Fairness v. generosity

"...are you envious because I am generous?”

When I explained to my sister who lives in Connecticut, that I would be preaching this Sunday, she, being the well-adjusted middle child and the solidly anchored one, had a great idea for my sermon.  She knows and supports my addiction to reality television since she herself is a fan of “Dance Moms”. She sent me a link to a news item lamenting the fact that Mama June and Teddy Bear of “Honey Boo-Boo” fame are experiencing couple’s issues and are living separately while trying to “work things out”.  After milling that one over for about half a nano second, I rejected it as a part of this sermon, but I may just continue to monitor the situation on my own.  Instead I decided to think about the difference between “fairness” and “generosity”.

As some of you may know, I come from a tradition steeped in the labor movement in this city.  My father was a Teamster in the days of Jimmy Hoffa.  My uncle was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; my husband was a union official in the Communication Workers of America and not only am I a member of the United Federation of Teachers, I was the chapter leader at my school for ten years.

As a child I remember an aunt who used to remind us to hum the jingle used by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union that admonished everyone to “Look for the Union label”, when we shopped in local department stores for clothes.  I understood Fairness: fair wages, fair contracts, fair labor practices, fair work schedules. I knew “fair”, but perhaps not “generous”

A few weeks ago, I was privileged to accompany members of “Building Bridges” on a walking pilgrimage of our island and visited one of the most sacred labor sites in the City of New York.  In the Hebrew United Cemetery in Richmondtown , 22 victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire were laid to rest. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan, New York City on March 25, 1911 was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers – 123 women and 23 men – who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women aged sixteen to twenty-three; of the victims whose ages are known, the oldest victim was 43, and the youngest was 14 years old.

One result of this horrific event was the creation of a Committee on Public Safety headed by Frances Perkins, a noted social worker, Episcopal churchwoman and later first Secretary of Labor under Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This group was commissioned to identify specific problems and lobby for new legislation, such as the bill to grant workers shorter hours in a work week.

In her role as Secretary of Labor, a post she held from 1933 until 1945, Perkins led the way in reform for workers. Her work for labor led to  the passage of Social Security Act, unemployment benefits, pensions for the many elderly Americans, and welfare for the poorest Americans . She pushed to reduce workplace accidents and helped craft laws against child labor. Through the Fair Labor Standards Act, she established the first minimum wage and overtime laws for American workers, and defined the standard forty-hour work week.

Perkins came of age at a time when many in the Judeo-Christian communities of New York City were talking about a “theology of generosity”, as opposed to a theology of righteousness. The theology of righteousness held that people get what they deserve, that their wealth and status are signs of their relationship with God. Simply put good, hardworking people get what they deserve, and sinful, lazy people get what they deserve. The theology of generosity, on the other hand, states that all we have is a gift from a generous God. The particulars may be influenced by our own effort, but the foundation is the generosity of God who gives to all people without regard to our particular circumstances or merit. Frances knew fair, but she also knew “generous”.

And “generous” is a far more difficult concept to grasp than “fair”. Recently I learned that the Mennonite group that had been living at St Charles Seminary and quietly doing Sandy Recovery work were heading home after over two years of generous service to the affected population on Staten island.  I had the privilege of meeting a few of these folks who quietly and respectfully shared their skills with homeowners who needed basic construction help done in a very professional and efficient manner.  They did not call attention to themselves. They did not seek out publicity for their latest “event” or invent local “stunts” to keep their name on the lips of local media.  They did the work they were called to do in a forthright and generous manner…and it will be their generosity that will be remembered here.  A generosity that reflects the spirit of today’s Gospel: something they did because they could; not to call attention to themselves, but because it was God’s call to them.  Let us try to emulate their generosity of spirit.