Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of
Justification and Belonging: How we Find
our Human Value
Sunday, October 12, 2008
by Rev. Dr. Gretchen Woods
As some of you know, I live with two dogs: one half
Malamute/half Husky; the other a pure bred Siberian Husky.
Both are rescued from humane societies. This week we added a third Husky, a
visitor we are “dog-sitting.” It is fascinating to watch the pack regroup with
the addition of another animal.
First, our newcomer seeks to find his place in the group,
sniffing the others and being sniffed in return. I have observed in other
instances that this can be the end of any relationship right off the bat if one
of the dogs thinks another smells funny or is offended by the sniffing style of
the others. These things take time.
Then, depending on the need
of any dog to be dominant or submissive, finding the boundaries of the group’s
acceptance goes forward. Important questions are addressed: Who is top dog? (This
should always be a human, for the good of the pack. Ask Cesar Milam) Who will share toys – or not? Who shares the same level of
energy and desire to play? (This can be a real stumbling block to acceptance.)
Gradually, whether from necessity or from genuine bonding, the pack acclimates
and is able to move forward.
What I find most
interesting about the particular dogs with whom I am
currently relating is the sense of loss when one or another is no longer there.
It was reported to me that our pair, though not a mated pair, do know and desire to be together. When kenneled early on in
their relationship, our male, Shagaluk, was playing
rough with the female, Cordy, and the kennel owners
split them up. Both cried for a day. They were put back together, and Shaggy
behaved more gently toward Cordy. They knew they
belonged together somehow.
Now, I am not pretending
that human beings are pack animals, and I do see some relationships between the
two species. Today, during our brief time together, we are going to explore how
we come to know our sense of value and the complexities of knowing our way in a
group. This is central to understanding our selves and our connections within
community.
I chose the concept of
justification to make some sense of this because I recognize how important to
many human beings it is to be right with one’s self and with the world. While
it is not a physical need like food, clothing, and shelter, it is basic to our
understanding of our worth. As my dictionary tells me, to “justify” is:
1. to show to be just,
right, or in accord with reason.
2. to
free from blame, declare guiltless; acquit; absolve. (Webster’s
New World Dictionary, college edition, 1968.)
This can be done in many
ways. Justification by faith, one of the most popular Christian theological
ideas, is “the act by which a sinner is freed through faith from the penalty of
his sin and is accepted as righteous or worthy of being saved.” (Ibid.) This notion takes into account that we human beings
are not perfect, will damage our relationships, and, therefore, need to have
some way back into right relations. Traditionally, this can only be done by
believing that Jesus lived and died so that we could be justified.
Unfortunately, as Rebecca
Parker and Rita Nakashima Bock show in their book, Proverbs of Ashes, the concept of justification by faith,
especially faith in a particular person (Jesus) who carries the burden of one’s
sins for one, lets people off the hook for their
damaging behavior and may not contribute to introspection and repentance. (See
the sermon from last week.)
This is cheap grace that
does not require a person to take the three steps that Marie Fortune asserts
are necessary for true forgiveness: to recognize
and acknowledge one’s bad behavior, to repent
(literally, to turn one’s life around and choose never to perpetrate the act
again), and to offer restitution in
an attempt to return to the person what was lost in the perpetration of the
damaging act. This is justification by works, the anathema of Martin Luther,
which he acknowledged by calling the Epistle of James, “a right strawy gospel.” Luther thought this idea it allowed people
to take some responsibility (radical responsibility) for their acts and their
redemption. Unitarians not only thought that, but also asserted it with the
Humanist Manifesto.
Some people find their
justification through isolation, simply ignoring or staying away from others,
so that they can maintain their life view and behavior without being called to
question. I sometimes wonder if that has not been the default behavior for too
many of us; one that has led to the sense of “alienation” and nihilism rife in
the twentieth century. We would rather be right than be in relationship. “I
have been hurt and I am not going to let anyone do that again.” My value lies
in my own truth, even if it does not come close to matching others’ truth and
keeps me from being in community. I think we need given and take with others to
truly know our selves and find our justification, even as we need to
acknowledge and honor our own experience, our own minds. Finding balance can be
tricky.
For many of us,
justification comes through our belonging somewhere. Certainly, it is not
difficult to see adolescents jockeying for understanding of their place with
their peers, not unlike our unlikely pack. Getting into the “right” group is
very important to youth, and the pressure to belong often overwhelming. I
remember feeling so out of it in high school that I cried to my mother about it
– not something I did easily. She suggested I form my own group. Years later I
heard that, though we called ourselves “the misfits,” other called us “the
sophisticates.” Go figure!! – and who knew? Not us.
But being part of our
little group of off-beat musicians gave us some sense of value and belonging .
. . so did being a Girl Scout and being part of the Dutch Reformed Church Youth
Group and adult choir. At least I knew those folks would put up with me, my
loud laugh and skewed sense of humor, and gently remind me that I could be so
much more. I bless them often for their love.
