Proper 10 | Ordinary Time 15
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VIII, Cycle B
Revised Common
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29
Roman Catholic
Amos 7:12-15
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:7-13
Episcopal
Amos 7:7-15
Ephesians 1:1-14
Mark 6:7-13
Theme For The Day
Amos' example of the plumb line reminds us of the moral code by which God would have us live.
Old Testament Lesson
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
David Brings The Ark To Jerusalem
Consolidating his power in his new capital of Jerusalem, David orders that the Ark of the Covenant be brought into the city. Quite a scene it must have been: "David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals" (v. 5). Verses 6-11, omitted by the lectionary, tell how a man named Uzzah accidentally touches the Ark. God strikes him dead on the spot. After a three-month hiatus following this tragic death, the journey into the city continues -- again, with "David [dancing] before the Lord with all his might" (v. 14). David has the Ark set up in a tent especially constructed for this purpose. He conducts sacrifices and distributes food to the people (vv. 17-19). There is an ominous note: as David and the Ark pass under the window of Saul's daughter Michal, she "[despises] him with all her heart" (v. 16). David's establishment of the Ark in Jerusalem and the renewal of regular worship in its presence is a liturgical symbol of the legitimacy of his rule, and a powerful statement of the spiritual values that he intends his reign to demonstrate to all.
Alternate Old Testament Lesson
Amos 7:7-15
The Plumb Line
One of the gifts that goes along with prophetic imagination is the ability to communicate in provocative images God's message for the people. In this case, Amos envisions the Lord standing beside a wall under construction, holding a plumb line. "See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel," God says (v. 8). A plumb line, of course, relies upon the unchanging law of gravity to set a standard for constructing a wall that is perpendicular to the ground. If a wall has been built out of plumb, the only responsible thing to do is to tear it down: otherwise, it will eventually fall of its own accord. Amos' ingenious image of the plumb line symbolizes the Lord's unchanging law, to which God's people are expected to conform. The oracle concludes with a prophecy of doom for King Jeroboam (v. 9). Amaziah, priest of Bethel, sends word to Jeroboam about the things Amos has been saying, then advises the prophet to flee for his life (vv. 10-13). Amos' response is to deny that he is a prophet at all. He is just a common man: "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel' " (vv. 14-15). Even as he denies being a prophet (probably to distance himself from a corrupt, semi-institutionalized prophetic office that had developed by this time), Amos proves by his deeds to be exactly what he denies. God calls whom God will call.
New Testament Lesson
Ephesians 1:3-14
Heirs To The Promise
As with many of the other Pauline letters, after the initial greeting the author moves on to a formulaic blessing and ascription of praise to God. Important theological elements include: God's choice of the elect "before the foundation of the world" (v. 4); God's predestination of the elect to be adopted as God's own children (v. 5); redemption through Christ's blood, with the ensuing forgiveness and grace (v. 7); revelation of "the mystery of God's will" (v. 9); and God's "plan for the fullness of time" (v. 10). Following up on the adoption theme of verse 5, Paul indicates that Christians have received a divine inheritance (v. 11) and are "marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit ... [as] the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people ..." (vv. 13-14). Speaking out against Judaizing factions in the Ephesian church that wanted to exalt Jewish believers over Gentiles, the author makes it clear that all are as God's adopted children together, and all equally entitled to the inheritance.
The Gospel
Mark 6:14-29
The Death Of John The Baptist Recalled
King Herod Archelaus hears of the miracles Jesus has been performing, and wonders whether in fact John the Baptist has been raised from the dead (v. 14). Mark then backs up chronologically, to relate as a sort of flashback the details of John's death. Herod had ordered the troublesome John to be arrested and thrown into prison, but did not apparently intend to have him killed. At a banquet, Herod's daughter Herodias dances for the men present, and Herod is so taken by her dancing that he promises to fulfill any wish she may care to make. She asks her mother for advice on what to wish for, and her mother suggests she demand the head of John the Baptist. She does, and Herod has no choice but to fulfill his vow, granting her request. His soldiers present Herodias with John's head on a platter. While this story appears to be a digression from the main narrative, Mark may intend it as a sort of foreshadowing the death of Jesus -- who was likewise condemned to death by the rich and powerful, on spurious charges.
