One Aspect of Social Engagement as a Spiritual Path

I’ve had more than one person come to me in the last few months and ask why is it if I’m supposed to be (at least by Unitarian Universalist standards) a spiritual person, why are so many of my sermons and projects focused on social justice issues?

It is true my natural inclinations are contemplative. My fantasy retirement is running nearly continuous sesshin, intensive Zen meditation retreats. But actually one reason I’ve followed my nose into the liberal ministry is because, as I repeat pretty much every Sunday, there is a rhythm to the authentic life, reflection and action and reflection and action. And I’ve found few better opportunities for a full engagement of that rhythm than in my life as a parish minister.

Now the truth is no one person follows that rhythm exactly. No one can. And indeed, within our interconnectedness, we need people who lead with or perhaps focus pretty much all their lives on the arts of contemplation, and we need people who give serious and sustained focus to engagement. Of course there are shadows to such focus. Spiritual insight without action is a dream. Social engagement without spiritual insight leads to the guillotine.

And most of us, well, we need something of both. Both, I feel as individuals, and also, as communities. Particularly I’m interested in how this comes together within communities of faith.

In a UU church we must be open to the widest possible understanding of “spiritual practice.” Although for me the only ones I find sustaining are those disciplines of attention and awareness. I have, fortunately, noticed there are many, many ways to attend and be open and aware.

But as we turn our focus to social engagement we move forward with less openness. For many reasons psychological and historical the majority of those attracted to Unitarian Universalism are inclined toward the left of the American political scene. Of course this is a problem. When one moves in a sea it is sometimes hard to notice the sea.

Now, this is my crowd. I recently took one of those online tests that placed me politically in a social liberal niche, on the economic axis two thirds of the way from a capitalist toward a socialist perspective, and socially about three quarters of the way to libertarian from totalitarian. It put me right between Nelson Mandela & the Dalai Lama. I rather liked that.

The catch is to not think that because I think it, it is necessary right or true. While I would like to think this perspective comes from cool analysis, and there is much of that, still, there are also all sorts of reasons psychological and historical for my standing where I do. I should therefore, we should who care about being honest and useful in this world, should therefore be a bit suspicious of our perspectives.

Nowhere is this problematic aspect more complex than in how we give our attention to the social concerns of the day. Up close and ugly I think about my relationship with the struggle for marriage equality. My best analysis says this is the side of the angels and the irresistible tide of history. I’m pleased to be an active member of the Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality here in Rhode Island and in fact I’m one of the UU clergy scheduled to be in Washington DC early in May for the Human Rights Campaign’s Clergy Call. I’m also so, so proud of our community giving these issues serious attention through our own congregational commitment toward Welcoming and our UU Legislative ministry, both statewide and here in our congregation’s attention to legislation relative to marriage equality and BGLT civil rights in general. And I’m pleased as punch to be completely mixed up in these projects.

The problem for me is thinking those who oppose this are bad people. I would like to say I don’t. But the raw truth is I just think it. I think they’re filled with hate. I think they’re intentionally ignorant, which is somewhere in the vicinity of unforgivable. The litany of my personal criticism of those opposed to BGLT rights and particularly marriage equality is quite long.

And, of course, I am wrong.

Not, I’m confident in the larger sense, there is a deep call to justice in the call to BGLT rights. I’ve arrived at my sense of these things through a long and sometimes painful process.

But, I need to watch my feelings about those who stand in opposition. Closely…

Now I’m avoiding at this point going into analysis of why people of good will and intelligence oppose marriage equality. It’s too easy. And it lets me off the hook of looking into my heart and my emotions, of owning who I am, and how I stand in the world…

Here my commitment is to watch this, to notice this, and to reflect on this.

And this is perhaps exactly where social engagement and spiritual reflection meet.

The rubber hitting the road.

Perhaps you might like to try it, as well.

See where it goes…

Might even be the road to heaven.