tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44700851955917740412024-02-07T10:31:10.693-08:00Chalice NotesThis is the blog of the minister of Tapestry Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Mission Viejo CA. Please note that sermons seen here were created primarily for preaching, not reading and they remain unedited. For more information about the church, please visit www.tapestryuu.org. Most importantly, this Blog exists to create conversation. Please comment on what you see here, or what you think is missing.Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.comBlogger144125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-25468016235695501762013-09-09T07:08:00.002-07:002013-09-09T07:08:26.394-07:00<a href="http://tapestryuu.org/archives/3826">"The Unity That Makes Us One" - Sermon</a><br />
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-3ad4deec-030d-3047-7ac4-97329774994b"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mystics around the world and throughout time have pointed to a fundamental connectedness of life. Based on this nearly universal religious teaching, we celebrate the ties that bind us to one another and to the earth. </span></b></div>
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Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-42065238988595979572013-09-03T12:05:00.000-07:002013-09-03T12:05:15.193-07:00"The Cost of Dissent" - Sermon<a href="http://tapestryuu.org/archives/3808">"The Cost of Dissent</a>"<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Being a prophetic voice is not easy. This Sunday we look at the costs of speaking out, or remaining silent. We owe a great deal to brave women and men who have insisted in sharing their truth with the world. What might we learn from their struggles and successes?</span><br />
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<br />Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-64531974958967728752013-08-27T06:50:00.003-07:002013-08-27T06:50:31.217-07:00"A UU Turn" - Sermon<br />
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<a href="http://tapestryuu.org/archives/3799" rel="bookmark" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #1e5373; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Permanent Link to “A UU Turn” Rev. Kent Doss">“A UU Turn” Rev. Kent Doss</a></h2>
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What do UUs believe? Five core beliefs of our faith tradition might be: Every soul is sacred and worthy, There is a unity that makes us one, Salvation is in this life, Courageous love will transform the world, and Truth continues to be revealed. Kent Doss Share via email</div>
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<a href="http://tapestryuu.org/archives/category/podcast-2013">http://tapestryuu.org/archives/category/podcast-2013</a></div>
Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-8211758699459649822013-08-17T08:39:00.002-07:002013-08-17T08:39:26.538-07:00<a href="http://tapestryuu.org/archives/3764">http://tapestryuu.org/archives/3764</a><div>
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<h1 style="background-color: #e5e1ca; border: 0px; color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; margin: 0px 0px 22px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="http://tapestryuu.org/archives/3764" rel="bookmark" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #1e5373; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“A Journey of Faith”</a></h1>
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Each of us grows and changes over the journey of our lives. With every turn in the road comes a new perspective. On his first Sunday as Tapestry’s called minister, <strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rev. Kent Doss</strong> speaks about his own religious journey and the ways some of his own beliefs have developed over the years.</h4>
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<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rev. Kent Doss</strong></h4>
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Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-91931482437754385642013-07-15T11:25:00.001-07:002013-07-15T11:25:38.691-07:00"Controversy and Commitment" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Controversy
and Commitment<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This morning’s reading was a little out
of the ordinary. I have seen this reading in our hymnal for years, and I don’t
think I have ever used it. But today seemed like the day. Olympia Brown
implores us to stand by this faith. It’s a pretty self-righteous reading for
UUs. I imagine some of you were wondering what exactly was going on with this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The
magic of this reading comes from the identity of the author. Olympia Brown was
the first women to be fully recognized as a minister within the Universalist tradition.
That happened in 1864. As you can imagine, her journey to ministry was not an
easy one. And even after she was ordained, her career met roadblock after
roadblock. Back in those days Universalist ministers traveled extensively,
renting out meeting halls as a venue to speak. She found that consistently she
was not given the basic assistance she needed, and met with crowds of men,
eager not to hear her wisdom, but to prove her wrong. But she persisted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Given the odds, her career in ministry
was impressive. What was even more impressive was her determined work for the
suffrage movement. The prologue of her biography recounts two different tales
of protest. One when, at the age of eighty-two, she braved hours of pelting
rain and police harassment to march in front of the White House for women’s
right to vote. Two years later, when protesting President Wilson’s celebratory
trip to France, she said in a speech, “I have fought for liberty for seventy
years, and I protest against the Presidents leaving this country with this old
fight here unwon!”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4470085195591774041#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The real beauty of this story is how it
all ends. At the age of eighty-five, Olympia Brown is one of the few original
suffragists who lived to vote in the 1920 presidential election. This tenacious
story is the background of those impassioned words that we read. From the time
she was a small child Olympia Brown struggled to gain access to education and
to be recognized as a leader in her religious community. Her life was a
constant struggle with her church and her country. And still these were her
words, “Stand by this faith. Work for it and sacrifice for it. There is nothing
in all the world so important as to be loyal to this faith which has placed
before us the loftiest ideals – which has comforted us in sorrow, strengthened
us for noble duty and made the world beautiful. Do not demand immediate results
but rejoice that we are worthy to be entrusted with this great message.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4470085195591774041#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This morning following the legal ruling
over the death of Trayvon Martin, as our country again is anguished and
confused by racial tension, we remember that those who fight for more justice
are not the enemies of our country. For when you love your community you engage
with it, you struggle with it to help draw it into all that it can be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I have come to believe that church is a
lot like school, or the neighborhood that you live in, a lot of things in life
really. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Of course there
is no guarantee. But generally speaking, the more you invest your heart and
mind into something, the more you care about it, the more meaningful it is
going to be for you. I’ve certainly seen that to be true here. The people you
know who have been a part of this congregation for over ten years, have all
been seriously involved. They have offered not just their money, but also their
time and their heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But there is no guarantee on the
investment of your heart. The more you invest, the riskier it is. Even in
church. Being in relationship with other people is risky business, even in
church. Often people think church is some alternative universe where everyone
is perfectly nice and we get along. But, people get hurt in church. Over the
time I’ve been here, I’ve seen many tears shed. Not over sickness or death, but
over what happens between these walls. It’s scary to say, but people get their
hearts broken. Ministers do too. Caring deeply about other people is risky
business. Somewhere along the line, you are likely to get hurt. And you will
almost certainly meet some disappointment along the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But then I’m sure Olympia Brown had her
heart broken along the way as well. I’m sure that she was disappointed more
than a few times in her Universalist church. As far as I can tell, you get out
of your relationships only as much as you are willing to put into them. And the
same goes for church. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As
we continue with the theme of covenant today, I wanted to bring in some of the
difficult pieces of our past to see what we might learn. Another moment of
controversy that teaches us about covenant and relationship is “The Unitarian
Controversy.” That’s actually what this moment in history was called, the
Unitarian Controversy. This controversy grew directly out of the development of
American colonial religion. I won’t go into the details, but by the early 1800s
a major split was emerging. As the academic field of biblical research grew,
some clergy began applying historical and scientific reason to religion, while
others thought reading the bible that critically was blasphemous. And eventually
our predecessors , the Puritan churches, were no longer turning to their
nearest neighbor for support and counsel. They began turning to the other
churches that they knew held a similar theological viewpoint. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The division between the orthodox
churches and the liberal churches grew deeper and deeper. And in the midst of
that division, the orthodox started calling the Liberals “Unitarian.” They
meant it as an insult, because doubting the doctrine of the trinity was the
most unthinkable and awful thing you could do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Finally, in 1918, William Ellery
Channing preached the sermon, “Unitarian Christianity,” in which he outlined
the Liberal beliefs of his peers. For the first time he said, yup, that’s
right, what we believe is different. But we believe it is true, and here is
why. In one sermon, William Ellery Channing acknowledged the existing rifts and
ushered in a new era of American religion, Unitarianism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> He took a huge risk doing it. He didn’t
know how the whole thing would develop. But within a few years Unitarians had
taken control of Harvard Divinity School, the only school In America training
ministers at that time. 250 of the originally Puritan churches took on the name
Unitarian, and by 1900, the Calvinists and the Unitarians when their own
separate ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> In one sense this story, the Unitarian
Controversy, is about a church splitting. But I wanted to share the story with
you today to point out not the split, but the coming together of a community.
For Unitarianism to emerge as a real tradition brave people had to speak their
truth. There was no guarantee that they would be supported. But they took the
risk to speak their truth and be real. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> As Unitarian Universalists we are called
to seek the truth in love, and to share what we have found with one another.
The purpose of this journey is not to stir the pot. I fear that our tradition
is attractive to some because they see it as a celebration of conflict. But
Channing wasn’t aiming to start an argument. He was naming what he knew was
true for himself and many others. The fruit of his brave proclamation was the
American Unitarian Association. Yes, you can look at that moment of our history
as a schism. But my hope is that you will see it as a moment of coming
together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> If we are going to be in community with
each other, in covenant, then we have to take the risk of telling our truth.
Even when you think it may be a minority opinion. It’s quite likely that others
have had a similar insight. But the only way to find out that you are not alone
in your belief, is to share them with one another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The last thing that I want to talk
about in terms of relationship and covenant is change. The only thing that is
certain in our relationships, with our church, our spouse, our children or
anyone else, is that they change. As people grow, change is inevitable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This reminds me not so much of a
controversy, as simply what I would call the current state of confusion that
American religion is in today. As you may be aware, the United States is in a
tremendous shift away from organized religion. An unprecedented number of
people identify themselves as spiritual but nor religious. They are not
atheist; they just don’t find a home in the religious communities that exist
today. And today there is no default notion that people will go to church on
Sunday mornings. The church hour now competes directly with soccer practice,
yoga, groceries, brunch, sleeping in, or spending time with the kids. Church is
no longer given a privileged place in American society. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But it’s even more complicated than
that. The whole way that American’s understand membership in organizations is
changing. Not just churches, but all sorts of organizations are finding that
the old structure of “membership” isn’t fitting anymore. And as those models of
membership go out the window, so do funding structures that went with them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> My message here is not that church is
going to Hell in a hand basket. My message is that it is changing. As American
society changes, so will our religious communities. It’s scary stuff, but it’s
not necessarily bad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Just a couple of months ago I heard Rev.
Sarah Moldenhower-Salizar preach at the Western Regional Assembly in San Jose. For
those of you who don’t know, she is a former minister of this congregation. She
was talking about just this thing. She said that she had, for a very long time
thought that being a Unitarian Universalist meant being a part of a
congregation. We practice our religious in community, in a covenant with other
people. But as she is raising children, pursuing a Ph.D. and developing a rich
network of friends, she finds that she is living out her Unitarian Universalist
faith independent of a church community. Mind you, her Ph.D. is focusing on
covenant and she is the chair of the UU Minister’s Association in her area.
This is a person who is deeply invested in living within a Unitarian
Universalist faith in community. But she wasn’t rooted in a particular
congregation. The point of her sermon, and my point is, that the way we
understand our religious community is changing dramatically in the twenty first
century. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This is incredibly scary stuff. As
someone who has invested my career in the institution of church as we know it,
the idea of upending congregational life to do something completely different
is a terrifying. I love churches. The idea of this level of change is very
scary to me. But I am doing my best to trust my wider faith community. I know
that there are brilliant and dedicated Unitarian Universalists across the
country with ideas for new vibrant ministries that will revolutionize church as
we know it. It’s a little terrifying, but I am doing what I can to understand
what church is transforming into, because I am committed to it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Whether they are covenants with our
congregation or relationships with friends and spouses, they change over time. It’s the only thing that is certain in life
and certain in our relationships, change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> It’s often remarkable that some couples
stay together as long as they do, married to the same person for decades. Heck
it’s amazing some of our members who have been at this church for thirty years.
But they aren’t really married to the same person, because we all change and
grow over time. And this church is pretty difference from what it was thirty
years ago. Relationships change over time, but that doesn’t mean that they have
to end. Yes, they will look different, but as Unitarian Universalists we should
know deeply in our hearts that different can be good. Change can be good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> As Olympia Brown tells us in her
impassioned words to stand by this faith, you get out of your relationships
only as much as you put into them. It is a risky investment, but that’s the
only way to get any return. So let us be brave in our investment of hear and of
truth. Let us share our hearts and our minds with one another. So that even as
our community changes, as it is bound to, we remember that it is home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> “Stand by this faith. Work for it and
sacrifice for it. There is nothing in all the world so important as to be loyal
to this faith which has placed before us the loftiest ideals – which has
comforted us in sorrow, strengthened us for noble duty and made the world
beautiful. Do not demand immediate results but rejoice that we are worthy to be
entrusted with this great message.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4470085195591774041#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">-Amen-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span><![endif]-->Charlotte Coté, <i>Olympia Brown: The
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<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span><![endif]-->Unitarian Universalist Association, <i>Singing
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<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-77093688597505957492013-06-17T07:57:00.002-07:002013-06-17T07:57:38.758-07:00"The Golden Rule - Inside Out" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Golden Rule Inside Out<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We all know that the Golden
Rule is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Right? Well it
turns out that the inverse of that rule is used just as often in religious
traditions. And it appears that this Golden Rule inside out, as I have called
it, offers us a quite a bit more guidance on how we might treat each other with
compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> At its core the golden rule is all about reciprocity, an understanding
of simple fairness. And it is a shockingly universal rule. Before this week I
knew that it’s one of the few ideas that occurs within nearly every religious
tradition. From North to South and East to West, there is some version of it
everywhere. What I hadn’t realized though, is that many of these traditions use
a particular formula to highlight the golden rule. They say that this single
rule is the culmination of all the ethical teachings of that tradition, that
this rule is a foundation for all other within their faith. Think about it,
when several different religious traditions claim one thing not just in common,
but as the bedrock of their ethical life, that’s about the strongest
endorsement any ethical idea can get. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Within the Judeo Christian tradition the Golden rule comes
across in the positive sense. Perhaps that’s why we know it most commonly that
way in the United States.. Though it comes up in a few different places, it is
known as the great commandment, and the summation of Christian teaching. In
Matthew, when asked "which is the great commandment in the law?", the
</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Bible</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">
reports that Jesus answered, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself". How many times have we heard versions of that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Another proponent of the Golden Rule was the Chinese
philosopher and teacher, Confusions. Around the 500 BCE, he wrote “never impose
on others what you would not choose yourself.” Both of these guidelines are
useful, but I want to focus especially on the second one today. Don’t do to
others what you don’t want done to you. And don’t say to others what you don’t
want said to you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Sometimes we don’t like to admit it, but the things that others
do and say affect us deeply. In our book discussion group last week we shared
some of the small moments in life that have stuck to us in this regard. It was
incredibly moving to hear people share the tiny moments of their lives that
made a big difference, for ill or for good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> One woman shared about being a small child, and a teacher
telling her she really shouldn’t bother with art projects in school because she
didn’t have any artistic skill. For years afterward she avoided visual art, not
because she felt particularly ashamed, she just knew that she has been told she
wasn’t any good. So why bother. Until her senior year of high-school when she
needed one more elective class. The only thing that fit in her schedule was an
art class. She begrudgingly took it, and she love it. She’s no great artist,
but she found that she actually enjoyed making art. And she also found that for
years she had sold herself short because someone else insulted her work.
Another woman in the class told a nearly identical story about singing in her
childhood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> For me, the unkind moment that stuck also came in childhood.
And it happened through my church. I remember the moment so clearly. We were on
a choir trip to San Diego, and our youth minister said really in passing, that
I was spoiled. Of course I know that having a good conversation about privilege
and wealth could have really opened my eyes. It could have helped me understand
my world much more clearly. But this was no compassionate conversation. It was
an off the cuff short remark, judging me in one word. The offender in this
story is now a Unitarian Universalist minister. I know he didn’t mean to be
hurtful, and I can guarantee he doesn’t remember the conversation. But that
doesn’t make it any less real. I remember it like it was yesterday. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Neither one of these offenses is horrible. But they were
hurtful. The truth is we are sensitive to what others say. “Sticks and stones
may break my bones, but words, they touch the soul.” Of course there is
something to be said for self-confidence and not taking the negativity of
others personally. But we are all human beings after all. At the end of the day
we want to know that we will be included in the group. We want to know that
there is a place for us in the pack. To varying degrees, we all need to belong.
It’s part of who we are as social animals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Living more compassionately in our world means recognizing
that our actions and words affect other people. Even when we are not intending
to, especially when we are not intending to, we can inflict a pretty high
degree of pain on the people around us. Of course the alternative is also true.
In our class we also shared the moments in life that someone’s small gesture
had meant a great deal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> One person shared the story of trying out for the football
team having never played the game before. He didn’t know what he was doing at
all and he got pummeled. But one of his classmates spent a short time with him
that afternoon, and explained a few basic concepts to protect himself. That
brief explanation saved him in the tryouts. He got on the team, loved the sport
and had a pretty successful go at football thereafter. Though they weren’t
close friends, he still remembers the name of the guy that helped him out that
one afternoon. It wasn’t such a big deal, but it made a world of difference. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Another person in the class recently lost her brother. And
she got a card from another person in the class. It wasn’t a huge deal, but she
said that receiving a hand-written note made her know that someone was thinking
of her in her time of grief. That small gesture made all the difference in the
world to her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What I want you to hear in
these stories, and what I want you to understand today is that we each have the
power to impact other people’s lives. Whether we want the responsibility or
not, the way we interact with other people will bring more suffering or more
joy into the world. In her book “Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life,” Karen
Armstong spends a great deal of time and attention explaining that living
compassionately is more than simply doing the right thing. Compassion is a
mindfulness that gets cultivated with time and attention. Being aware of the
impact we have on others means noticing how “carelessly we inflict pain;
sighing impatiently over a minor inconvenience, grimacing when the clerk is
slow at the check out line, or raising your eyebrows in derision at what you
regard as a stupid remark.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We all get tired and irritable. We all say things that we
don’t intend. We all inadvertently hurt other people. But if we spend a little
time and effort, we can do that less.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The golden rule is to do unto other what you would have done
to you. And the rule inside out is, don’t do to others what you don’t want done
to you. Now we are each a little different, we each have our own needs and
wishes. So I want to pause for a moment. If we are going to abide by this rule
after all, we have to know what it is that we want and don’t want in life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> What is it that you truly want from others? Make a mental
list of it. Mine would include: being heard, getting a second chance, being invited
to participate, a respect for my time and resources. But what is important to
you? Think about it for a moment. What is it that you truly want from others?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> And what are the ways you don’t want to be treated? What are
the slights that have hurt you? For me they include belittling my life choices,
mocking, questioning my ethics or intentions, and generally feeling judged by
the people I am closest to. Make a list in your mind. How do you not want to be
treated?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I’m willing to bet that the simple signs of respect and
appreciation that we each want cost little time or money. And the things that
really hurt you most avoidable, if we paid a little more attention to the way
we treated one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Well now is your chance. As Karen Armstrong so beautiful
says it, “The Golden Rule is not a notional doctrine that you agree with or
disagree with. It is a method, and the only adequate test of any method is to
put it to practice.” As Unitarian Universalists we know that the way we live
our lives is more important than the theory behind the action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Living Compassionately isn’t as simple as you might
initially think. It requires an awareness that we are deeply interconnected. Our
words and actions impact others in profound ways. Living compassionately
requires reflecting sincerely on how we want to impact those around us, and
having the self-awareness to pause before we act of speak. And THEN we act, we
make our intentions manifest in the world around us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Compassion is a way of being in the world that happens every
day of our lives. It’s not simple, but it is a habit that, like any other can
by built. Today we have talked about the first phases, about the power of our
words and actions, about the impact that we want to have in the world. But now
as we go back to our daily life, the time comes to live out that golden rule
with one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> As I said last week, no one becomes a saint overnight. We
are called to ease into this exercise gradually. Armstrong suggests aiming to
act once each day with the positive notion of the golden rule. Do something for
someone that you would have wanted for yourself. When you are able to do that,
then act once each day in the negative version, catching yourself before you
make that funny but wounding remark. Remember, each time you succeed with the golden
rule inside out, you have made a small victory over your ego. And it will get
easier and easier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> At the end of your day, brushing your teeth or crawling into
bed, reflect back and see if you were able to execute this most basic of
ethical commandments. Did you do something for someone? Did you refrain from
those sharp words? If you did, that’s great. If you didn’t, remember we are all
human and that this is a lifelong journey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When these steps
become habit, aim for two enactments of the positive form of the golden rule
and two enactments of the negative version. And then three and then four. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The goal of course is to behave
consistently with compassion. But behavior is built on habits, and habits are
an accumulation of individual acts. We choose how we will act in this world.
Whether you like it or not, it is our responsibility to <b>choose</b> how we will encounter the world around us. This is the gift
and burden of human awareness. We can choose to care more fully for the people
we love; we can choose to make our world a better place. It all starts with an
awareness that our words and actions matter, and requires us to slow down to
ask the simple question, “Is this how I would want to be treated?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">-Amen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-27849784530252111312013-06-10T13:55:00.000-07:002013-06-10T13:55:41.183-07:00"Draw The Circle Wide" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For
a very long time I have been fascinated by our human ability and our religious
calling to care for wider and wider circles of people. I first read about it in
seminary. Reinhold Niebuhr wrote about these concentric circles of our concern
from a theological perspective. Now several of us are reading a book by Karen
Armstrong that talks about the same idea from both a religious and biological
perspective. It’s a very simple idea, but the implications are pretty amazing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The idea is that we have a natural
biological inclination for social relationship. If you think about it, we are
pretty weak and fragile compared to the rest of the natural world. We don’t
possess great physical strength or stamina. We don’t have strong bodies that
protect us from the elements or potential predators. But low and behold, we
have survived to multiply in tremendous numbers. We have become arguably the
most influential members of the animal kingdom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> It’s because we have evolved over time
to be social beings. We have evolved a capacity for emotional engagement and
understanding that transcends our immediate physical desires and compulsions.
I’m not saying that other animals don’t have this as well. I am saying that the
need to have a circle, a clan, is especially pronounced for humans. And it is a
part of our basic wiring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> In her introduction to her book on
compassion, Karen Armstong starts with a very scientific perspective. She
writes about the old brain and the new brain. Old and new here aren’t about the
age of a person, they are about the way that the human brain has developed over
millennia through evolution. You see we still have the old portion of our
brain, the reptilian self-defense mechanism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But over millennia we developed a “new
brain” which is home of the reasoning powers. Our capacity for reason and love
came with amazing physical adaptation, namely a larger head. Over time we
developed larger skulls to make room for this giant brain. We even adapted the
course of childbirth. Because a large head makes childbirth more difficult,
humans evolved to give birth to less mature infants who would be dependent on
their mothers for a tremendous amount of time, to allow the birth of a body
with a head large enough for our amazing brains. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This new brain must have been a
tremendous advantage to drive those changes in evolution. And in deed it is.
Our new brain enables us to reflect on the world around us and to be conscious
of ourselves in that world. And along with that ability to for critical thought
comes the capacity for compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> What we are talking about today is
embracing that very human capacity for compassion for our clan, and exercising
it to embrace wider and wider circles of concern. As I said earlier, you can
see these circles of caring as concentric circles that get bigger and bigger.
At the center of the circle is self. We are animals after all. And immediately
surrounding self are the close family and friends who we know intimately. Then
a wider community of those we are generally close with. This would probably be
the clan or the village that we were genuinely evolved to hold within our
sphere of sincere concern. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But our world today is much broader
than the village or clan. Every one of us hears the news of what affects people
around the world. What’s more, because of our global economy and ecology, every
one of us makes daily decisions that impact people all over the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Our task then, is to grow our hearts
and our minds to incorporate sincere concern for the much larger circle. The
task before us, particularly as people of faith, is to expand the horizon of
our compassion, to include more and more people. If you are a visual person,
it’s sort of like the picture on the screens. Our concern for our own
well-being is at the center. And then our family and closest friends. The next
circle out might be neighborhood, school or church. Then we think about an
entire town, our county, all other humans, and other beings. Our heart and
focus is naturally drawn toward the center few rings of the circle, but we can
and should reach beyond that concern. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I have said many times before that we
Unitarian Universalists believe that courageous love will transform the world. Courageous
love sill transform the world. Some hear that phrase and they immediately think
of social justice, the courage to stand in picket lines and speak truth to
power. That is certainly part of what we believe in. But today I want to invite
you to see that courage not only in action, but courage in an broadening of our
hearts. It takes tremendous courage to become vulnerable, and that is precisely
what we are doing when we bring more people into our sphere of compassion. We
are risking caring about them, risking heart-ache and worry. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">There
are several different ways of going about broadening our circle of concern. If
you want a very specific thing you can do, try learning about another culture. This
is a little counter intuitive to what we have been talking about, bringing
wider and wider circles of people into the realm of our concern. But the truth
is, we can’t take in all the information about world events a meaningful way.