Preaching Possibilities
Open up a carpenter's toolbox, and you'll find all manner of tools and gadgets inside: some old, some new. Along with high-tech gizmos like an electric screwdriver, a "stud gun," and maybe even one of those electronic "tape measures" that measures the distance across a room ultrasonically, you'll find some tools that are almost as old as human history.
One of these old standbys is a tool the Egyptians used to build the pyramids. It may be even older: who knows, but maybe the ancient peoples of Britain used it to raise the monoliths of Stonehenge? It's a wondrously simple device: a length of string, with a lead weight tied to one end. The tool is called a "plumb line" -- from the Latin plumbum, or "lead."
Masons hang a plumb line next to a wall they're building, and the tug of gravity pulls the weight (and the string) straight down. By sighting along the string, workers know whether the wall is straight, or whether it isn't -- whether it's perpendicular to the ground, or whether it's leaning over. A wall out of plumb cannot be repaired, but can only be torn down and rebuilt.
Sometimes, in the construction business, there are corners that can be cut. An extra piece of plywood or a coat of paint will cover all manner of sins. But there is one thing no builder can cover up: a wall that's out of plumb. Many people, throughout history, have wished for an exception to the law of gravity, but no one's ever been granted that request. (Just ask Evel Knievel's orthopedic surgeon.)
The Prophet Amos uses the plumb line as a homegrown sermon illustration. Amos is not a speaker of great sophistication: he's a plain-speaking, tell-it-like-it-is sort of person. He got into the prophecy trade because he was convinced his country was going to the dogs, and somebody had to stand up and say something.
When Amos shows up in the neighborhood, the Northern Israel Regional Chamber of Commerce doesn't exactly roll out the welcome mat. First of all, to the people of the northern kingdom, he's a foreigner. Amos hails from the southern kingdom of Judah. Second, Amos isn't much of a diplomat. He doesn't mince words.
Amos is more than upset. He's furious that the poor people of Israel can be sold into virtual slavery for the price of a pair of shoes (2:6; 8:6), while the rich recline on fancy couches and gorge themselves with gourmet delicacies (6:4). More than that, Amos castigates the business community for shady dealings. He's a one-man Federal Trade Commission: insisting that all the stall owners down in the marketplace adopt standard weights and measures, and stop bilking the common folk (8:5).
Amos forecasts the collapse of the out-of-plumb wall that is the kingdom of Israel -- and history will prove him right. A few years later, the Assyrian army will sweep through the northern kingdom like a knife through butter. Israel will be utterly annihilated, as an independent state. When that disaster breaks upon the people, some will consider it a sad quirk of politics. Yet most Israelites, paying attention to Amos at last, will see the Assyrian invasion as nothing less than the judgment of God -- a harsh, but well-deserved sentence, levied upon a nation grown corrupt and soft, a nation that has long been teetering on a shoddy spiritual foundation.
It is always worthwhile to ask of any nation whether it is constructed on a solid moral foundation. With regard to the United States in our time, there is some cause for concern. A few years back, for example, a team of researchers polled 5,000 Americans. They found the following:
¥
93 percent said their judgment about right and wrong was based solely on personal belief
¥
74 percent said they would steal from those whom they thought would not miss it
¥
Almost 50 percent of college students admitted that they cheat
¥
Upward of 24 percent of all resum?s contain materially false information
¥
64 percent of people said they would lie when it suits them, if it caused no "real" damage
Another team of researchers interviewed people on the street. They asked them if they were guided, in their daily lives, by the Ten Commandments. A very high percentage of people claimed they were. Then the researchers asked their subjects to name as many of the Ten Commandments as they could. Do you know what was the average number of commandments people could recall? Four.
