Equal Opportunity for Life?

Last week three bills related to the practice of abortion in Florida were passed by the House Health and Human Services Access Subcommittee.  They are not the law, not yet.  But they are on the way.  In one way or another each of these bills further restricts abortion here in the Sunshine State.  HB 839 would ban abortions after the fetus is 20 weeks old based on the assumption that at that age a fetus can experience pain.  HB 277 would institute a 24-hour waiting period, expand prohibitions against certain types of abortion and require all doctors performing abortions to take a three-hour ethics course every year.  HB 1327 would ban selective abortions, those based on gender or race.

I am not in favor of unrestricted access to abortion.  I believe that there are certain limits that the state can rightfully legislate and enforce.  There are folks who say any limitations are wrong because they abridge a woman's right to make choices which impact her own health.  But we have many laws and regulations that already do that (for men and women) in other areas of medicine.  Abortion can't be totally exempt!

But that said, these particular regulations appear to be part of a growing attempt to make the definition of a legal abortion increasingly narrow.  HB 839, for instance, is based on scientific assumptions that are not universally supported.  While some researchers agree that pain can be experienced between weeks 20 and 24, others say it that doesn't happen until week 29. 

HB277, with its required ethics course, seems to ignore the fact that almost all of medicine has enormous ethical implications.  Why just single out doctors who perform abortions? 

And HB 1327, while seemingly noble, feels slippery at best.  It has been named the Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas Prenatal Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity for Life Act.  Great title--two great Americans!  But wouldn't it be better attached to a bill correcting some of the social and economic inequities that mar certain aspects of American life?  Often the most vocal opponents of abortion fail to recognize that the abortion debate isn't just about prenatal realities, but post-natal realities as well.  It's not just about the rights of the so-called unborn, but also the rights of such children when they are unwanted and yet still brought into the world.  It is about the rights of women who struggle to live in the here and now. Don't misunderstand, I am not suggesting that it is OK to make decisions to abort or not based on race or gender. But race and gender are real issues in this life.  Why not work to provide quality healthcare, sound nutrition, affordable housing and meanigful education for those already in our midst?  Now that would provide a genuinely Equal Opportunity for Life! 

The Politics of Forgiveness

Many folks thought the battle for the  presidential nomination would be done and over by this time.  But the results from South Carolina mean that things are still far from settled.  There has been much talk over the past week about the allegations made by the ex-wife of one of the candidates.  The allegations have made choices more complicated for some folks.  The candidate says he has confessed his wrongdoing and asked for forgiveness, that he has changed his ways. 
I have no way of knowing whether or not what he or she says is true.  Nor is it my task to ascertain the veracity of such claims.  But as a preacher it is my job to clarify theological terminology.  And words don't get much more theological than the word "forgiveness."  So, in the interest of advancing thoughtful discourse, let me offer up my take on this rather important term.

First, it is essential that one remembers that forgiveness doesn't mean saying, "What happened was OK."  In fact, true forgiveness involves radical honesty.  It may mean saying, "What I did was very, very wrong.  it hurt others deeply.  It was inexcusable."  For, you see, if something can be excused, if something can be explained away, it doesn't need to be forgiven.  Forgiving and excusing are two different things!

Second, forgiveness does not necessarily involve forgetting.  For instance, an abused spouse can let go of her right to hit back, she can forgive her abuser by forgoing revenge, but that doesn't mean she needs to forget it happened!  Indeed, she is wise to remember it, and take necessary precautions to ensure it won't happen again.  For forgiveness doesn't side step the truth rather, it acknowledges the wrong.  It means saying, "I won't try to get even with you, I won't exact revenge.  I will let go of hatred."  But there still may be legal consequences that have to play themselves out.  There may be relational consequences that become necessary.  You can forgive someone, yet no longer be their best friend.  As author Anne LaMott writes:  "[Forgiveness] means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back.  It doesn't necessarily mean you want to have lunch with the person."

In truth, forgiveness is really a matter of deciding whether one wants to live a life of love or a life of bitterness and hatred.  When you fail to forgive, the person you hurt the most is yourself.  "If you keep hitting back, LaMott says, "you stay trapped in the nightmare."  But if you forgive you discover a new freedom.  You replace the seemingly endless cycle of violence and hatred with a cycle of forgiveness, understanding and love.

In the end, then, forgiveness is about making a choice. So too is voting.  But let's not get the two confused!

(Note:  The quotations from Anne LaMott are taken from her excellent book of essays titled Plan B:  Further Thoughts on Faith.)