Our lives are awash in information from people around the globe. It is far more
information that we can process. This is the flip side of our shrinking world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But there is an alternative. Rather
than having cursory knowledge about everything in the world, try focusing on
one region, one culture. If we can focus on one specific community that is
different from our own, we have an opportunity to learn enough about them to compare and contrast our own
life experience. We have enough awareness to begin to understand their
experience as human beings, not just numbers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The quickest way to have this type of
engagement is through travel. But it’s not completely necessary. With the
internet and libraries, movie theaters and restaurants, it’s very possible to
get a solid understanding of a different culture. Make it a project to focus on
getting to know <b>one</b> culture that is
different from your own, in a real in depth way. And I promise you, the
feelings you have when you read about them in the paper will be different. The
more we know about people, the more we are able to open our hearts to sincerely
caring about them. We can’t know about all of them, but we can pick one or two
different cultures to focus on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Another way to broaden the circle is
the meditation we did earlier. This very common form of Buddhist meditation
seems to tap right into the evolutionary needs of our human mind and emotions.
After finding a quiet time and space, perhaps the hardest part of thise whole
meditation practice, we focus on our selves. For a short time we bring wishes
of health and wholeness, a general blessing if you will, for our self. Then we
expand to think of one or two individual people that we care about. Then
broaden the circle to people you are ambivalent about, maybe a friend of a
friend, or the person who checked you out at the grocery story. The exercise
gets really interesting when we focus our compassion and blessing onto a person
that we have conflict with. Remembering that they have the same challenges, the
same pain, the same joy that we do, we hold a hope for their wholeness and
healing. And the meditation ends with offering a sense of blessing for all
beings in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I know meditation sounds like an
eccentric thing to do on your own. But it’s really not that big of a deal. It
just takes a few minutes, start with five and build up from there. It just
takes a few minutes, a quiet place, and your good intentions. If you want the
science behind it, this form of meditation is actually an intentional way to
train our brains. It’s an exercise in building our emotional capacity to care
for wider circles of people. We train our brains to reinforce these neural
pathways of sympathetic emotion, and to keep the neurochemicals like serotonin,
the soothing healing chemical, flowing. See, it’s not as hippy dippy as you
thought, is it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The last way of expanding our
compassion I want to talk about isn’t so much a specific exercise, as it is a
way of encountering the world around us. The best and perhaps hardest way to
expand or circle of care is to not explain away the uncomfortable. We can’t
absorb everything, but we can push ourselves to open our eyes, ears, and hearts
a little more every day. Don’t explain away the hard things that you hear and
see. When you read the news, try to remember that the stories you are hearing
are about real people like you and me. When you encounter homeless people,
remember that they too are just like you and me. They have a few more problems
and challenges in life, but at the end of the day, they are flesh and blood
human beings with the same complex emotional life that we each have. When you
hear difficult news from a friend, sit just listen and wait before you shut
down the conversation or assure him or her that everything will be okay<i>. </i>As we talked about in our book
discussion group last week, that’s one of the hardest things in the world to
do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Expanding our circle of compassion, as light
and lovely as it sounds, is actually hard work. Admittedly it comes more
naturally to some than to others. But we all have the capacity to broaden the
horizon of our concern. Think of it as an exercise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And exercise is hard. I am a runner. I
love doing it most of the time. I can’t tell you how many people tell me that
they think running is awful, how bad they are at it, and how much they dislike
it. Nine times out of ten, it is because they have tried it once or twice and
thought it was too hard. They tried to go out and run and mile and nearly died.
But the trick is you have to start very, very gradually and be patient. As your
endurance grows you can run farther and faster. But it takes a long time to get
there, and you can’t beat yourself up in the process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> You don’t start with a six-mile run.
You don’t begin a yoga practice with standing on your head for twenty minutes.
And you don’t begin the exercise of compassion by becoming a saint. It happens
one brave step at a time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I’m sure by now you have noticed the
beautiful images that I have incorporated in today’s service. These are
mandalas that were painted by Paul Heussenstam, Frances’ son. He lives and
paints here in town. I wanted to use them today for two reasons. One is that
they are quite obviously circles. But the other is that they are a powerful meditation
tool. Mandalas invite the viewer to move beyond his or her personal identity
and get lost the experience of exploration. They invite us to transcend
ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> A mandala is a tool that religious people have
been using in the East for about six thousand years. These pieces of art are
intricate and beautiful. But I want to remind you today that these pieces of
art are tools. They are tools to help transcend the sense of self, and know and
deeper truth. I wanted to use mandalas today because they are often circular,
they help transcend the self, and much like our church here, they are a tool
that helps point to a deeper truth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> In all this talk of belonging and
circles of concern, we cannot escape talking about our circle of caring right here.
This is an incredibly caring community. It’s a place where people feel like
they truly belong. I’ll never forget hearing from one of our oldest members say
that he loved this community because it was the one place in his entire life
that he felt truly accepted for who he was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <b>Belonging</b>
is a <b>good</b> thing. It’s an essential
piece of our happiness. It’s part of building the clan that I was talking about
earlier. And we make that happen here. There is tremendous power in deeply
knowing those around you, and being known by them. It is a sense of home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But beyond building a sense of home,
and a clan we also believe in a courageous love. We believe that it is our
responsibility to open our hearts to wider circles of concern. Just as strong
as the power of knowing one another and being know, is the power of invitation
and openness. Just a important as sharing the feast with one another, is
holding an empty chair to make sure there is room for one more person to stop
by. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> As Unitarian Universalists, we are
called to a dual task of celebrating those who are in our midst and
simultaneously remembering the wider concentric circles of compassion. And our
community here can help us do both. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> We aim to be a place where people gain
a sense of belonging, where we feel we are a part of the tribe. But at the same
time, it is our mission as a faith to expand our sense of compassion to broader
and broader circles, beyond our own families, beyond the walls of this
building, beyond our lovely town, state, and even country. As a religious
community we are tasked with drawing the circle wide, making a place of
belonging, but also a place where invitation is at the core of who we are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There is a whole lot going on today,
with membership Sunday. We celebrate the commitment that others have made, so
that we have UUFLB to call our spiritual home. We celebrate that for nearly
sixty five years, committed men and women have built a community of belonging,
that invites us to broaden the horizons of our mind and our heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-51732602262462284052013-06-05T15:14:00.001-07:002013-06-05T15:14:22.796-07:00"From the Teacher's Mouth" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From the Teacher’s Mouth<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As you have already heard, this month we are focusing on the
theme of Compassion in our worship services. Regardless of particular
theological or political convictions, the principle of compassion rests at the
heart of every religious tradition. That common thread could be the basis for
many, many sermons. But it occurred to me, to take two of these traditions, the
two that I am most familiar with and compare what their teachers had to say on
the topic. I decided to compare the teaching of Jesus and the Buddha about two
months ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> And
it in a really lovely coincidence, today we are joined by a colleague of mine,
Rev. Ken Collier. He will be talking with you all more after the service about
the process of searching for a new minister. And since it is Sunday, we also
have a really nice opportunity to worship together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> It’s
a rare treat to get to preach with someone. I have asked Ken to approach what
the Buddha said about compassion. And in a moment I will share some of what
Jesus had to say on the topic. We have not compared notes, but I’m fairly
certain that we will end in a very similar place. So welcome Ken. We are all
yours. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">…<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because Jesus taught through stories, as did the Buddha, I want
to tell you a few stories. They are stories that you know, but I want to invite
you to listen to them again with fresh ears and attention especially to what
they say about compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The night before Jesus was taken by the government and put
to death, he gathered in a final meal with his disciples. It was a Passover
feast that they enjoyed together. In the middle of the meal Jesus stood up, and
“removed his outer garments.” It’s kind of odd to hear, but the depiction that
I saw of this was basically him stripping down to a loin cloth, in the middle
of a dinner party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Then
he took a wash basin and water and began to wash the feet of each of his
disciples.<b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> After
he finished he asked them, “Do you understand what I have done for you?”
“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash
one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have
done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor
is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Time
and time again in his ministry Jesus hung out with those who were
disenfranchised. We hear stories of him eating meals with tax collectors and
associating with women. But this is probably the most striking example of Jesus
humbling himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> He
knew that power structures got in the way of human understanding. He knew that
roles and societal boundaries had to be broken down for people to really
understand one another. So he took it
upon himself to humble himself to those who respected him most. In the middle
of dinner he knelt down and washed their dirty tired feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This isn’t about each one of us becoming lowly and meager in
our lives. But it is about us recognizing when we have power over other people.
To engage with others in a compassionate way requires that we actively
dismantle that power as much as possible, so that we can see eye to eye.
Displacing our own power over other people, whenever and however we have it, is
a quintessential piece of compassion that we hear in this story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The second story I want to talk about is almost a complete
opposite of the one we just heard. But it is just as important for us to hear, because
showing compassion isn’t the same in every situation. In fact compassion
depends almost completely on the context. We are called to show compassion for
those we are with, in the present moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The
story tells us, “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper,
a woman came to him with an Alabaster vial of very costly perfume. She
poured it upon His head, as He reclined at the table, but the disciples were
indignant when they saw this, and said why this waste? For this might
have sold for a high price, and the money given to the poor. But Jesus,
aware of this said to them, ‘Why do you bother the woman? For she has
done a good deed to Me. For the poor, you have with you always. But
you do not always have Me.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This
peculiar little story packs in a many different messages of compassion. The
first is that we never know how long we will have the opportunity to offer the
gifts that we have. Life is short and uncertain. It’s not quite so uncertain
now as it was in the days of Jesus, but still, we never know how long we have
with our loved ones. This day, this moment might just be the last opportunity
we have to share our compassion with the person before us. So why hold that
gift for another day?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> And
the story brings up another important piece of compassion, which is how we
respond to those around us. Our world is often not a very compassionate place.
In fact we have a great tendency to dismiss compassionate acts as unwise, or to
find some way to explain them away with self-centered motives. We can be
incredibly cynical about the motivations of others. This little story is a
challenge to that judgment. It’s an invitation to celebrate good deeds whenever
and wherever they occur, even if the method is not what we might have chosen. When
you see the compassion of others, celebrate it for the rare gift that it is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The
final lesson that this story brings up is about who needs compassion. It’s not
only the destitute who are in need of compassion. Each and every living person
faces fears and challenges in life. We all need compassion. Often when I travel
in wider circle people make jokes about how easy it must be doing ministry in
paradise. I quickly remind them, and I want to remind you that no matter how
complete a person’s life may appear, whether leader or follower, rich or poor,
surrounded by friends or a lone ranger, they experience pain and loss, and they
are each deserving of compassion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The final story I want to tell is both the most familiar,
and the most important window into compassion. It’s the story of the woman who
was caught in adultery. The scribes and Pharisees (who we are not supposed to
like) brought to Jesus a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They
said according to Moses’ law we should stone this woman. But what do you think
we should do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Jesus
tried to ignore the question, but they persisted. Finally he said, “He that is
without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” It took a while, but
eventually all of the men gathered, realizing that none of them were perfect
dispersed. And Jesus said to the woman, since none of these men can stand to accuse
you, neither will I. Go and sin no more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Now
this story isn’t about fault and innocence. For the woman was caught in
adultery. There is no question that she did in fact sin. I also don’t think
that the crux of the story is about appropriate punishment of others. In our
exploration of compassion, I think this story is an invitation for us to see
others, whoever they are, by first remembering our own experiences of pain and
brokenness. Because when we remember our own challenges, our own shortcomings and
pains, then we can engage compassionately with the other. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The
crux of compassion, is in the very Latin root of the word. Com-passion means suffering
with. Without linking our own painful experiences to theirs, compassion cannot
exist. Mind you, it doesn’t have to be the same pain. Jesus didn’t say, let he
who has not committed adultery cast the fist stone. This story might have ended
very differently if that were the invitation. But he said, let he who is
without sin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Each
and every one of us has experienced pain and loss, we have made mistakes. It
behooves us to remember those experiences when we judge others. Not so that we
can dismiss moral responsibility. But so that in the end, rather than offering
the world a cold stone, we can offer a blessing, to go out and sin no mare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Amen- <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-57590393667297447252013-05-29T15:42:00.002-07:002013-05-29T15:42:19.289-07:00The Truth Will Set You Free - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Truth
Will Set You Free<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
truth will set you free. At least that’s what we have been told many, many
times. I selected this title because we are focusing on truth this month. And
honestly, I needed a title and a topic for a sermon a little over a month ago.
So I embarked on writing about honesty. If we could just be honest with the
world about who we are, then we would be freer to live our lives with dignity
and pride. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Simple, and clean isn’t it. Tell the
truth and you will be free. Well it’s not quite so simple. As I began writing
and thinking, it became very clear that the much more challenging piece of this
rule is finding the truth in the first place. Even about ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">June
is just around the corner and it is gay pride season again. Last weekend in
Long Beach and this weekend in West Hollywood, actually at this moment,
thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are gathering in
celebration of their sexual orientation and gender identity. They are putting
their truth out their, and reveling in the freedom that comes with being out.
Every year in the month of June gay pride is celebrated. Just as the name
suggests, it is about being out and being proud of who each person is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But there’s more to coming out than
simply being honest. To come out, you have to know that being out is an option.
To come out you have to face the incredibly daunting reality that perhaps you
are not what everyone else had assumed and told you that you are. You see,
coming out as gay, isn’t just about one day deciding to fess up to the truth. For
most people it’s a much more complicated internal struggle of first coming out
to one’s self. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Although this reality is changing,
until relatively recently most GLBT people didn’t understand that there were
other people like them in the world. They didn’t know that there were amazing
supportive loving and healthy communities that they could be a part of. They
didn’t know that having a loving relationship and living an open, honest life
with a partner of the same sex was an option. For many of us, the concept just
simply wasn’t a part of our known universe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> It’s amazing how difficult it is to
know something, if the option doesn’t exist within your realm of possibilities.
I remember the first time I said the words, “I’m gay,” out loud. I was in
middle school. I had watched the HBO movie called “And The Band Played On.” It
was a documentary about he AIDS crisis and it was the only meaningful depiction
that I had ever seen of gay people. That evening when I had the house to
myself, in the midst of watching that movie I locked myself in the bathroom and
said the words out loud for the first time. “I’m Gay.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Until I saw that film, which is
horribly sad by the way, being gay was just not something that existed in the
realm of possibilities. It didn’t exist as a possible truth, until one night,
thanks to HBO, it did. Like I said, that experience is changing rapidly as
depictions of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are more and more
common. But for my generation and the folks that came before me, <b>finding</b> the truth was just as difficult
as telling other people about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I often use quick phrases for titles of
sermons, and I don’t always know where they come from. That’s part of the fun
in my work-week, finding where these commonly used phrases come from. That has
been especially true this week. I know you have heard this many times,
especially associated with justice movements. “You shall know the truth and the
truth shall set you free.” I knew it came from the Bible, but I didn’t know the
context at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> It comes from the Gospel of John. It is
part of a very long dialog between Jesus and a group of Jews. The whole long conversation
is Jesus explaining to this crowd of people that he was the true teacher and
that they should all be following him. Of course they were observant Jews and
explained that they were children of Abraham, and because of that, they
believed in the one true God. Jesus then clarifies to them the he actually is
closer to that same one true God than even Abraham, and they should follow him,
because he is <b>the</b> truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The crowd gets more and more angry and
the story ends with them attempting to stone Jesus. But he escapes. As many
times as I have heard these words, “The truth shall set you free,” I had no
idea that this was the context of the story. The story is about the total
rejection of the messenger. That’s a pretty important piece of the statement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I should give a quick political
disclaimer here. The Gospel of John is a notoriously anti-Semitic book of the
Bible. And this passage in particular paints the Jews in a bad light. That is
one very obvious understanding of the story. But the other important
understanding of the story is the way a crowd responds to a new message. They
argue, and eventually persecute the messenger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> In the very next passage in John, Jesus
performs a miracle of healing and individual blind man. We UU’s aren’t very
fond of miracle stories, but healing the blind seems to be a pretty clear
metaphor for opening someone’s eyes to see the truth. What we see in these
stories together is important There is one of a crowd defending itself in
group-think and persecuting the messenger. And in the second story we hear about
an opportunity for an individual to find wholeness and healing from the same
messenger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Often our inability to see, hear,
understand, or accept the truth is simply the fruit of being part of a group.
It is very hard to see something that your peers reject; it is incredibly
difficult to hear a truth that your culture ignores. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Whether
it is about which teachers to listen to, who we should love, how much money we
should have or what the color of our skin means, the communities that surround
us deeply influence our access to truth. There is a particularly powerful
exploration of this in a book called “Learning to be White.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This is a book by the UU a theologian
named Thandeka. It came out back in 2000 and created quite a stir. In the book she explores the process by which
human beings with lighter skin are inculturated to be “white.” As the title
suggests, we do in fact learn to act within the norms of our culture. Just like
within any culture, white people are shaped to behave in particular ways based
on the color of their skin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> To get at that process of how we learn
appropriate behavior, Thandeka asks participants some of the ways they first
learned what was expected of them to maintain and participate in white culture.
Not always but usually those lessons came through shaming and painful experiences.
The stories are about children being told explicitly or implicitly who was safe
and who were appropriate friends. And later youth were instructed by their
white peers what areas of town were safe, how to dress, dance, and eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The really shocking thing about these
stories, when they are told in detail, is that we realize the each time, these
stories of teaching whiteness do a great deal to limit the learners natural
curiosities and inclinations. From the time we are born we are instructed
through implicit messages about how we are supposed to behave. And that
behavior, that culture is based on the color of our skin. Most importantly,
those lessons, those hard lessons that limit our full humanity come from within
our own community. It happens for white people, and Black people, and all sorts
of people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And as we learn how to behave, power
structures within our society are reinforced. From the day we are born we are
instructed on playing a role in the wider society. We are instructed based on
the color of our skin to be of a dominant culture or an oppressed culture. And
seeing any truth outside of those structures is an incredibly hard journey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But this is exactly what her goal is.
Thandeka believes, and I think it’s true, that one very important step to enter
into meaningful cross-cultural dialog, is to understand how each and every one
of us, including white people, have been molded into our cultures. When we know
that, we begin to see a deeper truth of how each of our cultures, including our
own, can limit, or enhance our fully capacity as human beings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> She came up with a brilliant way to
help people see the truth of their environment. It reminds me of another famous
community organizer who has created a model to empower oppressed communities
around the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Hopefully it’s pretty clear by now that
it can be incredibly difficult to see the truth that is around you every day.
It’s much like the old adage, sometimes showing people the reality of their
lives is like explaining to a fish what water is. We take for granted what we
have always known. It can limit the possibilities for our individual lives, and
it can limit the potential for marginalized communities to create change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There’s a particular model of community
organizing that has always fascinated me. It’s the idea spread by the social
change guru, Paulo Friere. One of his key missions was creating methods for
oppressed communities to better understand their situation and the
possibilities for change. And he did this in an amazingly simple and creative
way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Rather than swooping into a village and
telling them that they had problems that should be changed, Friere did long
exercises with whole communities, in which they would sit together and draw the
village. They would draw every day scenes of work life and home life. What
their housing looked like, how they used transportation, the experiences of
children and elders. They worked together to create a picture of the village
life. And then, when it had all been drawn in black and white, he invited them
to talk about things that they might want to change about the picture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And at that point, when people are able
to take just one step back from their daily lives, they are able to see the
problems they faced and the resources they had. It’s like taking the fish out
of its bowl to see the water it swims in. It doesn’t take much, just an
opportunity to take one step back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And then, when a community has
identified what it wants to change, Friere helps them along that path, one
small challenge at a time. But the first step is the critical one. Taking the
step back to see the truth is what enables a community to identify the changes
it wants to make, and to seek out a better way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I have a hunch, that if we take the
time to do something similar on an individual level, we too can see
opportunities to make our lives better. At the end of the day, I deeply believe
that the saying is right, and the title of my sermon is dead on. The truth will
set you free. But I learned a lesson from that passage in John. I’m not fond of
public stoning. And even if I were, I don’t think this kind of truth is
something that we can be told. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> My mission today is not to deliver to
you a truth that will set you free. What I want to offer instead is an
invitation to take some time, take a step back and look at your every day life.
If you are inclined maybe you want to draw it, or write it down in words, but
really think about the day to day. What could be better, not miraculously
perfect better? What about your life could realistically be changed?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> It’s kind of a scary question because
taking it seriously means making changes. It’s not easy, but when and if you
are ready, take a step back and take a look at your life with an eye toward
possibility, an openness to ways of being that you had never imagined before.
And the truth might just set you free. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Amen!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-57087086427174642812013-05-06T14:48:00.002-07:002013-05-06T14:48:40.930-07:00"Seeking the Truth in Love" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“Seeking the Truth in Love”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">If you hadn’t noticed, I pulled today’s sermon
title from the unison affirmation that we say each Sunday morning. Love is the
spirit of this church and service is its law. This is our great covenant: to
dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another. Our
worship theme for the month of May is truth. It seemed appropriate to use
something that we say every week, as a way to start exploring this topic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> When
you get beyond the age of about 12, the word truth comes with some serious
baggage, especially when you are talking about truth in a religious community.
Unitarian Universalists in particular tend to buck at the word. That isn’t
because we are difficult people. It’s because truth has a complicated place in
our faith tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> For
some of us, the word “truth” invokes an appreciation for science and reason. As
Unitarian Universalists, we have embraced science and reason throughout the
history of our faith. That is what makes us a liberal religious tradition. You
may have heard me use that phrase. Unitarian Universalism is a liberal
religious tradition. We are not liberal in the political sense, but liberal in
the philosophical sense, Liberal in the sense of believing that we have the
right and responsibility to use all the information available. Through science, history and philosophy, we
are called to do our best to understand the world around us. We UUs believe
that humans are thoughtful beings, blessed with the gift o intellect. We can
and should use all the tools we have to discern what is right and true. So we
integrate scientific understanding within our religious faith. In that way, we
are a liberal religious tradition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Science
does an amazing job of describing our physical world in detail. But it sometimes
lacks the ability to describe our emotional life or spiritual experiences. And
this is where the rub is; this is where the picture gets tricky. For some
people a scientific understanding of the world is adequate, but for many of us
it just doesn’t have the capacity to answer the deeper questions of our heart,
questions about meaning, connection, life and death. And we turn to our faith
for a different way of digging into the truth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> But
that religious truth is varied, because it illuminates each of our hearts in a slightly
different hue. And we embrace that brilliant rainbow and the light of life that
shines through each person. Unitarian Universalism does have some core
theological beliefs. I spent last summer exploring them in great detail. There
is a general trajectory of our theological history and the ideas shared among
us today. But the bedrock of our faith is an openness for each person, a
responsibility for each person, to explore and decide the truth for him or
herself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> That
is because the first source of truth that we embrace isn’t a book, or the
authority of an individual person or tradition. The first source that informs
Unitarian Universalism is, and this is a direct quote, “Direct experience of
that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us
to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and
uphold life.” That comes from the document that binds our congregations
together in wider faith traditions. Along with the Seven Principles, we name
six sources of our faith. But this one rests at the top of that list.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“Direct experience of that transcending mystery
and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit
and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> So,
if we are capable and invited to experience the transcending mystery and wonder
for ourselves, if we each have a glimpse into religious truth, then we can only
assume that our opinions are going to be varied. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Which
makes our mission as a church a little odd. We don’t produce converts to a
single truth. What we produce is a community. We create a community where
people support one another in our journey, even when the paths lead in
different directions. Rather than having a creed, we have a covenant. Our
theology as religious liberals, as embracers of the direct experience of
wonder, as a diversity of seekers leads us to a covenantal community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> This
little commitment that we make every Sunday speaks so clearly to the mission of
our faith, seeking the truth in love. But love is a squishy word, and we use it
a lot. Whenever we invoke love as a foundation of our faith, it’s not a sugary
hallmark sentiment. It’s not just being nice to one another. Of course that’s a
good place to start, but love is more complicated than that, especially in a
community where we find a variety of truths. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Love
doesn’t mean putting someone else’s opinions or needs above our own. Nor does
it mean insisting that we know better. Love is a steadfast stance of mutuality.