When construction workers unroll a plumb line, they generally don't touch the line. They let it hang right next to the wall under construction. Looking at it is all they need to do. In the same way, the will of God is something that hangs beside this human life of ours, but which seldom directly touches it. Relying on our own judgment, we cannot always be sure that any given action conforms to the will of God; yet if we take a look at the plumb line -- the laws of God in scripture and the example of faithful obedience we see in Jesus' life -- we can sense that, yes, in the big picture somehow our lives and the Lord's will for us do run parallel.
Prayer For The Day
Lord, it is a frightening world in which we live. So often, it seems we live in a culture that's morally adrift. Keep us, your people, ever faithful to your will. Remind us of your law. Continue to show us, in Christ, the example of how we ought to live -- for his sake. Amen.
To Illustrate
Amos questioned the moral integrity of the political leaders of his own day, but unfortunately, this problem has continued even to our own day. Remember former New York mayor David Dinkins? He found himself in trouble with the IRS. "I haven't committed a crime," Dinkins told reporters. "What I did was fail to comply with the law."
Someone confronted President George H. W. Bush's budget director, Richard Darman, about why the president hadn't kept a campaign promise to preserve wetlands. "The president didn't say that," the budget director shot back. "He read what was given to him in a speech."
The classic political line, though, comes from former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry: "Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
Now where's that plumb line?
***
There are some who celebrate the heightened "freedom" of having few moral absolutes; but that freedom is rather like the freedom enjoyed by a group of sailors adrift on the open sea, in a small boat, with no compass to guide them. It's a true fact that those sailors can go absolutely anywhere they want; yet do they really want to go anywhere? Most them would trade almost anything for a compass.
***
The happiness of the people was the purpose of government, [John Adams] wrote, and therefore the form of government is best which produced the greatest amount of happiness for the largest number. And since all "sober inquirers after truth" agreed that happiness derived from virtue, that form of government with virtue at its foundation was more likely than any other to promote the general happiness.
-- David McCullough, John Adams (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001), p. 102
***
I think that what children desperately need is a moral purpose, and a lot of our children here aren't getting that. Instead they're getting parents who are very concerned about getting them into the right colleges, buying the best clothes for them, giving them an opportunity to live in neighborhoods where they'll lead fine and affluent lives and where they can be given the best things, to go on interesting vacations, and all sorts of other things.
-- Robert Coles
***
The great masquerade of evil muddles every concept of ethics. Evil appears in the form of light, as good works -- even as a historical necessity -- or as justice, and utterly confuses one who comes from the traditional world of ethical ideas. For the Christian who lives by the Bible, however, these forms of evil simply confirm its abysmal wickedness. Who is able to withstand this evil? Only he to whom the last measure is not his own reason, his principles, his freedom or even his conscience -- but rather his readiness to sacrifice all of these: only he who is called to deeds of obedience and responsibility in faith and single-minded communion with God; only he who will let his life become nothing, as answer to God's request or call.
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
***
Children today are more likely to cheat, steal, and lie than youths ten years ago, research shows.
A Josephson Institute of Ethics report, which surveyed 12,000 high school students, showed that the number who admitted cheating on exams at least once in the past year had jumped from 61 percent in 1992 to 74 percent in 2002.
Students who admitted to shoplifting within the past twelve months rose from 31 percent to 38 percent. Those who said they lied to their teachers and parents increased substantially.
"The evidence is that a willingness to cheat has become the norm and that parents, teachers, coaches, and even religious educators have not been able to stem the tide," said Michael Josephson, president of the institute, based in Marina del Rey, California. "The scary thing is that so many kids are entering the work force to become corporate executives, politicians, airplane mechanics, and nuclear inspectors with the dispositions and skills of cheaters and thieves," he said.
The surveys underlying "Report Card 2002: The Ethics of American Youth" were administered by 43 high schools throughout the country....
Despite plummeting ethics, this generation appears to possess high self-esteem. Seventy-six percent of the respondents said, "When it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know...."
Despite the increase in cheating, stealing and lying, 95 percent of students agreed, "It's important to me that people trust me," and 79 percent agreed, "It's not worth it to lie or cheat because it hurts your character."
