SERMON: Faith in Action

Rev. Tom Capo

October 12, 2003

Sermon

Drew Leder, a philosophy professor by profession, decided to volunteer his services at the Maryland Penitentiary, a maximum-security state prison. He chose to teach and discuss philosophy with the prisoners, many of whom were serving life sentences. One such prisoner was Charles Baxter. During a discussion with Leder, Baxter reflected, “When I went back to my cell, that’s when I said, "Dang Charley, where are you at in your life?" I was reading the Bible and the Koran and doing some real soul-searching: "What if a man gained the whole world and lose his soul, what can he give in exchange for it?" And I said, "Dang—-nothing." That’s when I found myself. Right there.”

Not unlike Charley, many of us have studied the Bible, the Koran, and other religious texts to ascertain the meaning of our lives. Not unlike Charley, many of us have done soul searching to ascertain the meaning of our lives. But most of us have not had the experience of being imprisoned. So we find ourselves right here today, considering what it means to support such causes as abolition of the death penalty, and prison reform. As we consider these issues, we might find out a little bit more about ourselves.

Amnesty International promotes this annual National Weekend of Faith in Action on the Death Penalty. Amnesty International is a worldwide movement that works to promote all the human rights enshrined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amnesty International U.S.A. works specifically to free prisoners of conscious, to ensure prompt and fair trials, and to abolish the death penalty.

This National Weekend of Faith in Action is a project of the Program to Abolish the Death Penalty. It takes place the second weekend in October and seeks to bring together two important approaches to social justice - that of human rights and that of faith-based community action. This national observance weekend invites a diverse range of faith communities throughout the country to devote a weekend to reflect, discuss, and take action on abolishing the death penalty within a faith-based framework. Sister Helen Prejean, who is active in the movement to abolish the death penalty says, "The movement to abolish the death penalty needs the religious community because the heart of religion is about compassion, human rights, and the indivisible dignity of each human person made in the image of God."

Amnesty International suggests that participation in the National Weekend of Faith in Action can take many different forms and can be based upon the stance of our faith community. For example, we could participate in meditation, chanting, or prayer focused on the victims and perpetrators of violence. We can also organize a letter-writing campaign to state legislators, participate in an interfaith vigil, host a speaker on the death penalty, watch a video on the issue, or hold discussions in adult religious education classes. While these options are possible, most will not take place this weekend. If we decide to provide any of these options for our church or the larger community, some of the members of Spindletop would have to take the initiative to organize such events.

The Unitarian Universalist Association is supporting this Faith in Action weekend—at least in part—due to the study/action issue that was voted on at General Assembly, our annual denominational meeting. This year Unitarian Universalists voted to study and take action on prison reform. The issue for Unitarian Universalists is: “how can [we] successfully advocate for reform of the criminal justice and prison systems, even as the prison industry expands to accommodate more people and becomes increasingly inhumane and unjust?”

The UUA study/action document suggests that while “many [of us] do not feel directly affected by the criminal justice and prison systems’ practices, we are likely the beneficiaries of services and goods produced through prisoner exploitation. Unitarian Universalists have consistently stood up for the right of the oppressed and of workers, and we should not excuse ourselves from speaking out because of the stigma attached to the incarcerated.”

Some of the Possible Study Questions we might ask ourselves about this issue are:

• What can we do to help those already incarcerated?
• How can we advocate for wider recognition of the need to uphold human rights in the prison system?
• How can sentencing guidelines be made equitable across race and class?
• How much does it cost per annum to incarcerate one prisoner in your state? In the federal prison system? How might these funds be better allocated for rehabilitation programs that do not require incarceration?
• Do existing crime prevention programs work, and who benefits from them?
• How is the criminal justice system being used to avoid public health issues, such as incarcerating the mentally ill in lieu of providing psychiatric treatment?

And Possible Actions we might take are:

• Help support the families of incarcerated persons, for example, creating programs to benefit their children.
• Visit a prison and then write articles for local media to inform the public on prison-related issues.
• Collaborate with minority-based organizations to work against abuses and inequities in the criminal justice and prison systems.
• Develop education programs to increase community awareness of crime prevention and prisons.
• Advocate for respectful working conditions for inmates.

If we choose to study or to act on any of these options presented by the Unitarian Universalist Association, we must have a few stalwart individuals who are willing to take up this mission. But why should we? Sure, Amnesty International is a worthy organization, and abolishing the death penalty is a worthy cause. Sure, our own Unitarian Universalist Association has provided some direction on studying and advocating for prison reform. But why should we?

Perhaps, we should at least consider taking up these issues because working to abolish the death penalty and to reform the prison system provides an opportunity for our own personal and spiritual growth. Perhaps we should because our lives would be enriched and meaningful if we show compassion for those who have harmed us or harmed members of our community.

Expressing compassion is not about reasonableness or about pity; compassion is about love. We must not just study or act because we think: “Amnesty International is a worthy organization, so we should do what they suggest” or “The Unitarian Universalist Association has really studied this issue, so we should study it too.” We must not study or act because we feel sorry for those who are less fortunate. For any action we take to have meaning for us, the action must come from the inside out. Our compassion is about our expressing our love. We must reach out with from our hearts to our hands.

Love is expressed first in being with before doing to someone. We must continue to renew our awareness of this because we can get caught up in doing something because we think it is the right thing to do. Brother Geoff, General Servant of the Missionaries of Charity Brothers, says, “You see, if our actions do not first come from the desire to be with a person, then it really becomes just social work …Service, in a way, is simply a means of expressing your being for that person … [even though you] cannot completely alleviate their problem. But by being with them, by being for them, whatever you can do for them makes a difference … [It] is as much an expression of love as what you can do for them.”

Prisoners, death row inmates, families of those people in prison, and those who work with prisoners are all in need of people who are willing to be with them before doing for them. Are we able to show them--from the genuineness of our hearts--dignity, respect, and compassion? Are we able to reach from our souls to connect with someone whom society has imprisoned and stigmatized?

This might be a difficult path for some of us. We might not be able to work for prison reform as an expression of our love. We might not even be able to work for abolishing the death penalty as social work. For some of us, we must find a different path to meaning, purpose, and compassion. But for those of us who can reach from our hearts to do this difficult work of love, we will be enriched; we will experience meaningfulness; we will find our souls begin to grow.

As member of the human family, let us hold each other carefully, let us be with one another fully and with understanding as unconditional companions constructing and reconstructing meaning. Love and meaning are the essence of our being.