Rev. Tom Owen-Towle writes, “Love is facing another human being rather than
fighting or fleeing, even when it is difficult and painful. It is diving into the
depths when we would prefer to wade in the shallows.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> This
is a wonderful description of the challenge of love. Sometimes love is easy,
but sometimes it require us to overcome our most powerful instincts. It
requires that we sit face to face in the presence of discomfort, and share
ourselves. Love asks not that we silence ourselves, but that we share deeply of
ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> I
find myself unpacking this word love, over and over again because it gets
quickly misunderstood in so many of our churches. Love is not a dance that
avoids offending other people. It is not covering our own light or silencing
our own truth, because it is uncomfortable or inconvenient.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> As
Unitarian Universalists, too often our embrace of spiritual diversity becomes a
misguided settling for the lowest common denominator. That’s right, in many UU
churches, and in this one on occasion, we so fear offending one another with
our understanding of the holy, that we keep it hidden and silent. Because we
know it won’t sound like what the person sitting three rows ahead of us has
thought and felt. So we don’t speak our spiritual truth, we hold it in, and we
settle only for those very few things that we can all agree upon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> This
tiptoeing dance is not seeking the truth in love. It is in fact quite the
opposite. It is being afraid of one another and in that fear, settling for the
lowest common denominator. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Respecting
the journey of others does not mean silencing our own. It means understanding
that we each have a slightly different song resonating in our heart. The song
that another hears may not make sense to us. It may even irritate us a bit. But
in this loving community, we celebrate with one another the music that sings in
each heart. That is seeking the truth in love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> I’m
belaboring this definition of “love” here because the loving part is just as
important as the truth that we seek. The process is as important as the
product. One of the best teachers of this was Mahatma Gandhi. He knew that not
only was the outcome important, but the way in which we achieve the outcome is
equally important. I came across a couple of stories about him that tell how he
lived this out. I can’t vouch for the historical accuracy of these stories. But
they certainly jive with everything I’ve ever heard or read about Gandhi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Gandhi’s
legal and activism career began in South Africa. There he set up an ashram, a
Hindu religious community, where he started a school for children. But Gandhi
had his own ideas about how children should be taught. He disliked the strict examination
system that was used in the wake of European colonialism. In Gandhi’s school he
wanted to teach the boys true knowledge—knowledge that would improve both their
minds and their hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> He
had his own way of judging students. All the students in the class were asked
the same question. But often Gandhi praised the boy with low grades and scolded
the one who had high grades.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Not
surprisingly, this puzzled the children. When questioned on this unusual
practice, Gandhi explained, "I am not trying just to teach the facts. So I
don't give marks on that basis. I want to see how far each student has progressed,
how much he is pushing himself. If an especially smart student competes with one
who takes longer to learn, he is likely to grow dull. Sure of his own
cleverness, he'll stop working. I’m focused on the student who does his best
and works hard. He will always do well and so that is the one I praise."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Another
story tells about the tough love that he showed for his own son. We often think
of him as a gentle grandfatherly figure, but he was actually a very, very tough
teacher and head of his household. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> This
story came about when Gandhi was practicing law in Johannesburg. His office was
three miles from his house. One day a colleague of his, Mr. Polak, asked
Gandhi's thirteen-year old son, Manilal to fetch a book from the office. But,
as children sometimes do, Manilal completely forgot about it until much later
in the evening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Gandhiji
heard about it and sent for his son. He said, "Son, I know the night is
dark and the way is long and lonely. But you will have to walk the six miles. You
gave your word to Mr. Polak. You promised to fetch his book. Go and fetch it
now."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> The
whole family got upset when they heard of Gandhi's decision. The punishment
seemed far too severe. Manilal was only thirteen, the night was dark and the
way lonely. He had only forgotten a book after all. It could be brought the
next day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Eventually
another boy, and older brother plucked up some courage. "I'll fetch the
book," he offered. Gandhi was gentle but firm, "But the promise was
made by Manilal."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> "Very
well, Manilal will go but let me go with him," the older brother pleaded. Gandhiji agreed to this and the two brothers
set of into the night to fetch the book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> In
Gandhi’s world, the point of school isn’t to memorize facts. A good teacher
knows that. And making a commitment to do something isn’t just about the end result.
It is about living up to our word. It’s not the book that was important, but
maintaining one’s character and commitment.
For Gandhi, the process was always just as important as the product that
it created. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Whether
it was teaching children to read and write or teaching the world to lay down its
guns, Gandhi knew that the method must reflect the goal. It is far from
pragmatic or efficient, but it is a way of embodying the truth. Along with Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a handful of other radicals, he taught us the
way we get to our goal is as important as the goal itself. Peace is not only
our goal, it is the only effective means by which that goal can be achieved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Gandhi’s
methods of non-violence are a bit of a departure from our weekly unison
affirmation to seek the truth in love. But I wanted to bring them up for a
reason. Seeking the truth in love, is much more expansive than a few words that
we say to one another here on Sundays. Yes I do sincerely hope that we can use
that as a guiding principle of the way we build our community together here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> But
church is about more than what occurs between these walls. Church is really
mostly about how we are compelled to live our lives when we leave this place. I
think this is what Glenn Pascall spoke to so well last week, in his journey to
seek the truth in love. He has been a committed environmentalist for years,
particularly opposing nuclear energy. But he still takes the time to fairly
consider the arguments of all sides. And perhaps more importantly, he refuses
to dismiss his adversaries. He respects that just like himself, they are
offering what they understand to be the truth, even when it is different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Seeking the truth in love means that we pay as
much attention to the process as we do to the product. That comes to light
perhaps best, in the challenge of parenting. The process is the product. We
teach them with our method of parenting just as much as we pour information
into their heads. Robert Fulghum, a retired minister writes “Don’t worry that
your children haven’t heard what you have told them. Worry that they have seen
how you live you life.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> The
methods that we embrace are just as powerful as the product that we achieve.
Whether it is in this community, in our home, or in the wider world, let us
continue to aim for that high goal of seeking the truth in love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> In
a moment we will sing our closing hymn “As Tranquil Streams.” It’s a beautiful
hymn but many people don’t know its origin. This song was commissioned to
celebrate the merger of the Unitarians with the Universalists back in 1961. As
we sing this song, I hope you will remember with me the story of the merger
that I shared with our children earlier. And remember that the faith tradition
that we inherit is the fruit of centuries careful work to seek the truth in
love, and build this covenanted community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-35377953870205989092013-04-18T16:51:00.001-07:002013-04-18T16:51:29.029-07:00Letter to the Editor re. The Boy Scouts' stance on gays
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I know my
story is not unique, but that is all the more reason to tell it. I grew up in
the Boy Scouts of America, from the time I was a small child and my mother was
the Den Leader of our Cub Scout troop until I went off to college, proud to
have earned my Eagle Scout badge. Between the weekly meetings, monthly camp
outs, annual summer camps, ski trips and canoe trips, the time and energy that
I dedicated to the organization is astounding. That dedication is matched only
by the leadership experience, confidence and character that I gained through my
relationship with scouting. I wish that the story ended there, but it does not.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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By the time
I was finishing high school I was aware that I was gay; shortly after starting
college I came out and became politically active. My commitment to integrity
compelled me to share the truth about my sexual orientation. And a sense of
community responsibility and leadership skills propelled me into working for
justice for my GLBT peers. I owe much of my character to my family and church.
But, I also recognize the values of integrity, responsibility and leadership
were honed in my years with the Boy Scouts of America. It became increasingly
clear that I could no longer claim pride in an organization that would not
accept me as a gay man. So I returned my Eagle Scout uniform and badge to the
Council. It was received there at the headquarters by my former scoutmaster and
our family friend. It was one of the hardest days of my then 20 year-old life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Again, a
part of me wishes that the story ended there. But now over ten years later, The
Boy Scouts of America is in the midst of reevaluating its stance. Soon the
Scouts' Executive Committee will send out a resolution to the 300 local
scouting councils on whether to allow gay scouts, which they'll vote on at
their annual meeting next month.<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.0pt;">
</span>As someone who has been there, let me say bluntly that scouting offers
what young gay men need most: confidence, comradery, and responsibility. To
think that these might be available without judgment and rejection is why I
am reaching out now. If you are or were involved with the Boy Scouts of
America, please use this opportunity to make sure that those boys who most need
what scouting has to offer, are not left out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rev. Kent Doss<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laguna Beach, CA<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-88532307457417606532013-04-15T11:42:00.000-07:002013-04-15T11:42:29.684-07:00"Save Yourself" - Sermon
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKX_j5OiB1KBq7cWeQ5wZU6LCRTlu3i4Nintnbj9ngzXsfBVCLDpi6_XionIElbI11x_ndeZvMFcR864fPQRlfi1-ZmtIx07VrYIgzddSWB0g9INjMgj4CinbBvE0t1r7WTNNRmSl-NBg/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKX_j5OiB1KBq7cWeQ5wZU6LCRTlu3i4Nintnbj9ngzXsfBVCLDpi6_XionIElbI11x_ndeZvMFcR864fPQRlfi1-ZmtIx07VrYIgzddSWB0g9INjMgj4CinbBvE0t1r7WTNNRmSl-NBg/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Save Your Self<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I think most of us are familiar with these words. They are
the first ones that came to me as I stared at the title for today’s worship. “In
the unlikely event of a loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will deploy for
the compartment above your head. Please place the yellow mask over your nose
and mouth, using the loose ends to tighten. If you are traveling with small
children or someone in need of assistance, place the mask over your own nose
and mouth before assisting other passengers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Save yourself… first. I’ve never seen this in action but it
totally makes sense. If someone with you needs assistance, you have to make
sure that you are getting the oxygen that you need first. Otherwise you won’t
be able to help other people. Save yourself. It sounds a little selfish, but it
is logical. Of course this methodology wasn’t invented with modern air travel.
In fact it was around long before airplanes were thought of. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In a slightly different version, religious traditions have
been telling us to save yourself first for a very long time. In the Bible Jesus
said,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Why do
you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own
eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, “Friend, let me take the speck out of
your eye,” when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite,
first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take
the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. [Luke 6:41-42]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I imagine many of you have heard this passage before. I
think of it often when I hear religious piety aimed at condemning other people.
But it’s not a Christian message only. Buddhist scriptures have their own
version of the save yourself message. They say:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
faults of others are easily seen, for they are sifted like chaff, but one’s own
faults are hard to see. This is like the cheat who hides his dice and shows the
dice of his opponent, calling attention to the other’s shortcomings,
continually thinking of accusing him. [Udanavarga 27.1]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I like all of these
instructions to save yourself, not for the sake of individual enlightenment or
benefit. They are not totally personally focused, they are not “spiritual but
not religious,” as the saying goes. These great teachings are about embracing
personal spirituality to enable you to care for a wider, religious community.
It is about making sure that your own needs, both physical and mental are met,
so that then we can then reach out and care for the world around us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This linkage of personal
development and caring for others is a huge component of the Buddhist life. It
is deeply understood that when we find peace in our self, we create peace in
the world. And each and every person is capable of that peace. Often times the
real challenge in the invitation to save yourself, is believe that <b>you</b> can in fact be saved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For many of us, the biggest
challenge in the realm of salvation is accepting it. Peace is not something to
struggle over. Salvation is not something that we grind through our lives for.
It is just there, available for the taking, for each and every one of us, if we
can bring ourselves to choose it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When I talk about salvation, I’m not talking about salvation
from Hell, Remember last weeks worship service was “Salvation in This Life.”
Which means exactly that. We can find peace and fulfillment in this life, here
and now. What comes next will work itself out. As UUs we are invested in finding meaning,
comfort and peace in this life. I came across a story that so aptly describes
the dilemma that many of us face in life. It come’s from Rev. Tom Owen-Towle’s
book, “Theology Ablaze” as he describes and old television skit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> A woman sits behind a table, and in front of her was a long
line of people. The woman behind the table addressed the person at the head of
the line and said in a somewhat bored but otherwise business-like voice: “Of
course, you know that you are dead. So, all you have to do now is go through
the entrance behind me on your right marked heaven or through the left one marked
hell.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The dead man looked incredulous. “You mean, that I, uh, am
to choose whether I want to go to heaven or hell? There’s no judgment or final
reckoning?” he asked. “Doesn’t it count how I’ve lived, the good things I’ve
done as well as the bad things?” The woman behind the table showed the first
signs of impatience. “Look sir,” she said. “I can’t spend the whole day on you.
People are dying, the line is lengthening. Come on, make up your mind.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The dead man by now was beginning to panic. “I’ve done some
wrong and bad things during my life. I want to come clean, I want to confess, I
want to be judged fairly; and yes, I want to be forgiven…” The woman behind the
table no longer could hide her impatience. “I’m not interested in your sins,
and nobody else around here is either. Just make up your mind ,that’s all I’m
asking of you.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The dead man looked horrified. He buried his face in his
hands, then he stepped forward past the table and disappeared through the
entrance on his left marked “hell.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I love this story. It’s easy to
imagine and it describes an experience that many of us face, not at the moment
of our death, but every day throughout our lives. Remember, last week we talked
about salvation in this life. And we are Unitarian Universalists; we believe in
universal salvation. That means that salvation is available to each and every
one of us, in this life. And I think it’s available over and over, if we are
willing to choose it, if we think we are worthy of it. It’s sad to say, but for
many of us, the biggest barrier to our salvation, or our peace, is simply not
believing that we are worthy of it. Faced with the choice, over and over again
we choose to walk through the door marked Hell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The other night I watched a
movie called “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” It is a pretty great film. It’s
a coming of age story set in the 90s I think.
One of the big themes of the movie was people, particularly women being
involved with guys who just were very nice to them. It touched on domestic
violence some, but the question was even deeper than that. It wasn’t just why
they stayed with people who abused them. It was more a question or why do kind,
bright, beautiful, loving people settle for partners who treat them poorly? And
the answer offered by an overly wise teenager was… “We accept the love we think
we deserve.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We accept the love that we think we deserve. Theology comes
from a variety of sources, even movies about teenage romance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> This
is precisely why I say “I love you” at the end of every service. For those of
you who are new to our community, this isn’t some customary Unitarian
Universalist piece of our liturgy. It’s something that I say in this particular
congregation for a particular reason. It is partially about individual
affirmation and a personal commitment that I try to make to you and this church
family. I do love you in that way. But even more than that, this weekly
statement is my way of publicly proclaiming as clearly as I know how, that each
of you is worthy of love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We accept the love that we
think we are worthy of. But here’s the secret, we are all worthy of love,
worthy of comfort and healing for the pains that we face in this life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We are each whole and worthy souls. Even though we have
flaws and we make mistakes, at the same time we are whole. It’s the first of
our seven principles. We affirm and promote the INHERENT WORTH AND DIGNITY OF
EVERY PERSON. But how can it be that we
have inherent worth and dignity, but at the same time have all these
challenges, this pain, these mistakes? How can we be both. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I don’t know <b>how</b>,
but I know that we <b>are</b>. We are both
broken and whole at the same time. You
have heard me say this before. It’s the way that I understand our human
experience. We have inherent worth and dignity, and yet each and every one of
us is in need of healing, we need help to hold our broken pieces together. It’s
a belief that I have held deeply for many years. It is a cornerstone of my belief
system. And it wasn’t until this week that I realized why it is so important to
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> It’s because salvation comes to us in that mystery of
brokenness and wholeness. We each need salvation, a salve for the wounds of
this life. We are each broken to some extent and need help holding the pieces
of our lives together. But we are also whole beautiful souls, capable and
worthy of love. Our salvation rests in the knowledge of these two equally true
facts about our self. That not only do we need salvation, but we are worthy of
it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> And in the intersection of brokenness and wholeness is
repentance. No serious look at salvation would be complete without some
repentance. I know this word brings with it probably as much baggage as the
word salvation. It comes will all sorts of negative connotations of depraved
people groveling for their lowly sins so that that they might one day be
worthy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I want to ask you to reconsider this idea of repentance, because
it is a potentially life changing idea. The standard definition of Repentance
is the activity of reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for
past wrongs. That’s a worthwhile thing to do. But much of the nuance of the
word is lost in translation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">New
Testament</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">, the word translated as 'repentance' is the
Greek word (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metanoia"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">metanoia</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">),
which is a compound word of 'meta' (after, with), and the verb 'noeo' (to
perceive, to think). The word combines the two meanings of time and change to
literally mean 'to think differently after'. Repentance is a change of mind
accompanied by change of conduct. It is a change of consciousness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Repentance is taking a serious account of our mistakes and
shortcomings. Repentance is taking our brokenness very seriously, have opened
our hearts to change. And no one can open your heart but your self. No one can
save you, but yourself. In big ways and in little ways, it is up to each one of
us to individually in our moments of brokenness to remember a different way of
being, a different possibility for our beautiful life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> There is a short story that comes out of the Midrash, the
Jewish collection of teachings that tells us a great deal about repentance. A Rabbi
tells a young man “You should repent one day before you die.” “But I don’t know when that is!” says the
man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> “That is the point.” Explains the rabbi. We never know what
tomorrow will bring. But we know that today is an opportunity to learn and
grow, an opportunity to save ourselves, this day. All our lives we are called
to choose growth and opportunity. Every moment of every day is an opportunity
for salvation, as we hold in our hearts the fact that we are both broken and
whole. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> What I want you to see and hear today is that we have to be
willing to accept the moments of salvation when they come. Call it
enlightenment, transformation, growth, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">goodness</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">, we
have to open our hearts to those moments when they come. Because; you are
worthy. No matter how muddy you get, no matter how many mistakes you make, you
are worthy of love and peace, here, now, and every day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">-Amen-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-67586420539624697812013-04-08T15:09:00.004-07:002013-04-08T15:09:40.092-07:00"Salvation Today" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Salvation Today<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> It has been great working from my office in the Fellowship
more. I have been using that space for less than a year. Before that I was
working mostly from home. The windows are very thin and I can hear all the
conversations that walk by, which can be pretty annoying. But it’s also pretty
fun sometimes, hearing people that walk by our building. On Thursday I heard a
couple of women walk by. One read Mark’s sign out loud, “Salvation is in this
Life.” She said, “Oh I like that.” I mention that not only to say thank you
Mark for your continued commitment and creativity in our advertising. But also
to bring up the question of why we use the language that we use. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The word salvation has a whole lot of baggage. If you have
been a part of, or even in proximity to a religious tradition where God is a
bully, dangling us humans over a fiery pit of eternal punishment or even just
bottomless guilt, then it’s likely that you have totally blocked the word
salvation out of your vocabulary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> But we use the word, I should say I use the word for two
reasons. First is that it is the theological language used in our country. We
live in a largely Christian country, and Unitarian Universalism comes out of a
Christian background. With that, we inherit a whole set of language that people
hold in common, language that we can use to talk about our lives, and the
challenges we face together. The women walking by knew what the sign in front
of our building meant. “Salvation is in this life.” “Hm, I like that,” she
said. She knew what the sign meant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The other reason I
talk about salvation is that it is rooted in a part of the human experience. We
Unitarian Universalist have a very positive anthropology. We believe that
people are basically good. It’s our first principle, we affirm and promote the
inherent worth and dignity of every person, But that is not the entire extent
of our lived experience. We know that we ourselves, and the people around us
occasionally are not so good. We know that there is suffering in the world and
in our own lives. One of the central pieces of religious life is to make some
meaning out of the suffering that we experience as humans, and to explore ways
that we might provide a salve for our wounds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In religious community we are
in the business of talking about, hunting down, and building salvation, here
and now. <b><span class="msoDel"><del cite="mailto:Kent%20Doss" datetime="2013-04-04T16:53"> </del></span></b><span class="msoDel"><del cite="mailto:Kent%20Doss" datetime="2013-04-04T16:53">Since we are talking
about salvation today, I thought I would start off with a confession and a
testimony. I want to confess something that may be deeply familiar to you, or
maybe not. Maybe you confront other demons in your own life. <o:p></o:p></del></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span class="msoDel"><del cite="mailto:Kent%20Doss" datetime="2013-04-04T16:53"> But for me, the past couple of weeks have been a sincere and
eye-opening journey of how addicted I am to anger. Yes, I am a fairly mild<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:01">-</ins></span>mannered
person, but something about me, somewhere deep inside, really gets motivated by
anger. It’s exciting and empowering as an emotion. Whether it’s in my car when
I’m late, dealing perhaps with Laguna Beach tourist drivers<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:02">—</ins></span>I know
you know what I mean. I cuss like a sailor when I’m alone in my car. It’s not
pretty. Or if it’s dealing with someone who challenges me, rather than
questioning my own beliefs or simply disagreeing, it’s much easier, much more exciting
to feel angry. Or sometimes for no apparent reason at all with the people in my
life I know and love<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:02">,</ins></span> I drift toward anger rather more
complicated or nuanced negative feelings. <o:p></o:p></del></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span class="msoDel"><del cite="mailto:Kent%20Doss" datetime="2013-04-04T16:53"> Part of me finds that anger is easier and more exciting than
other responses to the small challenges of life. Part of me is addicted to it
and wants to hang on to it. But holding onto anger, I’ve been told, is like
holding a hot coal to burn someone else. Part of my journey is learning to let
it go. Part of my journey to salvation in this life is to let go of that
energizing self-righteous feeling and move beyond it. Maybe you have your own
burning coal of anger to let go of, or maybe there is something that you are
called to pick on your path to salvation. <o:p></o:p></del></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span class="msoDel"><del cite="mailto:Kent%20Doss" datetime="2013-04-04T16:53"> That is my confession. I am seduced by the feeling of anger.
