Did anyone make a New Year’s resolution? How are you doing with it?

Here are the top ten resolutions:

Pay off debt;
Detoxify your body;
Clean the clutter in your home;
Stop smoking, swearing, drinking alcohol or any other addictive habit;
Read one book per month;
Travel to one place you’ve dreamed about;
Once a month, look up an old friend;
Once a month, volunteer or support a cause;
once a day, learn a new word;
pray each day.

These are things we do for ourselves. That’s fine. But I think we need to have a few resolutions for our church as well. What are some new things that you want to see happen in your church? I want you to think of one or two important resolutions for the church and put it in the offering plate. This could be the year we are going to forge some new paths, create new alliances and fight for justice. Can I make a new year’s prediction? I am predicting that this year will be a terrific year. There will be a whole new energy and vitality here at St Paul’s this year. The council will set goals and achieve them.

Dr. Marin Luther King Jr. once said that “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.” That’s one of my favorite quotes. Dr. King's words echo those of the 19th-century Unitarian minister Theodore Parker, who, in 1853, declared:
"I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice."

In borrowing from Parker, Dr. King drew inspiration from a source that reaches back to our nation's birth.

Theodore Parker was born in Lexington, Massachusetts in 1810. His grandfather, John Parker, commanded the Minute Men at the Battle of Lexington in 1775. The family’s connection with the revolution of American patriots vs. British tyranny was commendable. More remarkable, however, is that Rev. Parker was also an abolitionist. Parker secretly raised money for John Brown's Negro revolutionaries to accomplish their assault on Harper's Ferry (1859). Parker and his church sheltered runaway slaves. The preacher wrote sermons with a loaded pistol as protection from bounty hunters.

The arc of the moral universe is long. It is 2011, and this arc stretches back past the civil war to the American revolution, bending towards justice for over 158 years. When Dr. King echoed these words four decades ago, he did so to comfort and encourage those who were up against impossible odds but still dedicated to making the dream of “justice for all” a reality.

The arc of the moral universe observed by Dr. King and Rev. Parker goes back thousands of years; it bends towards justice throughout history: 2000 years ago it was bending as Jesus was baptized, and immediately went into the wilderness to argue against pride and power with the devil. It stretches back to the prophets, who made predictions to wayward kings about the destruction of temples and civilizations. It bends back even before the days of Abraham when he uprooted his family at God’s command and took them all to live in a new land. The arc bends to the garden of eden, balancing creation that God said was good. The arc of God may even be symbolized by the rainbow that God gave us after the flood. The arc is the dream of God, guiding the Beloved Community, where all of God’s children are welcomed, all humanity is honored and loved. The moral universe is God’s creation, and “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

As Christians, we are called upon to create a revolutionary community in our land, a beloved community in our neighborhood, where we live out the words of the declaration of independence, that says, “all men and women are created equal.” Doesn’t matter the clothes you wear, the car you drive, how much money you make or the color of your skin, whether you live in a tent or a townhouse; you have the same rights. God created us in God’s image. We are created to live out the dreams and plans that God intends, free and without coercion, threats and corruption. Christians are created to provide the environment for all people to exercise their gifts of ministry and missions. We are called to alleviate suffering as much as we can for as many people as we can. We are also called to advocate, to speak up for those without a voice so that all humanity is honored. This is the legacy of justice which creates the arc; & the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice.

At our Baptism, we are reminded of the good of our creation when we wash away the sins of the world. And, after the bath, when we are carried up to meet the world, we have become a new person. We have become the person that God speaks to from heaven: “You are my beloved, and I am pleased with you.”

It is said to us when we become part of a spiritual community; You are my beloved, and I am pleased with you.

It is said to us each time we turn back towards the Holy Creator. It is said to us when we have fallen from great heights or even when we don’t have far to fall. God is saying to us in prayer -- you are loved; you are my beloved.

Remember the image of the father in the Prodigal Son story. The father sees the son from a long way off; he goes running to him with open arms, hugging him, kissing him, forgiving him, blessing him and giving him a reception so big that the older son was jealous. This is how God acts with God’s children.

