One of the ways that empires have controlled populations is by rewriting history to reshape our heritage and cultural identity. Centuries later, when the truth is discovered, people still struggle to accept how their identity has been crafted by past deception. This is the story of the Phoenician Irish, the Mauritanian Welsh, the Islamic Kingdom in Middle England, and the many other examples of our rich multicultural past, and how modern empires continue to use this tactic to retain power.

Listen (18 mins)

This month the world announced thousands of sanctions against Russia in retaliation for its criminal invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This episode dives into trade as a weapon wielded by (and against) empires.

How is fair trade different from exploitation?

Is capitalism truly the source of freedom in the world? (hint: it’s complicated).

Is socialism really dead? We look at Karl Marx’s insights on the contradictions of capitalism. And we analyze Ronald Reagan’s 1986 speech against sanctions to end apartheid in the context of the world’s epic sanctions against Russia for it’s criminal invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Will sanctions work? We attempt to answer that, and give more context.

Listenn to episode #73

During the age of imperialism, in the nineteenth century, Europe’s empires ruled over 80 percent of the people of Earth despite being a fraction of the world. That all changed when Gandhi demonstrated that active nonviolent resistance worked. This episode dives into the life and lessons of Gandhi, culminating with modern research that shows his methods are far more effective than violence, and the only viable path to democracy.

Listen: #72 Gandhi and Empire

Why are so many Americans comfortable with the USA becoming an empire? Perhaps they haven’t been paying attention.

Finally, we review the events of the past week (Russia invaded Ukraine) in this context.

Listen: Episode #71

What gives you hope? What sustains you? How could the way we see things be fundamental to our ability to change the world? The Gratitudes are short stories of people showing courage and resolve to overcome tragedy and change the world within their reach.

Do you find yourself in conversations with people who believe all the right things, but who remain stuck, unable to act in any meaningful way to fight racism?

Doing the “usual stuff” to fight racism isn’t working because it is only a quarter of what is needed. As I explain the “liberal myth,” find out through examples from Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Gandhi just how much more of a commitment it takes for change to happen.

[Listen #69: 19:50]

[Listen 18:39]

This sermon was originally given on July 4, 2020 at First Universalist of Denver

[Listen 16:08]

Being a bridge between your moral center and the people you love is a balancing act. It is not without risk, and you will have to sacrifice the comfort of a relationship, perhaps for years, for the possibility of bringing about a change of heart. But to remain silent would make us complicit in the injustices that persist in this country.

To guide and inspire others considering starting this conversation, I share excerpts from my own conversation with my parents.

Listen: 17:27

[Episode 64: Listen 22:31]

Listen 20:14

This is a small part of my longer journey to discover how I can enrich the lives of others with my talents.

Stay Safe, friends!

Listen 19:11

Listen to episode #59 (21:15)

And in Part II Jean Botham speaks in court and forgives Amber Guyger for shooting his brother.

If you haven’t listened to Episode #57 yet, start there, as this is closely tied to Revolutionary Truth and Reconciliation.

[Episode #58 Listen 23:51]

Listen to Episode #57 [20:42]

(Sources: UU Oklohoma City, BBC history podcast, Daily Show between the scenes; Soundtrack: Michael Kiwuanuka)

[Listen 25:19]

UU Minister John Crestwell speaks about race, the 2014 Ferguson, MO shooting, Martin Luther King Jr, building relationships with the “other” all under the theme of building the beloved community together.

Images and context

The QuikTrip That Burned in Ferguson Protests Is Now a Community Center 

How does a community stand for justice? How does the “moral arc of the universe” bend towards justice? She shares answers to how we can “dangle from that arc,” that our lives might add weight and  bend it through faithful living.

Tolerance is the cornerstone of a pluralistic society. So it should surprise us that many religious leaders from the conservative to the liberal end of the spectrum preach against tolerance. Both sides oppose tolerance — for a “society gone wrong” and tolerance for intolerance. What matters is how our different understandings of who is harmed by tolerance shapes our views. Ultimately, there are ways to know which kind of tolerance we should support. Listen to some viewpoints on tolerance.