But I also want to testify to you this morning. For those of you who are new
here, I should tell you that confession and testimonial are rare in this
congregation. But since we are talking about what salvation means to us, I
thought I’d dig right in. I want to testify about salvation. Not my own, but
the salvation I have seen in other people. </del></span>Probably the singular
thing that I am most grateful for in ministry is the opportunities to see real
salvation happen in this life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I have seen salvation in our <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:04">Fellowship</ins></span>,
and it is amazing. I have seen salvation in people who face tremendous hardships,
abuse, addiction, mental illness, financial upheaval, adultery, and an array of
other challenges that seminary could never have prepared me for. I have seen
people come through these challenges and still have the will to face life with
grace and courage. In the midst of all the muck of life, in the midst of all
that heartache and evil, these courageous women and men affirm their faith that
life is good and beautiful. I have seen salvation in this here. It’s hard to
describe<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:05">,</ins></span> but I promise you I have seen it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When the conversation of salvation comes up, the fi<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:07">r</ins></span>st
question is what exactly are we being saved from<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:07">? </ins></span>I think
this is why the idea of salvation is so strange to many of us. Let me assure
you, the salvation we are concerned about is not salvation from an angry God
who would otherwise dole out eternal punishment for our mistakes. We are not
talking about getting a cosmic lifeline to escape some fiery underworld called
Hell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Even without threats of Hell, there is still in this life
for us to be saved from. Plenty of both sin and evil pervade our individual
lives and our shared human community. We don’t like to admit it, in fact this
probably ruffles some feathers, but we do need salvation. We need a salve for
the deep injuries that hurt us and the people we love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Whether you want to call it evil or something else, life is
hard, often without reason. People are cruel to one another, usually without
reason. The earth itself is in desperate need of salvation from the relentless
punishment we have inflicted upon it. And the evil that is most pervasive, the
evil that most fuels oppression and exploitation isn’t a maniacal greed; it
isn’t blatant and cunning. The evil that stains the fabric of human community
is the evil of indifference. We need salvation in this life for the evils that
pervade this life, the evils that we <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:08">inflict </ins></span>upon
one another and upon ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We need salvation in the here
and now. But how? Where do we turn for this healing? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> First and foremost, salvation manifests in an affirmation of
life’s goodness. I’m not talking about enjoying the good life. I’m talking
about a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to live and to love. Life is
full of small pleasures, small signs of the goodness of creation. They are present
day in and day out if we open ourselves to appreciate them. Enjoying a good
meal, a warm bath, a flower in bloom<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:12">,</ins></span> or a
good friend, affirming the goodness of life begins with pausing to affirm the
goodness of the little pieces of every day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> And it is this groundedness in the goodness of life that
empowers us to choose a nobler way of being. Because when we appreciate life,
we know that it is worth our energy to preserve it, to cherish it, and defend
it for others. As the theologian Rebecca Parker puts it, “Apprehension of
life’s profound goodness provides emotional aliveness and moral clarity. It is
this apprehension of goodness that motivates a life toward life affirming ways.”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When we open ourselves to the goodness of life and the
beauty that surrounds us, we begin to settle into the profound sense of
“enough.” We come to realize there are in fact enough resources for all of
humanity to thrive. There are enough opportunities to building loving
relationship<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:13">s</ins></span>. And we ourselves are enough, not
perfect, but enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But salvation is not sugar and
spice and all things nice. Actually it is just the opposite. Salvation is a
capacity to recognize the goodness of life even in the midst of tragedy. The
blessings of salvation are evident in those people who hold tragedy and beauty
together, integrating life’s complex and difficult counterpoints. Holding out
this kind of affirmation of the goodness of life takes tremendous courage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> So let us be thankful that this journey is not ours to make
alone. Though I have been talking about
it on the individual level, salvation is not an individual thing. The wisdom
and courage that I describe here are <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:13">not only </ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:14">found
in</ins></span><span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:13"> </ins></span>personal accomplishment. They are<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:14"> also</ins></span>
the fruit of living in community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We find salvation in our relationships with one another. We
find it in community. That’s what is so magical about the story about the camel
driver that we heard earlier in the children’s story. Remember, there was the
camel driver who threw a rock at a man who had killed one of his camels. He
hadn’t intended to, but the rock struck the man in the head and killed him. The
camel driver saw what he had done and tried to flee the scene but he was caught
and brought to the town square. According to the law of the land, he was to be
beheaded. He pleaded and pleaded to be able to go say his goodbyes to his
family. The ruler, the Caliph said, I’ll let you go for three days if you find
a friend to take your place for that time. He pleaded with the crowd and no one
offered, until finally a holy man, the Caliph’s own teacher stepped forward to
take the place of the camel driver for the three day period. He knew that if
the camel driver did not return, he would be beheaded in his place. The Caliph
was deeply distraught at the arrangement, but consented. The man took his three
days to put his affairs in order, and at the very last moment returned to the town
square. And in the end, seeing what had happened, the Caliph pardons the camel
driver. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Obviously, the holy man is wise and brave, and is the
apparent hero in this story. But the real magic of this story is that we saw
three distinct roles that come together to cerate salvation, and they are roles
that each of us play at some time or another in our life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The first is the camel driver. He threw a rock at a man in
anger, and he accidentally killed him. Now as far as I know, none of us have
killed another person, but none of us are camel drivers either. I can guarantee
that each and every one of us has made mistakes. We have reacted in anger and
injured another person with our words or attitude. We have acted in ways that
we know we shouldn’t have. Sometimes we get away with it, but often we are
caught. If nothing else we are caught by our own conscience. And we are judged
for our actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In our moments of guilt we want to return to those we love
to make our life right again. And we look around desperately for a friend. Who
out there, we ask is still noble. Who out there is trusting enough to stand
with me in my moment of repentance? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> But we are not only the camel driver in our lives; we are
not the only ones that make mistakes. Over and over again we are witness to
others who don’t live up to their best selves. And we have an opportunity to
show that there is a different way. Sometimes reaching out to a sinner comes
with tremendous risk; sometimes we put our own reputation on the line to show
to the downtrodden that it is still possible to choose the noble path. Sometimes
we have the opportunity and responsibility to act as holy men and women,
demonstrating to the community that we trust our friends, even in the midst of
their errors. We trust them and we would stake our own well-being on their
goodness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> And finally, of course we are also the Caliph. No we don’t
have the power to pardon criminals and prevent beheadings. But we do have the
power to forgive people. In little ways we can forgive people we don’t know.
But in my more powerful ways, we can really forgive people who have done wrong.
I don’t mean just saying “Oh it’s no big deal.” I mean saying “I acknowledge
that you made a mistake and you are sorry for that mistake. I forgive you.” This gift of sincere forgiveness costs us
little, but it can change lives, it can offer salvation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> At the end of the story, when the Caliph pardoned the camel
driver an old man shouted out from the crowd, “Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> And the Caliph said, “In pardoning this man I see now that
there are still in the world those who are noble. There are those also who are
truthful. It remains for me to show that there are still those who can be
forgiving.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Salvation in this life is a web that we are all tied
together in. We find forgiveness and healing not just through our individual
spiritual experience, but also through our relationships with others. We find
literal forgiveness, we find healing and trust, we find inspiration, and we
find that our own heart can be open with trust. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> This journey is not ours to make alone. It is the fruit of
our relationship<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Peter%20Gadol" datetime="2012-12-26T18:15">s</ins></span> with others, and it rests solidly on
the shoulders of countless women and men who have gone before. Some have shown
us personal models of deep fulfillment, appreciating the goodness of life. Some
have shown us trust, some have shown us honesty, and still others have shown us
models of forgiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Though we do not talk about it often, salvation is real, it
is needed, and it is available to anyone willing to make the journey. Let us
then be grateful for this life and the opportunities it provides. Let us be
grateful for the community of travelers that accompanies us on the journey. Let
us be grateful for true peace and comfort that are available in this life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">-Amen-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-51726225549100665142013-04-01T13:37:00.002-07:002013-04-01T13:37:21.110-07:00"Beyond the Tomb" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Beyond the Tomb<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Today we
celebrate a story of renewal and rebirth and take a closer look at the story of
Easter. Like any story, there are different versions of the life of Jesus. It’s
very rare that we get one compete story when a group of people have gathered.
The version of the story that I am most fascinated by is from the gospel of Mark,
telling about Mary Magdalene. They went to the tomb of Jesus to mourn his death,
but they found it empty, and a man there told them of a resurrection. The
reading says, “And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and
astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were
afraid.” That is where the story ends. The oldest version of the story, the
oldest of the four gospels just stops there as the end of the entire writing.
It stops in silence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> But we know the story of his followers
continued. It’s difficult to say what literally happened on the ground, but we
know that the story grew as the century wore on. My own guess, what seems like
a fair assumption is that the disciples had scattered after the crucifixion. They
had just watched their leader get tortured to death and they were terrified.
But where two or three gathered they felt the presence of their beloved teacher
and leader. Anyone who has lost a loved one knows what that is like. Eventually
reports about the empty tomb made their way to these disciples, and they did
what any good religious person would do. They consulted the scriptures. They
looked for stories that matched what they were hearing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> From Jewish teachings they knew that a
man would one date be resurrected, he would be a great leader, and his life and
resurrection would mark a turning point in the world. This wasn’t meant to be a hope just for them,
but a hope for world transformation, a fundamental shift in the nature of
things. A small group of people held hope for a paradigm shift, a world in
which righteousness would flow down like waters, where the meek would inherit the
earth, where there would be neither Jew nor Gentile, Slave nor Free , Man nor
Woman. They dreamed of the kindom of God, coming to Earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> These frightened followers of Jesus
began to transform their story of loss into a revolutionary story of hope. This
is how many feminist Christians interpret the Easter story. They believe that
Easter isn’t about torture, death and resurrection at all. Instead they believe
that the miracle is the community that formed in the midst of loss. For only a
community can transform grief into hope. Only a community can provide the
fertile ground for new life to spring again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> And so we celebrate with our Christian
brothers and sisters, the hope that they held for their religious community
after their holy man was crucified. Through their tears, they saw hope. Through
their pain, they saw a future for their selves and for their community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> This is no unique story, this story of hope
over death, especially in springtime. Just as we celebrate Easter with our
Christian brothers and sisters, we also celebrate the hope of Passover with our
Jewish brothers and sisters. Not for the miracles that Moses performed, or plagues
that God spread over Egypt, not even the passing over of the Jewish households while
all of Egypt’s first born were struck dead in the night as the name Passover
suggests. No, we celebrate the liberation of a community from it’s oppressor,
and the gathering of a community for years to come, for thousands of years to
come, to tell their story and hope for a better future for themselves and for
all people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> We celebrate a miracle of human
community and hope. In the midst of our diversity and in the face of adversity,
we celebrate the miracle of hope and renewal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> The miraculous power of community to
transform pain into hope is actually what drew me to ministry in the first
place. I entered seminary from an activism background and fully expected to
return to that kind of work. I imagined working for a non-profit one day or
perhaps being a lawyer, one of the good guys. I was all about changing the
world through fighting back. The only thing that has changed is that I began to
see the power that churches have to change the world through loving
relationships between individuals. Somewhere back there my idea of changing the
world shifted from legislation to friendships, from protests to worshipping
together. To me, changing the world is seeing you on Sundays, being your best selves,
building relationships with one another. That is how we make the Easter story
alive as Unitarian Universalists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Just the
other day I saw a bumper sticker that reminded me of this. It simply said “Love
Wins.” Some of you will recognize that as the title of a recent book. “Love
Wins” was written by Robb Bell a few years ago. He is a prominent Christian
writer who wrote a controversial and hugely successful book about Universalism.
That’s right, our kind of Universalism, the theological belief that God loves
us completely, and would never condemn anyone to Hell. Understanding God,
having faith, is about accepting the truth of that love and being grateful for
it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> We Unitarian Universalists believe that
love wins. For some of us, that means the original theological formulation of
Universalism, that God loves each and every person and through that love comes peace.
But we also believe that love wins, even without God. We believe that we human
beings are blessed with a capacity and an inclination toward loving one another
and loving the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> At Easter time, we don’t celebrate the
miracle of a literal resurrection. We don’t believe in science stopping in its
tracks to bring the dead back to life. We believe in the miracle of nature that
makes life so abundant and that makes love win. That’s right, we celebrate and
embrace our role, as fruit of the earth to love one another and the world
around us. We are, thanks to our genetic design, inclined toward cooperation
and compassion. It’s not perfect, but it is at the core of our being, both
spiritual and biological. Whether it is God’s love, or the undeniable fruit of
nature and evolution, in this season of Spring we celebrate the miracle that
love wins. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But love
isn’t always easy. In fact I would say real love is never easy. This is one of
the hard lessons of life. Easter only comes after the crucifixion; Spring comes
only after the Winder. Vulnerability and pain are a part of loving in our
imperfect world. It’s something we have to learn, it’s something that I have to
learn over and over again. Loving is always a risk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Several years ago, when I was ordained
here by this congregation, a colleague of mine, Rev. John Morehouse offered the charge. This is a
standard practice, an esteemed colleague gives some tips on ministry. I don’t
recall much of what he said that day, but I do remember that he clearly said
“love them.” He told me that my task in ministry was to love this congregation.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It is a
strange piece of a job, to sincerely love 80 or so people. I can’t think of
many other jobs that come with the same instructions. It is odd, but wonder. I have
taken that charge seriously, to love you like a family. Yes, we have ups and
downs like any family does. We don’t all have the same point of view and there
are frustrations. But at the end of the day there is a foundation of respect
and caring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Even while we Unitarian Universalists
believe that love wins, we also know that with love comes vulnerability and
pain. That has been abundantly clear to me this past week. The conversations I
have had with many of you over the past few days have been extremely hard. I’m
not saying this out of professional duty but out of a very real human heart. I
have grown to care deeply about you all. And it breaks my heart to be leaving
this community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> But I would still choose to have the Winter
for the sake of the Spring. I would still take that charge seriously. I
wouldn’t have it any other way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This is
a part of ministry and a part of church life. I have been reading up on it and
often times this kind of separation is compared to death. The process of
letting go is about acknowledging the big picture, the bumps and bruises along
with the love and magic. It’s about fully coming to terms with the depth of
relationship and commitment, so that you can let go of it. I turned to the Rev.
Forrest Church and his book “Love and Death” for a little perspective. He wrote
this book ago the late stages of terminal cancer. It was to be a record of his
own coming to terms with mortality. He wrote,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“That said, will my love live on forever? I
believe so. And your love, too. It will certainly live on after your death,
continuing to touch from heart to heart long after you have gone. We know from
experience that our indifference, cynicism, and hurt feelings leave little
mark. The world quickly sloughs off our complaints against it. But love it and
someone, somewhere will remember.” (Forrest Church “Love and Death” p. 140)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> I guess what I want to say is that love
persists, long after we are gone. Gone in whatever sense. Real loving
relationships are generative; they create something good in the world that
wasn’t there before. They create healing, growth, and peace. They create things
that don’t go away when a relationship ends. In that way, love wins. Even when
we experience loss of a relationship, love remains to fill the empty space. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> I came across a great story of teaching
the Easter story to children. This was in an Episcopal Sunday School. The teacher
explained that Easter was about newness and expectation, just like the Spring,
just like the story of Jesus. And she gave the kids a big plastic egg, the kind
that pantyhose used to come in. And told the children to put something in their
egg that reminded them of Easter and come back next week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> The next week as they went around the
circle, each opened their egg. Some had a flower, some had candy, or a cross.
One boy opened his egg and it was empty. The other children began to giggle as
the boy mumbled some explanation, to soft and embarrassed to be understood.
Until the teacher explained that he had truly understood the assignment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> The empty place is the first site and
symbol of the Christian faith, an absence rather than a presence, and with that
space and absence comes a sense that the world is not as simple as we might
imagine it. For all its laws and patterns, the world still has surprises. There
must be space for new life to grow into. There must be a possibility held open
in our hearts for newness and possibility, if it is ever to come into being.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> The truth is, Flower Communion wasn’t
originally designed to be held on Easter Sunday. But the role that it plays in
our Unitarian History mirrors the renewal of Spring so beautifully, that we have
melded the two ideas together for many years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> As we heard earlier, the Unitarian
Universalist Flower Communion originated in 1923 with Dr. Norbert Capek,
founder of the modem Unitarian movement in Czechoslovakia. On the last Sunday
before the summer recess of the Unitarian church in Prague, all the children
and adults participated in this colorful ritual, which gives concrete
expression to the humanity-affirming principles of our liberal faith. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> But hope and renewal don’t come out of
the blue. Spring follows winter, liberation follows persecution, resurrection
comes only after death. Perhaps the reason that Dr. Capek’s beautiful ritual
has taken on so much meaning for us, is that it has survived as a symbol of
hope beyond brutal religious oppression. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> You see, when the Nazis took control of
Prague in 1940, they found Dr. Capek's gospel of the inherent worth and beauty
of every human person to be-as Nazi court records show-- "...too dangerous
to the Reich [for him] to be allowed to live." For one of <b>our</b> most central principles, for
believing in and preaching the inherent worth and dignity of every person, Dr.
Capek was sent to Dachau, where he was killed the next year. This gentle man
suffered a cruel death, but his message of human hope and decency lives on
through his Flower Communion, which is widely celebrated today. It is a noble
and meaning-filled ritual we are about to recreate. It’s meaning comes not only
from a dazzling arrangement of flowers. It’s meaning comes from what those
flowers symbolize. After pain and persecution, after Dachau, a community, our
community comes together to celebrate hope. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> At this time I want to invite our
children to come join me at the front of the sanctuary as we bless these
flowers. Then as we sing our closing hymn, they will come through the
congregation, giving each of you a flower, a symbol of hope for you to take
home with you today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-79770735737688497962013-03-25T17:13:00.001-07:002013-03-25T17:13:58.730-07:00"Simple Living" - Sermon
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Simple Living<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Last week we talked about the Buddhist
path to liberation. The Buddha instructed his followers on a life of letting go,
letting go of material things and relationships. Ultimately the goal is to let
go of our own sense of self. It’s one great way to get at the idea of letting
go, just let go of it all. But today we are going to talk about very different
goal of letting go. Today we are talking about making choices that simplify our
lives, letting go of some of the less important things, so that we can focus
our time, energy and money on the things we really care about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> We Unitarian Universalists have been
all over the map when it comes to our personal ethics and material wealth. That
might have something to do with the history that we bring from our traditions. Until
1961, Unitarianism and Universalism were two separate denominations. They had
different theological roots. But more import for this discussion, the also
represented different demographics. Unitarians, especially early ones, were
wealthy New Englanders. They are commonly referred to as the Boston Brahman, an
economically elite religious community. Mind you, not all of them were rich,
but for the stereotype was certainly upper-class. Universalists, on the other
hand were more rural farmers. Their experience was more connected to hard
physical labor and the earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Our history as a tradition brings a
hodgepodge understanding of luxury. I think still today we don’t quite know
what to do with the resources in our midst. By and large we Unitarian
Universalists have all that we need, and more. With an awareness of economic
injustice and environmental degradation, we feel some serious spiritual
pressure. We know that we have more than
enough, and others don’t. It leaves us with anxiety and a looming question. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> One writer used the word “affluenza”
the great cultural epidemic of modern America, the cycle of wanting more and
more material goods. It is an insatiable hunger based on the assumption that objects
are what bring value to our lives. But we can choose a different way. And I’m
glad that we as Unitarian Universalists often do. That’s what we are talking
about today, choosing to simplify our lives a bit and saving ourselves from the
affluenza that pervades our culture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> The good news is that curing the
pandemic of overconsumption at both the personal and cultural scale is not
about giving up the good life, but getting it back. Curing affluenza is about
remembering that spending our time with family, connected to the earth,
spending our money on things that nurture our soul can be deeply fulfilling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It really is a question of how we
will <b>spend</b> our time, our money, our resources,
how we will spend our life. Many of you are familiar with Henry David Thoreau’s
adventure to Walden Pond. He set out to live in a cabin, actually as a simple
writing retreat. But he found his experience of solitude so inspiring, that it
became a whole project unto itself. Thoreau whittled his life down to the
necessities of living, and let go of luxury in a great experiment in the woods.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> The longest chapter in his book
“Walden” is titled “Economy.” This isn’t a discussion of financial matters per
se. But is about how we spend what is ours. This chapter is an accounting of
his two years at Walden Pond. It is an examination of how we spend our lives.
The word play here is so powerful. It demonstrates the finite resources that
each of us have. Our time and our money go somewhere. We make choices of how we
will spend each and every morsel. His chapter “Economy” is an accounting of how
we spend our lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> As we let go of some things in our
lives, we make room for others. It’s a choice that we make with every minute of
every day, and every dollar that is in our possession. What we are talking
about is making priorities and living by them. The best visual image that comes
to my mind is that of filing papers. Filing is a pretty dull job. No one likes
to sort through files. My office is a testament to that fact. But what happens
when you don’t sort things out. What happens if you don’t take the time and
attention to put things in their proper place… in your heart? You end up with a
mess, where nothing can be found and it all gets so mixed up. It’s difficult to
get anything done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> This sermon is an invitation to work
with the files of your life. We are all at different stages of this project.
Some of us need to start from the ground up, identifying the necessities of
life, the things that are important to us, the things we want, and the things
we don’t need. Once we know what our priorities are, then comes the step of allotting
our time and money to each of these categories. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Some of us are very clear about our
priorities, we have already set up the major files of our life. But just like
in my office, things pile up without attention. It may be time to spend a while
re-sorting what you are working with, just to get things back in order.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> And even then, even when things are in
order and your desk is perfectly clear. Who ever you are out there. It probably
wouldn’t hurt to take an inventory and see if some of those files are outdated
or could be consolidated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> I know it sounds terribly dry, but
sometimes life requires intentional strategy. Setting our priorities and
deciding how to spend our resources is just like filing paper work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> I have often heard it said that you can
tell what an organization values by looking at its budget. I imagine the same
is true for each of us and the way we organize our lives. If someone came in
from the outside, and all they saw was the way you spent your time, your money,
and your effort, would they see a clear reflection of your values? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s probably no secret to you that
simplifying leaves more time and resources for the things we care about in the
world. But how do we make that change to simplify? Let’s talk about a few
strategies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> One writer I looked at this week
compared simple living to packing for a backpacking outing. The idea of
back-packing is that you take with you only what you can carry, for a camping
adventure over a few days. To have this adventure, and see some of the most
astounding beauty in the world, you have to choose your gear very carefully.
You need a few well-designed things, a good stove, a warm sweater, sturdy
boots, nutritious food. And the backpacker brings along his or her skills and
experience to use these tools. With the right tools, the world comes alive and
fills the days and nights with rich adventure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> We can use these same principles in
selecting the stuff that we bring into our lives. Keep in mind this isn’t about
buying cheap stuff, and it’s not about having nothing at all. Simple living is
about carefully selecting the appropriate high-quality stuff that will attend
to the real needs of our life. And once those basic needs are met, the rest of
the world becomes our playground. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> So
think of your stuff as a backpacker, and I would suggest, think of your time as
an investor. Before we make any financial investment, we think about what it
will yield. Well time works much the same way. The time you spend commuting or watching
television aren’t going to yield much in return. However the time you spend
building relationships with other people will continue to give back, and the
interest compounds itself over time. Just think about how you spend like you
might your money. What will bring the best yield?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Simplifying life doesn’t have to be
a grand transformation. It could just be a tweak here and there, an experiment.
There are several different experiments I have heard of to get you started. If
you are not already a vegetarian, consider making one day of the week meatless.
Meatless Mondays seems to be like an easy one to remember. And who couldn’t use
a slightly lighter diet after the weekend? It’s not a huge commitment, just an
experiment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Or, consider going on a technology
fast. Here in Southern California it seems like everyone has been on one kind
of dietary fast or another. But imagine spending time without some piece of
technology, maybe your cellular phone or your computer. How about not using the
microwave it your kitchen. Granted, it is faster, but it does some pretty funky
things to food. Or maybe giving your car a break and rely on public
transportation. It doesn’t matter so much which piece of technology you give up
for a while. But try letting go of something, and find out if you actually miss
it. You might come to realize that spending the time to accomplish the task
without technology is a more enjoyable and better for you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Or perhaps take a moment to unplug from
everything. For the past couple of months I have renewed a time in my day to
focus on quiet. It’s not a huge amount of time. I take thirty minutes each day
for meditation. You could make it five minutes, or forty-five minutes. But
pausing to be quiet and still on a regular basis is a very powerful, very
simple way of centering your life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> There are a thousand and one
experiments you can try like this. Of course we could all probably eliminate
some of the physical clutter in our lives. Or at least be careful of what we
add to it going forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Simplifying doesn’t always mean
sticking with the old or reducing what you already have. It may mean embracing
a new and more efficient way of doing things. You have heard that our Unitarian
Universalist Association is about to undertake a step toward simple living. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> The Board of Trustees has decided to
sell our historic headquarters at 25 Beacon St. It is an impressive old
building that sits next door to the state capital. It’s also a five-story
building that has an elevator that goes only to the third floor. It has only a
few parking spaces. It is not equipped to handle high-speed internet. There is
no common lunch room and the offices are so chockablock throughout the very
tall building that very little collaboration happens naturally. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> This beautiful historic building is
worth a tremendous sum of money but really doesn’t serve our needs very well.
So our Board of Trustees just last week made a brave decision to simplify. They
are letting go of an edifice, to allow for a workspace where human
collaboration can occur and technology can make work easier. It’s also
accessible from public transportation and accessible to people with
disabilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> At first glance, this is a tremendous
undertaking that will be chocked full of new technology. But in the end it will
consolidate offices that are currently housed in three separate buildings, it
will allow human beings to collaborate face to face, it will be accessible and
more efficient. It will simplify the life and work of the UUA. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Simplifying doesn’t necessarily mean
whittling down or staying the same. It could mean adapting to new technology.
The question is about at the end of the day, how will we be spending our time,
money, and spiritual resources. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> If nothing else, I want you to hear
today that each one of us has a choice about how we will spend our life. We are
limited creatures with a few years to live, and a few dollars to our name. We
are given a few talents and hopefully a few loving relationships. Every minute
of every day is a choice. Every dollar in our name is a choice. So invest
wisely. How will you spend your life?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-86865026546226307682013-03-18T12:19:00.001-07:002013-03-18T12:19:17.561-07:00"Four Noble Truths" - Sermon
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">"Four Noble
Truths"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_Ifm61WYfvHUq4QHgTiVx1dAq1K1uuq3FjoIeezF8bc-xWfy9X8Ty8PxghOkRlHe5t2Ivu_iRKPD3mux13BluzPKcVuown5ujvhwpW41iPE18y9QgnIPYPsj9DoXdsoxCIw7tB94ry4/s1600/47-133-thickbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_Ifm61WYfvHUq4QHgTiVx1dAq1K1uuq3FjoIeezF8bc-xWfy9X8Ty8PxghOkRlHe5t2Ivu_iRKPD3mux13BluzPKcVuown5ujvhwpW41iPE18y9QgnIPYPsj9DoXdsoxCIw7tB94ry4/s320/47-133-thickbox.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> As you may know, the theme that we are
working with for the month of March is “letting go.” There are a thousand and
one ways to approach this great spiritual endeavor. But Buddhism addresses the
challenge more directly and more eloquently than any other that I know of. In
fact, this isn’t just another component of the Buddhist tradition. Letting go
is what Buddhism is all about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The core of the Buddha’s teaching, and
the place we are starting today is with the Four Noble Truths. These are
actually the ideas that the Buddha shared in his very first sermon after
enlightenment. Before we dive into those though, I want to be clear that
Buddhism is more about a lifestyle and a mindset than it is a set of beliefs.
