<html><body>Part 2<div><br></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background: rgb(255, 255, 241);"> Barbara Cawthorne Crafton, in an interesting essay called “Mensch and Mitzvah”, <sup>4 </sup>wrote, “</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In Judaism, the mitzvah -- the good deed -- isn't an option. It's an obligation. You don't get extra points with God for doing a good deed -- you have to do the mitzvah in order to be an observant Jew. Even secular Jews, who do not keep the welter of other Jewish laws, remember the obligation of the mitzvah, and have taught us all to expect that all Jews will have a strong commitment to social justice. We're always surprised when we meet one who seems not to care much about it.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> This was carried over from Judaism, with nary a second thought, by the early Church. This is “turning the other cheek”, “going the extra mile”, “feeding the hungry”, “visiting those in prison”, and so on.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> It doesn’t really matter <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WHY</span></b> Alban became host to the priest. It is enough to know that he did it. He reached out to a man – did he know that this was a priest, I wonder – Alban reached out and probably only then discovered that he was someone whom the law enforcement and court officials were chasing. The rule of hospitality prevailed and, over the course of the next few days, by listening to the priest pray and talk, he was so impressed that he took on the patterns of the priest’s life and converted to Christianity. It was only natural, then, when the Romans came to his door, he passed himself off as the priest, allowing him to escape. He placed himself in the complete person of the one who’d told him about Jesus and demonstrated how Jesus calls us to live.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">“I wonder now,” wrote a professor from Oklahoma, “I wonder now as I have continued to wonder for some time, what might happen if all religious traditions preached messages not simply of love (as many of us know and have heard for years, we have been loved, while our sins have not), but rather, messages of radical love that must by extension mean full inclusivity for all human life — an inclusiveness so profound that there would be no need for councils, conferences, discussions, or debates on which lives matter and to what degree they do. I wonder. And I hope for something different. Many of us do.” <sup>5</sup></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> What Jesus, asked, based on the teaching of the Judaism he lived; what Alban did, based on the priest’s convictions; what we see all around us, every day, time and time again, is, as Professor Mena wrote, such a radical love that should take our breath away when it is shown to us, and be absolutely our second nature from the time we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed at night.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> I have to admit to having been a little worried when Deacon Senitila called us to be kind. “Kind” is a word that can be so overused. It’s been softened so often that it may become little more than another sentimental word on some greeting card. Being kind, though, should fill us with fire, should make us so passionate that we spill out our feelings, our hopes, our whole beings on behalf of others – <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ANY</span></b> others, no matter where, no matter when.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> “Jo was a leader who fought for genocide victims in Darfur, for survivors of human trafficking, for women’s health, for Syrian refugees, and, yes, for remaining in the European Union. She was also a proud mom of two small children: When she was pregnant, she used to sign her emails “Jo (and very large bump).”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> “Jo’s dedication to the voiceless may have cost her life. At least one witness said that the man who stabbed and shot Jo shouted ‘Britain First!’” <sup>6</sup></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> “Britain First!” indeed! What if Alban had said, “Druids First!”? Or “Celts before everyone else!”, and thrown the priest out on the street?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> Was Alban looking to die? Certainly not, not any more than Jo Cox, the young Yorkshire Member of Parliament, was. It’s not a matter of deliberately martyr-ising. It’s simply a matter of <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ALWAYS</span></b> being ready to stand up for, and to stand in for, anyone and everyone, no matter who, no matter where</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> As many people have said, “We all know what is fundamentally right, …” Well, I’m not sure I’m fully convinced about that, but I’m working on it and maybe listening with the open ears and heart Alban exhibited might help me further down the road. But that’s not the end of the quotation. “We all know what is fundamentally right, but it’s what you do with that knowledge that counts.” That came from a blog with the intriguing title, “It’s Better to be Kind, Than it is to be ‘Right.’” <sup>7</sup> As I drove down I-5 from a diocesan meeting in Salem yesterday, I happened to hear a really interesting programme which talked about the man named one of the fifty greatest players in history. Rick Barry was an incredibly accurate scorer, especially in free throws. How? He threw underhand – completely legal. There’s nothing at all to prevent it, and he said it’s the most natural way to control one’s muscles and to send the ball through the hoop. He talked to at least two generations of players about this. He showed them. He more than doubled Wilt Chamberlain’s accuracy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> The problem was, although Chamberlain and others <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">KNEW </span></b>this, they wouldn’t follow it. They didn’t want to put up with thoughtless and mean-spirited teasing, as Barry did. So they sacrificed their games –<b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">AND</span></b> that of their team-mates … think about <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">THAT</span></b> for a moment! – they sacrificed their games for the sake of appearances.