Speakers: Rev Justin Osterman, Rev Rob Hardies, Rev Lavanhar, Rev Deneice Mason, Father Leo Booth, Martin Luther King Jr, Rev Barber Listen

In episode 50, I share my own journey to understand my father – a kind and generous person who vents anger on twitter – through the lens of identity politics.  Meg Barnhouse explains the divided camps of “radicals” and “respectables” behind all social change movements, and I wrestle with the choice we must each make between trying to replace or transform those with whom we disagree.

Listen

Listen to Episode 49

(Listen – sound quality isn’t great)

The final mini sermon explains how this can be traced back to the moment the purpose of Christianity was twisted by the Roman Empire that adopted it as the state religion long ago.

Episode 47

(Episode 46)

Christ Church (Anglican) Cathedral in Indianapolis, IN decided to cage the holy family in chainlink on their front lawn to prove a point about immigrants and refugees, and remind us about the Gospel message. This is the sermon that accompanied that protest.

In the sermon from the 2018 Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, American Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry gave an impassioned plea to live by the power of love. Inspired by MLK’s sermon about how to love your enemy, Curry reminds us that love could transform the world, if we could just be open to it.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice” is an often spoken idea from abolitionists to civil rights leaders. Martin Luther King used it often. This episode explains and illustrates what this means. This pulls from a 2007 William Schulz sermon – Schulz was a one-time President of Amnesty International and President of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Two sermonlets about the power found in a name. Rev Justin Osterman (UU Raleigh) tells his story of when we served as a translator in Guantanamo. When he entered the prison cell, he did the most natural human thing.

A core part of effective activism is individual witness – standing up to those who one sees and works with every day.

This sermon captures the story of one minister’s behind-the-scenes efforts to cleanse her church’s leadership of sexism and sexual predators and the conflicts that emerged. It reveals how even the most liberal institutions are still not immune to #metoo problems. Efforts at fostering a healthy diversity within the church did not permeate the leadership. And amazingly, as of Februrary 2018, Susan was not just removed from the puplit, she was defrocked by her ordaining denomination. One person’s pursuit of the truth is another’s professional misconduct.

We are on a journey. Are we caring for each other along the way with respect and mindfulness? Or just trying to put up a facade to hide our own struggles from public scrutiny?

Source: Susan Moore, All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Washington, DC

It’s a bitter pill, but if you are serious about transforming the world, it must be your life’s work.

That was the question posed to Rev Dr Justin Osterman of the Raleigh UU fellowship (http://www.uufr.org/). His answer is the best 20 minute explanation of how to be an effective activist I’ve ever heard.

Two sermons from two Unitarian Universalist churches (Washington DC and Tulsa OK) from MLK Sunday (2018) about courage and the journey towards justice that continues, 50 years later. Both tell the story of James Reeb – a UU minister and activist martyred in 1965 – an event that triggered the signing of the voting rights act a week later. Where does the courage come from to work for justice? What kind of daily activities helps us develop resolve? Martin Lavanhar and Rob Hardies offer some answers.

(Music: Jamie Cullum – Pure imagation featuring Rev William Barber III and Martin Luther King, Jr Running time: 26 min)

“Notice how we try to protect others from the pain of grief,” Rob says, “and how the voice of the psalm cries out in grief without reservation. We don’t know how to deal with grief.”

I compiled this for someone who just got the news that her brother walked onto the freeway and died a few days ago. I hope this is a message that resonates as an answer to both “how” and “why” – how to work through grief, and why it is important to live open to the brokenness. With tears we cherish and respect the joy that others have brought us in life. Tears are an offering on the altar. To live full of spirit is to put something of ourselves on the altar, and recognize the preciousness of life.

Those on the margins of society are the people who reform and refine the message. The Jews didn’t put their scriptures together until they were in exile in Babylon around 600BC. They also wrote most of their important books while wandering in the Desert with Moses.

