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Sermon_0913_p2.mp3

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Reading_070311.mp3

Reading is from a collection of old collins segar road. Sing out magazine 1950s 1960s the book is called. The incomplete folk singer. You swear my bibles. 1935a good bit of song collecting was being done. Under the auspices of different government agencies such as the resettlement administration. Such work was called. Boondoggling at the time. Do the work of these agencies the famous library of congress collection was first built up. My father. As an expert in several ranches a musical scholarship. Was involved in these projects. And i company dmi1 field trip north carolina. We won't down through the narrow valleys with so many turns in row that i got seasick. Repast wretched little cabins. Half naked children. outdoor. Pastor jemison patchwork quilts. Another handicrafts which often were the main source of income. I first became acquainted with a side of america and i have never known before. At the asheville square dancing bella festival. I fell in love with the old-fashioned 5-string banjo. Rippling outer rhythm one fascinating song after another. I like the riddle. I like the melodies. Time-tested. Play generations of singers. I like the words. Here's a triviality of the popular songs my brothers and i formally harmonized. Words of the song that all the meat in human life in it. The song of heroes outlaws murderers.. They were afraid of being scandalous instead of giggly and cute. Bubble. Racine frank. Straightforward. Honest. Comparison. It seemed to me that too many art songs were concerned with being alien. Too many pop songs were concerned with being clever. My g35. So this style of music. 37 years later i'm still learning. And i found out. Some of the simplest music. But some of the most difficult to do.

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Sermon_041810.mp3

A couple of months ago as we were heading into. Let's talk about how i believe that every last one of us is a profit and has. That we are all capable of prophetic wisdom. And today i'd like to add that we are all mystics. Last week i heard dr. ruben habitos speak. As part of a speaker series on mysticism in dallas. Dr. devito is a former jesuit priest. And he's the founding teacher of the maria kennel then center in dallas. And he's also a professor of world religions and spirituality at smu. Doctor habido suggested. That we are all mystic. He acknowledged that this idea of mystic might conjure up some stereotypes that make it hard for people to identify as a mistake we might have ideas about what mystics look like or act like. Perhaps. I'm mystic is in our mind is a is a perfect person. You know gentle but brave. Weis. Modest dress i was think of mystics is having bare feet. People who are not attached to worldly things unless we be. Uncertain about what a true mystic is i went ahead and googled it. And i came up with these images. So i just picked a couple of doug google images that. A woman see barefeet prayerful. Yeah i don't know purple that's sometimes. Works for me with mystic. This one looks very religious and covering his head. It makes sense to me. This would show up on a google searches on this day. This came from a blog of a woman she calls herself a mystic runner. And and she talks in her blog about working up to her. Her racing goals that she wasn't a runner before but she. Talking about her experiences learning to be a runner. Mystics can be cats is a cat named mystic. But you do got me thinking long hair i think often think of men with long hair as mystics maybe the deer.. Religious jewelry. Nike apparently makes a cleat called the mystic this isn't product placement. Give me things like breathing fire. I can't do that but maybe i missed it could. I missed it could be a horse. Name this texter images that. That i found when i was in my search for what a true mystic is according to google. The doctor habido suggested that one way to cultivate the mystic at each of us is through an ongoing practice of sitting meditation. Use the term bodhisattva. As someone who has come very close to enlightenment and rather than step into that full in lightning bliss. Returns with a deep compassion and loving-kindness. To help others find their way toward enlightenment. In the buddha story of the boat man. Whose life is devoted. Helping people get across the water that the boat man is the bodhisattva and he goes back and forth across the water in his boat carrying travels across. Each of us is capable of choosing to live in that mystical bodhisattva place. What are the world religions acknowledge. No is how hard that pass can be. We live in a world of tremendous heartache. And tremendous pain. Earthquakes. Poverty wars. And then the everyday stuff that we all face death of loved ones. Illness divorce financial problems. Fighting in the family. August. Bodhisattva mystics stuff sounds good in theory. But it's hard. To follow through on it. It's it's hard it's hard where we live in in this bliss is sometimes overshadowed. By mere survival just getting up in the morning. Compassion is sometimes overshadowed by fear. As in the beginning of the video we watched it is all too easy to fall into the drone of existence. It simply to not what is happening around us. Or get caught up in sadness. It's tempting for me to keep staring at my problem syncing that by staring at them they might somehow dissolve. And forgetting all the while the good stuff that i can't see because i'm focused on the negative stuff. Rebecca parker who is president of starr king school for the ministry are unitarian universalist. Seminary in california offers to spiritual practices. Designed not to escape the troubles of our lives and our world but to live through them and to gain perspective. Do emerge joyfully and with a compassionate bodhisattva by nature. Such spiritual disciplines are not meant to make your life perfect. Being a mystic isn't about being the glorified this version of mysticism that some of us clean to it's about embracing all of our imperfections. And loving ourselves anyway. As we learned from google sometimes being a mystic means you're a horse. Brandon athletic shoe. Orpheus runner working up to her first 5k race. The first spiritual discipline that rebecca parker offers is honoring the sabbath. She writes. Keeping the sabbath means that once every seven days not every 7 years and not only when you're given a few vacation days. But once every seven days. You stopped participating in the rat race. You choose one day out of seven not to go shopping. Not to go to work. Not to bring work home. Instead you give yourselves and others. The space to feel what it is hard to feel when you spend all of your time as wordsworth says. Getting and spending and laying waste your powers. You give yourself time to walk in the woods. To see how the leaves of the willows are coming out and a tulips are bending in the wind. You give yourself time to sit at the table with friends. To welcome the friendless. To talk with one another. You give yourself time to read think and reflect. You take time to face the realities of injustice. And suffering in the world and grieve the losses. And the legacies of violence that mark our lives. You said it aside time to gather with the religious community to pray. Give thanks. And hear the wisdom of the ages. You stop the madness. And rest. You open yourself to the beauty and meaning of life. Do all those tender capacities within yourself. And all those deer relationships with others that you cherish. You find a way to know all of these things that the marketplace can either give. Nor take away. To keep the sabbath is a radical act of resistance to a culture that has lost. Track of the meaning of life. A day of rest helped us become capable of entering into profound and sustained engagement. With a culture that needs our creative witness. And i work for change. When i went off to college. I finally found my element in the arts and performance skeet says puts town university in pennsylvania years of pent-up creativity came spilling out in my classes and in my extracurricular activities. I had a hard time saying no to project. Because i had never before encountered so many fun creative opportunities. Azle 18 with the stamina of elite team. I wonder realized that i was wasting 8 hours a night sleeping when i could be doing other things. And so began the three-year period in my life where i barely slept. I remember staying up all night sewing costumes choreographing dances. Memorizing lines and then. Going to get breakfast and coffee before my 8 a.m. classes. Some version of this practice continued for years while i worked at my various jobs. And i didn't really feel it until i met a friend in seminary who was seventh day adventist. As a seventh-day adventist they went to church on saturdays which was understood to be the sabbath. Similar to jewish practices come sundown on friday night the sabbath started and my friends would not watch television or work or study. She would not read the newspaper or clean the house. It was a day off. What she would do is go for a long walk. Read inspirational texts. Sting paint visit with friends. And think about everything she had taken in during the week. The sabbath was a day to unplug and say today i am not going to be brainwashed into believing i need things that i don't need. Or that aren't good for me. I will take a break from hearing that people are bad. That one's portfolio is an indicator of one's happiness. The only certain religions are sacred. That i should want more and bigger and more expensive things. Get my two-year-old. Flip phone is uncool. I admired my friends discipline and willingness to observe the sabbath great each week despite the inevitable time crunches to get work done and the temptations to re-engage in the hustle and bustle of life. Because of her stamina i learned a valuable lesson. Not just in taking a break to rest the mind spirit and body of chores. But in taking a break to unplug. And to process. And to do it every single week. The other practice that rebecca parker commends to the awakening mystic in each of us. Is a practice that makes many unitarian universalist. Cringe. Tithing. Timing is giving away 10% of your income to the church. When i was growing up my family went to mass every week. And every week my father would weed since the inside pocket of his suit jacket. And pulled out a small pastel colored envelope just big enough to hold the check inside. My two brothers and i would watch for this moment. Because each of us hope to be the one selected to put the envelope into the basket. We all took great pleasure in dropping the envelope in as that basket went by. I think though that we might have been less eager. If we had already imagined other things for that money. To this day i have no idea how much my father gives to the church but it has children we even had an inkling. If that check could have instead of being a gift to the church maybe been turned into something more like. A nerf football. For all you can eat pizza night. Are the new asteroids game cartridge. Linda joy of dropping that envelope into the basket would have been gone. It would cease to be an act of generosity and joyful giving and would have instead turned into a painful act of resentment. An attachment. Fortunately for us we all saw it for the gift that it was. Rebecca parker writes this about tithing. Tiny it's just as simple as keeping the sabbath just as ancient and its wisdom and even more unfamiliar to unitarian universalist. I do not mean tithing and spirits in principle or as metaphor i mean giving away 10% of your income. The way i was taught to do this is to give 10% before taxes. Parker write in third grade i was taught to tide by my parents. When they gave me my first allowance of $0.50. They explained to me that 10% of $0.50 what's $0.05. And they gave me a pledge card. To the church and an envelope. My first tide was $0.05 a week to the church. Parker explains when wisin tithing is important is that causes we believe in will flourish if we share more of our resources. We need to open our eyes to the fact that the religious right has gained influence. Through the help of conservative christians who tithe. If we want our values to shape our society we need to generously fund the organizations that support them. But there is a deeper more fundamental spiritual reason to tithe. Parker wrote that she realized it listening to a member of the first congregation at she served. It was pledge drive sunday and people have been asked to talk about why they give to the church. When congregation members stood up and said. I first began to tie because i was taught to do so by my church and my church taught me to obey its teaching. I ties because i saw obedience as the heart of faithfulness. But as i matured in my face i began to understand that obedience was not all that important and could even be destructive. I continue to type however because a different reason came to me. I tied because the people i most loved and admired tithe. My parents and the leaders of the religious community whose lives really changed me by their goodness. I wanted to be like them so i typed in imitation of those that i love. He went on. But as my face matured further. I came to my own reason for tithing. This is why i do it now. I do it because two tide is to tell the truth about who i am. If i did not hide it would say that i was a person who had nothing to give. A person who receives nothing from life. A person who did not matter to the larger society. Or his life's meeting was in providing for his own needs alone. But in fact who i am is the opposite of all these things. I am a person who has something to give. I am a person who has received abundantly from life. I am a person whose presence matters in the world and i am a person whose life has meaning because i'm connected to. And care about many things larger than my cell. If i did not tie dye would lose track of these truths. About who i am. Spiritual practice. Is a discipline. It is something we do over and over so that one day we might do it without thinking. I've had about 80 or 90 words per minute. I type this fast because in high school my mother made me take a typing class. During this time i was a slow typer who often peeked at the keys to see which letter was where. After high school i got jobs that involve typing and then computers came and everything was typing. Within a few years of typing all the time i became so efficient that i didn't even have to consciously think about which letters were where. I just knew it i just. My fingers just went where they needed to go. Dr. hippie.. Describe a zen koan about the bodhisattva of compassion. Who is often depicted with many heads and thousands of arms reaching out. The car and ask. How is quan yin used her thousand eyes and hands. And the responses. Like reaching for a pillow in the night. When we're asleep and we need to adjust the pillow because it's uncomfortable we don't have to do that consciously we don't have to wake up we just kind of do it. We don't analyze the situation we don't worry about it. And that is where i want to be with my sense of peace compassion my sense of generosity i want to practice it enough that it starts to come out instinctively. I want to be compared compassionate person without worrying about it or analyzing it. And that is the bodhisattva or the mystic path. Now for me it's been a very hard year of keeping the spiritual practices that keep me on this mystic path. This year of preparing for ministerial credentialing and also starting a new family has been very time-consuming. And not ideal for sabbath keeping cracked. And this year of being an internship despite tremendous and gracious generosity from this community. I've been financially stressful. Not a good situation for tithing. I am a novice. In the mystical path i still found sometimes look at the keys to see which letter is where. But when i take a day off a week to unplug. I remember what it feels like to connect to myself and to my family. I remember who i am and what is important. Not just what the noise of the world says is important. And when i can take my 10% and give it to the church and to social justice causes. I feel good about my community and the world. I'm getting in touch with the fact that i am a person who has much to give. The truth is i have all the time and money i need. Give me the radiant mystical person i was created to be. I believe we all do. We could choose to let. Beer guide our path. We could choose to run the rat race instead. Or we could soothe the mystical path. We are all mystics. And together we are creating a mystical community. Indeed this building is nothing more than a building. Made of wooden. Sheetrock and whatever else buildings are made of. But that is only one way of looking at it. Look at it now as a radical place. That will not reinforce that we need to look a certain way. Or have a certain amount of money. A place where we can cultivate joy. A place where we can make mistakes. And find forgiveness. A place where we can be imperfect. And practice right living. A place where we can be ordinary. I did not ordinary place. Be mystical. A place where we will emerge into the world so full of light. That we exude peace into every open hearts in the world. This is our community. Let it be so.

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Reading_073111.mp3

David from isaiah. And this reading is related will be related to my sermon later on peloton. Tibetan against egypt. Behold the lord the lord rides on a swift cloud. And he was come into egypt. The idols of egypt will totter and at his presence. And the heart of egypt will melt in its middle. I will set the gyptians against egyptians. Everyone will fight against his neighbor. Cynthia ghana city. Kingdom against kingdom. The spirit of egypt will fail in its m. I will destroy their counsel. And they will consult the idols and the charmers. The mediums and the score scores. And egyptians i will give into the hand of a cruel master. Find a king rule over them. Says the lord the lord of hosts. And i'm also reading from isaiah 18 same chapter. Amaya chapter 19 and that day five cities in the land of egypt will speed the language of canaan. And swear by the lord of hosts. One will be called the city of destruction. And that day that would be an altar to the lord in the midst of the land of egypt. Pennandteller. The lord. To the lord at its border. And it will be for a sign and for the witness to the lord of hosts. In the land of egypt 4-day will cry to the lord because of the oppressors. And he will send them a savior on a mighty one. And he will deliver them. Linda lord will be known to egypt and egyptians will know the lord in that day. How many mixed sacrifice and offering. Yes they would make evolve to the load and performance. And the lord will strike egypt he will strike inhaler. They were returned to the lord and he will be in treated by then. And healed him. And that day that would be a highway from egypt to assyria. Assyrians will come into egypt. And egyptians into assyria. Hyundai gyptians with save was that serious. And that day israel will be 103 with egypt and assyria. The blessing in the middle of the land. Whom the lord of hosts shall bless saying. Blessed is egypt my people. Ns area the work of my hands. And israel my inheritance.

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20140727-Homily.mp3

Good morning. My name is randy mcdermott. I've been a member of community unitarian universalist church since 2010. And for several of the past years i've been also the co facilitator. Of the earth spirit group. And i just. Elena stole from my thunder earlier i was going to make sure there were one knew that even though i was listening to guest speaker today this is a group effort. Everyone in earth spirit contributed in some way and the service is a result of all of our contributions i'd like to open. With the earth spirit mission statement it says much better than i can what the group stands for and how we work together. We the members of our spirit acknowledge the power of spirit the importance of living in harmony with the earth starts a cycles. And the vast resources found in the mini traditions of the pagan spiritual practice. We do covenant and affirm our commitment to one another to work together. To create and maintain a safe and loving space. Within which to share our spiritual quest in beloved community. We celebrate the practice. Increasing awareness and understanding of the pagan an earth-centered spirituality within the unitarian universalist association. We naval networking. I'm a pagan identified unitarian universalist and other seekers. We celebrate interfaith dialogue. We encourage the development of theological liturgical materials based on pagan and are centered religious and spiritual perspective. We provide opportunities for spiritual growth exploration and education in pagan spirituality. For all practitioners and all who wish to seek. We encourage creativity unique expression. And personal interpretation within each individual spiritual path. You'll see on the altar today. Mini. Silver summit auto dixon possibly some of you. Lost music goddess of abundance and so before her we have. Representations of the fruits of the earth and some of her gifts. On the altar before us we have all kinds of things we have native american shamanistic totems we have. Representations of egyptian. Oh worship. And other articles that simply are personal to people who brought them to share on the altar if you like after after the service is over we'll be having church chat again questions many things we have hear anything we say today feel free to join us. It would be happy to share information with you. So that your spirit would like to share with you. Along with these altar items. Some aspects of our very traditions through stories readings and rituals. We have to give you a sense of how we worship. And what we believe. Essential part of our practices is appreciative sacred space weather in. Personal ritual within your home. A short break for meditation at work which is one of my private practices. Do very often difficult situation grounding can happen anywhere even in a bathroom will actually be conducting a brief ritual later. And as part of that she will create a sacred space by calling on the four winds to guard us and protect us. Is together we journey into the mysteries of the divine together we hope it at the end of todays time together you'll take away a sense of connectedness and a renewed sense of reverence for the world around you and a bit of an understanding of who we are and what we what we do. No for the history lesson were unitarians we have to have history. The term pagan is generally. Applies to anything other than christianity judaism or islam. In the early days of christianity with a new religion was striving to eradicate the old ways. The real pagan from latin paganas. Just simply meant a country dweller or a villager who followed and refused to give up his pre-christian beliefs. The word heathen has similar origins. Those have been adopted over the centuries to denote a person who does not follow christianity and in general use it as negative connotations modern pagans and heathens have reclaimed the words today do we wear them with pride. Paganism has many forms is the oldest things in the world. Agency model theistic or polytheistic. We worship alone and solitary practitioners we also practice in community. We live in urban settings with members of tribal societies. We're witches were shamans we're psychics we're fortune tellers. We interpret dreams dreams. We're ceremonial magicians. We're seekers. We are people simply looking for truth wherever that may be. We follow reconstructionist norse greek and egyptian religious practices. With all the newly forged path such as wicca which is based on the work of several brave souls who came out of the broom closet in the 1950s. And we follow blended new age practices. They were heavily influenced by the ancient religions of the eastern world. My personal pat actually began when i was a small child i was raised in a stone city catholic family. I love the mystery of ritual and the cyclical repetition of the liturgy but i always feel that there was some dimension missing for my spirituality i didn't feel the same sense of freedom and connectedness in church that i felt when i was running in the field which i did a lot. They're turning over in their graves at the moment we live in a rural area and as i said i was allowed to run free in the fields off and brought home hurting or bananimals. Help. My father was a farmer he taught me the natural circles of life. Birth. Growth death decay rebirth. Even in his seventies dead delight in seeing the first spring shoots in his garden each year he never never stop loving that. Mom regaled with tales of our irish grandmothers who had visions and precognitive dreams and. Talk to the banshee. Is a teenager i began reading everything i could find on spiritualism ghosting parapsychology. Cuz i got older i began to question the teachings of the catholic church. A very big revelation occurred when i was okay with me early thirties. When actually failed books such as. When god was a woman by merlin stone and the myth of the goddess by and bearing and jules cashford. Both of these volumes demonstrated how the old religions of the goddess had been overlaid by patriarchal ridge religions including catholicism. And that the later protect patriarchal religions including catholicism adopted hook line & sinker many of the older pagan traditions. As a way of gathering converse so today for example. The goddess breed is celebrating the catholic church st bridget. Go figure. Today. I purchase for many years in the broom closet. When i moved to plano in 2005 actually found a pagan community and teachers put my feet firmly on my current path and i'm very grateful that i found those people. They're all friends to this day and i continue to build on those for friendships within that circle is a wonderful supportive community. In private ritual in 2008. Actually dedicated myself to the goddess. I don't belong to me normal k i just work as a solitary end in group circle with our spirit and others. Today i believe in the interconnectedness of all beings. Sound familiar to you to turn principal elena reference. And isn't individual i'm totally responsible for my own actions. So i can get away with saying anymore the devil made me do it. Doesn't work for a pagan the primary law i follow. And the many pagans follow his do as you will as long as it harms none. The second prominent concept is the rule of three whatever action you take will return to you threefold. On the surface. The simple statement seem to get pagans a lot of leeway. Get those examine those laws and truly temp to follow them will find themselves changed in profound ways. Above all else having a deep and abiding reverence for the earth and all living beings i've taken a frequently quoted the passage of the bible and actually extended it and many other passages but this one in particular extended this particular passage to include all living things from matthew chapter 25. For i was hungry and you gave me food i was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. My passion for conservation about the human and animal rights. Stem from knowing that all of us apart of the one we're all interconnected we're all part of the same consciousness. And like the proverbial table in the pond the consequences of our actions in this life can be very far-reaching. Thank you.

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20141012-Sermon.mp3

Someone recently told me that sometimes when i get up here with all these books it looks like i'm defending a dissertation. I wish. It would be easier. Last time we tried to talk about some of the basics about what we define as evil. Go back over that just a little bit twist philip zimbardo definition from his book the lucifer effect. He says evil is the exercise of power to intentionally harm psychologically hurt physically and or destroy mortally and commit crimes against humanity. And he said there are three places they happen one is dispositional inside of individuals. The bad apple situational the external the bad barrel. Systemic the broad influences. Cultural political and economic and legal power that creates the bad barrel itself the bad barrel makers as he puts it rebecca parker. The now-retired. Dina president of starr king school for the ministry ru cemetery in berkeley california. House for hope. The promise of progressive religion for the 21st century and the subject of our sunday morning book group. At 9. She offers the following definition of evil. What is evil. Evil is that which xploitz the lives of some. The benefit the lives of others. Evil congregation transpersonal systems in social structures that run on banal visions of the good life. Lacking in wisdom or zest and beneficial to some while leaving others bereft of life's necessities. Evil springs from ignorance and denial of the beauty and goodness of life it chooses ways of living that destroyer than sustained the delicate web of relationships. That make life possible. Evils accomplice is enough is in estes ization. When the senses have been numbed and feeling has been stifled. Responsive reverence is dulled and love has no air to breathe. Evil is manifest and sexism and racism militarism and patterns of exploitation and abuse. It's harm touches our innermost being and a relationships with one another and the earth. Evil corrodes our inner lives manifesting and self-hatred powerlessness and fragmentation of the soul. It affects our present in hunger homelessness. And refugee camps in the suffering of soldiers experiencing post-traumatic stress. When the retching grief of families who have lost a loved one to war. The tragic consequences of this of this sin are of our own making. God is not our biggest threat. We don't need to be saved from the danger that god will externally punish us for our sins. Rather earth itself needs salvation from damage made by us humans. Humanity needs healing. And repair from legacies of injustice. We are the cause. And we are. The cure. Evil can either be denied nor destroyed. It is perennial. It has to be astutely recognized. And unmasked. We have the power. To do many things. As zimbardo says he says the line between good and evil runs right through the human heart. Oh yes we have both dc and marvel comics. Depending upon which church you worship at. If it doesn't you don't know the difference don't worry about it. This line between good and evil runs through the human heart. In his book isambard i want his book the lucifer effect he talks about. This internet capacity that we have. He says we can be cruel or we can be kind. We can be caring or indifferent to creative or destructive. We can be. Made villains or heroes. By this infinite capacity of what it means to be human. He talks about jim jones. See. Leader of the peoples temple and ayana who was went from being a man of god. To being the angel of death. The idea of the hero or the villain i'm sorry. with the villain. The lure of the comic book villain and in graphic novels. For those of us who don't read comics right. They have to be larger than life. Super villains need to be operetta. In their grandiosity in order to engage and motivate superheroes in the story. And also says cell. Copies. And subscriptions. They also interesting lee enough have to have a good backstory. They have to have a good origin story at least as good probably in some ways as the hero. Which makes them human. And relatable. And they're not just a cardboard cutout. Put up. But they actually become a part of the morality tale. Ethos and tragedy. Often times we are asked to consider. What would have happened to batman if he had not had humanizing anchors like alfred and others. When his parents were murdered in front of him as a child but he had become the truly dark knight. What do you have done horrible awful villainous things i mean some people think he does anyway but. What would have happened to any of us. What choices decisions would we have made if things had been slightly different. Now in this life we find the same level of grandiosity in some of those we would call our own supervillains. Such as moammar kadafi iliff hitler idi amin mussolini stalin. Put in whoever you want. They're out there. And yet it is. The everyday villains the minions and not the cute little guys. From. Despicable me. You been reading my sermon. It is the everyday villains. And the minions who most comment who are most common and frankly most dangerous. It is the dually employed men and women who in turn. Live lives who turn other lives into statistics. And tally moral violations as march of their productivity and value to systems of evil who follow orders. This gives rise to what journalists and social commentator jara and hannah arendt. Name the banality of evil. The greatest source of concern for those practicing this form of evil is not that they are themselves inherently evil but they are indifferent. The opposite of a hero is not a villain. It's a bystander. Says matt langdon founder of. The hero. Hero construction. Which builds heroes in schools and communities. I would say that because it is this indifference of the bystander that is the true opposite. The bystander and the minion are in nibblers. Who perpetuate wholesale systems of evil. Such as apartheid. And jim crow segregation and holocaust and the killing fields. So. We all have the possibility. A being. That person. Philip zimbardo in his book. Lucifer effect talks about. Looking at he was when the people ask to look at all the things that happened to abu ghraib. He was one of the organizers of the stanford. Prison experiment. It was halted after six days because it was considered so awful. He's an expert in understanding what makes good people do bad things. We'll talk about that more next week. But the possibility for us. To do these things is present in all of us. We have inherent worth and dignity but we also have inherent potential to do things. To deny that to others. So what are the things he wants to talk about is. What is it that makes. The hero possible. In fact is that we all have the possibility of. The hero. Now we also have to be careful of that identification because as dan and perry said earlier in our reading that the world is not a bad bad people running around doing bad things it's about people who think they're good people doing things. That other people find bad. I mean one of the marks of the supervillain. In literature is that they think they're the good guy. And from the point of view of literature they are the protagonist they actually put things in motion its. Clark county superman remains clark kent until the bad guy comes along and does something okay so the superhero is actually the antagonist. Because they're fighting against the protagonist who is the super bowl and who's pushing change. So the hero is the champion of the status quo. Sometimes. So we need to careful when we identify with these things. But it is important for us. To look at how we can generate and support the more life-affirming life-giving. Parts of ourselves and our roles in society. Zimbardo says to be a hero you have to learn to be a deviant. Because you're always going against the conformity of the group. Heroes are ordinary people who social actions are extraordinary. To act. He's talking about within the context of the bad barrel. People acting. Phillips turtle. Talked about in a ted talk you did some years ago. On. What makes superheroes. Well he says there are three things. One is that what superheroes do is they gather information. The gather information and then secondly and very importantly. They let the world. Transform them. They are transformed by their environment. In some way. In fact that's how they get their superpower. And third a realization that they don't possess the power all powers come from the universe that surround them. I think of the force star wars. That's because my son watches star wars stuff all the time. And i'm responsible for doing that to him. But so through the realization they do not possess the power themselves that it comes from. The universe that surrounds them. So okay clark kent. 1 most used to be the most popular secret identity for superheroes was a. Journalist. Because that was the nexus of information. In their day and time. As important power. And then later in the 62 shift to scientists. Being the most important kind of secret identity. Superheroes. Become superheroes because they are transformed by surviving. Disasters. I think of the character of bruce willis in the movie unbreakable which is a much more serious movie. Along about these kinds of issues. And one's self discovery of what that means. What you survived gives you specific. Types of superpowers and what you survive help determine what you are transformed into and buy. This is different from the idea of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger because that's about insurance. It's different in that. It transforms you. So it's not that you get to enjoy being who you are but that it makes you something new and ability. To allow the environment to transform you. He talks about swamp thing. Now am i getting blank looks just as people really don't know what i'm talking about or you're just wrapped. Swamp thing character coming out of the 1960s maybe 50s. Was reimagined in 1982 by alan moore and. He was not that the human beings have been turned into something that could persist in the swamp environment. He was. Turned into something made out of all plant material not human actually at all. Is all made out of plants. It's okay it was interesting and so this is different and so he is. May the meetup literally of the world. And yet also reflects how imperfectly he is human. All superheroes are imperfect beings. So we get in touch with our powers as superheroes not by projecting our humanness. But by paying attention. To those moments we don't fit in. We all have those. Some of us more than others. And that is a calling for transformation how are we changed how are we transformed. He offers throttle offers that with great power comes great vulnerability. And in order to harness this power he says we must first let go of our cherished ideals of who we are and embrace what we must. Come. To engage with our situation. Now. Liberation theologian paulo freire e in his pedagogy of the oppressed. Talked about these things. That the first thing we do is. We study. A problem or an issue we gather information and then we let that information at and we do this as a group we let this information then. Transform our understanding and from it then we choose a way in which to address the problem in some small way knowing that we cannot handle that globally whatever it is. So we are then transformed from someone who's taking information to someone who then has a focus. And then we realized that our power to do this does not come from us but it comes from. A larger community which we are apart of. From an interconnected and interdependent reality and that is where we would gain our sustenance. To continue doing what we do. The idea of the banality of evil that we talked about. Also means there is a banality of heroism. As an embargo would talk about in his book. Talks about the banality of heroism. He says the banality of evil shares much with the banality of heroism neither attribute is the direct consequence of unique dispositional tendencies. There are no special inner attributes of either pathology or goodness residing within the human psyche or the human genome. This has been very clear in his studies scientifically and is typically that they cannot identify cannot identify. Any meaningful correlation. Between human traits and histories. And people's behaviors either side of the line of good or evil a heroism or villainy. That means it's scary because it's not we can't predict it at this point and we like to be able to do that cuz i control. But the good news is for us is that any of us can do that. Whatever it is. And so we both have to be responsible. And we have. Possibilities of doing great things. He says there is a decisive. Decisional moment. When a person. Is caught up in a vector of forces that emanate from a behavioral context. Those forces combined to increase the probability of one's acting to harm others or acting to help others. Their decision may or may not be consciously planned or mindfully taken rather strong situational forces most often impulsively drive the person to action. Among situational vectors are group pressures and group identity. The diffusion of responsibility for the action. Temporal temporal sulcus. An immediate moment. Without concern for consequences stemming from acts in the future. The presence of social models and commitment to an ideology. So there's some factors that affect it. He says a common theme. Common theme for the account of european christians who helped jews during the holocaust could be summed up as the banality of goodness what is striking over and over again he says is the number of those. Are these rescuers who did the right thing without considering themselves heroic. Who acted merely out of a sense of common decency the ordinariness of their goodness is especially striking in the context of the incredible level of the systemic genocide by nazis on a scale that the world had never experienced. He compares this to the kind of experience that happens to those who are the guards the national guard troops. Who run abu ghraib prison. Decisive question he says for each of us is whether to act in helping others. Prevent harm to others. Or not to act. At all. We should be preparing many lawry's for those. Who will discover the reservoir of hidden strengths and virtues. Enabling them to come forth to act against injustice and cruelty and to stand up for their principles values. Question i have for us is where do we stand. On these things. I was reminded listening to someone today who is an organizer one of the historic organizers. Of. The theater troupe that used to travel around with the migrant farm workers movement. You may have heard he had thing on npr today made for it. Interesting that he lifts up he talks about. All these people who are vegetarian or vegan tuna know some of you were in the room. But he says they tend to have the sense of moral superiority about themselves. But they really don't deserve. He said because there's somebody who's been slaving picking those vegetables for 12 hours a day is he quite a quote about sweating their ass off. And yet that's not taking into consideration when they do their moral calculations. So there is no purity there's no no pure whey to be in this world to be guiltless. Set about how do we engage with those things that we can deal with we can change. Music community have already chosen to do some of those things we're doing them by. Raising awareness and by bringing materials and supplies together for the children of barron elementary. And i tell you i having a kid there i know that they're very happy to have these things because they tell us all the time. That is a wonderful thing and the people who go to volunteer and to assist in classroom. This is a small thing we can do to help. One of the important changes. In the literature that i'm referring to today comic books villains and heroes has been that from the superman. Story to that of the x-men. I promise. Superman most of you are familiar with came from the planet krypton he was an orphanage planet blew up and basically anything from his past with toxic to him. Some people actually said that some of the way some of us behave in our congregations. That we come here we're we're refugees from from something that was that is not toxic to us and behave that way and we're here to create a new world or to be in and a hyper individuals superman doesn't work in a team except when he has to. Contrast addition get these groups of people like the x-men. From marvel comics stan lee created. And they are a team they're intentionally created as a team. Towards the other even the villains work as a team. They work as a group. Would suggest. A generational shift. In understanding. Of what it takes to be a heroic. And to use our powers together wisely. And also a change maybe for us in our congregations what it means to come together as a religious community. And maybe we're looking for mentors we're looking for dr. x-men professor x help us figure out what our superpowers are and i am not professor x by the way trying to help us figure out what we need to be mentored into the fullness of the ability to use our powers. For good. Show me levy with that. Next week we'll talk a little bit more about this whole issue of bad barrels and apples etcetera. More the systemic stuff. But for now. I encourage you to go forth remember your power in the days of your powerlessness. And to wonder and maybe explore what those are. And how we together. Can create a more healthy. Well-balanced centered. And genuinely loving reality. For all of us.

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Sermon_051913.mp3

I had a moment. Near panic. Hiya open my sermon up and turned after the first page and found for blank pages. Until i got to the next page that had typing on it and it was the one i needed it was the next page in the sequence so i made. Because of time today i will be skipping through things a little bit because i want to honor our. Time together and to also honor our opportunity to. Have our meeting later today. Are seamen april last month was. For worship and religious education. Was. Transformation and for this month is. Transcendence. One definition of transcendence is the ability to rise and go beyond. Transformation which we considered. Is about the changes in the forms that we are and inhabit a daily basis. Transcendence is about going beyond or outside of those daily forms even if for only a moment. Hebrew my stand over here. Thank you. Knowing the past i've often like in transcendence to a mountaintop experience and visit it. It also sometimes transcendence is a place where. In transcendence we actually create transformation. The transcended moment may be fleeting but that transcended moment in about itself may create. Greater transformation. And how we behave and how we act and how we are in the world. The transcendent moment or experience may lead us to ways of seeing being an understanding. That we simply could not have imagined. Before. The times of insider are not only for those who travel afar spend copious amounts of time in meditation better available to all. Transcendentalist and unitarian minister ralph waldo emerson claims that the stores are origin of this transcendent experience lay in our very being. We are apart of the oversoul he says within us. Is the soul of the whole the wise silence the universal beauty twitch every part and particle is equally related the eternal one when it breaks do our intelligence it is genius when it is virtue when it flows through affection you just love. I dare say that he would have said that. The spirit. The holy spirit encounter by those of pentecost was that spirit within that oversoul to which we are a part and parcel. His fellow transcendentalist poet walt whitman. Says the sum of all known reverend triad up in you whoever you are. It is no further from you than your hearing and sight are from you it is hinted by nearest commonest radiused. The transcendent is eminently close. To us all the time and yet we talked about it as something other or beyond. But this is only because of our image perceptions and our misunderstandings of ourselves. Somewhere removed from the source of all that is was and will be. I was. Struck by an image that i encountered in my research on pentecost. But in some of the great cathedrals. Around the world there's actually a hole in the roof of the cathedral church. Give me nuggets called. Call the spirit hall. Because that is supposedly where the spirit enters through and even sometimes during pageants and events and the reenactment of. Things like the pentecost and actual image of a dove or something would be actually lowered down through that hole. During. The celebration of the mass. That's a bit different from how we experienced or how we understand i think. The nature of. That spirit that transcendence. Part of our job as a congregation is a gathering of people is to remind ourselves and each other of these basic truth it is the church that reawakens us to the interconnectedness through many groups and activities we participate in together from our coffee house doesn't pop concerts and circle supper is covenant groups or choir. Two other religious education programs social action justice work pastoral care stewardship worship. And it goes on. We and our world need more of the wisdom and insight and possibly the greater transformation that our transcendence. And our understanding of transcendence offers. When we talked about though this issue of the pentecost i have always found it and interesting. An interesting day when i was a kid growing up in the disciples tradition it we understood it as the church's birthday. And that's where the way it's often referred to offhand it is the day that. As one scholar said the movement went from from jesus to christ. Did it went from a group of followers to a movement. That would. Storm the world. It was a pretty important moment. An actual word pentecost itself simply means 50 days. And there's actually a jewish pentecost. That is celebrated with the holyday of 7. Which is actually the celebration of the 50 days after exodus. And handing down of the most of the laws by moses from sinai. That is interesting parallel. they're on the same day. And they have the same. . time between them. But i wonder how much of a coincidence that is. Anniversary of the day that god gave the torah to the entire nation of israel assemble at sinai. In the christian tradition pentecost is celebrated 7 weeks or 50 days after easter sunday and hence its name. And it commemorates the descent of the holy spirit upon the twelve apostles and the other followers of jesus. As described in. The acts of the apostles. Chapter 2 verses 1 through 31. And. The biblical narrative pentecost we're 11 disciples of jesus along with 109 other individuals. Putting many women among them who is mary the mother of jesus. Receive baptism in the holy spirit in the upper room. And. It goes like this. Short version. When the day of pentecost it, they were all gathered in one place and suddenly from heaven there, sounds like the rush of wind violent wind. Can you fill the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues as a fire appeared among them in the tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the holy spirit began to speak in other languages as the spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout jews from every nation under heaven living in jerusalem and that this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered because one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Now i don't go into later on is that people accuse them of being drunk. I said now you don't have any word any language you have me whining you. So they were ready to refuse their antagonist. And while. Those on whom the spirit of december speaking in many language peter the apostle stood up with the 11 and proclaim to the crowd that the event was the fulfillment of various prophecies i will pour out my spirit. In the last days god said my spirit upon every flesh. Episode of flash your sons and daughters will prophesy and young men will see visions and old men will have dreams of dreams. And then 3,000 people were baptized. Sounds like the beginning of a movement to me. Peter stated beginning of what would be available to all believers from that point on jews and gentiles alike. Now it's interesting that the book of acts and the book of luke were written by the same person. The same writer nephew know that or not. Modern scholarship they're not considered to be a single piece. And they were written. As an apologetic. For those who wore. Coming from the apollo line approach to christianity which was that everybody was welcome. And said they were kind of reading some things into history that probably didn't happen exactly that way. So again we have to keep in mind. Who was written to whom by who am in about what. I like. Reverend aaron watson who i read from earlier blog post. I find that. Reading the bible literally is. Fairly futile effort. Most the time it's about meaning until what meaning do we drive from that. And i would say some of the meeting she looked it up the issue of that. The idea is for us to get over being right. And in the process of doing that get out of the way for something more to happen. And then phil fox rose. In that talk about letting go of fear of getting over ourselves our hang-ups. Are needing to be right. And doing what we would regardless of her fear or even. I fear itself. I have to ask myself what would happen. If we as a congregation as a community. Something profound and dramatic happen. Where are we were so enthused. Filled with the spirit. Inspired. That we surrendered our fears and proclaimed what we thought and knew to be. The truth. My capital-t truth. Has. Phil fox rose talks about because we believe there is tea tappable capital t truth out there that we can all somehow embrace. Fred and we all have a lot of little t truths we bring together. To try and understand and approach. That big t true sort of like approaching the speed of light. You may not ever get there. But we got present. I'm always interested in. Why we do things we do and. Is parish ministers part of my calling to explore that with us with all of you and part of what i gleaned from my studies. Is that participation in religious community as a response to some very basic human yearnings and needs. Did you need to feel and to be to be in the feel understood. In addition to being understood we need to understand. We need understand ourselves and each other and our place in the universe. This is one of things that drives us to move out of our comfort zones. To embrace. Does who might consider the other. We also need to understand feel that we belong in and to our religious community. Human beings are social creatures and we need an accepting and embracing community of our fellow beings. That doesn't mean we don't challenge each other. And finally we yearn. For hope. We are in for hope especially in our current days of fear and turmoil. We need to know that the light at the end of the tunnel is not another train coming out us. For somebody burning down something. That there is room in our lives for more and greater possibilities and four full and successful life. However we need to find that success. How do we. Is it community then. Without having to wait for. Some external intervention. To come in and fix our problems. How many do you play dungeons & dragons as a kid. Thought leaders. The word d i means. Divine intervention. Get that big d i r o. On the dice 20-sided dice. You hope for that double ott. 200 come up cousin you mean. Going to get saved somehow i was going to fix your problem. Lottery ticket. That doesn't generally happen understanding and not in the sense that. We're going to have the tongues of fire come down. And. Stand over our heads and have us embrace other languages. I think that would be a great spirit to a number of companies such as. I'm having a blanket rosetta stone i think we have a real problem with it. So. What that means then for us is that we do the work of embracing and understanding and releasing our fears. Do all of these various things that we've been talking about this year true forgiveness. 2. Transformation. Sim racing. What's possible. In spite of her fears of having courage. And knowing that we're not doing this alone. That we are all powerful precious holy beings. Not because the holy spirit has descended upon us. That may have happened to some of them. But because we are a part of that holiness that. The oversoul that emerson. And whitman talk about. The pentecost. Is. Assigned to us about what is possible. When we embrace our boldness. Only take on what we know to be best and write and share that with others. So that their lives may be improved. And that we may all live in light. So i encourage you to olga forest with tongues of flame. Not so that we can scorcher relatives. For flame out people online. It's so that we can. Create warm sand our relationships and understanding. So we may find the peace that comes through understanding. And the boldness that comes. From a need. Show me yearning. The company of others. Dennis amazing journey. That is our life.

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Sermon_111812.mp3

This month we've been talking about the issue of forgiveness in our sermons. And as you've seen or talked about and i've mentioned many times before their opportunities for us. In. The act of forgiveness whether it is forgiving ourselves or forgiving someone else. In the pastor lester. They were talking a little bit more about what's in it for you. And. See what we can find out. The recap forgiveness as webster's dictionary offers is. To give up resentment of a or claim to requital for some offense. To forgive is to cease to feel resentment against. I need an important to cease to feel resentment against. Some offender or offense. Giving isn't allowing of room for error or mistakes. Supported forgiveness is recognition of our own human fallibility of this is some of the collateral words that we here. Around forgiveness things like absolution and amnesty and pardon and remission and stuff. And we think that's what we're talkin about we think we're giving. Show me permission were. Saying that what they did is okay. That's not what i'm saying at all. We're talking about is our response. So what happen. I like lily tomlin comedians her take on this she says forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past. True. It is important to remember that. This forgiveness of other stuff. And ourselves is something we do for ourselves that sounds horribly selfish that we should do something for ourselves. God forbid but. The idea is that we try and take care of ourselves not because. We have to do that to take care of somebody else we're not some instrument. We are. A part of the holy. We are divine and of ourselves we are. Part of this great and amazing creation. Another consequence we need to take care of ourselves. As an act of worship. Does an act of. Respecting. Solely. And ourselves. We haven't heard from dignity. So we should act like it. But when we get out of this. The intent of these. World religions that offer guidance and forgiveness and our own. Is that we're here to try and clear a path. Of our relationship. Are the instructions to more whole and healthy experiences. Of ourselves and each other. In relationship to ourselves and each other and to the universe as a whole. It is the path to reconciliation to the restoration of harmony. And that which is most consistent with our best selves as we can be. And beauty. I mean a way of being that is in harmony with the universe as they perceive it to be. And no it through their traditions. Much of what is called healing in shamanic cultures. Around the world is more tuned to a concept of healing as a way of creating or restoring harmony within the person and within the larger cosmic order. As much or more as it is about curing of a specific l. Beauty is before me and beauty behind me. Above and below me hovers the beautiful i am surrounded by it i am immersed in it. In my youth i am aware of it and in old age i shall walk quietly the beautiful trail. In beauty it has begun and beauty it is ended. So why should we forgive. Writer catherine ponder offers that when you hold resentment toward another you were bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free. Show for group of people like us who were so into freedom. Important thing to do. If we really want to be. Free. In our lives. Rabbi hillel kirchner who we saw earlier who is also the author of many best-selling books including how good you have to be. Offers that that hold it onto grievances against another tends to do a couple of different things. First day strangest mother people and that in turn can become a habit. I'm sure you don't know anybody like that. Thanksgiving coming up i'm sure you can refresh your memory if you forgot. Second holding grudges. Condition just to think of ourselves as victims. Rather than is active participants in our own lives. Not forgiving will in reality give away our power. The power of our life. To the past action or person. Greenwich. Who with which we are a mess. It is important thing about the difference between. An interdependent relationship with someone and being a messed with them. Interdependence. Means that we have a mutual relationship. And measurements. Does not require that mutuality. It simply means that we are hooked into their garbage. We are in meth. I like that word. Forgiveness is an act of personal empowerment. And liberation. More for the forgiver then for the forgiven. I think it's a real radical change in how we have often been conditioned to think about forgiveness. You know that this is not about asking someone else for forgiveness although that's a good thing. Any of us who've worked any of the 12 steps know there's important stuff there. But this is more about letting go of our own. Connections. Two things. Sew-in forgiving we choose health and happiness. Over righteousness. Evangelical christian corrie ten boom who in the netherlands during wwii. Seeing her family aided the the rescue of the jewish families. She ranks right up there with schindler. Saving of jews. And she has written quite extensively on forgiveness from her. Evangelical perspective. And her entire family was imprisoned. Many of them died. She was one of the few that survived. She has preached written extensively on this and she offers i think the fairly important insight into the nature of forgiveness and we often think. She says forgiveness is an act of the will. And the wheel confunkshun regardless of the temperature of the heart. This means we don't have to feel like forgetting. In order to try and engage in an act of. Forgiveness. We're not talking about forgive and forget. We're back and only when salmon is done. It's about moving beyond suffering for a place of healing. So even if you don't feel it. To forgive someone or yourself. Thank you to mind we're talking about us to you know. I have experienced a sense myself of this lightning of a lifting of a load. I did not know i was carrying. By the simple act of saying words of forgiveness out loud. Even just to myself. I think some of you. Have had that experience to. I'm going to ask you now to trust. And to think of someone. You feel you need to forgive. Holder name or image. In your mind. And as you do please say out loud. With me i will say it and repeat after me. To be good to breathe before we do this. Cuz i hit the sense of people holding their breaths out there. I forgive you completely and freely. I release you and let you go. So far as i'm concerned. What happened between us is finished. Forever. I wish you the best. I wish you your highest good. I hold you in the light. I am free and you are free. And all again is well between us. Peace be with you. It's important to remember that. Forgiveness is not a one-off activity. It's not something we do and then we're done. Much like grieving or any other. Emotional process. It takes time it takes repetition. It's a spiritual exercise that takes practice to get better. It's like a muscle we have to work that muscle. It's a process. Doctor martin luther king junior reminds us that forgiveness is not an occasional act it is a constant attitude. Usher's religious liberals as unitarian universalist the consequences of not endeavouring to be in the constant attitude of forgiveness are twofold. First it does all the things with rabbi kushner said. Let us give away our power and turns us into victims. And in turn allows us to negate or ignore ourselves. Is inherently worthy beings. You're not forgiving we in turn are not able to fully honor ourselves and others as precious part of the holiness of the alness. Of the universe. And secondly we are diminished in our duty to extend that recognition to others. And not just those who have transgressed against us. They cut us off. No matter how indifferent or depraved another maybe they are still not devoid of some measure of worth. They are also a child of the universe as are we and we are obligated to recognize them as such. If we wish to claim the same for ourselves. Choose happiness over righteousness. So forgiveness is a way for us to say that we can do better. At what we've been doing. It is not a condemnation. But an encouragement for us to grow. To be more who we currently are. And. More of who we can be is a part of that spiritual journey of accepting ourselves as we are as enough. And seeking. To be even more to transcend ourselves as we are for who we can be. Forgiveness. Can help us find release. On anger and to find healing. And to be more in harmony. And to walk. 1 yearly. The beautiful trail. We can find in forgiveness a renewal and closer relationships with ourselves. With each other. And. With the universe. With the holding.

