Seeking Justice: A Spiritual Practice

Police for Economic Justice and Collective Bargaining

“And the heavens proclaim God’s righteousness, for God is a God of justice”
(Psalm 50:6)







I have joined the ranks of the protesters. I do so because I believe God is a God of justice. The issue at hand is both simple and complex.

On one hand, our newly-elected governor is trying to balance the budget and reduce spending. He says this is why he was elected. But the primary way he appears to be doing is by forcing state and municipal employees to do four things: 1) and 2) contribute more money towards their health insurance and retirement accounts, 3) take a cut in wages and 4) agree to give up their right to collective bargaining.

As I see the issue unfold, workers are willing to do the first three things -- but not the fourth. Collective bargaining is a worker’s right that should never be surrendered or taken away. If money was the only issue on the table then the governor and legislature would have a deal. But money isn’t the only issue. The other issue is power – the power of an employer to hire and direct workers who, after this bill is passed, won’t have the right to meet with them regarding their “wages, hours and conditions of work.” And that, my friends, is an issue of justice and an issue of justice is a matter of one’s spirituality.

Last Saturday, while marching on the Capitol Square, I heard some counter-demonstrators shouting at the public employees: “We don’t have two weeks’ vacation, health insurance, or a retirement plan – why should you?” I think the response to this is simply, “You should!” Yes, every worker should have a paid vacation, health insurance, and a retirement plan as a matter of economic justice.

In a free society, even a society like ours with a capitalist economy, workers should never be treated as commodities – that is injustice. Workers are important resources that need to be treated with dignity, respect, listened to, and given the opportunity for personal growth in their work-life.

But more than that, collective bargaining is a human right. Our nation has led the way in developing a high-quality, educated workforce; that’s what gives us our economic advantage in the world. To step back and deny workers the right to collectively bargain is both short-sighted and wrong. Simply stated, the governor is wrong in trying to take away the right of workers to collectively bargain. Workers have the right to protest and even strike to assure this right is not taken away. People of faith, and belief in a God of justice, need to support them in this important struggle which is, essentially, a spiritual practice!

Visitations

A number of years ago, after my mother had died, I found myself questioning her relationship with the faith in which she was raised and raised my sister and me.  My mother was always quiet, complex, and guarded -- almost secretive. 

At the time she died, I was not yet a priest, yet my newly-recovered faith and theological studies caused my to have some concern about my mother's spiritual destiny; concerns I had yet to raise even with Sabine.

Then one night, some months after she had died, I suddenly was awaken by a real presence of my mother in my roon standing at the end of my bed and her voice saying, "It's okay, David." I suddenly woke up and felt great peace and a strengthening of my belief in the after-life.

Now, another grief, some three decades later.  This time it was an unexpected death -- my son, Matthew's suicide. Five months had passed since that tragic day.  Five long months, hundreds of family conversations, and at least a gallon or more of tears along with self-incrimination, guilt, sense of loss and overwhelming sadness.

Then it came.  Another night time "visitation" surprisingly similar.  Another dream. This time my son, who died in his early forties, appeared as a young boy, perhaps ten years of age.  He is wearing a striped t-shirt and shorts.  He stands in front of me, happy and peaceful; a smile on his face. He says to me, "it's okay, Dad, I know you love me!"  I am suddenly awake, tears streaming down my face. Yes, it is okay.  There is much more in both life and death than we can ever see.

Lazy Spirituality

Is there a spirituality of doing nothing? I think so. Because for the past few weeks that’s what I have been doing. I hope that the creation story about how God worked is a model for us as well -- six days of creative energy and then a day of rest -- a Sabbath. The Sabbath is Sunday for most Christians, Saturday for Jews and Friday for Muslims; while the day differs, the intent is still the same -- “on the seventh day, God rested” and so should we. But what if we rested more than one day a week? Is that okay?


Now I must admit that I have a tendency to work, work, and then over-work. Even in my so-called “retirement” I continued to work. Iwent off to seminary. Worked as a parish priest. Even after Sabine got sick, I dove into writing. “Moss doesn’t grow on a rolling stone,” I remember my grandmother saying. Work is what we do.

But is there anything worthwhile, redeemable, in totally doing nothing? Sitting back, rocking on the porch, fishing, just hanging out? Are we called to be productive with the lives God has given us ALL the time? It seems that work takes up more than half of our waking hours. Maybe we have over-done it and we need to balance our days along the Rule of Benedict: equal amounts of prayer, study, and work during the day?

I have been on “vacation” for the past two weeks now. I haven’t done much: visited my children and grandchildren for a couple of days, visited some friends of ours in Orlando (yes, we did go to the Café Tu Tu Tango and act a little crazy!). But it’s vacation, right? Vacating ourselves from daily tasks and, in our case, as it turned out, from the Great Blizzard of 2011!

Now as we enter the last week of our vacation we have set aside this time at the beach for just the two of us -- just basking in each other’s presence. Enjoying one another. This is what I love about vacation is that we can really focus on one another. In order to do this, I vowed to finish my book before we went on vacation (and I did!) so Sabine would have a relaxed (and less obsessive) vacation partner. That helped a lot.

And now as we continue our daily regimen of getting up early, taking a long walk on the beach, coming back for breakfast and then dialysis, life has greatly slowed down. Afternoons are just as lazy, a nap, some reading, and then maybe a play at the Barn Theater in nearby Stuart.

Maybe it’s because of the cancer that we have been more focused on “carpe diem” -- seizing the day and on living life to its fullest. But then I think we were always like this (though I am probably wrong in my recollection). We don’t know how much time we have together (but then you don’t either, do you?) and we are totally committed (body and soul) to our relationship that is now on its 30th year. It’s been a good and full life. Every day now is a magnificent gift from God.

At the same time, I am sure that God understands that for the past couple of weeks I have rested for about six days and only “worked” about one. I know God is merciful, forgiving, and loving. I am sure she understands.