Source: Karen Vineyard Church 2013 Doug Brown – Nairobi Kenya

Source: 2017-07-23 Columbus, MD Mennonite Church

Source: Pleasant Valley UMC

We are all on similar journeys through life, and it has been my focus this month to share stories that intersect in dealing with racism, sexism, alcoholism, and other diseases that are about our own insecurities with the world.

Father Leo Booth provides makes a compelling case that addiction and recovery are a spiritual journey of becoming aware of our own power. He highlights all the self-doubt and ego that drives a person into addiction, and how to overcome this. What’s interesting is that you can replace every mention of “acohol” and “alcoholic” with “racism” or “racist” and it would make perfect sense. This is about a journey towards true self-awareness, rather than some superficial acceptance of a problem others see in us.

This recording is from 1983, from RecoveryAudio.org

I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands
in front of me. I would not shoot him. This is the compassion that I have learnt from
Muhammad-the prophet of mercy, Jesus christ and Lord Buddha. This is the legacy of
change that I have inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad
Ali Jinnah. This is the philosophy of non-violence that I have learnt from Gandhi Jee,
Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa. And this is the forgiveness that I have learnt from my
mother and father.

There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand
up for their rights. But, this time, we will do it by ourselves.

Full Transcript PDF

U2’s singer Bono used to be a believer in Karma but through his journey, he’s grown to be a firm believer in Grace.

Most religions are based on Karma. The ancient Israelites believed in Karma (“we are God’s chosen people” and “lepers must have sinned to be diseased”). Hinduism and the caste system is about karma. And most importantly, a large swath of Republican social conservatism is also based on Karma.

Deniece Mason explains why Christianity is so revolutionary – that it is based on Grace, not Karma. Karma is getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt only to have them complain about all the things that God hadn’t done for them, that they wanted. They had still created a God in their image rather than waking up and recognizing the bounty that God had provided them. How often do we look at our lives in the same way, missing out of the promises in front of us?

The folly of placing one’s spiritual beliefs on karma has a dangerous parallel in politics. The idea that some people deserve more privilege over others by their merit leads us to a world with greater suffering, disunity, isolation, and insurmountable problems. But a firm believe in grace transcends our differences and leads to the possibility of a nation that reflects the audacious aspirations outlined in our Constitution. If you are wondering how we build a society that raises up the meek, and binds the broken, here’s 8 minutes of what we can do to follow the blueprint of our founding fathers.

Peace and justice are built around rebuilding relationships. Jesus dismantled the law, the commandments and the ordinances in order to make peace. That’s why peace church Christians today work to change laws and establish greater justice.

They called Jesus the Son of David because kings were powerful, public, political figures. The Bible was written by people who had not yet theorized about social action campaigns, or democratic process, or community organizing, or creative non-conformity, or assets -based development, or political advocacy. There are glimpses of these ideas in scripture, but they are not fully formed. The Bible is written by people whose encounter with God fueled their imagination for public peacemaking and they described God as a king, and God’s desire for the world as a kingdom because God is with us in our messy public, political lives powerfully acting powerfully for justice and peace.

Texts: Isaiah 9:1-7 and Ephesians 2:12-22
Source: http://cmcva.org/sermon-12112016-vision-of-peace/
Pastor: Jennifer Davis Sensenig

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” Pastor Deniece Mason explains what this means in a modern context. She points out that Memorial Day wasn’t a holiday before 1971. And long before that, it’s origins come from women in Mississippi who, while decorating the graves of their ancestors in a cemetery, noticed some long neglected overgrown graves. These were for union soldiers. And they decided to clean these up and put flowers on them, because it didn’t matter that they were men who fought against their own ancestors. Humanity mattered more.

Fast forward a few generations to a time when Memorial Day and Veterans Day have become more about the glory of soldiers and their sacrifice and not about the sacrifices we must all make to bring peace. We must all be able to recognize the human on the other side of a conflict. (Nov 11, like Memorial Day, was co-opted from its global origin as Armistice Day – a day that marks the end of World War I everywhere else – to glorify Power instead of Peace.)

