March 2015 - Justice

Justice is our theme this month, a topic we weave throughout our worship and lives on a regular basis. In this reflection, I want to introduce a website that just launched: www.bethelove.net.  

It was developed by Unitarian Universalist leaders who have been my teachers for the past four years. The site presents a paradigm for justice-making that is based on the Beloved Community paradigm. They give us some history:

The term “Beloved Community” was originally coined by Josiah Royce to describe a way of being in the world grounded not in disappointment but in possibility. For Royce, Beloved Community is a spiritual practice of loyalty — the radical idea that love is a more powerful force for change than fear.  Our Universalist ancestors knew this to be true.  They asserted that the purpose of the church is to heal one another into well-being;  “to reverse the consequences of lovelessness and injustice in the souls and behaviors of its members” so that we can work together more effectively for a just social and economic order.

Beloved Community is the creative energy and prophetic imagination that sparked the Southern Freedom Struggle led by Martin Luther King, Jr.and others.  Their vision was of the Beloved Community was a “radical redefinition of our relationships…a type of love that can transform opponents into friends.” It begins not by discriminating between worthy and unworthy or between friend and enemy. It is never limited to racial justice or building a social movement. First and foremost it is based on practicing together a fierce kind of love…”a willingness to go to any length to restore community.”

The site presents a comparison between the dominant approach to activism and the Beloved Community approach:

Dominant Activism Paradigm	Beloved Community Paradigm
Limited to Political views and realities	Rooted in spiritual or religious views that recognize political realities
Divides the world into “us” and “them” and the purpose of power is to control “them”	There is only us- all of us- and the purpose of power is to restore right relationship
“Rights” are the basis for social justice	”Right relationships” are the basis
Puts thing at the center	Puts relationships at the center
Issues are seen as problems to be solved	Issues reflect a way of life to be transformed
Reduces identity to status or role	Identity shapes us, but does not limit who we are
Reactive: driven by anger or fear	Proactive: motivated by creativity
Often understands justice work as “for other people”	Engages justice so we can be transformed, and for our own sake, too
Focuses on changing the world out there	Focuses on being the change we want to see
Justice is a system of rewards and punishments	Justice is “Love going to any length to restore community."(MLK)

As I review this chart, I think here at our church, we are striving to live the Beloved Community Paradigm. I’d love to hear what you think.  What are some examples of how we are doing so?  And in what are ways are we still implementing a more “us” vs. “them” approach to justice?  

As always, I look forward to reflecting with you and learning from you in the month ahead.

Rev. Kelly