Two weeks ago I received an e-mail from a former church school student which caught my attention. He made a strong case against our nation's "war on terrorism," a case with which I had to agree, though I have said little about it of late. His message stirred me with its moral passion, and its reminder for me to stay the course in the struggle for peace and justice.
I share this with you on this Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Sunday, not to re-open debate about the "war on terrorism", but to point with pride to one of our own who takes social responsibility seriously. While we read that the older generation are the activists and the young simply aren't interested, here was a powerful contradiction of that thesis. It was another learning about justice. The world may have changed forever on September 11, but the Unitarian Universalist commitment to change it for the better did not.
What else have I learned about justice-making over the past 32 years. My learnings are in the form of Ten Commandments for Saving the World, but, knowing how Unitarian Universalists tend to resist commandments, we might want to call them the Ten Suggestions for Repairing the World. My suggestions come not from Mount Sinai, but from the trenches I have shared with those who think that they can improve the world - many of them members and friends of this congregation.
1. Thou shalt always seek tangibilication of thy faith.
Tangibilication - to make tangible. "Faith without works is dead." From the Biblical Book of James 2:17. The Christian mystic Meister Eckhart wrote: "I have told you this time and again. If a person were in a rapture as great as St. Paul once experienced and learned that her neighbor were in need of a cup of soup, it would be best to withdraw from the rapture and give the person the soup he needs."
We have assumed a gap between our personal spiritual pilgrimage and the universal call for justice - as if they were separate entities. I contend they are part of the same spiritual process. Religion is that ultimate core of meanings, values and convictions out of which we live our lives. Not being able to express my faith in works would be spiritually suffocating. And so, for example, when the New York State Legislature debates a Women's Health and Wellness Bill that would exclude contraceptive services because of religious objections from the Roman Catholic Church, I feel obliged to express my Unitarian Universalist conviction that all women who seek it should be granted coverage. I just can't help myself. Freedom must be made real.
2. Thou shalt consider thyself a fulcrum to change the world.
Thou art a lever to move things to a better place; each action hath cosmic consequences. In the year 250 BCE, Archimedes tried to explain the principle of leverage to the General Xerxes. Xerxes was skeptical until Archimedes rigged a series of pulleys and ropes and proceeded to drag one of Xerxes' great warships along the water's edge. "O, yes," explained Archimedes. "given the proper leverage, a very small force can move almost any object. Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth."
I have been privileged to work with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee almost my whole life. As a child I saved nickels and dimes for Universalist Service Committee support of Bir Zeit College on the West Bank and African student scholarships; in the summer of 1965 Joyce and I led a Head Start project in Suffolk, Virginia, encountering some resistance from the local authorities; in 1991 on a UUSC field trip to the Philippines I was detained by the military for 16 hours, a real adventure.
The question posed by one of UUSC's campaigns haunts me: "Who are you to think you can change the world?" I am so presumptuous as to think that I can change at least one corner of it. With Oscar Romero I believe in planting seeds that will bear fruit long after I am gone. That is why it is our mission to enable each and every church school class to take on at least one service or action project. It is a primary part of their religious education. To work for justice is part of what it is to be a Unitarian Universalist.
3. Thou shalt carry a newspaper in one hand and a Bible (or its Unitarian Universalist equivalent) in the other.[1]
Justice groweth out of faith. Keep this thought ever with thee as thou dost approach thy friends and thy adversaries.
One of the most powerful concepts of deity I know is that "God is the source of unrest in the world." Humanists might think of God as the creative tension between the ideal of our faith and the reality of the world as it is. For us religion and social justice work are part of a seamless garment. Having been blessed with the gift of life, we work to deserve our good fortune.
I think back in our religious history to the 17th century Minor Church of Poland. To an impressive degree its adherents stressed church discipline, by which they meant the frequent reminding of individuals of their duty as faithful people in a religious community. Quarterly, a moral and spiritual examination was made of each member, followed by exhortation and correction from minister and laity alike. It was serious business, and each had to make an accounting of their stewardship. A Catholic historian later declared this religious faith was very influential in Polish history, and that one reason its adherents did not become more numerous was that its moral and spiritual demands were too strict. That intriguing story prompted me to write a chancel drama: "If you were arrested for being a Unitarian Universalist, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"
4. Thou shalt remember that many are called but most are frozen.
When thou goest to thy congregation full of the social gospel, thou shalt beware those who, like Voltaire's Candide, would cultivate their gardens only. Be thou realistic and patient and seek to create a thaw.