-- Judith Person, "Survey of Youths Shows Ethics Slip," in the Washington Times, October 23, 2002
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29
Roman Catholic
Amos 7:12-15
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:7-13
Episcopal
Amos 7:7-15
Ephesians 1:1-14
Mark 6:7-13
Theme For The Day
Amos' example of the plumb line reminds us of the moral code by which God would have us live.
Old Testament Lesson
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
David Brings The Ark To Jerusalem
Consolidating his power in his new capital of Jerusalem, David orders that the Ark of the Covenant be brought into the city. Quite a scene it must have been: "David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals" (v. 5). Verses 6-11, omitted by the lectionary, tell how a man named Uzzah accidentally touches the Ark. God strikes him dead on the spot. After a three-month hiatus following this tragic death, the journey into the city continues -- again, with "David [dancing] before the Lord with all his might" (v. 14). David has the Ark set up in a tent especially constructed for this purpose. He conducts sacrifices and distributes food to the people (vv. 17-19). There is an ominous note: as David and the Ark pass under the window of Saul's daughter Michal, she "[despises] him with all her heart" (v. 16). David's establishment of the Ark in Jerusalem and the renewal of regular worship in its presence is a liturgical symbol of the legitimacy of his rule, and a powerful statement of the spiritual values that he intends his reign to demonstrate to all.
Alternate Old Testament Lesson
Amos 7:7-15
The Plumb Line
One of the gifts that goes along with prophetic imagination is the ability to communicate in provocative images God's message for the people. In this case, Amos envisions the Lord standing beside a wall under construction, holding a plumb line. "See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel," God says (v. 8). A plumb line, of course, relies upon the unchanging law of gravity to set a standard for constructing a wall that is perpendicular to the ground. If a wall has been built out of plumb, the only responsible thing to do is to tear it down: otherwise, it will eventually fall of its own accord. Amos' ingenious image of the plumb line symbolizes the Lord's unchanging law, to which God's people are expected to conform. The oracle concludes with a prophecy of doom for King Jeroboam (v. 9). Amaziah, priest of Bethel, sends word to Jeroboam about the things Amos has been saying, then advises the prophet to flee for his life (vv. 10-13). Amos' response is to deny that he is a prophet at all. He is just a common man: "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel' " (vv. 14-15). Even as he denies being a prophet (probably to distance himself from a corrupt, semi-institutionalized prophetic office that had developed by this time), Amos proves by his deeds to be exactly what he denies. God calls whom God will call.
New Testament Lesson
Ephesians 1:3-14
Heirs To The Promise
As with many of the other Pauline letters, after the initial greeting the author moves on to a formulaic blessing and ascription of praise to God. Important theological elements include: God's choice of the elect "before the foundation of the world" (v. 4); God's predestination of the elect to be adopted as God's own children (v. 5); redemption through Christ's blood, with the ensuing forgiveness and grace (v. 7); revelation of "the mystery of God's will" (v. 9); and God's "plan for the fullness of time" (v. 10). Following up on the adoption theme of verse 5, Paul indicates that Christians have received a divine inheritance (v. 11) and are "marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit ... [as] the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people ..." (vv. 13-14). Speaking out against Judaizing factions in the Ephesian church that wanted to exalt Jewish believers over Gentiles, the author makes it clear that all are as God's adopted children together, and all equally entitled to the inheritance.
The Gospel
Mark 6:14-29
The Death Of John The Baptist Recalled
King Herod Archelaus hears of the miracles Jesus has been performing, and wonders whether in fact John the Baptist has been raised from the dead (v. 14). Mark then backs up chronologically, to relate as a sort of flashback the details of John's death. Herod had ordered the troublesome John to be arrested and thrown into prison, but did not apparently intend to have him killed. At a banquet, Herod's daughter Herodias dances for the men present, and Herod is so taken by her dancing that he promises to fulfill any wish she may care to make. She asks her mother for advice on what to wish for, and her mother suggests she demand the head of John the Baptist. She does, and Herod has no choice but to fulfill his vow, granting her request. His soldiers present Herodias with John's head on a platter. While this story appears to be a digression from the main narrative, Mark may intend it as a sort of foreshadowing the death of Jesus -- who was likewise condemned to death by the rich and powerful, on spurious charges.