This swords to plowshares passage is found in two Hebrew books, and on the walls of the United Nations. It is the central promise of the Peace-loving Christian faith. Let our holidays be Holy-days again, as we find meaning in the pursuit of alternatives to strengthening the hand of those who accept war. “As Christians when we read about this passage, we think it has little meaning today because we think about Peace as a noun,” Mason says. “It is a verb. It is what we’re called to be, to live into. It is the word Shalom. Shalom is not just Peace, but also Completeness. Everything one needs to live a full life. Back to the garden of Eden. Perfection. Justice. Neighborliness.”

Sunday, January 19, 2003 at 10:50am: ‘The Most Durable Power’ — Rev. Robert M. Hardies

In the days after the 2016 election with a surprising Trump victory, many in the congregation were shocked and horrified and despondent. Rob Hardies’s sermon struck a perfect balance between accepting the results and preparing All Souls Church as a “sanctuary” for the times ahead.

He reminded us that the church’s bell, crafted by Paul Revere’s son, has tolled for the powerless in past times. It tolled for John Brown when he was hung for his abolitionist raid on Harper’s Ferry. It tolled for the Emancipation Proclamation, and the end of the civil war. It tolled for MLK’s 1963 march on Washington. And it tolled when marriage equality for DC residents was signed into law in this sanctuary. And it will toll again as the beautiful people of liberal religion work for justice.

https://archive.org/details/11.13.2016TheThingsThatMatter

From the Gospel story of the woman who sneaks through the crowd to touch Jesus’s robe because she believes she can be healed, Deniece Mason explains why there is more to the story of a nameless, sick, ostracized woman than it first seems. This story is about coping with and hoping through tragedy in our own lives.

Dr. Martin Luther King’s message is not for the faint of heart. You must BE WILLING TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE, because questioning our laws will make other people uncomfortable. … We must NEVER CONFUSE LAW AND JUSTICE. What is legal is often not just. 100 years ago children were employed in dangerous industries. Women and African Americans could not vote. Bosses paid workers whatever they wanted. Industrialists used police to beat up strikers, and lawyers, judges, and legislators enforced laws that we know now were terribly unjust.

In the struggle for social justice, be prepared to be misunderstood and criticized. This is your purpose-filled life.

(Excerpts from Quigley letter, read to music.)

Sunday, October 2, 2005 at 10:50am: ‘Choose to Bless the World’ — Rev. Robert M. Hardies

“I heartily accept the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least:’ I believe, ‘That government is best which governs not at all;’ and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.”

“It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience. Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even well disposed are daily made the agents of injustice. A common and natural result of an undue respect for law is, that you see soldiers marching in over hill and dale to war, against their will, ay, against common sense and conscience…”

All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, wagering on moral questions. [But] Even voting for what is right does nothing to bring forward what is right and true. It is only a feeble expression of your desire of what should prevail.

A wise man will not leave it to chance. There is little virtue in the action of the masses.

From what I see, there are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.

“If injustice is part of the necessary friction of government, let it go; perchance it will wear smooth,-certainly the machine will wear out… but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say break the law. Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.”

Those who, while they disapprove of the character and measures of a government, yield to it their allegiance and support are undoubtedly its most conscientious supporters, and so frequently the most serious obstacles to reform. The most prevalent errors require the most disinterested virtue to sustain them.

Thus the State never intentionally confronts a man’s sense, intellectual or moral, but only his body, his senses. It is not armed with superior wit or honesty, but with superior physical strength. I was not born to be forced.

[At Walden Pond] “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
“my greatest skill has been to want but little.”
While the masses of other men lead lives of quiet desperation.

“However mean your life is, meet and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man’s abode; the snow melts before its doors as early in the spring. Cultivate property like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Turn the old; return to them. Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts… Superfluous wealth can buy superfluities only. Money is not required to buy one necessary of the soul.”

