1 PIPELINES AND BANK ACCOUNTS Good morning this message may sound like a Sociology lesson, it s about Givers and Keepers two common personalities found in both our current political parties--givers are people who will never be rich because they just keep giving it away, and keepers are those who may be very rich, as they are tightfisted and not open to cries for help. Both types are found in every social strata, every religion, and every nation. Those who love giving don t do it because the bible says it s better than receiving, but mostly just because to them it seems right and feels good. I doubt anyone here is much of a keeper, so I m going to assume all of us are givers. Some of us may have lived on a farm decades ago when times were so hard that homeless people traveled around looking for food and shelter, and you may know that many farm families maintained an open door policy. Anyone who came to the door hungry and tired could expect to be invited in and seated at the table. A mother or grandmother in charge of the kitchen would call out put another cup of water in the soup! Country people always said grace, including visitors in the circle of joined hands. Whether or not the visitors happened to be believers, they almost always appreciated this act of gratitude and faith--a humble ritual expressing the spirit of generosity and compassion that saved lives over the years. I don t say that wealthy families would NOT open their doors to people in need, just that for true givers it s nothing special, it s who we are.
2 All of us know who Pope Francis is you may know that he has created a gentle but pronounced revolution in Catholicism, most of which is aimed at relief and healing for the poor. Francis says that among the poor, the very poorest in all the world, having given and given as the takers took and took, is Mother Earth. Some people, especially Native Americans have tried to defend the earth, but they seldom succeeded as big business, big money, and political power crushed all opposition. By the way, in April my son Willie and daughter-in-law Liza were here for our service, so many of you met them. They are now deeply involved in helping the immigrant community in CA, AZ and the Mexican border. Last year they traveled to Standing Rock in North Dakota and they worshipped with a small UU congregation in Bismarck, then joined together with a thousand people at Standing Rock, protesting the continued blatant robbery of Mother Earth and the violation of land sacred to the Sioux. Now yet another pipeline is underway, preparing to suck up more oil from Mother Earth so that the keepers can keep their trucks and SUVs rolling from morning to night from New York to California and their profits rolling into all the big banks. Pope Francis is terribly worried and praying hard for planet Earth. We, all of us givers are faced with the absolute necessity of a monumental change. We who are motivated to give know we will never be rich, and will go right on giving to all the needy people of the world, all the endangered creatures and environmental crises. But now we must
3 become keepers for the earth, protecting natural resources from the voracious appetites of the takers. Billionaires are now taking and keeping the riches of the natural world it is the prayer of Pope Francis that they must become givers, restoring what they have stolen to the best of their ability. He sees it as the will of God a rationale of HIS faith not ours, but he is absolutely right that the alternative is unspeakably awful. The leadership of our country stubbornly refuses to accept reality, taking, keeping and refusing to consider the consequences, unaware that they are dying of the dread disease called greed. Other nations, historically our friends, see clearly what is going on with our leadership, and I would not be surprised if America in the near future will no longer be welcome at the United Nations. Our new slogan is America First. To me this brings up the classic illustration of selfishness a table loaded with a great meal, and forks being extended to the serving platter in competition for the biggest steak. I cannot relate to this--in order to tolerate the daily repetition of America First I must devise a different interpretation. History to the rescue! For most of my lifetime, throughout the advent of Democratic and Republican Presidents, the United States maintained our position as the strongest, wealthiest, and most influential among all the nations of the world. Our government could be counted on to give generously to any nation hit by hard times, no matter what the cause or who the people were, what color, religion or political connections. There was often a dark side to this charity American business interests profited in many
4 ways, but still, we saved lives and earned gratitude all over the world. Respect and good will followed us to the United Nations, where America was viewed with near unanimous appreciation. I m embarrassed and sad for our Ambassador now sitting among the representatives of former friends almost hanging her head in shame. Go back with me in time to the world of post-world War II, when the United Nations came into existence. America WAS first first in outreach to the damaged nations of Europe through the generosity of the Marshall Plan, first in celebration of veterans returning home in victory, first in honoring our commitment to work with everyone in search of forgiveness and peace. I can resurrect the slogan and put it up in lights in the front of my brain, but only IF America First is in harmony with my values: First in opening our borders to receive what Lady Liberty offers the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of the teeming shores, the tempest-tossed, rejected, hungry, wounded and despised of every color, every culture, every faith, every language, the diversity of all the world. Living on our very doorstep in Haiti and Puerto Rico are refugees from hurricanes who have suffered doubly from the taker/keeper version of America First first the storms, then the lies and unmerciful treatment. We must recover the values of a better time, correcting today s distorted image of who we are. If we started today in sociology class, we ve moved on to politics and history, but in case anyone does not realize it, it s all on the active agenda of the UUA, the UUSC, and
5 the ministry of UU churches and fellowships all across America. Visit the web site, www.uua.org and look at the titles of current concerns and organizations there here in Menomonie we are small and often frustrated, but we are part of an energetic, committed company of givers to whom politics and faith are inseparable. At this point in time we are the wandering peoples looking for open doors and invitations to the fellowship of like-minded givers, so that we can return to the America of a better time, the values that made us First in the hearts of givers all over the world. At ground level, each one of us must live our way through this difficult time, insulted and shocked every day by the negative effects of cruel, dishonest, ignorant so-called leadership. We need each other as much as the homeless poor needed acceptance and respect as well as that extra cup of water in the soup. We can do that for each other, giving the wondrous gift of spiritual fellowship, freedom to be ourselves, and the warmth of working side by side for what we believe in. Let the church say amen.
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