Preaching Possibilities
Open up a carpenter's toolbox, and you'll find all manner of tools and gadgets inside: some old, some new. Along with high-tech gizmos like an electric screwdriver, a "stud gun," and maybe even one of those electronic "tape measures" that measures the distance across a room ultrasonically, you'll find some tools that are almost as old as human history.
One of these old standbys is a tool the Egyptians used to build the pyramids. It may be even older: who knows, but maybe the ancient peoples of Britain used it to raise the monoliths of Stonehenge? It's a wondrously simple device: a length of string, with a lead weight tied to one end. The tool is called a "plumb line" -- from the Latin plumbum, or "lead."
Masons hang a plumb line next to a wall they're building, and the tug of gravity pulls the weight (and the string) straight down. By sighting along the string, workers know whether the wall is straight, or whether it isn't -- whether it's perpendicular to the ground, or whether it's leaning over. A wall out of plumb cannot be repaired, but can only be torn down and rebuilt.
Sometimes, in the construction business, there are corners that can be cut. An extra piece of plywood or a coat of paint will cover all manner of sins. But there is one thing no builder can cover up: a wall that's out of plumb. Many people, throughout history, have wished for an exception to the law of gravity, but no one's ever been granted that request. (Just ask Evel Knievel's orthopedic surgeon.)
The Prophet Amos uses the plumb line as a homegrown sermon illustration. Amos is not a speaker of great sophistication: he's a plain-speaking, tell-it-like-it-is sort of person. He got into the prophecy trade because he was convinced his country was going to the dogs, and somebody had to stand up and say something.
When Amos shows up in the neighborhood, the Northern Israel Regional Chamber of Commerce doesn't exactly roll out the welcome mat. First of all, to the people of the northern kingdom, he's a foreigner. Amos hails from the southern kingdom of Judah. Second, Amos isn't much of a diplomat. He doesn't mince words.
Amos is more than upset. He's furious that the poor people of Israel can be sold into virtual slavery for the price of a pair of shoes (2:6; 8:6), while the rich recline on fancy couches and gorge themselves with gourmet delicacies (6:4). More than that, Amos castigates the business community for shady dealings. He's a one-man Federal Trade Commission: insisting that all the stall owners down in the marketplace adopt standard weights and measures, and stop bilking the common folk (8:5).
Amos forecasts the collapse of the out-of-plumb wall that is the kingdom of Israel -- and history will prove him right. A few years later, the Assyrian army will sweep through the northern kingdom like a knife through butter. Israel will be utterly annihilated, as an independent state. When that disaster breaks upon the people, some will consider it a sad quirk of politics. Yet most Israelites, paying attention to Amos at last, will see the Assyrian invasion as nothing less than the judgment of God -- a harsh, but well-deserved sentence, levied upon a nation grown corrupt and soft, a nation that has long been teetering on a shoddy spiritual foundation.
It is always worthwhile to ask of any nation whether it is constructed on a solid moral foundation. With regard to the United States in our time, there is some cause for concern. A few years back, for example, a team of researchers polled 5,000 Americans. They found the following:
¥
93 percent said their judgment about right and wrong was based solely on personal belief
¥
74 percent said they would steal from those whom they thought would not miss it
¥
Almost 50 percent of college students admitted that they cheat
¥
Upward of 24 percent of all resum?s contain materially false information
¥
64 percent of people said they would lie when it suits them, if it caused no "real" damage
Another team of researchers interviewed people on the street. They asked them if they were guided, in their daily lives, by the Ten Commandments. A very high percentage of people claimed they were. Then the researchers asked their subjects to name as many of the Ten Commandments as they could. Do you know what was the average number of commandments people could recall? Four.
