Inspiration:

 

Is justice the goal, or a stopping-place on the road to mercy and compassion?

Justice and Mercy

Unitarian Universalists hold justice to be a particularly important aspect of right relationships among human beings. Among the Principles and Purposes that UU congregations covenant together to affirm and promote are “justice, equity and compassion in human relations,” and “the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.” And among the sources from which our living tradition draws, we lift up “words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love.”

But how can we temper justice with mercy?

For justice may judge, but mercy forgives. Justice may punish, but mercy heals. Justice may try to sever the connections that sustain and renew life, but mercy works to build and strengthen and reaffirm human worth and dignity and the connections that are, ultimately, our daily experience of the Sacred.

by Sally White from Incarcerated Family Member TO READ MORE

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Inspiration:

Justice

That Justice is a blind goddess
Is a thing to which we black are wise:
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once perhaps were eyes.

–Langston Hughes

Living Faith in the Light of Racism

Everyday I wake up and find in love and gratitude the patchwork I need to feel whole, human, and worthy…once again. Some days I am more successful than others. Some days the cracks, the fissures of these particular spiritual and emotional wounds around racism, threaten to widen beyond what I am capable of repairing. Many times I fear I will run out of love to fill in those cracks. But fill them I must, even if only partially, because I know that if I should fail (as I have in the past), what takes up the space in the cracks is bitterness, anger, and sadness…even hatred. I do not want those fissures to widen and deepen; I fear that would cause my soul to rot from the inside out. So I find the love and pray that I never run out of putty.

by Lena Gardner  TO READ MORE

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Inspiration:

 

 

“Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.” –Blaise Pascal 

Marriage Equality and LGBT Rights

As Unitarian Universalists, we believe that each person has inherent worth.  Our Universalist heritage teaches us that nothing can destroy this worth, because it comes from the love of God.  To our Universalist forebears, God was a power of such infinite love that forgiveness was automatic and complete for all human beings.  I believe our Universalist heritage has a lot to teach us about marriage equality and the full inclusion of LGBT people in our society.

The modern-day legacy of this revolutionary theology has at least two lessons relevant to Unitarian Universalism’s support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.  The first is that we are called to reject any arbitrary division of humanity because all people are equally loved by God.  We reject racism, classism, sexism and other forms of oppression based on this theology.  In this case, we come to understand that love is love and that people should not be discriminated against based on whom they love.

A second legacy from Universalism is that love is the most powerful and important force at work in our lives. Universalism teaches us that the love of God can overcome even the most heinous sins. What does that call human beings to do, then?  I believe it asks us to accept that love, wherever it is found, needs to be honored, celebrated, and recognized as holy. Further, healthy, loving relationships—regardless of the sex(es) or gender(s) of the people in them—are an expression of the holy and should be treated as such.

by Rev. Dr. Michael Tino, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Westchester in Mount Kisco, NY.  TO READ MORE

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Inspiration:

 

Spirit of Justice, help my eyes remain open to the truth, even when it is easier not to see.

Finding the Blessing

Author James Baldwin said: “What passes for identity in America is a series of myths about one’s heroic ancestors.” Our civic culture tells us that America has always been in the right, despite the voices on the margins that have offered an alternative narrative. But standing at the memorial in Hiroshima, I knew that I could not avoid my place in history. As an American, I could not avoid responsibility.

It’s like the many conversations I’ve had with white people about race. “I’m not prejudiced. I’ve never kept black people down. I’ve worked hard all my life. Some of my best friends are….”

All of those statements can be true, and often are, but by living in a society that was built on prejudice and which depends on the presence of a permanent underclass of people of color, white people cannot avoid participating in a system that oppresses, a system that has privileged them. Its not about individual guilt or innocence; it’s not about individual culpability. It is a collective reality in which we all live.

My hunch is that queer folks, disabled folks and recent immigrants remember conversations that sound eerily similar.

It is easier, often, not to know some things. And far more comfortable not to ask some questions.

by Bill Sinkford, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church Of Portland, Oregon, Former President of the UUA TO READ MORE

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Inspiration:

 

 

How does if feel different to pursue justice for yourself than for another?

Do Justice

People were asking Micah questions about rules and regulations. Their questions were very specific. They were asking, “What do I need to do to get right with my God? What do I need to do in order to lead a meaningful life?” But they were asking in the language of their day: “How many more rams do I have to sacrifice?” Sacrificing in those days was an important part of religious ritual. They wanted to know, “What do we need to do to be in right relationship; what are the rules and regulations of this religion you are asking us to follow?”

Micah responds by saying something that might sound like this today: “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, what’s required of you, what life expects out of you, is not nearly as legalistic as you think. It’s not nearly as legalistic as you’ve been used to,” he tells them. “It’s not an issue of how many rams you sacrifice or how many prayers you say. That’s the good news. The bad news is, religion is no longer a private affair. It’s not so pietistic any more. What’s expected of you is to relate to other people. And while that may sound easy, it’s a lot harder than dotting every ‘I’ and crossing every ‘T.’ Your religion is no longer private. You are expected to be public. You are expected to be with other people.” He continues by describing what he means by this and the first thing he says is that they are expected to do justice.

The word for justice in ancient Hebrew is “mishpat.” You lose a lot in the translation. When Micah told the people to “do justice,” they knew exactly what he meant. You see, there are two words that are used in the Hebrew Scriptures for justice. One of them, tzedakah, means “righteousness.” This is almost a state of being in justice. The other, mishpat, means, “to do justice.” It’s active. Everybody listening to Micah understood that.

BY FREDRIC J. MUIR, MINISTER, THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND TO READ MORE

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