Acts of Charity, Acts of Justice Rev. Roberta Finkelstein October 2, 2005 When Barry and I were in our sophomore year in college we met Sylvester. He claimed to be a Buddhist, and a perfectly enlightened one at that, and he was trying to organize an Ashram. One evening we invited him over for dinner, and a very curious scene unfolded. He began a game with our pregnant cat – enticing her over with bits of food or playing with a string, then pushing her away. The game escalated – at least on his side. He pushed her more forcefully, teasing her unmercifully. Finally, he actually threw her across the room. At that point I ended the game and his visit. Sylvester was a perfectly enlightened sadist! Even at the age of 18, with no background or vocabulary in religion, I had what theologian Sam Keene calls a spiritual BS detector. I attribute that to my Unitarian Universalist religious education. I knew then, as I know now with even more certainty, that genuine spirituality must bear fruit – visible, audible, tangible fruit. “By their fruits,” Jesus said, “shall you know them.” The spiritual BS detector that was apparently installed in me at a young age at the Community Church of New York taught me to look for the fruits. Our minister, the Rev. Donald Szantho Harrington, died just last week at the age of 91. His obituary said of him, “Donald Harrington will be remembered for his leadership in the areas of civil rights, social justice, theology and politics. In 1952, he was among the co-founders and first co-chairs (with A. Philip Randolph) of the American Committee on Africa, whose support for the African National Congress and leadership with economic sanctions helped to make possible the election of Nelson Mandela as President of the Republic of South Africa in 1994.” You can see that I came by my convictions honestly. One of the ongoing debates in Unitarian Universalist circles is the spirituality vs. social justice debate. Some will argue that spirituality is an exclusively inward focused, personal mode of being. Social action, on the other hand is outward focused, communal, and tangible. Therefore it is not spiritual. I totally and completely reject that dichotomy. A truly spiritual person is able to attend to both inward/personal and outward/communal concerns. A truly spiritual congregation encourages both personal spiritual transformation and engaged communal activism. One of my favorite theologians, James Luther Adams, said, ““The community of justice and love is not an ethereal fellowship that is above the conflicts and turmoils of the world. It is one that takes shape in nature and history, one that requires the achievement of freedom with respect to material resources as well as with respect to spiritual resources. Indeed, the one kind of freedom is not fully authentic without the other. Freedom, justice, and love require a body as well as a spirit. We do not live by spirit alone. A purely spiritual religion is a purely spurious religion; it is one that exempts it 's believers from surrender to the sustaining, transforming reality that demands the community of justice and love.” The church of my childhood was spiritual and it was grounded in engagement with the world; we lived out the community of justice and love. That is why one of my firmest convictions is that the purpose of the church, this church, is to save the world. I know. Every religion believes that in some sense it’s just that the definition of saving the world varies. (There have been many attempts to classify religious institutions based on the way they relate to the larger culture. I have drawn for this sermon on the work of Roozen, McKinney and Carroll in Varieties of Religious Presence). For many faiths with what is called an “other-worldly” orientation, saving the world means saving individual souls in anticipation judgment in the after-life. Some churches do this by providing a place for people to come to get away from the world in the company of committed fellow-believers. Members are encouraged to lead a moral and ethical life, and to look forward to the next stop – a place and time in which all the pettiness of this world will be transcended. These are the Sanctuary churches. Others are called Evangelistic – rather than quietly withdrawing, they are out there actively engaged with the temporal world for the sole purpose of helping people to see beyond it to the end time. I doubt that anybody would ever accuse Unitarian Universalists of being other-worldly in their mission focus! Then there are the “this-worldly” religions. The mission of these churches is focused on the here and now. One basic tenet of Unitarian Universalism is that this world, and this time, is all we’ve got. So instead of waiting around for somebody to save us, let’s get busy and save ourselves! Another of my favorite contemporary UU theologians, the humanist Rev. William R. Jones, writes about what he calls the functional ultimacy of humanity . In simple terms, it doesn’t matter whether or not you believe in a God, you had better act as though it is up to us, and get busy saving the world yourself. A “this-worldly” focus invites engagement with rather than withdrawal from the larger community. This engagement can take different forms. Just as individuals will vary in the way they express their care for something or somebody beyond themselves, so too will congregations differ in they way they engage with their world. Some will be primarily involved in acts of charity. The concern for the quality of life in the community is expressed in actions such as feeding the homeless, collecting clothing for a shelter, or raising money for a cause. The goal is the alleviation of suffering wherever it may be encountered; their primary message is a call to civility and harmony. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that many activists actually start out performing acts of charity. When Dorothea Dix began her work, she may have been motivated by a sense of compassion for suffering individuals, and wished to alleviate their pain. Her first attempts to improve the way mentally ill persons were treated were charitable. “That poor man,” I imagine her thinking. “We should get him better housing and food, nicer clothing. Nobody should live like that.” Earlier in this century, theologian Reinhold Neibuhr said that in public life, love is expressed by a concern for justice. And some UU congregations will find the will and the consensus to become primarily involved in acts of justice – taking on unfair and oppressive institutions and structure, questioning the practices and intents of the economic and social order. The goal is systemic change. These are the Activist congregations. In my work of historical fiction, Dorothea Dix moved from acting out of charity to acting out of justice when she concluded that there was a systemic problem that needed fixing. She began to document the abuses she observed, and used that documentation to craft legislation that brought about systemic change. Acts of justice and acts of charity are not mutually exclusive! A church that is primarily Activist will still be moved to alleviate immediate suffering, and a church that is primarily charitable will occasionally find itself corporately riled up enough about something to be moved to speak out in a prophetic way. The world needs both kinds of social action. One of the great opportunities of the interim years is that you have the opportunity to reflect together about all of the ways that you live out your ministry together. Radical hospitality, stewardship, fellowship, small groups, charity, and justice . . . every aspect of your life together in faith will be passed through a lens of discernment. Is this a genuine expression of who we understand ourselves to be? Does this further our mission? Does it emerge out of our covenant? How does it fare when we pass our spiritual BS detector over it? I’d like to offer you a model for congregational activism that seems to fit you pretty well: the fourth in our typology is called the Servant Church. This church, “ . . . goes about the work of helping people in need with a quiet faithfulness. It sees individuals in need and reaches out to help them in supportive and pastoral ways. Its members visit the sick, take meals to the bereaved, and send cards to shut-ins. Its social ministries often provide food, clothing and other basic needs to its neighbors. The Servant Church is aware of justice issues, but is not naturally focused on systemic analysis of social evils. It can, however, take stands of conscience when forced by circumstances, and it can move into advocacy when necessary. While not aggressive in forming partnerships, they form quiet, neighborly relationships with other individuals and institutions who can help them in helping others.” Does this sound like you, at least when you are at your best? I think so. And I think it sounds like a strong and stable foundation on which to continue to build. Recent current events have reminded me that acts of charity and acts of justice cannot, in the long run, be separated from each other. The initial response to Hurricane Katrina, the outpouring of generosity, represents an act of charity in the best sense of the word. But I fear that we will be judged a failure by future generations if we stop there, and ignore the justice issues that were brought into stark focus by the hurricane. Yes, by all means, feed the hungry and house the displaced. But when the immediate crisis is over, follow in the footsteps of your spiritual ancestor Dorothea Dix. Ask yourselves, what is the systemic problem here that allows for this kind of poverty, and why is it so obviously race-based? Gather the data, do the analysis, craft solutions that not only end immediate suffering, but insure that when the next hurricane blows through, it will not be annual income or skin color that determines who gets out and who drowns. So I guess my message to you is two-fold. Continue to do what you do well; but stand prepared to be moved to advocacy. Remember Daniel, who was able to cross over to the other side when the circumstances demanded it. Perhaps for some of you, that opportunity will come on Thursday evening when we begin to explore the Welcoming Congregation program – a program designed to move your congregation to a more proactively hospitable stance towards gays and lesbians. The Welcoming Congregation program, when completed, is a corporate act of justice. In the mean time, just be sure that your congregation is one whose spirituality bears fruit – visible, audible tangible fruit. Building on what you already do well, continue to find ways to bring UUCF’s ministry into your community.. The purpose of this church is to save the world, and our special gift is that we don’t call anybody a sinner when we offer salvation. I hope that this congregation will help every one of you will find a way to express your own spirituality in a saving way as the year progresses.