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20151122-Sermon.mp3

Try not to be too heavy today but. I think the situation warrants some. We've been talking a lot about forgiveness this month is kasim on our cycle of. Worship and sermons that we follow. And there's a lot of question of what does that mean we talked about it does not mean forgive and forget. Unless forgetting is something we can do after we have forgiven. But we don't forget. If we can help it because then we repeat history's mistakes. And that will touch on justice in a moment by the way these sermon topics for pick well in advance of the event of our day. So. Solution absolution. Well it might be a dictionary synonym for forgiveness is not what we mean by giving somebody a free pass or condoning what someone has done. For talking about is the letting go of our. Energetic attachments. To what has been done to us or if we have in some way connected. Lily tomlin. Comedian. Says that forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past. Kind of hits home.. And rabbi kirchner and and others have lifted up that it's. Holding onto things is like taking poison trying to kill the guy across the street. And hoping they'll die holding on to some. White hot coal so you can throw it at somebody who will never show up. It only consumes you. And it keeps you connected to that. Negative event to that. Harmful traumatic. Sing. Weird things. Writer catherine ponder said that. When you hold resentment toward another you were bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. And forgiveness is only that is way to dissolve. And to get free. Now so talk a lot about these things online if you want to to see those or it was sleeping listen to them they're actually on audio. Sermon archive. Dorsal. Hideous to get out of our heads. Little bit we did a little that last night some of that was assisted by other substances. So now we should do that in means of the spirit though not spirit. One of these i had found in. Doing healing work. For myself and others over the years has been that often function follows the form. So even if i don't necessarily feel terribly. Helpful or loving or energetic. Sometimes if i. Put myself in a place where i am doing those things. Despite how i feel. How i feel and how i experience things changes. Putting myself in the attitude. Prayer for healing as they say. So even if you do not feel it to forgive someone. Or yourself i have experienced a sense of lightening a listing of a load i did not know i carried. By the simple act of saying words of forgiveness out loud and even just to myself. I'm going to ask you to think of someone. You need to forgive. Hold their mind holder name or names. We're image in your mind and as you do. You may say out loud or to yourself with me. These words. Please repeat after me. I forgive you completely and freely i forgive you completely and freely. I release you and let you go. I release you and let you go. So far as i'm concerned. Tavares on hunter what happened between us is finished forever. What happened between us is finished forever. I wish the best for you. I wish for you your highest good. I wish for you your highest good. I hold you in the light. I told you in the light i am free and you are free. I am free and you are free. And all again is well between us. All again is well between us. Peace be with you. Peace be with you. So if we do something. I offer you. Any number of. Prayers are meditations like that are available. And get you this one if you want. But i guarantee if you sit down and do this everyday. Keeping in mind those even if they have long gone from our lives. It will make a difference in your life. It will change you. And way which you then engage with the rest of the world. Not easy. But it's doable. I also think it's important to remember that. Forgiveness is not a one-off kind of activity. Although. But we might be needing to forgive was. Forgiveness is not. Basically forgiveness is a process. Dr. martin luther king jr. reminds us when he says. Forgiveness is not an occasional act it is a constant attitude. Things the dalai lama is talked about being constantly going to be present. So if this is true then we may be cold on. To a deeper level of relationship impossible. Data reconciliation. Dr. king offers that darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that. Forgiveness is about releasing our attachments. Two people and events in the past. Reconciliation is intact. Creating a future. Without forgiveness. There's no future. All according to desmond tutu. So if we are looking at issues of forgiveness. And justice. Can we make of all of the. Explosion of a friend of mine called. He says an explosion of excremental offal. From our fellow-citizens family members even like who are you and what did you do with my family member. I'd like to have them back please. When fear is commoditized and sold and used to sell television advertising time and radio time. Print time online time. There's a lot of money to make me fear. Just ask the gun industry. Industrial military complex. Gold eisenhower warned us about. All of those things are about fear. It was not fear they wouldn't be able to sell anything. The same for. Other types of things medical remedies miracle cures. The too-good-to-be-true. But desperately wanted. In our. Hope for. Only making a better world that just starting with ourselves cuz that's all we can really do is change ourselves. In some small way. The it is humbling for some of us who think i've got to do this together and you take on all these things and how would i do this really got to stop doing that crazy. You know i got some of you do this to. It makes us crazy is like okay. And work muhammad or buddha or even martin luther king i mean you're not different sphere in a different place in your own way. Dealing with things so how do you do that instead of trying to. You'll if i were secretary of state never take that stupid job thank you very much. And warlocks presents you never do that either. So. What do we do with all this stuff. I'm going to do something about it and we want to reach out and we're sitting there monday morning quarterbacking all of the things and stuff. We do we can you know what we can do and it sounds. Topological obviously. But we forget that. So yes your your congressional representative maybe a dirtbag but. Where she may be a dirtbag but. That's right it equal opportunity i'll tell you what they were surely then up to it to. But you still. Have the right and the need to write them and let them know. That you think what they're doing is wrong. What you're saying is wrong. And that you as a member of this community. Feel otherwise. Because otherwise they're going to send their right. I know it gets bigger too exhausting. Sending these messages in letters. Things to people you know and but people do keep track of e-cig. It's important to say these things to all of your elected representatives and appointed representatives if all parts of our community. Disappointing to say them to the people in the business community. To make sure that those who are at the chamber of commerce know how you as a resident of this feel about this end exactly how you will be using your. Power. Economically and otherwise to. And reinforced that position. The trust me everybody else's. Now i wish everybody else was. That's the problem with with making justice here in texas particularly is that we have a low participation democracy. Just training quickly into a low participation. Something else that's not good. So participation. Actively trying to be in a state of forgiveness with others. Even if you think it's some point i really don't deserve it. And do keep in mind we are universalists we do not believe in hell. Chapters a metaphorical reference. God only knows their those we wish would go there and stay. A long time. But we don't have that option this is part of our spiritual discipline that our religious belief. We believe that all have inherent worth and dignity. Even if they may do other things and make other choices that obscure that. Beyond our hope of seeing. New star wars movie coming out soon. How many of you know that. My son would be up if you're not going to go see it yet. You're too young too bad buddy will tell you about it later. Yes did luke go to the dark side i don't know we'll find out what. Spoiler alert. So in reflecting on that is about darth vader's destruction of the emperor and reconciliation with luke with brings balance to the force someone say that luke is very codependent with darth vader trying to make him. Be something he may not be. And it is disabled east not a role model for a healthy family. We don't have to destroy the original emperor to create more balance in our lives. The act of letting go. On our preconceived ideas of ourselves and others and even the universe can allow us to be more readily. Able to find a place. Of healing and. Reconciliation. For ourselves and for those who we are may be at odds with. Is constant attitude that we. Dr. king has told us we should pursue. It allows us to be in a better place. To have better judgment. Not the operating out of fear. One of my favorite quotes from molly ivins which i probably butchered every time i use it which is. That fearful people do stupid things. And that means all of us. For anna's. Fdr said. We have nothing to fear but fear. Itself. Excellent mantra. So if we are going to be in a place where we can try and help. Justice be more present in the world we don't make justice we help it. Come into being. Delpit live. Process. We keep it alive. So in the sentence forgiveness is a way of saying we can do better. Encouragement for us to grow. To be more than we currently are in a help ourselves. To be a place to help our world.. Is part of a spiritual journey of accepting ourselves as we are as enough and seeking to be even more that exercise that recitation of. Forgiveness. The first person you need to do that for is yourself. And doing that we might then. Prince and ourselves as we are. Forgiveness can help us. Define release. Of our fear. And our anger and to find. Balance. Healing harmony. To walk more nearly two beautiful trail. You can find in forgiveness. A renewal and a closer relationship with ourselves. As in the letters. Panera bread. Run from the husband and father in paris. And the other. From the palestinian american woman. In texas i think. We can choose not to do these things. Tonight. Hate. It's not really an active will. But it is certainly a spiritual practice. If we can do it all by enacting will we would need all the rest of us. And we wouldn't need each other. So we come together here. Care for each other. Remind each other. Hold each other accountable for the things we say we value unimportant. Especially in these days. Up days. Cousin trying to walk the beautiful trail. The road is often difficult. And we can then find perhaps in ourselves. Indian. Any forgiveness we can offer. A renewal and closer relationships with ourselves each other. And with all that we know is just unfair. And loving.

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20131013-Sermon.mp3

We have a truthiness crisis. The title of the sermon today is the meaning of truth?. And it relates to our theme for this month of unity and diversity. That when i was really thinking about that i hadn't even consider this whole concept or truthiness. And what the different competing truths. Innocence. Or forms of truth. That. Was raised by stephen colbert. Truth may have many parts and sources but not all truth. Are equal. And many are not even factual. When asked. In an out-of-character interview with the onions a.v. club for his views on truthiness. He said the following. Truthiness has imbroglio is tearing our country apart. Truthiness is tearing apart our country and i don't mean the argument over who came up the word. Used to be that everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts. Facts matter not at all. Perception is everything. It's certainty. I feel real dichotomy in the american populace. What is important. What you want to be true. Where what is. Truthiness is what i say is right and nothing anyone else says could possibly be true. Not only what i feel. To be true but is what i feel. Dumitru. There's not only an emotional quality but there's a selfie. Quality. Now the the quote that is truly to do colbert. That we read earlier. That everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts. Has been attributed to a long list of other people putting the late tim russert. Well tim russert was a protege of the late senator patrick moynihan. And he's the one we think. We can track that down to. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts. Anymore. In trying to determine what is actually going on and reliable and true about life. I reminded him of the recurring nightmare that many of us who wear corrective lenses have. We are not able to find our glasses because we need our glasses to see where we left our glasses. Yes preach. When we are unfocused and confused. We might not know or recognize the truth we're looking for and even if it is right in front of us. We need ways to identify and test but we lay our hands on in the marketplace of ideas and information we can use to pinions of others as guides but in the end we have a responsibility to go out and test it for ourselves. One of the regular confusions about and even within unitarian universalism. Is that we are somehow just a bunch of socially progressive moral relativist. Or that there are no constants in what and why we hold the faith that we do. Heading typically infuriating religiously liberal style the answer is probably well yes and no. When we make an effort to say what we believe and why the formulations we approached begin to look in many ways like our principles and purposes. Which can be found in the front of our hymnals. We use the principles and purposes as a touchstone for much of our articulation about ourselves and our theology and our morality. Let me take this opportunity to share especially with newcomers that. This is not a creed as we said before we don't do that. At least not intentionally. Another traditional sense. It is 8.. Democratically arrived at covenant between the member congregations of our association studied and debated and passed in the mid-1980s. And then revised a little bit in 1995 and a recent overhaul was defeated. At the general assembly by one vote. That was a few years ago. Are coming into authority comes from all of us as members of the congregations in a tiger gation says members of the association. And this is a statement of beliefs commonly held among us. It is not a litmus test for participation in this or any uu society but it is a good fit indicator. Probably a little bit better than the belief ematic quiz. On beliefnet.com. Those people who have significant difficulty with large portions of this will probably be uncomfortable as you use. We do not believe in nothing and not everyone no matter how inclusive we try to be will find their salvation that they seek here. So how do we determine the truth of things without relying on any doctrinal formulations. The reason human beings want answers given to us is that it's simply easier if we are given the answers. When i was a kid growing up in fort worth on the westside. Then general dynamics was sort of the big dog in the neighborhood along with carswell air force base. And i would ask my dad if we went to our disciples church you know how all these really very brilliant engineers. To come to church on sunday and hold non-rational beliefs about these things. And he said well i think they just work really hard all week and kind of want somebody else to tell him what to do on the weekends. This was a mandarin dedicated to his chart. The difference russ's unitarian universalist is that the process of finding. And determine what is true. Is the application itself. And is a religious and even spiritual practice. For us. As a legendary defense attorney clarence darrow said and whose father was trained as a unitarian minister but not practicing. Clarence darrow said the pursuit of truth shall set you free. Even if you never catch up with. The content of truth and understanding is not separate from the ways we pursue discover and determine them. Now i can spend copious amounts of time telling the history of how we came up with the following sources of truth and understanding and you know i could. But i will cut to the chase and outline but i understand are three basic ways of knowing. And the sources of truth. First let me begin very clear with this when i say truth i'm speaking about the small t. Small lowercase t. And i may be more accurate to speak of many truths we know the the. More than the capital t. Not true. Definite article. We do not believe. We have or can have all of the truth or the truth. But we're pretty sure no one else does either. Now this is humbling for us. And for others. But it's also a source of pride. We know that there is no that we also know that there is no truth constantly being revealed or made available to us and therefore truth religious or otherwise is not sealed or consigned to a particular time and place. These in turn mean that we all have a role to play and they need to share. In order to have a better or fuller understanding of what is true we are all participants in the discernment of truth. Religious and otherwise. A fundamental understanding of what we are doing as religious liberals was articulated well by unitarian suffragette susan b anthony and speaking of her quaker friends lucretia mott. She offered that we seek truth for authority not authority for truth. This is when i try to always hold up. We seek truth for authority not authority for truth. Think about how that applies that hole through penis issue. A little bit. For example i am not coding susan b anthony because her saying something gives it more less credibility. But because she said it so well and concisely. The rhetorical devices to lean on the authority for proof. Rather than on what it says. Think theodore parker said something of the great unitarian. Theologian and an transcendentalist writer. Said that the reason jesus is statements are true it's not because jesus said them because they're really wise. That's a significantly different approach. In a world where we rely on experts for just about everything is important remember that it is not who says nothing but what they say and how they got there. I find an important personal practice for myself to be self-aware of our human tendencies decide authority for truth i tell you what raising small kids it's really easy to fall back on that because i said so. Because mommy said so. Now given all of this there are three basic sources of true. And they are virtually universal. And used by humans in determining truth particular religious truth. These three are. Tradition. Reason and experience. Tradition reason and experience. And it is the ways that we define these and which we interact with them that is different for us as. Religious liberals as unitarian universalist. In most religions the word tradition. Or that which is the inherited understanding of things. Usually is the lens through which critical thought or reason and experience or intuition are viewed and interpreted to everything has to pass through that lens. Alright. You can have critical thought you can have personal experience. But they have to pass through that lens of tradition. Tradition trumps the other two in a kind of hierarchy or ladder of truth. Alright. Now this was. The way things were up until the liberal project of the enlightenment sand and renaissance in the lightning happen. There's a fancy word for it's called a heteronymous truth claim. Because it was it is. And will be. What old is most valuable this is why you often find people looking trying to make their lineage older than the guy next door is lineage. Right. And every every religion kind of wanted a wind-up the guy by going back further and further and further again so hit the big bang and can't go any further so. We get out of hand. The ladder of truth so everything has to pass through this this i of the needle of tradition. Unitarian universalist. Tradition has a slightly different definition ataxia significantly different definition. And relationship to reason and experience. For us tradition includes not only those things from our own institutional theological pass but includes all of the inherited knowledge and wisdom of humanity. It is called the open canon. Instead of a closed canon we have an open a can. That doesn't mean everything should be in that candidate means everything is possible. Everything potentially could be a part of our kin. All the inherited knowledge and wisdom of humanity is our tradition. This has important implications for us in our day-to-day conversations with other folks. How many of you and being asked about your religion have been asked if you was a unitarian universalist quote use the bible. And what do you say. You say yes. What asked that question i used to waffle try to give a highly refined answer that cause my own eyes glaze over. In disinterest. And what i say now in response that question is of course we use the bible and. And how we and however we also use the koran the hindu bhagavad gita the buddhist sutras the taotao chang-an. The collected works of shakespeare the humanist manifesto the declaration of independence and comedy central colbert report there are many sources of truth. Max for us. Critical thought and reason are exactly that. With all of the nuances in varieties. From the scientific method to the logic and debate. It strives to present the empirical that would can be observed and verified in an objective way. In contrast. Our third point. In contrast intuition and experience are subjective. And usually highly personal and individual in nature. They are things we cannot directly they can only convey to others. Indirectly. This is much what we talked about last weekend the use of metaphor and language and tried to talk about the first. Personal first level experience of god of the holy. As unitarian universalist we understand these three basic sources tradition reason and experience. To be interacting with each other. Not in some hierarchy but on the same level. And a holographic. You know matrix of some sort if you want to think about it. That each itself is a lens through which the others are viewed. And then you turn it and do the other the same way. I need to try again and look at the other the same what. It is same way that various colors or magnifications of lenses bring out otherwise less obvious detail showed of these sources highlight in each other what might otherwise not be seen or understood by themselves. We discover truth through a three-way conversation or trialogue. Reasoning form tradition which informs experience and back and forth and around we go. It is a constantly ongoing process of conversation in which we approach each other. With at least. At the very least an initial openness. The other might have something to contribute to our understanding and perhaps even changed what we know to be true. It is an unrelenting openness to other possibilities. Of what the other might teach us and add to our understanding of the truth that are knowable by us. This means that we are put in a constant state of risk of having to change. Very uncomfortable place to be. And so as open-minded as we are we often find ourselves being open-minded but only with people like us. Right. As long as they don't confront my beliefs. Don't challenge my beliefs. I want other people here. As long as they're like me. I feel that this openness that we have. Is our strength. As unitarian universalist as religious liberals but it can be a weakness if we let it deteriorate into an assumption that as you use we can believe whatever we want. I'm always pushing the edge i just found it. It can deteriorate into an assumption that we use you use that we can believe whatever we want. How many of you said i like being a unicorn to russell's cuz i can believe whatever i want to believe. I know you heard this said by others whether you said it or not i know you heard it. It's not true. It is not true. Because otherwise we do that we become to open our brains fall out. To discover the truth of our lives here and now takes deliberate and intentional acts of attention and practice. Any end. Discerning truth is a spiritual discipline. Education and discussion. Our religious disciplines for us as unitarian universalist. Just as action in the world to create change it to know others are also spiritual discipline. Sometimes we get accused of navel-gazing. Cuz all we do is sit around and talk. Well if that's all we do is sit around and talk yes there was criticism there. But every using sitting around and talking to figure out what we're going to go do. And then go do it. That's another matter. Then that is a spiritual practice for us. Any discernment of truth. As journalist rodger rosenblatt right if one asked then where the larger truth is to be sought the answer is where it is always been. In history poetry art nature education conversation in the tunnels of our own minds. How do i know what is true how do i know it is so. Well. Engaging not just accepting. Then heritage traditions of humanity. Through our direct experiences and through the use of critical thought. For certain. This way of knowing often takes longer. It feels riskier and is usually messier. Perhaps less certain in the short-term. But it has the advantage of steering us in the pads of wisdom. And compassion. In the long run. It can better help us and the world to be whom. And what we want. Together to be. To be the beloved community. Show me the truth set you free.

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Reading_051709.mp3

Our readings this morning are from the works of martin buber. Besides having a strange name to the english tongue he was one of the 20th century's most influential and widely. No in jewish thinkers. His work included. Any translation of the bible into german. And began with flan v sandberg and berks books on interpreting the bible. On hasidim. And on many aspects of philosophy. His most seminal work is called. I am val. In german it is. If wounds do. Anyone here know german. Okay. Does german speakers know that do is. Familiar. Instead of the form of z. For spanish speakers this is difference between the nosotros and vosotros. So he's talking about a relationship that is more familiar. In this. Poetic an influential book he distinguishes. Between two types of relationship between people. In one model he calls. I hit. We relate to others as categories or as instruments of achievement. The other i vow. Or i you. Translating from the drummond differently. We were late to the entirety of our with the entirety of our being to another. Whole person. For bluebird this is more than a way of relating to others it is how we can. A little bit of time. Experience the presence of god or the holy in the world. He offers these. When i confront a human being as my you and speak the basic word iu to him. Then he is no thing among things nor does he consist of things. He is no longer he or she limited by the others he or she. A. in the world grid of space and time. Nora condition that can be experienced and described a loose bundle of named qualities. Neighbor list and seamless. He is you and feels. The firmament. Not as if there were nothing but he. But everything else lives in. His light. As mentioned before bluebird is very poetic. So i encourage you to listen to him in that sense. He goes on even as a melody is not composed of tones noraverse of words nor a statue. Of lines. One must pull and terror to turn the unity into a multiplicity. So it is with the human being to whom i say you. I can abstract from him the color of his hair or the color of her speech or the color of his graciousness. I have to do this again and again but immediately. Then she is no longer. You. The you encountered. Me by grace. It cannot be found by seeking. But that i speak of the basic word to it. Is a deed of my whole being. It is my essential deed. The u. Encounters me but i enter into a direct relationship to it. Lost the relationship is election and electing passive and active at once. An action of the whole being must approach passivity for it does away with all partial actions and thoughts with any sense of action. Which always depends on limited exertion. The basic word iu. Can be spoken only with one's whole being. The concentration infusion into a whole being can never be accomplished. Find me. Can never be accomplished. Without me. I require a u. To become. Becoming i. I say. You. The centaur.

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Sermon_101109_p2.mp3

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20150719-Book_Talk-4.mp3

Well we've heard about science we've heard about science fiction. We've heard about art and. Decorative things. And now i want to tell you about an inner journey. I am vicki behringer and i want you to think for a minute. About what you would do if you were diagnosed with cancer. How many of us either of had that diagnosis. Are noah friends. Our family who did. Now think of those who fought it with every treatment available. And reach the terminal stage. Would you resign yourself to the inevitable. Would you ask for help from a higher power. Dying to be me is the true story. Anita moorjani. Encompassing her childhood. Her nde her near-death experience. And beyond. As she puts it. Her journey from cancer. Near death. To true healing. Seereax. She relates how she became a fearless individual. Imbued with a sense of self. Instead of a fearful. One always trying to please others. And measure up to their standards. She was born in singapore. And was of eastern indian extraction by birth. And was brought up in the hindu faith. Her family including her older brother moved to hong kong. When she was two and most of her education took place. There. She also learn. Chinese traditions. And religious practices. And she went to a catholic school. For her education. She chose a career. Over an arranged marriage in later in life. Found and married her true love. Daniel. Danny moorjani. She had. She has lived in unconventional life. While retaining her hindu identity. As a child and all during her young adult life she had a fear of not fitting in of not being. Acceptable of being. Inadequate in some way. Of displeasing her father or her mother. Of not following the rules of a traditional hindu woman. As she grew older some of her closest friends died of various cancers. And then she too developed cancer. Around 2002. She tried one method after another in house of ridding herself of the disease. And for a while it works. But then it didn't. Get the cancer returned in about 2006. She was close to death. Going into a coma. Here's what she said about her comatose condition. I became aware. That we were all connected. And she emphasizes that. The connectedness. This was not only every person and living creature. But the inner woven unification felt as though. It was its. Felt as though it were expanding outwards include everything in the universe. Every human. Every plant. Every animal. Every insect. Every mountain see. Inanimate object. And the cosmos. I realize that the entire universe is alive. And infused with consciousness. Encompassing all of life in nature. Everything belongs to an infinite hole. And she capitalizes whole. I was intricately in separately and messed with all of life. With all facets of that unity. We're all one. And each of us has an effect on the collective whole. And again she emphasizes whole. I knew that danny's life and purpose were inexplicably. Link to mine and then if i died he'd follow me soon after. But i understood that even if this were to happen everything would still be perfect. In the bigger picture. I also understood that the cancer was not some punishment for something that i had done wrong. Nor was i experiencing negative karma as a result of any actions. Yes i previously believed. It was a slow every moment held infinite possibilities. And where i was at that point in time was a culmination of every decision every choice and every thought of my entire life. My mini fears in my great power had manifested as this disease. Then later still in the coma she makes a choice and in her word she says. In the moment that i made the decision to go on towards death i became aware of a new level of truth. I discovered. Since i'd realized who i really was and understood the magnificence of my true self. If i chose to go back to life. My body would heal rapidly. Not in the months or weeks but in days. I knew that the doctors wouldn't be able to find a trace of cancer. Chacho's to go back into my body. How can that be. I was astounded by this revelation and wanted to understand why. It was then i understood that my body is only a reflection of my internal state. Did my inner self. We're aware of this greatness in connection with all that is. Another way of saying the whole. My body would soon reflect that. This in. Kiel rapidly. Even though i always had a choice. I also just turned that there was something more. It feels as though i have a purpose of some sort get to fulfill. What is it. How do i go about finding it. I perceive that i wouldn't have to go out and search for what i was supposed to do. It wouldn't fall before me. It involved helping lots of people thousands maybe even tens of thousands. Perhaps share a message with them. But i wouldn't have to pursue anything or work at figuring out how's going to achieve that. I simply had to allow it to unfold. To assist the state of allowing. The only thing i had to do was to be myself. I realize that all those years. All i ever had to do was. Be myself. Without judgement. Feeling that i was flawed. At the same time i understood. That at the core. Our essence. This made of pure love. We are pure love. Every single one of us. How can we not be. If we come from like hole. In return to it. I knew that realizing this man never being afraid of who we are. Therefore being love. Being our true self is one in the same thing. This is the part that most resonated with me. The. Carthage said. That there was respect. 4. The independence of all existence. Of which we are apart the part that we are pure love. The rest of the story is about how she went about sharing her story. And she is now an intellectual. Consultant for multinational corporations. Anna speaker about her life and near-death experiences. She has a website and some of her interviews or on youtube. And that is the end.

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20150823-Water_Communion.mp3

Wisdom can arise independently and often does in different parts of the world the story we just heard has been told by cultures and africa and china similar stories have been told by people in many different lands in which human families ways of signaling the story. Contains an important universal truth. Hearing this story today we can appreciate its truth to when we share our community and keep something. All to ourselves. It can hurt our community. When we share with our community is truly felt and appreciated. When we. Withhold from our community and keep something all to ourselves it can hurt our community. Do you remember what council members in our story were asked to bring to the feast. Unlike them. You were asked to bring water this morning to this service if you could if you didn't remember we have water here that is to be available for symbolic purposes. And this is our ingathering of water communion service. The time when we merge the various portions of waters from the summer and are a year in preparation for our next traditionally this ritual is celebrated by many unitarian universalist congregation across the country by people bringing forward water and naming sources for this water by naming what the water represents today we're going to do something a little different our ceremony will diverge from that tradition in a small but significant way. We are thankful. For all of you who experienced the joy of learning about a new place in the world who who who revisited some familiar and well-loved place over the summer. We are thankful. That you travel by car airplane boat train trolley and those travels. Brought you home safely. We also recognize that not everyone has the resources. For the ability to travel far away to faraway places although it's interesting to hear. Where everyone has traveled in past weeks. That practice is looking back and looking outward our water ceremony today calls us to a higher purpose of looking forward and committing ourselves to the common life of this community of this congregation. Just as our individual samples of water combined in this common vessel it is important to consider how we each contribute to the larger community. Making a stronger more peaceful and more friendly. In our story this morning the ten council members were asked to bring a small amount of wine to the feast and as you heard. Each of them withelder wine instead of they brought water. Believing that the lack of one jug of wine. The harley spoil such a lavish feast from that story we learned the importance of each person's gifts and each person's willingness to share those gifts. What is it that you bring to our community. What will you share from your heart and your spirit in this coming year these are questions at the heart of our water ceremony today. I invite you to come forward. Row by row at the ushers invitation. And form lines at our common vessel here. When you pour water in please name before your watering and then step to the microphone and please name one gift. That you bring to our congregation for this new year perhaps it's a desire to attend worship more regularly or listened to others more carefully. Maybe it you bring the gift of patience maybe you bring a musical talent that you're willing to share or a commitment to teach religious education let's take a moment or two to reflect on that parents please take a moment to talk with your your family's perhaps about what gifts each of you brings to the congregation or the larger community. Then after you have poured your water. Tell us the gifts that you bring that you're willing to share with others i bring the gift of teaching howell the sexuality program i bring the gift of organizing camp outs for the 11th year perhaps becoming a new worship associate. I bring the gift of being on the board of trustees. Hi brenda get the supporting friday 6 by keeping the last email in order. Gift of helping to plan worship to bring the gift of dreaming. I guess they're working with the community gardeners. I bring my artistic talent as a gift i bring the gift of worship planning and also lending my voice to our music ministries. My daughter brings the gift of coming to church and i bring the gift of cooking. Getting to know more people here. My family brings the gifts of leadership laughter and a strong back weak mind i'll bring the gift of carrying our food donations to god's food pantry. I bring the gift of working with the community garden and a bringing my grandson tavian to church each sunday who had brought who is brought already brought the gift of helping clean the nursery or bring the gift of coordinated that water is not always good this water came from a flood. I bring the gift of being a trustee fundraisers and working with re. I bring the gift of living simply. I bring two guests to bring my grandson back to church this this fall and me showing up all the time. I bring a gift of unconditional love bring the gift of maintaining the grounds with the odds and ends. Bring the gift of teaching re 6th and 7th graders. I bring the gift of hoping to do more for my family and my community here. I bring the gift of recycling for the church every week. And i bring the gift of being a teacher or i can i bring the gift of serving on the board of trustees and the gift of commitment i bring the gift of being willing to help out at the last minute without needing to take anything over seriously hit me up if you're stuck i bring the gift of talking people into helping with social action items. I bring the gift of teaching spirit play and my son bring the gift of laughter. I bring the gift of coming more regularly and bringing all three of my children i bring the gift of teaching yoga and teaching the children. Brought the water from swoozie. I bring the gift of re-energizing the women's alliance sharing knowledge. And being one of the graders that has the pleasure of meeting many new people in the church. I'll bring the gift of serving as worship associate. I bring the gift of astronomy and developmentally appropriate early childhood education in the preschool room. Helping. Happy house and i bring the gift of teaching and stuff. I bring the gift of teaching re and serving on the re board piece and chloe's the gift of happiness. I bring the gift of being excited to teach high schoolers and being on the re bored and rachel.. Willing to learn william keller i bring the gift of musical talent. I bring the gift of bringing my family to your family through creating a bigger family gift of bringing happiness to the church. I bring the gift of friendship and encouragement to those who needed. I bring the gift of teaching the second and third graders i bring the gift of serving in the army board teaching gardening and maybe some music to. And hopefully a little joy i'll bring the gift of spreading cheer even in the midst of adversity. I bring the gift of transporting elderly to the doctors when they need help i bring the gift of helping people connect through the membership committee and in took and southwest uu women. I bring the gift of faith new beginnings and my son brings youthful determination i bring you gifts of music of teaching and of looking forward to my sabbatical and rest this year. We bring the gifts of presents. Presents and a family and fun and growing and learning. This is. Water that comes from last year and contains water from all previous years that we have been collecting. This. So this water represents. The gift of all of those who have gone before us. All the things we have given and that others have shared to make this day. Possible. And the things. We give. Now so that we make the future possible. For ourselves and for so many others who need us in this world. Hear mingle together. Are the shared gifts of our lives these water isn't the promises and aspirations that we make with one another members of this beloved community as we enter into a space of quiet. Let us resolve not withhold our hearts but to follow loves path and its progress. Wherever it leads. Source of all who embraces and sustains all life. This water which we have collected and shared holds the mystery and the miracle of life may this water be blessed with the love of this community. May our own bodies filled with the rivers of breath be blessed with life energy and with wellness. To carry us through our days. May our home this blue-green planet with its mountains seas and ice caps. Beheld and sacred keeping. Blessed through our stewardship and care as we strive to bring our gifts to this beloved community. And to this difficult. Beautiful world. Let us never doubt the strength of our hearts for the depth of our love for each other and for this our world.

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20150705-Sermon.mp3

Before i began mention was made of gifts and i should note and say thank you when my wife was recovering from hip replacement surgery earlier this year there was a meal train that came from the church and we never ate so well and we are overwhelmed by natalie the culinary talents but also the generosity and kindness. Now. In online photos where he posed with confederate battle flags. And wear jackets decorated with the banners. Are they extinct white supremacist regimes in south africa. And what was once rhodesia. The butcher at that. Charleston church mother emanuel. Dylann roof last month provided the country. With a convenient cartoon of the american races. An unsophisticated psychopath. A high-school dropout. A marginal loser. Roof. Fits nicely into the stereotype for the white supremacist racist are popularly thought of as poor people with little knowledge and even less power. Mostly southern. People living. Only periodically employed employed. Living in trailer parks. They're frightening perhaps but they are monsters freaks with little long-term influence of our lives are politics our culture we like to comfort ourselves by imagining. That racism vanishes. An atmosphere culture and education. That is people learn more they become more tolerant reality unfortunately. Is vastly more complicated. Elites. Actually profit from racism. Keeping working and middle-class / race ethnicity and national origin has kept the uber wealthy powerful. Racism has made infinitely harder. The struggle for living wages decent benefits. In a political system responsive to the average person. And sadly. It's the supposed best and brightest the most traveled and most educated who have often formulated racist ideas and because of their position they've been able to translate white supremacist ideas into policy. And they infuse like a death chamber poison ideas of black and brown inferiority into our public schools. Colleges and universities. Sadly the elite racist have often been scientists. We just celebrate the 4th of july. The founding father who doesn't get much attention is dr. benjamin rush has a signer of the declaration of independence. At the time of the american revolution. Intellectuals like rush puzzled over the cause. Black skin note they didn't puzzle over the cause of white skin that was assumed to be normal so how did black skin happen. Rush argue that a combination of an unwholesome. African diet. Greater heat. Savage manner and what he called in the language of the time bilious fevers. Produce africans black complexions which he described as a type of leprosy. Rush suggested that the longer african-americans lived in the supposed supposedly healthier north american environment the more they're unnatural black color with fade. Let me quieter. Is the color of negroes a disease. Then let's science inhumanity combined their efforts in endeavor to discover a remedy for it. Nature he says has begun spontaneous cures of this disease and several black people in this country. In a certain henry moss picture was nearly complete the change from black to a natural light flash began about 5 years ago. At the tips of his fingers and is extended over the greater part of his body. Now what rush was probably describing. Was an african-american suffering from vitiligo which is the skin condition which results in the loss. A pigmentation. Dr. rush you know as a compassionate man. And he wasn't abolitionist and he try to cure african americans of their blackness. Bye. By bloodletting. Cutting their veins draining blood that's how they kill george washington by the way anime ammonia and they bled him to death. He gave them animas. The cause the body to discharge a black color from his skin. Now what are you trying to do is he's trying to say look these black people yes they're disease. But will be able to cure that and blackness will vanish with time will all be white people you know what the right science he had the best what he saw as the best of intentions. Now african-american slavery expanded after eli whitney invented his cotton gin. In a cotton cultivation wildly profitable. In the south. Even as human bondage after the revolution began to disappear in the north in anti-slavery movement arose when the local economy no longer arrested on human bondage. Anti-slavery rhetoric from the quakers the unitarians and others inspired a furious reaction from the south. They were threatened by this. In the 18th century. Set white slave owners in conventionally describe what they called the peculiar institution as a necessary evil. Slavery was terrible. It was the only means that cotton could be grown profitably. Without slavery southerners claimed the american economy would collapse well rhetorical shift happens after whitney's invention and people realize they can get really fabulously rich from slavery. What's begin argue that slavery was not necessary evil but was a force for good they insisted that africans falsely. We're still living in the stone at stone age. Ignore the evidence of advanced african civilization throughout the continent they said africans falsely again we're cannibals. They said blacks would not live without white supervision and that without the controls of slavery african-american tended to commit crimes and act violently. Biology they said. Had uniquely suited blacks for slavery. Many whites began to argue in the early 19th century that african-americans were not even actually human. But we're separate species adapted to labor like donkeys and other beasts of burden now in the mid-nineteenth century. American scientists still deferred to the biblical book of genesis to explain the origin of life on this planet and the book posed a problem for them. What the story of adam and eve which implies that we all have. Common answers we share a heritage. Well. Some proposed at this point. These are scientists who are still using the bible as a science book the idea of polygenesis. Which is a theory that the genesis story applied only to the creation of white people and that there had been other gardens of eden and there have been other adams and eve and from them spraying the ephesians in the africans and their native americans. This implies a course that these creations a separate creations produce different species. And that's the argument that begins be made by some scientists in this era. Now samuel george martin morten rather was one scientist who empirically tried to prove the central idea polygenesis which is that different races are different species. In in 18th in the 1840s the philadelphia doctor begin to collect skulls. Guinness when the largest skull collection in america by kids with pokemon. He was his it was his obsession. And he has 600 native american skulls his collection eventually grew to 1,000. Yeah i had a african african americans stole taken from egyptian tombs skulls taken from across europe and what he would do is he wouldn't measure the braincase the capacity of the brain to prove that races possessed intrinsically different levels of intelligence. To prove this he filled. Big cases with mustard seed. He said well that sounds scientific enough so he has mustard seeds very inside. So he began to fill them with. Bb shot which is more standard and he's filled the brain can i take the top off fill the case with the bb shot then he poured out when it's full and said this is how many bb shots are in the skull this is the brain capacity therefore this indicates the intelligence of the possessor of the skull. In all of his prejudices were mysteriously confirmed. Northern and western europeans had bigger brains than southern eastern europeans gentiles had bigger brains than jews. Wife had bigger brains and native americans who in turn had bigger brains than africans and african-americans. Now course. He's starting from the completely unproven and completely flawed premise which is what. Brain size equals intelligence and this was used by the way to prove that men are smarter than women i think we have lots of objective evidence to indicate otherwise. You know a a bouncer would have a bigger brain case then a nuclear scientist right not that there aren't smart bouncers at bars but anyway. There's a correlation between body size and brain size and also skull size. His racial groupings of course were arbitrary you can't define those racial groups. And. It led him to make. 22 s*** skulls that. Latest conclusion for instance he native americans smaller native americans compared to larger european groups he compared african females to european males males tend to be bigger than females. Now in the early 20th century. A virginia scientist named robert bennett bean. Try to measure how a specific part of the brain. The corpus callosum. Difference by racial group that he is history was. Bigger corpus callosum mean smarter people. And i don't know if you know about the brain and bought parts of the body when you take it out first of all it's not like invisible man invisible woman kit with her needle things you snap together and get up where one part begins the other part is. Shrinks right see you don't get you no one again the assumption that size matters which men are obsessed with betty white. Does not bear out notice he didn't compare the size of the total brain so they've moved away from that i did a brain size. . matters. So again. Hilhi cc measure the corpus callosum is again the same time hierarchy of intelligence. Was born at by this suppose research. Well you had a mentor at john hopkins university that's where bent being was and he said that strange cousin science usually you don't get every prediction confirmed. And so he said wait a minute. Let's have a lab assistant mix the skulls that's i don't know which group they come from. And lo and behold there's some blacks who had bigger corpus license and some white people there were some indians at larger than either it was completely scrambled the results. And what he figured out is this. When he was measuring if he knew where the skull came from. He measured differently. Unconscious biases framed how he measured and with morton you know stephen jay gould a great life i'll just found the results and he says it's full. Will you fellows called when do you declare it's full. That's a matter of subjectivity right. Until he would pack by brains more densely than he would the black train. Now. During the first three decades of the 20th century eugenics. And this application of biological science to public policy concocted. Before the mechanics of human heredity were fully understood. Deeply shape government policy and provide an excuse to strip civil rights from african americans. And from poor whites all across the country. Eugenicist panic the nation about the spread rapid widespread immigration from eastern and southern europe to the united states in the 1880s through the 1920s they claimed a horde of racial inferiors threaten the nation's biological political future they've been like and coulter. Eugenicist propose various solutions. To rescue american civilization from rachel decline including closing the borders. Raise your hands when you have a sense of deja vu immigration restriction also two types of eugenics one was called. Positive eugenics where you try to get the government to adopt policies to encourage the supposedly racially said to reproduce like the duggars and you you give them you give them money or tax incentives or whatever and so they have 19 kids and counting. Dental b19 indictments in county. And then. Negative. Negative eugenics which is really quite horrible. Where they give courts. The ability. 2. Without consent sterilized. The unfit and the category the unfit likely genesis rotonda how we have to eliminate near-sighted and it's funny cuz all these eugenesis wear glasses but they would you know epilepsy was a major target of the eugenicist. People who had relatives who are in prison it didn't matter even if you were in prison especially if you had relatives that everything was genetic supposedly everything was predetermined they didn't use the term genetic but it was biological inheritance. During the time between the turn-of-the-century wwii 27 states passed mandatory sterilization laws aimed at preventing the poor and others from having children women without their consent got tubal ligations hysterectomies mississippi at the gamestop, they called it in mississippi appendectomy. They actually sent health vans. To this community near coal mine. And they rounded up for whites they told the parents while we're just going to give them exam. And they brought them to medical center and they put them under and then they gave them baths hm hysterectomies etcetera and never told him never told the parents and they didn't know that until years later when they became adults and they tried to have children. The doctor said camp. And stacy virginia are beginning to pay reparations to these victor. Now just like we would like to pretend that racism can be eradicated through educational loan. While ignoring how well-informed you leave encourage bigotry is part of a divide-and-conquer strategy. We also like to pretend that history is a tale of progress that today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be even better. In fact many of the old ideas of race that humans can be divided into distinct categories that correspond to skin color and that these so-called races very not only an external appearance but intelligence work ethic and character are present in our pulpit. Our schools and our media today i mention ann coulter. He has a bug called a dios america about how mexicans are going to destroy america it's number 18 on the new york times. One of the countless republican presidential candidates. They're actually a census category now jeb bush who has the spanish!. Actually named charles murray. A pseudo scientist who authored. Intensely racist bestseller from the 1990s called the bell curve. Intelligence and class structure in american life as one of his favorite author. And the thesis of that book is that black and brown people not defined cuz he's got to goes up mean anything have a standard deviation intelligence from white people 15 iq points and that that is not mediate at all by nutrition headstart none of that makes any difference according to marie by the way a scientist. Now the reason they make that argument is he wants to say that stop funding head start that's stop funding preschool it's pointless these people are doomed to be less intelligent. The idea of racial difference in intelligence as pot and psychiatry departments across the country. Real quick sorry i'm almost finished. I was i got approached by. This man was living in bastrop texas. Who is wendell leading iq researchers in the united states and he wanted to do a book i guess he wanted to prove his. You have non bigotry about pioneer african-americans in different fields that he approached me and i decided to research the guy and i got google. And. Something he wrote and signed was on david dukes website. And it was in praise of the bell curve he was one of 57 scientists including their psychiatrist. Large number for a&m texas a&m and ut saying that the bell curve is absolutely spot-on scientifically defending the book and i said i'll do something else. What i'm saying is not an argument against science which can be a light guiding us to a better world. The problem is i have tried to skype today is that scientists don't live in a bubble. They are product of a corrupt in racist society. As the authors isaac asimov put it. The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster. The society. Gathers wisdom. We should increase the funding for science research. Respect scientific minds. And take it seriously when science reaches consensus on issues like evolution climate change or the nature of human sexual and gender identity. It is a responsibility of the society's a whole however scientist a non-scientist. Scholars and common folk doing sure what mike mahatma gandhi demanded. No science without humanity. Thank you.

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Reading_072510.mp3

When i was a kid my heroes were always explorers i had no use for sports figures or entertainers. I only had space in my hero worship those men and women who set out from their comfortable places. Destructive path into the unknown. It didn't have to be successful either. They mostly warrant. Entirely successful come to think of it. Captain james cook is regarded as a living god by some of the south pacific civilizations he found but in the end he was killed by grumpy hawaiians. Amelia earhart fearlessly took out and took on the aerial circumnavigation of the globe but they mysteriously disappeared. And the south pole give us robert scott who almost became the first to the pole then almost got back without freezing to death. Answer ernest shackleton whose expedition never even made it to solid ground before his ship was crushed by the pack guys. But who managed to save his entire crew through skilled leadership and crazy good luck. Success was never my yardstick for my explorer heroes admired them for setting out into unknown worlds. Usually with only a vague idea of where they were going or how they might get back. Turns out i was destined to join them. When my daughter skylar was born 10 years ago she inherited two significant things from me. At least one of which was genetic. That thing was the rare brain malformation called bilateral / sylveon polymicrogyria. Now identified in maybe 1,000 patients worldwide which has robbed her of the ability to speak. The other thing she got from me was a love of the unknown an intense desire to explore it. 4 years skyler has occupied an internal world mostly her own. Before she began to break through the walls that kept her from communicating with us about 5 years ago. Skylar spent most of her time in her lonely world. Now she's using electronic speech device in sign language. She walks in my world 2 more and more as time goes on. But when she plays and sings to herself. And converses with her toys and dolls. And most of all when she dreams. She returns to that secret place. Sometimes she takes me with her. I don't understand most of what i experienced there. But i try to keep up the best i can. Just one literary figure with whom i always have always associated with skyler although to even say it aloud breaks my off broken old father's heart right into. In her very own unique way. Skyler is pinocchio. To be honest that's not the only literary association i've ever made with her. And with our whole situation i recently watched the film version of to kill a mockingbird again. I can't tell you how many times i've seen it or how many times i've read the book. It seemed like two parts of the whole experience so perfectly matched as they are in a way that is rare for books and film adaptations. I love that book for most of my life. Ever since the first time i read it back when i was probably about the same age as jim fan. And yet. Looking back on the years behind it seems strange that i would have ever known that story without associating it with skyla. I watch the movie now and i'm aware of the relationship between atticus and scout. The wise father and his wild in different little girl who is curious about a world that is meaner than she is. Is also full of mysteries be explored. Now i find myself experiencing the story from the perspective of the father. Atticus tell scout to never truly understand someone until you see the world from their perspective. The climb in their skin and walk around in it for a little while. It's struggling to make my way in skyler's internal solitary world. I think i finally understand what that really means. It's an imperfect parallel of course. In her secret world that place i can visit alongside her but can never fully understand. Skyler is herself equal parts scout finch and boo radley. An imperfect explorer in a world not entirely her own. And as a father endeavoring to guide my little girl even as i try to find a way myself i'm no atticus finch. Hello god knows i do try.

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20150510-Homily_2.mp3

As mentioned earlier the flower communion. Was created by the bishop of czechoslovakia the reverend norbert capek. He was raised a baptist and czechoslovakia in 1910 he was introduced to unit b to unitarianism by professor thomas mizerak the first president of czechoslovakia. And his american wife charlotte who was the from the first unitarian church of brooklyn new york. Traffic later moved to the united states where he attended the unitarian church in east orange new jersey. 1923. Tropic returned to his native land. For he founded the unitarian church. This new church grew rapidly. With the prague congregation reaching over 3,500 members it was the largest unitarian congregation in the world. The prague congregation was very diverse made up of many people with catholic protestant and jewish backgrounds. To serve this diversity. And his vision of a democratic and religious community. Tropic regimes. Such as number 8 which we saying earlier. And mother spirit father spirit and other liturgies and created unique rituals and symbols. Including the flower communion. The czech community was caught up in the tidal waves of world war which swept through europe. With the german occupation of czechoslovakia capek continue to preach with the gestapo sitting in his congregation. Then they came and arrested him in march of 1941. We're listening to the bbc. In 1942 capek was sent to dachau concentration camp. His papers were stamped with the words return unwanted. Even prison capek continue to write hymns actively inspiring his friends family and congregation. Right up until his death later that year as a subject of medical experiments. The flower communion. Was originally designed by norbert capek to make tangible the idea that each of us brings gifts to our religious community and together these gifts create the beauty of our community in turnage of us also. Takes away gifts. When we are part of this community and. We do not know. Who gave those gifts. An awesome. We don't know. How that happened or we don't know who receives of gratitude perhaps the gifts which we. Have given ourselves this is the nature. And the inherent mystery. A human community. So this morning has for many years. We come to celebrate the same ritual again and the flowers connect us not only to each other here in this place in this congregation but also to unitarian universalist all over the world. And for many years in the past and those who have yet to come. But all who will participate in this celebration. Of community.

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20160221-Homily_3.mp3

Well this has been an interesting morning. That's great perspectives you know i love it when we have multiple voices but when they are multiple sections brilliant well-spoken voices. What a treat. I don't know that we explained why we are celebrating evolution sunday. All across the country and beyond its borders. Different churches. Focus of sunday on evolution. And the religious aspects were the compatibility with religion. The celebrations started out as darwin day but of course. There's a tendency to equate evolution with darwinism is a belief system. And so darwin day celebrates charles darwin's birthday this is the next step along the road evolution sunday so there are many many churches who do this of all different. And you know it's a hard hard struggle for many people. Even charles darwin himself really struggled with whether to publish and exactly how to write on the origin of species. And a lot of people struggle with it today as we've heard. Many of you may know that i served on the lovejoy isd school board for almost a decade. And during that time we were developing curriculum for the high school and opening lovejoy high school. We had a chance to build curriculum from scratch. And so there were a lot of tensions. People pushing for one thing or another fortunately we had a superintendent he believes strongly in good science education. Luckily evolution is in the texas curriculum. The level to which it is taught is a different question in lovejoy it is taught. I remember one evening shortly after the high school opened. I've been in a meeting at the high school in the lecture hall and as i was walking out it was with another mom who was it i knew that she was a very conservative or religious. Parents. And she was expressing her distress over the summer reading assignment the previous summer which was ender's game. From orson scott card. Let me just say it's not really a controversial book for most people there's some difficult issues in there but that's why they assigned it. And orson scott card is a devout mormon. So anyway but she was distressed over and i don't even remember now what her objections were. But then she started in on evolution and trying to explain how evolution is just a theory. Goodwill. Yes. The normally is a school board member you tried to be very diplomatic. And people disagree with you all the time and you except there and put in you. Take that and you think about it and you don't argue with them. I couldn't help it. It's a theory and a theory is a big and wonderful thing. Gravity is a theory. And evolution is a theory in exactly the same way. And then. I told her what i had learned from our gifted and talented coordinator and what i think is still an excellent response. Your children don't have to believe. The facts of evolution the theory of evolution. We are asking them to understand it. What they believe is up to you. Understanding science. That's where the school. But there are powerful forces all across texas in the us who fight mightily. To keep evolution out of the classrooms. The discovery institute as one you've probably heard of the creation museum. And you know. Not without reason really you heard sheree talk about her struggle. She's not the only one who grappled. With issues of fact. Did opened a little chink. In the bulwark around some religious. Belief state. If you are building up a foundation that says every word in the bible is literally true. And you base everything on that and it has to be so tight and so firm. Then when someone opens up a chink. Yes that wall might fall. Because there's no flexibility in it it's not earthquake-proof. So. Really. Is in some ways. Your fears are justified. And we can point to things like the catholic church. Which said sometime ago i believe it was back in the 1960s or so. Could yes we accept. The facts and the theory of evolution we believe that is true. The pope said it. Many many religious traditions. Don't have a problem with it. But still people fear for their children's souls. Other people are just confused. When we have these discussions is evolution true. Well because science education has been so spotty in this country. People don't have the tools. To really analyze. What they're being told by the people. Who don't want us to teach evolution. So groups like the discovery institute can create the wedge. The wedge theory which is. Basically. Teach the controversy. Raise questions. That on their surface appear to be very good questions. Course they've been answered. If you understand the science behind it. There's good data but superficially. They appear to be. Just partially that you either singer they do. There are answers to those i'm not going to go into him now. There are answers. And the truth is that the argument over whether and how to teach evolution in public schools. Is not a disagreement that we are ever going to resolve by being rational. Patrick actually told me yesterday you. You can't address an emotional system with. Rationality. And we have certainly found that to be true our current presidential race is a case in point you can't win a battle for souls with data. And charts and spreadsheets. So what's left to us. Well. Yet some of us will continue to try. Well if we want to convince people who aren't coming at those who are not receiving this issue as a rational logical issue. We have to create a more appealing less frightening story. One that can encompass both. The mystical truth of religion and don't tell people their religion is a man. But you know what i mean the lord you're good meaning of mythical. And the actual facts of reality. The michael dowd and connie barlow are the. Stars of how to do this. They have created something they call the great story. Which they define as humanity's common creation story. And i should tell you michael dowdle refers to himself. As an as an evangelist for evolution. He was raised berries fundamentalist pentecostal i believe. Had a crisis of faith ended up unitarian that but a atheist unitarian. United church of god. Pardoning united church of christ. Basically unitarian-universalism with christ. And also brilliant and the two of them travel the country giving lectures and making presentations to school boards to public groups to any basically anybody that will host them and put up a slideshow. They will come and talk to you. And they were great story is the 14 billion years science-based sacred story of cosmic genesis. From the formation of the galaxies and the origin of earth life. To the development of self-reflective consciousness and collective learning. To the emergence of comprehensive compassion. And tools to assist humanity in living harmoniously with the larger body of life. Their website is the great story. org. If you would like to see some details and i would encourage you to look for that they have books and videos. But even knowing. How life evolves and even if we look at them that. Mystery. And after we accept the process that led from this very first living cell. The first little bit of protein that wrapped a membrane around itself all the way up to humans. Or. Dolphins or whatever you would accept his most advanced life-form on earth today. Speciesist. Even once we accept. The very well supported. Fact that our ancestors were. Shortened harry and derived from a common ancestor with the modern great day. Life is still a miracle. Even if consciousness is a metaphor nomenon. Of electrical and chemical activity in our highly-evolved frontal lobe. Frontal cortex. Our spirits are still big enough to encompass a larger story. So i think. The way to address this. Is to meet people where they are. To how in whatever way encourage them to hold both sides. In their brains. Share the miracle of an evolutionary story big enough to leave room for god. Without demanding one. And the beautiful thing about being universitarian universalist is who can leave that room for somebody else. Even if. You don't need it yourself. So as individuals and as a community we can join together. With groups like. The clergy project. Which is the name of the group that organizes evolution sunday. We can share with other people resources like michael dowd's wonderful book. Thank god for evolution. Emphasize the poetry and the mythic power. Of evolution. From the big bang. All the way to us. And connie barlow wrote something that i printed in 42 small type. Tell me a creation story more wondrous than the miracle of a living cell. Forged from the residue of an exploding star. Tell me a story of transformation more magical than that of a fish hauling out onto land and becoming amphibian. Or a reptile taking to the sky and becoming a bird. Or a mammal slipping back into the sea. And becoming walrus. Surely this science-based culture of all cultures. Confine meaning and cause for celebration. And it's very own. Cosmic. Creation story. And if we can share evolution is this great story then maybe we can persuade. Karen. And legislators. Maybe even a presidential candidate or two. That they can accept. The truth of evolution. Without having to relinquish their souls. Or their children. And then we can quit fighting about whether to teach evolution. And work. All of us. On evolving to be kinder and wiser.

