by Rev. Roberta Finkelstein

May 16, 2010 Sermon

 

“Now,” says James Luther Adams, “anything that exists effectively in history must have form. And the creation of a form requires power. It requires not only the power of thought but the power of organization and the organization of power. (Religious liberalism) . . . denies the immaculate conception of virtue and affirms the necessity of social incarnation . . . . The decisive forms of goodness in society are institutional forms. No one can properly put faith in merely individual virtue, even though that is a prerequisite for societal virtues. The faith of a (religious) liberal must express itself in societal forms . . . Without these, freedom and justice in community are impossible.”

This is the fifth and final sermon in a series on “The Five Smooth Stones of Religious Liberalism.” I started this sermon series last fall, in conjunction with a monthly adult education offering, as a way for us to think together about Unitarian Universalist identity from a somewhat different lens than the usual 7 Principles and 6 Sources approach. Adams is a deep and complex thinker, as those of you who stuck with me through the class series can attest. He took liberal religion seriously, and urged us to do so as well. Adams’ essay on the 5 Smooth Stones of liberal religion was instrumental in bringing me back to the UU church as a young adult. I had fallen away from the church during my college years, and knew that I was missing something in my life. One summer during a beach vacation, I found a copy of Adams’ book, On Being Human Religiously, on the dollar sale table at a local bookstore. I bought it, took it home, started reading, and almost wept with relief as I remembered, with his help, what UU faith was all about.

I remembered the essay again years later, during a sabbatical. We were in Florence, and on the last day of our trip we finally got into the museum I most wanted to see. I stood in awe in the presence of Michelangelo’s David – a piece of art that expresses all the power and love and hope that humanity is capable of. I recalled the biblical story of David, the young boy who goes out to slay the evil giant Goliath. He is armed only with his slingshot, his youthful courage and optimism, and the five smooth stones that he carefully chooses and places in his pouch. From there my mind went to that precious book by Jim Adams, written in the midst of the chaos of the mid-twentieth century, written in defense of religious liberalism. Sometimes things just come together in your mind in a way that affirms what you have always known. I have always known that my spirituality was based on the idea that being human religiously was the only way to work out my personal salvation.

James Luther Adams knew that as well, and he knew that even in the worst of times, it was the liberal church that would give him and the rest of us our best chance at salvation. At the time, religious liberalism was certainly in danger. The incredible evils of the 20th century – fascism, Stalinism, the holocaust, nuclear weapons – had sent persons of faith into a crisis. Predictably, many reacted by going backwards, to return to those mythic ‘good olde days’ when things made sense and everything was under control. This meant abandoning so much – not only technological progress but enlightened ideas about human nature, society, and culture. It meant repudiating scientific inquiry, psychological insight, and cultural diversity. It meant taking on a bunker mentality, reacting with hostility to anything that was different or new or threatening to this old/new and very limited worldview. In fact, it meant exactly what contemporary fundamentalism has become!

Adams eloquently argued that in such times, regressive religion was exactly what we didn’t need. He reminded us that the strengths of liberal religion, when effectively arrayed, could bring security and hope and peace to a troubled world. The core strengths he identified – the belief that revelation is continuous rather than sealed, human relations based on mutual and free consent, the moral obligation to direct one’s efforts towards the establishment of a just and loving community, and an attitude of ultimate optimism – all of these beliefs could be salvific for a frightened and hurting humanity. But only, but only, if religious liberals are willing to put in their pouches that fifth stone – the organization of power and the power of organization.

For too long, we have held onto the fond but false notion that we cannot make a difference because we are too small (in spite of the fact that in survey after survey people indicate that they would like to belong to a church just like the UU church, in only they knew that such a place existed!), too poor (in spite of the fact that Unitarian Universalists have the 2nd highest per capita income of any religious group in the United States, and this congregation is no exception!), and too modest to mold ourselves into a lean, un-mean religious machine.

Adams would have none of that. He urged Unitarians and Universalists to get serious about their faith, to make the commitment to become an effective force for good in their communities. He said, in effect, don’t be afraid of power. Don’t shy away from organization. Don’t fall for the nonsense that organizational structure automatically equates to faceless and unnecessary bureaucracy. Leverage your strength!

 “The faith of a church or of a nation is an adequate faith only when it inspires and enables people to give of their time and energy to shape the various institutions – social, economic, and political – of the common life.  A faith in the commanding, sustaining, transforming reality is one that tries to shape history. Any other faith is thoroughly undependable; it is also, in the end, impotent. It is not a faith that molds history. It is a faith that enables history to crush humanity. Its ministry prepares people to adjust to the crushing by focusing on, and salving, the personal experiences of hurt. The creation of justice in community requires the organization of power.”

Let’s face it, without the power of organization you would not have been able to have a successful pledge drive. It took incredible levels of organization to make sure that every member was visited, that visiting stewards were well trained so that positive and effective conversations would take place. By talking face to face with each other about what you valued in your congregation, you were exercising power at the most basic level. Without the organization of power there is no way the search committee could have marshaled the resources to navigate the complicated UUA search system, to present to potential candidates an accurate picture of who you are and what your ministry might look like. And by showing up, meeting and engaging with Rev. Kathy, and then exercising the power of the vote, you called your new minister.

This morning you have an insert in your order of service giving you information about next steps in the adoption advocacy project. That reflects the reality that you do not shy away from using your power for good in the larger community. And the people who are leading this effort do not shy away from the power of organization to persuade you to join then. They, and all of you, have not allowed yourselves to be seduced by that most ineffective of self-images, on unfortunately too often beloved of Unitarian Universalists – the image of  a small band of religious liberalism awash in a sea of fundamentalism. (Wring hands, sigh, what can we do, poor us?)

I have seen UU’s argue themselves out of effective changes to their own infrastructure by invoking the fear of ‘organized religion’ as though in itself organization is a dirty word! The alternative to organized religion is disorganized religion – which translates into ineffective, inward focused religion.

But there have also been many times when Unitarian Universalists have eagerly and joyfully sought the power of organization and the organization of power. Each critical decision about identity – from the decision simply to exist, to the decision to buy land, build structures, call ministers – each of those decision points over the last 98 years have in some way expressed your determination to be the kind of liberal religious faith Jim Adams would approve of. And believe me, he would be proud of this congregation,!

“The creation of justice in community requires the organization of power,” Adams wrote. “Through the organization of power, liberated persons tie into history; otherwise they cannot achieve freedom in history. Injustice in community is a form of power, an abuse of power, and justice is an exercise of a just and lawful institutional power.”

Liberated persons of the First Unitarian Church of Orlando, I invite you to continue to flex your spiritual and organizational muscles as you grow into your new ministry. I hope that you will embrace and nurture the structures that will best support your programs, and will embrace the power that you share when you come together in faith. To be human religiously is not to fear or disparage power, but to be determined to harness all the power that you can gather in order to bring about a just and peaceful world.