely, God reigns.
When we decide foolishly, God reigns.
When we serve God in humble loyalty, God reigns.
When we serve God self-assertively, God reigns.
When we rebel and seek to withhold our service God reigns –
The Alpha and the Omega, which is and which was,
And which is to come, the Almighty.

John of Patmos, the Psalmist, Archbishop Temple . . . they all remind us, as does the graphic annexed to this little bit of prose, that no matter who is elected, Jesus is king; no matter how we decide, God reigns.

Or as Jesus would say, the sun will rise on Wednesday.

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Coffee with Jesus is from Radio Free Babylon’s Facebook page.

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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.

The Wisdom of Labor – From the Daily Office – November 5, 2012

November 5, 2012 / eric / 0 Comments

From the Book of Ben Sira:

The wisdom of the scribe depends on the opportunity of leisure;
only the one who has little business can become wise.
How can one become wise who handles the plough,
and who glories in the shaft of a goad,
who drives oxen and is occupied with their work,
and whose talk is about bulls?

(From the Daily Office Lectionary – Sirach 38:24-25 – November 5, 2012)

Laborer with Large Wrench A few years ago I used this text in an affirmative way at a mass in celebration of our country’s legal system and those who practice law at the bar or sit on the bench as judges, but as I reflect on this text today, I find it unacceptably elitist. Although in subsequent verses Ben Sira extolls the diligence and care taken by craftspeople and laborers, those who “rely on their hands, and all [who] are skilful in their own work,” (v. 31) he conludes that they “do [not] understand the decisions of the courts; they cannot expound discipline or judgement.” (v. 33) Workers cannot be wise in his estimation!

I disagree with Ben Sira. My late step-father was a skilled craftsman whom Ben Sira would have written-off as a manual laborer incapable of gaining wisdom. He was a tool-and-die maker; he was also one of the wisest men I’ve ever known. We often disagreed on matters of politics or economics, but in regard to the ways of getting on with people, being of service to his community, and respecting and caring for his friends, I looked up to him as to no other.

I rather think St. Benedict of Nursia also would have disagreed with Ben Sira! He required manual labor of his monks. Chapter 48 of the Rule of Benedict provides:

Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore, the brothers should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading. We believe that the times for both may be arranged as follows: From Easter to the first of October, they will spend their mornings after Prime till about the fourth hour at whatever work needs to be done. From the fourth hour until the time of Sext, they will devote themselves to reading. But after Sext and their meal, they may rest on their beds in complete silence; should a brother wish to read privately, let him do so, but without disturbing the others. They should say None a little early, about midway through the eighth hour, and then until Vespers they are to return to whatever work is necessary. They must not become distressed if local conditions or their poverty should force them to do the harvesting themselves. When they live by the labor of their hands, as our fathers and the apostles did, then they are really monks. Yet, all things are to be done with moderation on account of the fainthearted.

Those who work with their hands, who do what my maternal grandfather (a professional barber) would have called “an honest day’s work,” learn many things. First, they learn to identify priorities; they have a goal to achieve and learn to do things in an appropriate order to accomplish it. Second, they learn the value of cooperation with others; helping a co-worker in need, picking up the slack when someone else is unable to work, accepting the assitance of others, all of these are learned when working with others. Third, they learn essential skills transferable between jobs: time management, communication, coping with stress, creative thinking, problem solving techniques. I learned lessons such as these from my grandfather and from my step-father.

Ben Sira is, frankly, wrong. Manual labor or working at a craft are wonderful schools for wisdom; I think this is why St Benedict required it of his monks. It is certainly why my grandfather and my step-father were such wise men.

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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.

Hostess Gifts For God – From the Daily Office – November 3, 2012

November 3, 2012 / eric / 0 Comments

From the Book of Ben Sira:

Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed,
for all that you offer is in fulfilment of the commandment.
The offering of the righteous enriches the altar,
and its pleasing odor rises before the Most High.
The sacrifice of the righteous is acceptable,
and it will never be forgotten.
Be generous when you worship the Lord,
and do not stint the first fruits of your hands.