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20140824-b-BlessingTheBackpacks.mp3

So we are doing something different today. Today we are doing a blessing of the backpacks. I'm so how many people have special bags to carry their stuff in. I kind of thought so let me go get mine. So i have a backpack. You might have a gym bag or a dance bag maybe a broader definition of diaper bag. A purse a briefcase. Maybe some other places where we store our stuff that's really important for our daily life like. Our car keys. Perhaps our cell phones. So if you brought if you are a child or 18 and you brought a backpack or something special that you wish blessed today. Please come up and bring your backpack up under the rug. Or gym bag or horseback riding bag or dance bag and you can have a seat. And if you are staying back there. I'm not coming up front i invite you to take your. Thing that you store your special stuff in your cell phone your keys your purse your briefcase and hold it in your hands while we think about this idea. Of a blessing. Now i bet every one of these bags and every one of those bags has some really cool stuff in it and you don't get to show it to me now. After after the service i'd love to see the new apps i'd love to see the backpacks but not right now. But i thought. I would bring my pack pack and show you some of the things that are in mine. That's it. What's this. My laptop. I'm not taking it out it's alden heavy. Let's see what else i have in here. And this. My charger it also plugs into the wall. And let's see all up in front. I see what i have in here. Up in front. I have. Sharpies. And pens. And in this packet in pocket in here i have band-aids and in this pocket here. I live in texas so i have benadryl gel. My backpack has an awful lot of things in it. That i would have a really hard time going through the day without. Or working without. But i could do it. There's some other things that i put in my backpack. That i would not find it nearly so easy to get along without. I put in respect for other people. I put in kindness and compassion. Understanding and acceptance and encouragement. I put in curiosity and a passion for learning. I put in listening to other people. I put in working for justice. And the feeling of being connected. Do everything and everyone around me. You guys recognize those don't you. What are they. There are outside what did i hear they are are. They are they are the words they are words that mean are seven principles now i can't really physically put those in my backpack but i have a really hard time getting through my day without them. Those are gifts that i carry with me. Those are blessings. Because i am a unitarian universalist. The dictionary defines a blessing as a gift. Or something that brings you happiness. So those are definitely. Some of the blessings of being you you pack your backpack. Or your lunch box for your gym bag or your purse or whatever. We have blessings here. Thank you. We have blessings. To help you remind you. The blessings of being unitarian universalist. It's a card that goes in your backpack or on your backpack. To help you remember that everyday you carry with you the blessings of respect. Kindness. Curiosity encouragement. Listening. Justice in connection with every living thing. May it be so. And may you share these blessings with the world. I'm going to give them to the children in front and if anyone else would like one please come get one.

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Reading_022810.mp3

A reading this morning come from the hebrew scripture. And is an account of jeremiah's call from god to enter into this role of prophet. He like all the ancient prophet is being called to speak wisdom in a time of great chaos. And a time of war disaster and despair. Perhaps we might be able to empathize with jeremiah imagine being called to be a prophet. Into our world where ongoing wars. Are leading people to respond with increasing anger frustration and. Where recent earthquakes are highlighting the disparity between our worlds rich and poor. Imagine being alone. Prophetic voice to our world now. Jeremiah wright. Now the word of the lord came to me saying. Before i formed you in the womb i knew you. And before you were born i consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Then i said. Lord god truly i do not know how to speak for i am only a boy. But the lord said to me do not say i am only a boy. For you shall go out to all whom i send you and you shall speak whatever i command you. Do not be afraid of them. For i am with you to deliver you says the lord. Then the lord without his hand and touched my mouth. And the lord said to me now i have put my words in your mouth. See today i appoint you over nations and over kingdom. To pluck up and to pull down to destroy and to overthrow to build.

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Sermon_012912.mp3

Good morning. So i want to talk to you this morning about being at home religiously. And how important it is. To be at home both theologically. And to be at home in community. Because. I'm a big believer that. The church. The local manifestation the church. Congregation. Such as community uu church here in plano. Should be the center of transformation injustice. In the wider community around. In an order for any group or congregation. Or religious community to be able to do that. Its members. Need to be at home. Theologically. And themselves. And at home together as a community. So. This morning i want you. Make yourself at home. To start considering yourself. At home. Consider ourselves at home. To really make ourselves at home to really be there. Got to unpack our bags. As i seen a little bit earlier. We all come with baggage. And in unitarian-universalist circles. There's a lot of baggage some people know but some people need to unpack. In order to be world transforming agents to bring our. World transforming message in really that's what good news means in greek one galleon means world. Transforming message to bring the world transferring message of unitarian universalism to others. What we need to do. Is we need to be at home in the theology of unitarian universalism. To do that we need to unpack. Because. We we can't always be seeking. If we're always seeking. We're always carrying around. That. Stop. And you know taurus. Are always living out of a suit. You know if your. You know if you're in that mentality of you know this is wednesday it must be paris. Orchesis thursday must be buddhism in this is friday atmosphere paganism it's great that we. Well we accept all that stuff and it's okay but it's part of a larger picture that we have we have a larger all-embracing theology. And if we're going to live out of it we've got to unpack whatever hang-ups we might bring it's like you know what god saying this guy is. You know all that stuff you keep piling on me that's your stuff. I'm really pretty cool. Random. You'll notice who the one doing all the work is in the picture. So. Sometimes i think what we needed a tour guide you familiar with rick steves and pbs. Sometimes as a minister what would i wish i had in the congregation is when when people come in and they really have a lot of pain and hurt from where they've been religiously. I wish i had like the religious rick steves. A bike pocket guide to europe like his pocket guide to pass religions i could give them. That they could more easily work through whatever stuff that they might have. Because. Traveling through that stuff. Like travel is political act and travel as a spiritual act traveling through our religious baggage really is a political and spiritual act. Because it's it's an act of liberation. To make us more authentically who we really are and to be able to bring our real selves to every. Situation all the time. And that's what your community here enables you to do. He needs to enable you to. Because if you're always living out of a suitcase. You can't transform the world around you. At least you can't do it nearly as easily as if you're working audio. Can you got to have apple. To workout. And it's fun to backpack around new zealand in tibet. But after while you really can't change the world much. Doing that you're always. Letgo. And one of the interesting things that. Stop this morning. When. You did the exercise with everybody and saw how long you've all been here you know what you kind of got a stable home developing. If it's not already.. You've got people at all stages of the journey. You've got elders were both old and young. You've got people who are new and you've got a whole range of people but number them at every different part of this. Travel. Journey. Finding out where their employees. Dishes. Ritual. Custom. Abine unitarian universalist. You know it's funny when. We do that activity that that elder lineup. One of the things that happen sometimes i don't know if it happened to anybody this morning. And. Not to disparage anyone but one of the things that tends to happen when you're out there in the four years and you doing this active. People walking to church. D'usse. How long have you been a unitarian universalist to get somebody say i'm not a unitarian universalist i'm an atheist. My bad i'm sorry how long have you been attending this unitarian universalist church. Oh well here 12. How long have you been to unitarian universalist unitarian universalist a pagan. My apologies how long have you been attending this unitarian universalist church. 7 years. And we get into that because. Instead of. Embracing the whole package that is unitarian universalism is our identity and mickey. Home and living out of that. We graphed over two separate individual. Packages. You know. And. That doesn't allow us to really plan for always looking out of that. What were traveling around and we're not making it. The home of everybody together. And what i see when that happens is that there's always some kind of well this is my little pocket in your little pockets like my woman the hostel in your room in the hospital there's a whole bunch of people sharing the campsite. It's a nice campsite we all get along together but. Let's make this. Our home together. Your stuff. Let's make this our home together where we have the common tradition. The commission includes all of this stuff. But when it's ours we get this community that's leveled out. And has a history together. It has custom and ritual. Tradition. History of can pass on. Young. They can grow up in it and pass it on. Regeneration. Because when we do that. We create a home. With a heart lives. It can act out of. And you know. The heart. In the suitcase is fine i mean i've done my share of pilgrimage in. Journey 2. But. You know east west holmes best. And even though you're home it's not like you're not going to go in those trips. You know if you can call it. Evening going. We can do that religiously that's one of the greats. The space affords us to. But we know where home is. Know where the heart lies. Knowing where our heart lies. Enables us to. Hiccups. Really important thing. In our tradition. That we can give to others to help tree. Warm. Make. This place. A center. A power in the community. So when. People can ask you. What is it. Is your home say what we got. Tradition. Unitarianism. Universal. Unitarianism. All. The secret. And the divine. What's holy. Single source. And universalism is that. You know what love includes. No one's left out everyone is. We work out of that common tradition together. We're all at home. That can be a world tran. Morning message. Any of our community. The center of transformers. In the greater community. Which there locate. It can make them. And make you the place from which. He go out into the world. A better place. It's really hard to go out into the world to make. In a better place from your. Because quite frequently. When you're doing that you're always trying to get something that you need. You're surrounded you're always on the road. From home. You can live to. The world. Because you've got the homebase you got the supplies you got the support of everybody else. Isn't that home cannot only help transforming. Change the world of everybody around you. What needs transforming and changing in plano. 5 miles. In a circle around this building. If this is home base. We've got a home he logically with each other. What can you rapidly change that needs fixing. There's a lot of things out there that needs six. I need your help. And you can do it if you made yourself at home. If you're always living out of the suitcase it's hard to do that cuz you're always wondering how you're going to fix you. And one of the interesting things i seen about you this morning is it seems like you're really settling down into knowing who you are. I've seen many congregations do that lineup. In the way it lines up is. So transforming the world might be a much bigger task. It would be a lot of power concentrated here ready to explode i've heard you got a community garden. And i heard you had a auction last night. So. Some of the things i've heard about our way she starts to transform the world around you. And make it a decidedly better place. Who in your community doesn't get fresh fruits and vegetables. What can afford them. Who did those proceeds benefit that you raised last. Sits out of work that has no food has no clothes. Where does your world transforming message go out from your house. Where does the white chalice shine. If you got home. How many people can you let in. Everybody so our theology says. In. How can you transform. Plano that is around you. By taking. Atlanta make themselves at home. Who can you transform. Make yourselves at home. Invite them to make themselves at. That way your ascent church. You're not just. Keeping this great house to yourself. That's how to take. That way. Out to every. That's how. Everyone around you. Consider themselves at home here in the home you've built in town for your self.

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20130609-Sermon_060913.mp3

As much as americans claim and brag about our leisure culture and vacations we actually have a love-hate relationship with our time off. We take our vacations to stay connected to the office which is even more possible with smartphones tablets and wi-fi. And 3g and 4g networks. Even if we do manage to get away from it all we made them feel guilty or dread what we will encounter upon our return. This is likely a holdover from our puritan immigrant inheritances switch off and rightly saw struggle is the only way to survive if not get ahead and yet even in the midst of which. And therefore we limit ourselves and our world plays importance and value for adult is too often vastly underestimated. Humans are one of the few animals to play as adults it may also be that play is not only an expression of our humanness but an important part of what made us human. It is beginning to appear that play age in evolutionary processes and encouraging our brains to exercise. These connections embody our potential as human beings to adapt to changing situations. Now in the original star trek series in the episode called shore leave captain kirk opines that the more complex the mind the greater the need for the simplicity of play. How many remember that episode. Yeah researcher and writer. Hora esta murano offers that play quote it restores our optimism it changes our perspective stimulating creativity is our ability to accomplish. Anthropologist gary chick offers that in the animal kingdom play increases rather than. Chicken poses that just as humans have selectively bred the wolf into the dogs specifically for playfulness. So have we bred playfulness into ourselves by sexual selection one sign that males may not be dangerous either to females wear their children is our willingness to play with them. He says that it is possible that female seek out males who are playful both for their own protection and for that of their offspring. Playfulness is also an indicator of youthfulness and women he says. Psychiatrist lenoir tear and professor of clinical psychiatry at university of california san francisco proposes that. Through play we get control over the world we get to manipulate symbols and control the outcome of events in fact she says that play is not just an activity it's a state of mind. And quote all the mental activity of play comes. At you sideways therein lies its value this mental activity is never the goal itself. Terror uses this transformative plastic mental state of play therapeutically to help children and adults suffering from post-traumatic stress conditions to unfreeze them for behaviors and attitudes that they were locked into due to trauma. To place therapies they are able to rewrite the endings of their experiences. There are also indications that don't to engage a play regularly are more likely to live longer and healthier lives. That's not the same thing playing around my sense is that by entering into play we become both the mover and the moved. Play itself is not ordinary or real-life rather it is a stepping out of real life into a temporary sphere of activity with a separate nature all its own we and every child we know that know that we are pretending but this is not keep us from being very serious about our play. It permits us emotional discharge. Which in fact carries very little risk. I love it when my son when he's in his zone of playing something and i transgress the genre of whatever he's playing and he gets really mad at me cuz he takes this stuff seriously it's like no dad. Play also defined by some sort of challenge on a struggle. There is a pension which will be resolved at the end of play. Even non-competitive game of some sort of problem. Detention has been shifted from being between people to being between people and some other condition like gravity. There is a very real sense of dramatic tension and release in all of these types. A play. To demonstrate this. You're going to turn in groups of two or three to each other. How many of you know what rochambeau is. Rock-paper-scissors. Does she feel better now i do. What was that. We have it for the rest of the service. No remember there's structure in this. So play as unstructured as we might imagine rules. Any creative activity requires some sort of restriction to focus and channel its energy. Some of my spiritual teachers used to talk about the the yin and the yang and you need to have the yen which is the constructive to get the yang to move in a direction and not just be dissipated. It is often true that the more restrictive the situation the more creative people will become in response in order simply to express themselves it's interesting that in the post-soviet era of europe. There's a complaint about the banality of the arts. That the arts were somehow better under. Does regimes not because of the things those regimes promoted because of the resistance to those regimes and the creativity. In response to that resistance is resistance. Was forced to be even more genius and brilliant and thoughtful and active. Play create order. Jhanda huisenga writes that into an imperfect world and into the confusion of life it brings a temporary limited perfection. Play the man's order absolute and supreme the least deviation from it quote spoils the game. One of the chief attraction we have towards play both as participants and a spectator is in the aesthetic of disorder and permitting. Listen to any athlete or sports enthusiasts talk about their chosen form of plate and you will hear them use the same language of aesthetic that are used by musicians actors dancers and artists. It is the language of drama of tensions madden resolve of balance and harmony go to a sports bar and listen you'll hear clean catching a football referred to as a beautiful cat. Brian. Professor emeritus of psychology puniverse to pennsylvania. He says quote. They don't have to do with immediate working life. But that doesn't mean that they are a waste of time. Play as an autonomous intrinsically motivated activity. We do it spontaneously just because it's fun. Yet. There are penalties for bridging the order of the rules and boundaries of play. I remember back when former professional basketball player dennis rodman discovered this much to his chagrin when the peak of unspoken peak of unsportsmanlike conduct. He paid a lot for that. If you can not play within the rules in the spirit of play you cannot play the game. John prosinca again sarasota that quote the chief the hypocrite have always had an easier time of it than spoilsport. Hear cold apostates heretics innovators prophets conscientious objectors etc. It somehow it sometimes happens however that spoil sports in their own turn make a new community with rules of its own the outlaws the revolutionary or member of a secret society and deed heretics of all kinds are highly associative if not social and disposition at a certain element of play is prominent in all their doing. Just think about the visions we have of legendary spoilspores like robin hood who crashed the bad guys party and has an alternative community with different rules. Liberal religion has often been about being a spoilsport apostates profiting warming alternative communities literally. Our whole unitarian universalist tradition is about creating alternatives to the prevailing orthodoxy and even about challenging our own. This is why we are engaging ourselves in the series plant confronting racism and elitism. Not only as an issue of cultural transformation but first and foremost as an issue a personal transformation. In situations of oppression or stagnation play can become a vehicle for innovation and liberation this is why play isn't intrinsically subsumed in ways which are intended to reinforce the dominant system in hand and discourage. James luther adams and social studies was in nazi germany. In the country all the music choral society sports club associated with play immediately subsumed under the nazi party. And the same could be seen in any other kind of totalitarian system. Even in the more democratic societies the social norm is off and reinforced through play for example sociologists have noted for years that in the united states. Often punishing displays of overt individualism. These may be streamed but they do indicate basic cultural mores and tendencies which play is used as a vehicle to reinforce. Is a medium for trying out the new play can liberate us from stagnation and oppression. I'm doing things the same way we can try our new patterns of behavior behavior and thought it can be safe limited in spirit which to experiment. One of the best examples of this i can think of is the use of role-playing games. Now when i play role playing games they were with six-sided dice and 20-sided dice they were not online. But i can attest to their ability to provide a safe and controlled space for people to interact. How many of them had no other social space in which to do so. Is a way to learn pro-social behaviors as well as to confront the projections of our personal psychological shadows. It is a safe place to rebelle for many people this type of play is often a necessary step toward a fuller personal development. In similar fashion the internet is often the scene of people playing at being different people. From themselves. A child might take on a persona of an adult or vice versa and racism genders maybe switch. This type of role switching is very threatening to those who fear change. Many psych social psychologists see this as an important tool in the evolution of our culture. Allowing people on a massive scale to freely play with their sense of identity in ways which have rarely been available in all of human history. This is one reason why issues of safety and security on the internet has become so important to people there is tremendous freedom of self a play which we do not wish to lose now that we have found it. Leuzinger writes that the different nests and secrecy of play our most vividly expressed include dressing up. Hear the extraordinary nature of play reaches perfection the disguise remastered individual plays another part another being and he or she is and he is another beginning. The terrors of childhood open. Parted gaiety mythic fantasy and sacred are all in extremis inextricably entangled in this strange business of masks and disguises. Is it any wonder. Any wonder that people consider theatrical experiences to be. Almost akin to going to a religious experience. Is it any wonder that halloween in other kind of mast holidays are so hot. Play then can be a vehicle for personal cultural transformation. It can be a mode of change innovation and heresy as well as the status quo. Play has no inherent moral value. It has it is neutral in that it has what we. And how we use it. This adds new agent importance to the saying that if you can imagine a thing you can do it. Play give up the opportunity to try on new ways of doing things the possibility of developing new rules new pattern new boundaries to which we can try to again recreate our world. Realize the goals we set for ourselves individually and collectively play is an exercise in self-definition it reveals but we choose to do not what we have to do. Often when communities begin the process of creating a long-range plan or vision. They use these very principles of play. They come together in small groups are basically play games up what if. About their congregation and what would the future look like or could it look like. Play deliberate us to transcend the boundaries in the bonds of hearing now let us tour into the skies of possibility. In my time as a student and as a minister i found that. Working with children. How to have a good time. As well as the importance of power of play. This is why being a religious educator is such. Catering general is such a powerful thing. Work we do as a religious community is a type of play. The acting out of the beloved community we seek to create in the world at large. One of my. Homiletics professors in. The methodist seminary originally attended. Called worship. A dress rehearsal. For the kingdom of god. That it is a place in which we enact ritually. And try to create even for a little while the quality of creative community. Avene. Seeming that we wish the world to be all the time. No one is forced or even coerced to be a part of our free religious communities there is no threat. Eternal pain inspire membership. We come here to be free. To engage in the serious play of life. Come here to be free. If we here can play. By these rules of mutual respect and personal integrity of our covenants with each other and perhaps. Society cantu. We become a visual aid for the world. Play then is the thing and it is very real and often serious stuff. Yes when we begin to take ourselves too seriously and get stuck it reminds us that we can be liberated let us remind ourselves to imagine what we want and need and then try it on and play and see. What happened. And yet if the world games are not fair and feed us or others out of opportunities to play evenly. Then be a spoilsport. Take your ball and start a new game. Which will be fair and even-handed. With playfulness. Let us liberate ourselves and each other from the impressions with great and small with we endure. Any and let us give to each other. The safety of space and a time to do the playing that we need for our own sakes. Enter that all of our work.

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Sermon_101109_p1.mp3

You ever have one of those projects that's what it takes on a life of its own today sermon was one of those i thought that if i preached all of the material i had you be here for over an hour so i did you a favor we're not going to do all of it at once what we can do today is first portion of it and because i believe that threes or a good way to lay things out cuz people usually can remember 343 is better we're going to do definitions can be seen in the statements about the religion by james luther adams in which he referred to which are referred to as the five smooth stones adams five smooth stones are these one revelation is not sealed meaning has not finally been captured nothing is complete and us nothing is exempt from criticism there is always more to discover and to learn. To all our children of one father or god all relations between persons then ideally to rest on mutual free consent on persuasion not coercion all people have responsibilities and dignity three faith must be the sister of justice there is a moral obligation to direct one's efforts for the establishment of a just and loving community the role of a prophet is central 4 we deny the immaculate conception of virtue the immaculate conception a virtue the decisive forms of goodness our institutional and require the organization of power freedom and justice are impossible in merely individual virtue by itself and 5 we join the alleluia chorus the divine and human resources available for the achievement of meaningful change justify and attitude of ultimate optimism history moves toward the victory of justice and fulfillment of grace. How many of you remember back to just before the year 2050 were here then okay okay and remember all the insanity that was going on for like the you know the decade previous specially the first years before about dealing with all henshin of predictions of bad things happening what happened nothing and now we're dealing with the apprehension of predictions of bad things happening again. 2012 so you've heard of that i understand now because the mayan calendar ends then and because of some other speculative predictions of questionable parentage. Now first of all the mayan culture collapsed over a thousand years ago. Is that the predictive abilities were that good they would have seen that coming. I don't think they did. Whoa. Alright sorry.

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Sermon_021912.mp3

Hindu scripture. Wise calling by many. Now this. Who are. Assumptions. Increase. Is many words. As such they are human creations. Because words are human. Express. And our mystique. Experience. For partners are only partial. It's me to the issue of. Dollar tree. Reality of god. Idolatry. Parts for the whole. Panera. Very frankly any kind of spiritual liberalism. .. Gerber collision. The ultimate c4 human symbol and language. God always. Has donnie. Donation. Four-try. There is a recruit nightmare. For many of us. Residences. Because we need our glasses to see. Right. I feel that this is all a good metaphor for our lives. Might not know or recognize. Cinemark. 4. When we make it. We use the principles and purposes which for reference are in the beginning. These as a touchstone for me. Between the number congregation. Previous. It is not set in stone. Define. This is a statement. Hindi society. We do not believe in nothing. Animal house. Not everyone finds. He don't have. Easier. I have a three-and-a-half-year-old. Video game. How do you use the bible like they used to use this math books that have the crappy answers every other question. Alright. Here. Has the legendary defense attorney clarence darrow said. Truth shall set you free. Even if you never catch up with. Contact reason understanding. Is not separate from the ways we pursue discover and determine them. He's not discover. Outline. Is lowercase t. Truth. Knock knock. Do not believe we have or can have. We also know that there is. Marion. Quaker friend. Rocky. Authority. Not 40. Not. Because she said. Is important. What they say and how they got there. I find it an important personal practice for myself. You self aware of our human tennessee. Because my daddy said so. Right. Given all of this there are three. Universal. Hyzaar. Reason. Idiot. Unitarian universalist. Usually. Call tradition and everything else. Has u-turn universalist. Tradition. Sweet.. Tradition include. How many. I miss you said this before. However we also use the koran. Explain important points. It's just. Observe and verify. Indirectly. As usual. Tradition. The interaction with each other. In the old model kits. Hello it. Moore county tall. Same way that dress. Truth. Reason forms tradition experience and back and forth. Heather might have something. Hi us. Openness. Christmas. Sofan that are brain. I know this interesting image. Train cruise. Education and discussion. Images. In the world. Others are also. Journalist rodger rosenblatt. What apps. The answer is where it is always been. In history. Poetry. Conversation. How do we know what is so. Broadrock experience. For certain. Chesterton short run. I have the advantage of steering assist. In the long run. I'm reminded of what is said about democracy. The worst way to go. Pecans. Better. Better help us in the world. Calm more fragile more brittle. The eyes are different from our own. Open to understanding. A mini. Loop acknowledge our own responsibility for the image of god. We are content to bleeding or not bleeding. Did you turn your reckless we're already. Reverse. But we need to use the various languages we have. Find new ways. For us to experience each other as part of the holy breathing. If we can offer our lives to the world examples. More open. Oneness of all. And you have accomplished. We have come to more closely bodied.

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20160117-Sermon.mp3

In spite of a hap's because of. The things the doctor king expressed in his letter from birmingham. Jail on fly. The end patients. Of he and his colleagues was understandable. At the core. Of what dr. king and others. In that movement and in current movements. Preach. Antique. And live. Is love. The core of doctor kings. Philosophy and vision. And that has many many others let us not forget. And i would say if any. Of us. Is the idea of the beloved community. The love of the beloved community. Is. One of several types of love. Of course there's heroes a sort of aesthetic or romantic love. Philia. Affection between friends and. Brothers and sisters. Tours for philadelphia. Others come from. And agape. Which he described as understanding redeeming goodwill. For all. An overflowing love which is purely spontaneous and unmotivated groundless. And creative. The love of god operating in the human heart. He said. Dr. king says agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people. It begins by loving others for their sakes and makes no distinction between a friend and an enemy it is directed toward both. Agape is love seeking to preserve and create. Community. That's a very tall order. Dr. king knew that. He struggled he prayed. But he also was very clear that the justice that he was seeking. Along with so many. To make was it justice made of love. He was not at justice meant of retribution. It was a justice made. In the process. Of being non-violent. In the process of being. The beloved community even as. We sought to establish. It on a wider basis. Like good liberals. And i use that word. Little l. Dr. king. Was certain. And understood that process. Is as important as the end because the ends we achieve. Are only. As valid as the process by which we make them. He says over and over again and his writings. Non-violence and justice. Are not things we achieve they are ways of living. That love. Is the way of living. That leads. Us-2. The place we seek. And this is difficult. For how many of us my spiritual direction training i'm taking it smu right now. One of my instructors. Sheds last session and this is somebody who's been doing spiritual direction probably for close to 40 years. Said that. Okay you want to learn how to be present. With someone non-judgmentally. Practice watching. Television show. That just makes you go crazy. Set your teeth on edge. And be there. Calmly. Be present to that calmly. One of the things i learned early on in interphase work the last 20 years is. That you are often at the table telling your really don't like. And and you have to learn to transcend that. In some way to find. A commonality. Your shared humanity. Cuz there's no neutral ground upon which we all stand we all come from our own places. We all have things we can teach and learn from each other. And in that openness we risk transformation. Of ourselves and our world. So it's often a lot to ask. Those of us who have been in. The office or job all week or classroom all week. Where. We're getting nothing but. Weezy. Unhappy things going on a bad jokes. Off-color statements. Political claims that we know were patently false. Has there watching. New sources that. Make money off of that. And so we often don't have a lot of what we on it whenever we talk about bandwidth. In our lives. You don't have a lot of extra space we don't have a lot more a lot of that. That patience. That our cup overflows. Has dr. king talks about it. Until we come together as a community to remind each other. Oh yeah. I'm not alone. That is probably the greatest gift we give each other. We are not alone. You are not alone. But just as someone who has. Perhaps progressive or liberal or even just tolerant. Use. You're not alone as a human being. Who's on worth and dignity. Is inherent. An unassailable. And then we are intern reminded. Let's shower the people could kick us off. I have mentioned before that there are times when i've kind of. You kind of. Wish for the hell you know doesn't exist. So you can send somebody there. The problem with that is. As as reading the karma fairy book we're reading now. At 9. Let buyer. Brethren. The barnhouse. The commissary has this perversity of saying oh yeah. Yasiel finger you point there's 34 fat point back at you. You have. So. Dr. king was very cognizant of this. And this is why the process which he talked about was one. Of an engagement of love. Upon. Bounded. Love. One of the expressions of agape. Love and dr. king is beloved community. Is justice. Not for anyone oppressed group but for all people. The idea that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. West central. To his teaching and 2r. Pursuit. Of justice now. What are the things i learned. Working in south carolina living there and preaching and serving a congregation there for nine years in the capital. And i was part of. A-team thousand thousands of people who worked on getting the. Flag off the capitol dome. It was only 2,000. Did that happen. 1 things i learned was that engaging with people. With groups. Of the sons of the confederacy who would be out counter protesting. Sometimes when the clergy would all gather in a large. Silent human chain and. And they would respectfully you know. Watch and then we would. What are the physical records i knew who was just a tremendous pastoral presence. We go over to talk to them. And. In the process they would weep and cry about the pain and suffering of their ancestors. As if it was their own. Much like you see israelis doing the same thing about those who died at masada. For others. Who experienced those about the death of their relatives. In other places. Due to other atrocities and genocides. And injustice. So what you do with people who are. Upset and crying and fearful. Because as molly ivins has had said so many times fearful people make bad decisions. We remember that we are them and they are us. We have simply responded to some of the same pressures differently. Did they have. Some of us go looking. 4. The person who's throwing the babies in the river. Instead of fishing them out all the time. And. We also understand i don't come to an understanding of the underlying reason rather than looking for. Those on whom we can project our anger or fear and our frustrations. Now we all do that. But. At least in our tradition. We try to make sure that that is not what we're doing. We try to. Be able to be self-critical. Enough. To be honest with ourselves. Understand that. The reason people are in despair is because we have been undergoing. 30 almost 40 years. Of a constant siege. Economically taking away people's ability to make a living. Exporting them overseas. Which is not a small thing. It actually is very much to something lincoln was talking about. That our quality of life is reduced. That our education is dumb down. The idea of citizenship is stripped away and replaced with consumerism. Which makes us a part and participant in a system of destruction. Turn this into a thing by the way. And our rights that. Many have fought so difficult lee. Fought so hard for. Are being trying to be rolled back. All rights to vote. Our access to healthcare. Because someone can make a buck. Doing all of that. Let me lift up for you friends do not lose sight of the money. Slavery existed as an economically institution. It was not because people were trying to be mean. They did that all by themselves. It's about money. Wealth. Is there a new movie out called the republic of jones. Based on historical truth. Experience in. What are the southern states where. The poor. Quite. In during the civil war. And poor blacks make common cause so deserters and escaped slaves and they created their own free society. Waving american flag. In defiance. Because they did we're not going to make the planters rich anymore. This is real this is history. So do we decide to keep the planters rich. Or not. That's a good question. What is abraham lincoln was motivated by when he. Work so hard on liberating. Slaves and eliminating chattel slavery. Wasn't doing this early out of the goodness of his heart. He was doing it because he knew that the economic system. That was prevalent in the north. And midwest could not survive in competition with a slave conomy. And this is exactly what has happened to the north american economy. In contrast. When. The economy we have here. Tries to compete with essentially slave labor. Or almost slave labor in other places. That is the problem with. Free trade. It's not free. And it's not equitable. Because an economy of those who trying to work. And build lives. As entrepreneurs or as. Civil servants or teachers. Cannot compete against that which undercuts it. Because it by its very nature. Is. Almost free. In contrast. What's old is new again. And we are again called to respond in love. How do we love the people we want to choke. It's hard. It's a moment-by-moment thing it's a day-by-day thing. It is hard to change our self and that is really frankly the only thing we can change with any certainty is ourselves. Daddy to fix somebody else is an illusion. And a fool's errand. You will never lie end up in something really bad. So if we. Who may have various forms of. Prerogative in this community. In this society. Do not work on our own stuff. And be willing to be loving towards ourselves. In that. And then also how we interact with our larger. Society with our larger groups of family and friends. Communities. If we do not do that for nothing will probably change. So keep faith friends. It is about love. Loving each other here. The purpose of church of religious communities is to be the beloved community. But one of my. Instructors years ago at called talked about play-acting. The kingdom of god. Rehearsing. Being a. Living. Visual aid. To the rest of the world. That it can be different. Then what it is doing. Then what we see. The question we have to ask ourselves. Collectively is. What do we want that to be. Churches have to ask themselves all the time do they want to be small pietistic meeting houses. Four people have coffee and then go play bridge or do something else really wonderful and friendly and. And nice. Or do we. Do those things but also. Reach. Into ourselves. + 2. Risk transforming ourselves. Into something that we always wanted to be. To be more loving to be more kind to be more generous. To be more hopeful. To embrace the power that is ours. And by doing so build. Collective power. To confront those in justices. Does cruelties. So that we may make some sort of. Patch of the beloved community grow. Here. In this place. This community. This time. And in the near future. It is a justice made of love. This is what dr. king talked about. This is what so many had talked about for so long. And we often so forget it is so easy to forget. But we come together to remind ourselves. And you come to remind me. Put that together we can do what needs to be done. And that we are not alone. Ever. In the pursuit. David justice. Made with love.

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Reading_041011.mp3

Noted economist. And commentators. Herman daly and john cobb. Call things i. Came across. In this book which was written. In the late 80s originally and then updated in the 90s. But is that so much of what they talked about. Seems like it was written for today's headlines for the issues we're dealing with ashley this week. As a nation. And the troubles we have had in the last few years. And the offer. A sampling. They say that neoclassical economics theory is focused on the marketplace and prefers. Has little government interference in the economy as possible. The strength of the market is seen as its encouragement of overall growth and efficient allocation. No one claims that the distribution of income by the market will be fair why that none will fall below the subsistence level if left alone. Green the epic of social darwinism. This was interpreted as a desirable expression of the survival of the fittest. The early death of the armpit was accepted as beneficial to the gene pool. Markets distribution of income was accepted as normative. Today to profess such ideas. Although in my humble opinion. i think i just need to be sure.. Nevertheless market enthusiast continue to be reluctant to allow for any but the most limited involvement of government in helping the poor. Consider the following passage by alvin. Replica. 101 that expresses a widespread towing among neoclassical economist. Quote no one would quarrel with the desire to help others. Through no fault of their own. Can i take care of themselves compassion is indeed a virtue helping to disable the handicap the blind the frail or abandoned children has a place in public life. Kathy's needy people differ. From able-bodied men and women who choose to do louver work. They are not the same as widows whose husbands chose not to buy insurance. They are not the same classes alcoholics drug addicts or criminal. East private. We're private charity fails to help these truly needy people in our society to would totally opposed that we give them public help. Y'all just want to say. We agree with the preference preference for employment over-the-door when this is possible. If economics is. Delete our communities and work should be available for all who wanted. And it should be clear incentives for at least one member of each household to seek employment. If millions want to work or deny jobs and forced on the door. This is a sign of profound failure. At the market. But we do not agree with nipple occasions. Bushka statement that. Most of those who are now unemployed have chosen the status. Out of preference. Play the public dole. Indolence is a problem but surely not the main one. Furthermore. And economics for community. Cannot agree that widows whose husbands chose not to buy insurance alcoholics and drug addicts drug addicts. I simply to be left. 2 star. In a true community the basic needs of all are met so far as the community can do so. This is the aim of all developed nations now. And it has been characteristic of traditional village life as well. Whereas rubashka would sacrifice this. Concern for the sake of growth as measured by g&p gross national product. We would measure a true growth. Largely by the success of the economy and meeting the basic needs. Of all on a sustainable basis. Question is not whether. But how. Will campos. Sew-ins are weeding.

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Sermon_061012.mp3

Today is june 10th. And in a little over it has been a little over six months since beginning of our calendar. What were some things we were doing back at that point. Any takers. Making resolutions. I did not. I did not consult with her before him. But that is the answer i was looking for. Yeah those things. So how many of us made one. One more. And how is that going. Yeah me too. Oil change. Is in fact the very essence of the reality we live in. He talked to any cosmologists our scientists. Making a creating the changes we want or desire. He's often very difficult. Supply. Well as pogo is often quoted we have met the enemy and he is us. We are most often stein eating any social and personal transformation by your own fear. And our discomfort with. For me. Personal growth is the purpose of our lives. And i know this with every fiber of my being and i have known it. Then some for most of my life. Chose accepted the call to ministry in great part because for me i can think of no other path or calling which offers me and forces me to engage still constantly profound. Not more than i am but a being the fullest possible me. An acorn does not become something else besides an oak tree. But moves all the time towards being more fully in oaktree all the time. Growth is change. And change often means discomfort as i said and as things go from being what they were to becoming something else. His chances to grow and change or not always welcome ones. Even if we said we wanted it. My friend the colleague of mine corendon acronym aftco. For another freaking growth opportunity. Some of the people have used other language for that but we'll stick with that. Is common response to those unwanted intrusions. Into our. Relatively stable though unfulfilled lives. So. You believe this is so painful. Why do we want to do it. Well i do enjoy the incremental. The incidental discomfort of change because i have faith that what is beyond the pain or maybe just comfort. So i sometimes experience in growing. Is more than worth. I do not choose to change because i don't like myself. For my life. Cuz at my core i probably love myself. I want to be even more of who i am. Just as you want to change things about yourself and your life. Because at your core. You are loved. And loving. And what your life. To be a better reflection. That reality. No this is not new i mean people always think every point history that what they're doing something different like adolescence. Ever notice again. Cultures like that also. But it's not new in boston in september of 1838. The great unitarian sinker the reverend dr. william ellery channing delivered a lecture on honey called self-culture. As the opening address in a series of public lectures to and for working people were standing but it loads were occupied by manual labor. Hardening the non gender inclusive language year please listen to what he had to say. He says there are two powers of the human soul which makes self-culture possible. Self-searching and the self. Forming power. We have the power not only a tracing our powers but i'm guiding and impaling them. Not only of seeing our faculties grow but of applying them to means and influences to aid their growth. He goes on of all the discoveries which men need to make. The most important is that a self-forming power treasured up in themselves. It transcends in importance all our power over outward nature. There is more divinity in that in the force which compels our universe. This makes self-culture possible. It binds us. As a solemn duty. To cultivate anything he said being a plant or an animal or a mind. Used to make it grow. Growth expansion is the end. Have these things. Nothing admits kulture. But that which has a principle of life. Capable of being expanded. Powers and capacities especially his nobler ones. So as to become a well-proportioned vigorous excellent happy peeing. Practices self culture. He says cherish a true respect for yourself feel that your nature is worth more than everything which is foreign to you. He who has not caught a glimpse is above his own rational and spiritual being a something within himself superior to the world at allied to divinity. Once the true spring that purpose of cell culture on which i have insisted as the first of all means. Improvement. The more contemporary language. The work family systems. Siri psychologist murray bowen offers sm important insight into how exactly we achieve change in our lives. He says but primarily we first must recognize that we are not solitary creatures. Floating out there on our own. We exist in a myriad of relationship of past and present. Which influence how we behave and what choices we make them consciously and come. Murray bowen says this. Systems thinking is directed at getting beyond cause and effect thinking. Into a system view of human phenomenon. Emotional reactiveness. In a family or other group. That lives or works together goes from one family member to another in a chain-reaction fashion. Each person is programmed from birth to serve a certain set of functions and senses. What is required or expected from the way the system itself function. He or she does have one ability beyond. Their other protoplasmic life and that is the ability to observe. Think. Abstract. And see the natural order to understand the secrets of nature. And you govern him or herself. Puppet different. In a nutshell. Understanding our place in a relationship will empower to be able to be different in those relationships. 2 people and or thing. And things can be a part of it. The only real changes we have. Any control over. Are the changes that we make ourselves. And he in our behavior. So for those of us who. Hold out the dream of changing somebody else. Did you really mean it the way to do that is to change yourself. Thank you for. As for church offering are reading a little while ago in his essay how to begin changing your life. Parts for a summer day his second point was begin now you have everything you need everything. Plus. Sabonis of today one day more than you will have if you wait till tomorrow so begin now. And his third point begin as you are. At your fingertips is a treasure trove of memories and dreams. One good memory together with one good dream and you are ready to begin. Good memories are those memories that make you feel good about yourself and good dreams. Possible. Beginners you are his. I would say essentially we honor that which has been given to us by virtue of our simply being. And nurturing that divine seed inherent within ourselves. Sounds like that inherent worth and dignity stuff to talk about our principles and purposes study. By making the most of who and what we can be. We use our providentially given self-searching self-forming powers as channing says. In this week except the opportunities would come our way even if initially they are another freaking growth opportunity. And with these we can move through the pain and discomfort of change. Engrossed. Now i also choose this path. To nurture this holy potential because i am grateful for all that i am. And have been given. The good the bad and the not so pretty. There is an old saying that what we are is a gift of god or the gods and what we become. It's our gift. Thanks. I seek fulfillment for myself and all others as an act of gratitude to all that has given me life into all those who believed in me and who nurtured me and is amazingly complex and interconnected garden of our existence. This matter of choices. Also involves something that some of us are familiar with is called discipline. It's a recognition or an experience that we cannot have it all despite what our culture tells us part of why we come here today is to be told something different from what we hear outside these walls and the other walls. Sometimes sacrifices must be made on the altars of our better natures. Sacrifices to make something sacred. It's not about suffering. Deprivation. Is that prioritizing. So we asked ourselves do i watch television or do i read. Do i vegetate. Or do i meditate. Do i exercise. Why not. Vegetarian. The purpose of discipline is not to hem us in. My three-year-old doesn't agree with that. What it is to set us free. Into mindfulness and right living. In buddhism right living is not just a matter of right belief or a faith but of right action and attention. Right action and attention are a matter of being present. Has constantly and consistently as we can to the here and the now to be mindful used to remember to remember when we remember. And not beating ourselves up when we don't remember. Changing our lives to be more of who and what we are and what we want and need to be. Is rarely easy and it's rarely quick. I think about my own life i just turned 51 last week. And i'm going to go see some friends we haven't seen two decades. Next week. I'll be preaching in tucson next sunday. And. I'm thinking about the path we traveled these people when they were 18 20 years old. And think of how we have come to know they have adult children. How did we get here. It has not been. There's a long and winding road for a lot of us. Changing our lives. He's not easier. However it is. Ongoing act of creation and co-creation and recreation. With the universe. It is a secret act that may take a lifetime on hold and to be realized. No one innate lee knows how to do this on their own. And this is why we come together here as a worshiping congregation. Says study groups is covenant groups. Has simple living groups. Has more than one by ourselves. Be together. To share together. Learn together. Together. City more than who we are. Be more of who we are. Becoming more. I want we have been intended to be by the nature. Sacred. The come to learn and share. Our journeys. Together. So ends the song.

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20140831-Sermon.mp3

For those who are expecting our guest speaker the imam that even from the east plano islamic center. He i contacted him earlier in the week to check on progress for the week service and he was pretty sick he said he wasn't even leading services at the moscone he was just trying to get over whatever he had gotten ahold of. So we hope to have him in the near future if he really regretted not being able to be with us again. So that gives you the opportunity to hear. Something at menu if you have probably never heard. Something i did a long time ago. How many of you. Know what tomorrow is. Altru. It is september 1st. Yes you can have a cookie g. Show the point about that make means it's exactly. Since new year's day. And i think it makes an excellent opportunity for us i mean nine months the gestational thing going on. Good opportunity for us to check in on the status of those new year's resolutions. I'm sorry. Is 8 months okay. Twin premature. Yeah. Yeah still viable out yeah well she that means you still have time. Okay so how many actually made new year's resolutions in 2014. How many if you're not feeling guilty at all for not making a new year's resolution 2014 you. You know i feel sometimes. That. We set ourselves up for some very serious head trip. A friend of mine once commented after being asked what his resolution for a new year was. That he wasn't going to tell anyone even if he made any he said if he told people and they did and he didn't follow through on them then he would look like a failure he would appear to be less than perfect in the eyes of his friends several other friends present. And when he thought he was going to be perfect the truth is that most of us can relate to what he was talking about though most of us are suffering through a varying degrees of insecurity whether it's physical or mental emotional or spiritual so here we go making resolutions or promises to ourselves that we may or may not keep. Then the potential for failure. Isn't every chocolate chip cookie. We see. Every cigarette somebody else lights up within a half a mile every morning and consciously sleeping in instead of jogging. In every day we can possibly get away without balancing our checkbooks and in every 50% off after christmas sale or in this case labor day sale. That we read about you know what. The potential for failure. Is everywhere. So what's the big deal we fall off the proverbial horse we preferably get back on and proverbially we keep going. There are usually real rather than proverbial consequences for our actions we live in a society that constantly reminds us that failure is not an option. I mean that's great for apollo 13 but not a creed to live by. We are bombarded with images of idealized faces bodies. Jobs close food relationships lives. Could form be perfect or have your very sense of your right to exist. Be challenged. Be perfect. Or else. Perfection. Is a state of absolute flawlessness. As flawed and finite beings there is no way anything we can do or that we can become. That will make us. Perfect. Even if we receive a score of 10 in the olympics. We ain't perfect. Even if that's our name as in the penguin in the story is still doesn't make us perfect. Even if we receive all of these things. Perfection is in many ways a striving to be pure to be guiltless. And to be found acceptable by what ever standards we encounter in our family is our churches. Our society our. Inner committees you have those are committees don't you. Life coach julie fiumano writes that perfectionism is a time stealing energy draining monster. It forces you to strive for unachievable outcomes because no matter what you do is not good enough if your pursuit of perfect in your pursuit of perfect you refuse to see things as they are but rather insist on living up to some illusion that doesn't exist it's always just out of reach perfectionism is a black hole. Trapping you from giving yourself to the world. She goes on perfectionist will often not complete things not start things or take object projects for fear of not being able to perform perfectly perfectionist fear making mistakes and therefore find themselves stressed in constant state of worry over what could happen and focus desperately on not failing. They maintained unrealistic expectations of themselves and others and will often micromanage. Causing undue stress on themselves and others and quote. Now i find this very interesting i heard up a program earlier this. A week or so ago on npr probably sinker fresh-air where college students. Who are groomed practically from the womb to. Make it into these institutions and the whole issue of admissions standards. And. What the. Author was saying was that these kids get into these places and they have never failed at anything. And they are terrified of failure and they will take no risks whatsoever with their life. They will probably pick the safest most secure route. To whatever future is out there. And he said are those the people we want leading our country. I think that's an important thing for us to consider. Perfectionism. Makes us despair. Ever being enough. As we stand in the midst of the wreckage from the inevitable brokenness in our lives we feel less than enough to be able to cope with it all. And the truth is that often. We aren't enough. And yet the paradox is that at the same time we really are enough. What perfectionism does than is to cut us off from the ability to recognize and embrace our shortcomings. And our unique. Humanity. It does not allow us to be at peace with ourselves. We are then not only dealing with. The immediate shortcoming or flaw but then the inability to cope. With it also becomes another flaw and another imperfection in of itself perfectionism tends to compound our perceptions of our frailties. One of my favorite singer-songwriters is a guy named chuck pyle from colorado and cowboy in one of his songs he talks about how we often end up feeling angry for feeling guilty about being ashamed for being afraid. We become blocked. Unless able to make real changes for the better. The reverend doctor the reverend dr. rebecca parker who just retired after 25 years hazard. President at starr king school for the ministry in berkeley seminary there. Text parker can always be counted on for her insides and wisdom in several years ago i had. Heard her relate through a series of stories that the biggest problem that non colored people have in dealing with racism another prejudices. Is he not wanting to own them. And the reason for not wanting to own them is our desire for us to maintain an illusion of innocence. Well we americans have a wise legal tradition of being innocent until proven guilty we have also inherited and your obsession with perfection and spiritual purity. With being useless less we should not be among the saved. We do not want to be guilty with the stains of our own heritage and experience. This could be hard for us to hear it's tough stuff. I know that i resisted all the time. And because so many of us have been made so i feel so guilty for things that we really don't have responsibility for such as family of origin issues. We are often unwilling to accept those things that are ours to own so we play head games with ourselves to get around our condition. One such as to deny our ancestors and the privileges we have because of the institutions we have inherited from them. We feel that if we can say to those who are oppressed your enemies are my enemies. Then erroneously we can also conclude therefore i am just like you and not to be blamed. In the eastern religious traditions innocence is the rifle province of children. But in adults it is wisdom which comes from experience that is most highly prized. The desire for innocents in the adult is this scene there's a type of foolishness which denies the often unpleasant realities of our lives including our own guilt and comp and complexities. By denying our guilt and our responsibilities we cut ourselves off from much of the possibility for healing and for wisdom. In the christian tradition the st. george kills the dragon most social psychologist now agree that this is a cultural myths for not dealing with our shadows or guilt and our fears it isn't active denial in the service of the illusion of guiltlessness and purity. Much of the message of jesus of nazareth was about how acceptable we already are in our humanity and our brokenness he was challenging the pharisaic codes required strict adherence to prescribed. Life in his community had become legalistic and obsessed with purity. This is the potency of the story of the good samaritan who belong to the most a social group as you could think of or the story of the prodigal son who after violating many social taboos including tending swine almost unclean act he was taken back into the bosom of his family. I find it sadly ironic that conservative christianity has hence become so obsessed with making the jewish and christian scriptures into a prescriptive legalistic system of behavior. Which are then conveniently interpreted reflects their own neuroses and prejudices. They have apparently. Lost rabbinical message. Of learning and becoming wise they have instead exchanged it for a perfectionistic grasping after a false promise of the state of purity. In order to somehow be more acceptable within the cosmic order of things. The stresses of perfectionism are put on us so that we can be worthy in the sight of god. Or to be a part of the celestial in crowd in the great hereafter. And yet part of the redemptive message of this judy and rabbi is that we are already enough. His compassion and courage with compassion and courage we can learn becoming wise and enlightened from our encounters with our own brokenness as well is that a father's. Intern we have the opportunity for real redemption and transformation not just absolution. With wisdom we hopefully move towards reaching for excellence instead of perfection. Excellence. Excellent is becoming or doing the best that we are capable of within the bounds of our human and finite existence unfortunately plus you unfortunately the two are often confused in our society and therefore if we become confused. When i was 11 years old i audition for and got into the zen famous world texas boys choir based in fort worth. I started out as the equivalent of a third-string player in sports. And work my way up to the second string of the resident choir which is all the local gigs well it's required an off-duty international stuff in carnegie hall. I got a really profound musical education already 18 months that i served in the choir. I also picked up a rather warped sense of achievement and self-esteem. As 11 through 15 year old boys we were hers two hours a day every weekday and up to 8 hours on most saturdays. That's not bad. He kept us off the streets and probably helped instill some discipline in it. What i think was not-so-healthy was their use of the word excellence. For a perfectionistic flawless quality performance being demanded of children this demand for threats and acts of ostracization and physical violence. Today some of this is called child abuse. Then it was put up with for a long time for the sake of prestiging in the name of excellence in music. This is one way in which perfection and excellence get confused as synonyms. I have spent many years on doing these perfectionistic imperative. Amenadiel i'm sure have a very similar stories from your own lives or the lives of others. Will help me to make sense of all of these and other experiences and a sort out the differences between perfection and excellence. Is the following which i learned several years ago. If you take nothing away with you today except this. I will be happy. Perfection does not. Tolerate mistakes. Excellence incorporates them. Perfection does not tolerate mistakes excellence incorporates. Perfection like purity strives running blemished flawlessness intolerant of failure. On the other hand excellent like wisdom accept failure and learn from it is part of a process of being of living growing human being in a flawed and finite world. In the cult movie classic. Bill & ted's excellent adventure you didn't see that coming. And by being forced to make choices and to take real risks. The encounter more. Figures in history as they travel through time thanks to george carlin but they learn about themselves and the world. Becoming more confident and wiser in the process. No matter how many boneheaded mistakes they make. They eventually get the sense of what it is they're doing and mature. In the process. They moved from foolishness toward enlightenment they grow from being clowns to being dispensers of accumulated knowledge and wisdom. True to their own motto they learn to be excellent dudes in a similar vein. There's a t-shirt slogan that probably proclaims i'm not perfect but parts of me are excellent as i get older that list gets shorter. Wisdom and enlightenment come from experience including failure study after study has shown that one of the strengths of those who succeed is usually a sense of optimism and learning from mistakes and then turning around and trying again. And usually rock wins by the way. History is full of these stories of famous people who make an enormous often redemptive strides in their lives after what look like insurmountable setbacks or failures. Is usually noted that the very setbacks themselves are credited preparing people to deal with the future adversities they face as leaders franklin delano roosevelt and his affliction by polio gave him the tenacity and character. To leave the us through the great depression and most of world war ii. Winston churchill returned from political oblivion where he was forced to confront his inner fears and demons. Enabling him to later leave the uk through its a darkest hour. In his book rising above the crowd christian writer brian harbor offers that 6s. Means being the best. Excellence means being your best success too many means being better than everyone else. Excellence means being better tomorrow than you were yesterday. Success means exceeding the achievements of other people. Excellence means matching your practice with your potential wisdom. Great and small. May seem like they come in blinding flashes of enlightenment that is only the point at which they arborist after long and often painful gestations. Wisdom. Is an accretion of insight. Gathered over time. And through experience. Wisdom. Is an accretion of inside. Gained overtime and through experience. Is unitarian universalist. We reject. The flawed claims of perfection. And we embrace the wisdom of excellence. We do not tolerate the intolerance of perfectionism we acknowledge that as inherently worthy beings we really are enough in ourselves. Even as we fall short in much of what we would do and we would be. Daily we struggle individually and collectively. To embrace our failures and our successes. And to own our shadows. We are open to the constant incremental revelations of life. Realizing that with compassion and courage. We can become wiser and more enlightened from our encounters. With our own brokenness. And that of others. With joy and hope. We in turn. Had a chance. A chance to make the world. A wiser. And more excellent place.

