I believe we must follow the example of our radical reformation cousins, the Quakers, and try to “speak truth to power.” Sometimes that means taking an unpopular stand. Sometimes, and this can be the most difficult thing, but also maybe the most important;, it means calling ourselves to account. I believe this commitment to truth-telling is a powerful and a dangerous commission given to us from the depths of our spiritual perspective. We must be willing to turn over the tables of the money changers in the temple. And—perhaps this is the harder task—to be willing to turn over the tables of the money changers within our own hearts.
We are called, I believe, to seek out what is truest in our community and our own lives and to make it real. This is hard work. Particularly hard for a tradition that makes no claim to being an “only true way.” Pontius Pilate asked, “what is truth?” In some ways this is an easy question, turning away personal responsibility. For Pilate it becomes simply and literally washing his hands of a dirty matter. But, if we truly engage it, this question becomes one of the hardest and potentially richest of all human questions. We religious liberals need to ask, “what is truth?” By asking this question sincerely, we struggle with the world in which we actually live, and through that open the possibility of clear discernment.
Now I use a lot of imperative language here, a lot of “musts.” I want to clarify a little what I mean by “must.” I am not saying any one of us or we as a community must do any specific thing. For us to be true to our liberal faith there can be no compulsion. Rather, it must come from within us as individuals, to seek the right and the true by our own best lights. But, as we do, I see some responses common among us.
I find that as we truly engage ourselves and the world and ask that burning question about truth, we often come to some sense of interconnectedness. In fact, I believe the great genius of contemporary liberal religion is specifically articulating that profound insight: we are all connected at the most intimate level. The “must” of which
I write here, is the impulse rising out of our understanding of connectedness. Honorable and reasonable people will differ on how to respond to this insight. While I am generally committed to the “liberal” political positions of our contemporary American culture, and rather to the left of that; I’m also aware the assumptions of that party are parochial and can easily be wrong. Within my spiritual commitment I try to avoid narrow partisanship. Indeed, as religious liberals, I believe we need to honor the various understandings of how best to act in this world of motion.
We need to consider carefully, and choose responsibly, what we give our attention and resources to. We must not be driven by the desires of one individual or a small group. And, I think it is not only illegal, but also inappropriate for us, as a church, to engage in partisan politics. Although at the very same time I also believe we must be engaged, we must act in some manner as a spiritual, as a religious community. If we are not, then our religious sentiments are suspect. We must be engaged. There is the must.
I’m taken with that old bumper sticker that proclaims, “Think globally, act locally.” But it should be moderated by that other bumper sticker, “Don’t believe everything you think.” Personally, I am most interested in local action—and particularly those traditional works of the church: to feed the hungry, to house those without shelter, to clothe the naked, to visit the prisoner and the ill. But, I’m also interested in our traditional liberal concern for the environment and world peace. And, I’m deeply concerned with issues of economic justice—while remaining critical of both traditional leftest and rightest answers. Any work we do as a church, must be arrived at by a large majority among us—and even then needs always to have escape clauses for those among us who do not agree with any given action or public statement.
Social issues concern me deeply, and they crop up fairly regularly in my sermons. I will encourage the community to consider how these concerns might manifest within the life of our church. All this is fundamental to what I believe the church should be: the articulated voice of what human community can be.
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