Bards of Justice and Righteousness

A colleague and UCC scholar Bruce Epperly writes, "In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson in an address at the Harvard Divinity School, each person is a "bard of the Holy Ghost." We are called, in the words of Frederick Buechner to "listen to our lives." And in response we are challenged, in the words of Parker Palmer, to "let our lives speak." The topic I would like to reflect upon today is about characters whose stories shape our lives and inspire us to be 'bards of justice and righteousness.'

In his most recent book, A Million Miles and a Thousand Years, Donald Miller makes this observation of life. He writes, "Is life and love and death anything more than random happenings?" In this book, Miller has been invited to make a movie about his life and through a series of interesting conversations, reflections, and experiences he discovers that life is more than passive, random experiences that happen to you. Instead, he discovers that great people don't want easy stories and they are characters who face their greatest fears with courage. This is what makes a compelling story for us and the generations that follow.

When we think of great people in history, in our country, our community, or our family, what we remember are the stories -- the stories that tell us something about them even though we may not have personally known them. Their stories teach us something about ourselves, what is important, the choices they have made, or examples we may not choose or choose to emulate. While at Open Door Community in Atlanta, I have met some remarkable people. I have visited President Jimmy Carter's Freedom Center and his Presidential Library, I have made a pilgrimage to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, and through stories and writings, I have met the late Dorthy Day, one of the founders of the Catholic Worker movement. The people I have met in person, through selected writings, or through the museums I have visited has caused me to think about the power of story and its compelling vision that inspires and motivates us to live our lives in such a way that we live it working toward justice, righteousness, and human dignity for all.

After an angry diatribe of the God's disgust with the ways of humanity, the festivals we delight in, the songs we like to sing, and the sacrifices we think we are being called to give to the Lord, Amos simply says, "But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Amos 5:25 In this text Amos gives to the people what Donald Miller calls, an inciting incident -- an incident that forces the characters to move. An inciting incident disrupts our comfortable life and creates conflict for us so that we'll deepen our convictions and be more passionate about our lives. Jimmy Carter once said, "My feeling is that if we refuse to try something that might fail, we lack faith either in ourselves or in our causes and goals." President Carter is a courageous bard of justice and righteousness and the decisions that he has made throughout his life and since his involuntary retirement as President of the United States, have been made because he believed and continues to believe that life for all of humanity can be better than many around the world have experienced.

Martin Luther King, Jr., was a man of tremendous faith, courage, and optimism that believed in a different kind of story, a story that believed that all men and women, youth and children will know equality and justice. "If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive." He believed with all of his heart that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Martin Luther was assassinated because he believed in a different kind of story -- a story where all people, no matter their race or color, can be free to reap the abundant blessings of God that have been given to people of all colors, nationalities, or religious beliefs. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a bard of justice and righteousness.

Dorothy Day, one of the founders of the Catholic Worker found her story in the midst of poverty, injustice, loneliness, and a desire and passion to give to others what she longed for, the experience of love, mutual respect, and justice. She wrote in The Commonweal, November 4, 1949, "It is by the Works of Mercy that we shall be judged." Dorothy Day, like Martin Luther King, Jr. or former President Jimmy Carter, have chosen to live a story that has not been a story about us, but a story about others. They are choosing to live into a story that lives out the request of God from the prophet Amos, "Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." They have chosen to live a story that inspires us to be listen to the stories around us and respond with our own story and our own passions to be bards of justice and righteousness. They are worthy examples of courageous characters that give us confidence to try something even if we fail.

I am reminded of the wonderful story in Luke, the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The scripture says, "The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham" (vs. 22). As the story proceeds we read that the "rich man also died and was buried in Hades where he was being tormented" (vs. 22-23) From Hades, the rich man looked up and saw Lazarus in the arms of Abraham and he begged for mercy, asking that Lazarus dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue" (vs. 24) Abraham refused and reminded the rich man how sumptuously he lived everyday and how Lazarus begged to satisfy his hunger. Feeling that Abraham would not give in, he tries one more tact, he asks that he send Lazarus to his father's house to warn his five brothers of this terrible place, hoping that someone from the dead might cause them to change their greedy ways. But Abraham replies, "They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them." (vs. 29) Still pleading, the rich man hears the final decree from Abraham, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." (vs. 31)

And so I babble on and with the help of friends I have met, places I have visited, and the books I have read while at Open Door Community, I have deeper understanding and appreciation for the meaning of radical hospitality and discipleship. Miller reminds us that we have a story to live -- a story that is not paralyzed by fear, but incidents that incite us to face our fears and our uncertainty with courage. Amos tells us what we need to do to please God and contemporary prophets like Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., President Jimmy Carter, or the people I have met at Open Door remind us what it means to be bards of justice and righteousness. Like the rich man, God has sent us prophets, both ancient and contemporary who remind us that the work on earth is not done and there are still many more stories to be written. So we ask ourselves one simple question, what kind of story are you writing?