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Reading_092709.mp3

A reading today is from in praise of doubt. How to hack conviction without becoming a fanatic it's actually a very good book by peter berger and anton digitive reveled victorville. Who are both internationally known. Among the things that they offer they say before we conclude this chapter we want to come at briefly on a middle position between relativism and fundamentalism. Defining defined in religious terms. Then attempt an outline of the prerequisites of such a middle position. Whatever criticism one may make of maxpapers ideas about the relationship between protestantism and the genesis of modern capitalism there's one thing that he understood very well and that few critics have challenged namely that protestantism has a unique relationship with modernity this isn't the place to recite this argument its main features though are quite clear. The reformation and putting him in a cyst on the conscience of individuals. Lay the foundations of modern subjectivity and thus the panoply of rights of the individual as those have been developed and refined since the enlightenment it can't be stressed enough that this historic achievement was unintended. Indeed luther and calvin would have been appalled by many of the features of modernity. And neither reformer can't possibly be interpreted as off of occupying a middle position. As they will define later we'll talk about it storming enough of this been said about calvin credentials as a bonafide a literal fanatic. At luther is a little more difficult to subsume under that category perhaps because he had a highly developed sense of humor. He may not have presided over the burning of heretics such as. One of our unitarian ancestors michael servetus. But. He did have a bloodthirsty writing this during the peasant rebellion and repulsive anti-semitic writings in his later years but certainly disqualify him from any humanitarian decorations. Still it's possible to find a middle position as clearly protestant. Beginning with an elaboration again certainly not intended by luther of his pivotal idea of salvation by faith. Sola fidei. By definition faith is not. Certainty and us doubt can be accomplished, dated most easily and a lumen version of the protestant ism. Likewise the lutheran doctrine of the two kingdoms that is earthly and spiritual make impossible to kind of theocracy to calvin set up in geneva and lutheran ethics brought about directly as well as indirectly the birth of the modern welfare state in nineteenth-century germany. Calvinism to had a remarkable unintended consequences one of its fiercest branches assuredly qualifying for the label of fanaticism was the parent ism that was dominant in early new england these are our institutional ancestors they're talking about but the peculiar american circumstance of plurality of religious groups inadvertently led to the transformation of the churches into voluntary associations. And dust to religious tolerance and church-state separation. Probably the most dramatic manifestation of a protestant middle position seeking to bring him to balance faith and doubt was the birth of modern biblical scholarship. And protestant theological faculties in the 19th century particularly in germany. This was a unique case in history of religion when professional theologians turning the skeptical discipline of modern historical methods on their own sacred scriptures. What's the intention not of attacking face. But of reconciling it with truths drive. From other sources. So ends our reading.

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Sermon_041110.mp3

Is a religious community we come together to do a lot of things with a lot of words attached to them like. Jason d leaf. But often because so many of us come from other religious traditions we may be reluctant to agree to anything less we be wrong about something. We're often uncomfortable using words like religion or faith because of old injuries and this is understandable and important to take in. But no matter how we choose to redefine our terms. The reality is that we all have a face in something. So what does faith mean and where does it lead us particularly as unitarian universalist. Depart face. Is about the window the lenses through which we view and experience our world. This is why religious education for our children is so important. And why. Why many of you started coming here to begin with. It's about the mystic narrative. The guiding stories the principles which we learn. Either explicitly or implicitly. Which are the lenses through which we experience and interpret life. The transcendental. The transcendentalist philosopher and unitarian minister. Ralph waldo emerson road a person will worship something have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives. And our character. Therefore it behooves us to be careful what we worship. What we are worshipping. We are becoming. And as unitarian theologian and religious educators sapphire falls has written. It matters what we believe. Some beliefs are like blinders cutting off the power to choose one's own direction. Other beliefs are like gateways opening wide vistas for exploration. The language we use to describe the universe change the way in which we experience it. Looking again at their principles of purposes in the front of our hymnals. As we as unitarian universalist agree to affirm certain things. We do not agree to on everything and we do not agree on nothing. We are not people who pay to whom it may concern. Despite some misgivings as some of you may have. Yet even given all of this faith is not simply about what we believe. Faith is not just about the sets of propositions. To which we give conscious or even unconscious ascent. An ultimate sense faith is about where. Or in what. We feel we can put our trust. What is a multiple what is ultimately reliable. For us. What is it that is reliable. The universe. If we become convinced that there is no certainty nothing to have faith and then we are prone to surrender. To despair. We may seek solace in the constancy of meaninglessness and nihilism. Those who surrender to this meaninglessness this nihilism then decides the only way to make sense of the world is to destroy it and start over. This is part of the problem with. Apocalyptic traditions. Imposing their own internal sense of order on the internal external world. This is the pattern of cynicism and the mind of totalitarianism. If we find nothing to have faith in we will seek to destroy the world and impose our own sense of order. S.j. ruth chandler wrote in the reading. It is faith. Protects doubt. From cynicism. I also believe this is what creation theologian matthew fox means when he says. Things happen to people in prison or mystical or they become more criminal. Either find were connections meaning and hope in the universe or they despair and seek to take us all with them. This is one reason why things like prison ministries and social outreach are so important. Not only is it that if we do not try to throw people lifelines then they will drown and try to take us with them. It is for us as unitarian universalist said if we do not act. On our stated beliefs in the inherent worth and dignity of others that we have no face. Only words. So faith is not simply about what we believe it is not just about the set of propositions to which we give a cent. Faith is also about the nature of experiences of the universe and our responses to it. Okay so what is faith look like and how do we get it and where does it lead us. Buddhist teacher. Sharon salzberg says. The word we normally translate as faith from the pile i language the language of the original buddhist texts. Is sada. Sade. Which means to place the heart. Sade means to give our hearts over to or place our hearts upon something. Its meaning can vary a lot depending on. What we put our heart upon or the quality with which we give our hearts over. She goes on. I prefer to think of faith as cooler age says of poetry. As the willing suspension of disbelief. So rather than thinking of it as the assumption or the taking up of a belief. It's the willing suspension of disbelief. A willingness to be open to explore. Investigate. Dr. james fowler who is now professor retired. Emeritus at. Emory university. Has become well known for his stages of faith development. He's also a united methodist minister. In his book stages of faith published back in 1981. He offers us a whole list of different. Stages of faith development and i'm not going to go through those today because that's a whole sermon by itself. Or even a set of classes but i recommend it to you. What tyler does say insurance right space may be characterized as an integral centering process. Underlying the formation of beliefs. Values and meanings that one. Gives coherent to direction to persons lives. To link some to share trust and loyalties with each other. With others. Three grounds their personal stances and communal loyalties. In a sense of relatedness. To a larger frame of reference. And for enables them to face and deal with the limited conditions of human life. Lying upon that which has a quality of ultimacy in their lives. The stages and describe patterns operations. Annoying and valerie. Underlying. Our conscious. He also offers that as human beings we have imaginations. Intuitions and moments of awakening. That disturbance into awareness of dimensions of. Circumvent reality that we can only name. As our own as. A mystery. And yet our feet meijer in the clay of everyday toil getting and giving spending and being spent. In the struggle for survival and meaning. In the midst of contingency suckled on uncertainty we spend our blessed and threatened years becoming selves. True relationship of trust and loyalty with with others like us. Persons in communities. We attached to one another. In love. We struggle with fidelity and infidelity we share our visions of ultimate destiny and calling. Our projections and hope our moments of revelation. We are language-related symbol born and stories story. Sustained pictures. He do not live long or well without meaning. That is to say we are creatures preachers. By faith. What is the often confusing things about discussions on faith. Is that people associate different things with that very word. I feel that this is usually illustrates. People are in or talking about different parts of what fowler would call faces development. Faith is not just. One thing. There is also a process it is a result. And this is. What is meant when we refer to it as faith development. A lot of different models for understanding face but i find that usually consist. Of three cyclic phases. They are first faith as affection. Second safe as conviction. And 3rd. Gaz metan. They are affection. Conviction. The fundamental nature of religion is that a relationship to the other. However we understand that weather that is. Other people or some transcendent understanding. Universe. Did something trans. Therefore it is logical that the first experience we often associate with faith is our sense of relationship or of our affection for what we esteem. This can be a principal. In relationship to people to a place and idea. An experience. It creates a bridge of relational authenticity. By which we can be better experience. And experience each other and perhaps the holy. In our lives. This is the importance. Of my trip to mecca. A1990 her unitarian universalist associations general assembly. Was my first and it was held at the milwaukee exposition conference and convention arena. Or mecca. Had you there for a minute. I had been a signed member of the dayton ohio congregation for only nine months before i went as a delegate. Warning. I was also going in many ways to put my newfound faith. As a unitarian universalist and my recent sense of a calling to the ministry. To the test. I immediately sought out a group of ministerial students would gather to a general assembly and what i found is almost beyond words but what i can say is that by the end of an hour i felt that for the first time in my life. I was truly in a room of my peers. It was the most at home with others and myself i ever felt up to that moment. I was embraced by them. Even though i had not yet formally apply to my local seminary for admission. I was invited to participate in the worship service they would present and was asked to give one of the two short sermons or homilies. Not only did i feel connected to this group but i was affirmed in my choice. That's after i return to milwaukee i enrolled in classes and began the process. Which has brought me here. I had a profound sense of relationship which was affirmed. Just as we covenant to promote. And affirm our principles. And our purpose. In the book of hebrews in the. Jewish scripture is it is written faith is the assurance of things hoped for. The conviction of things unseen. After i returned to milwaukee i acted on the new and. Newly found in a firm convictions. Information itself is an act of expressing and reinforcing conviction. Conviction the knowing of the rightness of one's experience. Is a crucial second step in faith development. Convictions and knowing alone. Do not make say. Commitment is fundamental. Any relationship. And it is crucial as the third step. The developing and the unfolding. Safe. Institutional answers. Commitment. Is conviction in action. Faith without commitment. Is a dead faith. Conversely. The apostle paul write. Show me your face apart from your works and i will show you my faith by my work. The number of years ago i attended a luncheon at a large african-american congregation in south carolina. It's ava's house in what used to be a large grocery store. Later on they went on to build a magnificent sanctuary. They have many many faces including a large multi-purpose face. And above the serving windows of their kitchen hung a large paper banner which read. They don't care what you know until they know that you care. Repeat that. They don't. Care what you know. Until they know that. We care. I was struck by the simple profundity of this statement and its reminder. It is the difference between conviction and conviction with. Commitment. Similar to sharon salzburg buddhist definition of faith. The word cradle. Is usually translated into english as i believe. The literal latin meaning is i give my heart. I think it would change when we think about arkratos statements we offer nascar kids. Not what do i believe that. What do we give our hearts. So faith is about a feeling or knowledge. A certainty so strong and so deep that we can say i give my heart to this. But many of us who come from other traditions. We often found ourselves saying words we could no longer give our hearts. And we no longer felt the conviction or commitments. Are we hungry for something you say yes to. A strongly with our lives. As with arnett. We were looking for. We are looking for. Faith so deep and sweet and renewing that commitment or is from us in a torrent. Joy and gratitude. Many of us this place this tradition is where we have learned or are learning or have found were finding. I myself would plumb the depths and heights of our face. Of our love and our commitments. Which are so joyful. So powerful and compassion. Intake. Remove from our experience of relationship. True conviction. The actions of commitment. As human beings. We will have faith in something. The assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things unseen. As emerson said that which dominates our imaginations. And our thoughts will determine our lives and our character. Therefore it behooves us to be careful what we worship. For what we are worshipping we are. Is unitarian universalist. As human beings. The covenant 2. Keep our faith with each other through our covenants and committing. To each other. To our congregation. Or association. Tri-community.

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20160228-Sermon.mp3

So i know that that parabola so maybe scratching your heads. Is this like huh. Jesus said what. But keep in mind he wasn't talking about money this was an allegory. Right. Descriptive. She was talking about. Those who do something with. Precious life. And. Message of hope that they are given. Those do something with it. To grow it to make it greater to be good stewards of. That resource. Are the ones who will prosper. And the ones who just say always this lovely and pretty and i'll just keep it right here cuz i don't want to risk. Then they probably want him to hold onto. The face the little bit of faith they may have already acquired. Says the statement about faith. And hope. And messages. That we receive of. The positive. Possibilities. And realities of our lives. It's like so many people. Many of you have told me about that you have encountered over the years. Who who said. Why didn't i know about this religion before. I know a lot of you have any experience. I'm 65 why did it take me this long to find you. Yeah that's best people i know who grew up literally around the corner. From you church has. And did not find it till they went to some other city 20 years later. And. Through serendipity. Okay. We are starving people. Why not. Being generous. And being thoughtful stewart's. Term. Any churches in almost always conjures up. You know the sermon on the amount. And that's an oldie but a goodie. You know it always is it it's about money and it's campaign season 2 people like. Write how many emails are you getting from various campaigns. Some i have no idea how i got on their list. None whatsoever. Stewardship really that too competitive competing impulses and goals and find ways to negotiate navigate those. One is the idea that we want to protect. And maintain what we have. Because his valuable via sound it nourishing for us. And it supports our life as we have become comfortable with their life. Nothing wrong with any of that. And the other impulse. Is. To grow. To share. To be enthusiastic to be lily's filled with the spirit to be enthused. Offer these resources to others. To share. Bring in more into the circle. Should we. Eventually transcend. Who we have been and be more of who we can be. And want to be. So both of these impulses. Seek to keep. Vital. And in the present. Enviable. To carry forward. Admission into the future. We have present vitality. Versus future viability. Our own. Countries. Infrastructure. Perfect example. If you do not. Apply the resources to the things you need. For the future. When you get to the future they won't be there. That simple. Social justice issues the same sorts of things are there if we do not put the effort into. Building. Structures building institutions building movements. Then when we have one of those times of crisis. Or need. One opportunity window. We will miss it. Last year when the equal rights ordinance came out and we were able to move fast enough. To get. Navigation to endorse. That and to have a news conference in. Moses lake we had really good effect. Because we were prepared we had people in positions to do things. And we were able to move nimbly enough. To do that. The liberal christian scholar marcus borg who passed away not too long ago. Has asked. What. Trying to live a part of what he calls the kingdom of god we may call it the beloved community. Means for us. These days. The answer he offer is his that specifically it has to do with confronting unjust systems. Most importantly. He says. Challenging the way powerful and wealthy elites in our time use their power and wealth. To structure the economic system in their own narrow self-interest. Anybody rotten 2003 board cites data showing that the first the amount of national wealth owned by the richest 1% of our population is increasingly dramatically. Doubling between 1980 and 2000. As a growing concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. Threatens.. American democracy. Simply because of the political power and influence that go with wealth. He wrote that in 2003. All this stuff come up since 2008 is not new news. My college professors in 1980 when ronald reagan came to power. Told me. And all of their students in political science and sociology what was going to happen and they were on cute on point they they've been absolutely accurate for nasik haters. They were prophetic. Paul krugman nobel prize-winning new york times columnist and and economist. Describe how wealthy american to benefit hugely from the system rigged in their favor react with hysteria. To anyone who points out how rigged the system is. If we have to put up with crushing. That's with bad wages with horrible working conditions. It's business as usual. If we complain about it it's class warfare. And nobody wants that. So being a steward. Shepherding. Taking care of. Using leading. The use of resources and time and energy. And lives. Spent. Building the common good. The lovely thing about the internet is there so many definitions for things you can get out there if you want. Instruct the word steward actually my family the first understanding i have it was my grandfather mccarthy. What is a steward on the white starred in cunard lines 100 years ago. And he jumped ship in new york and made his way to iowa nissley married my grandmother. Little english guy from liverpool. And then his father had survived the lusitania. Thinking so it's. Is it as a stoker so. That idea of the steward of someone who. Bring people things. And then there's the idea of. Stewardship as about. Making sure to provide for the future. 2. Marshall and again. Shepherd resource. And people and ideas and movements. So that the future may better reflect. What we are trying to shape. I also have a personal investment because my family come from the stuarts of scotland. Part of it anyway. And now i'm sister who disputes this but. And the steward of scotland actually came from brittany. In france. So they were french. And and where the stewards who ran the royal house. In scotland the scottish. Dynasty. I found that in the. Old testament. The word stewardess found in several places. And. It usually as possessor. For rulers. Rephrase ben messick. Ven papen sms eshe q no u. Is better is rendered as son of acquisition. Or hence the air. So the heirs were seen as the stewards. Of the family's resources. Those. Who were responsible for carrying it forward into the future. And the new testament. The reading we had. Mostly it was a in greek. So. Fritos. And we konomis. There you go. That was a semester. And the trim dictate different donating different types but similar positions. They're not quite synonyms. Did they are found together in a number of places. Nou synonymously. Others. The idea of the steward being one who is. Taking care of. And making sure that. Things are dealt with in a responsible way that grows. The future. What does it mean to be. Steward here now. Besides the person who gets to come to other people and say can you be a good steward. Give us your pledge which is an important thing my gosh yes. Julian our lives. We often find it's much easier to say no. Introvert to the comfortable and known. Or even just a no. I mean how many of us. Are aware of things in our lives under people's lives if we would just make a very simple change improve. What. We are caught in the inertia of the familiar. And. Maybe. Something different may not be better. So why risk it. And this isn't even a rational thought this is. The our little limbic systems and never things doing their job. Lizard brain. I think we find is manifest in religious community a lot of you had this experience cuz you told me about it. That you've been in some other religious community or some other group. And they just kind of went through the motions. This kind of you know they found it in there they you know. You know what does that mean in latin or why are we doing this. This way. And. The worst thing that can happen is to challenge that sometimes. Because people become very defensive. Because they don't have a good answer. Because. Doing it. Has become the purpose of doing it. Because it is what has been left. That is what keeps the community together. So when we lose the meaning of things. We we lose. Their purpose we lose our. Are salt. Loses its taste. There's some wonderful stories the one about the guru's cat if you ever heard this one. Fresh air. The guru's cat. There's a story that an ashram. In india a guru used to bring his cat who he loves very much with him to meditate in the room with him. Because the cat had a tendency to get people's faces he tied it up. And you sit down he meditate. This went on for years and years and years and years. Eventually. The girl who died. And his disciples. Trying to figure out what the group was really teaching him. Latched onto the idea that the cat must be important because he was always there. So they made sure that the cat was always tied up. In that room. And when they die they got another cat. On down the line every time they built into a shrimp they had to have a cat. With meditation space. And so it went. Without realizing. That correlation is not causation. 41 you may have heard of is. Younghusband who's. With his wife and. She had. Sheet metal house so she can fix easter meal in. She had hammond she. Cut the ends off the ham. And put them in the roasting pan next to the rest of it even though there was plenty of room. He said why you doing that. So your mom and some curious. Hey mom says well it's way my mother did it. So. Talk to her. And they didn't she says. That's what my mom did it. Grandma before she leaves this earth. And they went and talked to great grandma. And she said i was a newlywed only had a pan about this big. In my studies of family systems theory this is. This is this is the funny part of it the unfunny part of it is the not-so-good stuff that keep going on and on and on and on then our family is another. Let me discover that we've been doing this over we stopped caught in some sort of. Loop. Visual. We have an opportunity to step back and say. Okay so what do we do now. And. What is perhaps the original mission or what is should be our mission now. With whatever it is we're doing. How should we resync this. So the form does not become more important. Then. The effects in the content. So we have that chance to look at that. And then engage with that. Mission. I don't want you to think about mission vision statement stuff. Because. People puts all the sleep. Some of your having enough trouble now. And. The. When the key things i got from good to great. The author's name. Good to great. Business people. You've read it and me too. The idea is that what makes. Corporations and other organizations transcendence in their milieu is that. They. Stick to whatever their core mission is. Doggedly. But they able to change how they. An app that or apply it or respond to it. As time goes by. Disney is always busted up as for the key for the quintessential this year their hair to make people happy. There's an actual word phrases like one sentence. Is that be the happiest place in the world that so if you're not doing that for your customer. You're doing it wrong. And that's it. So that's all anybody has to know. You still working there. Until if. We as a community is a church. Are trying to be very clear that what we're trying to accomplish in the world. And what we're about. Then we have to be very clear about that too. Recently we took. The steps of of having an executive summary. Hussar. More. Fully developed. Mission vision. And it'll from a word cloud and other things and and those are now on the front of your cover of your order service. Senorita. The nearest spirits. Working for justice. Transforming lives. Active verbs. I think we can do that we're going to plateful. What are the important things about. Groups that have a very ends. Justifies the means. Orientation. They have an advantage. Because they're always focus that ends is always their goal that's their objective. And anything they can do to further that objective. Is okay. There's no moral restrictions on that. So that's why you might have. People with a theology that comes out of. 16th century geneva switzerland. Or. 19th century kentucky. But they're able to use the best technologies the most advanced ideas in business techniques. I think to make their organizations grow prosper and heather message reach out. Because they have that focus. Fresh fruits that are involved with process like we are. Then the process is a very important part of who we are is a covenanted community. Sometimes we making my idol. Sometimes we worship. Process. Then we all feel like we've been processed. Both individually and collectively. And if we lose sight of why we're doing the process. The process becomes an empty ritual. Sort of like the stories of the worship russian orthodox. Bishop's that we're having meeting argue about the color vestments during right in the middle of the russian revolution. Bolsheviks were taking over the streets they were arguing about the color vestments. Somebody took your eyes off the prize. Within our own community. As unitarian universalist. In the last few years. Some sacred cows were rather. Badly mauled if not killed. I had a hard time adjusting to. Are mice my alma mater. Needs a lumbar theological school in chicago. Which had been down in university of chicago campus. Was you know had this wonderful facility it was head-to-head that sense of grandeur and age and grotti costs and all those things and it was familiar. Adjustable human enough to be cool. And they realize that. After trying to merge with several other schools because the seminaries are in deep trouble right now around the country. That what they really need to do is sell their property. Which was worse bookoo bucks. To university of chicago. Hey cousin prime real estate. 57th and woodlawn. And so they sold that properties. And with that they're able to go and get. Amazing space on the golden mile. Spertus institute they have several floors they're all wired with the most up-to-date everything and heavy. And they have the freedom to have the technology and now they're able to afford their being very successful. And they have a very fully endowed down.. Association in boston. Association. Basically did the same thing a few years later. We had property on beacon hill people. Across the side street from the capitol. Right from the state houses. Didn't we used to hang banners for lgbtq rights from the windows in across from state house. Okay. You know you can't fight no more like. Anywhere. So we had this very storied historic properties. On beacon hill about seven or eight of those historic properties they were nowhere near each other. People often worked with each other but never saw each other for weeks if ever. And the technology couldn't be done. Almost 100 years ago. Barbara rodriguez. They could do it. So they could sell that property. How many times you properties come up on beacon hill next to the state house. Really. Okay. They can ask anything and so they saw those properties they went they bought another facility. Bill to their specifications to snell they are the landlord and renting it to other organizations they aren't spaced they aren't using currently. So. They're doing well and they're following their mission. Because that is. But they're about. It's so it's not about preserving. Storage spaces on beacon hill. It's not about preserving. Places. In chicago. Or anyplace else. It's not about the idolatry of the past or are nostalgia. It is about what has to happen. For the now and the future. Down the line. Stewardship is about making sure that what we are doing. Now. Enables us to do better more of. What needs to be done in the future even if it's different from what we're doing now. The nature of religious community right now. Across-the-board is up for grabs. Social scientists are totally stumped. About what religious community center look like for the next the next 20 years it'll be. And we have all sorts of experiments going on our communities. We have other communities are doing things it's just. It's a wild west i mean people are doing. Really interesting while stuff and you know eight out of ten of them are going down in flames. But that 2 + 10. Are working. Not just for us but other communities as well. So when we say we're going to sustain our future our faith. We have to keep in mind it's not going to be like it was or has been. We think of things in the steady-state while this is not a steady-state anymore. We are in a flux time in society of what time in history of human beings. In technology and everything else. But the one thing is constant. For our principles. Our commitments. Envision. Do we have. Earth made. Warfare. And all of her people want. So let's take that leap forward.

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Sermon_091910.mp3

Most of us. Have some idea of what. A minister dies or what ministry is. It usually involves someone who embodies the minister or the ministry usually ordained clergy. Unfortunately this doesn't really reflect what ministry of a church. One of the institutional ways that. We ourselves are actually. Dealing with this is our committee on ministry. Currently is stephen the model that is. Design to sort of. Support the minister and be a communications tool with the minister. And yet it's called the committee on ministry. And we're hopefully in the near future in the next couple of years be moving towards a model. That reflects more of the broader understanding the ministry is shared by everyone in the congregation. So institutionally this has real meaning for us. Going back even a little further to minister. By definition is to give a door service. To another. That's all it means. So the demystify the language a little bit. The dictionary says that the american heritage dictionary by the way. The act of serving or ministration. One that serves as a means and instrumentality. It originally meant a servant. And one subheading i saw said that from the old french that meant someone who served either food or wine. So i will not be doing that right now. In our congregation we based churches the ministry belongs. To the people. And it is they the people who set aside. Certain people by ordaining and calling them and investing them with certain aspects of the larger ministry or servanthood of the church. Our former intern pam w will be ordained next sunday afternoon. Add a pathways. Congregation in southlake at 4. The ministry is a congregation. You simply decide. Share it. With someone. That's why in our tradition it is only a congregation. That can ordain a minister. Your association's cannot no other larger bodies cannot. No bishop or any other kind of person exists to do that. It is only the congregation. That can retain our ministers. Because it is out of the congregation. That the ministry flows. Ministry is not just. About ministering to each other but also to those that. Who have not joined us. And also to the world at large. As unitarian universalist we believe in and promote the ministry of all souls. We believe in pursuit of the earthly realization that all people are part of the same great cosmic reality. The beloved community and that all souls do and will participate in the same eventual ends. What that means is there is a cosmic democracy what happens to one happens to all. Therefore we are called upon to lift up and minister to each other as fellow pilgrims. In our journeys. Together. Religious community is a place if not v place where we can explore the needs and truth of our existence which can be as you writer susan pangoro says are known only through our immersion in the daily ambiguities of living. Now there's a chicken-and-egg kind of irony that we encounter in that in order to be a healthy supportive and transformational religious community. It also has to be a place where we can feel we are free to take risks. Inherent in our struggling. Together towards wholeness and transformation. Successfully taking risks can be get a sense of safety. Sometimes to create that safety we have to take leaps of faith. Encourage. I like you now to do something at 4 some of you may be illegal courage. I'd like you to take hands. With the people next to you or around you. Especially if it's someone you don't know well. I don't know yet. I didn't say you should talk. We're just taking hands. Just taking hands i'm so glad you all are so thrilled to get to know each other. It is truly amazing this is a really friendly congregation there is no question about that. But look around you. This is a very real and physical manifestation of religious. Community. Within this sacred space and place. In this time. This secret community. We seek his presence. Not only in words and ideas but must basically in the very real presence and touch of our hands. In greeting or insured work. For the common good. Does yugi like to let go you may now. Some of you were holding interesting positions i have to say i wonder how long you can hold it. Just as we take risks in reaching out to each other the more we learn how to take the calculated risks of healthy living then the more safety we feel and taking them. This dynamic build a forward momentum which helps out to the palace into action change. Engross. A religious community that does not challenge itself is stagnant. And soon dead in its soul if not if body. Gross is necessary for health and any organism. If for no other reason than to maintain it. And communities. Are no different. The beloved community the term the beloved community became familiar with usage by the reverend doctor martin luther king jr. as he invoked are human desires for belonging. For love and also for justice and for a world made whole. Do use the term as an alternative for the kingdom of god. That phrase that jesus used to remind us that our existence. Our relationships. Could be what we imagined. If we but put the effort to believe and to act. And if we had faith it is among us. Even. The desire for such a quality relationship acknowledges a separatist a distance from one another it signifies a wish to be more than one. But to be. Of more. The image of the beloved community has been around. Well over 100 years yet we are far from that lived dream. The beloved community keeps calling. It is for us to answer a new that we would find another glimpse. Of hell. Of what we are. Possible. Of becoming. American philosopher whose ir royce. Writing in the early 1900's coined the phrase the beloved community. In his book the problem of christianity. Royce says. Since the office of religion is to aim towards the creation on earth of the beloved community. The future task of religion. Is the task of inventing and applying arts. Michelle win all over to unity. Quit shall overcome their original hatefulness. Ida gracious love not a mere individuality but of communities. The royce says it is the office of religion to serve this task. Gather together all from. Love of community. This phrase describing task of religion caught on both with unitarian universalist at that time. Unitarian minister john haynes holmes. A passionate social activist. Who was also one of the founders of the naacp and the aclu. And he renamed his congregation the community church of new york. Emphasize that as he wrote the core of his congregations faith as a purpose of its life is the beloved community. Holmes's vision like doctor king's was of a beloved community extending beyond any particular parish. Society or nation to the very edges of a cosmos. Welcoming all of god's creatures into its compassionate and brice. And the 20th century minister and theologian. Clarence russell skinner. Are the great universalist of the 20th century. Says that the beloved community is not an organization of individuals seeking private and selfish security for their souls. It is a new adventure a spontaneous fellowship of consecrated men and women seeking a new world. A new adventure. Not in isolation but in concert. It is that adventure admits fellow travelers that stirs me to continue in my ministry. At that same time the church this portion of the beloved community is a place of safety and comfort and also of acceptance. How do we minister to one another. One of the readings in our hymnal by george hodel list the names times when we need one another. He says when we mourn and when we would be comforted. When we are in trouble and are afraid when we are in despair and temptation it need to be recalled to our best selves again. When we would accomplish some great purpose. I cannot do it alone in our hour of success. And in the hour of defeat and when we come to die. It would have gentle hands or paris for our journey. All our lives we are in need he says. And others are in need. No this too is the hope of the beloved community and the ministry of all souls. This may even be. More easily found than the moments of spiritual search. How do we respond to one another. This. Call points to a specific office of the ministry of all souls that we are held. For all of our lives from birth to death. Our whole lives we are held by this. Underlying reality. In the ministry of all souls then all are welcome. To pursue the beloved community is to be a public place. Not a private space. Tending a participating. In churches. Are public acts. A place to be as we are and as we yet can be. Place to be as we are. And as we yet. Henna reading earlier. Mark morrison read one of our great ministers who serves in canada. Said the central task of religious communities tuinvale the bonds that bind h2wall. Riza connectedness amid. The particulars of our relationships. He goes on to say it is the church that assures us that we are not struggling for justice on our own. But as members of a larger community. Together our vision widens. And our strength is renewed. When i was re-reading that i was reminded of the story of thomas potter how many of you know the story of thomas potter. This is a unitarian universalist real good. Thomas potter was a farmer on the coast of new jersey in the mid-1700s. And typical of his time he was a religious man. Probably a quaker baptist. And he could not read. It said he listened. The preaching. Of those who came through and to those who would read the bible to him and he thought about what he heard. Even in the middle of that rural and new ideas did come through including universalism. The belief that all will be saved after death if there is no eternal suffering. He left upon this thought and sought to know more. His wife became rather fed up with his bringing home the people and conversations about his new idea and she told him that he needed to find some other place to me. I think this is sort of his version of the man cave. It was then that he built a chapel a space to welcome the person who would speak of the goodness and love of god. And thomas potter did. And he waited. In england. John murray was at the end of his capacity for despair. He left the church of england and then was kicked out of the methodist church for preaching on universalism. His wife and child died after a prolonged illness and the debts for their care result in his being thrown into debtors prison. There's nothing left to lose he eventually left the country for the new world and the colonies. And he vowed to have nothing. To do with religion and never to preach. Again. His ship. The hand-in-hand. Was delivering goods to new jersey before its final destination of new york. In the course of navigating the smaller inlets. The transfer vessel ran aground with marie and some of the sailors on it. The hand-in-hand had to leave and the men were stranded. Marine countered potter in his search for supplies along the coast. It's hotter greeted this stranger. Come my friend i have longed to see you. I have been expecting you for a long. Potter learned of murray's pass ministry he was convinced that this was the preacher that he had been waiting for. But murray did not want anything to do with potter or his chapel. Marie just wanted to leave when the wind changed. And when thomas potter predicted quote the wind will never change her until you have delivered. To us in that meeting house a message from god. Finally they agreed that the wind had not changed before sunday john murray would preach in the meeting house. And so he did. When did not change. And on september 30th 1770 gave the message on universal salvation to potter and his neighbors. A moment he completed the sermon one of the sailors came up and told him the wind had changed. The men left for new york but murray later returned and continued his first ministry in the new land. He went on to be one of the strongest voices of early universalism in the emerging country and helped found the first universalist congregation and glouster. Any united states. Without him the next generation would not have had such prepared grounds. The miracle. That usually is told is that potter somehow predicted. The that the coming of murray or someone like him and the change the wind the minute murray finish this message. And the wonder i find is that the welcome. Call my friend i have longed to see you. I have been expecting you for a long time. Imagine saying that to someone. Or hearing that said to you. In that moment thomas potter. Minister to and with john murray. By his hospitality by his challenge to murray to share the message of liberating hope that he was entrusted. Potters willingness. To welcome to hear the new message is significant. Potter showed. That kind of unflinching hospitality even before potter knew anything about marie except that he was stuck. I think. That. This is at the heart of universalist message message. That welcome. The courage to risk. That message. Applause. And then he welcome to join murray. Thomas potter built the chapel knowing that someone would come that would change the world. So to building the church. So that the world is not what it used to be. So that we are not the same. Gathering together that we would have a greater ability. To grow. Thomas potter gave john murray the chance to return. To himself. To what he really loved. Preaching. And his passion for religion for the welcoming message of. Universalism. Potters ministry and faith saved john berry. I'm not being who you could be and help to light a flame of hope. That burns. Today's stay. Icarly the reverend rob hardy's says that universalism. Is the meeting of despair and hope. In our faithful hope. Our ministry. Is not just to each other but to those who have not. Joined us. And to the rest of the world. Today we have. People who have formally join this congregation. With us here. Some of you have join not too long ago. But we also have reached out to those who have come to us to park here. But we're also reaching out to those. In the community today some people are going to be marching in the pride parade this afternoon. Sr. chamblee said in our reading from all our chosen. Our lay ministry means that we care for and celebrate one another. We teach and encourage each other. We inspire and motivate. When we share what we have with others ministry is multiplied. When we are present unitarian-universalism to the world. We are ministering. When we march for minority rights we are ministry. Play we demonstrate our values. We minister. As unitarian universalist. We believe in and promote the ministry of all souls. We believe and pursue the earthly realization that all people are part of the same great cosmic reality. Beloved community. And that all souls do. And will participate. In the same eventual ends. Therefore we are called upon to lift up. To minister to each other. As fellow pilgrims in our journey. Together. The ministry. Again. As it has been. Let it continue.

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Reading_072411.mp3

I have a reading today from. This how you your world. Summer issue after you your world. My patients face. Cologne. As a radiologist i look inside people searching for diseases. Envisioning how it's made impact people's lives. We'll have to know i read. Ct scan of a particularly unfortunate woman she was only in her early. Hoodies. And she had colon cancer. Brasidas and showed recurrence tumor in a fluid in her pelvis. The young woman was scheduled to have the flu strain. At a hospital. And that's her. The morning of her procedure. A rachel ct scan a few days ago and just reviewed it. Video. Oncologist explain what the show. Yes she mentions a new fluid pocket. Amazon. Gestures that i was elaborate on her skin abnormalities. But she spoke before i could continue. People go any further there's something i need to explain. My husband and i are believers. We prayed a great deal and have family and friends at a church praying for me. We try not to use. The c word. But as far as i'm concerned my body is cancer free. She looked calm and irrational on the surface. Bus was completely wrong. About the state of our internal organs. I did not point out that she. That herself perception did not match her ct scan. I feared she might forego potentially beneficial treatments in 30 now. Now i'm doing everything the doctors italian me to the trade chemotherapy and all of them. But this is what i feel and what i need to believe to get through this. Enough i replied relieved that i could. Better understand her outlook. Car pros was different than most. But that did not make it from. She was not accurate about being cancer free. But at some level she knew that. Even if she were not adequately admit it. That's a long reading so if you're in treat going to finish reading i'm not going to take it much time finished but it has kind of surprised.

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Sermon_010911.mp3

And i living in the plano area that's rare huh. But my home was in austin texas i went to high school there my degrees from the university of texas i have a daughter that works for a and m with makes it sort of huh. I have to live. Diabolical life. But. I have lived in north texas i came to garland and i think. Or to start a new congregation that's when all of this area was obviously still under cultivation in. Everything north of buckingham road was in those days. And so i've been here since i think. Or. And. Continue to be served now in the lutheran church is a pastor. 453 years. I want you to know one other thing. I am a product of what today. We're taking a look at and saying it no longer works. What's my background. My grandfather was a german pastor. In the lutheran church in south texas. Sounds like fredericksburg. Hallettsville. Pflugerville. I love you texting is know where that is. And know that even today on the streets of those priests on the streets of those towns you can speak german and beyond easter. German. Are some characteristics that we think it's romantic lutheran. Hard-headed belief. In fact my grandfather said that. In 50 years of preaching he never learned english and texts when we complain to the about immigrants. My grandfather and fifty years that i will not learn english. In fact it was given to call to go to another congregation one time and they said they wanted in the morning when she said no i'm not coming. And when my dad told him i decided to go to the seminary he said he can't be a movement ministry. Doesn't the old testament in genesis when god created the world. And then he was coming at searching for adam and eve he said automobile vista. A product of that old. Quarter thing to my uncle for preachers my dad's not painfully. But but i decided that i wanted to do that and then. I was embedded in part in the seminary and in-home purgation by my parents and people that love me. The things that were important to me to cause me to go into this profession. Virginia the profession for awhile i began to realize wednesday contradictions here that are so fundamental i don't even know whether i dare think about them. I love you i suspect. Ifix for granted. That most of you. I bet i am started background or a lot of russia. The fundamentalist six-letter allistic. Brand of christianity. I asked some of you. Absolutely. I would like to talk about that today because. What we're going through the day it's not just a few changes in a few details of her face. But a whole new way of thinking about all of this. And i try not to take too long but it's obviously a first of all i want to take all of this is the way we. Ghostbuster raised in literacy. To some degree. Someone's very fundamentalist it when they would say every word in the bible is we called it word of god. As if it was somehow dictated. I was whispered into the ears of the author. And that every word in that bible. Art room. And by ramin factual. Today you know that i just heard again last week over half of the people of the united states still do not accept evolution. Because what is the competing beliefs. Complete staffing services. The creation story. Both creation stories are not true. But not factual. God they are the stories. Toyotas whatever it is. Call god. Grenada.. What is thought. Army lester how god did it. Obviously in what way. That's literal understanding of the bible to still very much with us. That's being challenged now and has been for the last three or four years. Progressive christian theology as i understand it. Today. Particularly. It started about. 3240 years ago. When we began half-dollar to we're doing order called historical studies of fuses that is to say. What was the cultural life of jesus was in the world. What were their vows. The meanings of the words that they use language. Lavar lifetime. The way we use words and what words mean. And that's changed for the less we understand the cultures that kind of working both on. And also in the old testament. Recant. With any validity use those. Temperature today. Just to let you know we forgot this you can prove anything you would like to prove. In the bible. We've done it in this country. Richardson the south validated slavery. Biblically. I sat or one evening in the home of a pastor of the dutch reformed first. In something to harrisburg.. I had spent three weeks there visiting the township. Horrible circumstances. The african people. The blacklist. I said heard this watch freeform patrick's day. It's biblical. What we're doing is out of the blue. And he said. This was a 1984. I will spend the rest of my life and its system of apartheid affect the will of god. Wrong because of people like nelson mandela. Desmond tutu. You had a different understanding. Go today in contemporary. We understand that most of the time but conversations are riding to throw on in the in the bible. Have you heard this morning is it was so beautifully used. Earlier. Isn't metaphor. I love the little things that we learned about the sea. Persuasive parable. You never answer the question directly the only one. What's the weather system work. But he told a story and then it was. And if it might be different than to say what is it going to be tomorrow. Have learned you. Metaphor. And so matter for tommy. The way we look at. At the bible. That are suspicious of anybody who tries to screw. Any. Miracle already. Why did jesus email. Build dormer actual. Probably not. When you think about it if those disciples they were all that worried and jesus was lying. Asleep in the boat. And they were getting afraid and he wakes up. Till when. The side effects of weather that is affected by. I don't know. I'm free to think about that. And what it mean. Okay. What we think of god. Often in the trailer services that when using voice from church and other churches video. Rich quick versus cream. I heard one of your statements of your medicine on kridel. Yay for you. Because like i think doctor borg in the red. He says. Agreed to be simply. God is. I want. Several years ago. Happy young woman i was doing an interim resurrection lutheran church over in west plano and. A young woman came in there and she had just gotten there. It's a from stanford. Westwood church in palo alto that's pastor friend of mine and he suggested they go to my congregation. And where do you that i was living. So that's what they want. Well they were the first for a while and one day i was coming back to the office. Record said somebody's waiting for you in your office and she's sitting on the couch cross-legged looking in macy's the young woman brilliant woman on the cycle. Hello. And we believe all that stuff we say stay in the creed. You don't have to be all that right. But bright enough to figure out. What i had to do was explaining to her this way. No we don't believe all of that literally. But when we receive tax free for joining with people in. 3000 years. A repeating just breathe that we are part of a community that spans. The years. Solon. Don't know i know it. Address a letter. You're part of that. By the way this position you and i were talk. Only about 500 years old. It was a relatively new theology and the times of the enlightened. 1617. Are you in the days after martin luther. When we talk about god we are talking about are you to see with people who look at all of nature and life. I think there's something. I love the way. Say something lyrics. They don't want it is. List three. Call todd. Anybody that says they know anymore about guys and that i think. I've been thinking about this a long time what do i know about god. We all have agreed and it's okay to think about.. Father. Mother. Our. Mercy. And i have to say that my uncle. About god. Is the god is a god of grace. Undeserved. Unwanted love. That is for every human being. Whoever they are whatever their religion. Whatever the circumstance in like. God loves them. They are children of god. And it is universal. That god is the god of all people. I'm on a panel of the tv show. Appetizer. At 6:30 every sunday morning on channel 7 is a program called the american religious town hall. We got a jewish rabbi from palm springs and black. Bishop. Georgia and seventh-day adventist pastor from washington dc. Other. 7-eleven from around texas that are on channel 6. How are you this morning i pocket was. Muslim imam just friend of mine from here. On building the amar. New york. And you're a good discussion. Anyway. We have a few of muslims and christians putting the southern baptist more away from me is his review in the muslim and and yet we are all brothers. It's a woman who owns the show. But we keep saying we need half the people on its own. So that we want to take a different way metaphorically. Not be so certain about this again. Agada grace. Undeserved. I just briefly also.. Jesus ave. Oliver stories i love the gospel of mark because you skipped all the bird stories and starts with jesus. Baptist medical. They listened long enough that he gets vine. And it becomes. Spell horizon. And i jesus was still not because he wasn't. What's the time he was a prophet. Who was the advocate for the poor of the exploited. Especially by the roman empire in the first century and by the people in. It is real. House around with them and where the tools like like a king herod until on the ones who were pressing and it was particularly vicious.. They were they were exporting sleepwalker. Jesus hates their position like john the baptist. What happened to both of those mean. Whatever goldenseal. Our government. Using the law. Capital punishment. Because they told the truth. About their land. I spoke with all to do with the people of god. Hell. Lots of places this morning on television. The habesha system. In our country today and i think all of us are aware of that. I heard recently a friend of mine. At least one. Used to life without one of these. More than 60 american 80s salvador and nicaragua places like that. He probably lost and water. Those places. And he's covered the iraq war. Warcraft products. And he is with him. He also has a degree in theology from harbor. And he said. United states of america is a civilization. Civilization. That is a war. Enlai. It's like we heard of the tv stations will. Strongly. I think it's something. You know. Is anything we need in our society and the first is that we tell the truth. And that's not always easy. Princess mae popular another word. What happens to people who tell the truth. Not good thing. Question 1 fill out doctor prejudices. But i know i like to hear tv or radio.. If i have a discipline trying also to listen to some other. Call me infant. Wait a minute are you here i thought it was rude. Talking about company immigration. August of homosexuality. Shut up. Listen to it. Putin have more conversation. One other thing i love the way. Senior services morning to talk about the sea. I think that's what we all ought to be about. We pray it when we pray the lord's prayer life kingdom come. That prayer is not saying god make your thing that happened here it is we want to establish that here it is here. Are the friend of mine used to say the kingdom of god has come and is coming. But not miraculously you comes only when we do it. And we used to hang up massage describe. An alternative way of living together as a nation or as a community or as analee. And that is to say everybody in that. Call justin. Madison refer to court in law refers to economics. Got the kingdom of god is a place where everybody has. Squad. But there is a level below which i don't care whether it's. Democracy in and free enterprise or communism or socialism or any other. The measurement automated center. Let no-one all malone with herculiner. Wasted by. I would think the jose also to healthcare. An opportunity for education. Again. There'll always be differences in people but we. You're always deciding. Blow whistle on aerobic we will not let people fall but it is very low and i. A lot of people. Without. 5000. Answer the muslim they do not have it. Dallas. That's because we're the people of god. Black coffee. That we would care about. Only if we got all over town all over dallas. If he really believes in the kingdom of god and wanted to say hi kingdom come. Zoo. We should be up in arms. About the children i do not have a place. You know the average age of a homeless in hesperia. Because they're mostly single mother. Divorce and not getting anything out of his child support. Many of them live. Shelter. But they don't make enough out of a minimum wage. Scandal. Please regard. The kingdom of god is this place where is my have more than i need. If you don't have as much as you need. I got some yourself. Jesus says it like this. If you have two coats and your neighbor has none. Oh well i got a job and i work for he's lazy. Wattpad. Don't care. And you got it. It's not charity. God. Got somebody else. I need to talk i'm here. One other thing for me. It's not a belief in proposition 4. god rc. Of the heart. Of understanding. Equally. Call paul washer. Adhesive express again and again in your own. Purchase order. Crashing. Generosity. Hair. Forgiveness. Encouragement. Los feliz. Jesus never asked anybody to believe again. The only asked him to do black. Follow. Simply follow the leader. Who was jesus's. Call people santana. Degenerate. Breakdown people's prejudices. Jesus broke down every president study to. What's america's for gas station like that. We ought to be doing an immigrant children. And serving them. Or maybe just. Introduction answer.. Progressive crystal theology and thank you very much for listening.

