Frances Perkins, Social Reformer

Frances Perkins, Social Reformer, 1965

It is notable that the collect for today says that in faithfulness to her baptism Frances Perkins envisioned a society in which all might live in health and decency.  And the proper preface assigned for today is the preface for baptism.  Though the promises we make today in baptism from the 1979 prayer book are different from the ones Frances Perkins would have made using the 1892 prayer book, the connection is there: in baptism, we are born into a new relationship with God and the world.  And when we are true to that new relationship, it changes how we treat our neighbors, turning us away from selfishness toward selflessness.

We see this in God’s command in the reading from Deuteronomy.  Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”  When we have enough, we are called to share with those who don’t.  This is key to our Christian faith.  Feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are things Jesus talked about all the time.  To be a Christian is to be concerned for our neighbor’s well-being. 

But that’s Christianity.  What about the government?  Should caring for my neighbor inform how I vote?  Do I bring my faith into the voting booth?  Well, in Frances’ view, yes.  As we heard, Christ’s incarnation informed her conviction that people ought to work with God to create a just Christian social order.  In other words, since Jesus walked among us as a complete human being—a real person—Jesus sanctified what it means to be human.  People are holy creatures of God, and must be treated as such.  And if we are to play this out, that means we care for our neighbors by supporting policies that care for our neighbors. 

There’s an interesting thing that happens in the Gospel reading for today.  Whether intentionally or not, the disciples’ solution to people’s hunger is to send them away.  On the surface, it looks like legitimate concern for the people around them.  The disciples say to Jesus, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.” Sounds compassionate doesn’t it?  Caring for my neighbor by sending them away?  But Jesus says to them, “You give them something to eat.”  

And the disciples immediately default to a scarcity mentality.  “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.”  They are standing there with the creator of all that is, the One who was at the beginning of all creation, the Word made flesh, and they can’t seem to see what Jesus can see.  Namely, they have everything they need.  They don’t need to send the people away.  They don’t need to go into town to buy supplies.  They only need to trust Jesus, open their hand, and distribute from their own abundance.

It’s hard to be generous when we convince ourselves we don’t have enough.  It’s hard to care about others when we are focused on ourselves.  And that is just as true for nations as it is for individuals.  There is a saying—often wrongly attributed to Gandhi, but true nonetheless—“The greatness of a nation can be judged by how it treats its weakest member.”  Are we great when the poor are suffering?  Are we great when children are starving?  Are we great when the elderly can no longer afford food and heat?

Frances Perkins was a baptized child of God, and she knew deep in her heart that there was plenty to go around, and there always will be plenty to go around.  We don’t need to send people away when they are hungry.  We don’t even need to go shopping for supplies.  We only need to trust Jesus, and do as God commands: “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”