The Constitution is not a cookbook. It is a framework, a document that sets parameters and limitations on governmental power as well as listing certain rights that are not to be abridged. In its over 200-year history, people have used and abused its words for their own purposes, a bit like Scripture.
Over the centuries the courts have issued many rulings regarding a whole host of issues which were clearly not envisioned by our Nation’s founders because the technology did not exist. Take telephones, for instance. What constitutes a violation of unreasonable search regarding the information that may be stored in a cell phone? Judges and Justices have figured out ways to get around the limitations of the Fourth Amendment.
The polarizing debate on Roe v. Wade will have repercussions far beyond the case now before the Supreme Court. As Gloria Steinem said on NPR yesterday, creating laws that eliminate reproductive choice for women robs democracy of its essential meaning.
Prayer for the Day
In this time of division and polarization, we need to feel your presence
For you embrace us, reminding us that we are not alone;
In this time of anger and wrath, we need to feel your peace,
And respond to your call to be witnesses of reconciliation.
Help us to commit ourselves to healing the divisions around us,
And share your peace as faithful witnesses to your Gospel.
In the name of the One who is our example,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
A constitution, intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs.
- John Marshall, Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court (1755-1835)
I don’t say women’s rights—I say the constitutional principle of the equal citizenship stature of men and women.
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice, U.S. Supreme Court (1933-2020)
May God grant me to speak with judgment,
And to have thoughts worthy of what I have received;
For God is the guide even of wisdom and the corrector of the wise.
For both we and our words are in God’s hand,
As are all understanding and skill in crafts.
Wisdom of Solomon 7: 15-16