The inimitable Yogi Berra once said, "I'm for leaving the status quo like it is." There is in the Unitarian Universalist heart of hearts a fierce unease with the status quo. What is the status quo there for, but to be changed? Theodore Parker, our most prophetic 19th century minister, once said that "the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Our call, is to keep bending it. That is why each fall we mobilize ourselves in a congregational meeting to create a social justice agenda for the ensuing year. It is out of that process that we have maintained our partnership with two inner city schools for 13 years. Many were called into the Saturday Academy at School 22 last fall. That was an act of faith - a commitment to the future.
5. Thou shalt resist burnout; thou shalt invest thyself for the long haul, yea even beyond the next cause.
Thou shalt remember that the pursuit of peace and justice is not an occasional endeavor, not an extra-curricular activity, but a way of living. Be thou not summer citizens who quit thy work when icy drafts of apathy or ignorance cool thy ardor. Thy objectives will not be achieved during thy lifetime.
These are hard times for social activists; the powers and principalities of which the Apostle Paul spoke are stronger and more intransigent than ever; the resources for struggling with them seem to be shrinking. For instance, we who seek universal health care, like our Health Care Task Force, must cope with the local corporations, now joined by the University of Rochester, which move toward self-insurance, forsaking the community rating system that has in past helped to keep costs down and quality up.
People are discouraged - discouraged I believe because they do not understand that repairing the world is a project for the long haul - and therefore full of defeats. The Quaker activist Parker Palmer once asked Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day how she could keep doing work that seemed to show no results. She said matter-of-factly: "The thing you don't understand, Parker, is that just because something is impossible doesn't mean you shouldn't do it! I have never asked myself if I was being effective, but only if I was being faithful."[2]
We light a chalice each Sunday to remind us of our responsibilities. That chalice light is not like a rocket flashing in the night, but like the steady glow of the candle in the dark places of human need. Remember that most effective social action is done by people who are tired, don't feel well and never have enough time. They are those who keep the chalice burning.
6. Thou shalt do thy homework.
Blessed (and effective) are the informed. "Ye shall know the facts and the facts shall make thee powerful." There is in us the impulse to "do" something, not just "talk" about it. And that is a healthy thing, but too often we plunge into some project with passion, but without facts; with enthusiasm, but without a plan of action; with sincerity, but without direction. Knowledge is a powerful tool for people who would change the world.
Rabbi Tarfon was once asked: "Is study greater, or action?" He said, "Action is greater." Rabbi Akiba said, "Study is greater." Then they all said that study is greater because study leads to action."
But there is never enough time to study all the issues that require our attention. And so we must inevitably act on the basis of insufficient knowledge. The temptation is to throw up our hands and say we can never know enough to take a stand. Real commitment is required to take stands based on the "courage of our confusions." Otherwise, we become irrelevant and the so-called "experts" make all the decisions.
Our Globalization and Economic Justice Task Force has been conducting a seminar on "free" and "fair" trade. I am giving a talk on the ethics of globalization this coming Friday at our Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office Seminar in New York City. I can never know enough about it, but its impact is so pervasive I must speak to it, acknowledging its power even as I critique its impact.
The more-than-ever-muddled Middle East is an even more dramatic example of an intractable moral dilemma. Nonetheless, we can call on Israel to pull back an incursion which is like a hammer swatting a fly, and on the Palestinian Authority to stop the terrorist bombings, if it can. Moreover, we can insist the U. S. see this tragedy as a foreign policy priority over the "war on terrorism."
7. Thou shalt think globally and act locally.
Thou shalt see thy work in its larger context of meaning and action, and do thy own small part well. Thinketh thee of the cartoon of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza approaching a great modern city of skyscrapers. Saith Sancho to Don Quixote: "Tell me again how we're going to fight City Hall?"
There is a moral myopia among change agents that is disturbing. We tend to become tunnel-visioned in our work, focusing intently on the immediate task at hand. That has value, but it is also vitally important that we see our particular project as part of the jig-saw puzzle of justice; that we see our role in the larger peace and justice movement; that we know we are not alone.
Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Frederick Douglas said, "A blow for justice anywhere is a blow for justice everywhere."