(From the Daily Office Lectionary – Sirach 35:6-10 – November 3, 2012)

Host and Hostess Gifts It shouldn’t, but it always surprises me when I preside at a worship service and the offering of alms (cash money) is small. This is especially so at a small-attendance service when there are only a few people but even fewer dollars in the plate. It surprises me, I suppose, because of something I was taught by my grandfather. It shouldn’t surprise me, I suppose, because of the realities of which I am aware.

Those realities include the fact that many of those present have made their weekly or monthly pledge offerings at another time during the week, at a principal service or, perhaps, by mail or by direct deposit. Those realities include the fact that many people no longer carry cash at all and have no small bills or change to put in the alms basin. Those realities include the fact that many who give prefer to do so in a way that can be tracked for tax or other purposes and one cannot do that with “anonymous” cash donations. I know all these realities and yet, because of what my grandfather taught me, I am still surprised at how few alms there are in the offering basin.

What my paternal grandfather taught me accord’s with Ben Sira’s words in today’s lesson. He said, “Never approach the altar of God without a gift of thanksgiving. Even if you’ve already paid your pledge in some way, even if you’ve already attended the week’s principal service and made a major donation, open your wallet and give a little extra.” My grandmother always took a “hostess gift” when my grandparents were invited to dinner or another gathering at someone else’s home; I suppose, in some way, my grandfather’s insistence on an offering at worship was like a “hostess gift” to God. It is a visible act of thanksgiving and is as much a reminder to me as to anyone of my need to be thankful and generous. lt is much more for my benefit that I give than for that of the church or any mission or ministry it may support.

God doesn’t really need our hostess gifts, but we need to give them.

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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.

Christ Among the Crowds – All Saints Day – November 1, 2012

November 1, 2012 / eric / 0 Comments

From the Book of Second Esdras:

I, Ezra, saw on Mount Zion a great multitude that I could not number, and they all were praising the Lord with songs. In their midst was a young man of great stature, taller than any of the others, and on the head of each of them he placed a crown, but he was more exalted than they. And I was held spellbound. Then I asked an angel, “Who are these, my lord?” He answered and said to me, “These are they who have put off mortal clothing and have put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God. Now they are being crowned, and receive palms.” Then I said to the angel, “Who is that young man who is placing crowns on them and putting palms in their hands?” He answered and said to me, “He is the Son of God, whom they confessed in the world.” So I began to praise those who had stood valiantly for the name of the Lord.

(From the Calendar of Saints – 2 Esdras 2:42-47 – November 1, 2012)

The Victorious Saints of God I have to admit that I’m not sure how to treat the so-called Second Book of Esdras. Although counted among the apocryphal books, it seems more to me to be what is technically called pseudopigrapha (“false writings”). It is not recognized by any western church; neither the Roman church nor the Protestants recognize it, although it is annexed as part of an appendix to the Vulgate. Only the Greek and Russian Orthodox accept it as Scripture. If I recall correctly, it is actually made up of three different writings all from the 2nd or 3rd Centuries of the Christian era; it’s not “Old Testament”or “Hebrew Scripture”, at all! So what does one do with it? Here it is in the lectionary for All Saints Day for obvious reasons, but what does one do with it?

Well, of course, one notes the similarity of this vision with that of John of Patmos set out in Revelation 7:9-17: angel talking to the one having the vision, question about who the crowd is, white robed saints, palms in their hands. What’s different here is the presence of the Son of God among the crowd, crowning them and putting the palms in their hands. And, I have to say, I rather prefer this vision to John’s because of that difference. There is something compelling about the Son of God being there with the saints, not high and exalted on a throne, as the Lamb is in John’s oracle, but down with the crowds. This seems much more like the Jesus described in the Gospels, much more like the God he revealed. I am reminded of a couple of hymns:

All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine,
didst yield the glory that of right was thine,
that in our darkened hearts thygrace might shine.