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Sermon_053010.mp3

Every couple of years our general assembly of unitarian universalist congregation considers an area of interest that congregations could engage for 4 years for study and action. Delegates at the 2008 general assembly in fort lauderdale florida selected ethical eating to be the 2008 to 2012. Congregational study and action issue. The congregational study and action issue. Socsd. Csai. Is an invitation for congregations and districts to take up a topic of concern and confront it reflect on it learn about it respond to it comment on it. Take action each in their own way. Sesai is not a statement. It is a question. There are study guides online reading list resources curricula anything at congregation might need to seriously study and act on this important area of ethical eating. So what is the issue. The csai statement reports that religious organizations throughout the world have discussed the production distribution and use of food. Some people enjoy many food choices while others remain hungry. The food industry produces well but small farmers and farm workers are often for. Food production and transportation contribute to many environmental problems. So is a huge area of study. And it's about our social action committee is leading conversations field trips a vegan cooking class a viewing of the film fresh which we saw the trailer for. To help his congregation to be intentional about this charge to study the many areas of ethical eating. If the csai is not a statement but a question and perhaps something everyone in this congregation. Should be asking is. What is the question or question that we should be asking. About ethical eating. Because this is such a huge area i will limit my talk today to just my experiences around ethical eating and why i have made the choices that i have. First i should tell you where i come from and i'm curious to know how many of you grew up in a meat-and-potatoes kind of household. A good number of you it's not almost all of you. So that's where i come from i'm eating potatoes background that was my family at least two or three of our meals everyday had a significant contribution of me and some starts of some kind. If it means it's a meal did not include me. Then it might have been considered more of a snack than a meal when i was growing up we didn't read labels we didn't ask where our food came from we didn't use words like organic or fair trade or cage-free. We bought what looks good but look tasty. What we bought what was on sale and what successful advertising let us to buy. As a young adult i moved to california where i learned about the great many small family farms that were closing because large industrial farming with taking over. I learned about government subsidies that were supporting only the large industrial farms. I began to care about the family farmer and learned about the differences between industrial agriculture and organic sustainable farming. I began to observe the impact of pesticide sprayed on a tomato plant which then runs down into the soil into the water systems consumed by insects and birds and shared widely among the food chain. Creating a reputable damage to our ecosystem. In addition people that have also spoken on the health benefits of consuming food that's not been treated with pesticides or other strong chemicals that were in fact designed to kill. And so i began to shift toward local organic buying. I went to farmer's markets for much of my produce and for a time participated in community supported agriculture. Or once a month a box of fresh local organic produce was delivered to my doorstep. I learned how to cook kale chard and other strange fruits and vegetables that had never before made it into my meat and potatoes diet. I began a conscious practice of abstaining from summer fruits like watermelon and strawberries during the off-season. I waited patiently for their due season and delighted in their arrival every year. I gave up bananas and pineapple eating them only on rare occasions aware of the great distance they would have to travel to get to me. As we continue to experience the devastating impact of the oil spilling into the gulf of mexico it feels especially important for us to reflect. On the tremendous oil consumption that comes not only from our driving but by our food choices. Environmental studies professor stephen hop who is partner and co-author with barbara kingsolver in the book animal vegetable miracle. A blistering view of the connection between oil and food. He right. Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as into our cars. We're consuming about 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen about 17% of our nation's energy use. For agriculture. A close second to our vehicular use. Tractors combine harvesters irrigation sprayer tillers balers and other equipment all use petroleum. Even bigger gas guzzlers on the farm are not the machines but the so-called inputs. Synthetic fertilizers pesticides and herbicides all use oil and natural gas as their starting materials and in their manufacturing. More than a quarter of all farming energy goes into synthetic. Synthetic fertilizers. Beginning a cop from seed to harvest takes only one fifth of the total oil used for food. The lion's share is consumed during a trip from the farm to your plate. Each food item in a typical us meal has traveled an average of 1500 mi. In addition to direct transport other fuel thursday steps include processing packaging warehousing and refrigeration. Energy calories consumed by production packaging and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we received in the food. How about those states that. A quick way to improve food-related fuel economy would be to buy a quart of motor oil and drink it. More palatable options are available. If every us citizen ate just one meal a week any meal. Composed of locally and organically raised meats & produce. We would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That's not gal but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make a big difference. Becoming less energy dependence. May just need to start with a good breakfast. Organic and local food is one aspect of this ethical eating consideration another is a concept of fair trade and farm workers rights. Somewhere in my life i became conscious of the coffee that i was drinking each day. At various points i have tried to give up coffee but it's seductive laura always draws me back. Because i don't need it for nutritional purposes i consider it a luxury item. I believe that no matter what my income any luxury item required spending that extra amount to ensure that the growers receive a fair living wage. My thinking is that if i can afford to buy something that i don't need. Then the least i can do is support the farmers who themselves might not be able to afford the very thing they are growing. We have the option to support fair trade coffee chocolate nuts oils. Dried fruit. Spices in tea. Steven hot rides. Coffee is an example of how fair trade can work to the advantage of the grower consumer and environment. As an understory plant coffee was traditionally grown under a shaded mixture of fruit nut and timber trees. Large-scale modern production turned it into a monoculture replacing wildhorse with single crop fields. Utterly useless as a wildlife habitat. Douse heavily with fertilizers and pesticides. This approach is highly productive in the short-term. What causes soil erosion and kills tropical biodiversity. Including the migratory birds that used to return to our backyards in the summer. Not to mention residual chemicals in your coffee. In contrast farmers using traditional growing methods rely on forced diversity to fertilize their crops. And help control coffee pass. Although their yields are lower. The shade-grown and fair-trade coffee allows the small farm growers a chance to compete with the large monocrop production. And helps maintain wildlife habitat. 7 years ago i became aware of the of industrialized meat production the impact of industrialized meat production on our environment. I'm not actually sure how this awareness came over me i think it happened in small pieces over time reading an article here watching a movie there. But. This is awareness i have slowly increased my identification as a vegetarian. I will eat meat from time to time i will eat my my niece's last chicken nugget rather than throw it away. On thanksgiving i will eat free range organic locally raised turkey. Local organic meat is expensive but sometimes we indulge. And just yesterday i was volunteering at the keller farmers market and i bought several pounds of ribs and steak from genesis beef in mckinney. For my family and my brothers family as we gather tomorrow. For a much-needed day off. An uncertain rare occasions i will eat industrialize meat in a restaurant or when served. As a guest in someone's home. My mother's insistence on gracious manners i think sometimes outweighs my own. Distaste for industrialized. I have heard of people who commit to being a vegetarian for one meal a day. Or just on weekdays or just once a month. It brings me tremendous hope. You know that people are willing to commit and any one of these ways. I cannot cover the many ways that the industrialized livestock industry is a burden on our environment but i'd like to share just a few points that had that have led me to become mostly vegetarian. Any statistics come from a study guide distributed by the unitarian universalist association. First is the industry's contribution to greenhouse gases. Cuddle alone are responsible for 19% of all methane gas is released into the atmosphere. The energy used to make the 22 billion pounds of fertilizer used to grow animal feed in the us alone could support 1 million people for a year. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce. 1 lb of meat is 16 lb of grade produces 1 lb of meat. And about 20% of the world's population could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to us cattle alone. The cattle industry is also a huge polluter vast amounts of manure and urine from confined animal feeding operations leak from lagoons into groundwater and stream suffocating aquatic life and devastating ecosystems. A substantial amount of animal waste fertilizer and pesticide from the central us makes its way into the gulf of mexico where does created a dead zone where bottom-dwelling sea lice cannot live. The united states centralized industrial agricultural crop irrigation system. Create enormously high water displacement from natural watersheds. For natural water system and in many regions farm animals alone consume 2.3 billion gallons of water everyday. Given that it takes five times as much irrigation to grosgrain. 4b fat to raise vegetables and fruits. What are the justice implications for our own consumption. I was already a vegetarian when i became conscious of animal cruelty. Not heard of peta the people for ethical treatment of animals. But i consider them hot-headed radicals whose ethics work too over-the-top for me. But other became our engagement at the goal eating i found that there are parts of their of their mission that are in line with mine. What i didn't mention in the message for all ages was the way that the confinement of chickens in cages or houses leads them become to become agitated and to injure one another. In industrialized chicken production there's a practice of cutting off chickens beats to prevent such injury. I also didn't mention that the industrial chicken company in east texas who provided r17 cente. Has been accused of selling discarded chicken parts as food for livestock. A practice that leads to illness and disease among cattle. Who were after all designs to eat grass. Michael palin in his book the omnivore's dilemma writes this. The industrialization and utilization of animals in america is a relatively new habitable and local phenomenon. No other country raises and slaughters its food animals quite as intensively or as brutally as we do. No other people in history has lived at quite so great a remove from the animals they eat. Where the walls of our meet in history to become transparent literally or even figuratively. We would not long continue to raise kill and eat animals the way we do. Tail docking and sell crates and be clipping would disappear overnight. And the days of slaughtering four hundred head of cattle and our would promptly come to an end. For who could stand the sight. Yes meat would get more expensive would probably eat a lot less of it to. But maybe when we did eat animals we eat them with a consciousness. Ceremony and respect they deserve. So now what. I have been sharing with you images. From our congregations community garden. Perhaps you read some of the quotes from the gardener's who tend to that garden. As i was preparing to talk with you today i can't find my finding myself drawn. 2. To that garden and it's gardeners as a tremendous source of hope. The garden represents many aspects of ethical eating. And the gardeners who work that land embody many of the values that i believe can help us heal our planet. When i walk over to that garden and see a pepper growing on a vine i see commitment to sustainable agriculture. Ic low impact. Nutrition. When i see compost piles icy nutrient-rich soil. When i see the verse crops i see balance in the ecosystem. When i see a gardener hand weeding his or her plot icy land not tainted by harsh chemicals. Are gardeners have a deep appreciation for their food and where it comes from. They know what a fresh organic tomato taste like and for some of them it might mean that they will never go back to a bland tomato that was treated with chemicals. Pitch screen and trucked in from far away. For some of them they are teaching their children how precious a piece of fruit or a vegetable is. They're showing them how delightful it can be to watch a seed grow into a plant. That turns into something that offers us. Delicious sustaining nutrition. What they are showing us is that ethical eating. Is not only healthy good for the earth good for the spirit but it's also enjoyable and fun and tastier than what is otherwise on our plates. And those gardeners in our community garden are generous. Last year they donated more than 500 lb of fresh organic produce. To god's food pantry cityhouse samaritan inn and hope store. These donations gives me hope that fresh organic produce is can be something that is not only for those who can afford it. Our community garden also reminds me that just like. Watching a plant grow. Change can be slow to watch. So slow that you can't even track the growth it takes time it takes our collective efforts. In such a way that no single one of us could do it on our own no matter how hard we try. It takes making mistakes planting in the sun when we should have planted in the shade. Planting in the fall when we should have planted in the spring. I believe that we all have much to learn from local farmers. Our community gardeners and others who are ushering in this renewed sense of reverence for our food. And this reminder of our part in this interdependent web of all existence. I urge you to accept this charge to engage in significant study of ethical eating and environmental stewardship. I urge you to visit the garden today after the service. C4yourself what amazing things are happening out there. Perhaps one of our gardeners might be out there to answer questions and share their experiences. I hope that each of you will attend the events that the social action committee is planning in the coming months and do your own reading and research and study as well. And i hope that this study will lead you to act in whatever way is right for you. To participate. In a nationwide effort to heal our earth and its creatures to care for our bodies. And to create an equitable food industry. And i hope that each of you will take the charge to act. Peter singer author of the ethics of what we eat. Remind readers that we don't have to be fanatical. We can integrate ethical eating but not necessarily every time we eat. Let's go back to our eggs maybe some of us will make the shift 4242 send eggs. And our lives will be a little changed by it. Brothers maybe that $0.25 and egg is not something we can do without you two weeks to maybe we do it every other week. Or once a month. And maybe we'll switch to ethical eggs but on occasion will still go out to breakfast any eggs that came from an industrialized farm. And maybe that's okay. It doesn't undo the good that we have done. Ethical not fanatical. Now is the best time to start we are coming into the height of availability for local fruits and vegetables. Go to your local farmers market. This spring and summer treat yourself. To fresh tomato a fresh piece epiteto. Cantaloupe. Each of you deserve these riches. I would like to end with a prayer offered by the united farm workers. It's called a farmworker prayer of praise. Bless the hands of the people of the earth. The hands that plant the seed. The hands that bind to the harvest. The hands that carry the burden of life. Stop in the hands of the oppressor. And strengthen the hands of the oppressed. Bless the hands of the workers. Bless the hands of those in power above them. That the measure they deal will be tempered with justice and compassion. Amen and blessed be.

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Sermon_120510.mp3

Good morning say thank you for having me here this morning thanks especially to bill and lena and all of those who invited me here i think i was trying to count while i was sitting here i think this is the 9th. Unitarian congregation in texas i spoken to over the last year-and-a-half or so. And always find a course you passionate inquiring open-minded folk who care deeply about religious freedom separation of church and state in public education makes you my favorite people to talk to like preaching to the choir every every time i'm in front of you and one last. Thank you to j and selena who were here early this morning helping getting the gift the presentation worked out and working all week i made unreasonable demands in terms of my presentation and they were here early getting them done so maybe just a quick thank you and i'm sorry to say that the uplifting happy part of my presentation this morning because how many of you just out of curiosity at all familiar with the stapler. What's going on in the world. Politically well i'm here i'm going to show you this morning maybe even to your own surprise but it's worse than you think it is at the state board of education i'm not only going to tell you i'm going to show you cuz i brought along a few video clips that show some moments of debate at the board that real that really reveal how fundamentally broken. Our board is here in texas that charged with overseeing public education. Philadelphia orchestra now you're just maybe a really quick description of what this board is since most of your fellow citizens outside of this room don't pay a lot of tension unfortunately. The state board of education is a 15-member elected body it meets in austin they are elected in partisan elections they run as republicans and democrats if you vote in the school board you know we don't do that we have this crazy idea in the rest of the state and a lot of other states that education shouldn't be a partisan issue. Not so with the state board of education hardcore partisan ideologues run for the seats on the board. And they control everything that's taught in terms of curriculum and what appears in every textbook from k to 12. Every subject area all across the state millions of kids. Are influenced by what this board decides should be taught in classrooms in terms of content. And. That's what i'm going to try to convince you this morning is a bad way to do business and i probably not going to have to twist your arm.. Come along with me on that if you if you're familiar with the board at all in terms of what they've done you probably it's probably because you read about them in the newspaper the spring about the very controversial new social studies standards they adopt. Humidified over whether thomas jefferson. A significant enough to be studied by kids in history class i mean it was sort of just one thing after another. And really an embarrassment to the state it wasn't just covered by newspapers and television around texas it was a national and even international. Story this spring when this board met and decided he standards and the reason is. When it's texas state board of education adopts curriculum standards or approve textbooks. It doesn't just affect students in texas. We are in texas the second largest purchaser of textbooks in the whole country behind only california and you might've heard california is having some budget difficulties they haven't bought any new textbooks in a number of years and are likely to. Meaning really texas is the single biggest player in the education textbook market in this country we buy more books and anybody else. And because we have a centralized body the state board of education that has to approve textbooks before they can be purchased with state dollars and used in classrooms. What goes on at the state board is very very important to textbook publishers who simply can't afford to have their textbook rejected by this body and locked out of his big textbook market in texas. And as a result of that the influences disboard extends far beyond the borders of our state because publishers don't write 50 editions of every mass text. Weber history textbooks they develop them for the big markets like texas what they have to have them approved and unfortunately the decisions that dictate what goes in texas textbooks then end up influencing what's in textbooks and every other state around the country. Fit a big deal whenever the board meets and does something anyway. In an answer the fact that this board has been hijacked. Over the last ten or fifteen years deliberately so by a very. I don't even want to call them conservative have an extremist agenda social conservatives who run for seats on this board and have. But in the last election cycle captured seven of the 15 seats on this board. And these are folks i'm not describing them in any way they wouldn't describe themselves. They run and campaign to kick evolution out of science classes to get any any legitimate responsible sex education at health classes to conserve at eyes the way us history is taught in the country these folks are not bashful. When they run is social conservative. And the chair of the board is currently a member of this block and when you have seven votes on the 15-member board all you got to do is find one more vote on any given issue and you can really dictate the agenda will that's what these folks have been doing and that culminated the spring. When we adopted new social studies standards and as you know that didn't it wasn't particularly wasn't texas best moments. August 18th. But now that i told you that i'm going to talk a lot more about that this morning i'm going to. Start off with counterintuitive thesis that i wanted evelop for you in just a few minutes here this morning. And that's that is bad as the social studies standards were that we just passed. Those floor sanders really aren't the problem. Their ascent. Other much. Big rob. And you might recall that we had the same fight a year ago over science standards and we have some flaws science standards now those blood types. Here is the real underlying problem. The fact that in texas we have set up a system. That allows politicians to pretend like their curriculum riders. And write curriculum standards instead of allowing teachers and scholars to do so so the members of this board of education our dentist and they are insurance salesman and they are attorneys and they are investment advisors. Most of them don't have any background or experience teaching in the classroom most of them don't have it almost done none of them have a degree beyond an undergraduate degree that never work in a public school they've never done scholarly research they're not in any way qualified to write. High-level math or science or english or any any curriculum stand. But in texas. We allow them to do that. In the process we set up here in texas began when we write curriculum with the folks who should be doing it classroom teachers and scholars for my universities that meet in any given subject area and draft new standards that for every grade level they make sure not just that they have good up-to-date content in the butt that they're vertically align so kids are learning things in the proper sequence from kindergarten to prepare them for first grade that prepares them for middle school and high school. They do this hard work. Behind the scenes behind closed doors. In a very deep politicized way over the course of about a year and the resulting document they prepare those curriculum standards have been handed over to the selected body the state board of education. That can change or line-item edit any word of it they want to. By simply getting eight votes and that's exactly what they do over meetings in january march and may of this year the board mat for i'm guessing going on 100 probably pushing a hundred hours of offering amendment after amanda. Hundreds of which were passed the just. Completely eviscerated the standards that these teachers and scholars had spent a year preparing. And they did it not. If not based on good pedagogy and not based on their extensive background in history but based on wikipedia searches at their desk. And googling names and people and you think i'm teasing but i'm going to prove to you with video that i'm not. That is the problem the problem isn't bad social studies standards are bad science standards although those are obviously a real problem for us moving forward and we need to pay attention to that. We really aren't going to fix the problem with the state board of education until we figure out a new system that puts teachers and scholars in charge of determining what's appropriate for kids to learn not partisan politicians with their own personal and often religious agendas their driving in this discussion. At this point in the presentation i brought with me but i'm unable to show hilarious clip from the daily show lampooning the state board of education i'm not as nearly as funny as jon stewart but it's worth seeing so if anybody wants to hang around afterward i'll offer to stay and visit and show you on my laptop what jon stewart thinks of the texas state board of education. But when you have jon stewart and the new york times will you have the wall street journal editorializing about the problems you have at your education system in texas we really need to wake up folks and do something about this. And if you just became aware of this problem the spring with the fight over social studies you need to know this is not the first time around the block with his ford we have been having these problems almost annually. For the past decade or more just a quick example of this in the previous year we we adopted new science curriculum standards and though the creationist didn't succeed in undermining evolution and tyler getting creationist argument. Springfield standard. They did manage to plant a few footholds that will allow creations discussion in science classroom and they fully intend to use those footholds in the standards to pressure textbook publishers to produce content. Really that comes out of creationist think tanks that are fabricated weaknesses of evolution and criticisms evolution week if you lived in texas you know this is a perennial fight. To protect science education unitarians typically care about that very deeply to. But even english language art i mean we thought about english language arts in the board adopted the year before brand new curriculum standards for english language art that by their own admission about 90% of english teachers in the state-run happy with. They went back to a 1950s era phonics curriculum that really kind of ignores all the advances in teaching english and language arts that have happened over the last 30 years. Conservative block on this board wanted to go back to the good old days and they did sell with english language arts we fought about textbooks here. We got to help textbooks in 2004 and create an international incident because. You know we now have complete health textbook said only teach kids sex education in terms of abstinence the tell textbooks that are currently in classrooms in texas thanks to this board. Don't mention anything about birth. Contraception no information about family planning they just teach kids absence. In. This is another talk front of the time but you know we sort of have a little problem with team verse here in the state where the third worst state in the country. When it comes to teen burst and wears number one in the country when it comes to second birth to teen so teams who have multiple children we leave the whole nation but we have helped textbooks nicer this board they don't give kids annie basic information about how to protect themselves from disease or pregnancy. I need to come back and we can talk about house another time we thought about biology textbooks in 2003 history textbooks in 2000-2001 this is a long-standing problem with the state board of education. What sort of this since we don't have time to talk about all this subject areas i thought we would just take the social studies standards this morning and look at it like a little sort of case study. So i could show you how broken. The system is here in texas and since it's the most recent in the news i think you'll be somewhat familiar with what happened in social studies. Curriculum revision this spring. Just kind of olympic way to get your arms around the the mess this board made of the new social studies curriculum standards that will be in texas classrooms for a decade. We don't rewrite curriculum standards very often. The same as we have now we're going to be a whole generation of kids are going to learn social studies like this get your hands around it to categories of problems at the board created with all of their amendments to the document that the teacher riding things in prepared. The ideological problems got all of the news coverage and i'm going to talk about those and some death what hasn't been really paid attention to but i thought i should just mention is the pedagogical mess these faults made of the curriculum standards remember teachers met over a year and a series of meetings deliberating for hours and hours in classrooms to put together a coherent set of standards from k to 12 that builds on itself. If there's weather's not repetitions friday hazard introduced and people rent historical figures were introduced in a certain order well as soon as the board got a hold of it they started moving people around and ideas moved around and now. Even just now history teachers and economics teachers and social studies teachers are starting to get a look at these standards and say. There are unteachable the way they've been manipulated by. One easy-to-understand example of this you know the standard suggest import the names of important figures that students should learn in every subject area. Over the course of their meetings this spring the board quadrupled the number of names in the standards that have to be covered by classroom. Any teachers here. And you know how jam-pack the curriculum is already of things that the state says you have to cover when others four times as many names because everybody wanted their pet person or pet cause inserted into the standards that's what happens when you let. Politicians are not educators dry creek and we stand. But the more interesting stuff. Is the extreme ideological perspective these board members brought to the process and it resulted in three categories of edits i'm going to give you a concrete example of what i mean. Generally the the board members have a very conservative view of american history and they in various ways how do i say at the end of it we are going to teach a very conservative brand of american history here in the united states that departs from mainstream historical scholarship in a number of ways this was their stated objective from the beginning and i'll explain what that mean. They also fought about how to percent important areas of civil rights history in this country and of course multiculturalism and i'll show you the sort of mess they made the insulting changes they made in those areas. And then what we started already been introduced to this morning they really at this is strong animosity on this board to the very idea of religious freedom. And i change them they revise. Some key elements of american history that now demonstrate i think of. Not only a baddest oracle view religious the history religious freedom in this country but really embodying. Animosity. Fortenberry idea of separation. What do i mean. Let's look at generally about the i'm caught up made this termite they conservit aized history in it in texas now and a couple of quotes from the sitting board members it'll give you some context. David bradley said. We took winning the conservative the social conservative faction we took our licks and got outvoted the last time the standards were improved 15 years ago now it's ten 5 in the other direction weird elected body this is a political process outside that you'll find yourself a benevolent dictator. Reveling in the power he has and not at all shy to use. Does that to answer his own perspective in there and then what it what do i mean by conservative izing. Don mcilroy, the most infamous conservative and ringleader on the board said what they were doing is adding balance. Histories already been skewed academia skewed to the left. I mean this is how they began the process by saying we know what we're going to get is a skewed version of american history to left networking tilted back to the right. Couple of examples of what i mean. Just three really quick examples pics from hundreds i mean that they made us i said hundreds of that it's pretty standard i just pick 3 to give you a flavor of what i mean when i say our standards and texts are going to be more conservative than mainstream scholarship now. They added a requirement that students now in us history have to study the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 90s including they want kids to learn about phyllis schlafly. The moral majority and newt gingrich contract with america. I will say in principle i don't have any problem and i don't think historians do with studying different eras of american history and there was a conservative resurgence in america during the 1980s. But i will know every other element of american history is studied for its historical importance so they study the civil rights era and they study the the new deal. The only political ideology that gets called out for special treatment is the conservit. She and conservative leaders are identified and there's nowhere else in the standards were you get a balancing say requirement to study important liberal progressive. Figures and their impact on american history the board members didn't want. Kids to study phyllis lafley because she was historically important they wanted to study because she's a conservative. And that's what i mean sort of the subtle. A very subtle shift towards a more conservative view of history. There was a. Looking at the second sort of example there was an attempt throughout this whole revision efforts to rehabilitate joe mccarthy. Appalling and it started even before the board hearings happened in the fall of last year when the riding teams of teachers were meeting in private preparing initial drafts of these standards. mcelroy one of the board members sit around a handwritten note that i could show you any acid be given to every board member and it said have the u.s. history writing team and it said please review the recent scholarship mccarthy. That's a direct quote that he gave them. And although in the end he wasn't able to get written into the standards that joe mccarthy was vindicated they did get an important change in the section as talking about the red-baiting era and the mccarthy era. But their findings were later confirmed. By the venona papers instead of a skewer. Set up a document that came to light after the cold war revealing that surprised there were soviet spies in the united states. But that course in no way vindicates the red beans. Adele mccarthy. But now students have to learn that. All that all mccarthy sort of antics were vindicated later by history. And. That's just too little examples literally i we could spend all day looking at and no one is terribly egregious when looked at in isolation but taken together they began to be a more conservative view of american history. And i put this last one in here just because it's crazy there's a. I think it evidences the sort of conspiracy theory mindset the right has when it comes to internet kind of international cooperation or international bodies like the united nation the suspicion they hold those in. So that at the very last meeting in may have having not talked about this at all throughout the board brought up new requirement for students to quote evaluate efforts by global organization. To undermine us sovereignty through the use of trees. And in one quick. Burst of. Stupidity the board approved it in about 2 minutes with almost no discussion. And that's the video i want to show you in just a second. You're going to watch. How policy is made at the state board of education from beginning through the debate to the conclusion and only takes about 2 minutes. Again this. This idea that i just said about the the global organizations undermining us sovereignty it did not been discussed by a riding team it had not been reviewed by a scholar in the area one board members scratched it out on a piece of paper cuz it occurred to him during the meeting he submitted to this amendment you'll see the discussion in the vote and it's now part of our history. Especially by miss swagger who spend it like 16 conferences. United nation. Discussing 11c do we have to do 11 be before we do 11. We're on 11c insertion of a new 11c that would read evaluate efforts by global organizations to undermine us sovereignty through the use of treaties. I believe you've secured a second would you like to speak to the amendment. The summer to the u.s. is a very important issue. There's efforts to try to put us under world court other. Testimony yesterday by several people supporting this amendment. Especially that miss kirsten slaughter who's been to like 16 conferences. United nations conferences. That would like to impose the sovereignty of americas. Under treaties that have been signed. With a shoe and organizations. And the courts to me this is. Standard for the children. Turn. Sister craig. I'm not sure there's. A great deal of authority to support it. Or to contradict. I'm going to pose. Other discussion this is night. I heard the testimony yesterday. It was puzzling to me and i wondering where the teachers. What really find information. That would support this. Since. Our sovereignty hasn't been undermined and it's more. A thought. Process that's in. Order. I'm confused by the explanation as well as by the wording. A further discussion. If there's no further discussion. All those in favor of the motion please signify by raising your hand. All those opposed. The motion carries. Return. 63 maybe people learn this when they're in high school. Everything has been. Did you see him. He couldn't get a complete sentence out of his mouth. His the other republican on the board the reasonable republican on the board from lubbock of all places he doesn't even know what to do with it he says i'm going to oppose it that there's almost no discussion they call for a vote and you do see one of the conservatives on the board she's almost asleep in her dad she just looks around to see who else is voting for it and then raises her hand. And it's in the curriculum for the next generation of kids right. That's it. It's in there and it will be it'll be at that has to be covered in the next generation of textbooks. That's subject to tax testing or end-of-course exams. What i thought 170 bob pregmate a good point where you even going to find materials to do it's so crazy you can come hear the black helicopters hovering overhead through the whole discussion and that * 511 debate. Discussion and deliberation at the board before they add take away or edit. Decorating stand. We could we could talk about we could go on and on about that all day but there was a lot of debate. At the board about important parts of civil rights history in this country. And multiculturalism in the standards a couple of examples the board at the very last minute amended the standard where students learned about the great society programs. Affirmative action title 9 federal law on sex discrimination. The conservatives inserted that student should all also now have to learn about the quote unintended consequence. Affirmative action. Title 9 of the great society program. And again in principle i wouldn't have any problem with student learning about the consequences good and bad of every. Important legislative thing we done in this country but. Know what none of the other legislative accomplishments are treated to the stand. This is the only one all the others students are just asked to learn about them. Title 9 affirmative action is singled out to say no no we don't we just don't want them to learn about like everything else they must also learn about the unintended. A way of sort of undermining confidence. And some of these. Key progressive accomplished. We had. This one baffles me more than any other there was a significant and insulting fight over whether slavery was a significant cause of the civil war. I'm not kidding conservatives didn't want slavery cause of the civil war. Why is beyond me. But in the end we didn't get the worst we ended the board ended with a compromise which still seems pretty insulting to me students now according to the standards have to learn about the causes of the civil war. Civil war in order as one sectionalism states rights. Three slavery. So in the end they end up sort of minimizing the significance of slavery in this country's history. Important latino figures were deleted just because they could. Oscar romero el salvador in bishop who was martyred. And dolores huerta was taken out of a hero to latinos in texas who still alive because they said she was a socialist. Intention learn about socialist. Ignoring the fact that in the very same standard where dolores huerta is listed helen keller is listed right alongside her. It was a well-known socially so they pick and choose the criteria they wanted but there was a deliberate effort to censor important latino figures. In american history in red i could show you a whole laundry list of changes they made. Is it right history multiculturalism but i'd rather show you the short video which i think more than anything else reveals the motivation the philosophy. Behind conservatives view of american civil rights history. They really speaking honestly and unguarded lie here in a moment. And really you'll see. How. Frank their view of civil rights are just in this short video and you're going to want to yell out and hoot and holler. Just listen to the whole thing cuz it gets worse you don't miss anything. Example. It was accomplished by majority vote. Okay it was a majority of until we're talkin about the government efforts to achieve equality. Eventually the civil rights act took a majority vote. In other words the minorities we're not able to do it by themselves and took a majority of. The authority to do it for the minority. Take it back to your committee that. I think that will solve this republican and you know it took a majority vote it wasn't minorities that got the majority vote i mean it was the majority that did it. The women right to vote. The women didn't vote on it the man did. The man passed for the whip. Like to call upon member. Dunbar to offer. I think it's only fair did you hear what he said they don't want it but the original wording of the standard that he was objecting to said study about efforts by women and minority groups to achieve civil rights case in this country. So what students are studying were the efforts by women and minorities to organize for civil rights. He turned completely understand what he wants to do to learn is that. The majority. I just woke up one day and realize they've been terribly wrong and gave it to them so apart from being incredibly offensive. Write a perverted view of civil rights history in this country it's also just not true. Show me the important civil rights gains this country were mandated by the courts long before the majorities woke up and voted to grant. A wrong way to approach history but you can see in there the philosophy behind that they would rather not they would rather students not learn about the freedom riders in the south in the 1960s they'd rather learn about the congressional civil rights vote where white men voted to. Get the grant these rights if they woke up one morning and decided to be. Banana. We could spend the whole time talking about that to you we have to talk about the animosity on the board toward religious freedom. This has manifested itself across a number of sagittarius not just in social studies but it turned up again here's a couple of quotes to give you context david bradley again. I reject the notion by the left. Have a constitutional separation of church and state i have $1,000 to the charity of your choice if you can find at the. Really. Fundamental. Hatred. Towards religious freedom i love this quote this was in the new york times magazine john mcelroy the guy you saw talking about minority. The majority rights quote the man who wrote our constitution were christians who knew their bible. Alrighty of individual rights comes from the bible. The western development of the free-market system owes a lot to biblical for. The free-market system. Yeah i can't linger we're almost out of time i have to move on concrete examples of changes to the standards that resulted. At from the sort of crusade these conservatives mounted against religious liberty. In the end they didn't get what they wanted which was kind of a a really perverted view of the first amendment to be taught but now students unlike almost any other constitutional principle in the standards. Students are asked to quote compare and contrast. The language of the first amendment. With. The separation of church and state. Contrast the first amendment. With the separation of church and state is if they're too. Completely. Different things if the separate idea of the concept of separation. Doesn't flow right out of the line. Of the first amendment away prejudice and kids against their understanding. I always throw in the unitary to the unitarian audiences despite about thomas jefferson cuz you probably you all probably heard your hero was under attack at the board. It wasn't reported very accurately unfortunately. Jefferson was never cast out of the standards there was never any proposal to delete them all together he appears multiple times in the u.s. history. Curriculum where he shed. But the conservatives try to remove the only reference to him in the world history standards in the section that was studying the effects of the enlightenment. And jefferson was listed along with other enlightenment thinkers the only american on the list of important enlightenment thinkers who influenced political revolutions around the world of his era they wanted jefferson out in fact succeeded in getting him out removing the only reference to an in world history. And then they added in as a replacement. The sixteenth-century protestant theologian john calvin thomas aquinas. And then you say they weren't enlightenment. So they got the enlightenment out of the reference and now students are required to study thinkers. Have any variety. And there was a course of big outcry against really the vent the most venerated enlightenment thinker of america being entirely left out of the discussion they very reluctantly added him back in after public outcry to subsequent meeting with a nature to sandwich him in between calvin and aquinas. And all references to the enlightenment as an under isn't underpinning factor in political revolutions. Is entirely gone from the standard for the standard riding teams of teachers wrote that really wanted students to think about how the enlightenment the enlightenment philosophy in fomented revolution all over the. That's entirely been subverted and now it's just a list of. Atif thinkers from darius. Welfare centuries almost. I could give you lots more examples of that but again i think i'd rather show you a video and this one more than any other. Captures the. The philosophy that underlies the extreme conservative bloc that governs this board right now. This is from the last. Meeting of the board and ice it wasn't the friday when the final vote for the new standards were approved. Descended about an 18-month process of the board members knew very well and in fact there were a packed house i mean absolute packed room standing-room-only. The entire back wall was covered too deep with cameras and reporters not i mean funny fox news had five news trucks. Parked outside. Al jazeera had a camera on hand i mean this was this was big news and this was the final vote and so the meeting that day began as it often does with a prayer. These prayers are sometimes. More often than not respectful and non-sectarian. But on this day when they were they knew they were playing to a packed house they asked the conservatives ask their star member cynthia dunbar. Who has a legal degree from jerry falwell liberty university and it's sort of the sheet and wrote a book called one nation under god where she argued that public education is quote the devil's most suddenly deceptive tulip perversion. Let me say that again one of your state board of education members wrote a book that says public education is the devil's tool of perversion. They asked this woman who sits on the board to offer the prayer to begin the final day the day of the final vote on the board when the world was watching. Let me show you what she said. Offer invitation in toledo's in the pledge. Ask gracious heavenly father. Come before you today and ask that you grant to us. The ability to not be anxious for the future. Wisdom and understanding for the day. And hearts of gratitude. Forecast. As we look to our past to guide us. Let us reflect on the convictions. Of those who have gone before us. I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing. That's a good book. And the spirit of the savior. Have from the beginning. Then our guiding geniuses. How do we look to the first charter of virginia. Or the charter of new england. Charter of massachusetts bay. Or the fundamental orders of connecticut. The same objective objective is present. A christian land. Governed by christian principles. I believe the entire bill of rights. Came into being. Because of the knowledge. Our forefathers had of the bible. And their belief in it. Freedom of belief. Of expression. Of assembly. A petition. The dignity of the individual. The sanctity of the home. Equal justice under law. And the reservation of towers to the people. I like to believe we are living today in the spirit of the christian religion. I like also to believe. That as long as we do so. No great harm can come to our country. All this i pray in the name of my lord and savior. Jesus christ. She knew full well what she was doing that. And i happen to just be sitting by a woman who'd attended every hearing in the number of the writing group meeting. On behalf of the. The american jewish committee. Interested just to sit in her presence while that was said out loud it was sort of chilling. But that really i mean is that it was sort of a moment of oz. Mean after a lot of obfuscation and not being straightforward about their view of american history and what they believe. About this country in english but it's a christian land governed by christian principles all the sudden. She was talking plainly and she chose a prayer. Tortoise to make that point it was it was just sickening. To watch but it gives you an idea. The philosophy that is guiding our state board of education right now mandy's folks aren't marginal members they are the controlling majority. Although that will change somewhat in january due to some electro changes we just had this cycle. The good news is for the i think. In a in an election cycle that was horrible for progressives around the country. We actually had the board actually may moderate the state board and not because we're elected democrats but because moderate republicans ran against women like dunbar mcelroy neither of whom are returning. Replacement so really quickly cuz i know i've used up all my time and then some just so you know it seems not of advocacy group complaining about these standards there was a letter release signed by 12:00 historians these are folks who teach history at public universities and private universities in texas around the country. Who said that these new standards quote undermine the study of the social sciences in our public schools by misrepresenting and even distorting historical record in the functioning of american society. An unprecedented. Display i've never seen then there's nine members on the the riding team of teachers that the board appointed to make the first draft of standards six of those nine. Members of that committee signed the letter that they released publicly expressing their collective disgust with the changes the board made and saying the texans should be outraged. But how the board rewrote standards without regard to standard historical interpretation teachers and academics are just beginning to grapple with how bad these things are so. Texans are much more pragmatic about it than our board as we did a poll this summer in may of likely voters so we surveyed we we we. Hold a very conservative texas electorate in the middle of a big wave year for conservatives and look at this 72% without being prejudice at all think the teachers and academic scholarship be responsible for writing curriculum standards and tech. You can only find 19% of folks even in a conservative electrolyte text. I think it's a good idea to hand this over to politician. So we can i think there is a general agreement although not a lot of people pay attention to this issue like they. Emma should get politics. Out of this discussion. And if that if you agree with adam or interested in working for change on the board visit with me afterwards the texas freedom network as a campaign we are calling just educate. It hasn't nine fundamental reform to the whole system. To get the politics out. Tube buffer the process from partisan politicians and get this back in the hands of teachers and scholars where it should be and we sort of have a plan over the next two years to begin steering texas back to the middle for public education can thrive again free from the ideology of these. These boardman. Thank you all very much for having aids.

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Reading_120510.mp3

I actually have two readings today. The first is from the american constitution. Actually that's was reprinted in a book called. The american constitution a biography. Ikea redimark really fascinating. First amendment of the constitution american constitution. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. Or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble. Interpretation of government. For a redress of grievances. How there's a long history. Behind. That amendment. I'm sure you know. Arrived at by my human beings until it was very complicated. And i want to just read a couple of excerpts from another book that i found fascinating called founding faith. By steven waldman. Who's actually the fellow who put together beliefnet.com. Which is a website that brings many visitors to our congregation. There's a survey about religious about religions and religious ideas that. Heltah skeltah understand. What religion. Closest tavares. And so a little bit about just some excerpts about the origins of the first amendment. The first amendment was a grand declaration that the federal government couldn't support or regulate religion. But it was a but it was also a grand declaration that states absolutely could. That was part of the compromise enable the first amendment to gain widespread support. That is the reason that this was arrived at was because none of the states none of the representatives are senators from the state. Each of those one of their own state vehicle have its own religion they didn't want there to be a general federal legend because they wanted control it in their state. And this was a compromise. Madison's james madison's first proposal established abroad right. Nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner. Or any pretext infringe and by the end the amendment was written as a limitation to congress only. The deliberations on the first amendment didn't really end until 18. 66 win in the aftermath of the civil war congress passed the 14th amendment. Prohibiting states from enacting. Laws that infringed on citizens liberties. Over the subsequent 130-plus years the courts interpreted this to mean that the bill of rights applied to the states. Adoption called incorporation. While we take this for granted we must remember that at the time the bill of rights was passed. Compromise matters. Did not fret over whether the first amendment would ban prayer in schools because they assumed they would. That would be decided on the local level. Had they known that the language they threatened establishments and respecting. What end up regulating every nook and cranny of american life. The political dynamic would have been would have been different. And then one more excerpt about about what was going on in the religious community in and actually in in are in united states then. The foley appreciate so madison really wanted that to apply to one of the first amendment apply to all the states. Near the bates with patrick henry and other folks around that time. Sing. To fully appreciate how depressing and defeat this must have been to madison. Remember that the time ratification states had religious liberty of the sort madison wanted. All but two states had religious test. Banning jews unitarian. And agnostics from public office. Taxpayer-supported the churches and ministers in massachusetts new hampshire connecticut jersey. Georgia north carolina and south carolina. In some states only trinitarian protestant could vote or testify in trial. This was after the first amendment was passed. It was considered blasphemy and therefore illegal in some states. The criticized reproach or deny christianity. The trinity jesus christ for the bible non-serious were restricted from owning property or giving money to certain charities. Schools required religious services and people were regularly prosecutor for not observing the sabbath. All that. Us constitution let's tan. Until the fourteenth amendment.

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Reading_031410.mp3

Her eating today comes from 26 years ago in time magazine. Korean doing my research i found it to be extremely timely and somewhat prescient. Threatened by rodger rosenblatt. She says when journalists here. Journalists claim a larger truth. They really ought to go for their pistols. The new york new yorkers allister reed said the holy words last week. Cote reporter might take liberties with the fascial circumstances to make the larger truth clear. How large a large truth. Apparently mr. reed believes that imposing a truth is the same thing as arriving at 1. Geologically he also seems to think the truth may be disclosed through lies. But his error is more fundamental still in assuming that larger truth is a province of journalism in the first place. Business of journalism is 2% facts accurately. Mr. reed notwithstanding. Those seeking something larger are advised to look elsewhere. Journalism rarely sees a larger truth of a story because reporters are usually chasing quite small elements of information. A story like a fern only reveals its final shocking shape in stages. Journalism is also reduced also reduces most of the stories it deals with. Into deals with to political considerations. Matters are defined in terms of where power lies who opposes whom and what and where are the special interests are. As a result the larger truth of the story is often missed or ignored. By its nature political thought limits speculative thought. Political realities themselves cannot be grasped by an exclusively political way of looking at things. Discontinuities are valuable because they point up the world's variety as well as special force of its isolated parts. But to rely on them for truth is to lose one's grip on what is continuous. And hole. Journalism looks to where the ball is and not. Where it is not. Journalism tends to focus on the poor when the poor make news usually dramatic news like a. Tenement fire or a march on washington. But the poor are the poor all the time. It is not journalism's ordinary business to deal with the unstart hellingly normalities of life. Reporters need a story something shapely and elegant. Poverty is disorderly anti-climatic and endless. If one wants truth about the poor one must look where the ball. Is not. Similarly journalism inevitably imposes forms of order on both facts and a story and on the arrangement of the story itself. The structures of magazines and newspapers in port impose one kind of order. Radio and television and i would add the internet. Compose another usually subsequently. But every form of journalism takes its design takes is designed to draw the public's attention to what the editors most important on the days or weeks accounts. This naturally naturally violates the larger truth of a chaotic universe. Arlington public often contributes its own hierarchical arrangements. By dismissing editors disturbance and dwelling on the stories about. The puppy on page 45. Instead of the bank collapse on page one. The truth of the day. The day's events is tugged at from all sides. Finally journalism often misses the truth by unconsciously eroding one sympathy with life. A seasoned correspondent. And evelyn was maliciously funny novel scoop. Lecture jgreen reporter. You know she says he says you got to learn a lot to learn about journalism. Look at it this way news is what a chap who doesn't care much about anything wants to read. The matter is not a laughing one. A superabundance of news has the numbing effect of mob. Rule on the census. Every problem in the world begins to look unreachable and unimprovable. What could one lone person possibly accomplish against such a constant. And violent storm events that on any day include a rebellion of sikhs a tornado in wisconsin parents pleading for a healthy heart for their child. Sensibilities overwhelmed eventually grow coal. And therein. Monsters lie. Nobody wants to be part of a civilization that reads the news. Does not care about it. Certainly no journalist wants that. If one asks then where the larger truth is to be sought. The answer is where it is always been. In history poetry art nature education. Conversation. In a tunnel. Of one's own mind. People may have come to expect too much of journalism. A journalism at its worst when one is confronted with lies cruelty and tastelessness. It is hardly too much to expect better. But that is not a serious problem. Because life cruelty tastelessness are the freaks. Of the trade not the pillars. The trouble is that people have also come to expect too much of journalism at its best. Because they have invested too much power in it. And in so doing they have neglected or forfeited other sources of power in their lives. Journalist appear. To give answers but essentially they ask. Question. What shall we make of this. A culture that would rely on news for truth. Could not answer that question because it already would have lost the qualities of mine. That makes a news worth knowing. If people cannot rely on the news for facts however then journalism has no reason for being. Allister reed may have forgotten that principal reason journalist exist in society. Is that people have a need to be informed and of. And comprehend the details of experience. Innocence everyone. Is a journalist. Seeking the knowledge of the times in order to grasp the character of the world. To survive in the world perhaps to move it. Archimedes said he could move the world as long as he had a long enough lever. He pointed out to that he needed a ground. Stand. Sew-ins are.

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Reading_112209.mp3

A reading today is from a wonderful book. Call radical hospitality. Not a display of love. It is written by father daniel holman. And. Lonnie collins crap. Really wonderful books about naturing. Quality in a generous spirit. They say. We are accustomed to easy answers. Hospitality is not an easy answer. It requires that we take a chance and. We change. It requires us to grow. The moment we engage with another person everything gets messy. Our time becomes not quite our own. We can count on others interrupting us. We become subject to a whole horde of emotional dangers. Because hospitality always involves giving something of ourselves to others it is a spiritual practice. Spirituality. Is about relationship. When you and i become confused about the meaning of spirituality. Remembering that spirituality is about relationship. Bring it back to the basics. Relationship. Did you receive. Many mail-order catalogs you've noticed that common household items and clothing aren't household with a spiritual promise. Turn on your shooting music wrap up in your cotton robe and curl up beneath a silk and wool afghan light a candle and plug-in your flowering found flowing counting. The ad suggests that you should now be feeling spiritual. It cost you only a couple hundred dollars. What we want in spirituality today. Discomfort. Singer-songwriter tom waitin kathleen brennan wrote a song called chocolate jesus. Any of you know that song. Some of you will now. It's about wanting the jesus that tastes good gives you the comfort of sweet and fast food and makes you feel good inside. Song. Ghost well it's got to be a chocolate jesus good enough for me got to be a chocolate jesus good enough for me well it's got to be a chocolate jesus make me feel good inside got to be a chocolate jesus keep me satisfied. Americans want chocolate spirituality that susan feels good. Rethink. It is good enough for me but it isn't. Not good enough for anyone. Genuine spirituality is not cozy and seldom makes you comfortable. The challenges disturbs settles. And leaves you feeling like someone is at the center of your existence on a major remodeling mission. Well the firming how wonderful you are. Better than you really know spirituality is also meant to change you. If it doesn't it is something less than spirituality. Vicinity of roc comfort should tell us something about ourselves. Malak. We need. You sense something is not quite right. The chocolate jesus and chicken soup. Don't help the problem. We need stronger medicine for are sickly souls. You need a transforming shake you to the soles of your feet kind of remedy. We need transforming work. Want to be open. You want to let others into your life. What do you do. Whatever plan you devise one thing is undeniable. How to change starts within. It begins with who you are. And who you're becoming. It is a spiritual.

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Reading_022612.mp3

In their recent book. Former. President of our association john veterans and. President of our seminary starting school for ministry in california rebecca parker. Have. Who created an important work for us. Confirm that. Rebecca parker rice about our life together. She says what the walls are filled logical how symbolize the shelter of community. There is no life apart from life together in many buddhist traditions taking refuge in the sangha or spiritual community. Is necessary for enlightenment. There is no salvation outside of the church said. The third century christian bishop. Scythian. The carthage. These may be startling claims if you have been steeped in the dominant us culture of individualism. Put suggest that looking out for number one is the only way to survive. But life is relational through and through. Everything exists in interaction and interdependence with everything else. The question is not whether we are social connected beings. That is given the question is how we shape our modes of being with one another. And with the sources that are pulled. And sustain life. History of progressive ecclesiology. The way church is organized. It's worth considering for the gifts it may offer us now in a new quest for liberal and liberating community life. Progressive. Theological claims. First congregation. Countercultural habitation. Which people learn ways to survive and thrive. And sometimes even transform and unjust dominant culture. Second congregations and provide an embodied experience. A covenant and commitment among people. Pecan foster freely chosen and life-sustaining interdependence. Any third claim needs renewal and reconstruction. And. It is this. Congregations. In-ground life insured rituals. Nourish and strengthen people spiritually emotionally psychologically and intellectually. Providing ad soundation. Hookah regis and heating. Sew-ins are we.

