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Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven "Human Flourishing" Rev. Ann C. Fox |
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What do you think of the poor? Do you think some people are more deserving than others? Do you think they should be more "self-sufficient"? How do you reconcile your belief about the poor with our First Principle---the inherent worth and dignity of every person? For me, the homeless poor don't seem so pitiful in the summertime. But in the winter, I have often felt a sense of powerlessness when confronted by them. I recall a particular incident as if it happened yesterday. It was the last winter I lived in Boston. I was on my way home from the University one evening. As I approached the subway steps, I noticed I was thinking, "Oh, I hope he's not down there." I noticed also that I felt guilty not giving this particular man anything in the past. If he weren't there I wouldn't have to face the decision. Often my decision not to give anything was because my purse was in the heavy knapsack on my back full of books and taking it off was a hassle; at least I rationalized it this way. At other times I dropped in his hat whatever coins were in my pocket. This particular time, however, the person at the bottom of the steps was a woman, sitting on a high stool. Her legs were crossed and a too big snow boot dangled off one foot. She might have been my own age. She had on a dirty yellow ski jacket. Her salt and pepper shoulder-length hair was neatly combed and her emerald green eye makeup and marvelous bright red nails were startling. She looked at me and smiled. Her front teeth were missing. "Hello," she said shyly. "Hello," I replied and hurried on by. She called after me, "I like your hair!" I stopped and whirled around. She was still smiling a toothless smile and her blue eyes twinkled. "Thank you!" I exclaimed. She bowed her head in hearty, cackling laughter and shouted gleefully, "You're welcome!" In that moment I knew that the most important thing I must do for the homeless is to acknowledge their humanity. What a gift came from her reaching out and my response! I gained the greater gift. I later learned that she is a regular attendee at the breakfast and lunch program called The Women's Lunch place in the basement of a local church in Boston. A volunteer cosmetologist gives manicures for women who want it and this woman, Jessie, loves to have her nails painted red. She is manic-depressive. The desperately poor of our nation are primarily people who are addicted or mentally ill. If you see few of such people in countries like Austria, Denmark, West Germany, France, Israel, Sweden, and the Netherlands, it's because they have strong programs for their least powerful people. They also have strong safety nets for the poor, disabled, and single-parent families. Most western European nations have human flourishing as their primary concern. Human flourishing, how do you like that term?!? I first heard the Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh use it. After some research, I found that it originated with the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. But Saint Thomas Aquinas popularized it in medieval Catholic theology in his definition of Natural Law. I thought you would like to know or recall what Natural Law is. He said: "The natural law is a participation in the wisdom and goodness of God by the human person…[It] expresses the dignity of the person and forms the basis of human rights….If the purpose of the [State] is that of human flourishing then the lawmaker must know what are the elements of human flourishing." (Catholic University) Using some of Aquinas' elements of what make for human flourishing, I made a list of what I think the state should ensure: · Adequate parenting, or parent-like care; · food, clothing, shelter; · education (including the arts, science, music, ethics, and physical exercise); · job training; · tools of relationship; · health care; · a clean and healthy environment; · opportunities for life-long learning; · cultural opportunities; · opportunities to be of service to others. This morning, I introduced to the children a few of the words of the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus of Nazareth is reported to have said in his description of the good society, "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." (Matthew 25:35-36) These are certainly basic requirements for human flourishing. Jesus, champion of the poor and the outcast, ends with "As you did it to the least of humankind, you did it to me." I interpret this to be a way of saying that we honor the divine in each other when we care for one another. Currently, our society believes that the state (or government) should provide only education and that either people should provide all else themselves or private charity, like churches, should "fill the gap.". The more recent "Faith-based Initiative" of the Bush administration are an example of this. The Shepherd's Pantry that we house beneath our church is a significant ministry for us and the five other churches that contribute food and volunteers to organize and distribute the food to an average of 69 families every Saturday. The work of the Pantry certainly contributes to human flourishing and honors our First Principle. I am very proud that we are part of this effort. This is a wonderful amount of food we are contributing today. I hope that we can keep up our commitment. By the way, all the people who participated in the service this morning, including our two youth, Evan and Daniel, volunteer regularly in the pantry. If you would like to help regularly or as needed, there's a signup sheet next to the coffee table this morning. Now, about human flourishing: When issues come along and we don't know how to evaluate them, we need to have a guideline to go by. For example, there is a proposal to establish a gambling casino in New Bedford or somewhere close by. We can ask ourselves, "Will casinos contribute to human flourishing?" Answer: (the congregation responded "NO!" Would having adequate health insurance for every person contribute to human flourishing? (The congregation responded, "YES!") Would having affordable medications for all persons contribute to human flourishing? (The congregation responded, "YES!") Okay, let's try another issue. There is a proposal to have an Oceanarium on the waterfront in New Bedford. Would the Oceanarium contribute to human flourishing? (The congregation responded, "YES!") The State is about to cut the budgets of almost all social service agencies. Will this contribute to human flourishing? (Thecongregation responded: "NO!" There was a Doonesbury cartoon in last Sunday's paper. There's a picture of the White House and two voices are heard coming from the roof in each frame. The first frame said, "Okay, let's move on to our contricutors from the extraction industries---is everyone happy there?" Second frame: "Very, Sir! With all the national security distractions, we've been able to quietly gut one environmental protection regulation after another. For instance, we've produced new rules to speed up logging in national forests, rolled back protections of 58 million acres from roads and developments, eased pollution controls for power plants and factories, rejected new fuel-efficiency standards, sped up permit-granting for power companies, lifted a ban on snowmobiles in national parks, proposed 51,000 new natural gas wells, removed limits on coal producers for dumping mountaintop fill in streams, reduced EPA fines of polluters by 64%, opened up Padre Island to drilling, halted funding for several Superfund sites, replaced scientists who don't support our views, rejected the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty, and much, much more!" I have a Time Magazine (January 27, 2003) article that verifies these fears about the recent decisions regarding the environment. Will supporting a clean and sustainable environment contribute to human flourishing now and for future generations? (The congregation responded, "YES!" We could go on and on, and include the imminent war in Iraq. Although American political and economic systems encourage independence and self-sufficiency our civic and religious traditions challenge us to foster equal rights and interdependence. The prophets of Ancient Israel challenged the people to care for the widows and orphans during the thirteen hundred years preceding Jesus of Nazareth's life. Strong interconnections between individuals, families, social institutions, and government are essential for human flourishing. Supporting these interconnections is what not only our First Principle is about, but indeed all our Principles are about. When we act upon them, our Principles are faith in action, for as our responsive reading said today, 'faith without works is dead.' May our society evolve its purpose of government to include human flourishing as a foundation and guide for all its programs and policies, both nationally and internationally.
References
The following have inspired and informed this sermon:
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