In many faiths the lynchpin is in believing the right things. In Buddhism
however, it’s all about finding your own way to enlightenment through an
appropriate and balanced life. Buddhism is about living, not believing. But to
start out with, we need to take a look at how the Buddha saw our experience as
human beings. In the Four Noble Truths he describes our human experience and
the opportunity to do something better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The first Noble Truth is Dukkha, or
“life is suffering.” At least that’s the way it is usually translated. Life is
suffering. From the time we come into the world we experience pain sickness and
death. I know, you are thinking, but there is more to life than that. But, even
as we enjoy things, we know that that they are for a limited time or quantity.
We are never satisfied, we are always longing for something more or something
different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But as often is the case, a great deal
of meaning is lost in translation. The actual for the First Noble Truth is
Dukkha. A better translation of this is “all life is dissatisfaction.” The
Buddha wasn’t pessimistic, saying that life is just pain and suffering. Quite
the contrary, he is almost always depicted with a pleasant smile. But the
essential experience of life is dissatisfaction. Some other words to describe
this might be imperfection, impermanence, emptiness, insubstantiality. It’s
impossible to capture in the one word “suffering”. But today we will keep it
simple. So the first noble truth is, Dukkha, all life is dissatisfaction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Which
brings us to the Second Noble Truth. The Second Noble Truth is that the root of
dukkha is attachment. Life is imperfect because of attachment. We get attached
to material things that are fleeting. We also get attached to disappointments
of the past, or anxieties of the future. We are attached to the way things could
have been, or the way we didn’t quite make the mark that one time. We get
absorbed in how wonderful life used to be. We get attached to what is not here
and now, and we long for a different experience. The root of dissatisfaction is
attachment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There
is another type of attachment that is a little more difficult to describe, but
it is critically important. Part of our longing is a commitment to perpetuating
a sense of self. We cling to our identity, to our personhood and we perpetuate
a sense of self. But as you and I know life changes us; we change as people
every moment of every day. So clinging to a sense of self is a dissatisfying
experience. Not to mention the fact that we are mortal, and try as we may to
prevent it, this life, this identity will come to an end. And thus we are
dissatisfied. The First Noble Truth is that all life is dissatisfaction. The
Second Noble Truth is that attachment, or longing is the root cause of that
suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The third Noble Truth is the next
logical conclusion. Ending this constant attachment is the way to end the state
of dissatisfaction in one’s life. Dissatisfaction ends when craving ends. For
that sense of craving to end we must remove the delusion of needing those
things in our lives. And when we are able to achieve this freedom from longing
and dissatisfaction, we enter a liberated state of being, or enlightenment. The
Third Noble Truth is that to end dissatisfaction we must end attachment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But how, you ask, how does one make
this great achievement of releasing all that we long for. Well, that’s the Fourth
Noble Truth. Reaching liberation or enlightenment can be achieved through the
path laid out by the Buddha. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> You have probably seen this wheel with
eight spokes. Often this wheel is used to symbolize the Buddhist tradition. The
eight spokes of the wheel are a reminder of the Eight Fold Path. Those are the
eight areas that the Buddha suggested focusing on to end our sense of longing
and attachment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I want to name these eight areas of
focus, just so we get a sense of what they are and the broad focus of Buddhist
life. Right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. The Buddha
gave basically an entire framework for living a life that moves toward
liberation. Over the centuries different schools of Buddhism have focused on
different aspects of the eight fold path. But they are all there for the
taking. So there you have it, the path to letting go in Four Noble Truths: All
life is dissatisfaction. The root of dissatisfaction is grasping. The way to
end dissatisfaction is to stop our grasping. And the eight fold path is the
journey to help us let go. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> As Unitarian Universalists, we tend to
buck anytime someone claims to the THE answer, THE way to enlightenment, I know
I do. But Buddhism offers its answer to the challenges of life in a very gentle
way. The teaching of the Buddha is considered useful and true only to the
extent that it helps remove suffering in one’s life. The Buddha was perhaps one
of the most humble religious teachers of the world. He never claimed that he
was from God or that his teachings were divinely inspired. He simply offered a
path for people to find liberation in their lives. And the teachings were only
as good as their ability to provide a path for the follower. That is the point
of probably the most famous parable within the tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> In this story, the Buddha compared his
own teachings <span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">to a raft
that could be used to cross a river.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> A
man is trapped on one side of a fast-flowing river. Where he stands, there is
great danger and uncertainty - but on the far side of the river, there is
safety. But there is no bridge or ferry for crossing. So the man gathers logs,
leaves, twigs, and vines and is able to fashion a raft, sturdy enough to carry
him to the other shore. By lying on the raft and using his arms to paddle, he
crosses the river to safety.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> The
Buddha then asks the listeners a question: “What would you think if the man,
having crossed over the river, then said to himself, ‘Oh, this raft has served
me so well, I should strap it on to my back and carry it over land now?’”</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> The
monks replied that it would not be very sensible to cling to the raft in such a
way.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> The
Buddha continues: “What if he lay the raft down gratefully, thinking that this
raft has served him well, but is no longer of use and can thus be laid down
upon the shore?”</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> The
monks replied that this would be the proper attitude.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> The
Buddha concluded by saying, “So it is with my teachings, which are like a raft,
and are for crossing over with — not for seizing hold of.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> You see Buddhist teaching exists in a
bit of a paradox this way. The teachings are profoundly life-changing ideas.
They give a sense of direction and understanding. But the whole thrust of the
tradition is to let go, of every sense of grasping, even grasping at the
teachings themselves. The teachings are only a raft to the other side, a
pathway that any person can follow to achieve his or her own enlightenment.
Neither the Buddha nor his teachings are to be clung to forever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There is a famous Zen koan that points
to this reality in a very pithy way. It is, “If you meet the Buddha, kill him.”
It sounds like half like a joke. But the point is, if you ever get to a point
in your journey when you think you have come upon the ultimate truth, it’s time
to radically challenge those ideas, because you are clinging onto that idea.
And clinging onto anything, be it a new car or a religious doctrine is the
source of suffering. “If you meet the Buddha, kill him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> This
is such a gem of religious teaching. It is so important to realize that truth,
is not imbedded in a building or in books. Religious institutions are neither
holy nor perfect. They are simply tools, helpful tools, to be used on the path
toward enlightenment. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Buddhsim is a path of freedom. It’s
contrary to the assumption that we might have when we think of monks and
meditation. It all looks very serious and from the outside. But really the goal
of the Buddhist life is to let go. It’s about letting go of all the things that
occupy our mind, the regrets, the hopes the fears, all that we cling to and
suffer over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> One of the best lessons I have had about
letting go was during a yoga class. I have done a little bit of yoga in my
life. Every time I do it I think to myself “That was great! I should do that
more often.” Then I don’t do it again for another couple of years. But in one
particular class I was told something that made a tremendous difference. I
remember this class was during the Santa Anna winds one October. Everyone was
on edge, and tense. We started the class with a long period of just breathing
together, and our teacher explained that doing yoga shouldn’t feel strained. I
shouldn’t feel forced, or over-concentrated. In fact just the opposite is true.
I should feel open and freeing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> It was fascinating to get such a
physical lesson in this concept of Buddhism. Throughout that yoga class, I was
able to be aware of my body in a new way. Was I straining, was I forcing this,
was I cutting off, constricting? Or was I opening and letting go? I could feel
it so acutely in my body. Our minds and our bodies are very similar and so
deeply connected. Sometimes, without even realizing it, we can become totally clenched,
totally constricted, forced in focusing on one little detail, whether good or
bad. But if we pause to take a few deep breaths, we can choose to let go of
some of that longing, some of that tension. We can choose to let go, and open
up a little bit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I want to close our discussion today by
talking about a major misunderstanding in our common language about Buddhism.
It is the word Karma or Kamma. I want to explain the misunderstanding not for
the sake of vocabulary, but because the way we understand this word is a very
good window into how profoundly different Buddhism is from most of our ways of
thinking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I hear people talking about Karma, good
Karma and bad Karma as the way the universe responds to our actions. If you do
good, you will get good in return. If you bad then you will get bad in return.
This is NOT how Karma works in Buddhism. Not at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Karma is not the result of divine
judgment or cosmic response to our moral actions. In Buddhism there is no God
that dolls out punishment and reward. Quite the contrary, Karma is simply the law
of cause and effect. Through our actions we perpetuate ourselves in a
particular way. We can do morally good things and perpetuate ourselves as a
good person, or we can do bad things and perpetuate ourselves as a bad person.
The distinction between good and bad karma is simply about the version of
ourselves that we perpetuate in the world. Karma is about perpetuating
ourselves as good or bad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But rewind with me for a moment.
Everything I have said so far is that the point of Buddhism is letting go,
letting go of attachment to this world and this life in order to find
liberation. The whole point is to not perpetuate our sense of self.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> So whether we are acting for good or
for bad, karma is a bad thing, because we are acting for the sake of
perpetuating our sense of self. Karma is all about acting with our self as the
primary focus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Let me put this in real world terms for
you. Just last week, Bud was talking about this exact challenge. He described
his personal ethical conundrum. He said that he has no problem doing good
deeds, acting the right way. But his challenge is that when he does these
things, he does it for a sense of feeling good about himself, feeling proud.
His growing edge is to do the good in life, not for the sake of feeling proud,
but simply because it is the good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> That very enlightened endeavor, Bud, is
what Buddhism is all about. Buddhism is all about letting go of attachment, not
just of material things or memories. It is about letting go of attachment to
our self. Letting go of self-righteousness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> So this is the challenge I leave you
with. It’s a different sort of challenge. Not simply to do good in your lives,
but to do so for the sake of good and for the sake of others. In the week ahead
let us let go. Let us act with sincere disregard for our self. Let us act
according to what we think is best, and let go of the outcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">-Amen-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-33835270218906689802013-03-04T14:09:00.002-08:002013-03-04T14:09:51.669-08:00"When to Hold'em and When to Fold'em" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“When to
Hold’em and When to Fold’em”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Life
is not perfect. I know it’s disappointing to hear but it’s true. Life is not
perfected. In fact we are forced to make one compromise after another. Faced
with limited time and limited resources, we have to choose what we will set as
a priorities and what we will let go of. We have to choose, “When to hold’em
and when to fold’em.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> All this month we are focusing on the
theme of letting go, which is a huge spiritual endeavor. So to start out that
conversation I thought we should spend some time talking about how to decide
what to let go of, and what to hold on to. It seems that in our lives there are
a good many things that call us into being our best selves. They give us a
foundation for deeper and wider exploration, they resonate with our truest
sense of self. Then there are a good many other things in our life that limit
us, that distract us, that prevent our truest self from being expressed and
fully living. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> In a way this is what we talk about
every Sunday in our worship services. We come together here and remind each
other of our priorities in worship. That is what the word worship means after
all. We don’t come here to may homage to some divine being. Our worship is much
more nuanced than that. What we do for worship can be seen from the word
itself. The word “worship” comes from the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 14.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Old English</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> worthscipe, meaning
worthiness or worth-ship — at its simplest, to give worth to something. The
historical details are not all that important, but I bring up the concept of
worthship because it describes what worship means to us as Unitarian
Universalists. In worship, we celebrate and name those things that are most
important to us. For some of us that means worshiping God; for others that
means celebrating our highest ideals and ethical principles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Sometimes the reminder is more
grounded, it is about personal relationships. Sometimes it is about justice,
sometimes it is about more abstract ideals or spiritual matters. But at the end
of it all, we come here to name and remind each other what our priorities in
life are, what we want to hold on to. And hopefully in doing so, we offer a
foundation to build on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> One of the ways of discerning when to
hold’em and when to fold’em, or what our priorities are, is the way they ground
our life. I’m talking about religious belief now, but the same is true for any other
belief or relationship. Some serve as a foundation that we can grow and expand
from, and others are an anchor that only weigh us down. In terms of religion,
this looks like offering a living tradition. That’s the title of our hymnals,
and it is woven through a good portion of writing about Unitarian Universalism.
We aim to be a living tradition, a faith that is both grounded in the past, but
also growing and living into a dynamic future. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> As progressive religious folks, we are
able to pretty clearly point to that difference. We know that some religious
beliefs are limiting while other beliefs are expansive. But the same is true
for other beliefs and priorities. Some of the things that we hold dear serve us
well as an foundation for growth, and others really limit our potential. But it
isn’t always easy to tell the difference. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Perhaps
the biggest challenge in this decision of when to hold’em and when to fold’em
is that no one else can tell you the answer.
Deciding what to hold tight to depends most of all on what is in your
own heart and who you are as a person. Even if your commitments don’t line up
with what the rest of the world might think is best, it’s up to you to listen
to your heart and to figure out how are should play the game. Sometimes doing
your best and being true to yourself doesn’t bring the most obvious success.
But in the end, I promise you, it’s the only way to win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The writer John Fulghum has an
interesting story about just this phenomenon. Well it’s not so much a story as
a version of someone else’s biography. It’s the story of the 19<sup>th</sup>
century Unitarian, John Pierpont. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> John
Pierpont died a failure in 1866, at age eighty-one, he came to the end of his
days a government clerk in Washington D.C., with a long string of personal
defeats abrading his spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Things
began well enough. He graduated from Yale, and chose education as his
profession. He was a failure at school teaching. He was too easy on his
students. So he turned to the legal world for training.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But,
he was a failure as a lawyer. He was too generous with his clients and too
concerned about justice to take the cases that brought good fees. The next
career he took up was dry-goods sales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> He
was a failure as a businessman. He could not charge enough for his goods to
make a profit, and was too liberal with credit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">He wrote poetry and though it was published, he
didn’t collect enough royalties to make a living.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> He
was a failure as a poet. And so he decided to become a minister, went off to
Harvard Divinity School, was ordained as a minister of the Hollis Street Church
in Boston. But his position for prohibition against slavery got him in trouble
with the influential members of his congregation and he was forced to resign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> He
was a failure as a minister, then also a failure at politics for his stance on slavery.
The civil war came along, and he volunteered as a chaplain of the 22<sup>nd</sup>
Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. Two weeks later he quit, having found the
task too much strain on his health. He was seventy-six years old. He couldn’t
even make it as a chaplain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Finally
someone found him an obscure job in the back offices of the Treasury Department
in Washington D.C. where he finished out
the last five years of his life. He actually wasn’t too good at that either.
His heart wasn’t in it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> John
Pierpont died a failure, having accomplished nothing that he set out to be.
Today there is a small memorial stone marking his grave. The words read: POET,
PREACHER, PHILOSOPHER, PHILANTRHOPIST. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> John Pierpont knew what to hold onto in
his life. Even when his commitments appeared as failure to some, he continued
to pursue the life he knew was in his heart. It took a while for the rest of
the world to catch up with him, but in the end, it was his commitment to his
true self that made him a really remarkable human being. Not titles or
trophies, but personal commitment and fortitude marked his life. He knew well,
what to hold on to, and what to let go of. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">If
knowing what to hold onto and what to let go of is about tuning into your
heart, and your true self, I guess we should talk a little bit about the
differences between our true self and the things that distract us. We all have
distractions, different coping mechanisms that make life a little more
comfortable. Some of them are big, some small, some are momentary and others
can last a whole lifetime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I remember a very jaded moment several years
ago, a friend thought he was being wise and real, when he said “Isn’t that all
life is anyway, a long series of coping mechanisms?” I look back and remember
the conversation and part of me thinks, wow, what a terribly sad and bitter
thing to say. “Isn’t that all life is anyway, a long series of coping
mechanisms?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Each one of us uses some coping
mechanisms. They are ways that we act, masks that we wear to make the world a
little more comfortable. We learn to start wearing them from a very early age,
as soon as we learn that some piece of us isn’t that pleasant, or we find that
our feelings can get hurt. So we hide a little bit, or take on some persona to
cover up something. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This is especially true for survivors
of trauma. Whatever the trauma is that occurs in our life, it changes the way
we act in the world for a while. Our sense that the world is safe is
challenged, so we add a layer of protection, a mask, a shield. We create a
slightly different persona to hide behind. Of course if we are fortunate to
have the opportunity to learn again that the world is safe, through friends and
family and loving community, then we can put down some of that shield. We can
let it go. But the truth is many of us, I might even say most of us, carry with
us throughout our lives a bit of a mask, a coping mechanism, a way of being
that is not in complete harmony with our real self, because it is not our real
self. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There are a couple of unfortunate
things about these masks, or coping mechanism. Probably the most important is
that they get in the way of us being our full and complete self. But they also
stand between us and the people that we care about. Rather than two people
sharing their sincere hopes and dreams, we find a couple of coping mechanism
coming up against each other. Don’t get me wrong, coping mechanisms and masks
can fit very, very well together. They can lock two people together like glue.
But is that the best that life has to offer? Two false versions locked together
forever? I’m fully convinced that life
and love has more to offer us than that. But for real relationship to develop,
romantic or otherwise, we have to set down some of the disguises and put our
real amazing self out there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
other really unfortunate thing about masks is that they take a tremendous
amount of energy to maintain. Acting is very hard work. Being someone other
than your true self is exhausting stuff. And it is taking evergy that could be
spent doing things that you really care about. As I told my friend, no, life is not just one
long series of coping mechanisms. Though we do all from time to time grab a
hold of an idea or a way of being that isn’t really true to our self. We’ve all
been there, we all have a few things in our life that we would be better off
without. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> We have been talking about letting go
for a while now. By now you have probably begun taking stock of your own life.
You have probably started to name some of the things that you do that mask the
real you, or some of the things that tie you down rather than give you a foundation.
If you haven’t, well then I want you to think about it right now. What two
things do you want to let go of, two things that prevent you from being your
true self? These are things that take up your energy that could be spent on
something you really care about. They are things that build a barrier between
you and the people you love. What two things do you want to let go of?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I want you to hold them in your two
hands. Make a fist and hold on to them tightly, as tight as you can. You’ve
probably been holding onto these masks and coping mechanisms for years and they
probably make you feel much safer. In just a minute, we are going to let them
go, but for now, take this time to say goodbye to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">On
the count of three, I want you to open your hands, and just let go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">1-2-3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-9222534437836225702013-02-25T14:16:00.003-08:002013-02-25T14:16:50.774-08:00"A Prayer for Reproductive Justice" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A Prayer
for Reproductive Justice<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> We Unitarian Universalists are a
justice seeking people. And for the next two years, we will reorient some of
our justice concerns toward reproduction. That’s because at the 2012 General
Assembly our national faith community selected reproductive justice as our
Study Action Issue. What that means roughly, is that congregations across the
country are encouraged to study and learn about the topic. They are invited to
reflect on how their faith calls them to respond to the question. Perhaps more
importantly, in the midst of that discernment we are called to act in large and
small ways, to bring about justice by acting in our world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> We
Unitarian Universalists have actually been vocally supporting a woman’s right
to choose abortion for a very long time. We passed resolutions at our General
Assembly in 1963, 1968, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1985, 1987, and 1983. Having
sat through a few General Assemblies myself, I can assure that that getting a
few thousand Unitarian Universalists to agree on anything is a tremendous
accomplishment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> We have done a great deal to advocate
for abortion rights as a faith community. And that is what comes to most of our
minds when the topic comes up. But reproductive justice is about much more than
one particular choice. Yes, abortion is an important choice, but it is only one
piece of a much broader struggle. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;">Reproductive
Justice is a multifaceted movement. It is about empowering every person to make
decisions about their own sexual well-being, and women having the resources to
choose how and when they will birth children. It is having awareness and
courage to say yes to the sex that you want, and no to the sex that you don’t
want. It is giving youth and anyone who wants it, accurate and helpful
information about sexuality, including support for the moral, ethical, and
spiritual dimensions of sexual activity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Reproductive justice means taking
seriously the experience of poor women and women of color, and offering the
tools that they need to make choices about reproduction. And it is interwoven
with our continuing work for immigration justice, as we fight against laws that
tear families apart, and endanger the safety of migrant women. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> As you can hear, there is not single
legislative agenda that we are after. Reproductive justice is a much broader
scope than the individual right for women to choose to have an abortion. With
the full scope of the topic out on the table, I want to explore how some of our
Unitarian Universalist beliefs inform our perspective on reproductive justice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
first of these is the belief that I think most UUs resonate with. That is the
belief that every soul is sacred and worthy. I know at first glance this sounds
like a pro-life poster. But we as Unitarian Universalists believe that every
soul is sacred and worthy, and that means more than defending the potential
life of a fetus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> First of all, it means a sincere
investment in the health and wellbeing of young people. We owe it to them to
provide good information about sex. And I don’t mean information about the
basics of physical health. Yes, that is essential, but we also owe it to them
to have real opportunities to discuss decision making about sexual practices
and issues of self worth. Perhaps most of all we owe them a real conversation
about what to do with the fact their lives are swimming in a hyper-sexualized
world. In advertisements, television shows, movies, magazines, music,
everywhere they turn sex is promoted as the primary means for human intimacy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And then there is the internet. You may
not know this, but you should. Anyone who has access to a computer and the
ability to use it, let’s say anyone above the age of twelve years old, has
access to a virtually endless supply of pornography. If they look for it,
whatever it is, they can find a video of it on the internet. To be totally
clear, I’m saying anyone with access to a computer can find an endless supply
of graphic pornographic. This is the world our children are coming of age in,
and we have to respond to it. If we cannot shield them from it, then we at
least owe them an opportunity to make sense of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The issue at hand isn’t that sex is
dirty, or that our kids are ill inclined. The issue is that we love and respect
our youth. And we owe it to them, and to everyone else to have the tools to
make sense of the over sexualized world that we all have to navigate. Every
soul is sacred and worthy. Every soul deserves the opportunity to develop into
a sexually healthy adult. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But youth are not the only people who
are vulnerable in this regard. We are also called to remember that women,
particularly poor women and women of color still in our world are disempowered.
They often do not have the ability or the right to choose how and when they
will have sex. I know in our community that is bracing to hear. But there are
still many women in our country who are coerced into having unprotected sex,
not as prostitutes, but as women who survive in a patriarchal culture. Affirming
the worth of all people, and helping to empower the historically marginalized
means helping them to take charge of their reproductive choices. Every soul is
sacred and worthy, every person is entitled to decided if they want to have sex
and how they want to protect themselves from pregnancy and STDs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There are two other groups of people
whose worth and dignity we are called to remember and protect. The first one is
women struggling with unintended pregnancies. The religious right is quick to
mention the rights of the fetuses and embryos. I personally share a small
portion of that concern for a potential life. But the key piece of this
equation is that word “potential.” Yes, there is potential for those cells,
those fetuses to develop into meaningful lives. However, the women who carry
them are already in the midst of a meaningful life. They have careers and school
to handle. They have pressures from family and society. Every soul is sacred
and worthy, this includes the brave women who have faced the very difficult
decision to have an abortion, and the countless women in the future who will
need to exercise this critical right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And finally when I say that every soul
is sacred and worthy I speak also of the countless children who are born every
year to mothers and fathers who are unable to care for them. Many of the
fortunate ones like myself, and some of the children in our congregation, get
adopted into loving, supportive families. I can tell you that even is no
cake-walk. Many others get left behind in a foster care system that is simply
overwhelmed and underfunded. Nationwide, more than 463,000 kids live within the
foster care system. 463,000 children do not have a permanent home. Many of
these children are available for adoption, but the right family has not yet
come along. Every soul is sacred and worthy. Every child born into this world
is entitled to a safe and loving home environment. But the hard fact of the
matter is, our society is not equipped to provide homes for the many, many
children who are in desperate need. How, in the midst of that reality can we
possibly force women with unintended pregnancies to risk their health, risk
their careers, risk their social stability, to bring another child into this
great mass of children in need. It simply does not add up. Every soul is sacred
and worthy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Another
truth that we hold dear as Unitarian Universalists is that there is a unity
that makes us one. Beyond all the differences that appear to divide us, our
fates are interconnected. What affects one being, invariably affects the others
in an intricate web of life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> It is rarely talked about in our world,
but many, many women have faced the difficult decision to have an abortion.