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20151206-Sermon.mp3

Hi i'm paula and thank you for having me here this morning. Well i'm going to talk this morning about. Some things that. Bisexual and transgender people experience. You know how the language that we use and sometimes the language that we don't use negatively affects by and trans people and. How are innocent lack of understanding how sometimes are very mannerly reticence to talk about. Difficult things can. Create a world where. Really terrible things happen to some people. I think we're too often unwilling to talk about some of our problems as society i think that our reluctance to be really honest about problems we pays. Is at the heart of many issues we face today i mean like to talk about racism or sexism or religious intolerance. All of his stops in many ways perpetuated by our unwillingness i think to talk about. talk about it. For that matter many gay or lesbian people have faced problems similar to are really the same as the ones i'm going to talk about today either now or in the past. And you know i'm going to speak about trans people and bisexual people because i feel like that's the most honest thing for me to do. Because that's who i am. I feel like i can give the best accounting of things i've personally witnessed and experienced. And i don't want to minimize other people's problems or say that they're not important they are desperately important and we need to talk about them. But i'll share my experience today if you don't mind. You know i'm the service it wouldn't seem like bisexual or transgender people have very much in common at all. Bisexual is 2. Attracted to more than one gender. Or at least have the capacity to be attracted to more than one gender and not necessarily. To the same degree. It's a sexual orientation. Be transgender is to have a gender identity that conflicts with. People's perception of your sex. A torte a gender expression that doesn't conform to them kind of our social norms that that are expected for people that you were assumed to be. Being trans has nothing to do with a sexual orientation at 3rd straight trans people there's gay and lesbian trans people there's bisexual trans people. Do these two letters on the p and the t of lgbtq have in common. Is that bisexual and transgender people in particular i think. These days at least experienced significant social issues in the form of erasure. And stigma and ultimately because those discrimination. So when i'm not doing much which isn't often enough i'm afraid i'd like to watch netflix sometimes. And i've noticed something about a couple of shows that i like how i watch house of cards and orange is the new black. And you know the main characters in both of those series have relationships with both men and women. You know when both of the shows though we never really talked about what their sexual orientation actually is. In fact it's not ever named even though it seems sometimes to be a fairly significant part of the plot at least a little bit. You know it sucks. Airport frank and piper i don't know whatever they aren't must be terrible because we're not going to talk about it. Both of them appear to be bisexual but. We're just not going to use that word. It's uncomfortable and took the way that their sexual orientation is treated. Is erasure. We're just not going to say the word we're going to pretend it doesn't exist we're going to erase it. This is why i love jessica story but that's the one drawing to ally think that. Unfortunately some of us that don't fit in experiences and eraser and. It would have been unfortunately in my experience pretty natural for. Some very well-meaning tool. To come in after the fact and erase blues work sometimes. You know it's kind of interesting that both of these characters have some common traits and it shows there. Neither one of them seem like a very nice person and in many ways they cheat on their spouses they're not very honest. They're really selfish. How they caused all kinds of problems for everybody that they. Run across. You know she's no wonder we don't talk about bisexual people they're fixing horrible. Examples of stigma and the other thing is we believe these stereotypes i mean i watch these shows and it's like well yeah okay frank. Another are not true. Is having your identity or existence denied. Something very crucial about who you are about what defines you. Is just made tabu and impossible to discuss. If you're trying to figure yourself out when you're young. Erasure can make it really difficult for you to figure out who you are and what you are. Because you can't talk about it. We may have to prove something about ourselves over and over and over again. Two people who just don't seem to get it and even when we do people still don't believe us stigma happens when people say bad things about you and other people believe it. If you somehow manage to get past being erased. Then the next thing you face is people already have their mind made up about you. And. Play portable stuff bend you can expect. Perhaps sometimes rejection and discrimination to follow. Limited too tv shows. It would not be maybe that big of a deal but i think about something. Plenty of really open-minded great straight friends. And you know they know lots of gay and lesbian people and i'll ask them often time okay how many by people do you know. And don't tell me i don't know maybe one. Maybe two. And despite maybe they know half a dozen dozen gay or lesbian people maybe more. You know what i think that's interesting because there's lots of surveys that show that there are easily as many bisexual people are people that identify themselves that way. As there are of gay or lesbian people. But with nobody knows any of us. And you know it's you know several gay people yacht anoles. Mchugh by people. But you know you probably don't or at least you don't know you do. And it's not because we don't exist it's because we just don't talk about bisexuality. This is very much the same way that used to be for trans people you know i did used to be we didn't talk about the existence of trans people at all. You know fortunately that's changing and it's gotten better. We're talking a lot about trans people lately it's but if it helps. You know by people experience this erasure in the sense that were invisible to the outside world. If we're in a relationship with someone of the same gender where is him to be gay. If we're in a relationship with someone of the opposite gender or assume to be a straight person. And who we are. You know that. The gender of our partner. Is just as soon time to terman something fundamental about her identity. Do you know where. We're told sometimes that being bisexual is just a transitional stage for people that really haven't fully come out as gay or lesbian. We're told that everyone is fun some kind of a spectrum from gay-to-straight and we're just. People that just happen to fall kind of in the middle somewhere. So bisexuality is nothing at all really. We're told an effect that we don't exist that the way we feel our unique way of experiencing love and relationships. Doesn't exist but it doesn't matter at all. You know trans people also experience erasure. It's a little different because to be transgender. Is to be visible in ways that. Many people can't even begin to imagine people leave for those of us while we're in who are in transition or. For those of us who don't really confirm very well to what society thinks. People are look like. You know prior to coming out though. We. Many of us generally give no indication whatsoever. That we feel differently about ourselves. You know how can we were told that. Our bodies determine our identity that the configuration of our genitalia has given precedence over what we know to be true about ourselves. We're told our feelings about our gender are kind of an insanity. A sign of deviance if if we declare these feelings of a young age were told were too young to know what we're talking about and if we declare them later were told only people that are very young can really be transgender you you know miss the boat. Yeah you must not really be trans. You know we. Transgender people often go to really extraordinary lengths to transform our lives and sometimes our bodies. To match our internal sense of self. And yet others so call us by names and pronouns that we no longer identify by. Things that were assigned to us we did pick them. We. You know it erases our identity and. These are identities that we going to fight hard for and and sometimes by 4. Find about dying you know i guess 271 of us that we know of. Worldwide. At least 21 here in the us. Where are raised by way of violence against us. At least twenty of us that we know of and probably a whole lot more that we don't know of. Erased ourselves this past year here in america. And you know after our deaths whether they are. Natural or not it's very common for our families tuberias under the name and gender we were born as completely erasing our memories forever. Certainly experienced erasure as by when i live in the gayborhood i volunteer in a very large lgbtq center. I attend all kinds of social gatherings in my neighborhood i love my neighborhood. I know lots of gays and lesbians and when i began to struggle with my own sexual identity. Sexual orientation i realized i didn't know a single bisexual person. I've found there was really no by community in the sense that there is a gay or lesbian community or a trans community even. This was hard for me there was no support group i could go to there was no one who'd been there and done that who could kind of tell me show me the ropes and tell me. I'm just had a kind of figure it out on my own. He knows best i could. You know i've listened to people in my neighborhood tell me to my face that you know there are no bisexuals here. Either with a man or woman so you're straight or gay that's it no choice. At the time i came out i'd never met another transgender person. I believe with my wife at the time outside of a little rural town in eastern oklahoma. I remember having a very uncomfortable dinner with some of my friends. Who told us there's no transsexuals in mcintosh county. They proceeded talked about how trans people have kind of been run out of the area that they'd known and there i was a trans person. Terrified that wasn't out yet but. I was terrified they were saying these things because somehow they knew about me. After i began my transition i've been called. You know he and him and sir. You know more times than i can count and i've been told that unless i have a particular kind of surgical procedure i'm not a real woman. You know by people experience stigma. I've been told it bisexual men brought hiv-2 the straight world. Jokes about us or common were described as duplicitous and dishonest we leave double lives. I've heard it described as being incapable of monogamy. I've heard is called confused about her sexual orientation is being sexually greedy. Whereby women or soon-to-be promiscuous. We're objectified kind of some people think we're just there to fulfill some fantasy they have. Were considered queer by many in the straight world and yet not queer enough. In the gay and lesbian world-end untrustworthy by nearly everybody. Do you know where to begin about stigma of being transgender were. Been called perverts were seen as freaks. In changing our gender were somehow to some people wear. Breaking some fundamental law of humanity. We make some people who aren't transgender very uncomfortable. Just by being someplace with them called selfish for our transitions even when many of us. Put off. Really declaring and being who we are for decades for other people. Where. United. Even though this isn't this is improved a lot recently but you know and in the past trans women in particular work. United media and movies and television were largely relegated to the roles of being prostitutes or murder victims. Also considered no dishonest tricking people with trying to be something that we're not even though really it's exactly the opposite were trying to be used. Honest as we can about who we really and truly are. Listen to government leaders. You know describe us as potential rapists and pedophiles and so we have to be kept out of. Gender appropriate restrooms we. Kenworth rat i'm a threat to women if i use the women's room. Last weekend. To my horror i watched some try to shift the blame for a truly terrible attack on it on a clinic. To transgender people because of a clerical error. I'm on the documentation of the. Angry man who committed a horrible crime. You do not surprisingly given how people. Talk about us. The last thing i ever wanted to be was either bisexual or transgender. So i tried to be straight and i tried to be a man for a very long time. You know living is a man was terrible strain on me i was uncomfortable very uncomfortable from a very early age. Male spaces the hospital ward an all-boys ward terrible. I was very uncomfortable this summer camp for handicapped kids i attended i was. And with the boys and it was. I was terribly uncomfortable there. Men's restrooms i mean i can understand why i was in any of these spaces. You know my father made it clear to me why was he was going to albino sissies. So i learned to hide who i was. I spent an inordinate amount of my time kind of thinking and plotting about. When i was going to say to people what they might ask me what would a guy say. Everything i did was contrived i. It's an honest thing in my entire life it seems like i. I i hated who i was i hated my body. I hate my face especially. I live this miserable life and i buried my feelings and eventually i started using alcohol to. Bury them further and that soon became its own problem. My life there was no real happiness there were just kind of degrees of well this isn't quite so bad. You know more than once it seems like death was kind of my only way i'll attend. It was my only escape and you know in a moment of clarity though i i realized. That i had to be honest about who i was i've never tried that before and. So i transitioned. It seems like a much better alternative than death. It's the tenant did it save my life i'm here before i wouldn't be here now if i if i hadn't. There's also a lot of pressure to be straightened our society i tried being straight both as a man i was married twice and i've been straight been tried to be straight as a woman as a straight man i would sometimes find myself. Sidney crosby kitchen table from my wife and the phone would ring. And it would be some guy on the phone someone who i was just friends with and yeah they would call to see if i might like to be more than just friends but my wife would as well who's that on the phone and five course very quickly got off the phone because i didn't want to have those conversations i didn't want to admit that emotionally there was stuff going on there even if. I hadn't acted on it. You know i'm. After transition i noticed that tom i really like men. A first for me i told myself i obviously never been interested in them before despite those phone calls and. Part of being trans was defied hidden my real feelings and just tried to be what everyone expected to me to be including my. A sexual orientation and i've sometimes when i didn't that seems a little weak i said it's the hormones it's a miracle i never liked men before but suddenly after being on hormones here i am. And she was we were just friends and she was talking to me in ways that kind of hinted maybe she wanted to be more than just friends and i kind of panicked and freak out and kind of got off the phone and. Realize that this was exactly the same thing that have been happening to me for the entire. My entire prior life just with all the genders flipped. And so i thought about it and decided i had to be honest with myself again for the first time in my life and it didn't come out as bisexual. You know even even now. I have to say that you know i'm i'm sometimes uncomfortable mentioning to people who might inquire about my past but you know that i have an ex-wife it's. Nothing know about my my boyfriend it's it's difficult to admit that yeah its 5 have the southern history. You know being told. But you can't possibly be who you know yourself to be eeyore. You know if if you do admit it that you're a horrible person. Takes a toll on you over your over the course of your life. Only 28% of bisexuals are out to their friends and family compared over 70% of guerra lesbian people today. Only 11% of bisexuals are out at work i'm not out at work about being by even though i'm very openly. Trans at work i've been there fifteen years everybody knows me. I don't talk about who i'm with. 41% of trans people attempt suicide. You know bisexual men and women suffer high rates of every mood and anxiety disorder. Find trans people face very high rates of poverty with trans people being four times more likely to lie than the average person of living in extreme poverty. I could go on with statistic after grim statistic but. You know really. Does anybody here. Bolivar can you imagine that. Hearing for your entire life that you just aren't worthy would do anything other than massively traumatize someone and really screw them up. So you know i was having said all that i mean look who live in amazing time for lgbt people. Same-sex marriage is now will you see television commercials that feature openly gay and lesbian people. We have that never used to happen when i was a kid we have hate crime laws that protect. Gay and lesbian people we have. Federal policies that make changing your social security or your passport. Reasonable for transgender people to do but never was before. Beoc is taking on discrimination cases against trans people as sex discrimination cases and sometimes winning. The va will administer hormone therapy to transgender vets. We're starting to see medical programs now like the genesis program at children's medical that helps trans youth transition i mean if that's something like that existed when i was a kid my life would be completely different and and have been much better i believe or at least been real. You know that the openness but that i see now from millennials and from even younger people. Is truly something that gives me optimism there are. You know my kids new kids that were by and it was no big deal to them. My friends who have younger children. Many of them tell me they have. Their kids know someone who's trans and another kid who's trans and it's no big deal. These are i couldn't have imagined such a thing when i was a kid it did simply would never have happened so is welcome as these changes are you know i think many of them have happened through court rulings or. Through actions of a friendly executive branch. You know when twin put to a popular vote such as what happened with gyro in houston a small but. Vocal group was able to kind of defeat a city ordinance that provided protection too many different kinds of houstonian. Not just lgbtq people but. Racial minorities and women and elderly people. I'm veterans all kinds of folks who just wanted to have rules but said they got a fair shake and the people that did this did it using a message that stigmatized trans people using people's ignorance of us to beat a much better funded opposition. But supported the ordinance. It's right that the funding for the people that were in support of the ordinance was 3 times bigger. And the people that were opposed to it and we lost. And you know their strategy and why it worked it was nasty it was simple. No man in the women's restroom. It was their slogan and it was a slander against trans people. And they want not by mobilizing lots of. I intolerant people but simply by spice squelching the rest of the conversation and keeping otherwise sensible same people. Who would have supported such a thing. What is supported equality for people by just not showing up. And you know it work because we don't know yet how many people don't understand lgbtq people. Lgbtq people we don't have these conversations. I think that many otherwise decent people are unwilling sometimes to talk about and confront issues that are personally uncomfortable for them. I'm thinking about a woman who used to be a man is uncomfortable for a lot of people don't understand that. Thinking about a man who sometimes in a relationship with another man sometimes with another woman it's uncomfortable to a lot of people they don't understand if they don't get it it different from their experience. Not talking about these things only leaves the message of the the negative message the people who would stigmatize. And use this for their own purposes. I don't think we react this way some of those because it's human nature to avoid dealing with uncomfortable situations. Yeah i understand this really really well look i. Was very uncomfortable with my situation about my gender. And my sexual orientation and i avoided dealing with them as long as i could almost to the point that it killed me. Unr tendency to do the same thing as a nation i think it is killing us to it kills a lot of us. We've got to stop doing this and we've got to find ways to be honest and real about issues that are troubling to us. We need to face fears we have about other people and understand why we have them and deal with them we have to grow as people. So you know i think the only way to do that is to talk about a lot of stuff lots of us don't want to talk about. We have to understand the problems of people who have problems we don't have and we have to use our position and we can to help them. Handheld and delete others to you know understand their situations as well. It's my belief. But god works through people you know people like all of you in this room like people like me. My faith tells me that changing the minds of many in america about all kinds people facing discrimination is going to fall to people like us i think from everything i hear here i think people here believe that. I i think that you know support from people who are not just. Lgbtq but you know people who are our allies and our friends that support is crucial for us. People that are allies can reach people that won't necessarily take. My word for something for instance because i obviously have a vested interest in my position. Whereas some of you don't tell people your friends will listen to you in ways they might not listen to me about. You know i think that unlike the people who somehow and i i don't understand this at all. I try but i don't i don't that there people who seem to feel that god wants them to hate. And eliminate those they don't understand. Unlike them we can. Reactant anger and rage and hatred. I think we have to react with love and understanding. And a willingness to educate. Yeah that's that's look that's a hard thing to do. We have to show those who are intolerant the human face of those. But they hate. And you know i believe that starts with all of us being willing to talk about stuff. It's just easier not to talk about. I believe there are a great many people who would take this up. If only they weren't the first to start the conversation and i believe it's incumbent on people like us. People of faith to start these conversations and i'm i feel pretty sure looking around this room that many of you already do this. I look at the increasing tolerance of young people this gives me hope. I look at the increasingly desperate and reckless things people who are intolerant say and do and even though they scare me a lot. I have every hope that this has that they take these positions because they are losing. You know what i i believe start with certainty in my heart. That but tolerance and love for everyone is really god's will and what god wants for us. But as i said if god really does work through people then. That means it's up to us. Thank you so much for letting speak and.

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Sermon_033113.mp3

As a child. Growing up in the relatively liberal disciples of christ tradition i learned about jesus mostly through reading bible comic books that we received in sunday school they were used to keep as quiet during church. Only later in high school did we delve more formally into bible study. I believe that it is this learning the story in an artificially coherent narrative format. That led me for years to understand the story of jesus of nazareth. Is a story with a beginning a middle and an end. He was also the comic book format that foster the tendency for me to acquire these biblical narrative. With other comic book heroes of my childhood. In my family jesus and our practice of christianity was reflection. With reflection of our white midwestern suburban liberalism so prevalent in the 1960s and 70s. My parents being midwestern transplants here to north texas. In our congregation on the westside of fort worth. Jesus was a moral teacher reminding asked to 10 to the golden rule 28 our neighbors even if they didn't look like us. Jesus was an iconoclast to the degree that are suburban congregation could tolerate it. Usually just enough to help us feel justified in not being more conservative or dogmatic. Jesus was a peacemaker to the degree that it can be integrated into the lies of a community which made its living from carswell air force base and the strategic air command and general dynamics building f-111 and b-52's. During the height of the vietnam war. Jesus wasn't a bracer of the radical other to the degree that our parents were for racial integration that is until their children were being busted predominately black schools where are sisters who might want to date. In other words jesus tended to be a lot like us. Jesus of nazareth to find the enlightened rabbis social critic the orthodoxy of his own day. So many too many he is a reformer who calls us back from our middle-class comfort zones. To engage and be responsible to the larger experience of humanity. We see him as human and not more divine than any other. He is a democratic figure. He is an iconoclast and advocates were radical community of all souls. Since before the 19th century unitarian minister if you if you do parker delivered his seminal sermon. The transmission permanent in christianity in 1841. And unitarians have tended to be more interested in the religion of jesus. The religion about. Jesus. Who was jesus and what did he say that has meaning and relevance. For our age. Or does it. As unitarians is tennessee to look for the truth of jesus and his teachings goes back. 2240 years earlier than theodore parker to thomas jefferson and his efforts to find a diamonds of the true teachings of jesus in the scriptures this effort produced collections known collectively as the jefferson bibles. Put your still in print and available of available from her publishing house. The problem is there was a profound tendency for jefferson to be consciously selective and what he determined to be the true words of jesus. In this we find out he was no less selective about the text you focused on done many of the more orthodox christians of his day. While recognizing differences between his own philosophic philosophies in jesus's. Jefferson still found jesus to be a reasonable compassionate moralistic sofa critic a reformer and a philosopher. Much like jefferson himself. Some of us are here this morning on this sunday this easter. Instead of being in some other house of worship. Because we have rejected or at least ignored the jesus we were raised with. We may have become cynical. About christianity and might even agree with the sas and satirist ambrose bierce. Who wrote that the definition of a christian is one who follows the teachings of jesus insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin. Others of us might be in sympathy with samuel butler's comment that people are equally horrified and hearing the christian religion doubted and at seeing it practice. But which christianity are we talkin about jesus do we see. Many have left more traditional religious communities to make our way here to this liberal religious community. We usually left us places because of what we felt for narrow dogma switch. Artificially divide the world up into good and evil the saved and the unsaved. Yet while we may have left those traditions behind there are still tendencies for many of us to continue using a dualistic world view. Either it is all good or all bad. Since the bible is not all true that must be all false. And we evict jesus along with the rest. Fortunately this view is now less and less the case. In our congregations that it has been in the not-too-distant past. What is a tendency for all of us who are recovering from something else. Even if it's just secularism. And we need to be aware of it lest we commit the same sins of exclusivism. That we sought relief from. So if jesus is still a part of the religious landscape with jesus do we perceive. Let me consider the historical jesus whose vision do we accept or engage with or can we honestly even know who the historical jesus was. Unitarian universalist. Janji mckinnon. Believes that quote each of us may imagine the historical jesus as we wish and within the broad limitations of scholarship and credibility. We will eat nearly. Will bees nearly right about the matter as anyone else. Probably not very right. The important aspect of personal reality which we must come to terms with is not the historical jesus. Almost all people he says in our civilization for their noblest epochal aspirations into a single figure and then identify this figure as jesus. Something created idea lived as a person. Communication today. Others recognize that they have created an imaginary figure to represent in a personalized form their highest ethical values. Mckinnon goes on to say that. I find it exhilarating to believe that the perfection that we have poured into the figure of jesus has come from the minds of human beings. From human imagination and ethical aspiration. I'm for a better and better jesus. Born. From the aspiring human heart. As i see it the challenge for us as unitarian universalist. Part of an intellectually critical religious. Tradition. Get to be present to what can be known about this man jesus well-being where that the things we think we know about him are tempered by who we are and perhaps find what we are looking for. If we examine how we understand jesus then we may in fact learn a great deal more about ourselves. Who we think she is may offer us insights. Into who we need him to be. And why. In all the myriad ways we can relate to this palestinian jew who was executed nearly 2,000 years ago. Each offers something. In return. We are a tradition that for over 200 years has understood jesus as a human teacher. Who offers us humane and ethical teachings for a better life. Together. He gazes back at each of us. With our own eyes. What does that young and fearless prophet now have to teach us. About our own lives. And our own yearning. And how to walk. And be with each other. And holier way.

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Reading_060511.mp3

All readings today come from a couple of different books. History of the end of the world. Pretty good reading. About sweaters. If you really want to know about the book of revelation. This is pretty good about how that has impacted. Human history. And another wonderful book which i was delighted to find at half price books. Armageddon now the end of the world a to z. And unlike some of these with your kind of schlocky this one's actually pretty good congregationalist minister. And his wife and his. So let me share with you here. Some of the description of. The. Book of revelation from which so much has. To us especially lately. The title of this section is something rich and strange. What's the author of revelation like jesus as depicted in the gospels is a radical remaker of judaism. But each move is ali opposite direction from each other. Is howard schultz love-thy-neighbor commands god in the hebrew bible and not only ones neighbor but even the strangers that sojourn earth with you. Jesus sites the traditional jewish commandment and then intensifies it but i say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. By contrast the author of revelation ambiguously promises his readers and here's that god will avenge himself on their enemies and persecutors in a spasm of divine violence and can only be described as a holocaust. Coach the second half of the apocalypse is flamboyant. Simple lust. For the end of the world. Wright novelist dh warren. Who was so appalled by what he found in revelation that he was moved to write a commentary of his own. I his like the author of revelation had devised a quote grandiose scheme for wiping out and an idol eating everybody. Wasn't one of the elect and climbing up himself right onto the throne of god. The skorys ample the final description the final destruction of the great. Babylon the great mother of harlots. Abominations of the earth. Reading ahead of you. The authors symbols for pagan rome in particular in all human sinfulness in general betrays the lust for revenge that lawrence discerns in the tech. Warren says therefore or another text says there are therefore shall her plagues come in one day and morning and famine and she shall be utterly burned with fire rice the author of revelation displaying not a hint of christian charity the plenty of smug satisfaction at the scourging of his enemies. Rejoice over her now having any holy apostles and prophets for god hath avenged you on her. At the climax of his vision of the end of the world the author of revelations is seized by uncompromising and unseemly desire to watch his enemies suffer and die. Do unto her as she has done to your people he employs the sword-wielding lamb of god. She brewed up a cup of terror brothers so give her twice as much as she gave out. She has lived in luxury and pleasure is so match it now with mormons and. This is why i remember playing here. And any section on the nature of. Spell prophecy. It's actually fairly large section in here. Surprise. Commenting on sociology religion j gordon melton who i am quite familiar with. From university of california. They say the multifaceted ryder jay gordon melton in his 1985 essay spiritualization andre affirmation what really happens when prophecy fails. Penetrated both the mind and heart of hold the true believer. And came to the startling conclusion. Prophecy seldom fails. He discerned that a particular prophecy is only one part of a much larger. It is a mistake to leap to the conclusion that prophecy. By itself exists simply the people waiting it. The fulfillment of the prophecy are downhearted. Jehovah's witnesses like evangelio christians indian ghost dancers and alien cult such as heaven's gate. Believe in a coming change. But that is not the only thing that defines him. Melting points out in fact. In the face of dissonance believers are able to rely upon a broader context of faith. On the unfalsifiable beliefs out of which religious thought world are constructed. So when a prophecy fails or at least to an outsider seems to fail. It is not the end of the world. For the true believer. There is enough. There is. Enough other cultural support structure in the belief system. Shore up. The sagging beam. Prophecy after all comes from god. God cannot be wrong. So something else must have happened. Perhaps god was misunderstood perhaps the prophet lied or. Falsely. Milton reminds us that the ancient. Safeguard in deuteronomy 18:21 concerning prophecy you may ask yourself. How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the lord. If what a prophet for claims in the name of the lord does not take place or come true. That is a message from the lord has not spoken. That profit is spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. Sew-ins. Ar reading.

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20140803-Sermon.mp3

So this is where i'm asking for your help on august 23rd here's the pitch you can get out a pencil right now and start writing down august 23rd check your calendar we are holding an altar church leadership retreat right here will start at 9 in the morning we'll go to mid-afternoon all church means everyone is invited leadership committee members pretty much expected to be here all the details will be sending out more emails with instructions about how to rsvp and what we're doing for lunch what we are bringing to support social action we are going to be taking a couple of collections that day again concrete action also going to look at what are some things that we can do together and choose something where we can focus our energy and have an effect. With the goal of having every single person in the congregation participate in something at least once during the year i'm not sure we got everyone but we had a patient and we made a real difference for barron elementary in god's food pantry this year it's time to deepen our commitment the world needs us to act with compassion it needs our voices to speak up for kindness and acceptance and generosity. And peaceful problem solving. And we need each other to have the strength in the insurance and the courage necessary to make lasting change. There's a tendency in modern churches in especially uu churches to treat church as a product and parishioners as consumers is it doonesbury comic strip in which a couple art church shopping they asked the minister and inspired it should also and makes you uncomfortable my vision in a book called the church michael gerald. To continue this metaphor from the outside can people passing by cn through those windows or are they opaque to an outsider's point of view one of the most important responsibilities of a church is to break open our heart as food as was when he first left his palace to be confronted with poverty and illness and then to use those softened heart with all of our other resources to reach out and begin to heal the wounds of the world the world is an imperfect place.

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Sermon_041909.mp3

As unitarian universalist we find in our principles. Faithful statements about our state of being in the phrases. Inherent worth and dignity. An interdependent web of all existence of which we are apart. These are the two principals more unitarian universalist are likely to know. Others. And as a pair. They are profound statements about the sacred realities. We partake of. This is an epistemological statement about the nature of our being. Who we are individually. And the second is a cosmological affirmation about where we stand in relationship to each other and the universe. There is no original sin or fall. Or i need for salvation in the traditional sense. We have goals. Rejected to bring the world as it manifest in the concrete. It's aligned with these understandings of our sacred condition. The goal of world community with peace liberty and justice for all. Is our formulation. Of the way we see things as they should be. It is our vision of the promised land. The beloved community. The rest of our principals are statements about how we get there and remain true to ourselves. Justice equity and compassion. In human relations. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning. The right of conscience. End of the use of democratic process within our congregation. And in society at large. These statements constitute the moral heart of our covenant. Offering us ways to be at act in the world. That will not violate who we are. And which will help build the promised land that we envisioned. Now this time of year especially around earth day a lot of words get bandied around and. One set of them that we often hear especially political discourse is interconnected and interdependent. Some people think these are the same thing. Very good engineer will tell you that just cuz things are connected doesn't mean they're dependent on each other. And i certainly not necessarily interview. So why we may recognize our connections to each other. We may not understand our interdependence. With each other. Will william ellery channing the. Founder of american unitarianism. Talked about self culture. He said is it is not about. Self-absorbed navel-gazing. He said if we all have a divine seed within us. Then we are all carriers and all expressions of the holy potential. We are all interconnected in this holy state of being. Whether we understand it as a manifestation of evolution and quantum physics. Oribe. Metaphysical reality. Has channing road. Cell culture is religious. When we look into ourselves we discover powers which link us with this outward visible fine i've ever changing world. We have sausage and other senses to discern and a power which cannot stop at what exists. Within the bounds of space and time. He continues. The improvement of the soul konsisten raising it above what is narrow particular. Individual selfish to the universal and unconfined. To approve a man is to liberalize enlarged him in fallout feeling and purpose. Narrowness and intellect and heart. This is the degradation from which all culture aims to rescue the being. Typically the individual is called to determine measures affecting the well-being well-being of millions. And the destinies of posterity. We must consider not only the internal relations of our native land but its connection with foreign states and judge of a policy which touches the whole world. We are called by. Our participation in a national sovereignty. Cherish public spirit. They regard to the general wheel. A person who proposes to discharge faithfully these obligations. Is carrying on a generous self culture. We are then in our own efforts at self-culture drawn-out of ourselves like a seed out of a tusk. Into the light of a larger existence. It is our calling to tend to the garden of our common good. To prove those could provide those conditions. Which are most favorable torturing the seeds of the holy potential in all. To be interdependent is not just to be in relationship. But that it is a necessary relationship. Not just a tangent to each other. But rely on the interrelatedness for our very existence and continue to exist. Has humans. We are far more interdependent on other beings and systems. Of the world than they are on us. In the book the world without us. Any of you seen the book or the. Documentary on tv made from it. Highly recommended the world without us. By ellen weissman. The offers an utterly original approach to questions of humanity's impact on the planet. He asked us to envision our earth. Without us. The world without us reveals how just days after human beings disappear. What's the new york city subways with start a roading. The cities foundations and how has the world cities crumble asphalt gives way to real jungles. It describes the distinct ways that organic and chemically treated farms would revert to wild. How billions more birds would flourish how cockroaches in unheated cities would actually perish without us. Drawing on the expertise of engineers atmospheric scientists art conservatories zoologist oil refineries marine biologist astrophysicists and religious leaders from rabbis to the dalai lama. And paleontologist. Weisman illustrates what the planet might be like today if not for us. Some places already devoid of humans. The last fragment of primeval forest in europe. The korean demilitarized zone. Chernobyl. Weisman reveals earth tremendous capacity for self-healing. Any shows which human devastations are indelible and which examples of our highest art and culture. Would last longest. Weissman's narrative only drives toward a radical but persuasive solution. That doesn't depend on our demise. It is narrative nonfiction at its finest. And imposing an irresistible concept with both gravity and highly readable touch. It looks deeply at our effects on this planet. Now this kind of scenario could also be seen in last year's movie i am legend. Did will smith and maybe saw that one. A few more hands. Yeah will smith gets a little more than whites mangos. It's about the last man on earth. After a biological disaster that wipes out or transformers richly all human beings. No one is an island aloof. And alone. In our interdependence on each other we reveal and experience. The presence of that which is within and beyond ourselves. We know this present by many names god the holy the really real the ground of being. The spirit of life. However it is at we know it and understand it we are drawn to encounter it in particular places. With a desire and a fear and a fascination. In this encounter with the holy. The awakening to the ultimate in which we live and breathe. As it exists in the concrete world. Beshear. Which determines our experience of sacred space. It is encounter with our awareness of the holy at particular places. That makes him special to us. Sacred space is the experience of the holy as the concrete. As the manifest body. Of the holy. It is the place where we meet god. It is places in which we encounter the infinite within the mantle of the physical. It is the place we come face-to-face. That's what we call the most important in our lives. With the gods or the ultimate. Epicenter. Of our universe. But if secret spaces are those places in which we encounter the holy then it is possible that everywhere is holy ground. We need the ultimate the holy in many places at many times. Giving shape to and being shaped by our lives. Consequently sacred space maybe a cathedral. A family kitchen table. An old chair. A river. A mountain. Etc. All is holy ground. All places are holy places. Each and all with the potential to be sacred to us within our experience of the ultimate as we find it or experiences. In the lakota sioux cosmology it is harney peak or pasta. Tallest peak in the black hills of the dakotas. Lakota holy man nicholas blackhawk related in his vision from pasava. I was then standing on the highest mountain of them all and round beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while i still there i saw more than i can tell and i understood more than i saw. For i was seeing in the sacred manner the shape of all things of the spirit and shapes of all things as they must live together like one being. And i saw that the hoop of my people. Was one of many hoops that make one circle wide as daylight. And starlight. And in the circle. And in the center. Gru one mighty flowering tree. To shelter all the children of one mother. And one father. And i saw that it. One of the clarifications about our seventh principle. But i feel strongly about. Is that we're not just part of a web of life. Rather we are a part of the web of all existence. A part of something that transcends here-and-now and even life. And this good earth. The peter mayer says i have found in the hole in the center of the heart. The richest read those enters and departs. Is fastened in the middle. Two inside of me. Where is n continues. Too hard. Of everything. Your sacred space is everywhere then we are obligated to act accordingly everywhere. My sense is that all of these calls were returned to civility in our society. Will be more adequately addressed by remembering that we all stand on holy ground. Before the most holy. Whether or not we have our shoes on. Sociologist madonna kolbenschlag in her book lost in the land of oz the search for identity and community in america. Rights that americans are struggling looking for a place in which to have a sense of rootedness and connection with something larger than ourselves. Often. This was provided by geographic or ethnic communities. Twitch we had closing long-standing ties and loyalties. But the history of most americans now being more and more divorced from such fruits. And most of us being more and more mobile. This desire and need for connection. Permeates our society. Klobuchar poses that note only are we feeling cut off from our external supports. By circumstances but that we keep. Them cut off our loose because we think that we have to. She refers to are particularly anglo-american myth of the self-made man or person. The pull yourself up by your bootstraps mentality that says if you don't. Do it alone. You can't do it alone. You are a failure. Even if you succeed in the end. How many of you had that little floss. Thrust upon you. At some point. Well at what level we recognize the absurdity of this attitude. We have also absorbed it with our very beings. We often act as if we must be the long-suffering at triumphant lone ranger. This notion is also bound up with our love of hero worship. In which a solitary individual is credited with achievements of many. Well. It's all a lie. For example civil rights movement didn't just happen because a handful of great men got together. It happened to the ongoing efforts of thousands perhaps millions of people over many years decades and centuries. One of the greatest lessons of the post-cold war era is that the day of the lone ranger out to save the world is. Over. I think our last administration kind of proved that. It denies our interdependence and the reality that we must do it or. Do it alone. It denies our interdependence and the reality. That we must do it together. Or we will perish. Peter mayer offers. So when i get a feeling like a pulling on a chest. I have to ask. If that was me or 1. Of the rest. Sometimes it's painful sometimes it's just a tab. Sometimes that happens violently and knocked me on my back. When pain is not just mine alone that's when i know somebody's tugging on the string. And when i start shaking like a tremor in the ground. Organ pipe in rank. When it's resonating sound. Such a fine emotion. A such intensity. Takes a hold and i know. That i can't. The only. For ourselves. For you and me and for everyone there is the potential to turn the experience of our loneliness. Into solitude. And relationship. Our despair into joy and wisdom. First we must recognize and breakthrough our loneliness with experiences of relationship with something other. Whether that be family or friends. Or community or the holy or goddess god or the dow however we understand that transpersonal. This experience of the other is what i believed people mean when they speak of spirituality. Or spiritual experiences. This is one of the practical and traditional aspects of religion. Especially those based on a personal relationship with the divine. Even when there is no one else close at hand we know. Or we feel or we believe. That we are ultimately not alone and forsaken. Martin luther. Someone who i am not in the habit of quoting. Once wrote. There must be a god. Because man needs one being who he can trust. I believe i understand this conviction. In my late twenties. I listed in the united states air force. During my 6 weeks of basic training during the following year of jobs and doing the job training following i experience probably the most. Are some of the most profound contentious isolation. The loneliness in my life. I was separated from loved ones and. The culture i was in marston was utterly alien. 20 thing i had those for encounter. During basic training the efforts to destroy individual will wear such that there were times when the terror was so bad that i did not know how i was going to get through the day. Fortunately. Due to the summer heat of san antonio. We did our physical training at 4 a.m.. While it was still dark. Play say fortunately because due to the darkness i could still. Often see the moon hanging low in the sky. And as someone who is coming out of the pagan community. The moon is a symbol of the goddess. At its present reminded me that i was not alone and not cut off. Afterwhile as i struggled to keep up with the breakneck pace of our double time runs. I could see other lips moving in the dark. Gasping petitions to other names. I was not alone. We were not alone. The very fact that people congregate and sacred community. Such as this one believes the myth. Of self-sufficiency. If we could do it all alone. We would. We're just that stubborn. It if we want you to be alone we wouldn't be here seeking for questions. And answers and doing good works in the companies of others. Has mark morrison reed said earlier. The religious community is essential for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen. And our strength to limited you all that must be done. Together ivision widen. And our strength is renewed. So. What are and are not some of the elements of a healthy. Religious community. First religious communities are not the same thing as families. For some of you that's a relief for some of you that's a stressor. There are elements of religious community which may we may experience like that of a family or which may substitute for parts of families at times. But communities are bigger than family. And have different missions. Communities. Are charged with creating healthy environments. For families. And individuals. To understand and pursue their lives. To create context. Larger. The immediacy. A family. Not trying to turn religious community into a surrogate family is often hard for many of us. For looking to fill in part of our emotional and psychological family structures. We are looking to find a mother or a father or to meet and experience. That needs. Need. Filling a part of our family system. We all do this to some extent with all of our relationship. And it's often easy to feel safe. Acting out. Our family systems issues. In a religious community where people are supposed to be supportive of anything we do. And caring. This is particularly complicated if we understand experience the holy as some form of mother or father daughter got us. We also made very appropriately use language of being spiritual brothers and sisters with each other. Religious community is about being safe enough. To be formidable. An interdependent. It is not about. Being inappropriate. And co-dependent. Well substituting church for family may provide some temporary relief for some. It is ultimately creates an environment. Where everyone is busy carrying everyone else's emotional baggage. And being a mashed in each other's ideals and frustrations resulting from our individual family systems. In the end we are afraid to move or do anything for fear of upsetting someone. For some minor infraction real or perceived. I know that you all had this experience and workplaces and other environments. Never here obviously. A form of emotional gridlock be set in and nothing can happen as a handful of people can hold even a large community emotionally hostage. Ironically in such a situation no one feel safe anymore. And nothing happens but the most basic functions. This type of substituting church for family is why you will rarely hear me talk about religious community here as family. There may well be some of us here who truly are part of each other's family. And that's a blessing. But religious community is not restricted to or even defined by these relationships. No church or religious community. To meet everyone's needs. Even some of the time. But religious community is a place if not v place where we can explore the needs and truths of our existence. What can be known. Only through our immersion in the daily ambiguities of living. Peter mayer offers. Then i guess that someone maybe. Far away. It's growing a little tired of the instrument they play. And somehow is discovered that universal thread. Reached out a courageous hand. A plot that cord instead. The chicken-and-egg type of irony we encounter is that in order to be healthy supportive and transformational environment religious community has to be a place where we can feel free. To take risks inherent in our struggling together towards wholeness and transformation. Successfully taking risks. Can we get a sense of safety. Sometimes. To create that safety we have to take leaps of faith. Encourage. Mayor goes on to say everything's connected. Like peas. In a pod. Or beads upon a necklace decorating god. Going round the rosey. We're all. In the ring. Hand in hand. Like a strand. To the heart. Everything. I like now for you all to do something that may be challenging for sub. But i asked you to please take the hands of those who are with you and around you. Especially if it's someone you don't know or no well. Yes that means you have to move. Probably. Yes we are here to transcend our comfort zones. This is a very real physical manifestation of religious community. Within this sacred time and place. This sacred community we seek is present not only in words and ideas but. Most basically in the very touch of real hands. Inbreeding or insured work. Orion the common good. We are not only connected but interconnected at the atomic level. We are not only dependent on each other but interdependent in a web of mutual need and support. Not only for who and what we are. But grow the vine seeds. Of who we all maybe. You may put your hands down. And i like the children to come forward to help me.

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20150913-Sermon.mp3

This month's theme is faith. And that's what we're going to be looking at. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things unseen. Says in. The christian scriptures. One of the confusing things about faith. Is that it means a lot of different things to different people. You got the dictionary got lots and lots of different definitions and association's uses. Verbs and nouns and unit. Also the act of faith is not a singular thing it is a motion. Moving forward faith development. Ricasso moving hopefully forward. In a productive way. So import. Given the multiple multivalent. Who knows what that means multivalent. Extra credit. Multiple values. Given all these different ways in which we can understand faith. In part it becomes the window allen's. Through which we view and experience the world. And this is why religious education for our children is so important. If i meant if you started coming here to begin with. Is about. The mythic narrative the guiding stories and principles which we learn either explicitly or implicitly. Which of the lenses through which we experience life. Unitarian universalist theologian james luther adams offers an important starting point in thinking about faith he says. The question concerning faith is not. Shall i be a person to face. The proper question is rather. Which face is mine. Or better which face should be mine. For whether a person craves prestige wealth security or amusement. Weather person lives for country for science for god or for plunder. That person is demonstrating a safe. Is showing that he put confidence in something. He may go to church regularly he may profess undenominational. he may be regularly but he may actually give his deepest loyalty. Do something quite different. From these things and from what they represent. Find out what that is and you will have found his religion. You will have found his god. It will be the thing he gets most excited about. The thing that most deeply concerns him. But speak against it. In the pulpit or in the pullman car and he may forget what he calls his religion or his god and rush religiously to the defense of what really concerns him. What moves him. Now is more important. Then his creed. For his atheism or it gives meaning and direction to his life he gives. Subsidence to his struggles and even to his foibles. In a similar vein unitarian minister ralph waldo emerson said that. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives. And our character. Therefore behooves us to be careful what we worship. For what we are worshipping we are becoming. What is things i was. Thinking about. When i was thinking about safe. They're often times what we are experiencing. Is. It's. Presence or lack of presence. That. I mean. By the closeness within which. Is practice and its profession lie. Are we preaching. And practicing the same things. I know i have to deal with that all the time. Because if there's a gap between what we are saying and what we are doing. It's apocracy. But if they are close together they are if they are. Resonant. With each other coherent. That tends to be described in. Many ways is wholeness. In. The native american community is referred to as. Walking the beautiful trail the walking a beautiful path. It's one of the goals of shamanic healing. Is to bring. All of the realities of our lives together in harmony with each other. So there's not in dissonance. I think this is a lot of what we're sparing singing our culture right now. A lot of the political. Brewhaha legos on now. Four-year cyclic soap opera. Is that people. Know that. The reality they are experiencing. Is not only dissonant. With what. Other people are saying they should experience. There's also dissonant with what they know. Is right appropriate proper for them. And for others. So part of what we look at individually. In our faith. In our lives. Is how do we move. Our actions. 2r. To wear a place of intentions say we should be. I think the. One of the opportunities was the one offered earlier by wilson and reading. From positively positive. That. You take it you don't identify your problems your things that are in your way. How to remove your obstacles. And then find one that you can actually do something about. And then do something about it. And then. Is he says. You know repeat regularly rinse-and-repeat or whatever you keep doing it. This doesn't stop this is not a one-off. This is part of. A spiritual life. A life of ethical. Coherence. So we need. Have coherence in our actions with what we say and believe. All of us. where did that all the time i reminded a radio interview that carole crist did many years ago she was a feminist writer and she talked about how she she started teaching. Then people would change. How many teachers we have in our room and we know this is true not right okay. She wasn't even doing the stuff yourself. So it's tough to change change is not easy it's not comfortable. One of my colleagues says the only person who likes change and wet baby and it's only when they're wet so discomfort may be a part of it. So how much discomfort do we willingly take on. We may not have to but when it will be serviceable for us in the pursuit of a more serviceable life. Heart. So the nature of faith. Is what is it we put our hopes and dreams into what is it that we should be moving back towards. As the poet rumi says in. The invocation earlier today in a w broken your vows 1000 times. Come come whoever you are. Suzuki vitz haitian. In our lives to constantly move back towards or move towards something new. Those things. Which are most. Holy most sacred most worth worshiping. What is our faith. What are the fundamental qualities of religion. Is that it's about the relationship with the other and a lot of times for us as individuals the other is our self. Because we often shut ourselves out. Because if we were alone with ourselves. We might become patently unhappy. Or desperate or afraid or scared or sad. Or. Any number of things. Cuz being alone with ourselves means we have to talk to ourselves. Anna talking with ourselves we then have an opportunity to be open. To the sky of the eternal. To that deeper place of understanding and meaning. And while we might find the peace that comes to understanding with it it's sometimes a tough. Tried to it. So what are we find. So should we go to that place and we follow what our faith asks us to do and we be present to ourselves. It also we have to then take that experience. And take it into our lives with others. And sometimes it flows the other way sometimes our lives with others help us. Who is more deeply into the other place. We are here because we are looking for something. I am genuinely convinced in my faith that if you had found everything you were looking for you wouldn't be here. So i have your discontent to thank for my income. As well as my own. To do all of this. Is to live religiously. By placing ourselves in and not as bystanders to. The sacred drama and comedy of the cosmos. There's a great line in the movie the holiday leave your scene that so becoming a new classic. Cameron diaz and kate winslet. And kate winslet's character plays someone who has had a really. Bad run. A self-inflicted relationships. And she runs into a wise mentor figure. Who. Who's the writer of retired screenwriter who says you know i don't understand why. You were beautiful and wonderful and all the stuff are here. Spending christmas here thousands of miles away from your home in strangers house and she tells him and he goes you know it sounds like you're. The best friend in your own life that you know that you know your best girl is best friend or your the lead lady. Because you're not the best friend you're the leading lady. You should be the leading lady in your own life. I think that's the things we should be the leading person in our own lives. Doesn't mean we have to go out do heroic things that just means. That we. Are coherent. With who we know we can be. And want to be. In all of our actions. So in the days and weeks coming up i encourage you to flex for yourself on what things. Are the things that get your heart pumping. What what hunches do you make. Those things. Unseen. When do you feel that sense of being a part of something larger than yourself a part of the universal all. Not simply as a tourist but if somebody who's going to live there for a while. Where does your passion lie these are the things we worship. Which motivate us to give us the energy for allies in the loyalty of our souls. It is important to know these things because they do not stand alone. We do not live in a vacuum. The thing is we have our deepest faith in draw us compel us. Steps of our convictions. To act on our behalf. So what do you love. Weirdest feed you. What is your faithful journey. We find these things. Even a glimpse of them. We are often then. Overwhelmed with a sense of thanks. Gratitude. Hope. Desire to give back. And is in this spirit of gratitude and responsibility. That great profits and reformers of our traditions are going out into the world. Don't worry you don't have to be a great reformer or profit. Highly overrated job anyway. Preacher titles only bestowed by history. So we don't get to make those choices. If we. But live our lives. As if the things we believe our crew then we in the world cannot help but be changed by our face. By your face. Midas face. And our faithfulness.

