“When, in the Bible, the notion of ‘holiness’ is applied to the people [...] we find that this doesn’t mean that they withdraw from earthly activities or that they’re always praying. It means [...] a concern for others, means just laws, means decent moral, ethical behavior; means fidelity, trustworthiness, and means caring about issues—being concerned enough about public issues, about the life of the people—to get involved, and to attempt to make a difference and build a community according to the ‘Call of God’.”
Our Quote of the Week calls to mind some of the characteristics and abilities that made Sargent Shriver distinct as a servant leader: his human-centric spirituality, his ability to foster collaboration, and his willingness to devise and implement innovative solutions to society’s most challenging social problems. With Hanukkah underway and Christmas approaching, we’re reflecting on the meaning of holiness, and we find resonance in Sargent Shriver’s emphasis on finding holiness in our common humanity.
This week’s quote comes from the 1979 Address to the Assembly of the Laity Conference, a speech that highlights the philosophical and spiritual ideas that shaped Sargent Shriver’s thinking and actions. It is a sweeping and fiery speech that points out the importance of morality and ethics when making decisions that affect human lives. Through his words we see he is at once devoted to his Christian ideals and yet insistent that our decision-making be rooted in a secular endeavor: to support and strengthen all of humanity. He says:
“I suggest we commence the long, hard task—where scholars are needed as much as saints—of lifting ourselves from ‘the pursuit of happiness’ to an additional and new level of political thought and moral vigor: to ‘the pursuit of holiness’ ... So it will take a thousand years for human beings to see ‘the pursuit of holiness’ as a practical, transforming personal, and societal possibility. [...] What’s the relevance, however, of holiness to our contemporary problems? [...] What is holiness, and why pursue it? [...] The call of holiness, as Jesus picks it up, is interpreted in such simple, and, if you like, such secular terms that the people around Him were often shocked. They were shocked at how lightly he treated Sabbath rules when the welfare, the health, the life, or even the happiness of an afflicted person was at stake. They were rather shocked how his focus—at the way his focus—was on basic human relations with one another, and the basic human attitude to God, and not with the performance of rituals. It is not recorded of Him that He denied the importance of ritual—in fact He participated—but people in His time seem to have been shocked at the hierarchy of His values. What He put first was, in fact, the secular—was, in fact, what we would think of as the layman’s natural field. It wasn’t the churchy business of organizing worship.”
In reading the speech, a portrait of Shriver emerges: as a practical idealist who was fueled by a progressive spirituality that allowed him to tackle issues from racism (with his civil rights work) to diplomacy (with the Peace Corps and as US Ambassador to France) to poverty (with the War on Poverty), injustice (poverty law) and more (with his work on denuclearization and at Special Olympics).
During his life, Sargent Shriver often reminded us that it was up to all of us to make the world a more just and peaceful place. As we reflect on our lives during this “holy” season, may we think about ways in which we can share our unique skills and characteristics in our communities, in ways that are distinctly human, and distinctly holy.
This is our final Quote of the Week for 2025. However you mark the remainder of the year, may you find joy and community through the holidays and into 2026.
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