Sunday, June 6, 2004 at 10:50am: ‘Found in Translation’ — Rev. Robert Hardies

Part of a larger theme of sermons answering the tough question of how we live with people who don’t share our beliefs or our values.

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The Black Lives Matter is a battle for the soul of our nation. And it is part of living our faith and our values in worshiping a God that is still becomming what He is… through us.

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David Miller Mennonite sermon on loaves and fishes

The two best preachers I’ve heard are David Miller (University Mennonite Church, State College PA) and Rob Hardies (All Souls Unitarian in Washington, DC). Here is one of David’s.

Download – David Miller Mennonite sermon on loaves and fishes

On March 30 and April 6, our candidate for associate minister will preach. You can meet the candidate after church and throughout the week. On April 6, we will vote on whether to call the candidate.

Sunday, March 23, 2003 at 10:50am: The Coalition of the Willing — Rev. Robert Hardies

Sunday, March 16, 2003 at 10:50am: ‘The Smooth Stones of Liberal Religion’ — Rev. Robert M. Hardies

The God of Possibility and the Possibility of God

How would our understanding of God change if we took the season seriously and understood God not as the cause of all things, but as the possibility in all things? Repeated at the 11:15 service.
Quoting Rob Hardies:
God says to moses, a slave, “I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out. And I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land into a good and spacious land. A land flowing with milk and honey.”

This is one of the most important passages in the bible I think. Testimony to a compassionate and a liberating god – a god who exercises a preferential option for the suffering and the oppressed.
…
But then god throws Moses a curve ball. He says, “I can’t liberate the people on my own. The most I can do is help. So I am going to send you, Moses. You go back to the people. You organize them. You take them to Pharaoh and say to Pharaoh, ‘Let my people go.’ I’ll lend you a hand, but it is up to you.”
…
Moses isn’t buying it. He says, “God at least you’ve gotta give me a sign. At least give me your name.” This is the dramatic high point of this story. Back then, you have gasped at this. You just don’t ask God his name.

People are hanging on their breath. They are saying, “Is God going to smite Moses for his impertinence?”

God answers him: God says to moses, “אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)” (HWH / YAHWEH).

This is what you are to say to the Israelites. Ehyeh has sent me to you.

Now, the meaning of those 3 Hebrew words is one of the most contested mysteries in the entire bible. YHWH in almost every authorized translation, those words read “I AM WHO I AM.”
Ehyeh is the first person singular of the verb to be.
Asher is relative pronoun that can mean “that”, “who” or “which.”

But there is a complicating factor here. In biblical Hebrew there are only verb tenses that you can have. The perfect tense that refers to actions that are already completed, and the imperfect tense that refers to actions that have not yet been completed. It refers to actions in the future. Ehyeh is the imperfect form.

Almost everywhere else in the bible where Ahyeh is translation not “I am” but “I will be.” Which means the most plausible name for god is “I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE.”

It’s kind of radical for God to name God’s self in the imperfect tense. It upends all the things we were supposed to believe about God. That God was eternal and unchanging and the all-powerful cause. I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE suggests God is somehow not complete. Not fully formed. It suggests that God is still becoming, that God is a God of potential and possiblity.

God is saying to Moses don’t think of me as the all-power cause of your suffering or of your liberation, but as the ever present possilibty of your liberation, even in your darkest hour.

What if we were to see God in the world as present in the world not as the all-power cause of all things, but as the ever present possibility within all things?

The god is dwelling within us and amongst us, in this very moment, luring us, helping us imagine what is the greatest possible outcome of his moment, of this hour right now? What is the next step in our lives towards justice, or love, or truth?

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Given December 31st, 2016 – In response to a fearful America who is not sure how to respond to the changing political climate under Trump, this Moral Monday Architect deliverd a powerful message at a New Year’s Eve Watch Night Service in the historic Metropolitan A.M.E. Church in Washington, DC.

Original full sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-AC8TrWnYY&t=2s