Often, when folks find
Unitarian Universalism, they say they finally feel they have found a home, a
place to belong, where others share their values and the things that are
important to them. Each find a place to connect and to
use their gifts to further their values. Of course, I began Unitarian
Universalism in the choir, but soon began to teach in Religious Education and
work with the group that was trying to make inter-district school bussing work,
despite the challenges of busses being burned. I was in
Here I find an absolutely
key element in the process of finding justification and belonging: trust. We
must be able to trust, AND we must be trustworthy, not in an inhuman, perfected
way, but over time, so that people feel our integrity and authenticity, even
while acknowledging our failures. The leaders I respect most and whose groups I
choose to join are those who show day-in, day-out that they are working to live
up to their values and are willing to acknowledge their mistakes. More on this
next week. . .
We find our communities,
our places of belonging, with those who share our values, often away from those
with which we began our life process. We may find that we are spiritual
“sports” (a type who have never appeared before in a
biological line, but who may breed true from there on.) David Ferencz of
I remember when I called
together 12 women and one brave man to help me plan the continuing education
day for the Unitarian Universalist ministers in 1998. It was focused upon the
impact of women on Unitarian Universalist ministry. I intentionally invited
people for the quality of their ideas and their strong sense of values, knowing
that some of them did not like me, but that they would give this a good shot of
themselves to make the result better than it could be with only my input. The
meeting was not easy (ib
fact, it was quite difficult), but we did develop a shared sense of belonging
together in this project and the results justify themselves. It certainly did
not have the incredible force of
Finally, let me note that
we Unitarian Universalists are committed to the search for truth and meaning,
which puts us squarely in the camp of those who seek to be justified by
something larger than ourselves: that which is true. We wish for more
righteousness in our world and are committed to our vision of that, knowing
that the vision will change with the input of the whole. Consider our process
of revising the Purposes and Principles, which invites all to participate. (The
deadline for input is October 15.)
Consider also the reality
that we need one another, as George Odell reminds us in our reading. We may not
be pack animals, but we need to know our place in the scheme of things. Just as
much as knowing that our minds serve us well, we need to know that there will
be people to share our joys and sorrows, our triumphs and our disasters. We
need to know where we belong to feel justified. Ask any teen who attends a
particular church because that is where her or his group exists.
Finally, we need to know
that there is a group to which we belong because we share not only the same
values, but also the sense that love is present in our world and that we are
worthy of that love. That is the paradox of love: it is a commitment to be present
through all kinds of life challenges and possibilities, and, while resulting in
a sense of belonging, it also causes that same sense of belonging.
When we can be true and
valuable to ourselves, i.e. justified, we can also be in community in ways that
are healthy and free at the same time. When we find justification for our most
dearly held values in religious community, we know we belong. And when we are
energized by this combination of justification and belonging, we are truly free
to release our energies to work for peace and justice and the environment with
a sense that we are not alone, but part of a greater movement of life toward
greater intensity and harmony.
The Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed
puts it this way:
The central task of the
religious community is to unveil the bonds that bind each to all. There is a
connectedness, a relationship discovered amid the particulars of our own lives
and the lives of others. Once felt, it inspires us to act for justice.
It is the church that
assures us that we are not struggling for justice on our own, but as members of
a larger community. The religious community is essential, for alone our vision
is too narrow to see all that must be seen, and our strength too limited to do
all that must be done. Together, our vision widens and our strength is renewed.
May we together create a
community in which all who share our values feel justified and a sense of
belonging that renews them for the great work that needs to be done in our
world, with respect, responsibility, and relish for the process.
So Be it! Blessed Be!
“Justification and Belonging:
How we Find our Human Value”
Order of Service
Sunday, October 12, 2008
9:30 AM and 11:00 AM
Welcome and Announcements
Choral Introit
Chalice Lighting
Opening Words
Opening Song: #1023
“Building Bridges”
Celebrating with Music: “We
Pray”
Sermon: “Justification, and
Belonging: How we find our human value”
Sung Response: #318 “We
Would Be One”
Spoken Response
Candles: Milestones of Joy
and Sorrow
Meditation
Closing Song: #346 “Come,
Sing a Song with Me” (verses 1 – 3)
Closing Words
Closing Song: #346 (verse
4)
Celebrants: the Rev. Dr.
Gretchen Woods, Etc.
We need one another when we
mourn and would be comforted.
We need one another when we
are in trouble and afraid.
We need one another when we
are in despair, in temptation,
and need to be recalled to our
best selves again.
We need one another when we
would accomplish some great purpose, and cannot do it alone.
We need one another in the
hour of success,
when we look for someone to share our
triumphs.
We need one another in the
hour of defeat, when
with encouragement we might
endure, and stand again.
We need one another when we
come to die,
and would have gentle hands prepare us
for the journey.
All our lives we are in
need, and others are in need of us.