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RSSAn Innocent Cup of Coffee
The Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton
Palm Sunday, Year A
The Liturgy of the Palms Matthew 21:1-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 The Liturgy of the Word Isaiah 50:4-9a
Philippians 2:5-11
Matthew 26:14- 27:66 or
Matthew 27-11-54
Psalm 31:9-16
I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves. — Matthew 27:24
Is this really how it is — can we really wash our hands of things? Can I really absolve myself of responsibility for something just by saying I'm not responsible?
No. Ethical responsibility is not something we choose or don't choose to have. We just have it. Our only choice is whether or not we live up to it.
Sometimes people are angered by assertions about the responsibility of the wealthy for the welfare of the poor. I didn't make them poor, someone says, poverty has been around a lot longer than I have.
Maybe so, someone else says, but you benefit from it every day. It may well be that we ourselves have committed no overt action to cause the impoverishment of others, but we reap the fruit of a prosperity that feeds on it every day.
Back and forth at the dinner table, at the cocktail party, in the adult forum, we argue about this. Or we listen to other people argue about it, liberal guilt versus handouts that don't really help, versus the market that always works, versus who knows what, and we secretly long to be released. Oh, dear, we think, hearing reasonableness and fault on every side of the debate, feeling terrible about the poor and wondering what on earth we might do to make things different.
Well, there is one thing you can do — a real thing, a market-driven thing, not a handout at all. You can change the coffee they serve at church.
Yup, Episcopal Relief and Development sells coffee. Or, rather, makes it possible for you to buy organic coffee from small farmers in poor countries. Bishops Blend coffee combines social justice with ERD’s mission of responding to needs around the world. Fair Trade coffee helps farmers in the developing world receive a living wage for their coffee, while protecting the environment.
The sale of Bishops Blend coffee also furthers ERD’s mission of responding to issues such as poverty, hunger, and disease worldwide. All proceeds raised through Bishops Blend go into ERD’s general fund so they can be used for the areas of greatest need — such as emergency assistance after floods, or support for AIDS orphans.
And it's really good coffee, too. The arguments about what really helps the poor will continue at coffee hour, and that's a good thing: if people care enough about the poor to argue about them, eventually they'll care enough to do more. Buying fair trade coffee for the church won't do the whole job, of course. But every lovely cup of the luxurious dark brew will remind you again of how good life can be, and how small a thing can bring a person joy. Any person, anywhere. It's not too much to ask.