Most likely a woman that you know and care about has struggled with this
dilemma. By the age of forty-five, nearly half of all women will have an unintended
pregnancy. And, nearly one third will have an abortion. Let me repeat those
numbers because they are big. Nearly half of all women will have an unintended
pregnancy. Nearly one third will have an abortion in their life. It is also
important to note that the rates of abortion among poor women and women of
color are significantly higher than the rest of the population.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Abortion is not a bizarre rare thing.
It is a very hard thing, but the women that we know and love face this
difficult reality with bravery and courage. While preparing for this sermon I
ran across an amazing short film called “The Abortion Diaries.” It is a
collection of interview with women of different backgrounds who had had an
abortion. They share candidly what that experience was like, and in so doing
they break a silence and support one another. Hopefully we can show the film
sometime soon here. As a man I found it very insightful and helpful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There is a unity that makes us one.
Abortion is a reality that impacts the psychological and spiritual well-being
of the women in our lives. It therefore affects us all. And while it feels
chilly to bring up money in a conversation so anchored in our core values, we
are all connected financially to the impacts of reproductive justice. When
women are empowered to make their own decisions about when and how to have
children, they tend to have fewer of them. It is in all of our interests to
have fewer children growing up in poor families. It is in all of our interest
to have fewer children landing in the foster care system. By providing our
children with accurate and helpful information, and by empowering poor women
and women of color, we can save both tremendous heartache and tremendous sums
of money in the long run. Again, I know it feels chilly to talk about money in
this conversation. But our economy is just one of the many ways in which we are
very, very connected to one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There is a unity that makes us one.
That means that this conversation and the struggle for reproductive justice is
not for women to engage alone. We are all touched by this. Saying that this
struggle is for women alone is like saying ending racism is up to people of
color to take care of. I know it is precarious to say that men have a voice in
this discussion. I have heard from some of you, and I have read many, many
suggestions that the only people who should be deciding about matters of
abortion are women. I understand that inclination, I promise you I do. I have
felt the urge to tell straight people, even the well intended ones that they
just don’t get it. But, I also understand that we work together to create
change. There is a unity that makes us one, a unity that calls us to listen
deeply and work together while we bring more justice into our world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
final piece of our faith tradition that I want to draw on today is an
understanding that courageous love will transform the world. We Unitarian
Universalists are called to struggle for reproductive justice as people of
faith. That means our religious values and beliefs inform our commitment and
our action in this arena.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Yes, reproductive justice is a question
of faith and values. And we bring our faith and values with us into the
struggle. I recently read a story about just that. Rev. Lisa Sargent worked for
Planned Parenthood before she entered the ministry. It was hard but rewarding
work. Frequently when she cam to work she found the building was surrounded by
protesters. They usually were holding signs with religious messages and
offering forgiveness through Jesus if only she would reject the work she was
doing. But one day Lisa came across a bumper stick that gave her some solace
and courage in the midst of all the religious force. The sticker said simply,
“I’m pro-choice and I pray.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> She hung it up in her workspace and
within 15 minutes a co-worker was there to talk about it. She whispered, “Do
you really pray?” “Um, yes I do,” she said. “SO DO I!” They had a wonderful moment affirming their
work as people of faith. And the day continued with a near constant stream of
co-workers who wanted to talk about this simple sign. Rev. Lisa writes “I
learned that day that my colleagues weren’t working at Planned Parenthood
despite their religious beliefs, but because of them.” In fact it was working
for Planned Parenthood for several years that lead Lisa into the ministry. She
saw the way that prayer and meditation played a role in women’s difficult
decision. And she saw the need for a religious voice that supported rather than
shamed people in their time of need. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Like Lisa and those brave Planned
Parenthood employees, we approach the issue of reproductive justice not in
spite of our faith, but because of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I want to come back to the title of
this sermon, “A Prayer for Reproductive Justice.” We are not praying for more
abortions. We are praying and acting to create a world where everyone is
empowered to decide what is right for his or her own body. We are striving for
a world where poor women and women of color have enough power and self esteem
to defend their rights. We long for a world where our young people can grow up
with the tools to make sense of this culture obsessed with sex. And perhaps most of all, we pray for a world
with enough compassion for people to sit together and hear the hard stories and
tell the hard truths. So that one day we might all know more deeply what it
means to love one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">-Amen-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-5213388188788899662013-02-18T15:22:00.001-08:002013-02-18T15:22:03.840-08:00"Prayers of the People" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Prayers of
the People<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Today we are talking about a piece of
our weekly worship service, the piece called Prayers of the People. Every
Sunday following joys and sorrows, we say a short prayer naming the joys and
concerns that have been raised, and also lifting up some of the other
significant issues of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Before we go into talking about that
particular piece of OUR tradition here at UUFLB, I want to talk about religious
ritual in general. The really amazing thing about ritual, or at least a good
ritual, is that you can see many layers of different meaning in it, and it
means different things to different people. In fact, some of the rituals that
seem the most conservative and traditional, can actually be the most transgressive
thing a community can do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The best example of this comes from a
small church that I attended back in college. It was a Christian church that
did amazing ministry with the struggling and disenfranchised. Most notably it ministered
to people living with AIDS. As a Christian church, they stood in solidarity
with the most destitute and socially isolated community around. Keep in mind
they started doing this in the early 90s in Oklahoma. And as a part of their
solidarity with people living with AIDS, this community used the ritual of
laying on of hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> If you don’t know, what that looks
like, is the person receiving a blessing stands or sits in the middle of the
room, while the minister places a hand on that person’s head. Then, everyone in
the community is invited to come forward and reach out to place a loving hand
on the person, or to come in contact with someone who is. So that through
touch, everyone in the room is connected, with a single person in the middle of
this focus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> If you were here at my ordination
service a few years ago you saw and participated in this type of circle as my
ministry was confirmed and blessed through touch. Now at first glance, this
sort of physical blessing can look a little spooky. That’s what some people
thought of it in my ordination. Shortly afterward I heard one of my non-church
friends turned to the other and asked “Are we really going to do this?” It
smacks of faith healing and belief in miracles and all the sorts of magical
thinking that we tend to challenge as Unitarian Universalists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But I want to take you back to that
little church where I first encountered the ritual, the little church that
began as an AIDS ministry. What do you think that it might have meant for them
to lay hands upon those who were sick and hurting, those in need of support?
Yes, it meant that offering a blessing in this ritualized way, as Christians
have done for a very long time. But even more than that, I meant defying a
culture of exclusion, a culture that tells us that people living with AIDS are
sinful and dirty and untouchable. You see, insisting on using touch for this
sort of prayer was a radical act of solidarity with those who were suffering.
It was an act of defiance against the status quo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> What appears at first glance to be an
evangelical Christian practice can actually be a revolutionary endeavor. Ritual
isn’t always what it seams. Consider
what it means that same-sex couples want to participate in the ritual of
marriage. Their embracing of a traditional form is a pretty aggressive way of
saying we are here too, we want the same recognition as everyone else. Second
best isn’t good enough. That very traditional ritual becomes revolutionary. Or consider
the role that Spirituals have played in the American Black experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Swing
low, sweet chariot <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Coming
for to carry me home<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">If
you get there before I do <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Coming
for to carry me home<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Tell
all my friends, I’m coming too <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Coming
for to carry me home<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Hopefully we know enough about American
music and history to know that this song is not just about hope in the face of
death. It is also a resilient cry for freedom. It is a song of solidarity and
protest. We could choose to dismiss it as “too Christian.” But that would miss
the point, wouldn’t it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> How often do we interpret prayer, or
other people’s religious practices the same way? How often to we take what we
see at face value and ridicule it, without taking the time to learn about the
underlying concept? The fact is prayer is a multifaceted experience. It means a
great many different things to different faith communities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> To understand the meaning of a ritual,
you have to take its context into account. We offer prayers of the people in a
particular Unitarian Universalist context. We pray together, knowing that not
everyone in the room believes in prayer, and others embrace it whole-heartedly.
We pray with a deep investment in scientific discovery, as a community of
diverse faithful people committed to building a better world. And we offer up
in prayer our most intimate pains and joys. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Prayer isn’t simple, especially around
here. And when it is real, it contains our deepest sentiments. Perhaps it is
worth remembering that the word prayer stems from the Latin root of precarious.
It reminds us that prayer, the genuine article, remains an uncertain, even
scary, adventure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Often
we pray when there is nothing else that can be done. I shared in my Newsletter
column that I don’t pray very much any more. While I do meditate pretty
consistently these days, my prayer life has had an ebb and flow. But sometimes,
regardless of where I am in that ebb and flow, sometimes there’s nothing I can
do to fix a problem. I’m not talking about finding a parking spot, I’m talking
about having a broken heart, either for yourself or someone else. Sometimes all
you can do is pray, whether or not you believe it makes a difference or not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Having that opportunity alone is a
tremendous benefit. It’s part of why we have joys and sorrows and prayers for
the people. Because we all come to moments in our lives that we have done everything
we could to make things right. But sometimes, what we care most about is out of
our control. So we speak our hopes and our fears to one another, and to the
Universe. And in so doing, we are offered a bit of release. The opportunity to
lay your burdens down before another human being or before God is priceless. Getting
what you want in the end isn’t necessarily the point. The point is saying “Here,
this my heart is overflowing with need or joy. Here, can you hold some of this
for me because I have done what I can and I can’t do any more.” We ask for help, guidance, and healing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Prayer offers us an opportunity to let
go when we have done everything we can to make it right. And it can also do the
opposite. Just like we heard in our children’s story, prayer can give us the
courage to make change in our lives. I really loved the story this morning
because of the way you get to see prayer make an impact in her life. It wasn’t
about God pointing a finger and magically made the girl able to do something
she couldn’t before. This story was about a girl using prayer as a spiritual
discipline, as she considered the task before her. And before she even knew it
herself, she had expanded her horizon of what was possible. Through her praying
and dreaming and envisioning a different way, she empowered herself to do what
she really wanted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I want to unpack for a minute, the false
dichotomy that is often set up between prayer and action. I have heard Unitarian
Universalists state that time is wasted with prayer, time that could be spent
acting to make a difference in the world. We just talked about two ways that
that is not true. Prayer is deeply related to action in our life. Sometimes we
have done all we can do and we need to set our burden down to move on. And
sometimes, we need to steel ourselves up, we need to prepare for the struggle
ahead. And for many of us, prayer is a way of doing both of those things.
Prayer is not the opposite of action, it is in concert with action. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And some of us believe that prayer
itself is an action that has a real effect. I believe there is a healing power
in our exercise of prayers of the people I believe that having our pain
acknowledged by people that we love and trust is a critical and powerful step
in the healing process. Our communal prayer makes a difference in people’s lives.
As the Rev. Tom Owen-Towle puts it, “We
believe that our souls generate healing energy. We’re not talking about
superstition or magic, but prayer as an act by which we place another’s burden
[or joy] in the center of our consciousness.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This quote is especially powerful
because it also tells us what prayer is not for us as UUs. It is not
superstition or magic. When we pray here it isn’t for the forces of nature to
stop in their tracks. We don’t pray for magic to occur. We do pray for hope,
courage, and healing wherever and whenever it is possible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Many of us believe that prayer changes
things in the world. But what is much clearer is that prayer changes things in
our own heart and mind. Everyone has a story of why they first come to church,
and they are all good. One of our church leaders, Cal Hullihen, first came to
church because people who go to church live longer. It may sound funny, but
it’s true. People who engage their concept of the divine, or their highest
values to seriously bring meaning into their lives do live longer. Prayer is
good for the people who do it. Living out our values in community is good for
people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Prayer is good for people and living
out your values is good for people. For many in our community who are atheists,
prayer does not make sense. Some people, some of us believe that there is no
God and that the exercise of communicating with a void makes no sense. That is
certainly an important part of our Unitarian Universalist community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There is something very important to be
said about the atheists in our midst, both for them to hear, and for everyone
else to hear. Whether you call it religious or not, your commitment to live out
your values in this world is magnificent and holy and sacred and profound and
inspiring. Living out your highest values is everything that anyone can say
about the power of faith. Simply put, it is good, and it is worthy. What’s
more, and thank you Bruce Taylor for reminding me of this on Facebook, atheism
is a particular stance, that is the fruit of serious deliberation and thought.
It is a real and valid way of understanding our world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Belief in God, or participating in
prayer doesn’t validate anyone’s place in this community. The bravery to live
out of our highest ideals, the bravery to reach out and make our world a better
place, that is what we are most centrally about. And that is what we do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Before
we close today, I want to be clear with you about my purpose in focusing on
prayer this month. The purpose is not to convince you or anyone else that you
should pray. Many people in our community believe that prayer changes things,
that the Universe listens and responds. I know for some of you that makes
perfect sense, and for others it is complete hogwash. And both of those
responses to prayer are okay. But, my goal, our goal as a diverse religious
community is to build a place where each of us can cultivate the spiritual
practices that make sense to us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But more than that, we aim to build a
place where we can share safely with each other what those spiritual practices
are. Prayer is such a secret thing in our world. Secrets for two reasons, cover
up shame, or to maintain power over another person. There is nothing shameful
about praying, or not praying. There is nothing you need to hide here about
your spiritual practice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I know it is scary, but we can talk
about it. For just literally a couple of minutes, I would like you to turn to
the person seated next to you, and answer these two questions. Do you pray?
What does that mean to you? Of course no one is forcing you to answer these
questions, but I invite you to push yourself a little. Pick one person seated
next to you, and both of you answer the questions, do you pray? And What does
that mean for you? And be kind. Answering this question is just as strange and
scary for your neighbor as it is for you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Thank
you for sharing yourselves with one another. In that little conversation that
you just had, and here on Sunday mornings in worship. The power that we have as
a community comes only through your willingness to trust one another and be
gentle. When we do that, when we are able to talk honestly about our faith and
when we bring our hopes and sorrows with us to church and lift them up with a
clear voice, amazing things can happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Amen.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-56474513697143509762013-02-04T08:51:00.002-08:002013-02-04T08:51:34.410-08:00"Voices of Faith" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Voices of
Faith<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMGjymxiskccgCEoxLeESintWWv8-DCtrmAD5lvJLCwdIGLn4GIhMPGCiuNbJiwQoh22yzD9BZCBfyUC9_KV7fUo_fTOQADsKAg9uvyQk8geiw7I2p6NKrxL5v0WyX7ZsNisEqVEyEco/s1600/silhouette_at_sunset-sad_117120037_std.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMGjymxiskccgCEoxLeESintWWv8-DCtrmAD5lvJLCwdIGLn4GIhMPGCiuNbJiwQoh22yzD9BZCBfyUC9_KV7fUo_fTOQADsKAg9uvyQk8geiw7I2p6NKrxL5v0WyX7ZsNisEqVEyEco/s320/silhouette_at_sunset-sad_117120037_std.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> “God, grant me the serenity to accept
the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to
know the difference.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">~Reinhold
Niebuhr~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Some of us may stumble at the first
line of this prayer. Some of us may stumble at the word prayer. I understand
that. But exploring a little bit of how this prayer is most often used today
may help us as Unitarian Universalists get a better grasp of prayer in general.
This prayer, the serenity prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr, is best known today for its
role in Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step groups. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
beauty of Alcoholics Anonymous is that it revolves around people telling their
own story, and sharing with one another where they have found hope and meaning
in their own lives. It’s only fair to say that a good portion of that comes in
the form of religion, and faith in God. Some AA meetings take on a more
religious tone than others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But within AA and the twelve steps, there
is no test of creed. There is only a commitment to be a part of the group and
try to make your life better. Does that sounds familiar? It should. Because
that’s the way I explain Unitarian Universalism to anyone who asks. We have no
set doctrine, no specific thing that we all must believe in, but we agree to be
on a journey together as we improve our lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> You don’t have to believe any
particular thing. But in AA they talk a lot about belief in a higher power. The
second step of AA is “Come to believe that a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Power"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Power</span></a> greater than
ourselves could restore us to sanity.” Of course for many people that power is
God. But for lots and lots of others, that power is something different. It is
something like the power of human community, the power of the fecundity of
nature, the power of love. A number of different things are identified to help
those in recovery lean on some source outside of themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And
just in the way a power greater than him or her self can help a person in
recovery feel supported and gain perspective, any of us can replace the word
God in this prayer with whatever we hold in high esteem. Weather that is love,
community, nature, God or something completely different, calling upon our
highest ideals is a great place to start in our search for serenity and
perspective. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> “God, grant me the serenity to accept
the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to
know the difference.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This first prayer is all about finding
perspective in life. In fact all of the prayers that I will talk about hold
this as a key element, hoping to keep a focus on what we value most, so the
rest of life can fall into place. And who couldn’t use a little help with
finding perspective in life. It is a simple, beautiful, and helpful prayer for
just about anyone. And it resonates beautifully with our own religious
tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Our second prayer is not quite as
common as the other two prayers we are discussion today. But, this prayer from
Francis of Assisi makes its fair share of appearances. I especially wanted to
talk about it because it offers a pretty powerful bridge between traditional
Christian prayer, and other religious traditions, like Unitarian Universalism,
and believe it or not, Buddhism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> “Lord, make me an instrument of your
peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love, Where there is injury,
pardon Where there is doubt, faith, Where there is despair, hope, Where there
is darkness, light, Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I
may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, not so much to be understood
as to understand, not so much to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that
we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we
awake to eternal life.” ~St. Francis of Assisi~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> You have probably heard this prayer
before. But how much attention have you paid to it? I personally had pretty
thoroughly blocked this one out of my consciousness. I hear the words and my
brain shuts off, because it evokes an idea of God that doesn’t mesh easily with
my own. But this week I took the challenge to dig deeper. And what I found was
pretty interesting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> From the very beginning, the prayer
echoes my own sense of the value of prayer. And it is, I think, why many
Unitarian Universalists pray. It’s not a prayer to get something, it’s not a
request to the cosmic cash machine. This prayer is about making ourselves more
action oriented. It is about making the person praying an instrument for sacred
peace. “Make me and instrument of your peace,” is a way of verbalizing a deep
yearning to live up to our highest ideals. Of course it goes on from peace to a
whole litany of values that we long to embody. But at the core, this prayer is
about finding strength and courage to live out our convictions in our daily
lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> My biggest challenge with this prayer,
is that it begins to sound pretty pious near the end. It asks “grant that I may
not so much seek to be consoled as to console, not so much to be understood as
to understand, not so much to be loved, as to love; ” Don’t get me wrong, these
are obviously very noble and good objectives. But honestly, how many of us
truly want to reflect these priorities in our lives? How many of us want to
love others more than to receive love ourselves. It’s a very tall order.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But there is a lens through which it
makes more sense. It echoes strongly the Buddhist understandings of compassion.
You see, within the Buddhist framework, life is full of suffering. It never
ends. But, when we focus on the needs of others and begin to alleviate their
suffering, we begin to put our own suffering into perspective. We heal our own
wounded heart by healing others. That’s what the practice of compassion is
about in Buddhism, in a very, very ridiculously small nutshell. It is a huge
challenge, the religious journey of a lifetime, but in consoling, understanding,
and loving others, we reap the fruit of those actions ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And finally, the closing phrase is a
hard pill to swallow. “It is in dying that we awake to eternal life.” This is a
very nuanced statement about Christian salvation. Death, here is a reference to
dying in Christ and Baptism. It’s actually quite complicated theology that is
worlds away from how we might understand this line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But, strangely, it’s not all that far
away from the Buddhist concept I was just referring to. It’s about losing
ourselves to something great. When we lose our self, when we let go of ego and
focus on the bigger picture, we forget our own personal needs and see our life
in a wider context. We are invited to lose our self in a stream of life that
continues far beyond our breath. For Christians and undoubtedly for St.
Francis, it was about God and Jesus, but ultimately it is about finding hope in
something larger than ourselves, especially as we face our own limitations. “It
is in dying that we awake to eternal life.” These words could just have easily
come from a Buddhist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Before we move on to another prayer, I
have to share with you one really fun gem I found in preparing for this sermon.
I was fascinated to find that Francis of Assisi’s life story is strikingly
similar to that of the Buddha. St. Francis was the son of a wealthy foreign
cloth merchant. After receiving a vision, he went on a pilgrimage to Rome where
he joined with beggars at St. Peter’s Basilica where he learned to renounce
luxury. His spiritual journey was about letting go of material goods. And as he
found new hope and meaning in that letting go, he began to share his message
and his lifestyle with whole communities of followers. They gathered in groups,
in intentional communities dedicated to living out this simple way of life. If
you know the Buddha’s story, it is shockingly similar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Through hearing this prayer, this voice
of faith, we hear two great spiritual leaders sharing a common understanding of
the world. Though we only have time to look at three prayers today, my hunch is
that if we looked at the prayers of different spiritual teachers, we would find
much more commonality than difference. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> The
last prayer for today is easily the most common in the United States, The
Lord’s Prayer. I know you have heard this, at the very least in movies. And I
know many of you grew up saying it. “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy
name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us
this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our
debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine
is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.” --- Matthew 6:9-13<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This prayer is perhaps so common because
it comes straight from the source. In two different books of the Bible, in
Matthew and in Luke, Jesus is asked how his followers should pray, and this is
what he offers to them. Just as interesting as the content of the prayer
though, is how Jesus instructed them to go about praying. He tells his
disciples, look, don’t be like the hypocrites who pray in public in; prayer
isn’t a show, it’s a private conversation between you and God. You don’t
need to be articulate; God knows your need. When he talks about prayer, Jesus
paints a picture of a deep and intimate relationship with the Divine. It’s far
different from the formal religion that took place in Temples during his time. We
often forget it, but just about everything he said and did was countercultural
in his time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> That idea of an intimate relationship comes
out from the very beginning of the prayer. “Our Father, who art in heaven.” For
most of us, this first line drips with sexism and patriarchy. But you have to
remember context. This prayer is over two thousand years ago in a different
language. I was fascinated to find this
week that this may not be the best translation. The word Jesus consistently
used was “Abba,” which means basically, “Daddy.” It is a much more
intimate image than the word Father tends to bring us. It’s calling upon
something on which we depend for our being. I know this isn’t an idea of the
divine that resonates with all of us. But it is pretty powerful to know that
when Jesus told his follower how to pray, it wasn’t to a stern and separate
father figure, it was to a more intimate and personal Poppa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The other piece of this prayer that is striking
is that it is in the first person plural. “Our Father, give us, forgive us,
lead us.” But we just heard that Jesus recommended praying alone, and that’s
what he typically did. Jesus talked a lot about an individual’s faith and
relationship with the divine, but he also insisted that we as individuals are
responsible to a wider community in our faith. You may remember these little
phrases, “Whoever does this to the least of these does it to me; who is your
neighbor; feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless.” Jesus was
not just interested in an individual’s faith. He was deeply invested in healthy
and compassionate human community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> “Our Father, give us, forgive us, lead
us.” All of the first person plural brings us back to the beginning of the
prayer, the idea of the kingdom of God. Throughout his ministry Jesus taught
that the kingdom of God, the perfect community, was ours to create. It is woven
and depends on human community. It can’t be done by one person alone. The
saying isn’t the kingdom of God is in you, the individual. But, the kingdom of
God is among you, the people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The most popular prayer in Western
Christianity hinges on a communal religious experience. Give us, forgive us,
lead us, all together as we seek a better way of being in this world. And this
is the foundation of our faith as Unitarian Universalists, not the details of
the kingdom of God, but the collective nature of the project. Regardless of
what we believe or don’t believe about God and the Bible, we here agree that
the real sacred work is not that of an individual faith life. The real work is
a collective project. As we together seek nourishment, as we seek forgiveness,
as we seek a right path, we do it together, and we offer these same gifts to
one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Today we have looked at a few of the
most commonly known prayers. Because we are here in the United States, they
happened to be Christian prayers. But I want us to remember that prayer isn’t
something that any one person or one tradition owns. For those who do it,
prayer is just something that emerges from our hearts to the Universe, in times
of need, celebration and gratitude. Some of us, some of you do it. For other’s
it is a curious exercise. But I want to remind you all that prayer is something
that belongs to us as Unitarian Universalists, just as much as any tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I selected our closing hymn today
because it has become one of the most beloved Unitarian Universalist prayers.