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20151018-Sermon.mp3

For decades. Death has been the central. Being in. Forest churches. Definitions of religion. And he says over and over again that. Religion is our human response. To the dual reality. Of being alive. And having to die. Knowing we must die. The question what like means. Where did i come from. Who am i. Where am i going. What is life's purpose. Church says that we do not and cannot possess the ones we love. For we hold them on loan. This hard truth makes the courage to love also the courage to lose. It speaks most eloquently when everything we cherish is in jeopardy. But our expectations with a light for the way light spot to be. Interrupted and challenged. Fight death. Life and death are so tightly. Intertwined is not new churches in memphis. He has been a proponent of it. Can an evangelist for this idea. But the idea that. The value or quality of our death. Is. Based on the quality of our life. Is not new. 100 years ago. Kahlil gibran the prophet. About this section. Would you know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life. The owl whose nightbound eyes are blind unto the day. Can i compel the mystery of light. You would indeed the whole the spirit of death open your heart wide unto the body of life. The life and death are one. Even as the river and the sea. R1. Trish talks about when we allow yourself to something. Greater than ourselves. Sometimes we make. Give big risks we take on. You're very vulnerable. And these allegiances. Demand our time and our energy. Ar resources. And they call on us to come. Jesse says out of hiding. They calling us to risk. Giving. Our love. Our hearts. He says that as the therapist physiotherapist pulled the writer and a lot. Just before lamaze best friend died. Watch her carefully. Right now. Cuz she's teaching you. How to. We recently had a number of deaths here. Velocifire. West. Loss of our friend from the size center salon k. Russell close personal friend. Lot of other types of losses and deaths in our lives. But all the mess is happening in the world. So it's hard to be told we have to. Pay attention. That's because it's going to teach us how to live. But it's true. When i was in high school. My junior year first day of school. Get a lot of excitement. What's going on. It was the first year i can drive my car. Bowser junior. Arlington heights high school fort worth you know that. Much nicer now. But. Very heavily trafficked out to buses and other things. I was driving up. And. There was all sudden just giving stop. And. Come to find out somebody had been. Hit by bus. Motorcycle. Not a good thing to find out first day of school. And later. Then we heard it was a student who actually. Didn't stop slippers motorcycle under the bus and. And then it turns out i find out he's a twin brother. Have a girl in my. A homerun. Tremendous. What i was struck by was. The intensity. South what i felt. Guy. And i didn't necessarily live up to his circles you know. Google higher atmosphere than i. Vivian. But a nice guy. Sister. But i went to the viewing. A large crowd. I just was. Dumbstruck. Greece. And. Sobbing. Shut that i realize i really kind of wanted to get. I like it. And i was grieving for my loss. The loss of the others. But i eventually. Figure it out through time. Cuz i was a teenager. Too sharp. I was. What's that. I needed to. Embrace the relationships that were around me when i quit. Not be hesitant. Not to weigh. Sometimes that works out. Sometimes it doesn't. What's a good thing to learn. Forrester says that life is a gift. Not a given. One day we will go to sleep and not wake up again. Path of life is strewn with trap doors. Everyday. Is a miracle. My calendar. Safe with my kids cuz of people. Pulling up to intersections and then. Stopping because you're somebody else off their horn or just somebody else. Driving down the highway literally looking like this. With your elbows on the wheel. Does a hummer get it i doing this. Happier. I'm not going to go anywhere near you. Church also tells us he offers us. Inside of saying. Why save your tears. Because they are precious it doesn't matter why you cried. Your tears are still precious. For they show that you care. A cup full of tears is proof that you have felt deeply suffered. And survived. I think that was. An interesting insight for me when i read this the first time you was going. Reflecting on that experience i had in high school. And then more recently. The loss of my mother. Little less traumatic death but still. Tragic endings. And it was sad for me if you weeks ago hyundai. Took maya. Son and daughter over to her house we were preparing to sell it. And. Abby got out of the car and. Guess what where's grandma. Anymore. Can i see what the house in the house of course was not. Input order it was a wreck actually the. It's been vacant for months. Bugs everywhere is nasty dirty. Finicky. She didn't respond well and so. Autohaus shrieking. And. Eventually. To leave. She was inconsolable. But she was crying for her loss. Greetings. Religion. Is our response. Being alive and having to talk. No i know that religion is. The great part. Defined as is a as a passive relationship. Religio. That was reconnects reminds us. But i think a lot of people. Use religion. With some sort of. Anesthesia. Analgesic. Take away our pain. Church offers as he says religion though shouldn't be a pacifier. Religion should awaken us throw open a window. Point to a trapdoor. If we forget how dangerous the waters are spending our lives rearranging the deck chairs to catch the sun. Fooling ourselves who gentle background of soothing soundtrack. We set up our lives to do only one important thing. To watch them pass before our drowning eyes. Now for those of us. Who may. Reside within. The confines of comfort. In this country. Even if we are poor as church mice were better off than most people in a lot of other places in the world. That's easy to do that is to have this sort of music track of our lives go on in our kids grow up. Can we do our thing and. Everything's great illnesses and injuries all the normal, things people have. I think that if nothing else how many times have you gotten infectious cut that you probably would have died from 100 years ago. 70 years ago you would have died. That now you spell neosporin or something on it and you're good to go. You know. We are turning our lives away from. Half of. Being asleep. Half of. Thoughtless. Non present. Church offers us he says. Taken literally says in hebrew greek and latin. The word conversion. This is an important one. Conversion is not rebirth. It is not. Rebirth city of being born again because of the conversion experience. Doesn't make sense. That's not lined up. But what he does say is it does mean get mean. Hirning. Turn or burn. 1 converted we redirect our journey he says. Learning alchemy. True human beings know. The moment you except for troubles you've been given. Door will open. According to rumi. Adorable. So is to turn away from this. Heartlessness to be closer. To that which. Is vital. Light. Not coast through it. He also says about his sobriety. The raging alcoholic for many years. Sobriety didn't change my theology certainly not the premium is. Not the premium that is placed on the axis of love and death but. It did deepen one significant sense. Final fully felt. What before i had mostly. Again. Do deshawn ssi's ourselves. He says a lot of other wise sayings but. I'm struck by this comment he has a theology is poetry not science. During our brief span we interpret the greatest and most mysterious masterpiece of them all. Creation itself. The creation is our book of revelation. I find that powerful because. Some of us also have been paying attention to. The work of others. Thank god for evolution. There you go. Michael dowd who has been here before preaching this pulpit. His wife connie barlow. To talk about the great story. Powerful message about. The world we live in is. Not only something to learn from but it is. A part of our relationship. Forest receptor work of muil rice occur. Ray cassar. But she says the universe is made up of stories not adam. Because i think experientially that's quite true. Wrapping up what he had to share. What i had to share. Ponder life's cosmonauts. And how you're already. You knew i was here. Have miraculously run our courses from the instant of creation. To the element of life on earth. Billions of generations. Reckon the privilege of looking out on this magnificent. My god. That's a miracle. When you think about it. Genealogy look back there.. You're here. If the japanese had not surrendered wwii by probably would have ended going fight japan i probably never would have been born. Youtube. But. So the world turns on decisions and things. Going all sorts of places. Butterfly. The odds are enormous. How many times did we miss that accident. By 2 minutes because we were delayed looking for keys or glasses or something. And we come up and we go oh my god. Intersection. 4. I could have been sitting next to a guy on the airplane. Remember things. So. The odds are in our favor. At least up to this point. Tricia's we do it with humility. By wanting what we have. Doing what we can and being who we are. Punching puppy have. Doing what we can. Being who we are. Forever. We have full not happen. Do the same thing as with reverence. Humble by. Buttercup. Talks about dietrich bonhoeffer who is. Christian. Resistance. Did nazi germany. Part of it. Ashley part of the plot to blow up hitler. Dietrich. Bonhoeffer wrote that. Love is the reconciliation of man with god. And that he was in on biting. I'm all in. Partymen expiring. Inspiring body. Example of truth. He wrote. Things of support and. Consolation to family friends colleagues. The world in general even as he sat in prison for years. Waiting for the nazis. Lately i've read a lot of rumi. At mystic. One of the things he has to share on. He says he says. On beyond ideas of right doing and wrongdoing there is seal. I will meet you there. So life down in that grass. The world's too full. Wisdom from someone who had. Great deal and shared with us. May we reflect on wiz and we already have been often. Forget about. Much like the farmer who killed the young extension agent son i already know how to farm better than i do. Take a second.. We know how to live their lives and we already do. A lot of it is about being reminded. Courage post. Making choices. Do we turn. A particular direction. Our lives. Getaway that will lead us. Others. Moerlein with. The lives we want. The benediction. That was shared. His ministry. Church offers this benediction was awkward. And now in are going may god bless and keep us may the light of god shine upon us out from within us. And be gracious unto us bring up. What is the day we are given. Let us rejoice. Glad.

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20141123-Sermon.mp3

Well here we are again. And we're glad you're here very blessed. This month we talkin about the word covenant because that is central to our identity and our practice. Of religion as unitarian universalist. We use the word a lot around here some people are sick of it get used to it. Cuz it's not going away. We have our congregational covenant which we said earlier in the service we talked about being in covenant with each other as part of our larger unitarian universalist faith. What does it mean. To be in covenant with each other. Now last week i talked at length about some of those issues so i heard you listen to that sermon it should be on our archives is that true jean. Send. But what are the fundamentals about covenant is that being in covenant is constantly making the choice. To stay committed to it whether it is our relationship with another person such as in marriage. Or to a community and a faith tradition. My colleague george commits beach has said that the word covenant signifies a framework. Within which intentionality takes effect. And a former interim minister here robert latham identify defines a religious covenant quote as a compact among the group of people. Which states the mission and how that mission will be transformed into reality by their life stewardship. I like that phrase life stewardship. Again this is not the same thing as stating a belief or purpose and. And in that may not entail any pleasure commitment to fulfill them. Eating a belief. Does not imply necessarily fulfillment of that belief. This is why it is very easy for us as human beings to come to some new understanding and then do nothing about it. It was a great line in the movie recently where. Some the hero got the got a villain to kind of admit that they had some new understanding and then it don't turn around and promptly does exactly what they're going to do anyway and this one has understanding changed human behavior. We are challenged them by covenant. Which is explicit. In its intention to fulfill its purpose. Well purpose calls for covenant foreclosure empowerment says latham. Well purpose calls for empowerment of its vision. Covenant empowers its vision with. Commitment. Say that again. Wow purpose kohl's for an empowerment of its vision. Covenant empowers its vision with. Commitment. Now i think one of the best definitions of commitment i ever heard was from a science-fiction author ursula le guin. And her book the dispossessed. And she says that commitment. Is loyalty over time. What's the mathematical formula. Loyalty over time together. And how are we going to be together. What are our purposes and making mystery a mutual agreement. And in that light how do we go about living with each other. Consequently covenant a living. Confirm his identity and builds community. Now this commitment is not just about those who already here is good to be here. It's not just about us. We need to be. Able. To welcome those who have never really known a religious community. Those who have. Become part of the new identity of nuns and ones let me be confused. And even those who are now called the dones dones who have said bye on all your houses. We have to be i'm getting some laughter forms of you all right. We have to be open. To everyone who comes looking. Not everyone's going to find what they're looking for here and we have to be very clear about that that's one of things we say is unitarian universalist. We don't have all the answers. But we're sure nobody else does either. We try and stay modest about our humility. So the commitments not just about those of us who are here already. We need to be able to welcome those who have not known community. People who are wanting a good place to be and to get to know people with lots of different ideas from their own and people who are able to move those into a state of action and being. Implicitly or explicitly a coven that expresses our collective understanding of what we. Hold to be of worth and value and. What we are in relationship with. It may be a brief. Belief in the divine salvation through grace or inherent worth and dignity. An interconnected web of existence. This is the purpose the purpose of coming until community. Call us back into our commitment to those chosen relationships. When we stray from them. Now coming into their very nature invati basic theological understandings we hold as unitarian universalist. First we have a free will to make. Since oven express our understanding of our relationships with each other in that which we consider of ultimate importance. Secondly. We had we each have value in and of ourselves which must be recognized and respected by each other through our obligations to each other individually and collectively third hour a cyst on the ways we will be with each other as a process and not just as a means to an end. Is a manifestation of our understanding that existence is incremental. And constantly evolving. I do want to say one time i misread that line in another setting about at me constantly annoying. It is a manifestation of our understanding that existence is incremental and constantly evolving. And consequently we do not but we do not know what will happen in the future. And that revelation and possibly impossibility are in fact open and ongoing. We can assume neither damnation or utopian progress. I have faith. In the limitless possibilities of existence. Through our covenants we call each other into a free and responsible commitment to build our common good. We are being observed by many both inside our own tradition and the larger community to see what we will do with our potentials. To influence the nature and shape of north texas religious landscape for the foreseeable future. If we take seriously a liberal ideals and principles of covenant community as a way of living and being in the world then. To make real and concrete the covenant ally deals in this congregation and the larger community. Is not only desirable. But necessary. For the very manifestation and ongoing embodiment. Of the beloved community. We aspire to foster. N2b. In this world. In the reading earlier. I quoted the reverend mark morrison read who said. It is the church that assures us that we are not struggling for a justice on our own but as members of a larger community. The religious community is essential. For alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen. And our strength is too limited to do all that must be done. Together our vision widens and our strength is renewed. Weiser congregation are entering a point now of. Reflection. Celebration. Andre dedication. We're looking at our 40th anniversary. Turning 40. Somewhat nostalgic lee. It's a good time for years that's that's how long it took. Moses in his hopes to get out of the desert. Right. 40 years wandering the desert to generations. Long enough for folks to forget why they're there in the first place into focus on where they're going. Stop fighting old battles and deal with the challenges ahead. Who developed the way of being with each other which nurtures and sustains and carries. The community and the mission and the message forward. Into the future whatever that future may hold. So here we are at 40. What do we do with this precious gift. It's so many have given blood sweat tears money and whatever else you can think of. To make real. In the world. Make manifest. To give. It form. The shakespeare would say to give to airy nothing. Form and habitation. I know i may have missed it so don't cry. What you do with this precious gift. We have been here. And just by being here we have a free create a gravity well of presents. What is a presence. We we affect the things around us. In the more we move our ministries. Into the community the more that effect. Spans and has ripples and. Makes the world hopefully a better place more in line with that beloved community the doctor king talked about in that we aspire to. Have we done and are we doing what we can. Rather than just what we. Feel we want to do. Now those of us who raised children. And i'm in the process of trying to raise two small ones my own. Challenge with them often is they want. That's. But we know they can and probably should be doing good. An invoice initiating exercise for ourselves. It's good to want things. But my son wants everything. I want that everything on tv. And i told him yesterday i was taking care of the kids yesterday. And he said. He was so thrilled that i had a list. But thank you i appreciate that but he's only 60. We here. Have spent. Much time much energy much money. What being. Nourishing spirits and working for justice and transforming lives. But i think. That it is time that we did more of that. And that we became. More of ourselves. That we. Stop renting in become a householder. That we. Move. Ourselves. Into a place of. Real. Profound. Disability awareness and understanding in this community. We have been at 200 members now for. 40 years. Give or take a lower and he's going up and down. And the reality is that. We are the only congregation of r-type in collin county. And even north of dallas. North of north of the. North of mockingbird. And. That's a big area. Is getting bigger all the time. Right. Lots of people coming in here. Shipping from 200 beyond in congregational dynamics. Is tough for churches to do this is why a lot of foundations are 200 members. Because you go beyond that means we transcend. The level at which human beings evolve to be in community. 200. Roughly. Organically we operate as an organism at these lower levels. We moved to higher-level we have to be an organization. 24 more intentional about being intentional here a lot. Any congregation has put a tremendous amount of intention. Into its institutional infrastructure. Getting its house in order doing all of those things its finances. We are in good shape. And we are doing so much now. In our social justice and social outreach work and that is evolving and moving forward and has a great momentum has a financial underpinning of its own. So we are in good position with that. And we are looking now to work on our programming. Anna membership. Process. Changing that we're actually i'm going to be working be coordinating with firstdallas cuz they evolved in amazing program. I think going to be useful for us. But the point is we say we want to be bigger we want to be more for those were visiting please understand this is an in-house conversation to a certain degree but. Feel free to listen in because. We have a lot to talk about we have a lot to share. I was called here. 9 years ago and counting. And you told me you wanted to grow. To be more. Hutch more lives. And your life have been changed or you wouldn't still be here. And we continue to do that for you where you wouldn't be coming back. But the reality is we often say that we want something. But we're not really sure that's. Where we want to live. For that we want to go through what it takes for us to get there i know i would like to drop 80 pounds. 680 would put me in my fighting weight i was in the military. I got to go to the gym or workout. And cut back on the junk and other things like that. Soap. We can want something with all of our heart and but we got to do the things that gets us where we want to go. We have to put action into it. We have to make it. Real enough we have to in our hearts. Change our hearts and how we are in. How we do things. We have said for 40 years i had a conversation with one of our existing founding families the other day. And they said yeah we've been 200 forever we're really tired of it. And. We have that opportunity. And what i offer to you is not necessarily how we're going to do this. But the fact that we have a decision to make. In our heart of hearts. In our soul of souls. Us who we are as a religious community. Are we going to fulfill our potential. More greatly and become what we can be here. I'm going to offer numbers now they're like to spook some people and that's okay. But we should be a congregation here as large as firstdallas which is over a thousand members. We should be. Please. Okay please. Because of the area we serve for if we're not doing that we should be spinning off congregations. A building multi-campus outreach ministries. Whatever i mean there's all sorts of ways to make this happen. Enrolling twisting. But we have land. We can't sell your stuff in a good location. Location. Visibility. But we have a choice. And i offer to you as we move into this period of reflection and celebration and rededication. To think about. And to talk about and to do something about. What is we want to be in the next. 40 years. Of our existence. As a congregation. No i'm not sylvanus note to think that i'll be here the next 40 years. That would be nice but i don't think so. Yeah you won't want me at that age so no. The point is many of you will be living with that and your children will be living with it and we have families here who generational. And rebuilding an institution in a community for your families. We have the potential here too. The social political and religious landscape of. This county of north texas. If we will embrace that. Possibility. It is ours. So what is our covenant call us to do. Yes minister to each other to help each other to be present to each other here. And to all those who would join us. Can we be more. In our embodiment. Of. The religious community reno. And love. I'm not asking to be something that we aren't i'm asking to be something to be more of who and what we are. Which is. Amazing. When we embrace and apply the truth. Set the best way to bring our principles to a fruition in the world is to leave them out in our own lives. Then our lives. Dancing on the web of existence. Will resonate with the singing harmonies. Integrity. And hope. For world. Desperately needing it. And world that will be made for warfare. Offer people. Thank you. Recipe and onion.

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20141005-Sermon.mp3

You don't know what it's impatient was to put on darth vader mask i have a six-year-old who is absolutely in namrood with all things star wars. It's my fault. So the issue of evil and good have been kind of. Always around. Innocence. Today i kind of want to lay out some of that kind of definition all kinds of things because some people think. Anthony kind of subjective. Play some pretty funny things that happened. Research. The definitions in the dictionary or not very satisfying their kind of banal. And. I find that. Zimbardo's definitions are pretty good but i'm also going to offer a few from some unitarian universalist voices here these were offered in the aftermath of 9/11. Minister gordon mckeeman who just passed away recently. Said universalist from the beginning have. Been confronted with the question of evil says mckeeman who was intact who is active in a group of universalist ministers who sought a way to give their faith in more contemporary form in the 20th century he says that evil comes into the world when our good comes to the conflict with others good. Reinhold niebuhr the christian theologian said evil is always the assertion of some self-interest without regard to the whole. Weather the whole be conceived of as the immediate community. For the total community of humanity or the total order of the world. Sandaga doctor 10-day kahoot is a unitarian universalist theologian and the philosopher has she says. That. Evil as a failure to understand the inherent worth and dignity of every person as a part of the interdependent web of existence. When horrible things happen human beings are responsible. Rebecca parker who just retired as the head of the starting school for ministry sheila stuff that evil has. No has to qualify. Act not human beings. We are all capable of doing either good or evil and everything in-between that are being itself. Is good is worthy. Is of value. And i would offer bruce southworth one of my other colleagues who was at community church of new york. He says that. The third of our manhattan churches sites the zlomek notion of sin which is forgetfulness of our better selves. Forgetfulness. That we are part of a sacred creation that we are tied to one another. He says we have the ability to choose for the good or the bad. Choose our better or our worst selves. Parts of the graciousness of creation is that there is so much beauty. In the world but we are not saved by the graciousness of creation. We are saved by our choices. The definition that zimbardo offers from his both his ted talk and in his book the lucifer effect. He says and i find this differently elegant he says evil is the exercise of power to intentionally this is very important intentionally to intentionally harm her physically and or destroy mortally and commit crimes against humanity. And i find his definitions more useful than the others because. After most these other definitions i've already read i would have to add the phrase as the consequence of an active human tension. Or free will. This issue of intentionality rules out those act of god. Categoria. Tragic but not evil things that happened like natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes or just out now accidents. Tragedy is not the same thing as evil natural accidents natural or accidental events are not evil but tragic however evil can create those tragedies. I think we look at things like. The exxon valdez or. The oil eruptions we had couple years ago in the gulf. Evil has a quality to it. Intimacy. That natural disasters and accidents don't generally have. This is one reason why we consider crimes against persons to be more egregious than those against property mugging rape assault these are much more personal the evil of the act and truth not only on our lives fit into them much of the language used to describe the events of september 11th have been couched in similar terms over the years. People have been shown. Talking about how they feel about heading been mugged or violated by these events there was and still is a sense of trauma. The experience to. The inability to fight or flee. Trauma is the inability to fight or flee. But a trauma that is deeper more intimate because it didn't just happen it was made to happen as an act of conscience will. I have to say that. Like many of you in those weeks and months following that terrible event. I actually could not. Engage much with the world. Kind of withdrew i was a real newzjunky up until that point. And it took me the 2018 elections to kind of cure that. I forced myself. To hear and seeing if it was going on. But i stayed in a state of denial and shock. Over what happened. And i was afraid and maybe even still a little afraid of my own anger and outrage at what i might mistakenly do. With. My own. Perhaps vain efforts to destroy the evils that i perceive. To try to see some illusion of control to find blaine to reject my fear unto others like shadows on a wall one of the most important and consistent and accurate critiques of liberalism in the twentieth century was its thinness and resistance in dealing with issues of evil or the shadow side of our existence before the two world wars unitarianism and universalism and other liberal traditions were rather one-dimensional. In their tradition their approaches to issues of suffering and what we have been traditionally calling evil. There was an often is and almost naive reliance on the ideas of human goodness and then you never do progress of good usually ignoring the shadows surrounding their triumphal lights and disparaging those will point them out as being unenlightened. Later on people like james luther adams the unitarian the illusion would point out after his encounters with nazi germany before world war 2. That there is no immaculate conception of virtue. That good things don't just happen on their own. We have to make them happen. And we have to give them institutional support. And frame. For continuity. But with the mindless devastations and calculated atrocities of the war is it became apparent that believe in goodness progress and triumphalism were insufficient in the best half-truths. And they were not adequate to explain or cope with the violins of concentrated and focused rage and energy. Shadow energy unleashed on the world. On the scale of evil. Now to me the great strength of liberal religion seems to be that is willing to change grudgingly so. When shown its own frailties. It's on deficit. For example the fact that unitarian universalist congregation. Are increasingly. Supportive. A wider and wider array of people creating a wider wider community for gays lesbians transgender and queer identifying buddhist pagans theists people of color we are. Many of you reach out to our muslim hindu and sikh. Brothers and sisters. Carbajal by brother and sisters and as well as the community who rents this building and who participates with us. Woman is poet and social critic audre lorde wrote racism. Heterosexism ageism classism elitism ableism sexism are all real conditions of all of our lives in this place and time i already drove you here to reach down into that deep place of knowledge. Inside ourselves and touch that terror and loathing. If anything. Any difference that lives there. See whose face it wears. Somewhere along the line. In attempting to affirm our inherent worth and dignity we didn't realize or we forgot. That our ability to truly recognized and affirmed the worth and dignity of others rest in part. In our not hiding in behind our projections of our fears. Or shadows. There is something hubristic overly prideful about our neglect of this sense of the possibility of evil. I'm reminded of the old jibe that universalists believe that god is too good to damn them and unitarians believe they are too good to be damned. I hope that i am learning. To set those here for parts of myself. As we all. Begin to do the same. You rarely hear me say this but john calvin was right up to a point. When he said people do not really wish to deal with god. Because if we are honest with god or the ultimate i would say we must first be honest with ourselves. And that is a great deal to ask of most of us. And yet it is imperative. For healthy existence in peaceful coexistence not to mention success. In our ministries together in the community. I cannot afford you cannot afford we cannot afford. To continue channeling our anxieties in our fears. Company anger into destructive habitual behavior. And we cannot afford the alienation caused by projecting our fears and our hatreds on the others. For that 2 is evil. Hannah arendt the great 20th century journalists in in social rider. Around dishes run wwii she coined the term the banality of evil. When dealing with aikman. Oh shoot i lost my phone. Oh well. If we blame the splinter in the others ai4r for their blindness we then must check for the plank on our own. Oh i had a point i was really happy to make. So we have to be attentive to is as a religious body. Is as a religious community that we don't get too self-righteous. We have to be willing to apply our own standards to ourselves. That's one of the keys of interfaith dialogue as you can't hold somebody hannibal to your standards but you sure can't hold them accountable to their standards and you better believe people will do that with us. They do do it that's all the time actually. Wookie publishing 2002. It was a top religious book at that time when religion becomes evil by charles kimball. He has a very simple. Five-point checklist. 45 warning signs of corruption in religion. Absolute truth claims. Blind obedience. Establishing the ideal. Time. The end justifies any means. And declaring holy war. Establishing the ideal time is more about eschatology the end of the world when is judgement coming at 4.. He says those 5 things generally kind of point out that things are going to get bad and they're going to start doing. Those things that. Zimbardo held up in his definition of evil so i think as long as we're not. Doing that i think we're going to be okay. But there is a temptation for all of us to want to do those things. As we go for the next couple of weeks i'm going to talk more about. This issue of. Mario calls the lucifer effect but. The idea of how do we as human beings go from. Being decent caring loving people to doing really awful things sometimes. And talk about issues of situations and of systems. Zimbardo talks about you know we may blame the bad apples and even a barrel that makes them bad apples but who's making the barrels. I think those are important things for us to consider. What kind of clothes with with something a little story. About what happens the kinds of interesting things happened research. I was researching a story of hosea blue who was one of the founders of universalism in the 19th century and it's great feel theological articulator. And it's a great story this in this known as baloo in the baptist preacher. Blue became an expert at thinking on his feet and in one of the denominations many itinerary clergy he was riding the circuit in new hampshire hills with a baptist preacher one afternoon and they argue theology as they traveled and at one point the baptist looked over and said brother baloo if i were universalist and feared not the fires of hell i would hit you over the head and steal your horse and saddle and right away and i still go to heaven. Hosea ballou looked over at him and said if you were going to brushless daddy would never occur to you but wait there's more. It's so in the google search i did trying to get me an actual version of that story. I came across. Jumping on catholicism.org. It's actually pretty good breakdown of the story of belews biography. It end. I should have been clued in by the back of the organization that have runs this website is run by the slaves of the immaculate heart of mary of saint benedict center new hampshire. And the editor's note. Introduction says the following. The following pieces about a hometown boy of ours from richmond new hampshire where this journal is published. Well for us it has local flavor. We think it worthy of publishing for two reasons. First of all it is a case study and how fast sect come about sinful men more or less influence by the spirit of their day. Consider the revelations of god as something they have to figure out instead of receiving them with us ility from god's chosen teaching the pillar round of truth timothy 3:15. And here's a new word for me too. Harris tires. Harris arts heresy. In like patriarchs harris arcs. Harris sharks founders of heretical sex. I'm going to use that one of the ministers meeting real soon. He says they need not appear to be fire-breathing dangerous lunatics. Hosea ballou looks like a nice guy. He was clever homespun endearingly rough-around-the-edges and seem to have a gin would love for his family. All the time the religion he spun out was evil pure and simple and it kept him and his followers from god their final end. His story should make us question ourselves are we nice in a natural sense are we pleasing to god in the supernatural sense i found it interesting to read something by someone else talking about my religion as evil. Now i've heard this before in other places that actually see it in print on somebody's website who's taking this very scholarly kind of approach to it from a canonical catholic point of view. But it lifted up the thing i must constantly keep in front of myself is that. My perspective on something. Is my perspective on something and their perspective on something is their perspective on something. Now that doesn't mean everything is relative this is not about relativism at all. But it is important for us when we start talking about the nature of evil. That we try and be a little more clinical about it in a little frame better. Then i like some of the others cuz most of the others i'm hearing have this sense of well it's few know whatever somebody else is doing that you don't like is evil and. I do have to say it's more along the lines of a bucky mckinnon's. Statement about when you're good runs into somebody else's definition of good and then we have conflict so. I would say the last thing the very last thing and i do remember what i was going to say. With hannah arendt placer is that the definition of evil that she and people like albert camus and others derive from their understanding of what happened during wwii. Was that evil is about the breaking down of human bonds of destroying human solidarity with each other. It is about the atomization of human relationships so that it may be filled by something else that it is the attempt to turn what. Jewish theologian martin buber talks about as the i value our relationship into an eye it. Relationship. Determine our relationship with each other into an objective relationship with a thing rather than with another being. Who is sacred and holy. Who has inherent worth and dignity. And is a part of the same interconnect do i have always distance. If we are all part of. So go forth and contemplate this and other things. We will have a fun couple of weeks coming up. And we will see what we find.

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Sermon_041209.mp3

Well here we are on easter sunday and it tends to be appropriate that i talked a little bit about what jesus of nazareth had to say about her most basic social relationships. Those are family. And community. Asking who is my neighbor. I think this is particularly interesting in the light of the context of the rise of social networks and social networking platforms such as twitter and facebook according to the christian gospels during the week of jesus's passion starting with palm sunday and leading right through the crucifixion on good friday. He was busy preaching. And teaching a lot of things which eventually got him killed. Okay so why should we care about this. Well christianity is the single largest religious tradition in north america and especially in this region. It has been and still is a defining cultural paradigm. A backdrop against which a great deal else gets played out. As religious liberals we must be able to engage with it on its own terms. In the last 15 years or so give or take it has become. Something of an obsession especially by those in the conservative christian and political communities. To talk about family values. And putting families first. At least in concept if not on a license plate or bumper sticker. Yet it is interesting to know what jesus himself had to say about issues of families. And on the topics of neighbors. As other than ourselves. Something almost completely missing from conservative rhetoric. In what are known as the three synoptic gospels of matthew mark and luke. The terms family or families i mentioned only four times. And none at all regarding the qualities of those relationships. Indeed jesus did not embrace the traditional model of family and its obligations. Rather choosing to create one from among his disciples. And followers. New testament scholar marcus borg and his seminal work jesus a new vision spirit culture and the life of discipleship. Point out. The importance of family in jesus's life setting and the radical nature of his teachings. Borg rights. The family had a significance in judaism. And most pre-modern cultures. Which is difficult for us in the modern world to imagine. The family was the primary social unit the basis of both identity and financial security. Yet many of jesus's most radical sayings call for a break with family and familial obligations. He denied the significance of his own family he spoke of discipleship as involving hating one's father and mother wife and children brothers and sisters and all of his ministry as bringing divisions within families. I don't know you about you but i don't see the christian or cultural conservatives embracing this particular message. Culturally the family has been elevated to the level of a state of ideal to which we must somehow return. And family is shorthand for what we are to understand to be the nuclear family. Now as an aside. I don't have any of you. Sometimes get this image of the nuclear family. You know it's mom dad brother and sister along with the dog and cat. Pose in front of a white frame house and a picket fence all giving off a slightly radioactive glow. I'm slow. But i was in college before i figured out that nuclear families didn't really refer to those who lived through the atomic age. Anyway. The notion that families are the backbone of community is sociologically unsupportable. Families themselves nowadays have a wide range of manifestation. Ranging from the more classic nuclear type of all the way to created families based in differing affinities and loyalties. Families are part of an integrated system of relationships. Which run much farther afield than local kinship ties. Appoint amplified by the integrated communications technologies. Like the internet and social networking tools like facebook and twitter and myspace. By the way how many of you have a facebook myspace or some other kind of page out there. I'm not going to ask how many of you have more than one. And any of you are you twitter twits who tweets. But i don't do that yet but they're i'm sure there are more of you out there than their knowledge in it right now. Some of your just figuring it out your baby lurking. Within a larger frame of human history. The concept of the nuclear family is a recent in fairly artificial development. It has come about as a consequence of the industrial revolution. And colonization. Increased workforce mobility as people move from rural areas to more urban ones. In my opinion the way to enhance family life is not idealize some outmoded notion of what we look like. But rather to create and support healthy. And vital communities in which all people. Young and old parents and children. And those without children. Will find support. And nurturance as well as. Their responsibilities to their neighbors. Even though it is almost become trite and its overuse. The african proverb that it takes an entire village to raise a child is still true. It is the community which supports families and provides the needs which they cannot provide for themselves. It is always been so. With increasingly so increasing social changes we are now encountering. It becomes ever more necessary. In the same three gospels of matthew mark and luke which are considered to be the most reliable witnesses. Jesus quotes the hebrew scripture commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. Or some variant of it six times. With four other supporting and related comments about one's relationship with one's neighbor. Then there is yeshivah then there is the issue of who is my neighbor. Which scripture is goin' to great lengths to describe. Through jesus's parable. Particularly the story of the good samaritan. And in his relationships with the socially margin. For jesus our neighbors are everyone. Not just those who are like us. Repairing this with what we have already heard about his teachings around family is emphasis on neighbors takes on even greater. Significance. Dr. diana eck. A harvard professor and historian of religion an expert in hindu history into history. And traditions. Offers. In addition she is the author of a beacon press book which i highly recommend. Call dan contouring god a spiritual journey from bozeman to banaras. Which itself is a leading and practical. Practical and satisfying method. I've been gauging with religious. And other forms of pluralism. Anybody else here have hayfever. I'm sorry i feel like i'm. Something going on here. Needless to say drak is eminently qualified and on top of all this she is also a thoroughly committed layperson in the united methodist church and is served in many national and international christian groups. Drak is quite clear that she is of the informed opinion that many of her fellow christians are misguided and perhaps. Being led astray on the issue of family values as it relates to christian theology. She's point out to us and others as. As pointed out. The message of jesus is not one a family values as many would have us believe. Zack jesus is pretty hard on families in general. But jesus does clearly point to is an understanding that our focus is to be on loving our neighbors. And that our neighbors are not necessarily people. Like us. She feels and i concur that if christianity is to have your logical revelant relevance to the newly emerging social paradigms it must begin with this basic premise. I find it ironic. That is a social movement with claims to be getting back to the fundamentals of christianity that conservatives. Could have so completely missed the boat. Regarding jesus's teachings concerning family and community. The message of the religion of jesus. As differentiated from the religion about jesus. Does not put family first. It put god first. And neighbor second. And the description of neighbor is radically challenging to those desiring any sort of. Cultural homogeneity. That neighbor is not just the person. Like us but he or she is the person whom you and i encounter no matter how different they are from us. Unless we get too terribly smug. About all this. Let us remember that we too are called upon to engage with and recognize ourselves. In our. Neighbors. No matter how challenging they may be. Think about the people in your office would just really really annoy you. Bright. Come on there there. They're your neighbor. This is where the rubber hits the road people. This is the hard part it's also the rewarding part. Can you name a few of those people. I'm not my name name but you know. My think of. How about christian conservatives. Fiscal conservatives. Well now we've got a few of those here cessna problem. That's a good thing. How about people who are intolerant. Yeah we know we are. Not so sure this neighbor stuff is a great idea now. I know i'm certainly challenged by it myself i live in a very multicultural. Multi social level neighborhood here in east plano and as enlightened as i think i am i find myself being challenged by my surroundings. And by the people i live around. And see everyday. We are beginning to eat now and feel a little more sympathetically with jesus's detectors. He wasn't for traditional family values and he wants us to deal with people we would normally cross the street. To avoid. As if. No not as if but. Because. They are our neighbors. You see jesus hot in order to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. An axiom that purpose of ministry is to. Comfort the afflicted. And afflict. The comfortable. Is it dangerous message for those of us who benefit from the status quo. And don't think i'm not talking about us because i am. What a little factoids i picked up a number of years ago about midsize churches and remain cytrus growth. Is that. When taking into account all of the factors that measure social power and position. In a society namely it wealth education and social position. The average unitarian-universalist member is among the most powerful religious bodies in north america. That's a heavy load. It's not. Only asks us what we're doing with all that clap but. How willing are we to give it up for haps. Or share it. You see no matter. How much we might want to kid ourselves about how socially progressive and liberal we are in opposing the battle system we are stuck with the reality that to a great extent we are the system. I found this one of the interesting things during the. Years following the clinton election. That liberals and progressives in south carolina where i'm starving at the time we're stuck. With what to do. With this because they were in power. The guy who look like them. The baby boomer was in charge. And. So now. Who did have to hold responsible. The comedian rhett butler. His remark to that. I'm all for the revolution happening now. I'm just afraid i won't be able to find a good moisturizer afterwards. I think that sums it up for a lot of ass. Biblical scholar marcus borg points out while there is a world denying and culture 29 quality in jesus's teachings we must room must guard against misinterpretation. He does. It was not a world nile based on a dualistic understanding. Of the world and material and after world is evil and the world of spirit as good. Jesus took delight in the natural world add a creation of god. He was reputed to enjoy both food and drink and was known for banqueting with outkast. My belly hurts a really good jokes. Though he spoke of abandoning the family at the center of one's loyalty and security and apparently unmarried himself. Which is not acceptable in his time for a man of his years. There is no reason to think he was opposed to sexuality indeed he sanctified the family more than this tradition did. Marcus borg goes on he says rather his challenge to conventional wisdom was a challenge to what might be called enculturated religion. Religion accommodated to conventional wisdom and increasingly shaped by those were the beneficiaries. Conventional wisdom. When this happens religion becomes a legitimate her of a way of life. Rather than invitation to a new way of life. In short. It was the world a conventional wisdom. As a center of identity and security. That he was negating. According to borg jesus is doing is challenging our ideas. That religion justifies the status quo. Rather religion is to be about revealing of our primary relationships being not to kiss and kin first. But to the holy and to each other and every person as an expression of the holy. To love. Our neighbor is to recognize ourselves. And the holy in them and respond in kind. In eastern traditions the word namaste. Recognition of the divinity within the other. Is a way of doing this. It is to see their inherent worth and dignity as unique manifestations of the holy just like you and me. And to see the intimate and intricate interconnections we have with each other and finally to respect those relationships as holy. True religion of jesus is not about familiesfirst rather it is about. Neighbors. It is about our intimate and necessary relationship. To the other. I think one of the challenges that as i look at the social networking platforms. That we're talking about earlier facebook twitter others. Is that. Technology tends to enhance. Or amplify human potential. Human potential for good. And bad and even indifference. I have heard a number of moderators both online and on the broadcast media. The talk about the great democratization that this is going to bring to us. And i think there is some truth to that. It becomes harder to keep things secret i think it also shows a. Possibility for gross lack of. Privacy and solitude which are necessary for human sanity. I think that. The opportunity comes for us yes to engage with people we might not normally engage with. And i think what it does it amplify normal human tendencies though if someone has a tendency to be gregarious and to gather people around them they're just going to do it more and more and more. With this technology is going to amplify that ability. I think those who do with the restricted themselves and there's fear a contact will continue to use a technology to do that as well. It is only a tool. And technology is value-neutral. There is nothing inherently democratic or not. About it. So don't expect. To save you. It's still on us. I think one of the issues i have with things like facebook and others. That i encounter is because we are able to be so selective. With. Who we are encountering. We create a bubble might be a really big bubble. And there might be occasional surprises that show up with a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend. You know who comes. Through our line of communication. But still we are in control. And. 10 to be self-limiting. As a consequence of it. There must be analyst i've read on online community talk about this issue of the control. Is one of the attractions and when you try and take that away from people. Has my facebook tried to do with their beacon program it which wasn't advertising program fell flat. Because it took away that control and infringed on people's ability to. Control. There. Range of communications. Not that we should have humility to control who we want to be in in conversation. Freedom of association. Two basic civil liberty. On the other hand. When we cut out the serendipitous. When we cut out that. Unsought. The counter that. May change our lives. We tend to. Homogenize things. We tend to remain stuck in the same places. My rough edges don't bump up against ones that are going to maybe. Polishes and smooth as a little and maybe ours. Aren't there four others as well. So i think there are pitfalls we must. Careful of. In this process. Because we often choose the neighbors who were like us. Through these kinds of self-selected. Process. This is one of the challenges the churches themselves face. And we have to be aware of that as well. Marcus borg i think gives us a final and crucial piece. To understanding jesus is teaching in this area. He said jesus. Jesus a challenge to conventional wisdom. Let's always be kept within the framework of his perception of reality. As gracious. Uncompassionate. For borg jesus's message is not a new requirement or commandment or law which many would hold us to think that it is. But rather an invitation to perceive reality differently. As it really is. Namely that at the heart of everything. Is reality that is in love. With us. Are our families and friends important to us. Horse they are. And they should be. They are our point of origin and first vantage point on life. But we must be careful. That we do not see them as the only vantage point. Or even worse idolatrize idolah ties them. As the ultimate social unit. How do i say the same thing for the social networking platforms. We are far too complex personally and collectively for such simplistic solutions. When is easter sunday may it be well for us to keep in our hearts. And mine's that some of what jesus of nazareth offered to us. That do we live in an imperfect world the universe is ultimately meaningful. Compassionate and in love. With us. In return. Let us respond by loving it back. With all of our hearts our souls and our minds. Let us make is concrete by. Trustingly. By being trustingly being more vulnerable to the wholly manifest in the midst of the other nests. Of our neighbors. No matter how near and no how matter how far. Sobeit.

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20150510-Homily_1.mp3

You know there were two mothers that's right i saw panic on somebody's face and candy. I haven't even know who julia where how is. Okay. I'm not going to ask you how you know sorry old seminary joke. The lyrics to the battle hymn of the republic. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord. She kind of had a change of heart several years later during the franco-prussian war when she. Was. Looking at the the the awful awful slaughter i was taking place. And it was really sort of the beginning of industrialized warfare. And she decided that. She really should be. Working for peace. Is she doing the small but growing band of international peace activists who denounced the war as a senseless conflict. She decided if anybody could grasp the idea of working for peace. It would be mothers. Understand how awful it be to have a son or husband killed or crippled. In a war. Of course in the end of the time it was pretty much men who were in. Armies. Women were also. The. Victims of war. To yourself that women. Who often were told to stay at home had a special role. Sp peacemakers as the principal educators and their families. She wrote a manifesto against depression war referring compression war and had it translated into five languages french german italian spanish and swedish. It's not to deliver it at the international peace conference in london and paris. Because she was a woman do european organizers denied her a place on the program. Angry but undaunted. She hired her own hall i put up posters inviting the public. Few people came. So she returned to united states not broken but inspired with a new idea. She called it. Mother's day. The way julie originally thought of that mother's day was not putting others on a pedestal it was another woman on a jarvis we thought of that. And it was the greeting card industry who made it a commercial extravaganza. Julia ward howe the activists wanted to draw mothers of out of their kitchens and parlors and into the public square. Do unite as many women as she could in the common cause. The protection of children from war. Where she put it to promote the alliance of the different nationalities the amicable settlement. International questions and the great and general interest of peace. She didn't call this festival. The celebration international peace day. Called it mother's day. Because she thought that no other group could more naturally or persuasively sponsor an annual festival of love and peace. Mother's day is julia ward howe envisioned it. Remind us that the whole world would be a better place if only everyone might rise to the challenge of motherhood. Nurturing life. Fostering peace and giving love. On june 2nd 1870. She issued her first mother's day population. Which will now share together. We shall do this as a responsive reading it is number 573 in your hymnals you will also find it on the screen with a congregational responses and bold. Arise then women of this day. Baptism be that water or upstairs say firmly we will not have great decisions decided by irrelevant agencies and patient. From the bosom of the devastated eartha voice goes up with our own. It says disarm. Disarm. Florida's murder is not the balance of justice what is not worried about honor and violence indicate possess as men have often forsaking the plow in the anvil at the summons of war let women now leave all that may be left of home for a grade and ernest day of council. Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as the means whereby the great human family can live in peace. Entering average time the sacred empress novel caesar.

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Sermon_022011.mp3

Well i think a lot about unitarian universalist theology these days as you might suspect. For the past four and a half years i've been a student at perkins school of. Theology. Perkins as you probably know. Smu is a christian seminary. It's a place where. Most of the people are relatively sure. About what their basic theology is. And are quite knowledgeable about it. There's is not a naive or childlike christian theology. Not an ignorant and uninformed christian theology. At least by the time they graduate from perkins. James luther adams the author of today's reading. Paraphrasing socrates said. An unexamined faith. Is not worth having. Will everyone at perkins. Has examined and examined and examined. His or her face perhaps more than you can possibly imagine. The christian students. At perkins. Which right now is everybody except me. They know what they believe. Not that perkins students never have any doubts. And certainly. Not that their beliefs and theologies aren't challenged by what they're hearing and reading. In our classes they most definitely are that's what a good school of theology does. Remote cases. At the bedrock level. I believe it's fair to say that my fellow perkins students. Know what the foundational beliefs of their religion christianity car. Now. Our religion of unitarian universalism. Is different from christianity. It is a chrysalis religion. He said that in your welcome this morning. There's no doctrinal test for membership. And when. It was talking. Making his stewardship pitch. Said. We don't tell you what to believe. As unitarian universalist we are each free. To develop our own theologies. Building your own theology is the title of an adult religious education. Curriculum that you may have experienced if you've been around unitarian-universalism for a certain number of years. Well yes that's right. As unitarian universalist each of us gets to. We are obligated to i would say. To build our own theologies. Knowing reality. Everyone. Whether they know it or not. Even the most conservative christian or muslim or jew. Actually builds his or her own theology. That's just the way the human mind works. We take what we hear and read incense. And we decide for ourselves if what we hear and read incense. Is truth. But my friends at perkins. Who are expected to use only two sacred texts. As the foundation for their theological houses. I like them. Unitarian universalist have a lot more sources. At our disposal for this challenging work. Building our own theology. The living tradition we share draws from many sources it says in the front of the hymnal right after it lists the principles to seven principles. And we go on to list six. Possible sources of religious and spiritual revelation. Direct experience. The words and deeds a prophetic women and men. Humanist teachings. Wisdom from all the world's religions. And in particular we then single out. The jewish and christian teachings which are historical roots. And the spiritual teachings of earth centered traditions which have more recently. Become a part of unitarian universalism. I'm talking about revelation today revelation is not sealed. When unitarian universalist have a pretty broad definition revelation. Many people most people maybe. Use the word to mean the revealing or disclosing of truths by a supernatural entity. Let's call her. God for lack of a better name. We unitarian-universalist however call the religious and spiritual truths we ascertain in any way through any written or spoken word whether sacred or secular. Or through our own reasoning are through our own experience with the natural world of human and nonhuman. We call those things revelation. Your sources. For us a revelation. Now. Our friends from other religions my friends at perkins. Are mystified by tiff. How can it be possible. Do you have a religion. From the latin word religio comes from legal right to bind or connect. How can there be a religion. It's not bound together by a common source of revelation. Wii u use do not have a common source of revelation. We are religious pluralist thru-and-thru we did not privileged. Anyone source of revelation. We say. And more may be equally valid sources. Revelation. We safe all these and more. May be equally worthy. Of our serious study. In deep contemplation. Horse in the span of one lifetime. It is impossible to investigate all these sources even at the most superficial level. So we each must pick and choose from among the sources. With all of the seeking r-truth. In such different places. Then. We unitarian-universalist are going to end up holding a lot of different theological beliefs. So. What do we all believe. Is there anything. What is it that connects us. That binds us together. Religiously the unitarian. Universalist. That we all voted for the same candidate for president or governor. That we all have the same views on. Abortion or capital punishment or the war in afghanistan. That we all have. At least a master's degree. That we all drive hybrid vehicles. Let me tell me a joke just last week and that. The definition. Diversity in a uu congregation is how many different colors of prius is there on purpose. Is what holds us together what we have in common. That we buy organic produce and eggs like by free-roaming hands. No. Because. None of these things is true about. Everyone who's faithful. The unitarian universalist regardless of what we might think. Unitarian universalism. Is a religion. My friends. It's not the sierra club. Are the democratic party. Are the people who shop at whole foods and listen to npr. Despite our christmas. And are pluralism. There are common theological beliefs. Unitarian universalist holding common that define what it means to be a uu. Things that bind us together. Into a religion. Perhaps the most important of these is the one we've been reading and singing about this morning. Revelation is not sealed. What seems to be a human tendency to believe that sings reach their a text with the thing that appeals to us us the most i know for a fact for example. That little if any music worst worth listening to has been recorded since carole king's album tapestry in 1979 nowhere is this tendency more evident than in our human notions of what is judged to be holy scripture. Ancient israelites said will you tell all the stories you want to about those mesopotamian and egyptian and canaanite deities. But the first and last. God reveal himself. Humans was to moses. Revelation was sealed in about 1400. Bce. What does hebrew scriptures are all well and good say the christians but the last time god spoke directly to human is in the new testament. Revelation was sealed sometime in the first century after christ. Not so so so the muslims. God spoke to muhammad angel gabriel and that was the last time. We heard directly from the big guy. Revelation was sealed in the 60s. Well maybe you haven't heard say the mormon the angel moroni spoke to our founder joseph smith giving him another testament of jesus christ and then that was it. Revelation was sealed in 1830. We beg to differ say the baja's. Who wrote down his work. We believe they say that all divine revelations come from the same source that abraham and moses and thereafter in jesus christ and muhammad. But bahama course. Is the last and final prophet. Revelation was sealed in the year 1892 when they died. Here come our unitarian theologians. The contradict all of these notions. Samuel longfellow back in 1850. Does revelation is not sealed. James luther adams in 1950. His revelation is continuous. Of course as i said earlier what we mean when we say revelation is. Probably not the same name. And what one unitarian universalist understands revelation to be may not be exactly the same as what another does. Some unitarian universalist are the kind of theist. Who believe that there is a god who interacts directly with. Or at least inspires human beings. If you hold such a theological position can you may have a an idea of revelation that's similar to that of my friends at perkins. You may believe it's a bible in perhaps the holy books of other traditions as well reveal god's words to us in a rather direct way. This was the position of the earliest anti trinitarian. Wayback in europe and izzy early american unitarian universalist. William ellery channing for example in his famous baltimore sermon intitle unitarian christianity. Fastest arguments against the triune god on two things. One reason that makes sense to him. And to scripture. He could not find evidence in the bible to support the notion of the trinity. He and other nineteenth-century unitarians and universalist most certainly did believe that the bible was the directly revealed word of god. Now some unitarian universalist. Today. Are the kind of theist believe that. There is a creator god or supreme force. Who set the world into motion that the natural processes that we see all around us. And if you hold such a theology. You may believe that. God is revealed through nature. And through human thought. And human experiences. You may believe that the entire history of religion. Is evidence of a gradual revelation in evolution. Is human understanding of our relationship. Weather dubai. Some unitarian universalist or not any kind of fist. Their atheist. Prognostics. And if you hold such a theology. In revelation for you. May mean a deepening of human understanding through non-supernatural processes. There is such a thing as revelation. Revelation. Happens all the time things are being revealed to us. All the time. We might call it inside. We might call it. Intuition. We might call it understanding. Perhaps the foundational theological principle. Which binds us together as unitarian universalist. Is this fat. Revelation. Whatever its origins however it comes. Whatever that means to you. Has happened in the past. And will keep happening as long as there are creatures. To him truth can be revealed. Now here's another point of theology that i think binds us as unitarian universalist together and goes hand-in-glove with revelation is not sealed and i actually think it may be even more important. The commission on appraisal of the unitarian universalist association in 2005. Publish the paper. Examining the beliefs of you use. Call engaging archaeological diversity. This commission interviewed and surveyed hundreds of you use. In their study and as the title suggests the survey uncovered manny theological differences the illogical diversity among us. But one of the statements on the survey instrument that received nearly unanimous approval was. We know our troops are partial. And our understanding could be wrong. We are open to evolving new inside. We know our troops are partial. And we could be wrong. That my friends is the one thing. I think. It makes us different. Promote other religions. If you believe that revelation is divine and sealed. And unchanging. An unchangeable. You can't afford to admit that you could be wrong. But our unitarian universalist faith tells us. That no matter how right. How true. Our own position may seem to us. No matter how confidently are passionately we might hold to it. We must. The some to quote a comment that someone wrote in the survey. We must. Have the humility. Viscerally understand. That our positions may be wrong. Viscerally understand. That our positions may be wrong. Master mike young said. Due to the limits of human knowing. It is always incomplete. We must cherish the broadest richest diversity of ideas. Not because there is no final truth. But because there may be. And our own incompleteness suggest. That we may not have it yet. And even someone who is quite wrong. May have something to teach me. In other words. Even someone who is quite wrong. Maybe a source of revelation for us. So what does our common theology disappoint of our common theology. Require of us. If you are an atheist you can be a faithful unitarian universalist. If you ignore legit. That you could be wrong. But there could be a god. If you are a theist. You can be a faithful unitarian universalist. If you understand. That you could be wrong. It might not be a god. Forgot exactly the way you imagined. God to be. Now whatever revelation you have received and however you have interpreted please. Live your life as if it is so. That's how you will live content. Whatever truth you claim. You can't stop there. You must keep looking keep listening keep reading keep thinking keep feeling. Keep an open mind. Keep an open heart. Something new and different could be revealed to you at any moment. And even if it never is. If you never. Change your mind. You could still be wrong. I call that mind free. William ellery channing says i call that mine free which opens itself to light when so ever it may come. Which receives new truth. As an angel from heaven. I call that church free. Does james luther adams of our church. I call that church free which is opened inside and conscience from every source. It is a pilgrim church. On an adventure of the spirit. I receive revelation all the time my friends and you will too. He just recognized. And open yourself to it. There is revelation in this world. In this life. It is not sealed. I believe that this principle is the most fundamental of all the theological truth. Which connect. Which bind us together into this. Religion of unitarian universalism. Of course. I could be wrong.