Of Civil Rights and Swimming Pools

This is 2012, right?  The Civil Rights movement had its heyday over forty years ago, right?  Segregation has been illegal in this country for decades, has it not?  Yet, somehow, we just haven't gotten it yet!  Perhaps you saw a news item this past weekend out of Ohio.  It seems that the landlord of a Cincinnati apartment complex posted a sign on the swimming pool gate proclaiming "Whites Only."  According to the Associated Press the landlord claimed that chemicals in the hair of a young black girl were making the pool "cloudy" and so he posted the sign in order to keep the pool clean.

I must say, I was shocked.  I shouldn't be.  As Dr. King once said, "Racism is a tenacious evil . . . ."  And so it is.  And on this Martin Luther King holiday, we are reminded yet again that we must continue to speak up and out for those who are denied their basic rights. 

Personally I take comfort in the fact that the above quote is only half of what Dr. King said.  The full quotation (from his book Strength to Love) is as follows:  "Racism is a tenacious evil, but it is not immutable."  It is not unchangeable.  It can be overcome.  But racism will fight back every step of the way.  Signs on fences will keep popping up, and we must see to it that they are taken down.  Not just the signs on pool gates and restaurant windows and schoolhouse doors, but also the signs posted on our hearts and the hearts of those around us.  For even as we fight institutionalized racism, so we must continually guard against it in our own actions and our own lives.

Yes, it is 2012.  Yes the Civil Rights movement had its heyday over forty years ago.  Yes, segregation has been illegal for decades.  But the work is far from done, the dream has yet to be realized in its fullness.

(Photo Credit:  Marion S. Trikoska)

No More Gym Class?!

OK, let's be clear, right from the start.  I hated physical education when I was a kid.  Gym class was truly the bane of my existence in high school!  I was the proverbial 90 pound weakling--and almost always picked last when we divided up into teams.  The "phys ed" teachers were always much more interested in the football and basketball players than they were in uncoordinated guys like me.  There was one of them who never even learned how to pronounce my name (Danner isn't really much if a tongue twister, but he somehow got it wrong, week after week!)

That said, I am appalled to learn that the State of Florida is seriously considering removing "phys ed" from the list of required classes for middle schoolers.  Florida House Bill 4057 is being sponsored by Representative Larry Metz, from Yalaha. This in the face of the childhood obesity crisis!

The American Heart Association estimates that 30 percent of all children in Florida are considered to be obese.  Thirty percent!  One-in-three!  Now is not the time to eliminate the one time many kids engage in physical activity.  It is so easy today to sit out traditional childhood play--why make it even easier?

As an adult I finally learned the importance of tending to my body through exercise and physical activity.  Theologically speaking, I came to understand that I needed to be a good steward of my body!  Now, I walk.  I practice yoga.  I ride my bike.  How much better off I'd be today if I'd had gym teachers who really paid attention to the non-athletes in their classes.  But, that said, I'd be much worse off if I'd had no such classes at all!

As a kid, I never thought I'd ever champion the inclusion of gym class in my schedule.  But adults are supposed to know better than kids.

Iowa, New Hampshire and Beyond!

As I write this post the good folk of Iowa are gathering for caucus meetings all across the state.  After months and months of being wooed they will finally cast their votes for one or another of the potential candidates for president.  And then the attention (and media dollars) will shift to New Hampshire.  By all accounts it has been a rather brutal campaign, with negative advertisements blanketing the airwaves. 

I saw a piece on the op/ed pages of the local Fort Myers News-Press that summed up my feelings as well as anything I've read.  It was written by Dan Warner, a retired editor who once won the Pulitzer.  In the essay, Warner noted that their are two myths about politics that need debunking.  First, the idea that, in his words, "all of the candidates are unqualified and unworthy."  All too often we buy into the notion that politician is a four-letter word (it's not--it's actually a  ten-letter word) and that all persons who run for office are by definition useless.  Instead of such a negative approach, he suggest we honestly assess candidates looking intentionally for their positive attributes.  Bravo, I say!  If we keep emphazing the negative the day might come when it all becomes a self-fulfilling promise. 

The second myth, he notes, is that, again his words, "there is one answer."  Somehow, we have become so polarized as a society that we easily buy into the idea that there is only one way to resolve a problem:  my way.  I love Frank Sinatra--but my way is a lousy way to move through public life!  Instead, we need to recognize that compromise can be very noble. And often, it is the only way to move forward!

Near the end of his essay, Warner writes:  "The answer [to political gridlock] is not in the noise and slogans.  It is in reasonable thought generated by reasonble leaders.  And that means we must be reasonable followers."  When I read that aloud to my wife she said, "There's a sermon in that!"  And so there is!  But for now, it will have to stand as this post on my blog.