There are times I confess I am discouraged at the meager size of my efforts in the context of a hurting world. I dabble in raising a few dollars and cents for Interfaith Impact of New York State or the Service Committee, while I see the powers and principalities of the world like Enron invest millions, if not billions, on the other side of the scale. Our African Affairs and Accessibility and Community Against Racism Task Forces are tackling enormous issues; where else to start but right here in our church, in our community. Their efforts seem minute, but conscience counts for something. We are trying to connect the problem of AIDS in Africa to our church school youth; we have a handicapped accessible building; we have raised hundreds of dollars for the Urban League.
We want to feel, we need desperately to feel, in the words of St. Exupery, that ". . . when setting one's stone, that one is contributing to the building of the world."
8. Thou shalt change the world one step at a time.
As it hath been said of old: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." (Lao Tse) Thou shalt have thy great goals before thee, but thou shalt also have thy objectives (specific, measurable, achievable and consonant with thy values), thy strategies, thy tactics and thy timelines - especially thy timelines. Thou shalt adhere unto them.
You may have noticed that the Otetiana Council, Boy Scouts of America, has taken issue with national BSA on the issue of homosexuality. It has adopted an open door policy and plans training sessions in inclusion. Our Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Concerns Task Force has participated in that process. It was one small step in a large undertaking.
Social reformer Jacob Riis provides an apt metaphor for the patience required to change the world: "When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter, hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two and I know it was not that blow that did it but all that had gone before."
9. Thou shalt constitute thy congregation as a community of moral discourse and action.
Thou canst not change the world by thyself. Harken unto thy congregation and they will harken unto thee. Act faithfully and thy congregation will go and do likewise, hopeth we always. But remember the wise admonition of the ancient Turkish proverb: "If you would speak the truth, keep a fast horse and one foot in the stirrup of the saddle."
This religious community is no mere focus group, like political parties seeking the lowest common denominator that will get them elected. The church as community of moral discourse is the realization that the church is not a political headquarters, but a place where discussion of the great decisions takes place in a context in which moral values are decisive, not derivative. Our Hunger, Housing and Homelessness Task Force has not only collected food and clothing for the poor, but they have challenged us by bringing to our attention public issues that impact the poor - like the renewal of welfare reform which we will need to address in the months ahead.
Each of us takes on our work from where we are theologically, ethically, socially. Some of us prefer the "hands-on" project of serving at a soup kitchen or staffing a homeless shelter, or providing rides for the elderly and the handicapped of Southeast Rochester, or tutoring a child. I remember an elderly member who was typing a letter to Senator George McGovern when I visited. Some of us prefer the give and take of changing a system that denies people what they deserve of human dignity. Wherever we take hold, it is imperative we do one thing well, never forgetting the spiritual growth we experience in the process.
10. Thou shalt be a happy warrior.
Prepare thyself for "a joyous struggle," in the words of Fred Shuttlesworth, a civil right worker with Martin Luther King, as he lay bleeding after being beaten by police in the 1960's. Keep thy sense of humor and celebrate life in all thy going out and coming in, yea, from this day forth. Grouches seldom change the world. Keep thy sense of humor, for thou wilt need it in a crazy world.
I keep humor close at hand. One of my favorite cartoons is of a bearded man with robe and sandals who walked down the street with a sign that read: "The world is not coming to an end: therefore, you must suffer along and learn to cope."
It has been a painful and a joyous learning, and there is much more learning to come. A wise mystic said: "I was a revolutionary when I was young, and my prayer to God was: 'Lord, give me the energy to change the world.' As I approached middle age and realized that my life was half gone without my changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to: 'Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come into contact with me. Just my family and friends, and I shall be satisfied.' Now that I am an old man and my days are numbered, I have begun to see how foolish I have been. My one prayer now is: 'Lord, give me the grace to change myself.' If I had prayed this right from the start, I would not have wasted my life."[3]
On the contrary, I do not feel I have wasted my life. Experiences I have had in trying to repair the world have been among the "peak experiences" of my life that I cherish. Commitment to a cause beyond the self is enriching; it creates human meaning; it helps me feel I have made a difference. Justice has been served for dessert and I have found it quite spiritually delicious. I am not sure I have deserved all the good things that have come my way in this work, but I would not have had it any other way. Taste. Enjoy. Be filled.
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