This morning we consider the second recognized source of our Living Tradition: Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love. Who are these prophetic women and men, and how are we guided by their words and deeds?

I suspect that for many of us, especially those brought up in the context of the Judeo-Christian tradition, the image of the prophet is a sharp one. I think of Isaiah and Jeremiah, long-haired and wild eyed; proclaiming doom and gloom for those who don't toe the line and follow God's commandments. For many, the prophets were those who foretold, in sometimes vague and ambiguous terms, the future of God's plan; the coming of Jesus the Messiah.

Whatever the message of the Old Testament prophets, they clearly put themselves forth as spokespersons for God. In fact their words were usually attributed directly to God. As such, their voices of judgment and criticism of the standing order took on a level of authority that allowed them to stand up to the powers and principalities of their day. Appealing directly to the people, they often directed criticism toward even the religious leaders of the time.

Back in the eighth century B.C.E., the prophet Amos put the following words in God's mouth: "I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."

According to Amos, God was not impressed with fancy words, and singing, and symbolic sacrifices. What God expected was more down-to-earth, more practical. "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." In other words, live right and treat each other with fairness. That's where people's religious impulses and energies should be focused. Not on empty and ultimately meaningless ritualistic forms.

Amos was calling for the acting out of the spirit of God's laws in the real world, in everyday life. Clearly the specific issues and circumstances of Israel nearly three thousand years ago don't apply to us today. But what does still apply three thousand years later is the call for justice. And the call for putting religious principles into practice in real life. As such, Amos's prophetic words still speak to us. And his courage in uttering them is worthy of emulation.

But as I've said before from this pulpit, we don't limit ourselves to the Holy Scriptures in our quest for religious and moral inspiration and edification. Likewise, we seek out prophetic role models in all times and places. In our own American Unitarian and Universalist traditions, perhaps the golden age of prophetic witness was the nineteenth century. And unlike the total male domination of the Old Testament, we find both male and female voices speaking out and working for justice and compassion.

One of the prophetic women of that time was the Universalist, Clara Barton. We heard a bit about her in the Unitarian Universalist Minute earlier, and her picture is on the front of your order of service. Barton is best known for her central role in the founding of the American Red Cross, and for her selfless work on the front lines of the American Civil War, caring for the wounded of both sides. But later in her life she also worked with Susan B. Anthony on the issue of women's voting rights, and with Frederick Douglass as an activist for black rights.

Clara Barton's words spoke loudly for justice, but her deeds spoke even more loudly for confronting structures of evil with compassion and the transforming power of love. In her own words, "An institution that is not selfish must originate in the recognition of some evil that is adding to the sum of human suffering, or diminishing the sum of happiness." And like us, Clara Barton did not look to the pat answers of traditional belief and practice to guide her. For she also said, "I have an almost complete disregard of precedent and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things have always been done . . . I defy the tyranny of precedent. I cannot afford the luxury of a closed mind. I go for anything new that might improve the past."

Clara Barton's words and deeds have stood well the test of time, and continue to serve as an example and inspiration to all who yearn for a more just and compassionate world.

The nature of prophetic witness is to confront the major sources of evil in the world. For much of Clara Barton's work, that was the evil of large-scale armed conflict, war. Another of the great evils of nineteenth century America was, of course, slavery. American Unitarianism did not speak with one voice on that issue, but there were among the Unitarians some very strong voices. Among them was Unitarian minister Theodore Parker. Parker was shunned by his fellow Boston clergymen because of his uncompromising outspokenness.

But like all of the most effective prophets, Parker did more than simply speak. Among other things, Parker housed and defended escaped slaves passing through Boston on the underground railroad. He was known to write his sermons with a pistol at his side in order to protect the fugitives he housed. In 1854 he went so far as to lead a crowd of vigilantes on an unsuccessful attempt to storm the local courthouse and free fugitive slave Anthony Burns. He summed up his position with the words, "Freedom is worth nothing in a country that condones slavery." Parker, like Clara Barton, reminds us that it is one thing to have the right sentiments, and something else again to act upon them.