Thanks, Mr. Warner, for wise, wise words.  Maybe you should come out of retirment.  Maybe you should run for office!

Shine On, Friends, Shine On!

Two days before Christmas I had the pleasure of speaking before my Rotary Club here on Sanibel about various holiday traditions. I titled my talk "The Season of Lights" and focused on Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa.

Hanukkah, I reminded my listeners, is all about the ancient story of the Maccabees and their struggle to free Jerusalem from religious oppression. I told the story of the oil that miraculously lasted for eight days. I pointed out the history behind the Hanukkah game known as dreidel (it served as a decoy when children were studying the scriptures their oppressors had outlawed.) And I sang the wonderful Peter Yarrow song, "Light One Candle."

Christmas, the most familiar of the three to my listeners, also focuses on light. It was, afterall, set during December due to winter solstice! I spoke of the use of Advent candles, and the traditional Christian notion that Jesus is the Light of the World. I closed that section with one of my favorite carols, "Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella."

Kwanzaa, the most recent of the celebrations, is a cultural festival, rather than a religious festival, and came into existence out of a desire on the part of African-American leaders to reinstill a sense of identity and roots. The seven candles of the Kwanzaa celebration emphasize virtues like unity and self-determination. I sang the old spiritual "This Little Light of Mine" to finish my presentation.

"Each of these celebrations," I told my audience,"reminds us that we can bring light into a dark world. Each reminds us to keep the lights of freedom, love and heritage burning. When ever we reach out to one another we do just that!"

Later I happened to be driving behind a car from Virginia. It had one of those specialty license plates. This one was dedicated to preserving old lighthouses. It said "Keep the Lights Shining." That, in a nutshell, was my message to my civic club. And it is my wish for you as the year draws to a close. Keep the lights shining!

Beaches, Breakfasts and Angels Day and Night

Every church has its revered traditions during the Advent and Christmas seasons. Here at Sanibel Congregational UCC those traditions reflect the fact that the weather is warm at this time of year. The subropical weather means we can hold a lovely Christmas Eve Beach Service at Lighthouse Beach. It is very stirring to watch hundreds and hundreds of candles being lit as the sun goes down over the Gulf of Mexico!

In one of my former churches, one of the traditions was the annual Angel Breakfast. The congregation's social hall was turned into a little bit of heaven every year. Golden stars were hung from the ceiling, tables were covered with white linens and decorated with shining candles and sprays of gold, and at the front of the room, the stage was festooned with puffy clouds and rays of starlight.

All the children in the third grade and under were invited to come with their parents on a Sunday morning before worship for a special breakfast. Carols were sung, sometimes there was a craft, and the highlight of the event was a visit by a band of angels.

The angels, of course, were the young folks of the parish, middle and high school students, dressed in white robes with golden halos. Most years, it was just girls. But one year, in recognition of the fact that biblically speaking angels are usually depicted as male, the boys were also actively recruited. That year, two young men rose to the occasion, they they did want to be known as guardian angels. Their role in the festivities was to stand watch on either side of the curtain as the girl angels first sang and then descended down from the stage and out into the audience.

The loveliest part of the whole affair came when the angels spread out and one -by-one, whispered special messages into the ear of each of the children at the breakfast.

One year one of the Dads who was at the breakfast told me that his youngest child, Jane, who was just three at the time, was spellbound, and very pleased when the angel whispered in her ear, "Jesus is coming!"

As things would happen, just as the angel left their table, Jane needed to go to the bathroom. So Dad took her by the hand and out they went to the restroom down the hall. A few minutes later when they returned and came back into0 the social hall, Jane stood at the door, surveyed the whole scene, and then, looking up at her Dad, asked, "So where's Jesus? Where is he? Where is he?"

It is the question we ask ourselves every year, isn't it? Where's Jesus? Where is he? When we survey the world around us, when we look at all the economic difficulties so many face, when we hear about a terminally ill child, when we read reports about the war in Afghanistan, we too wonder, "Where is Jesus? Where is God?"

Yet, then we hear about the many ways folks do reach out to one another, especially this time of year, and we realize anew that Jesus is right in our midst. We realize that the Christ Child is born anew every time we give of ourselves to our neighbors in need. And that, in the end, the self-giving love that can and does mark this Holy Season, is the greatest Advent and Christmas tradition of them all! Have a blessed Christmas! (And if you happen to be near Sanibel, join us at Lighthouse Beach at 5:30 on Christmas Eve, or here in the sanctuary at 9:00 PM)

(Photo Credit: Ed Neitzke)