The words reflect our common investment in the spirit of life, healing our
pains and moving us toward creating a more justice. Would you please join me
now in singing one a prayer from our own Unitarian Universalist community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-49283492130682894592013-01-28T13:38:00.000-08:002013-01-28T13:38:12.540-08:00"An Open Invitation" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“An Open
Invitation”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
mentioned last week that covenant is a core component of who we are as a
religious traditions. But I didn’t talk much about what that means. Today I
want to talk about the idea of covenant and what it means for our relationship
to this church. And perhaps more importantly, the way our Fellowship can offer
an open invitation to join us on the journey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> We know a covenant is an agreement
between people. The easiest point of comparison for today’s world is a
contract. But a covenant isn’t so cut and dry. A covenant is more about an
expression of good intentions and ongoing relationship rather than specific
requirements. A covenant says that I will do my best, with the understanding
that you will do your best. And though we might occasionally let one another down,
we are committed to building this relationship and the institution around it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Hopefully that reminds you of our
Fellowship today. We gather together and bring what we can to share and grow.
But that arrangement didn’t just come out of the lovely group of Unitarians who
came together here in Laguna Beach 65 years ago. It grew out of a uniquely
American religious experience long, long before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">If you can, imagine North America in the mid
1600s with un-united colonial governments and small religious groups popping up
all over the place. There were some orderly Anglican churches, but also a
slough of small Puritan and Congregational churches. Each one had their own
slightly different theology and way of governing themselves. In 1648 the government of Massachusetts called
for some sense of order amongst these churches. Remember at this time the
government was still relating to the church as an organization. The government
needed some framework for understanding how the churches were organizing
themselves. As a response to that need, the Cambridge Platform was written.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4470085195591774041#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Here is a picture of it. This document,
the Cambridge Platform became the blue print for congregational polity that we
still largely follow today. It included the right of each parish to call its
own minister, to control its own property and funds, and to determine criteria
for church membership.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4470085195591774041#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
It’s pretty radical if you compare those rights to the Church of England.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">All
of those are huge pieces of church autonomy. But the piece we are focusing on
today is about membership, who is invited in and who is kept out. Outside of
the strictures of top-down religious institutions, these new American religious
communities used covenants as the basis of understanding who was a part of
their community. Covenants were written and signed by all the members of each
congregation and they reflected the promises that members made to one another
and to God. What I want to point out here is that the covenant was understood
consistently as a promise involving God. Members of the Puritan churches
committed themselves to one another, but God was the foundation of that
commitment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> It is precarious to talk much about
Unitarian Universalist history because the theology seems so removed from who
we are as a tradition today. Some of us are comfortable with invoking God in
our promises to one another. But just as many of us have no understanding or
interest in recognizing God, much less grounding our commitments in God. Our
beliefs today are just too varied to be summed up with the “G word”, and that’s
okay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText2">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"> The
rest of Unitarian Universalist history, the portion most obviously produced the
congregations we know today, is, a continually widening search for truth and
meaning. We have accepted broader and broader sources of truth and wisdom. Today
we maintain different beliefs and share one religious community. It’s quite an
odd project if you think about it. What we end up with is Unitarian
Universalism. We are a covenantal, rather than a creedal religious tradition.
At the foundation, we rely on an agreement of supporting one another, rather
than a creed that we all subscibe to. We are covenental rather than creedal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But as we heard in the historical
context, covenant is not simply a promise between people. Historically a
covenant is a promise that is based on a faith, a relationship with God. I’m
concerned that in a wonderful expansion of theological diversity, we have
forgotten to deal with the “God” component of covenant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Of course it doesn’t have to be the big GOD that
we bring into our covenant. But it has to be something. Think for a moment about
the really committed relationships in your life. They may be with your family,
you children, or a career. What is the great loving compulsion that keeps you
in these relationships. It is likely to be different for different people, but
we each have something that drives our deepest commitment. You may not even be
able to describe it; maybe you can feel it. But I want you to identify that
thought or feeling that grounds your most profound relationships.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Now imagine with me what it might look like to
infuse your relationship with this congregation with that same loving
compulsion. What would it look like to reaffirm the role of God, or your
highest ideals in your covenant with this faith-community. I am thoroughly convinced
that it is time for us to make that infusion, and to make it quickly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
told a few people this week that I was excited about writing today’s sermon. It’s
not so much the details of covenant that I am excited about. I already knew
most of that. What I was excited about, what I am excited about is a very new
way of understanding hospitality. I realized we have been going about this
conversation all wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Unitarians across the country and we
here in this congregation have talked about growth and radical hospitality. We
have talked about how to welcome visitors and make sure that guests feel
welcomed into our churches. It’s a really well intended idea of reaching out
and being kind. That was the initial idea of this sermon. But this week I
finally realized something. That whole conversation of hospitality depends on
one very big, and very wrong assumption, the assumption that this is <b>our</b> church. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Last week I talked some about our
mission, about why does this institution exist. Today I want to raise an
equally important question. Whose church is this? To whom does UUFLB belong?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We
have a Board of trustees that is ultimately accountable for the financial and
legal wellbeing of the Fellowship. They are trustees, entrusted with the
responsibility to carry out the mission. But they are not owners. In a similar
way, I am generally responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of our community.
But ministers come and go, and while I serve this Fellowship now, it is not
mine with ultimate authority either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There are a few other possible options.
One is that it belongs to the founders, those who have put in the money and
time building it. Though we don’t have any of the original signers of the
charter with us left today. Perhaps we could say that it belongs to all of us.
But today I want to pose an alternative answer. I have come to believe that our
church, if it is truly to be a church, belongs to no one. It is in fact a
vehicle to manifest the inherent truths that we hold dear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This is not my church. This is not your
church. We are not called to be hospitable to the outsiders, because we in fact
are all guests here. We are all guests at the welcome table. The idea of
hospitality is based on the assumption that some people are hosts and other
people are guests. But we are all guests of this embodiment of love. We come
here to celebrate, to witness, to mourn. And we help others to experience what
we have found here. But no one owns the spirit of the church. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Talking about the type of community
that Unitarian Universalists build, Rev. John Burens writes “It is about having
the faith that we can together feed the many who are hungry – because, just
like Jesus is said to have fed five thousand with two fishes and a few loaves
of bread, with plenty left over, we need to operate out of an awareness of
abundance, not a model of scarcity.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> We are not the most Biblically literate
bunch around here, but this is a story that I think most of us are familiar
with. Having only two fish and a few loaves of bread, Jesus is said to have fed
five thousand people in one of his most celebrated miracles. But this miracle
doesn’t rest in Jesus’ hands alone. It rests in the miracle of a community
sharing together. It is a testament that the whole is greater than the sum of
its parts. It is about a church being more than the people within it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> In many ways, our Fellowship is the
story of the loaves and the fishes. Like you, I have seen people’s lives
changed here. I have seen miraculous relationships occur. It is a miraculous
table overflowing with abundance. And the truth is, we are <b>all</b> guests, not miracle workers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We
are all guests to this miraculous party. And what’s more, none of us did
anything special to earn the invitation to participate. The door was open and
we found our way in, not because of some great talent or skill, not because we
paid the price for admission. We were offered a seat just for walking through
the door. The handful of us who were raised UU didn’t even have to do that. We
were literally carried in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And
that my friends, is grace. Being offered a place in a community of love, a
community that affirms that every soul is sacred and worthy, a community that
welcomes you as you are. Being offered a place in that community is grace, a
gift, an unearned and un-earnable gift. And it is a reason to celebrate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> I want to revisit the reading that we
did earlier. It’s from the famous Universalist John Murray. He said “Go out
into the highways and by-ways. Give the people something of your new vision.
You may posses a small light, but uncover it, let it shine, use it in order to
bring more light and understanding to the hearts and minds of men and women.
Give them not hell, but hope and courage; preach the kindness and everlasting
love of God.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> John
Murray was a great evangelical. But I want you to remember where his zeal came
from. It wasn’t from a mission to grow the church. In fact most of the young
ministers he inspired were circuit riders. They preached their new message traveling
from town to town, collecting what money they could, but never having a real
church to call their home. He didn’t spread the message of the universal love
of God because he wanted to build an institution. He preached it because he
felt blessed, he felt like he had to respond to the tremendous grace that
exposed him to the comfort of a religious message of hope and love, rather than
sin and punishment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
thing I love most about this John Murray quote, is that though it was uttered
some two hundred years ago it is just as meaningful today. “Give the people
something of your vision. Use your truth to bring more light and understanding
to the hearts and minds of men and women. Give them not hell, but hope and
courage.” Outside these walls the need for hope and courage persists today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> This is not your church. It is not my
church nor does it belong to any other person. This church is here to be the
embodiment of our shared ideals, an embodiment of hope and love. So don’t grasp
too tightly. In the past couple of months I have been throwing around the
phrase, “loving each other to death.” One of the really powerful things about
this community is the love that we have for one another. But it’s my deep fear
that you are loving each other to death. We are holding on so tightly to the
people that are here already, we you forget that an entire town and wider
community could be really changed by our message. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> I’ll say it one more time. This is not
your church. And it’s not anyone else’s church either. The power of this
community goes far beyond the individual people. We have had the grace to be
welcomed into this community of love. It’s time for us all to respond to that
grace, by offering what we have found here to others in need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">-Amen-<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
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<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4470085195591774041#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>David
E. Bumbaugh, <u>Unitarian Universalism: A Narrative History</u>, (Meadevill
Lombard Press: 2000, Chicago), 98.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4470085195591774041#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>Mark
W. Harris, <u>Historical Dictionary of Unitarian Universalism</u>, (The
Scarecrow Press, inc.: Maryland, 2004), 86.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-11537469064082930852013-01-21T10:48:00.001-08:002013-01-21T10:50:36.311-08:00"Building the Beloved Community" - Sermon<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">Building the Beloved
Community<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today after our worship service, we will
hold the annual business meeting of our congregation. At this meeting you, the
members will vote to elect new trustees to the Board, approve a budget, and
make some adaptations to our bylaws. I know this sounds somewhat dry, but it is
actually quite important, especially this year. We are facing some real
economic challenges and this congregation has to make some hard decisions about
how it can best fulfill its mission.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> So today I want to indulge in a bit
of navel gazing and talk about the life of this congregation. With this sort of
meeting occurring it’s important that we gain some context for how we are doing
as a congregation, and coming to a clear understanding of our mission as the
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Laguna Beach. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> That’s not an easy thing to pinpoint
for a church: what is our mission, why do we exist? For corporations, they make
things and perhaps more importantly, they make money for their share-holders.
That’s definitely not our mission. Most other churches exist to save souls or
promulgate a particular message. While we do have a message, it’s not quite so
neatly defined. It’s easy to say why we do, we have worship services, and
activities and pastoral care. We have this building that we take care of, but
why? Why do we exist as an institution?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> The Unitarian Universalist
theologian Rebecca Parker, tells us that liberal religion, churches like ours
exist for four reasons. Equally important and interwoven, these four things
constitute the mission of our faith. First, stand in opposition to forces of
destruction. We come together to resist systems of oppression and exploitation
that divide peoples and separate all of humanity from the earth. I call this
having a prophetic voice. We exist to stand in vocal opposition to a dominant
cultural paradigm of materialism, oppression, separation, and exploitation. We
exist to say no those values of violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Secondly, we come together to
provide an alternative way of being in the world. We exist to model covenantal
community, the power of people freely joining in a community to share their
resources for the benefit of all. This is a commitment to create the beloved
community, a place of mutual respect and growth. It won’t be perfect, but our
mission is to come as close to that dream as possible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Third, we exist to create rituals
that nurture our spiritual and psychological well-being. It mostly happens in
Sunday morning worship, but also in a variety of other ways. We provide
opportunities for transformative worship, opportunities to engage in spiritual
disciplines that give shape, value, and meaning to our lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> And finally, we exist to deepen and
broaden our minds so we might better understand our world and our place in it.
Religion is not all about personal experience of spirituality. It also requires
some serious discernment, learning about different possibilities and
perspective, so that at the end of the day, we can settle into what beliefs
make sense to us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Those are the four things Rebecca
Parker says we are in the business of. In my words, I would say that our mission
has four pieces: prophetic voice, covenantal community, transformative worship,
and expansive education. With that in mind, this coming year I plan to focus my
attentions primarily on the second piece of our mission, covenantal community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> The title of this sermon after all
is Building the Beloved Community. You can call it what you will, but part of
our mission is to build a radically inclusive mutually supportive community. It
is what makes us who we are; it is what makes our work holy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Rev. Tom Owen-Towel writes, “Alone I
don’t stand on holy ground nor do you: ground becomes holy when we move beyond
our previous biases into realms we haven’t yet ventured, trusting that sacred
possibilities lie before us. Ground becomes holy when we migrate to a higher
plateau that includes each of our visions but transcends us all. Ground becomes
holy because of our willingness to stand together on it.” Our Fellowship
becomes holy because of our willingness to transcend personal agendas and move
together to a higher ground. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Every Sunday I open our worship with
the words, “This hour is sacred because we make it so.” And I deeply believe
that. In the same way, this building, this institution is sacred because we
make it so. Not just because we imbue it with some sense of importance. It is
sacred because we bless it with the holiness of our mutually loving commitment
to one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> If we are to fulfill our mission, if
we are to be a sacred space, then we have some work to do in repairing our
covenantal community. I’ll talk about what I think that should look like in
just a minute, but for now, I want to give some context of where we stand today
as a congregation and a faith tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I really dislike using statistics in
sermons, but I don’t know of any other way to talk about this. We currently
have 85 members. And our membership is running about even year to year. Between
2011 and 2012 we had a slight increase in Sunday morning attendance by adults, and
a slight decrease in the attendance of Children. In participation year to year,
we are running about even. By the way, Sunday morning attendance is widely
considered as the most important measure of church vitality, and the budget
comes in a close second. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Speaking of budgets, you the members
and friends of this congregation have committed to giving $100,000 in 2013.
That is a significant increase from last year, and the highest pledged income our
Fellowship has seen possibly ever. So boiling that all down, our membership and
attendance has stayed pretty steady, and our giving has increased. That’s where
we stand as a congregation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> But we do not stand alone. To
understand these numbers it is also important that we look at our wider
context. Our faith tradition, Unitarian Universalism is not really thriving
these days. In fact we have been on a gradual but real decline in membership
for the past decade. Along with that decline has been a significantly shrinking
budget. Simply put, Unitarian Universalism is slowly contracting; our
Fellowship is not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> We also need to understand the way
our small congregation fits into the wider picture. We are indeed a small
congregation with 85 members. But we are not unusual in that regard. Fifty
percent of Unitarian Universalist congregations have fewer than 100 members.
Let me repeat that, half of the UU congregations are small, just like us. We
are not an anomaly, outside horse, underdog of a congregation. We are actually
quite normal in size. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> You hear a good deal about large UU
churches because that is where most of the growth takes place in our movement.
In general, large churches are growing, while smaller churches are shrinking.
To be even more specific, the older small congregations are shrinking, while
new ones are growing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Where I’m going with all of this is
that we are beating the odds. Our faith tradition is shrinking, and most of
that loss is being sustained in older small congregations like our own. But we
are doing okay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> The bottom line is, we are not
growing by leaps and bounds, but we are beating the odds. We are doing
something right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> We are doing something right, and I
am fully convinced that we can do even better, especially when we attend to the
covenantal community piece of our mission. There are a few ways that I want to
help us better live into that piece of our mission. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> First, we need to pay more attention
to building and maintaining healthy committees in the congregation. We have a
few committees that operate beautifully. I’m thinking particularly of the
worship and social action committees. Then we have a few that are marginally
functional, and we have a few that exist in name only. Some of these committees
are supposed to be supporting core pieces of our life together. We need to pay
more attention to our committees. It is still our responsibility to
make sure these committees are up are running. I need your help with this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Also, this year we need to get a
better grasp of what this word covenant means. Today may be the first time some
of you have heard or thought seriously about the word. But, covenant is a
foundation of the history of our religious tradition and it is the basic
assumption of how we are organized. It is a commitment to mutual respect and
growth, a commitment to build a sacred space together, even while we let go of
some of our own personal agenda. As we learn more about covenant, it is my deep
hope that this year our congregation will revisit and rewrite the covenant that
our members embrace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> But the work of the coming year is
not all technical; it is also cultural. I preached about this a few months ago;
we still some underlying unspoken differences about what we want our church to
be. There is still an elephant in the room. We have two different cultures
within the congregation, one focused on unconditional love, and the other
focused on creating an excellent church. We have a lot of work to do to bridge
this gap and to see that actually the two goals are very much the same. I only
want to lift this up right now. We will unpack it in the months to come,
starting next week. Suffice it to say, as we focus on covenant in the coming
year some of those differences will come to the surface and need to be dealt
with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> So what I have described here is a
lot of work, and its not particularly attractive. It is committees and
documents and studying the word covenant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> But please understand that building
our covenanted community is about more than structural underpinnings of an
organization. It is also about building the beloved community, modeling to
ourselves and the world how we can be together in compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Part of church, a big part of church
is about building a place that is different from the rest of the world. The
community here is based on sharing what you can. That’s what the financial
commitment of pledging is based on, giving what you can. And we ask the same
thing in volunteer hours and skills, bring what you can to the table. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> And from those plentiful resources,
we share evenly among the community gathered. I want you to hear that this is a
radical way of living in the world. It is not what happens every day. It’s not
the way our capitalist economy operates. It’s not the picture of accumulating
personal property and wealth that we see on television. Participating in covenantal
community is revolutionary. Not because it is a church, but because it is different,
it is lifesaving, and its living a life that we are called to live. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Tomorrow we will celebrate a day
dedicated to a great creator of beloved community, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. He was a brilliant organizer of committees, and he held a deeply inspiring
vision for the future. One indispensible part of that vision was
multigenerational commitment to building the future. While I was reading up on
King, I was reminded of the radical incorporation of young people in the civil
rights movement. This had never been done before, inviting children to protest
non-violently. It had never been done and it achieved a success that I think
shocked the adult leaders of the movement. King describes the deep commitment
that these children had, even defying their parents’ wishes. He writes an
account hearing from one of these exchanges:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">“Daddy,” the boy said,” I don’t want to
disobey you, but I have made my pledge. If you try to keep me home, I will
sneak off. If you think I deserve to be punished for that, I’ll just have to
take the punishment. For, you see, I’m not doing this only because I want to be
free. I’m doing it also because I want freedom for you and Mama, and I want it
to come before you die.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Just seven years earlier at the bus
boycotts King heard from participants that they were in the struggle for their
children and their grandchildren. By the time the freedom struggle hit
Montgomery, the children were doing it for their parents. King knew that
building the beloved community crossed not only racial, gender, and class
lines, it also spanned the generations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Church is one of the few places in
our modern world where intergenerational relationships are encouraged. We do
our best to create a place where young Unitarian Universalists can thrive. We
actually do a very good job of it. But we have to remember that in return,
those same children contribute their light to helping build this beloved
community. We see this in our young men who are volunteering in our sound booth
Connor, and Dale. But we also see it in the smiles, hugs, and wisdom that come
from all the children who gather with us on Sunday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;"> Please don’t mistake this as my
weighing in on our budget discussion that will come later. I personally have
very mixed feelings about the budget and I’m somewhat relieved that I as your
minister won’t be voting at the meeting. What I do want to say is that
educating our children is not only a cost. It is also an investment in our
future. And their presence is a priceless asset to this beloved community. The
presence and commitment of each of you regardless of age gender race physical
ability or anything else, your presence is priceless, and our future together
rests our shared commitment to building the beloved community here in our
midst. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">-Amen-</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-90952962032199340282013-01-07T13:05:00.001-08:002013-01-07T13:05:08.094-08:00"The Art of Winning and Losing" - Sermon
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Art of Winning and
Losing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week I found myself in a little bit
of an intellectual bind. It is not rare, but it was especially true this week.
On Wednesday evening, some of us began a discussion group for the book “Twelve
Steps to a Compassionate Life,” by Karen Armstrong. We had a great talk about
the role of love in compassion and the difference between helping others out of
obligation and helping others out of a sense of caring. And we talked about
some of the great religious traditions and teachers who illuminated the path to
compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The very next day, I sat down to
write this sermon about engaging in competition and winning or losing with
grace. I found myself forced to reconcile these two great pieces of our life,
compassion and competition. I guess the simple way to look at the question is
this: does the golden rule apply to competition? Is it possible to engage in
competition with compassion in our hearts? It isn’t simple, but I think it is
possible, and I think it is something that gets done more that we acknowledge. The
question of winning and losing gracefully, really comes down to how we play the
game, how we engage in competition. Do we do it to diminish an opponent, or do
we do it to seek a higher purpose for everyone involved? How do we compete with
compassion?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> In her introduction to her book on
compassion, Karen Armstong starts with a very scientific perspective. She writes
about the old brain and the new brain. Old and new here aren’t about the age of
a person, they are about the way that the human brain has developed over
millennia through evolution. You see we still have the old portion of our
brain, the reptilian self-defense mechanism. As Armstrong puts it, the old brain
is only concerned with the four Fs: feeding, fighting, fleeing, and …
reproduction. This is the brain that we have in common with the simplest of
animals. We have heard of fight or flight response, we know these things come
at the base of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. We are animals and at a base level
we are hard wired to survive in a sometimes harsh world. We have an old brain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> But over millennia we developed a
“new brain” which is home of the reasoning powers. Our capacity for reason and
love came with amazing physical adaptation, namely a larger head. Over time we
developed larger skulls to make room for this giant brain. We even adapted the
course of childbirth. Because a large head makes childbirth more difficult,
humans evolved to give birth to less mature infants who would be dependent on
their mothers for a tremendous amount of time, to allow the birth of a body
with a head large enough for our amazing brains. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This new brain must have been a
tremendous advantage to drive those changes in evolution. And in deed it is.
Our new brain enables us to reflect on the world around us and to be conscious
of ourselves in that world. And along with that ability to for critical thought
comes the capacity for compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I wanted to talk about this new
brain and old brain idea for two different reasons as we talk about
competition. First, is that natural selection and the survival of the fittest
is so grossly misunderstood and misrepresented in conversations about
competition. Social Darwinists have claimed for centuries that we are animals
and we evolved to excellence through competition. They say competition is a
good thing because it weeds out he week and empowers the strong. Competition is
the natural order of things and it establishes a fruitful power structure and
division of resources. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This is simply bad science. It is
well intended, but bad science. It’s true that like other animals, we evolved
through competition. But the fruit of that evolution is a capacity to cooperate,
to love, and to share our resources equitably. Compassion is just as much a
part of our DNA as competition is. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Fighting is no more natural for us than embracing, and competition is no more
natural for us than cooperating. Nature is no justification for human
oppression. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The other reason I wanted to bring
up these two brains, the old and the new, is that no matter how evolved we are,
the old brain never goes away. Our drive for the four Fs, our need to feed, fight,
flee, or… reproduce never disappears. A part of our basic biology is an
inclination to compete for resources. But look around and you will see for most
of us, our basic needs for survival are more than adequately met. But we still
have this desire, this passion to do something that is no longer necessary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> It seems to me, that compassionate
competition, competition within some agreed upon constraints is actually a good
way to navigate our way between the old brain and the new brain. It seems to me
that rather than posing competition and compassion as necessary opposites, we
can actually use friendly competition to build a working relationship between
the old brain and the new brain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> How many of you have been, or are
involved in some form of competitive sport? And how many of you have learned
something about yourself through that process?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The chances are very good that what
you learned was about pushing yourself to achieve more than you thought
possible. I know that’s what I learned about from swimming in high-school. Yes,
it felt good to win, and I was actually pretty good. As a formerly awkward
non-athletic child, I actually surprised myself by how well I did. But what was
even more surprising was much I could push myself to improve. Swimming is hard work.
I remember being totally exhausted, gasping for air, and knowing that the in
five seconds it was time to push off that wall and start swimming again, fast.
But I did it; I got through it. I learned to push myself in ways that I had
never known before. I had a great time in those hours and hours of practice
with equally committed and supportive teammates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> What we learn through compassionate
competition is an appreciation not for winning, but an appreciation for doing
our best, an appreciation for excellence, and the journey it takes to get
there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The art of winning and losing really
comes down to why we play the game. If we play to feel like we are somehow
superior to another person, the chances are pretty darn good that in winning or
in losing we will be, well, a jerk. But, if we play the game because we love
it, because we want to improve ourselves, or because we like the relationships
that it builds, then winning and losing with grace becomes a much more
realistic prospect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This whole topic of winning and
losing well came up because of our monthly worship theme. For January we are
focusing in the concept of Grace in our worship services. Grace is a huge
complex theological concept, rooted mostly in the Christian tradition. Grace is
all about getting a chance to do better, getting an unearned opportunity to direct
our lives away from destruction and toward life. Grace is a second chance one a
cosmic level. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Most models of grace come through
the power of the divine to intercede in our lives and offer new opportunities.
