Bill Stroop Sermon,"Seeking the Greater Good,"Easter 2 Year A, April 3, 2005

Acts 2:14a, 2:22-32
Psalm 16: 1-11
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
The Collect of the Day
From the Revised Common Lectionary as Adapted for Use by the Episcopal Church
and Authorized by the 74^th General Convention of the ECUSA

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith – being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9)

Seeking the Greater Good:
Shalom,Terri Schiavo
The Rev. Dr. Bill Stroop, Rector

On February 25, 1990, at the age of 27, Terri Schiavo suffered a heart attack as a result of a potassium imbalance. Her husband Michael called 911, and Terri was rushed to the hospital. She never regained consciousness. On Thursday morning, Terri Schiavo died.

For nearly fifteen years, Terri's situation has received more attention from the judicial and executive branches of state and federal governments, more medical attention, and more scrutiny by the press and the general public than any other guardianship case in history.[1]

Terri's brain was badly damaged by her heart attack. The part that controled conscious thought was rendered non-functional, and it shrank; the space in her skull was replaced by spinal fluid. The physicians hired by Michael say that the damage to her conscious self was irreversible, and that Terri's life-like appearance was merely the result of involuntary reflexes controlled by the brain stem. An independent doctor hired by the Florida court reached the same conclusions. Doctors hired by Terri's parents did not dispute the physical damage done to Terri, but they claimed that some new therapies were available to help her. In two separate instances, trial courts found these claims of potential improvement without merit. And so Terri was put on a feeding tube surgically inserted into her stomach.

For two years following her heart attack Michael lived with Terri's parents and provided care and therapy to her. In time, Michael apparently came to believe Terri would not recover. He believed she did not want to be kept alive in this brain-degenerated condition, and so he began a legal process to have the feeding tube removed.

Terri's parents fought Michael's decision. They believed Terri had conscious thoughts. They believe Terri did not want the tube removed. Florida law required the trial court to determine how Terri would exercise her privacy rights and what she would have wanted with regard to life support. Michael was on one side; Terri's parents were on the other. Both sides brought witnesses and experts. In the end, the judge ruled that Terri would not wish to continue receiving nourishment and hydration through a surgically implanted tube.

Again, in a second trial brought about by Terri's family's claims that new therapies could restore her, the court determined that no new therapy was likely to restore her brain function. Terri's family had the benefit of excellent legal representation as well as the Governor's own top-notch attorneys, all of whom sought ways to keep Terri's feeding tube in place. The propriety of these decisions including the adequacy of the evidence to the correctness of the procedures used was unanimously upheld on appeal each time.

In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith – being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Pet 1:6-7). I wonder how Michael and Terri's parents hear these verses from today's Epistle reading? How do you hear them?

Terri Schiavo's situation has caused so much controversy, because for years Terri's parents have publicly questioned Michael's motives for wanting to discontinue her life support. They charged that Michael worked to end her life so he could inherit whatever money remains from a $1 million 1993 medical malpractice settlement Michael recovered on behalf of himself and Terri. To be sure, Michael and Terri's parents must each feel that they have had to suffer various trials over these past fifteen years.

And if the accusations and bitter estrangement between Michael and his wife's family were not enough, Terri's situation has served as a magnet to attract a huge array of opinions about pro-life issues, end-of-life issues, patient advocacy issues, and issues of judicial or executive action in situations like this. In the last two weeks of her life, Terri Schiavo unfortunately became the poster girl for any number of causes that in many instances, had little or nothing to do with her situation at all. She became an object to be hurled as some kind of evidentiary truth that the courts had failed to protect her rights or that the executive branch had failed to turn control of her care over to her parents. In newscast after newscast I heard both conservatives and liberals start out by talking about the tragedy of the situation, only to then use the tragedy to push their own particular agenda. The Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice sees Terri's case as a kind of spring board to push a conservative religious political agenda. Likewise, Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union worries that a small well-organized group of lobbyists, whom he terms the "anti-choice lobby, will shape public policy.[2] I believe that using Terri as a political weapon to bludgeon the other side is wrong. It is usury of the worst sort. It objectifies a human being and does nothing to help the situation. It just adds to the trial and hardship that we must all endure.

