The Rev. Forrest Church
Senior Minister, Unitarian Church of All Souls
New York, NY

Hope on the Horizon

The Rev. Forrest Church

Where, in these clouds, is the silver lining? To find it, we must look first to history’s horizon, and, then—with eternal not temporal promise—to the horizon of the human heart. Hope is to optimism what faith is to confidence. Hope in history dwells within its unfolding, divined from the cumulative record not from any isolated act or cluster of events. The promise of American history, for instance— liberty and justice for all—is spelled out in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. At no moment in our history has that promise been fulfilled. Yet it nonetheless advances our moral progress as a nation, leading us from limited popular suzerainty through the gradual, hard won, expansion of rights: from white alone to the entire human palette; from male alone to male and female; from straight alone to straight and Gay. This unfolding record, ever interrupted by actions of bigotry and violence, extends from the founding to this very day.

The national chapter we began on 9/11 is far from being the nation’s darkest. In contrast, 600,000 American soldiers died during the Civil War. In both North and South, many citizens lost all hope. Yet, with the abolition of slavery, the only future that today we consider imaginable was assured. Then, as today, the ideal of E pluribus unum ("out of many, one") held us under judgment while spelling out hope for future generations faithful to the founders’ vision.With the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, this hope became the world’s hope too, its promise clearly engraved in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. When World War II ended, in all the world there were only six full democracies. The world dream of E pluribus unum is today as young as our national dream was thirty years before the Civil War.

Yet, during this time, a true coalition of the willing has emerged, commited to balancing the one and the many. And, spurred by the advent of global communications, international intolerance for state-sponsored human degradation is growing apace. An ever growing number of international citizens who honor no border more highly than the borders of morality marks the emergence of a true world community gathered according to at least a saving few shared human values.

The principal danger facing the world today remains what it has been for more than half a century, murder suicide by nuclear holocaust. This danger demands far greater vigilance than we demonstrate. Yet, the opportunity rising from beneath the shadow of that danger—an informed and engaged international community, who see common interest where their leaders before saw only competing might—may actually rise to meet it. If the international rejection of our war in Iraq is witness to this growing coalition, let us not forget that we ourselves in America gave birth to the vision that inspires them.

History may conclude that our leaders have chosen wisely in embarking on war in Iraq. Even if completely victorious, however, America must and should be humbled by the cost of that victory, in both blood and the world's affection If today’s leaders cannot find such humility in their hearts, tomorrow’s leaders will rise to power because of it. As we have done before, surely we will again catch up with our national ideals and help lead the world through the 21st century. That is my hope.

As for hope on the heart’s horizon, it too is what it always has been. Every day we live, the choices we make either redeem or diminish the world. Living at a time when one feels a part of history, which we certainly do now, can present a daunting challenge. On this field, there are no sidelines. To be saved is first to save. Yet, in meeting this challenge, we cannot help but become more engaged, committed, mindful, empathetic, and alive.

Fear is a visitor from the future. By filling the present with love and service, we offer fear no room in our hearts. We can’t do the impossible. And wishful thinking doesn’t help. But thoughtful wishing does. To want what we have, do what we can, and be who we are, we invest our lives and the life of the world with meaning. This is our choice and no one else’s. No outside power, however mighty, can relock our hearts. Nothing, not even death, can take back the love we dare to give away.

Unitarian Universalist Association
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