To varying degrees that makes sense. But there is a Unitarian Universalist
concept of grace that I think we can all sink our teeth into. One of our
Unitarian Universalist theologians talks about grace as having the good fortune
to fall in love with the right thing. Rev. Marjorie Bowen-Wheatley writes that
grace is falling in love with a worthy reality, not being able to help loving
someone or something worth loving. Grace is falling in love with things that
are worthy of our love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Graceful competition, or graceful
winning and losing then, means engaging in competition for the sake of a higher
ideal than ourselves. It may be for the fun of the game, it may be for the
common pursuit of excellence, or even some nobler idea. But graceful
competition means loving something, not hating our opponent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> One possible goal to focus on is
excellence. Not being better than another person that you are competing
against, but understanding that all of those competing are aiming to be the
best in their field, whatever it may be. Whether it is in sports, academia, or
even democratic government, competition is used as a means to move toward and
to celebrate excellence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This sort of training for excellence
is what I typically think of in the Olympics. Occasionally we get a story of
personal competition between great athletes or great teams. But more than that,
the Olympic games are an opportunity for the entire world to celebrate
excellence in achievement. It’s about celebrating together the great
accomplishments that are possible. We all know that the Olympics is supposed to
be an apolitical sporting event. But I was interested to know that that has
always been the purpose. In the midst of the fiercest athletic competition
individuals and nations put aside personal differences to celebrate excellence.
Historical records indicate that the Olympic games began around 776 BC. In that
time an Olympic truce was called between city-states so that athletes could
safely travel to the games. Then, as now there was some politicking involved as
government officials jockeyed for public attention, but the real focus was on
the athletic excellence that each nation-state sent forth as a representative. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">But competition doesn’t just cultivate excellence
in sports. It also is a tool for cultivating great art and great ideas. Though
it seems civilized, academia is an incredibly competitive environment. To be
taken serious you have to prove your ideas against the voice of those who
oppose you. In the grand market place of ideas, you have to prove that what you
produce is a good product, better than your peers even. We also depend on a
market place of ideas for our political system. Democracy is at its core a
competition of opposing ideas and a competition between different potential
leaders. Different ideas or different candidates are presented to the public,
for a debate, a competition to clarify which makes more sense for the good of
the whole community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Compassionate competition also has a
great capacity for building relationships. If we hold in our hearts mutual
respect rather than disdain for the other, a great bond can be forged through competing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just before I sat down to write this
sermon I went to drop off my rent check with my landlord. She also went to the
University of Oklahoma so she reminded me about the OU / Texas football game being played that day.
This is a SERIOUS rivalry if you know anything about college football. And she
said something peculiar. She said she was going to get out her OU hat and sweat
shirt to watch the game, and get her five dollar bill. So of course I had to
ask, “What five-dollar bill?”<b> </b>It’s
the same $5 bill that she brings out every year when OU plays against Texas.
It’s the same $5 bill that she won betting against her father. You see they had
an annual tradition of watching this particular football game and betting on
it. The last year they watched it before he died, she won the $5 bet. And she
sill has the bill as a reminder of her relationship with her dad and all the
time they shared watching football over the decades. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> If we set our sights on the right
thing, if we engage in competition because of a love of excellence or for
building our relationships, it can do great things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This may sound odd, but I think
there is a huge lesson in this conversation for us as a religious community. We
are a Fellowship, a church, a Unitarian Universalist community. We are a
religious organization and we compete in a market place of ideas with other
religious organizations. That’s right, we compete in a market place of ideas
with other religious organizations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> And we have a very bad habit of
dismissing our competitors. As Unitarian Universalists we tend to root for the
under dog. We like small churches that align themselves with the oppressed. And
that is a beautiful thing. But it seems to me that rather than dismissing those
churches who have grown, especially the ones that are dynamic and flourishing,
instead of dismissing them as somehow different, we should try and learn from
what they have done to achieve their excellence. Rooting for the underdog is a
fine thing. But it should never blind us from the fact that someone is winning
the competition. And if they have been winning the competition consistently,
they probably have some tremendous effort or skills that others could learn
from.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> On the group level we tend to think
of those other large growing dynamic churches as somehow different and we don’t
see ourselves in competition with them. And we do the same thing on the
individual level. I know many of us are afraid of telling others about
Unitarian Universalism. We think that that’s just not the UU way. Well for one,
that’s just not accurate. Universalists were some of the best evangelizers of
American religious history. Sharing the good news of universal salvation is a
part of our history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I said earlier that we compete in a
market place of ideas with other religious groups. I want you to consider what
it means that we typically refrain from this competition. Why do we refrain, on
an individual level? Why don’t we share the truth that we have found here? Is
it because we think that other people don’t need what we have found here and
love? Is it because we are intimidated by another idea and we don’t stand a
chance in the competition? Is it because we think our idea is too good to share
with others? What is it that makes sharing Unitarian Universalism in the market
place of ideas so unthinkable to most of us? I have a very strong feeling that
it has to do with competition, and our fear of losing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> So to answer the question from
earlier, yes, the golden rule does apply to competition. In fact it is that
very rule that dictates our ability to win or lose with grace. The art of
winning and losing is really the art of entering a contest with a compassionate
heart, hoping not to diminish another person, but instead to mutually grow in
knowledge, skill and in love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-17996989387809417902012-12-26T09:03:00.002-08:002012-12-26T09:06:11.918-08:00"A Quiet Christmas" - Sermon<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A Quiet
Christmas <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There are many reminders of this
season. The carols, the Christmas trees, the cookies. And there are the folks
collecting money outside of shops with their little red bucket and bell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> The UU minister, Karen Solveing
Anderson tells a story about her fondness for these Christmas bells and the
ritual of collecting money for charity during the holidays. For years and years
as a child, these bell ringers reminded her of Christmas time. And she got
great pleasure tossing money into the bucket. Later as an adult she grew to
appreciate the opportunity to practice generosity, sometimes several times a
day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> One year, she decided to join the fun,
not just in giving her money, but giving of her time. She signed up with a
charity to stand outside the local shopping mall and collect money for a few
shifts. She was terribly excited to participate in this quintessential
Christmas experience. For her first shift, she showed up at the mall and got
some very discouraging news.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Just before she arrived, the manager of
the shopping mall had decided that the ringing of that Christmas bell was just
too noisy. It was disturbing the people eating lunch at the restaurant nearby.
The volunteers could stand there with their bucket and kindly ask for
donations, but the bell ringing would have to stop. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> So in place of that classic Christmas
bell, the volunteers were given a cardboard sign. On one side was written
“ding,” and the other side read “dong.” In place of the charming childhood
fascination of bell ringing and coin collecting, Karen found herself waving a
sign that said “ding-dong” while passers by mostly ignored her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> For four hours she flipped the sign in
despair. Finally, ten minutes before the shift was up, she noticed a guy in
black cowboy boots coming toward her. He chuckled at first, but by the time he
arrived, he was bent over in full hysterical laughter. Not sure what this was
all about, she flipped her Ding Dong sign with increased vigor. She was ready
to kick him in the shins for the rudeness, until he said “I must say, I’ve
never seen a sign like that before. Anybody that stands with a sign that says
‘Ding-Dong’ must be duly rewarded.” And handed her a crisp fifty-dollar bill. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> That encounter changed everything. It
wasn’t the $50 bill that mattered so much, as the realization that her
willingness to go out on a limb made someone really laugh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> She says, “I now felt strangely in awe
of my DING-DONG sign. I was unabashedly proud that I was stupid enough to stand
in a mall tenaciously flipping a sign, waiting for humor and generosity to
awaken someone’s humdrum spirit. Waiting for it to finally dawn on me that my
gifts of generosity and time needed to lose their pretenses in order for any
true generosity to occur.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Karen found that her pretenses, her
preconceived ideas of how the holidays should be celebrated, got in the way of
her enjoyment of the potential of this year’s holiday. She found that the
moment not living up to her childhood dreams somehow ruined it, until she was
able to let go. Let go of that particular vision of how things should be, and
make the best of what is in this moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> For lots of us, the holidays don’t live
up to anyone’s notion of what they <b>should</b>
be. The song says it clearly. It’s the “hap-happiest season of all.” But the
honest truth is, Christmas is much more complicated than that. The truth is, in
the midst of the tinsel and the cookies, there is often pain involved in the
holidays. It’s the pain of being away from family, the pain of being reminded
of those who have died. It’s also a pain of confronting financial struggles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> For me, for most people I think,
Christmas is a bittersweet holiday, a mix of genuine good times, and a sizeable
helping of disappointment. That’s what I love about the poem that I read just a
moment ago from Edward Frost. He writes <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
suspect that the Christmas Spirit is Memory--<br />
Personal, yet universal,<br />
Shared collections of shards of other days<br />
Pieced together in this season by common consent, …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">We
sing together at Christmas,<br />
I and all my children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And so it is. At this time of year, when
memories flood our mind, layer upon layer of emotion and experience creates a
tapestry of the present moment. We become all our children, as all the
experiences of Christmases past sit with us still, all the joy and the
disappointment sing with us as we celebrate another year, Christmas 2012. <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
poem reminds me of something I know I’ve shared with you at least a few times.
It’s the story of one of my very few prized possessions. It’s a chalice that
was made for me to commemorate my ordination. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_y6biSsHBJ4ART-Wd9KheECXY1QuPIO4kBcMXZ15SJhLTTNMW73v2ZLSl5oWxR2nj4mPwj_SShBG_XnODKlc0lzYGHA8bEqdN6D9EDlWdxJrGSSjZfRVBDZyjQMplC_1QQRFnA94GP0c/s1600/Broken+:+whole+chalice+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_y6biSsHBJ4ART-Wd9KheECXY1QuPIO4kBcMXZ15SJhLTTNMW73v2ZLSl5oWxR2nj4mPwj_SShBG_XnODKlc0lzYGHA8bEqdN6D9EDlWdxJrGSSjZfRVBDZyjQMplC_1QQRFnA94GP0c/s320/Broken+:+whole+chalice+.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This chalice is not a chalice of our
Unitarian Universalist tradition, at least it wasn’t originally. I have certainly
turned it into a Unitarian Universalist chalice in my own mind. This broken and
whole chalice is originally comes from a Christian community, where they use
one like this every week to serve communion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> That church is called Community of
Hope. It started in the late 90s as a mission to care for people living with
AIDS. A very dedicated minister, a hero of mine actually, along with five other
families, some gay and some straight, began to worship together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Their mission was to serve those most
marginalized by society. They fed the homeless regularly. They taught GED
courses to inmates. They traveled to Guatemala to help build houses. They
provided housing for low-income families. And they dove into the HIV/AIDS
crises, head on. At one point, this tiny congregation conducted an average of
two funerals a month for people who died of AIDS. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> They knew deeply the reality of
brokenness in the world, but they also knew that in the midst of that
brokenness, each person who walked through their doors, each person that they
served was whole and holy. At their very first worship service together, the
chalice like this one became their primary symbol, a chalice that is both
broken and whole. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> And that chalice has become a powerful
symbol of my own life and theology. You will see it sitting in my office. It’s
the way that I understand the complexity of our lives. Every person has
inherent worth and dignity; every soul is sacred and worthy. But it is also
true that every person, in some area of their life is broken with feelings of
hurt, anger, loss, disabilities, addictions or a slew of other challenges. We
are both broken and whole, throughout our lives. We are broken and whole at the
same time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria;">It is a paradox,
two different realities, existing at the same time. Neither one more important
or more true, both broken and whole. That paradox is never more apparent than
the holiday season, when our expectations meet reality, and the layers of
holiday memory pile one on top of the other. The delighted memories of childhood,
the painful reminder of separations, and expectations for this year, whether
good or not so good.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Rather than continuing on about
theology in the abstract, I want to take a quick poll of us gathered here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">How
many of us are geographically separated from an immediate family member this
Christmas?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">How
many of you are reminded this time of year of loved ones who have died?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">And
how many of you think Christmas is simple?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> There you have it, Christmas is
complicated. And if you feel like it is, you are not alone. I think more than
anything, today I want you to hear that you are not alone. You don’t have to
pretend that this is the hap-happiest season of all if you don’t feel like it
is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">If
you are struggling, if you are facing difficult memories or feelings of
inadequacy, talk to someone close to you who understands. There’s a very good
chance that they already know you are having a hard time, and they probably
want to understand why. And if that’s not possible to bring it up with a friend
of family member, you can always talk to me. I won’t promise to take your pain
away. Your friends and family can’t do that either. But what we can do is help
you do not feel alone in it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
unfortunate truth is there is no substitution for the relationship you are
missing. Whether you are separated by distance or by death, there is no
substitute for another human being that you care about. If there were, we could
go to the shopping mall or a football stadium and feel like we were surrounded
by friends. But, relationships are unique, and that is what is special about
them. There is no replacement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But, that doesn’t mean that other
people can’t bring new joy into your life. When we feel down, there is a slough
of different ways of dealing with it. One very legitimate way of dealing with
those Blue Christmas feelings is to find some distraction. In the Sound Of
Music, as Maria sings “I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don’t
feel so bad.” Believe it or not, there’s some very good advice there. Of course
you can’t bury negative feelings, but you also can’t wallow in them either. At the very least spending time with
other people this season is a distraction from what troubles you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> But more than that, going to a party,
getting coffee with a friend, putting up some decorations, whatever the
activity is, it is a starting place to opening yourself for new joy. That’s the
great thing about being alive, we can still honor the truths of Christmas past,
and open our hearts to new joys of this year, this moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> In the darkest of times, we look to
find hope somewhere. That’s what this whole season is about, in these shortest
days of the year celebrating some sense of hope. For Christians that comes in
the story of Jesus, for Pagans it comes with the turning of the year and the
return of the sun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Sometimes in our darkest times, we have
the energy to go out of our way and find some hope in the world. We can choose
hope, and cease it. But sometimes even making that choice is too much work.
Sometimes we need the blessing of hope to come to us, like a newborn child,
like the return of the sunlight. Today we are trying to bring some hope and
healing to you, in this dark time of year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> This morning we are going to do
something very different. As we
sing our meditation song, the three of us will be offering a personal healing
blessing. We will offer a short blessing of healing and hope for you in this
challenging time of year. Of course if you are not comfortable with that, or if
you simply don’t feel like you need that kind of support right now, please stay
in your seat, and keep singing our meditation song. It is #1021 in your hymnals
and the words will also be on the screen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> As I said, this is something new for
all of us. I think it’s worth a little chaos to offer some hope to those in
need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4470085195591774041.post-46421259647527313442012-12-10T11:48:00.000-08:002012-12-10T11:48:04.103-08:00"The Peaceful Heart" - Sermon
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Courageous love will transform the world. That’s what we
believe as Unitarian Universalists. We believe that the thing, the only thing
that will bring real and lasting change to our world is the compassionate
hearts of brave women and men. As we heard in our reading earlier, to have
peace between the nations, we must cultivate peace in our relationships, peace
in our families, and peace in our own
hearts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> It’s not a small endeavor. That’s the “courageous” part of
what we believe. Courageous love will transform the world. And that
transformation begins within. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">How many of you are familiar
with the name Utah Phillips? I was sure our senior rabble-rousers would know
who he was. Phillips was a major activist and folk singer. He died in 2008. I
want to tell you one of the stories he tells about becoming so convicted about
his stance on non-violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> He says that one time he was on the road as a folk singer
and took his teenage son along with him. During one of the long drives, his son
asked, “How did you get like that.” I love this question from a teenager to a
parent. “How did you get like that?” In
the case of Utah Phillips, the question was a little more obvious. He was
asking, how did you get so invested in a counter cultural identity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> So Phillips thought for a few hours and realized that it
started, he started to “be like that” when he was serving in the Korean war. He
remembers serving there next to the Imjin River. He knew that 75,000 Chinese
were on the other side of that river and they didn’t want him there. Most of
the Koreans didn’t want him there, and he wasn’t so sure he should be there
himself. There next to the river, the clothes began to literally rot off of his
body, and every exotic mold you could think of was growing on him or in his
clothes. His army boots had holes in them from the rot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> He noticed that the Chinese soldiers would often swim and
bathe in that river that they were stationed by. He wanted nothing more than to
clean up in the river, to get the feel of rot and death off of him. But the American
troops were restricted from going in. He didn’t know why that was, until a
young Korean man who knew enough English could explain it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> You see in Korean culture, when a young couple gets married,
the move in with their elders. But now with the war in Korea, with the waste
and devastation, there is nothing growing and no food to eat. So, after when
the first baby is born into one of these families, the eldest goes with a
blanket and a jug of water to sit on the banks of the river and wait to
die. They role down into the river and get
carried out to the sea. He said “We don’t want you swimming in it because our
elders are flouting out to sea.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Phillips says, that’s when it began to crumble and he began
to run away. He wasn’t just running away from the war, he was “running away
from the blueprint for self destruction he had been handed as a man.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> He also ran away from the war to hide in Seoul, at a place
called the Korea House. There, Korean citizens would take in GIs to teach them
about the real Korean culture. While he was hiding out with them, he went one
rainy stormy night to a concert at the Korean Student’s Association. There was
a giant auditorium with big holes in the roof where it had been hit with mortar
shells. And the light on the stage were powered by car batteries. The performer
that night was the great Black operatic soprano, Marian Anderson. She had been
touring in Japan and came over to Korea to sing. As Phillips watcher her sing
“Oh Freedom” and “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” through the rain, he
remembered having encountered her years before as a child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In Salt Lake City, his father had owned a small theater.
They brought Marian Anderson to town to sing in 1948. Phillips was with his
father as the picked her up at the train station and took her to the best hotel
in town. Because she was black, she was rejected from staying at that hotel. As
a child he watched her humiliation and his father’s humiliation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> He remembered this childhood experience as he watched the
same woman singing in a bombed out auditorium for the Korean Student
Association. And he says, “Right then I realized that it was all wrong, that it
ALL had to change and that change had to start with me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Have you had a moment like
that, when you knew deep down that the world needs to change? I think many of
us in this room have had moments of realizing that our lives are intertwined
with a system of political, economic and racial violence. Utah Phillips tells
the story of when that truth opened up to him and how he had to respond. He
knew then that it ALL had to change and that the change had to start from the
inside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Phillips knew, and I think we all know, that violence
spreads like a virus. It’s not an isolated act, word, or feeling. It’s a
something that by its very nature is contagious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In seminary I learned a great deal about the violence of
colonialism. Between the 1500s and 1900s, great European countries, and later
the United States, built their economies by overtaking less powerful nations
around the world. It’s the story of wealth and empire. The piece of that story
that doesn’t get told is that that violence and oppression comes home to roost.
The academic term for it is isomorphic oppression. It basically means that, in
the process of dominating another society, the dominator changes itself,
becomes more controlling and narrow in focus. Of course it imposes that control
abroad, as it subjugates another nation. But it also imposes those same values
of dominance and control at home. The quick and easy example that comes to mind
is Victorian England. As the country amassed great wealth by exploiting native
peoples around the globe, at home it put children to work in factories, and
fiercely controlled its women while poverty and prostitution rose to unthinkable
heights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When a country inflicts violence abroad, it will increase
the oppression and control that exist within it’s own boarders. The examples of
this are endless. We know that violence, like love, is infectious. It lives and
dies through relationships between countries and people. And one piece of
violence, unless it is stopped, will result in other pieces of violence
somewhere else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We know about the web of violence. But somehow, we manage to
not see ourselves as a part of it. It’s those people doing this that and the
other that makes those other people perpetrate more violence. There are several
versions of the blaming game. The classic example that comes to my mind is the
idea that the violent video games that teenagers sometime play are what have
caused the increase in school shootings over the past couple of decades. This
simple equation is stated as if the companies making these games didn’t make
tremendous profit, or as if the teenagers buying them weren’t watching these
exact same types of violence on the nightly news. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> And as we play the blame game with violence, I also hear
that there is too much violence in the media. Both entertainment and news media
are replete with graphic images and stories of death. But, media is a consumer
industry; it is a business. Newspapers will print the stories that will make
their readers buy their papers, and television programs will show the kind of
stories that increase their ratings. Neither the entertainment industry nor the
news industry creates violence. Rather they offer up language and images that
their customers are hungry for. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> If we take violence seriously, it becomes clear that the
nature of it is not a simple action that some people take, or a simple cause
and affect scenario. It is in fact a whole interconnected web of cause and effect.
It is the whole social environment that WE live and breathe in. Like Utah Phillips
came to realize, it ALL has to change, and that change has to start with the
self.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We may not be able to dictate which video games thirteen
year olds play, or how many images of dead bodies show up on the news. But we
can control the words that come out of our mouth, and eventually, with enough
practice we can begin to control our internal orientation toward violence or
compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The key to that concept is,
“with practice.” Addressing the violence that pervades our daily lives is a
tremendous, life-long endeavor. Utah Phillips likens it to ridding yourself of
booze. To start the project, you have to stop blaming other people, sit in a
circle with some others who are committed like you, and say, “I have a problem.
I am addicted to violence.” And then, slowly, day-by-day, we can begin to be
aware of how violence exists in our daily lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I’m sure you have heard of having a basket-ball practice, or
a choir practice. Some artists call their working time a practice, and yoga
folks call their collected yoga work outs, their practice. Just like training
our physical bodies or our artistic abilities, we can also practice a peaceful
orientation in the world. At first practice means doing something that is
challenging and new. But eventually through repetition and mindfulness, those
things that were once new and challenging become habit. And that is part of the
religious journey. It’s actually the part of the religious journey that counts,
cultivating habits and a lifestyle that embrace compassion rather than
violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> It sounds very abstract, this practicing for peace. But
there are some very specific practices worth mentioning. Actually there are a huge
number of them, but I’ll describe a few. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The first practice is more about what we let into our
consciousness than what we put out into the world. As I was getting at earlier
with the media, our lives are steeped in images of physical violence. From the
films we see to the news media we watch, even the stories in the newspaper are
filled with stories of aggression. And American humor often revolves around
making fun of another person. My suggestion isn’t to attempt to unplug from all
of that, not yet. Rather simply try to be aware of how much violence you are
presented with in your daily life. Be aware that hearing and seeing it affects
you. And hold onto an awareness that there are other stories and other ways of
being in the world. Practice being aware of what you are exposed to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Another great practice to cultivate a quiet heart is simple
meditation. I know that word sounds very heavy, but it doesn’t need to.
Meditation really just means taking a moment to intentionally focus your mind. The
type of meditation that I practice is about clearing your mind. The goal of
this meditation is to slow down your busy brain, to let it come to a quiet
stillness. It’s harder than it sounds actually. But once your mind is quiet,
you can become more aware of the thoughts and feelings in a deeper way. You can
become aware when and if your reaction to something is negative or
compassionate. You can become aware of what situations make you feel
aggressive. And through this awareness you can better regulate the way your
emotionally respond to your environment. And you begin to control the choice of
responding with compassion or with aggression. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I know a handful of our members find the Buddhist meditation
practice called Metta to be helpful. It also is a practice to steer our hearts
toward compassion. We did a version of
it in our sung meditation just a minute ago. You start by feeling your own
experiences of suffering in the world. Knowing they are unpleasant, you feel
compassion for yourself. Then reaching out, you see the suffering of those you
love. Knowing that their suffering is unpleasant and not a choice, you feel
compassion for them. Then more broadly, reaching out with your heart, perhaps
to strangers, or to people you particularly have problems with. Recognizing
that they too have suffering in their lives, you offer compassion, knowing that
no one chooses to suffer. It’s a tremendously helpful spiritual discipline in
life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Like I said, there are a great many different practices you
can take on, to tune your heart and mind away from violence and toward
compassion. But practice only works if you do it. I’m not talking about
thinking about the theory behind it, or reading about it. There is enough
reading on non-violence to make you blind. But theory doesn’t get you anywhere
if you don’t practice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I started and I want to end with our Unitarian Universalist
conviction that courageous love will transform the world. Mind you, courage is
not, not being afraid. Courage is doing your best to confront a challenge.
Courage is doing what needs to be done, even if it means letting go of some of
your power, letting go of assumption and fears that you have depended on for
security. Courage is opening yourself to the possibility of change. As we courageously
endeavor to change our own hears, may we take on the great task of changing the
world that is so in need of our love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Rev. Kent Dosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15062965954473380435noreply@blogger.com0