Thou cam’st to us in lowliness of thought;
by thee the outcast and the poor were sought;
and by thy death was God’s salvation wrought.
(Words by F. Bland Tucker)

and

Not here for high and holy things
we render thanks to thee,
but for the common things of earth,
the purple pageantry
of dawning and of dying days,
the splendor of the sea,

the royal robes of autumn moors,
the golden gates of spring,
the velvet of soft summer nights,
the silver glistering
of all the million million stars,
the silent song they sing….
(Words by Geoffrey Anketel Studdert-Kennedy)

This vision of Christ with the masses, yielding his glory and mixing in with “the common (people and) things of earth,” seems somehow quite in keeping with today’s celebration of all the saints. Today we don’t commemorate only those whose names are known, those who are portrayed in art with golden halos, those in whose particular memory churches and schools are dedicated; today we commemorate those whose names are not known.

I’m particularly fond of the text of Chapter 44 of the Wisdom of Sirach which begins “Let us now praise famous men….” I chose that text to read at the graveside when we buried my older brother in 1993. In it are found these words, “But of others there is no memory; they have perished as though they had never existed; they have become as though they had never been born, they and their children after them. But these also were godly men, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten….” (Sirach 44:9-10) Ezra’s vision in Second Esdras of Christ mingling with these unknown but godly people appeals to me. An early 20th Century Roman Catholic Lithuanian archbishop, George Matulaitis, once wrote:

May our model be Jesus Christ: not only working quietly in His home at Nazareth, not only Christ denying Himself, fasting forty days in the desert, not only Christ spending the night in prayer; but also Christ working, weeping, suffering; Christ among the crowds; Christ visiting the cities and villages.

This is the Christ of Ezra’s vision; this is the Christ of the saints whom we remember today, Christ among the crowds.

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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.

Gentle Partisanship – From the Daily Office – October 31, 2012

October 31, 2012 / eric / 0 Comments

From the Book of Ben Sira:

Many have fallen by the edge of the sword,
but not as many as have fallen because of the tongue.
Happy is one who is protected from it,
who has not been exposed to its anger,
who has not borne its yoke,
and has not been bound with its fetters.
For its yoke is a yoke of iron,
and its fetters are fetters of bronze;
its death is an evil death,
and Hades is preferable to it.
* * *
Take care not to err with your tongue,
and fall victim to one lying in wait.

(From the Daily Office Lectionary – Sirach 28:18-21,26 – October 31, 2012)

Partisanship I am a political junkie (to use a term probably copyrighted by the NPR radio show Talk of the Nation). I love the democratic political process by which we in the United States choose our leadership. I don’t, however, love what it sometimes makes me become – a hyperpartisan. Once I have considered the issues and the candidates, once I have decided for which candidate or party or side of an issue I am going to vote, I am decidedly opinionated and not shy about sharing that opinion.

The reading from Ben Sira today concerns slander rather than opinion (or at least that is how the translators have rendered the original which literally means “a third tongue”). I don’t think I have ever actually slandered any politician, but I will admit that my opinionated descriptions of some have been less than kind. I think Ben Sira’s admonitions may nonetheless apply.

Recently my friend Sarah, who is a priest and a military chaplain, posted this reflection as her Facebook status:

I have been avoiding overtly political posts since I love and serve a broad cross-section of the population and will not host hostility in my home or on my fb page. As a spiritual guide, it is time for me to openly say something about the things people of faith must consider if they are to follow the shared fundamental ethics of the major world religions. As a priest and minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is time for me to say something about what it means to vote Gospel values. It means voting for whomsoever has a preferential option for the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the outcast. It means voting for whomsoever has demonstrated consistent concern for bringing high places low, for straightening crooked paths, for feeding the hungry, honoring the despised, protecting the least of these. We are a community, and while rugged individualism may be an American value, it is not a Christian value. If you want to vote your values, vote out of the conviction that God can and will honor self-sacrifice out of love for “the least of these.” If you want to live your values, practice love and not vitriol. If you want to vote your values, do not try to force your personal moral practices about things related to sex into the laws of the land. Instead, make this country a great place for all people from all socioeconomic classes to be married and raise children. Continuing praying for God’s love to prevail even if it costs you and me and us everything. If you pray for God’s love to prevail, share that love, including love for your enemies. This means action in word and deeds, including how we regard those who believe differently than we do. It means a return to civility and bipartisanship. As one of my medical colleagues (who, by the way, I imagine will vote quite differently than I would like him to!) lives by: “charity faileth never.”

