From Your (Guest)
Minister
Confusing, isn’t
it? Our minister
returned from
sabbatical back
in January, but
because we prepare
Quest
many months
in advance,
you will still
see remnants of the sabbatical in May!
And so we welcome Peter Morales,
senior minister of the Jefferson
Unitarian Church of Golden,
Colorado, and candidate for UUA
president, as our “guest minister.”
The Economic Crisis
Only a few of us have any personal
memories of the Great Depression. I
can recall hearing stories that my parents
would tell—stories about the family
going off to pick cotton or making a
little money shelling pecans. This is the
worst economic downturn since that
Great Depression.
I am pretty sure my home is worth less
than I paid for it. I know that people
have lost jobs and many others fear
losing theirs. These are anxious and
uncertain times.
What are we to make of all this? I want
to explore the deeper meaning—the
religious aspect—of what we are experiencing.
Life’s crises can be great
teachers if we are open to their lessons
and if they shock us into greater awareness.
They are also a time to take stock
of how we are living.
To take stock, we need to start by understanding
how we got into this mess
and what our role is in the future. But if
we only explore questions of fiscal
policy we will miss the essential issue.
And if we miss the essence of this crisis,
we will never create a world where
this kind of mess does not recur.
In a very real sense, we are in a moral
and spiritual crisis, witnessing the inevitable
results of a moral failure that
goes to the core of our culture.
Make no mistake, this crisis is the result
of malfeasance and misfeasance by
the economic and political elite. This is
not a natural disaster. It is entirely selfinflicted.
But it goes deeper, much,
much deeper, than that.
What makes the madness of wild, irresponsible
financial speculation possible?
First, it takes a complete abdication
of responsibility by the people charged with overseeing the system.
But let’s go further. Let’s look at what
creates the climate in which this financial
crisis can occur in the first place.
We are a culture that makes heroes of
people who make outrageous sums of
money. We are taught a kind of acquisitive
individualism that desensitizes
us to the cost of such wealth. So
we get government run by ideologues
who elevate the market to a kind of
idolatry. We get tax policies that favor
the richest among us. And the reason
this has not mattered is not a question
of economics. It is a question of morals,
a question of our values. Ultimately
it is a spiritual and a religious question.
We will tolerate a world of extreme
wealth and of extreme poverty only if
we have abandoned the ideal of the
common good. This vision is as old as
the Hebrew prophets protesting the
exploitation of the poor in ancient
Israel.
Our economic crisis is the result, the
inevitable result, of a moral and spiritual
failure. When we lose sight of the
fact that we are all connected, when we
lose a sense of common good, when we
no longer feel the suffering of others—
that is when we create a society of wanton excess, of conspicuous consumption,
of environmental destruction,
of gross injustice.
We need a religious vision of the common
good, a vision grounded in a respect
for human dignity, founded on
the realization that we are all connected
and all interdependent.
The vision of all the great religions is
very much the same. It is a vision of a
compassionate society where everyone
is valued and where everyone is cared
for. It is a vision of a common good.
How about these for guiding principles:
Everyone matters. We are responsible
for one another. Compassion should
guide us. No one should be exploited.
It is good religion. It is good politics.
It is good economics.
Our first task is to get in touch with
what truly matters in our lives. We
need to reach out to one another and
support one another.
But that is just the start. We must not
stop there.
This is a wake-up call. In the US and
in much of the world, we have worshipped
a false god of consumerism.
And this crisis is the result.
Our second task is to take care of one
another. We need to focus on what
truly matters in our lives.
Our next task is to create a world in
which this kind of madness cannot occur.
We can create a different world.
We can create a world that is just and
responsible and sustainable.
Let’s join hands and get through this
together. Then let’s join hands and
work to create a world where our economic
system is an expression of our
most deeply held values.
This crisis is an opportunity to come to
our senses. It is an opportunity to help
one another. And, most importantly,
this crisis is a chance to create something
new and wonderful.
