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An inspiring collection of readings that will raise deep questions about service and its roots in faith.
"There is a deep yearning among the vast majority of people of all religious and philosophical traditions to make real their most enduring shared principles—to care for creation, to serve others with compassion, and to protect and enhance the gift of life…. We believe that reflecting on these principles strengthens our capacity to embody them."
—from the Introduction
Explore the connections between faith, service, and social justice through the prose, verse, and sacred texts of the world's great faith traditions—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and more. Drawing from diverse literary genres, religious and philosophical perspectives and historical periods, these short and provocative readings cut to the heart of the many obstacles and joys that accompany lives devoted to faith and service:
Why do I serve? • Whom do I serve? • How do I serve?
This rich collection will create a platform for discussing and understanding the faith-based service of others as well as inspire you to reflect on the meaning behind your own commitment to improving the world.
Contributors:
Umar Faruq Abd-Allah • Jane Addams • Sholom Aleichem • Bidpai • Cesar Chavez • Chuang-Tzu • Dorothy Day • Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni • Mahatma Gandhi • Linda Gregg • Hafiz • Hamzayusuf • Thich Nhat Hanh • Mark Helprin • Abraham Joshua Heschel • Gerard Manley Hopkins • Kabir • Martin Luther King Jr. • The Dalai Lama • Anne Lamott • Lao-Tzu • Abraham Lincoln • Maimonides • Valerie Martin • Gabriela Mistral • Mikhail Naimy • Friedrich Nietzsche • Tim O'Brien • Flannery O’Connor • Mary Oliver • George Orwell • John Oskison • Eboo Patel • Peggy Payne • I. L. Peretz • Rumi • Ryokan • Tayeb Salih • Harold M. Schulweis • Leslie Marmon Silko • Anna Swir • Rabindranath Tagore • William Trevor • Shih Te • Swami Vivekananda • Walt Whitman
"An original and necessary work that deserves to be passed on to reading publics and citizens who gather to make things better in a spiritually and ideologically warring world."
—Martin E. Marty, Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago
"A usable, wonderful instrument designed to take our dreams of action and make them real. Provides new insight and wisdom that will deepen our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. I commend this book to readers and seekers of all ages!"
—Michelle Nunn, CEO, Points of Light Institute; cofounder, Hands On Network; author, Be the Change! Change the World. Change
“Brings the best wisdom of our respective traditions to guide us on the journey to faith, service and reconciliation.”
—Rabbi Sid Schwarz, founder, PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values; author, Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World
“A rich abundance of both provocative readings and, more importantly, good questions to lead those bold enough to explore with others across these lines…. [A] required anthology of readings for those earnestly seeking the path of religious cooperation.”
—Rev. Bud Heckman, director for external relations, Religions for Peace; editor, InterActive Faith:The Essential Interreligious Community-Building Handbook
“A delightful symphony of inspiring readings from the world's religions. Finds harmony in a shared commitment and value for service and celebrates the distinctive and inviting melodies on this theme played in diverse communities of faith.”
—Anantanand Rambachan, professor and chair of the religion department, St. Olaf College
“An important contribution to the field of public service. And for those who are motivated to serve because of deep faith commitments, this book will only strengthen that calling.”
—Wendy Kopp, CEO and founder, Teach for America
PREFACE:THE HEAVENS OF FAITH,THE HARLEM OF LIFE
By Eboo Patel
EDITORS' INTRODUCTION
Part I: Why Do I Serve?
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
The Drum Major Instinct
Why the Buddha Had Good Digestion, from Avadanasataka
In Praise of Generosity, from the Rig Veda
ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL
Solidarity, Reciprocity, and Sanctity, three selections from
Who Is Man?
TAYEB SALIH
A Handful of Dates, in The Wedding of Zein and Other Stories
JANE ADDAMS
The Subjective Necessity of Social Settlements, in Twenty Years at Hull-House
CHUANG-TZU
Action and Non-Action
Isaiah 58:2–12
SHIH TE
Three Poems
Luke 10:25–37
HAMZAYUSUF
Miserliness, from Purification of the Heart
FLANNERY O'CONNOR
The River, in A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories
THE DALAI LAMA
Compassion, from The Essential Dalai Lama: His Important Teachings
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
The Joy of Giving Joy, from On the Genealogy of Morality
Selfless Service, from the Bhagavad Gita
Surahs 93 and 107, from the Qur'an
TIM O'BRIEN
Church, in The Things They Carried
RABINDRANATH TAGORE
Section 50, from Gitanjali: Song Offerings
HAROLD M. SCHULWEIS
Between
WALTWHITMAN
The Base of All Metaphysics, in Leaves of Grass
Part II: Whom Do I Serve?
LAO-TZU
A Good Traveler Has No Fixed Plans, in the Tao Te Ching
DOROTHY DAY
The Faces of Poverty, in Loaves and Fishes
HAFIZ
The Difference Between
LESLIE MARMON SILKO
The Man to Send Rain Clouds
I. L. PERETZ
If Not Higher
ANNA SWIR
The Same Inside, in Talking to My Body
JOHN OSKISON
The Problem of Old Harjo
THICH NHAT HANH
Meditation on Compassion and Not Two, from Peace Is Every Step
The Legend of the Lowly Devotee, in The Tiruvaçagam
Ruth 1–4:22
CESAR CHAVEZ
The Mexican-American and the Church
CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI
The Walk, from Leaving Yuba City
LINDA GREGG
The Shopping-Bag Lady, in Alma
BIDPAI
The Camel Driver and the Adder
VALERIE MARTIN
A Rich Young Man on the Road, from
Salvation: Scenes from the Life of St. Francis
RUMI
Say Yes Quickly
MIKHAIL NAIMY
His Grace
Part III: How Do I Serve?
GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS
God’s Grandeur
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
The Secret of Work, in The Complete Works, I:3
SHOLOM ALEICHEM
Reb Yozifl and the Contractor, in Inside Kasrilevke
RYOKAN
First Days of Spring
WILLIAM TREVOR
Sitting with the Dead, in A Bit on the Side
UMAR FARUQ ABD-ALLAH
Mercy:The Stamp of Creation
MAHATMA GANDHI
Yajna,Welfare, and Service, from a letter to Narandas Gandhi, October 28, 1930
GEORGE ORWELL
Reflections on Gandhi, from the Partisan Review
MAIMONIDES
Levels of Giving, in Mishneh Torah
MARY OLIVER
The Buddha’s Last Instruction, in House of Light
MARK HELPRIN
North Light—A Recollection in the Present Tense, in Ellis Island and Other Stories
RUMI
Come Out and Give Something
PEGGY PAYNE
The Pure in Heart, in Revelation
GABRIELA MISTRAL
The House
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Proclamation of a National Fast-Day
KABIR
The Yogi Dyes His Garments
ANNE LAMOTT
Why I Make Sam Go to Church, from Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
Appendix I Toward Action:The Interfaith Youth Core Model for Interfaith Reflection and Service
Appendix II Questions for Discussion
Appendix III Guide to Readings by Faith Tradition and Genre
About the Supporting Organizations
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