I agree with Sarah wholeheartedly as to what it means to vote one’s values and what it means to vote as a follower of Jesus Christ. It’s those last couple of lines in her Facebook status that call me up short! It’s the embodying of those same values in our political discourse as well as in our vote that I have trouble with. It’s the “words and actions,” the “civility and bipartisanship”, the never-failing charity part.

I try, Lord knows, I try to be like Sarah. I try to follow Ben Sira’s admonitions. I don’t always (in fact, I seldom) succeed. But I hope that Thomas Merton was right, that the desire to please God does in fact please God, that though we do not succeed there is merit in the attempt. (The Merton Prayer)

I will always love politics. I will always be partisan. God grant that in my partisanship I can be gentle, or at least try to be . . . and I hope that that is enough.

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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.

Light in the Darkness – From the Daily Office – October 30, 2012

October 30, 2012 / eric / 0 Comments

From the Gospel of Luke:

Jesus said, “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.”

(From the Daily Office Lectionary – Luke 11:33-36 – October 30, 2012)

Last night Hurricane Sandy hit the eastern seaboard of the United States. Atlantic City was hit hard; the iconic boardwalk is gone; and with electrical power failures, the neon lights of the casino signs went dark. In Manhattan, a ConEd transformer station blew up; video of the explosion was quickly posted on Facebook and later shown on national television news programs. The lower third of the island was in darkness. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people are now without electrical power and may not have light or heat for many days.

In this morning’s gospel lesson Jesus makes his point about the spiritual light within each person. The devastation wreaked by this storm, if our experience with prior disastrous such as Katrina, Irene, and many others, is simply the beginning of a very dark period for a lot of people. It will be a time when the light within each will be tested and some will truly shine. It goes without saying that these kinds of events can bring out the worst in some people, but it is also true that they can and do bring out the best in many others.

I have several friends who are volunteers with the Red Cross and other agencies in the affected area, and other friends who are clergy or active lay church members. I know that they will all be hard at work doing what they can to relieve the sufferings of others, even as they themselves have been affected by the storm. Their eyes are clear, they see what has to be done, and the light of Christ shines in and through them.

I thought of them last night as I watched the news of the storm. For them and for all who must now cope with the loss and damage caused by Sandy, I offered this prayer from the Order of Compline:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen. (BCP 1979, page 132)

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep throughout the time of recovery from Hurricane Sandy, and bless especially those who are light in the darkness.

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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.

Keep Your Mouth Shut! – From the Daily Office – October 29, 2012

October 29, 2012 / eric / 0 Comments

From the Book of Ben Sira:

One who trusts others too quickly has a shallow mind, and one who sins does wrong to himself. One who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned, but one who hates gossip has less evil. Never repeat a conversation, and you will lose nothing at all. With friend or foe do not report it, and unless it would be a sin for you, do not reveal it; for someone may have heard you and watched you, and in time will hate you. Have you heard something? Let it die with you. Be brave, it will not make you burst!

(From the Daily Office Lectionary – Sirach 19:4-10 – October 29, 2012)

Gossip (Mouth to Ear) Don’t you just love gossip? That juicy little tid-bit that you just can’t wait to pass on to a friend? It’s so wonderfully delicious, that little bit of o-so-salacious information about some mutual acquaintance? C’mon, admit it! You just love it. We all do. It’s human nature.

Gossip is probably the most common problems in human relationships. It is insidious; most people don’t even realize when a discussion turns towards gossip, but gossip can kill a relationship. It happens much more often than we would like to admit. In simple terms, gossip basically is that could be seen as a negative spoken about one person to another when the subject is not there to hear it first hand and respond. It could be something seemingly innocent said without intent to harm, or it could be a harsh, intentional slander or assisination of character.

