Inspiration: 

 

“Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.”–Eleanor Roosevelt

Inferno of the Living

When most people imagine an inferno, they think of Dante ’s The Divine Comedy. However, I was raised on another story about hell, a parable told by Jesus, in which a rich man goes to hell and a poor man to heaven. The rich man is surprised to see the poor man in heaven by the side of Abraham. In his suffering, the rich man pleads to Abraham to send the poor man to give him water to quench his thirst. Abraham says that the chasm is too wide to be crossed.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and other preachers have interpreted this story to mean that the rich man went to hell not because he was rich, but rather because he allowed the poor man to become invisible to him. He passed this poor man every day and failed to help. The rich man was blind to the need of others. Even in hell, he still believed he was better than the poor man and could expect that the poor man should serve him. The callous rich man wanted the people in heaven to care and help him, but he had failed to do this in his own life on earth for others.

BY ARCHENE TURNER, COMMUNITY MINISTER, WASHINGTON D.C., FORMER YOUTH MINISTER, CEDAR LANE UU CHURCH, BETHESDA, MARYLAND  TO READ MORE

Inspiration: 

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart lead me into the work of love, which is called justice.

What Are We Missing?

This month I offer you a spiritual practice. Find yourself a bush, a tree, a nook, a path, a place on the edges of life organized by humans. Visit it when you are burned out, and let your attention go deep into the particular life of that place. Visit it when it rains, or when the sun comes out, and see how it responds and grows.

Spring is a particularly exciting time to notice a place, because change happens so quickly and with such artistic flourish. Take a child or a friend to your special place, and see what they might notice that you have missed. And when you know it well, and it becomes part of you, remember that this ordinary bit of wildness is just as much a miracle as the Amazon rainforest, and as deserving of our attention.

Environmentalism is not just about protecting the earth: it is about letting the earth renew you, letting it transform you, body, mind and spirit, and letting the earth and all her creatures be your companions on this journey

BY DARCEY LAINE, MINISTER, UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF ATHENS AND SHESHEQUIN, PENNSYLVANIA  TO READ MORE

Inspiration: 

 

How does serving others serve your soul?

Nothing Short of Evangelism

In the traditionally action-oriented Unitarian Universalist church, the meaning of evangelism goes beyond pronouncement of the Good News, and beyond mere passive listening by the congregation. Through not only listening but also dreaming boldly, our faith will be awakened, prompting us to translate the Gospel into transformative service. The Good News for the church, therefore, will be about spiritual transformation through the power of meaningful action. Such a church is worth attending.

Many Unitarians practice only an inner evangelism, an inner mission, and don’t reach out. But Unitarians in Transylvania do not stop at preaching the Gospel; they put their words into work. This action orientation, translating the Gospel into service, is a strong Transylvanian characteristic.

Sixteenth century Unitarian leader Francis Dávid brought ethical, values-based Christian thought to light. “God’s word flows as the water and flies as a bird,” he wrote. “Nobody can raise mountains nor any impediments in its way.” The good news Francis Dávid preached is this: as humans, we have the divine potential to follow the example of Jesus, our ultimate ideal and teacher. And because we can, therefore we must. Ours is not a comfortable religion. It has the ultimate challenge of perfection. As another sixteenth century Transylvanian Unitarian leader put it: “The future will ask us not how many we are, but what values we represent.”

BY REV. DR. JUDIT GELLÉRD, PHYSICIAN AND FOUNDER OF THE PARTNER CHURCH COUNCIL  TO READ MORE

Inspiration: 

 

Micah asks: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?” May my life be an answer.

Doing Justice

What is justice? We know that Unitarian Universalists think that justice is important. After all, our second principle is “justice, equity and compassion in human relations.” Equity pretty clearly means fairness—people being treated equally. Compassion means kindness and caring, from root words that literally mean feeling with someone else. So justice must be something other than fairness or kindness, otherwise there would be no point in listing it along with equity and compassion.

Maybe we can get a hint from one of my favorite bits of the Hebrew Bible, the famous call from the prophet Micah to “Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” Justice, it seems, is something you do. You can love kindness from a distance. You can feel compassion for someone who will never know your caring thoughts. But justice isn’t justice unless you do it.

BY LYNN UNGAR, MINISTER FOR LIFESPAN LEARNING, CHURCH OF THE LARGER FELLOWSHIP  TO READ MORE

Inspiration: 

 

 Spend a few minutes thinking about a personal hero who has brought justice to the world. What could you do today to be more like that person?

Heroes for Justice

Our culture likes to lift up justice “heroes,” warriors for good causes (especially if they die). We make them larger in life—in part so we don’t have to be like them, so we can just relax even though we’re not doing anything to bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice. I’ll never be Martin Luther King Jr., so I might just as well sit back and remodel the kitchen and watch TV.  Routine, unexceptional, daily ways that we can stand up for justice aren’t “good enough” so I might as well not bother at all…

Yes, it would be great if I were as eloquent as Martin Luther King, Jr. I’m not. Probably you aren’t either. But as long as we have breath, we have power, life force. As long as we have breath we can choose to love. As long as we have power, and know the truth of love, we can create justice. No matter our age, ability, race, financial status. No matter whether we are in prison or out, in the military or picketing against it, in a wheelchair or running marathons.

Justice is not a giant abstraction that will someday roll down upon us like waters, even though we sing out the ancient words longing that it will. Justice is daily, mundane, one breath at a time. Love and power are the tools with which we can bring it to life. May we practice using those tools daily.

BY MEG RILEY SENIOR MINISTER, CHURCH OF THE LARGER FELLOWSHIP  TO READ MORE