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> It put me back in front of a home in the vicinity of what is now the community of St. Alban’s, northwest of London. It puts me in </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">DaNoble House in Waldport. It puts me – it puts me everywhere with the knowledge that I <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">DO</span></b> know what is fundamentally right. But it’s what I <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">DO</span></b> with it that counts. <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">THIS</span></b> is how we know what love is.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">NOTES:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">[1]</span></span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj869CK5bnNAhVaGGMKHdO3C6QQFggcMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTo_Be_Kind&usg=AFQjCNGJkzFPLq4VrZSZGODm0sqk2DfjIA"></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj869CK5bnNAhVaGGMKHdO3C6QQFggcMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTo_Be_Kind&usg=AFQjCNGJkzFPLq4VrZSZGODm0sqk2DfjIA">https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj869CK5bnNAhVaGGMKHdO3C6QQFggcMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTo_Be_Kind&usg=AFQjCNGJkzFPLq4VrZSZGODm0sqk2DfjIA</a></span></p><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Louis Pattison of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i><a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncut_(magazine)" title="Uncut (magazine)"><span style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128);">Uncut</span></a></i><span class="apple-converted-space"> - cited</span></span> at article noted above.</span></p><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">3</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <i>“Kind synonyms, Kind antonyms”</i> <cite><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 33); font-style: normal;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/kind">www.thesaurus.com/browse/<b>kind</b></a></span></cite></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><cite><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 102, 33); font-style: normal;"> </span></b></cite></p><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">4</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <i>“Mensch and Mitzvah”</i> by Barbara Cawthorne Crafton in<i> “The Geranium Farm” </i><b><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.geraniumfarm.org/dailyemo.cfm?Emo=658"><span style="font-weight: normal;">www.geraniumfarm.org/dailyemo.cfm?Emo=658</span></a></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">5</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Peter Anthony Mena, Phillips Theological Seminary in Oklahoma</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">6</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“R.I.P., Jo Cox. May Britain Remember Your Wisdom.” By </span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/column/nicholas-kristof"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Nicholas Kristof</span></a> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;">JUNE 21, 2016 <span style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"><a target="_blank" href="http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=4z5Q7LhI+KVBjmEgFdYACPLKh239P3pg1IzqXWKFP3ky%2FqsV+VlwYcetoVa8f%2FPTfiJnp9POdKejSvWVHrT24JXbGzmOoSPjyrpPBRNhocSZMtYik8aVquQPyaTpj%2Fr+p99FCp0+EH8ZWUK6%2FMeZzSh+6YpVRsJcZEcqo9e2dKYrR3AQc6K9Bg%3D%3D&campaign_id=8420&instance_id=78105&segment_id=91292&user_id=13776d46e58cd1c84bbfacad680c03b7®i_id=63205127"></a><a target="_blank" href="http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=4z5Q7LhI+KVBjmEgFdYACPLKh239P3pg1IzqXWKFP3ky%2FqsV+VlwYcetoVa8f%2FPTfiJnp9POdKejSvWVHrT24JXbGzmOoSPjyrpPBRNhocSZMtYik8aVquQPyaTpj%2Fr+p99FCp0+EH8ZWUK6%2FMeZzSh+6YpVRsJcZEcqo9e2dKYrR3AQc6K9Bg%3D%3D&campaign_id=8420&instance_id=78105&segment_id=91292&user_id=13776d46e58cd1c84bbfacad680c03b7®i_id=63205127">http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=4z5Q7LhI+KVBjmEgFdYACPLKh239P3pg1IzqXWKFP3ky%2FqsV+VlwYcetoVa8f%2FPTfiJnp9POdKejSvWVHrT24JXbGzmOoSPjyrpPBRNhocSZMtYik8aVquQPyaTpj%2Fr+p99FCp0+EH8ZWUK6%2FMeZzSh+6YpVRsJcZEcqo9e2dKYrR3AQc6K9Bg%3D%3D&campaign_id=8420&instance_id=78105&segment_id=91292&user_id=13776d46e58cd1c84bbfacad680c03b7®i_id=63205127</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">7</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.6pt;">“THE BLOG </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25pt;">It’s Better To Be Kind, Than It Is To Be ‘Right.’” </span></i><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 06/20/2016 06:27 pm ET <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj869CK5bnNAhVaGGMKHdO3C6QQqQIIODAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fzac-thompson%2Fits-better-to-be-kind_b_10579048.html&usg=AFQjCNGgtr4VY7CnRTlrZwKv_uO819mImw"></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj869CK5bnNAhVaGGMKHdO3C6QQqQIIODAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fzac-thompson%2Fits-better-to-be-kind_b_10579048.html&usg=AFQjCNGgtr4VY7CnRTlrZwKv_uO819mImw">https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj869CK5bnNAhVaGGMKHdO3C6QQqQIIODAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fzac-thompson%2Fits-better-to-be-kind_b_10579048.html&usg=AFQjCNGgtr4VY7CnRTlrZwKv_uO819mImw</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/zac-thompson"><span style="color: windowtext; letter-spacing: -0.1pt; text-decoration: none;">Zac Thompson,</span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;"> </span></a>Outspeak Editor, in association with The Huffington Post</span></p></div></div><div><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div></body></html>