Today we are celebrating the flame chalice, the symbol of our proud Unitarian Universalist history. Although the chalice has come to stand for different things... most notably the search for truth and meaning... we are reminded this morning of its original purpose, to help those escaping from persecution. So it stands for helping others, particularly people in great danger. From the beginning, the flaming chalice was about loving and giving and even of taking risks for a greater purpose. It was about letting one's light shine in the world... even if the good deeds initially had to be done in secret.
The great religions of the world teach about the virtue of giving. All of them urge us to be charitable, to welcome the stranger as a guest, to extend the hand of blessing and bounty to people in need. The Jewish tradition teaches that if 100 beggars come to your door and only one is truly in need, you must give to all 100 for the sake of that one. A Buddhist teaching about charity says that a person can be like a drought, a local rain, or a rain that pours down everywhere. It calls each of us to become like a gentle, global rain. The Jain tradition teaches that charity is the spring of virtue. Islam honors those who provide for the needy, the orphan, and the prisoner out of love for the divine, without wish of reward or thanks.
Do you know the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible? It goes like this. Jesus was preaching to some of his followers and one man asked him about gaining eternal life. Jesus asked him what is written in the law... meaning the Jewish religious law. The man answered with the well known commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." "Right!" said Jesus in so many words. "Follow that and you will live." But the man went further and asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered, as he often did, not with a direct answer, but with a parable or story.
"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho," Jesus began. We may assume this man was Jewish, simply because of the cities mentioned. This man, said Jesus, "fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead." Pretty awful scene, huh? "Now by chance, a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he ... saw him, passed by on the other side." Now a priest and a Levite were holy people and were well respected in the community. But obviously, these two men in the story weren't the nicest people. Or maybe they were just afraid to get involved. Maybe they thought the thieves who had attacked the man where hiding nearby and might attack them! Why take the risk and get involved? Many folks are like that when it comes to facing something unpleasant. They turn away.
The story doesn't end here. We can't just leave that poor man bleeding and lying in the road! Jesus continued, "But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them." That might sound odd, but oil and wine were the best medicines back then. "Then he put him on his own animal (he was probably riding a donkey), brought him to an inn, and took care of him. Then next day he took out two denarri (that's an ancient coin), gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend." (Luke 10:25-37)
Jesus then asked a question, "Which of these three (the priest, the Levite or the Samaritan), do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" The man answered, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
What's the lesson here? It's is a little more complicated than you may think since there are really two lessons. The first one is obvious: We should do like the Samaritan and help out those in need. But there's another, which requires a little explanation. In those days, Samaritans were foreigners in the land where Jesus lived and were thought to be inferior, even though Samaria was in the neighborhood... between the Jewish regions of Galilee and Judea. But Samaritans didn't share the same religion and had a different culture from the Hebrew people.
Samaritans who traveled through Galilee and Judea, perhaps to trade goods, might be tolerated. But they were looked down upon. Isn't this what we find in America today? Many Americans aren't very welcoming toward new immigrants, especially those who are very different from them... even if they themselves are the sons and daughters or grandsons and granddaughters of immigrants.
So Jesus' second lesson to his listeners was this: Not only are we supposed to do good deeds and help others (that's the obvious part), but people of all nationalities and religions and backgrounds are capable of compassion and acts of mercy. The Samaritan was a good-hearted and generous man. He was a nobler person than those you would expect to do the right thing, but didn't because maybe it was just too much trouble to stop...or perhaps too risky. The Samaritan was just as much a real neighbor as the others and maybe more so. He, the stranger, is the neighbor whom you should love as yourself, as the old commandment says. And if he were in trouble or danger, you are obligated not to turn away, but to take care for him.
In the Gospel of Matthew, it is written, "You are the light of the world... No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works..." Let your light shine not for your own glory (or to get compliments), but for the glory of God, the gospel says. We Unitarian Universalists may or may not agree with that last part, but we can certainly agree that doing good works for others is letting your light shine in the world. May your light shine through your good deeds. May your light shine in the world.