Gossip has many dangers. Just a few are

hurt feelings
stress
destroys cooperation
discourages the sharing of vulnerability
creates (or destroys) reputations
damages trust

We can all agree with Ben Sira that gossip should be avoided! The British Baptist preacher Alan Redpath is said to have had a rule to avoid gossip. He told himself “Think!” and asked himself five questions:

T – Is it true?
H – Is it helpful?
I – Is it inspiring?
N – Is it necessary?
K – Is it kind?

If what one is about to say does not pass those tests, Redpath said, keep your mouth shut! That’s about as good a paraphrase of Ben Sira’s advice as I can think of. “Be brave, it will not make you burst!”

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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.

Theodicy and Abortion – From the Daily Office – October 27, 2012

October 27, 2012 / eric / 2 Comments

From the Book of Ben Sira:

It was he who created humankind in the beginning,
and he left them in the power of their own free choice.
If you choose, you can keep the commandments,
and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.
He has placed before you fire and water;
stretch out your hand for whichever you choose.
Before each person are life and death,
and whichever one chooses will be given.

(From the Daily Office Lectionary – Sirach 15:14-17 – October 27, 2012)

Grief (watercolor wash, artist unknown) Well, there it is! Bigger than life! Free will! Of course, I know that as an Anglican I am not supposed to use this text, or any part of the Deuterocanon, to settle matters of doctrine, but only read them ” for example of life and instruction of manners.” [Articles of Religion, Article VI, BCP 1979, page 868] But come on! There it is!

I probably shouldn’t go there, but the past 48 hours have made it impossible not to think about free will without thinking of Indiana senate candidate Richard Mourdock who stirred up controversy when he said during a debate that “even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen.” He tried to explain himself later saying, “God creates life, and that was my point,. God does not want rape, and by no means was I suggesting that he does. Rape is a horrible thing.” He only dug a deeper hole. If it is true that politics and religion don’t mix, it is even more true that politics and the problem of theodicy don’t mix!

“Theodicy” is a little-used word theologians coined to describe what is generally called “the problem of evil.” It posits this rational conundrum:

God is all-powerful.
God is all-good.
God is all-knowing.
Evil exists.

Only three of these four propositions (says the issue of theodicy) can be true; since we know that evil exists, then one of the other three statements must be false. Many philosophers and theologians have wrestled with this issue and I’m not going to get into it in a brief meditation on the daily office lessons, other than to acknowledge that it exists and that one way it is answered is the very subject Jesus son of Sirach brings up in this reading: free will. In other words, in making the universe (and humankind within it) free, the all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing God allows the possibility that evil may occur.

St. Thomas Aquinas affirmed in the Summa Theologica that God’s ultimate purpose for creation is so good, so great that it involves “allowing” the possibility of evil, but (as Aquinas points out) to “allow” is not the same as to “cause”. Furthermore, the enduring good that allows evil includes the possibility that good can redeem evil; because of this remaining good, a return path to good is always possible. I think this is the theological concept candidate Mourdock was trying to articulate, but doing so badly and causing himself and his party a good deal of trouble.

I can agree with Mr. Mourdock up to a point, but not about the conclusion he ultimately reaches. In his view, apparently, the return to good, the redemption of the evil of rape, is found in the conception of life which may result. For him, that redemption is (apparently) automatic and, thus, a pregnancy resulting from rape is redemptive; it is a good so great that it cannot be aborted. But neither Aquinas nor any theologian has ever argued that the return to good is automatic; it is always and only contingent – it is possible but never guaranteed. Furthermore, there is the counter possibility in the circumstance of a rape that further evil, not good, could result from the pregnancy and later birth. Indeed, the experience of women who have born the children conceived in rape shows a wide variety of outcomes, many extremely negative, many a continuation of the evil done to them.