When construction workers unroll a plumb line, they generally don't touch the line. They let it hang right next to the wall under construction. Looking at it is all they need to do. In the same way, the will of God is something that hangs beside this human life of ours, but which seldom directly touches it. Relying on our own judgment, we cannot always be sure that any given action conforms to the will of God; yet if we take a look at the plumb line -- the laws of God in scripture and the example of faithful obedience we see in Jesus' life -- we can sense that, yes, in the big picture somehow our lives and the Lord's will for us do run parallel.
Prayer For The Day
Lord, it is a frightening world in which we live. So often, it seems we live in a culture that's morally adrift. Keep us, your people, ever faithful to your will. Remind us of your law. Continue to show us, in Christ, the example of how we ought to live -- for his sake. Amen.
To Illustrate
Amos questioned the moral integrity of the political leaders of his own day, but unfortunately, this problem has continued even to our own day. Remember former New York mayor David Dinkins? He found himself in trouble with the IRS. "I haven't committed a crime," Dinkins told reporters. "What I did was fail to comply with the law."
Someone confronted President George H. W. Bush's budget director, Richard Darman, about why the president hadn't kept a campaign promise to preserve wetlands. "The president didn't say that," the budget director shot back. "He read what was given to him in a speech."
The classic political line, though, comes from former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry: "Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
Now where's that plumb line?
***
There are some who celebrate the heightened "freedom" of having few moral absolutes; but that freedom is rather like the freedom enjoyed by a group of sailors adrift on the open sea, in a small boat, with no compass to guide them. It's a true fact that those sailors can go absolutely anywhere they want; yet do they really want to go anywhere? Most them would trade almost anything for a compass.
***
The happiness of the people was the purpose of government, [John Adams] wrote, and therefore the form of government is best which produced the greatest amount of happiness for the largest number. And since all "sober inquirers after truth" agreed that happiness derived from virtue, that form of government with virtue at its foundation was more likely than any other to promote the general happiness.
-- David McCullough, John Adams (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001), p. 102
***
I think that what children desperately need is a moral purpose, and a lot of our children here aren't getting that. Instead they're getting parents who are very concerned about getting them into the right colleges, buying the best clothes for them, giving them an opportunity to live in neighborhoods where they'll lead fine and affluent lives and where they can be given the best things, to go on interesting vacations, and all sorts of other things.
-- Robert Coles
***
The great masquerade of evil muddles every concept of ethics. Evil appears in the form of light, as good works -- even as a historical necessity -- or as justice, and utterly confuses one who comes from the traditional world of ethical ideas. For the Christian who lives by the Bible, however, these forms of evil simply confirm its abysmal wickedness. Who is able to withstand this evil? Only he to whom the last measure is not his own reason, his principles, his freedom or even his conscience -- but rather his readiness to sacrifice all of these: only he who is called to deeds of obedience and responsibility in faith and single-minded communion with God; only he who will let his life become nothing, as answer to God's request or call.
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
***
Children today are more likely to cheat, steal, and lie than youths ten years ago, research shows.
A Josephson Institute of Ethics report, which surveyed 12,000 high school students, showed that the number who admitted cheating on exams at least once in the past year had jumped from 61 percent in 1992 to 74 percent in 2002.
Students who admitted to shoplifting within the past twelve months rose from 31 percent to 38 percent. Those who said they lied to their teachers and parents increased substantially.
"The evidence is that a willingness to cheat has become the norm and that parents, teachers, coaches, and even religious educators have not been able to stem the tide," said Michael Josephson, president of the institute, based in Marina del Rey, California. "The scary thing is that so many kids are entering the work force to become corporate executives, politicians, airplane mechanics, and nuclear inspectors with the dispositions and skills of cheaters and thieves," he said.
The surveys underlying "Report Card 2002: The Ethics of American Youth" were administered by 43 high schools throughout the country....
Despite plummeting ethics, this generation appears to possess high self-esteem. Seventy-six percent of the respondents said, "When it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know...."
Despite the increase in cheating, stealing and lying, 95 percent of students agreed, "It's important to me that people trust me," and 79 percent agreed, "It's not worth it to lie or cheat because it hurts your character."
-- Judith Person, "Survey of Youths Shows Ethics Slip," in the Washington Times, October 23, 2002