The flaming chalice stands for more than giving money to charity, however worthy that may be. Anyone with a little extra money can do that. To me the chalice is a symbol of giving of oneself... from the heart. It is a symbol of living up to the highest ideals of Unitarian Universalism.
You heard the story of the flaming chalice. It is an inspiring story of individuals taking great risks to rescue thousands of people, Jews, Unitarians and others victims, from the Nazis. It's the story of Charles Joy, the director of the new Unitarian Service Committee, who devised a system and built a network to get innocent people out of harms way.
It's also a story about Martha and Waitstill Sharp of the Wellesley Hills Unitarian Church. They were two of the founders of the new Service Committee. In 1939, the Sharps sailed for Europe as representatives of the American Unitarian Association "to see what could be done." As a result of their courageous work to save many people, they were recently honored as Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel.
The people that that Charles Joy and the Sharps rescued were strangers. They weren't people living next door or in the same town or even in the same country. Yet they were fellow human beings deserving life and dignity and freedom from fear and want.
After World War II, many people around the world shared a vision of universal peace and justice. Because the war had been so horrible, people wanted to do all they could to avoid such a wide-scale conflict in the future. To work toward that vision of a peaceful world community, many nations got together to form the United Nations. Then in December 1948, after much discussion and debate, the U.N. adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is a statement of basic rights which (at least in theory) applies to every person on the planet. In a way, the world got much smaller and more interconnected after the war.
Unitarian Universalists take the admonition to love ones neighbor, even if the "neighbor" is a stranger living in a foreign land, very seriously. It is reflected in several of our basic principles. I'd like to talk a few moments about what one particular Unitarian Universalist group is doing today to rescue people from danger and to right injustices... where UUs can let their lights shine. I'm speaking about the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, known as UUSC. This organization resulted from the merger of the Unitarian Service Committee and the Universalist Service Committee, two groups which began during the war. They merged in 1963, two years after our new denomination was formed. Today UUSC is involved in many projects here in the U.S. and around the world to advocate for justice and to provide for the needs of those people struck by disaster. One of its guiding lights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
UUSC is working here and abroad to advocate for living wages for all workers. It is fighting to defend the right of everyone, rich or poor, to clean drinking water. It is working with other organizations to end the genocide in Darfur.
Another UUSC justice initiative is the Stop Torture Permanently Campaign. The STOP Campaign's goal is to end U.S.-sponsored torture everywhere. UUSC also provides aid to people around the world who suffer as a result of natural and manmade disasters. The UU Service Committee offers volunteers many ways to let their lights shine by working for social justice and human rights. One exciting way is through the workcamps for older teens and adults. Workcamps are short-term projects, generally one week long, that are as much educational as work experiences. They help volunteers examine and understand the root causes and damaging effects of injustice. They also offer a way to bridge class and racial divisions in society.
Imagine what it would be like to live and work for a week in a community with other volunteers of different ages, races and backgrounds. Imagine working directly with people of the community you serve. You would witness the local struggles firsthand and gain the skills for fighting injustice in your own community back home.
Imagine, for instance, going to New Orleans, Louisiana or Biloxi, Mississippi to be a part of a Katrina Relief project, rebuilding and repairing homes. Imagine going to Clinton, Oklahoma to help restore a pre-historic Native American burial ground and study ancient artifacts. Many of these were robbed from these burial sites and are now being returned by museums. There are other ways to be involved. UUSC volunteers respond to action alerts to support the various campaigns... whether it be for the minimum wage or to stop genocide in Darfur. Volunteers can participate in media outreach or take part in UUSC-sponsored activities in their congregations. There are many ways to be involved in advancing human rights throughout the world. There are many ways to let your light shine through this organization which reaches out to the world.
Supporting the UUSC financially is one simple way to let your light shine. It can be done through a tax-deductible membership. There is some information on the Welcome Table about how you may do this. I urge you to support marvelous organization, whose roots go back 65 years. It is an organization which continues to grow and to partner with others to pursue justice.
May the Spirit of Love move us to reach out and serve our neighbors,
both known and unknown, near and far.
May we each let our light shine in the world
And may we together become a beacon of hope.
Amen and blessed be.