UU Vespers @ Occupy Boston
October 23, 2011
5:30pm
Look Around, You are Not Alone
a homily
by the Rev. Molly Housh Gordon
The following is often cited as a Medieval Jewish story:
A rabbi spoke with God about heaven and hell. "I will show you hell," God said, and they went into a room which had a large pot of stew in the middle. The smell was delicious, but around the pot sat people who were famished and desperate. All were holding spoons with very long handles which reached to the pot.
But because the handles of the spoons were longer than their arms, it was impossible to get the stew back into their mouths. They all tried to feed themselves the stew, but could never get even a bit.
"Now I will show you heaven," God said, and they went into an identical room. There was a similar pot of stew, and the people had identical spoons, but they were well nourished and happy. "It's simple," God said. "You see, they have learned to feed one another."
(The above was told with great energy and much improvement by the Rev. Tom Schade)
---
I was late to the Occupation. I waffled around for a couple of weeks, waiting to see what this thing would be before I threw my lot in with it.
Many people did the same, and the spiritual problem of caution is a rich topic for another time, but today I want to tell you why I am here.
It may be different from why you are here, and that, I’ve learned, is a beautiful thing.
What brought me here was our stories. The stories of the 99 percent. The stories of the 1 percent. The stories of solidarity, courage, worry, and love that are circling the internet and that live in this square, and in places like this all over the world.
These stories mirror my heartache. They mirror our heartache. That is why I am called, why we are called to be here.
Because here’s the thing. This economic system we’re in now... It is hell.
We’re sitting around the table with these long spoons, and we are starving.
This system is built upon the lie that we are independent, self-sufficient... and alone. And we are starving.
This system is built upon the sin that it’s every person for herself, so you better get yours, and as much as you can. And the 1% are trapped in it, and the 99% are trapped in it, and all of us are destined to starve.
All of us. Because there is no true nourishment in this broken and empty system, no matter how large the share you may possess.
That, in the end, is why I am here.
Because here, people are feeding each other.
(They’re feeding anyone who asks, actually.)
And right now, I’m pretty sure that’s the only thing that can save us.
This is not about a policy, though policies will follow.
This is not about class warfare, though our anger is righteous.
This is about turning away entirely from a culture that tells us we are alone.
This is about turning back to face each other once more.
And it is working.
Look around you...
People are sharing space. People are sharing supplies. People are sharing ideas.
People are sharing their stories. And that is how we are fed....
So if you feel alone in your fear for your future, look around. You are not alone.
If you feel alone in your anger and pain, look around. You are not alone.
And if you feel alone in your guilt and your shame... then too... look around. You are not alone.
If you feel alone in your gnawing hunger for justice? Look around this place, at these people gathered. You are far from alone.
...And if you feel alone in your hope, in that glowing core of faith that something better is possible?
Look at your neighbor.
Tell them this:
(Mic Check)
We are here.
We are hopeful.
You are not alone.