That is why I cannot come to the theological conclusion reached by candidate Mourdock, nor to the political conclusion to which he comes, i.e., that abortion should be outlawed with no exception provided for conceptions resulting from rape. Indeed, I cannot come to any conclusion which entirely outlaws abortion. To do so denies to women the freedom of will given humankind from the beginning about which Ben Sira writes; this is a matter about which women should decide for themselves “in the power of their own free choice.” Therefore, abortion should be safe. It can only be safe if it is legal and regulated; if it is outlawed, it will nonetheless continue. The choice for our society is not between abortion and no abortion; it is between abortion which is safe and abortion which is deadly.

I cannot say that I would never, as a priest, counsel a woman to undergo an abortion, but I would nearly always argue for an alternative. In the end, however, it would not be my decision; it would be hers. And if she chooses to abort the fetus, then it is her right to have that procedure done in the safest way possible. Years ago, I participated in a panel discussion with an Eastern Orthodox colleague ordained many years longer than me. During the presentations he said, “I would rather console a woman who’s had a safe, legal abortion, than bury one who’s had an illegal abortion. And I’ve done both.” Unlike my colleague, I have not, thank God, buried the victim of an illegal abortion, and certainly I never want to.

We will always wrestle with the problem of theodicy, but we should do so in the context of theological schools and churches. It is not an issue to be solved in the halls of congress, nor in the operating suites of hospitals, nor in the offices of obstetricians, nor with the bodies of women whom God made free to act as a matter of their own choice.

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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.

How Not to Converse – From the Daily Office – October 26, 2012

October 26, 2012 / eric / 0 Comments

From the Book of Ben Sira:

Do not find fault before you investigate;
examine first, and then criticize.
Do not answer before you listen,
and do not interrupt when another is speaking.

(From the Daily Office Lectionary – Sirach 11:7-8 – October 26, 2012)

Conversation Skills Cartoon Jesus son of Sirach offered a lot of good advice in his little book sometimes called Liber Eccesiasticus, a book not included in the canon of inspired Scripture recognized by Protestants, but found in that selection of texts called the Apocrypha. Anglicans decline to use these texts to settle matters of doctrine, but read them ” for example of life and instruction of manners.” (Articles of Religion, Article VI, BCP 1979, page 868)

None of that advice, it seems to me, is better, nor more timely, than these verses from today’s Old Testament reading: investigate before speaking; listen before answering. The so-called “debates” (which were anything but) between the candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency of this country were exercises in how not to have a constructive and productive conversation. In whatever the format, none of which worked, these “debates” were showcases of people whose ears were hardly ever engaged, who weren’t examining things before criticizing and who weren’t listening before answering, and who definitely were interrupting when others were speaking.

I may use YouTube snippets of the debates in my pre-marital counseling of engaged couples! In that counseling, I talk with the couples about effective communication and problem solving and always, always encourage two things: active listening and assertiveness (which is very different from aggressiveness). Active listening means paying attention, not interrupting, and restating what you have heard so that you confirm your understanding; it means taking personal responsibility for getting what you hear from the other person right. Assertiveness means getting what the other hears from you right. It means taking responsibility for your feelings by using “I” statements; it means stating your position clearly and directly, not relying on the other to read your mind.

Obviously, the need for good interpersonal communications skills has been around as long as there have been people and the advice I give these couples is nothing new. Jesus Ben Sira was giving the same advice, how not to converse, a couple of millennia ago!

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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.

Category: Daily Office (Page 52 of 70)

Majority of One – From the Daily Office – November 7, 2012

The Sun Will Rise on Wednesday – From the Daily Office – November 6, 2012

The Wisdom of Labor – From the Daily Office – November 5, 2012

Hostess Gifts For God – From the Daily Office – November 3, 2012

Christ Among the Crowds – All Saints Day – November 1, 2012

Gentle Partisanship – From the Daily Office – October 31, 2012

Light in the Darkness – From the Daily Office – October 30, 2012

Keep Your Mouth Shut! – From the Daily Office – October 29, 2012

Theodicy and Abortion – From the Daily Office – October 27, 2012

How Not to Converse – From the Daily Office – October 26, 2012

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