It is also one thing to look back at historical examples -- to praise and commemorate them -- and something else again to make use of their examples in our own present-day world. If there are still powers and structures of evil in the world, then there is still a need for those who can challenge us to confront them. And I believe that such powers and structures do exist, leading to inequality and injustice for many of our citizens.

I've talked so far about the prophetic witness of individual voices, those standing apart from and above the crowd. But part of the reason I choose to be a part of the liberal religious movement -- of Unitarian Universalism -- is to not only listen to the prophetic voices of the special few, but to be a part of a collective prophetic witness as well. In recent years, that collective voice has spoken and acted particularly in two major areas: the struggle against racism, and for the acceptance and affirmation of bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender people.

Results have been mixed, especially in the efforts against racism. Back in the mid-sixties, many white civil rights activists -- Unitarian Universalists and others -- were uncertain how to respond to the civil rights movement's turn towards "black power". Debates about integration versus black empowerment were so heated that they led many, black and white, to leave the Unitarian Universalist Association.

As a result, racism got put on the back burner throughout the seventies and eighties. Attention was focused more on opposition to the Vietnam War, and the fight for rights for women, gays and lesbians. In the past ten years, finally, the issue of racism has been returned to the front burner. The focus now is on creating an anti-racist, multi-cultural Unitarian Universalist Association. This is seen as a long-term effort, with no quick fixes. The current version of the program, called the Journey Toward Wholeness includes many resources to assist in reflection, self-assessment, and action for individuals and congregations. You'll be hearing more about that program, as well as some specific opportunities here in the State College area from me and from our congregation's Diversity Committee.

The area where I think our denomination's prophetic witness has been particularly effective is that of bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender issues. As early as 1970, our General Assembly passed a General Resolution to end discrimination against homosexuals and bisexuals. In 1990, the Welcoming Congregation Program was begun, designed to help congregations acknowledge and understand their feelings of homophobia, and to move beyond them to become more affirming and welcoming of sexual minorities.

This congregation joined that program and voted several years ago to claim the official designation of "Welcoming Congregation". However, since many of you have joined us since that time, and because there's always room for more work and greater understanding, our Diversity Committee has decided to revisit the program. There is a newly revised edition of the Welcoming Congregation Workshop series that will be offered sometime in the near future. Stay tuned, and please take advantage of that opportunity. That's one way that we can all be a part of a collective prophetic witness in our time and in our community.

Another area of prophetic witness that has not been as prominent, but may become so, is that of environmentalism: the efforts to protect our home, the earth, from our own destructive tendencies. At the continental level, the Unitarian Universalist Association is currently working on a Study/Action Issue on "Responsible Consumption as a Moral Imperative". A Statement of Conscience on the issue will be voted on at this summer's General Assembly. Here in our own congregation there is an active Environmental Task Force, which acts as a watchdog and helps to raise our consciousness and encourage us to step more lightly on the earth.

The efforts for justice of Amos three thousand years ago, of Clara Barton and Theodore Parker a hundred and fifty years ago, of civil rights leaders forty years ago, of countless others down through the centuries -- those efforts have not completed the job. Everyone does not yet have access to the same opportunities, the same chances to share in the benefits and the bounty of this life. There are still children suffering hunger and neglect. There are still gays and lesbians attempting to live lives of integrity in the face of hatred, suspicion and persecution. There are minorities still trying to secure their rightful place as first-class citizens.

Who are the prophetic voices of our age, and how do we know those voices when we hear them? In every age there are prophets and there are false prophets. How do we tell them apart? For me, the key is to look to those basic values and principles that I've chosen to guide my life. Affirming the inherent worth and dignity of every person, regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation. Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. Acceptance of one another and recognizing the right of conscience. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence.

I will grant that this does not provide a simple, straightforward formula to guide our actions. People differ on how these values and principles apply in particular cases. Sometimes the values themselves may seem to be in conflict. I am no more able than anyone else to sort all of that out definitively. That's part of what I think is important about the existence of religious communities such as ours. In the spirit of love, compassion, and mutual respect, we can struggle together to find the answers. To find a path toward peace, justice and liberty for all. And then, when we identify that path, we can walk it together, hand in hand, with all the compassion, love, and commitment we can muster.