Yet, we may still fail to hear how loved we are. We still don’t hear God calling us back to his arms. Maybe we are too deaf to the call. Maybe we are too busy with worldly things. Maybe we are trying to thrive in the world of Kings and Queens, in the world where power and control, madness, money and sexual pleasures abound. Maybe we are caught up in the cruel, crazy, beautiful world; managing our lives and gathering our Ipods, HDTVs, cappuccino makers and other useful things around us, with us at the center. We are all the queens and kings of our little kingdoms. Our world revolves around us. We gather the people around us who we choose. They tell us what we want to hear. If there is any critique, it hurts and we get angry. Or we deny it or we can’t hear it. Even if the emperor’s new clothes are removed and we are standing there naked in front of God we still are trying to hold onto our pride. Reality is the truth about ourselves that we may be trying to avoid. But the prophetic voice cuts through the worldly images and brings us the truth; the prophets told the kings the truth. Justice is telling the truth; the arc bends towards justice.

Do you know the difference between a false prophet and a true prophet? The true prophet tells the king the truth, at great risk; the false prophet tells the king what the king wants to hear. Sometimes the prophet dies for telling the truth . . . tough love can be prophetic, and we may try to avoid it.

When you gather around you only people that tell you what you want to hear you will never get the whole truth. Our governor may not be able to hear the truth from the white men he has gathered around him. The whole truth is going to become clearer as the debate about the state budget begins. People from all over Ohio will be talking to their legislators and representatives and the prophets will have to step up and take risks to tell the truth.

St Paul’s will be a place where the truth can be told. We will invite more folks in to meetings – we will continue to hold Coffeehouses, seminars and gatherings to talk about how to balance the state budget, talk about reconciliation and peace, talk about how to avoid or alleviate suffering. I think this is a primary concern of ours. We will be joined by people of good will who care about all of Cleveland’s neighbors. “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

Jesus calls us away from our jobs, our homes, our livelihoods; he calls us to risk something more than a hangnail, to clear the busy-ness from our lives and to do something different. We are called to greatness. The call is to be more than the sum total of ourselves. But doing God’s work, getting out of the way, listening to the prophets, clearing the busy-ness from our lives so that God’s agenda kicks in, that re-vitalizes us, that re-energizes us.

Disciples of Jesus Christ: remember your baptism, remember the strength and courage of the prophets who rallied the people through the tough times. Remember the revolutionaries who risked it all for their neighbors, remember the saints and prophets who told the kings the truth; remember your prayers and the Scriptures that catapulted people into history.

William Bausch tells a story about George Washington Carver. It is 1921 and Carver has been summoned to the US Congress in Washington, D.C. to appear before the House Ways and Means Committee to explain his work on the peanut . . . on its medicinal as well as its commercial potential. Dr. Carver has been waiting all day for his turn. He was the only African American in the room and he was the last in a long line of speakers. All day he felt uneasy and at times, terrified.

At last, he is called forward. He rises and begins the long walk; as he walks down the aisle he sees ugly stares. He hears crude and cutting remark. Dr. Carver ignores it and continues. A committee member leans back in his chair, places his feet up on the table and puts his hat over his face as if to go to sleep. When the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee instructs the member to take off his hat, he responds with a loud, ugly racial slur.

At this point, Dr. Carver is ready to turn around and go home. But he doesn’t. Instead, he reminds himself of his baptism and of who he is. Dr. Carver said to himself: “Whatever they say of me, I know who I am: I am a child of God.” By his baptism, he knows who he is, to whom he belongs and what he is about. It gives him courage.

Dr. Carver finally reaches the podium and has twenty minutes to speak. He opens his display case and starts to talk. So engaging is his presentation that those twenty minutes fly by. The Chairman rises and asks for an extension of time and no one opposes the request.

Dr. Carver is granted four additional extensions of time and, in the end, speaks for several hours to a rapt audience. At the conclusion of his presentation, the members of the House Ways and Means Committee stand and, to a man, they give Dr. Carver—scientist, inventor and former slave--a long standing ovation. What gave George Washington Carver courage that day long ago? The knowledge that he had been baptized. He knew that God had called him to a higher purpose and set the wheels in motion that no one could stop.

By our baptism we know who we are and to whom we belong. Baptism identifies us with Christ. Baptism initiates us into the Body of Christ. Go forth with the knowledge that you are beloved, you belong to God. And you are part of a revolutionary movement that is creating God’s beloved community. Let us join with other like-minded groups to find creative, just and fair ways to balance the budget, not put people into a position where they will be suffering. Tim Walters and I went to a meeting on Friday for an organization called ABLE . . . I want to focus on why we as a church should get involved in the budget creation process.

In Ohio, the budget cuts will be coming down from on high, and I think there is fear that the $8 billion in OH budget cuts will come on the backs, necks and pocketbooks of people who are already suffering from need, neglect and want. “If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.” Let us head towards justice -- justice for all human beings -- because we see clearly that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."