Terri's situation is a moral and ethical one. And when faced with something like this, we need to ask ourselves where does the greater good lie? And as Christians, we need to ask that question from and within a Christian context, not a legal one. What this means is this: We have to recognize that there may not be a right or a wrong in a given situation. Instead, there may be two rights, one of which yields a better outcome than the other. And our evaluation of these "rights" is informed by scripture, reason, and our religious tradition.

Does the greater good lie in protecting Terri's right to choose life or death, or does the greater good lie in providing a means for the judicial or executive branches to intervene under certain circumstances? Does the greater good lie in ensuring that the judicial branch restrict its function to the review of legal procedure and compliance with statute, or does the greater good lie in providing the judicial branch with mechanisms to change the laws? Does the greater good lie in using every means at any cost to keep a person breathing, or does the greater good lie in allowing that person or their next of kin the opportunity to refuse treatment? Does the greater good lie in giving the government the right to make important, intimate decisions, or does the greater good lie in giving the government the authority to protect our decision once made?[3]

I think what so touches us about Terri Schiavo is that over the past several weeks, we have had intimate glimpses into both the situation and the people. Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri's parents, and Michael, her husband, have touched us in deeply significant ways. We recognize that their plight could be our plight, and we simultaneously react on moral, personal, political, and theological levels to what is very a complicated problem. It is precisely the kind of problem that can test the genuineness of our faith with fire (1 Peter 1:7), and call into question our very basic core beliefs. And as we work through the complications, I would like to encourage you to ask yourselves as each aspect of this – or any other ethical dilemma comes up – "Where is the greater good in the situation?" As Christians, I think that is what we are called to do, and as Episcopalians, it is what we are trained to do.

In the United States, we have been raised to equate personal freedom with what is good. But at the same time, we recognize that our right to exercise freedom can sometimes impinge on the rights of others. And, in the case of Terri Schiavo, her rights, the rights of her husband, the rights of the court, and the rights of Terri's parents all competed for the same space. And this came about because Terri did not provide any kind of written document expressing her desires if she could not speak for herself.

One of the lasting legacies that Terry will leave is the illustration of how important it is to prepare in advance for this kind of situation. This Spring I am planning a seminar to deal with end of life issues; a major part of that will be the preparation of an advance directive and a living will. These are the documents that tell health care providers what your wishes are. If you have not completed an advance directive, I encourage you to do so, and do not wait for the seminar to accomplish this task. You can pick up a form from the hospital, and we will soon have them available for you here at St. George's. Talk to your loved ones to tell them your wishes, and discuss with them the ethical and moral questions you have so that your loved ones know what's on your mind. Feel free to involve me in these discussions if you wish. Just don't leave us in the dark.

Finally, I want to end with a prayer for Terri and Michael Schiavo and their families.

Let us pray. O heavenly God, we commit to your unfailing love, the beloved soul of Terri Schiavo, now departed. We thank you for the gracious memories that now gather about her life; we thank you at last for the quiet release from the burden of the flesh, and entrance into the peace that surpasses all understanding. Holy One, who lived as one of us, and who shows us a path to reconciliation with you and one another; send your Holy Spirit, into the lives of Michael Schiavo, Bob and Mary Schindler, and their families, friends, and all who have been touched by bitterness and estrangement. Help them see your face in one another so that they may enjoy fellowship and joy in the memories of Terri, who rests with you now in your kingdom. Blessed God, who gave us your Son to teach us ways of living a godly life, help us to examine ourselves and our laws to faithfully protect and respect the dignity of all persons and love all persons as you love us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Acts 2:14a, 2:22-32

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know – this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' "Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, 'He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.' This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.

Psalm 16: 1-11

1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you."

3 As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,
in whom is all my delight.

4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.

5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.

6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.

7 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.

8 I keep the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.

10 For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.

11 You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

1 Peter 1:3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith – being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The Collect of the Day

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.