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20131222-Sermon_2.mp3

Hanukkah. About 21. 150 years ago. Palestine was under the rule of the syrian empire. Judah the maccabee letter revolt against the syrians. He had a small band of followers which could not confront the syrian military and conventional warfare so he use the usual tactics of guerrilla warfare and was successful. It was largely a fight for religious freedom the temples of the jewish people had been desecrated. They were forced to worship the greek gods to sacrifice what was to them the most of unclean of animals swine. And we're forbidden to circumcise their male children. When judah defeated assyrians and re-entered jerusalem the order the temple cleansed and rededicated. This involves rekindling the eternal flame. Sacred oil had to be prepared as fuel for the flame. But it would take eight days to prepare the oil. According to tradition a small amount of sacred oil sufficient for only one day. Was found hidden in the temple. So the lamp was kindled. And miraculously it continue to burn. 4/8 days. Long enough for a new supply of oil to be prepared. So it is that hanukkah candles are kindled and additional candle each night for 8 nights. And this morning we honor hanukkah. This year was actually held earlier than usual. We won't have to worry about that again for another eight thousand years i understand as far as it being at thanksgiving. But so we're here to honor it. As part of the tradition that. We tend to draw on as well.

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Sermon_102311.mp3

That's pretty heady stuff. Tell me the song that. Video that clip from the. Through the wormhole. Second season first episode. Some of our modern sages have said about the issues of death. Woody allen says that it's not that i'm afraid to die i just want to be there when it happens. Humorist james thurber i said if. I have any beliefs about immortality is that certain dogs i have known will go to heaven and very very few persons. And mark twain. Says that when i think of the number of disagreeable people that i know who have gone to a better world. I am sure he'll won't be so bad at all. A lot of us were raised with. Either religious or socially. Traditional views of heaven and the idea of. The great white father in the sky sort of a protestant zeus. And also the idea perhaps of pitchfork wielding devil's etc. How many of us now halloweentime dinner montero being see a lot of those kinds of images in the public forum. Alanis these images were. Uses form of abuse. And many of this often rejected these. Images these concepts in our lives and spiritual. Searching. Consequently a lot of us had sort of put the whole idea of. Is there an afterlife or not. And what is that mean on hold pending further data. Or i maybe have come to. Less orthodox conclusions. What i like about our tradition is that. We embrace. So many sources of truth and understanding. Including and especially science. And that it's not unusual for us to be talking about. The newest scientific discoveries or theories in our churches. When i was a student at meadville lombard theological school i went back through the records. Orphan as a library assistant and i would find some of these sermons ever preached. 100 150 years before by some others in chicago and others. And they often had because they didn't have computers that often taken magazines and clipped out articles or books and cut out article. Pasted into their sermon. That we would be appalled by all of this but. So and they were often citing the most current scientific understanding of their day to try and make sense of the world. For themselves and for their community. That is a lot of what we are engaged with. And this is true also of the issues of. Consciousness awareness. And the possibilities for a rational or scientific lisa states affordable. Understanding of a possible life. After. This physical life. Stuart hameroff who you saw there. Was is a hispanic university of arizona tucson. And he was a professor of the department of anesthesiology. And psychology. And associate director for the center for consciousness studies. Both in 1999 and then recently in 2003 he became professor emeritus. For anesthesiology and psychology. The man he also talked about sir rodger. Penrose. Sure there. British. Mathematician and physicist. Has written numerous works and. British a wide range of. Groundbreaking. Work. The siri which the two of them. When they came together produced has an interesting name and i actually had to try and find it cuz they were using it so much as jargon. That i had to try to track down but it actually meant. It's called orchestrated objective reduction. Quantum coherence in brain microtubules. No wonder they use a cash price for it. It's called pork for orchestrated or model of consciousness. Ors. The objective reduction. Ability of quantum particles. To switch back and forth. Camera says at first glance at least. Reality like consciousness a dualistic. In our everyday classical world matter and energy are predictable and well-behaved. Following newton's laws of motion and maxwell's equations for electromagnetics. However at small that is atomic scale. Governed by quantum theory. Everything changes. And behaviors are so strange. The american physicist richard cinnamon. Once commented that anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy. In the quantum realm and beyond in between quantum and classical world remains a mystery. Objects may exist in the quantum realm. It may just in two or more states. Four places at the same time. Simultaneously more like waves and particles and governed by a quantum wave function. Tell. Lest your eyes glazed over i've read the papers that they seem to come from and when i get to the mathematics my eyes roll up in my head. So this is the easy stuff so i'm going to try and. Break it down here. For talking about is. Property is a quantum level. 4 things to have multiple stacy there particle or wave. And to be in different places at the same time. Hand. Interesting stuff. Property of multiple coexisting possibilities known as. Quantum superposition. Persist until the superposition is measured which means basically it's not one thing or the other until something with a consciousness looked at it. And then it makes up its mind. One thing or the other. We know this is not this all sounds very speculative and very kind of alice in wonderland. This is proven science. We know this. Is the way things function of potawatomi. Knowledge. And at least jonas in. All sorts of. Laboratory experiments. Use an automatic measuring device. The quantum state doesn't change with an automatic measuring device into a conscious being. Look at the measurements. On the mechanical measuring device. So there's an interesting connection already there between the issue of consciousness. And quantum states. These are measurable things. Only when. Only then does the supervision of multiple possibilities reduce collapse or actualize does it become what it is. Tell him you're familiar with the story of schrodinger's cat. This way i have a headcount. Alright. Trying to get short and simple this is a lot if you watch any sitcoms anymore like big bang theory you're going to hear about schrodinger's camelot. Schrodinger was a physicist in the early part of the twentieth century. King of authority experiments the basically said. He got a cat in the box. Ivette poison there. And. That you never know. Weather in electron has. Set office poison or not. Because of the probability of that is both yes and no at the same time. It's on off. And so. As long as we don't actually look in on the cat. The cat is both alive and dead at the same time. Okay. This paradox but the moment we. Try to measure or ascertain if. The poison has been triggered of the cat is alive or dead then. The cat is either alive or dead before then it's only a potential. And annette state of potentiality. At the same time. That's the way the quantum world works. It's about probabilities. Until we gauge with it directly with consciousness and then it becomes in actuality. For the probability collapses into an actuality. Okay. I'm seeing a lot of nodding some hedges circling himself catch me yes no maybe who cares. Alright. Alright so schrodinger's cat. Cocktail party conversation. Only the point where we engage with it. Does introduce collapsar actualize or to zord ecohair to a specific particular. Classical state. Does it manifest in the state that we can't apprehend it directly. In weight more newtonian concept. Another quantum property. That was mentioned in the video is called entanglement. For quantum coherence. In which components of the system become unified. Governed by one common quantum wave function. If one member of an entangled system is measured or preserved. Other members are instantly affected. Even over great distances. So underlined that is in a standing that quantum particles once i have been in contact with each other or part of. Have been entangled with each other no matter how far apart in time and space they are separated they will. Interact with each other. Faster than speed of light. Instantaneous. Communication. It sounds preposterous. Put this is scientifically validated information. The world. At its core is far weirder and more mysterious than he generally think of on a day-to-day basis. And this is where things just are getting kind of while. So then when they're in groups or as part of a. Ruben they become partners with a cold wave function. It showed that one thing in asset is changed or changes all of them so. I think i'm a little more simple terms. Inhuman system human beings are together. We know that psychologically the wavy effect. Change in a system if you change the way we interact with that system. Some of us who have co-defendant issues trying to make other parts of the system change. Changing ourselves. That doesn't work very well. But the way we know we can effect change in the system is to. Make change on herself and therefore there's a ripple effect in the system. So that maybe way to kind of think about it no more humans fail. But think about this. This sounds like magic. Right harry. He does it sounds like magic when i years ago when i was mistaken community i study. Consider the classical laws of magic this sounds like a contagion. Once in contact always in contact. Now we talked about this issue of microtubules. And this is the type of skeletal system for at the cellular level. What. Hammer off says about them he says the operation of microtubules. Are remarkably complex and their role pervasive in cellular off your operations. He faxed me to the speculation that computation sufficient for consciousness. Might somehow be occurring there. Hammer of argue that these super mural. Cytoskeleton. Components. Subdural smaller than iran. Cytoskeletal cell skeleton. Components parts. Come to be the basic units of processing rather than the neurons themselves. Again just firing one like billiard balls. Hitting each other and shooting electrons down the line. A little boost. But what. We're looking at possibly here is the idea that the processing. Is really happening in a much deeper structural level. A more complex one. Shamrock. Collaborator british mathematician and physicist sir rodger penrose saw the principles. A quantum theory. As providing alternative processes through which consciousness could arrive. Have you guys are coming up the stuff from two different directions. At the same time. And eventually connect the dots. But penrose said is he argued that nan. Algorithmic process. So it's not a mathematical formula. You can't get there through math. In the brain required a new form of quantum wave reduction. Later given the name objective reduction. Which would fit could link the brain to fundamental space-time geometry in other words the rest of the universe. Okay. So you saying that our consciousness. To quantum. Functions could be connected to the rest of the universe facetime geometry the scientific jargon for. Everything else it is. You guys met 1992. And. Hamrock suggested to penrose that the microtubules might hardware and software. Okay. Penrose is bringing in the software and hamroff is bringing in the hardware. He's at the microtubules at the cellular level. And penrose just got the information coming in. About quantum. Function work. And the two of them are putting their put things together here. Penrose was interested in the mathematical features of the microtubule. Head over the following two years they collaborated. Had formulated what is now known as the orc or he orchestrated. Objective reduction model. Consciousness. Penrose has written a number of books and so has hammurabi. So if you really want to read about this stuff. You can also google. Hameroff. For quantum consciousness. And you will find websites especially one at the center for consciousness studies. That has paper after paper after paper on it that are free. And you can just. Go crazy. So there is a lot of information about this stuff readily available out there once we know what we're looking for. This is wonderful and strange probably hard to apprehend and i'm still just. Panama trying to give you. Indigestion process. I think the patients are fairly dramatic series are proven true as hameroff said in the video that so far you know since the early-mid 90s. They're calling it and they haven't succeeded. So far the literature is supporting them. Head back nudist garbage consoling they like the one about. Plant photosynthesis. Is actually a quantum computing process. Done in a warm environment warm moist environment that can't be done in a warm moist environment. 12 or finding out was it actually does happen already in plants and ambient temperature. The problem is replicated artificially. 0. Celsius environment. Because we just don't know what we're doing. Trying to replicate. Nature. So the implications are that. Wavy thought we think. Isn't the way we think. Hey the way our brains. Okay. This challenges us has universal has to be open to new revelation. Which is a big part of what we say we are about. We have to be open to possibilities we also have to be skeptical because yous are skeptical or slightly cynical sense sometimes about. Making sure we don't get. Holding to the newest idolatry. But it is a true the possibilities are a mess. What it means is that. Subjective. Human experience may in fact have bases in science fact. Such as remote viewing. Of things of objects. All sorts of things we consider quote paranormal normal. Are supra-normal. So this opens up the whole issue of mysticism. Hard. Yule wall that we put up between science and. Mysticism. Is again punctured and pierced. I just work stuff future copper did. In the 1970s and 80s. That the world of quantum behavior and. But we understand as subjective and even mystical state. May. One in the same. That there may be a form of. Conscious existence. Following. The demise of our physical bodies. But that means we don't know it's all again but we're trying to figure that out i mean if the near-death experience is a consequence of these. Quantum function. How quickly does it dissipate. Or. Is the work in reincarnation theory and in statistical studies have been done in this. The show that in non-developer cultures. That people read that the issue of reincarnation actually happens within very plus gym. Geographic location. So that people who have. Mclane children's specialty incarnated. Often do it within a 20 mile radius. House where the person died who they claim to be reincarnated. Brinkernation. Citizens mean that these quantum field kind of. Down stairway along and then. Reintegrate. Only find another set of microtubules inflammation. Columbus do another information. Fascinating stuff to think about here. Is it one the other or all of them. But i think what it means for us ultimately we can no longer afford to out-of-hand dismiss the possibilities. They're brought to us. Some people have. Subjective. Experiences. That are not explainable otherwise. Yes we can be skeptical. We must be skeptical. And in the absence of other scientific proof we have to go with the best knowledge we can go with that the time. We cannot allow people subjective experiences to make injected claims on us. Without objective proof. But it does raise for us a very significant issue. As unitarian universalist. Coming out of history in our own theology culturally. We're over the last 50 to 60 years we've had a fairly. Atheistic 180sx hunting right word agnostic. You basically kind of deferred without further data. It will now we have further day. We have. More information. As unitarian universalist one of the things we do is reduce a very commonly that. And. Cuz it's whatever happens to one of us happens to all of them. So it's important to know what happened. That we are all a part of this great. Cosmic democracy. How does that look. I want to close with a quote from. Hammer off of stuart hameroff that was at the end of the entire program. How to get a list of all of the implications. I think forward here. The time of year war approaching all souls next week. I think about things you've lost your member of our own community. Personal losses. Heather clicked on what these things mean for us. Catalina lawson-fenning what it means for us to live our lives on a daily basis. Camera says. I think the quantum approach to consciousness can in principle explain why we're here. And what our purpose is. And also the possibility of life after death and reincarnation. And persistence of consciousness. After our bodies give. We need one another. Life and death and we are not cut off from each other even after death. Pederasty quantum processes. Public assistance. True or seventh principle the interconnected web of all existence of which we are apart that sounds very much. We affirm this reality no matter how we view death or an afterlife we are always connected to each other. President connection is through atomic structures are part of the cycles of nature. What year did the bible of the spirit in heaven of all souls or through some form of reincarnation. For many others that we can explore speculate on this side of the event horizon of that mystery. We are part of a world. Community. A cosmic community stretching backwards and forwards through generations to theon. We do not die alone we live not alone we exist together. Not alone. However we understand death. And whatever exists beyond its mysteries. We are each other. In this life. 1040 trinity. I meant.

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Reading_042813.mp3

Are reading this morning is from a book called loving what is. 4 questions that can change your life by byron katie. Yes that is the order of her name byron katie. Katie byron. Process of inquiry. Diary. That she refers to as the work now i find that title myself a little presumptuous or kind of little. You know don't work anytime somebody put the definite article in front of something i'm suspicious. But. I find that a lot of what she has to offer is very powerful and so i'm going to read you just a little bit actually. From the beginning of. The book that she calls the few basic principles and the later on the sermon. We'll be talking more about. She says what i love about the work is that it allows you to go inside and find your own happiness. To experience what already exists within you. Unchanging immovable ever-present ever waiting. No teacher is necessary. You are the teacher you've been waiting for. You were the one who can end your own suffering. I don't say. I often say don't believe anything i say. I want you to discover what's true for you. Not for me. Still many people have found the following principles to be helpful for getting started in the work. Noticing when your thoughts argue with reality. This is a central concept here. This is much harder than you think. The only time we suffer is when we believe a thought that argues with what is. The only time we suffer is when we believe i thought that argues with what is. When the mind is perfectly clear. What is is what we want. If you want reality to be different than it is you might as well try to reach to teach a cat to bark. You can try and try and in the end look at look at you and say meow. Wanting reality to be different than it is is hopeless. You can spend the rest of your life trying to teach a cat to bark. And yet. If you pay attention you notice that you think thoughts like this dozens of times a day. My neighbors should take better care of their lawn. The lines at grocery store should move faster. My husband or wife should agree with me. I should be center or prettier and more successful. Those thoughts are ways of wanting reality to be different than it is. If you think that this sounds depressing you're right. All the stress. That we feel is caused by arguing with what is. After i woke up to reality in 1986 people often referred to me as a woman who made friends with the wind. Barstow is a desert town where the wind blows a lot of the time and everyone hated it. People even move from there because i couldn't stand the wind. The reason i made friends with the wind with reality. Is that i discovered i didn't have a choice. I realize that it's insane to oppose it. When i argue with reality i lose. But only 100% of the time. How do i know if the wind should blow. It's blowing. People new to the work often say to me but it would be disempowering to stop my argument with reality. I simply accept all become passive i may even lose the desire to act. I answer them with a question can you really know that's true. Which is more empowering. I wish i had lost my job or i lost my job. What can i do now. The work reveals that what you think should have happened should have happened. He should have happened because it did. And no thinking in the world. Can change it. This doesn't mean that you condone it. Or approve it. It just means that you can see things without resistance without the confusion of your inner struggle. No one wants their children to get sick no one wants to be in a car accident but when these things happen how could it be helpful to mentally argue with them. We know better than to do that. Yet. We do it. Because we don't know how to stop. I am a lover of what is. Not because i'm a spiritual person because it hurts when i argue with reality. We can know that reality is good just as it is because when we argue with it we experienced tension and frustration. When we don't. Feel natural or balanced. When we stop opposing reality action become simple fluid kind and fearless. She said she can find only three kinds of business in the universe mine yours and gods. And for those who don't believe in god it's only two. And she says that for her the word god means reality. Reality is god because it rules. Anytime anything that's out of my control your control and everyone else's. I call that god's business. Much of our stress comes from mentally living out of our own business. But i think you need you need to get a job i want you to be happy you should be on time you need to take better care of yourself. And it isn't familiar. I am in your business. I'm worried about earthquakes blood war. Or will i when will i die i am in business. If i am mentally in your business or in god's business the effect is separation. I noticed this in early 1986 when i mentally went into my mother's business rating apple with a thought like my mother should understand me. This is familiar. I'm meeting the experience a feeling of loneliness. If you are living your life and i am mentally living your life. Who is living mine. We both over there we are both over there. Be mentally in your business keeps me from being present. I am separate from myself wondering why my life. Doesn't work. And i know what's best for anyone else is to be out of my business. Even in the name of love it is pure arrogance. And the result is tension anxiety and fear. Do i know what's right for me. That is my only business. Let me work with that before i try to solve your problems for you. Jesus said something along these lines about you take a splinter out of the log out of your own eye before you pull a splinter out of somebody else's. If you understand the three kinds of business enough to say stay in your own business it could free your life in a way that you can't even imagine. The next time you're feeling stress or discomfort ask yourself who's business you're in mentally. And you made burst out laughing. The question can bring you back to yourself. And you may come to see that you've never really been present. That you've been mentally living in other people's business all your life. And if you practice it for a while you may come to see that you don't have any business either. And that your life runs perfectly well on its own. I want to share this last piece with you she says meeting our thoughts with understanding in this is also critical is harmless. A thought is harmless. Unless we believe it. It's not our thought. But the attachment to our thoughts. That causes suffering. The sounds vaguely buddhist. Attaching to a thought means believing that if true. Without inquiring. Now to do something without inquiring is supposed to be blasphemy for unitarian universalist. A belief is a thought. That we've been attached to often for years. Most people think that they are what their thoughts tell them. They are. She says one day i noticed that i wasn't breathing. I was being breathed. Then i also noticed to my amazement that i wasn't thinking. I was actually being fought and that thinking isn't personal. Do you wake up in the morning and say to yourself i think i won't think today. Too late. You're already thinking thoughts just appear they come out of nothing and go back to nothing like clouds moving across an empty sky. They come to pass not to stay. There is no harm in them until we attached to them as if they were true. No one has ever been able to control his thinking although many people tell the story of how they have. I don't let go of my thoughts i meet them with understanding. Then they let go. Of me. Author like the breeze or the leaves on the trees where the raindrops falling. They appear like that through inquiry we can make friends with them. Would you argue with a raindrop. Raindrops are personal and neither our thoughts. Once a painful concept is met with understanding the next time it appears you may find it interesting. What used to be the nightmare is now just interesting. The next time it appears you may find it funny. The next time you may not even notice it. This is the power of loving what is. That sounds are reading.

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Sermon_062611.mp3

Begin the sermon a few words from donald harrington. Preaching on unitarian-universalism yesterday today and tomorrow. May 23rd. 1960. He said. We stand tonight at such a milestone. One that is partly an uber. Partly a commencement. Hartley a kind of marriage. Which also involve. The degree of death. An end of things which have been precious to us. Institutions with which we have been lovingly familiar. It is this which makes this milestone moments. A living moment of truth. The time to remember. A season for home. And say. Delegates of the various herniation. The american unitarian association and universalist church of america. Adjust voted to become one face. Unitarian universalist. Association. A year later in 1961 officially began their walk together as one body at their first. General assembly. No we honor the 50th anniversary of the association because it was the birth of a new face. We need to see how far we've come. We need to understand what might come with us. Into those next 50 years and beyond. What is history. Victor hugo. An echo of the past in the future. A reflex from the future on the past. If we are to have a future let us listen. Do the echoes of the past especially since. I know that past is not so long ago for some of us. To one degree or another. So let us listen to a few of the many stories of struggle and celebration. The come together in this liberal pay. Conversation between the unitarians and the universal started you know 100 years earlier. When the difference between the two didn't even seem that far back. We back in the 1850s. Linda even those differences gradually diminished over that century. Never have showing themselves to be a reflex of the future. It was the youth groups. Are the respective churches that first emerged. In the 1950s. Are we good to know who is coming to the party in 1961. The workhorse the unitarians. They're part of the religious establishment in new england and will was kind of fond of it. Wanted to stay there. But they also they focused on reason. Theological statements of definition because they knew how that could divide. The church they knew they had a wide range. They didn't want to make onesie logical stayton. They were also of the educated and social elite. They were growing slowly. Bonita department. Now the universalist. Were diminishing. After being one of the largest states in this land of the 1800s. Now they. On the other hand felt called towards tolerance. Based on all-inclusive nature of the whole. And also they feel danny. To define their theological position to make them distinct. From other face. The universal is also pay more from the working class from the farmers and the laborers and placed more emphasis on evangelism. And preaching. Then on the divinity school education. So they've been a long history of cooperation and shared resources between the two. The union of. The both of them would strengthen the whole institution of liberal religion and enlarge its voice in society this is where people were saying yes we should become one. But that wasn't those were the only people weren't the only parties in this there was a another a writer to propose that there was a third group. Holly olbrich. We studied the layla carnations both traditions proposes that these that there was a third voice in this merger. There were the kardashians that were those that were lele. They added their own sense of freedom. In the form of worship and empowerment ablaze leadership and all aspects occur occasionally life. No. On the other side of it this also added ascertain. Hesitation. Around ministers. Even a little distrust. Of the clergy on occasion born out of the independence enjoyed by these communities. You can imagine a really interesting party this is going to be. They were indeed to main concern. One that universalism would be absorbed into unitarianism. Simply by virtue of its smaller size. And the second. The very real. Knowledge that neither body would exist as it once was this was going to be a new. Entirely new creature. What did they all bring. That they share. They all brought. Long-established hallmark store liberal religion. Freedom. Reason. Intolerance. They all brought this. That was 1961. And wouldn't you know that this new faith had a chance to show its stuff. Not too long after work. This is course with the beginning of the 1960s and in 1965 there came that call from ministers to march in selma alabama. Favor of voting and civil rights for african-americans for all. Really. The unitarian universalist ministers responded in greater numbers than in any other faith in actual and proportional. And they marched. One night. In those marches three of those ministers left. The diner in selma and sarge walk back to the central gathering point of brown chapel. And they were taunting and then attacked from behind. Two days later james reid. White minister serving washington d.c. died of his injuries. And response. Response was a great cry from across the continent and the appearance of even more ministers from all face to participate in those protests in alabama. History shows us days after reed's death president lyndon johnson sign the civil rights act and sent it to congress. But you know it is also important to know. At the death. One minister while it might have been a catalyst. Was once again the death of a white man. Made the difference. Not the death of a black man such as that. Jimmie lee jackson. The head inspired the marches in the first place. As far as many were concerned the whole event. Going to yet again to the racism of our country. And of the state. Disney. I didn't get better from there for a little while. Few years after that the black empowerment controversy showed how deep those divisions still remain. And i come to this part of the story with a. A cautious because even tried to tell any part of it. Comes with the assumption that somebody will be offended so i will offend somebody and. I apologize. Calicos. Calling racial relations in society have been growing towards segregation not integration. So that those who were not white could take their charge and their leadership. Violence has been escalating and the non-violence of rev dr martin luther king jr was waning. Deadly riots 1967 inspired unitarian universalist leaders to call a meeting to find a way to respond. To the spice islands. And in the course of that meeting glass participants left. The organization to. Cells together and they came back with demands. A recognition and money so they could leave their way. Some blacks and whites were against the use of such an ultimatum. But in the course of things demands were met. Unfortunately they ended up being changed. Later due to new information about the poor condition of the association. Finances. You can imagine yes you have the money out note we got to take it back. Imagine how that went over even if it was actually. In that time. Many. Black fluffy association in that moment including a youth who would later become the association president. Filthy frank. Because this. Reversal. Was a show of that white diamond. The reverend mark morrison reid points out in his book black pioneers in a white denomination. We do not stand. Above the social attitudes of our time. As we are prone to believe. We do not stand. About the social attitudes of our times. But instead flounder about in their midst like everyone else. And indeed we flounder. And the feelings of that time still run high. Yes we have made progress. Bill cipher. Came back. And into this day and became the first african american president. Obvious sociation. Jefferson anti-racism an auntie oppression and multiculturalism refining you waze. 2 offered information and transformation. I'm putting a little plug. The allies for racial equity conference is next february at 1st jefferson in fort worth be there. Either. The course is not just the race relations. The challenge and showed all that was. Could end. In development universalism. We were deep in the social attitudes of the time. When the question also turns women's liberation. In the emergents range of expression for sexual orientation. The 1970s. Women numbered 5% of the ministry 5%. In the 1970s. In 1977 the women and religion resolution. Called for everyone to address gender discrimination. Tell you. Someone who is born in that time. It was a radical prove to be a radical shift in our society and in the state because i grew up not wondering if i could become a minister because of my gender. I had no question about. There might have been other questions. But it was not about you. And now more than half. The ministry are women and ask them so for use. Addition to ministry women were active in the social issues of the day it was the women's alliance at first unitarian church in dallas that raise funds to support the case of roe versus wade. Women alliance acting up. And the women's gatherings and exploration spirituality and the female divine. Contributed to that widening religious and spiritual language that we going on in the association. You know the added water to me. That in most carnations. We used to martha nutrition as an ingathering of. All these different people of all these different places. To come together once again. Society also rumbled questions about sexual orientation in the treatment of people who identify as bisexual gay lesbian transgender. Treatment of them as second-class citizens if. At all. And i hear tell that. Adolescent sex education class about your sexuality was launched in 1971. It communicated acceptance of same-gender relationships and i remember this class i took this. I had the film strips. They were there. Different orientations were treated as normal. In 1971. By this church. Later youtuber association anti-oppression efforts were extended beyond race to offer an offers on office of queer concerns. Several unitarian universalist were among the plaintiffs. Who successfully won the right for same gender marriage in massachusetts for that started a watershed did enough. Trouble. The nurses ongoing efforts for the right to marry in every state. Hooting. New york we got 11 this weekend. All of these movements and involvement again all express. R-value. And our challenge living up. What is. The forest church calls the better angels of our nature. There's also need to talk about that. The theological movement. Going on. In the current issue of the uu world magazine. Utor offers a definition of spirituality. He says spirituality is an awareness of the gap between what you experience. And what you can describe. Spirituality is an awareness of the gap. Between what you experience. And what you can describe. Any kids is a useful definition particulate something that is nearly impossible to accurately. And to understand the deeply subjective experience. That it is as well as. To try to define a word that is so broad that use that some feel it is without me. No religion is the path. Spirituality is following the path. More and more of our conversation in the association has been how do we follow the path. The conversation about spirituality has been growing over the past decades both to the joy and the concern. Of many again we are of the culture. And spirituality has been a growing interest. Especially in the years. Sitting up to the millennium now the repast that way beyond. Is warren ross puts it. The turning point in the religious emphasis in the nomination came gradually. In 19 in 1986. The association president bill schultz liver a sermon that use language like none of his predecessors. Kd 6's has 25 years after the association start he says religion. Is still in his cherished standard. Reason. Reason is still a cherished standard in our religious repertoire. But reason is coming to be supplement. By our immediate apprehension of the holy. And by our conviction that the holy is embodied in the abundance of the scarred. Creation. Reason is coming to be supplemented. Why are immediate apprehension of the whole. It is this rediscovery. Spirituality a greater value a woman's experience a new openness to eastern buffet. The practice and a growing disillusionment with materialism. It is a rediscovery. Are the reflections of the beliefs of the transcendentalist. Or even the essence of universal. It is a rediscovery inspired by other sources to those neo-pagan an earth-centered practices that have made their way into our churches. Spirituality. At the time of. Especially at this time of the night 86 last two decades has been viewed with suspicion he was one of our moderators back in that time called spirituality of fat 25 years ago. Or even more reflective ministers work he was concerned about it becoming a path to self-absorption and a way a call from from being active in the world and a shape a better society that we would be drawn from that participation in the. Hanging out with our belly buttons all over again. Yet. The transformation has been in progress for at least. When was a recipe for 10 years before bills sermon in 1986 he was expressing what is been going on. What it was a work-in-progress jean picon. Express in his presidency in 1979. He said the old watchwords of liberalism. Freedom reason and tolerance worthy though they maybe you're simply not catching the imagination of the contemporary world. They describe a process for approaching the religious death. But they testify to know intimate acquaintance with the deadspin snow they describe the process. Don't say what it is like to be there. Happy for his ear before they changed her to come show up. In our society and in the state. The conversation was a an either-or conversation. Get a change of face would be viewed as replacing or supplanting. The question was whether one was a humanist dorothea's is one of religious nuts or not. You know. What was so hard in the servants a bold-faced actually was intellectual stimulation and emotionally neutral examination conversation of statement. What's happening here what is happening in the world of spirituality in this conversation in our language the language of reverence talk about by bill sing for me. Is a supplement. It's not a supplanting it is not a replacing it is a supplement. It is part of the postmodern shift away from specific categories expressing human interaction and diversity our global relations. Go over the time topics and moved more away from the book report. To personal concerns and life passages in spiritual growth. How many factors. I have led into this new not the least of which of course is generational and not the least of which of course is the changes in our society. He grew up at this time i've seen this change in process embodied in a car gation struggling to navigate this. Many adults in the current gation how to clear challenge with spiritual or religious language and yet. At language didn't seem so odd to you. Once i storage read and think a little more independent. It wasn't this foreign tongue to be reacted against. As it had been for so many of the adults. Of course you know they kind of aspirin have to say you only gave me these biographies about down reading about these god-loving historic figures in my sunday school i was going to be curious. I was going to wonder about hosea ballou and his passion for creative power of love that is embodied in god for him. You know it's dangerous stuff to read. The thing. That's what they supposed to do. Increase reading think my goodness and talk now we preach. Look what happened. This spiritual exploration. I also is also i i can't leave out this part is also related to the renewal of interest in covenant. How we are connected emotionally and intellectually. How we agree. To be together. If i contract. But by our relationships. More and more i wonder about the nature of covenant. Remembers and friends and all that is. I'm not alone it's more and more people are coming in and do not have the baggage the spiritual religious baggage. They're not reacting to that typical personal history they want spiritual exploration and relationship and we can talk about covenant is way that we could all be part of that conversation together. So now it is now. Warren roth. One of our historians lifted the summary of the results of this. Association coming together. He says well. Consolidation work better-than-expected. It was interesting because he'll back in the 1960s there was no you when they were going through such a struggle i mean seriously you're not your socials are struggling financial struggles as an association they did not go back and said you know maybe we should kind of like go our separate ways again. They didn't. They didn't he said that there was not a question about that they were in it together. A few people identify as one or the other. Now. He said consolidation was inevitable. Ghostface needed to be strengthened and received that then. Terry has had some growth universalist had some money. Ensign message nick came together. And he says universalism one. Well. Somebody grew up in church i have to debate this. Universalism is awesome second name. Unitarian being just used as the shorthand frequently. Memphis has been on unitarianism for so much of those early decades. One had to intentionally seek out universalist history. Do that. In my own experience. But. Merchant this point. Religious development perhaps universalism is what is speaking to people and how to live now in this time how to be taller it how to balance mind and heart. Can you be aware of all injustice that we are all in this together for caps we are becoming. More universes. House still has make a whole lot of difference in we're still all in this together. Some of that leeches who unitarianism remains. Your what could be regained. Is that evangelism and populism. Of universalism. I think those layla carnations that third bunch remains a voice in this two-day inspire a willingness to find new ways to express our search for truth and meaning and worship and to show that even though they may be only a handful they can still do what they will do what they can do that anyway. back down. Engaged. In this world. Where am i go from here. What is history. Asked victor hugo nfl of the past in the future. And reflux from the future on the past. How many lookup a little word from donald harrington. Bespoken that 19. 60 message. He said we have achieved a union. Which is the result of more than 100 years of striving upon which generations of human life have been lavished. And which now it lasts when the time is fully ripe for it. Has come this day to completion. It is our tremendous potential. Born of the world's response to our new relevance. Austin turn by this new world need. For religion which is dynamic instead of static. Unitive instead of divisive. Universalistic instead of particular ristic. History-making rather than history bound. Dynamic. Unitive universalistic. Dynamic. You know that's not so different from what we need today. Then what it was. A 1961. we are certainly always passed. That time. You're still in the midst of religions that give. It's so easily give one another a bad name. Institution. Shrinking because fewer people attend or identify with a particular pay. But we are. Exploring forms of worship. The meaning of membership we are exploring our new theologies messages. What we have found the enduring. In these last 50 years. Still more than ever the world needs a message of hope in a place where we explore meaning and wrestle with the questions of our lives using all of us our bodies and our minds and her spirits. Let the quality of community. Be our first and last impression let us be known for her generosity of spirit giving and receiving forgiveness welcoming the stranger and the other. Far beyond the value of what we may or may not have in our wallet. What are mission. Br guide i say. What is internally guiding the congregation and that which moves us to act in the world henna turn universalism. Is denver's is a place of right relations is a place where people can connect and grow and serve and reach-in worship i am so excited. What the next. 50 years will bring i hope you will be excited and join me.

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20131201-Reading.mp3

This month we begin talking about the subjective peace hazard theme. And one of the things that that offers us is. Like culture it has a lot of different definitions. It's like art i know it when i see it. In all the research i've been able to come up with there are basically. Now in the whole study of peace. There are six basic. Frameworks that people no work from and don't worry i'm not going to give you an in-depth lecture on all of those. But what this argues is that there is a trend in peace research away from the traditional idea that pieces simply. The absence of war. Towards a more holistic view. Very very superficially. These. Types of different piece obviously there is the absence of war. Which is often referred to as negative peace. Not that it's negative but that it is something. Aaa taking away or something. I did this is seen as a prerequisite for. Any other form of peace. There's also peace as the balance of forces and international systems this is another. 1. Peace. There's also peace us- peace with positive peace which means there's no structural violence. In. The world or the society. It's what's called feminist piece which is a macro and micro-level of peace. Within the society. Came to include all types of violence barley to find against people from the individual to the global level arguing that is necessary condition for a peaceful planet. There is the holistic guy apiece. Peace with the environment. That. This type of holistic peace thinking does not have a. Spiritual dimension peace being defined in terms of all forms of physical violence against people and the environment. And then the last one is holistic inner and outer. And this sixth view of peace. Cease interesa tarik spiritual aspects of peace as essential. Spiritually based peace theory stresses the centrality of inner peace. Believing that all aspects of outer peace from the individual to the environmental levels must be based. On inner peace. As in frederick operas. The dollar physics where new paradigms of physics resonate with the worldviews found in eastern mysticism. This new paradigm in peace research resonates with much thinking and world spiritual. And religious traditions. Summarizing to say that peace has truly become indivisible. The moving from that. More. De language. Maya angelou's poem called amazing peace in our reading. Hear what she has to say. In our joy. We think we hear a whisper. At first it is too soft. Then only have heard we listen. Carefully as it gathers strength we hear a sweetness. The word is peace. It is loud now louder than explosions of bombs we tremble at the sound we are thrilled by its presence. It is what we have hungered for. Not just the absence of war but true. Peace. A harmony of spirit and comfort of courtesies. Security for our beloved and our beloved. We angels and mortals believers and non-believers look heavenward and speak the word aloud. Peace. We look at each other then into ourselves. And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation. Peace. My brother. Peace. My sister. Peace. My soul. This ends our readings.

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Sermon_012013.mp3

Tomorrow is the celebration of the holiday of dr. king this birthday he would be 84 this year. Hard to believe huh. Ministry at work they were. Free three of the major pillars he had many 2/3 of the major pillars. Where equity or equality. Justice. Peace. We find these. Interlinked all the time and all sorts of literature and all sorts of places if you google it you'll find them. You know mass together andreas. Waze. In a part of the reason for that. Is that they are deeply interlinked and interdependent on each other. The last week we talked about justice and i went over the four basic types of justice. That we we haven't. They're four types of justice that people can seek when they feel that they have been wrong or when they have been wrong. The first is distributive justice. We're also known as economic justice and it's basically about fairness and what people receive. I'm good too attention. Procedural justice is also about fairness. And is found in the idea of fair play as opposed to fair share in distributive justice. It's about is the basis of our understanding of due process of law. Restorative justice is about that which is an effort to try and bring things back to a state. Close or as good as they were when whatever violation. This is often we see in the form of. Remuneration for damages store. That sort of thing. Retributive justice. Retribution. Is also a part of our understanding of justice. In here in all of these is the idea of equality. And it comes out of our jewish christian influence western tradition. No peace peace. Peace is not about the absence of conflict. Because peace is something that we can try to be sustainable. The absence of conflict simply becomes a vacuum for the opportunity for more conflict. Conflict also is a normal part of our lives. Ministers are trained and in church leaders are trained in issues around church conflict. Five-point scale were given you no good girl like her scales. We're taught that. A1 and a2 level of conflict is normal for human beings to be working outside of rubbing up against each other and figuring things out and making compromises and getting through the vicissitudes of life. A three on the other hand we start. Thinking we might want to talk to somebody about this and afford is not good and five people have lawyers. And are intent on each others mutual destruction. So that kind of gives you a sense of things. Churches or any community that has no conflict i get worried. Are people here because they're either a line. They're oblivious b. Or there's something really bad happening underneath that. They don't understand. Or they will be soon. So conflict is a normal part of our lives. So pieces not the apps. Conflict. But peace is generally considered to be an absence of violence and coercion. And hence challenges even the use of things like state-sanctioned violence. Inversion is the death penalty. And acts of war. When the best descriptions of a peace and war lyrical form i found is in our hymnal actually and it was written by students from the lincoln school which is quaker base twin girls call a girls school notnot college the girls school they can use the word girls. In the chicago area is pretty amazing place. And this is something they put together a number of years ago. They say the peace means the beginning of a new world. Peace means the nations are friends it means a joy to the world. Peace is quiet and calm it is rest it is silence after a storm. It is love and friendship. It is the world's dream of dreams. Peace brings comfort and happiness it brings bread to the hungry it brings prosperity to the nations. It means the strong respect the week. The great respect the small and the many respect the few. It is like spring after winter. Hey bring sunshine into the world. It is like sweet music after harsh sounds. I would say in my own experience that. Not only should we strive for a world where there is less violence that if we do not strive for world war after those things have been at the end of violence or reduction has been attained. We're not striving also to feed the hungry and clothe naked and do those other things which we are called to do. Then we are not achieving peace. Achieving assistant cessation in hostilities. Dr. king had a great dedication 2. Listen. Especially around the vietnam war which was the central issue. Facing much of the country at that time as well as. The. Rights of those of minorities. Did he hide it during intimately to the issues of social and economic and racial justice. Because most of the people going and dying we're poor black men. Poor poor white men were poor latinos. This has been an issue ironically that has been removed from our social consciousness by the way in which we conduct war now with a volunteer. Professional force. And this is something that rachel maddow actually wrote a very lol. I'm forgetting the title. But it's highly regarded and by people in all sorts of fronts. Politically and. Socially. So. It has great implications for our engagement with. The state sanctioning of things a violence. In our name. When we don't have any personal skin in the game. Dr. king was dedicated to the use of non-violence. Paula gandhi and thoreau. And in that his reasoning is at the ends only have the qualities of the processes that birth them. And this is also a fundamental character of liberal religion and the. Does liberalism little l in general. Radicalism is the understanding that you may have an end and any means is justifiable. So you have radicals on the right and on the left in the center in the back in the front. Anyone who says the end justifies the means. Mayan of itself. Is a radical. They may not like that label but that's the philosophical and. Sociological definition. Liberal little l. Is about understanding that the process we engage in to achieve something must have integrity authenticity. In it in order to. Come to an end that is sustainable and. Dependable. Now in. All the things that we are. Dealing with right now in our society a couple of things have jumped up recently in our face things that doctor came dealt with all the time. My observations about these events are my observations. First one is the. Gun violence at sandy hook. Connecticut. Facebook has been a very interesting place to be recently in my family. And in my friends and associates. Because many of them are. Strong libertarian or. Strongly believe that the second amendment was written first. Before genesis. And there is great fear. Imedis parts that. Perhaps the liberals and moderates in the country will do two guns what they have already done to abortion rights. The nation has been galvanized to a certain degree. Around all of these issues and it's good that we should have these things raised before us because it's about darn time. But the reality is there are hundreds and thousands killed with guns every week and every year across the country. It was the same before. Connecticut and it was the same now after. And thousands of those people were schoolchildren. Who are killed by guns every year in this country. So what was different about the murders in a connecticut i have to ask myself as someone trained and social sciences what are the variables here what's different. Well the biggest difference besides the mass killing in one place at one time which creases we had this great in tremendous impact as suddenness. Rather than piecemeal over longer times and distances. The difference is that those who were killed were white and middle-class. That was the fundamental difference. Poor as all of the others who were killed. Otherwise we're generally poor. And of darker skins. Historically there's nothing new in that dynamic somehow something should grab our attention. In the country because of the nature of who it was that was affected by it. A member of the southern christian leadership conference the uu minister the reverend james reid. Went to selma. To join protest for african american voting rights following attacks by state troopers and sheriff's deputies. On the nonviolent demonstrators in march 7th of 1965. And after eating dinner at a local cafe with two of his colleagues. Reverend or lost. And. Reverend freeman. They were attacked by and beaten by white men armed with clubs. James reid suffered massive head injuries and died in a birmingham hospital two days later. His death resulted in a national outcry guess activities of white racist in the deep south. Given the many lynchings of blacks in the 19th and 20th century and other violence against activists. Some blacks expressed indignation that it took the death of a white man national outcry. When jimmie lee jackson was shot dead by police in marion alabama two weeks earlier while protecting his mother from a beating his case attracted less national attention. President lyndon b johnson declared the events in selma as an american tragedy. He said there should have strengthened people should termination you're being full and equal and exact justice to all of our people. And johnson's voting rights proposals reached congress the monday after james reeves death. It was passed by the both houses of congress. Cimaroli's ekkk murder of a white you you'll a woman viola liuzzo. Who was shot to death as she drove activists back to their respective homes. Added to the outrage and pressure to pass the voting rights act so he had to. White people. Killed. They created a greater outcry then all of the other killings. So while i'm heartened to see the rise in the profile of gun violence. And a mental health issues. In the press and international debate i remain a more more reserved in my assessment. Of how we are doing on issues of racial and economic equality and justice in this country. This is a reminder that whenever somebody says over you free color blindness. Yeah right. Racism is generally defined as. Prejudice plus power. And we are prejudice against various things that we may not have much power to do anything about it. Current efforts are now focused on issues of institutional racism. Both in our association and in other places. We not recognize that institutions are generally the carriers of cultural racist encoding. And other nodes of collective power. Therefore it is necessary for us to both change ourselves and change. How we interact and behave in institutions as we have to change the institutions themselves. It is. Our intent as a religious community, nancy racist multicultural institution. This is not something we do a program and achieve and get a certificate for this is an ongoing process that will go on and on. And on. As unitarian universalist our goal is not to just create a religious community which is racially diverse which is a very nice thing to think about becoming. Our goal is to change our world. Now in systems theory. Which is used in psychology and sociology. It is almost a truism that you cannot change the system directly without first changing yourself. And how you participate. In that system. Everybody who's been through 12 step programs this sounds very familiar. Change yourself and you will change the system know what that means for those who might be in recovery if you change yourself the system reacts to that change it doesn't usually like it. So we begin the work of ending racism by changing ourselves as individuals. And as congregations and as a religion and as local community and so on each affecting the other recognizing that we are probably rocking somebody's boat in the process. Why be an anti-racist instead of just being non-racist. Well because racism is a pernicious evil which denies inherent worth and dignity of ourselves and our brothers and sisters seeking to cut us off from one another. Simply being non-racist if it's possible. Would be like simply not being a nazi and 1939 germany. Only being auntie nazi would have made any difference. Anything less than active engagement and opposition. Is acquiescence tacit approval. And participation. The center of our religious faith. Is the reality of relationship. Relationship to each other to the universe to the holy. However we understand it. All of our principles and purposes declare this an impact the implications for us as meg pointed out in our reading earlier. Any idea if y'all had your actions which would shut people out cut them off from each other or hold one to be of less value than another is wrong. This message. Is our charge and our salvation. We need to look at our transgressions in light of this to admit them to grieve them to seek reconciliation with each other and ourselves in this community within our covenant. In which we have covenanted. Together. In contrast to being a generally occurs. In most congregations in this country and contrasted being a white ethnic church. The most churches are gathered around ethnicity. Are african-american brothers and sisters have shown us there was a powerful alternative but it requires us to stand up for ourselves and stop hiding behind our forbearers legitimacy. We like to talk about our pedigree. You know as unitarian universalist because. Something to be proud of. Except we find out they did things we're not so proud of. You know like those of us who go me go to ancestry.com and things like this then you find out. Well that's interesting war. Or she was playing around with somebody else because the pregnancy days just don't work out with the divorce. Or you know you start looking at people's lives and you know you start realizing some of your ancestors were real smocks. They were not necessarily nice people. We must become. A religious community vich articulates its message of worth and dignity and connectedness. As well as our vision of world made fair by our efforts. Are timeless and timely message must speak for itself. And so must we. So how open is our door. So far probably not very open. Yes better than most but nowhere near the place that we wish to stand and if we are to become the kind of church of all souls that we can be in desire to be. Then we must face ourselves and wrestle with and bless ourselves in the woods. Are racist history and institutions that we participate in and that we gain by. By walking our walk with ourselves and by changing ourselves we will. Be able to change the institutions. With disempower and hurt our family and our friends and our neighbors a color as well as hurt us. And we talked about our family our friends are neighbors of color this is the real statement. I have many family members by blood. Who have darker skin than i do. Because of their ancestry. And have. Hispanic last names. And have nappy hair. So how were they affected. By all of these things. This is. Family were talking a. How many of you have similar things or know people who do. Or have friends who do. By talking to talk about face. We deepen our understanding of who we are individually and collectively as a welcoming religious community open to all and proclaiming. Proclaiming. Good news. Good news to those who need to hear it. How many of you have had that experience. Our mission is not to create church members no matter how desirable that maybe. That don't tell the membership committee i said that. Cuz they're doing an excellent job. They really really are. But that's not our mission. Our mission is not to create church members. Rather it is to liberate people from whatever chains may bind them. With the saving power of the message of hope not hell. That we have the privilege to bear to the world. Let me offer. As we seek the hope and equality which comes from justice. And the peace. What comes from equality and justice. Patch. We most assuredly have a clement. Let us also seek the peace and reconciliation that comes through understanding. Not just ourselves but of others. In that way together. We can create the beloved community that doctor king and so many have bled and died for. In this spirit let us also call for and work for in strive for. Peace equity and justice that dr. king and somebody has shown us the way. Accomplish. You'll like dr. king many of us may not enter the promised land. But that's not the point. Daddy is that we must make the journey. And moving that direction. So i asked what the congregation say then. That was a real request. And may we all be blessed. With greater peace equity and justice as we bless the world with those things. Bless you. I'm blessed.

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20150726-Sermon.mp3

School this morning i'm going to talk about the times and how they're changing. We seem to live in an increasingly polarized society. There is right vs left. Muslim vs. christian. Liberal vs conservative us-versus-them. It seems like it just gets worse and worse with every passing year. Here in collin county in the community of farmersville. The proposed muslim cemetery is encountering protest. The protests are built on misinformation. There will be schools for terrorists. They just throw bodies in the ground. They will be holding religious services right in the cemetery. The issue however. Maybe a moot point because someone noted that the property is not within the farmersville city limits. I doubt the protest though we'll stop. And it's sad. Khalil abdul rashid. A spokesman for the islamic association buying the property said. Word of time when hate. Has become a million-dollar industry. Hate is not a friend of rational thinking. So i can't get sandra bland out of my mind. Let me ask you something. If you turn right from a side street onto a four-lane road. Then see a police car that was going the opposite direction suddenly make a u-turn. And coming your direction seemingly in a hurry. Would you change to the outside lane to let them have the right-of-way. I would. And that's what the dash cam shows. That's what sandra bland did only she didn't use her turn signal. Many questions remain why was she targeted in the first place. Why did the police officer make a u-turn to intercept her. Why was she not watch closely when she apparently had marked on her infect forum. But she had had suicidal thoughts. Many questions and we may not be able to ever know exactly. What happened. It reminded me of another time a person was ticketed for not single signaling a lane change. After michael brown was shot and killed there was a protest march in downtown dallas. I attended as a part of a common ground street choir. But there was a lot of anger and shouting. And we decided to leave. We are about peaceful protesting. Talking and listening to each other and working together for a solution. Send tamara rice was shot. 12 year old playing with a toy gun. All by himself in a gazebo in a public park. Since i have had occasion to work with police and one of my past careers. I know that you can get a very skewed view when everyone you were dealing with. Is doing something wrong and maybe cause cussing you out. And being belligerent. You start to expect that behavior from everyone and get defensive. It's human nature. So i decided to start educating myself on both sides to try and reason out what was happening. I found out that the dallas citizens police review board met monthly it's city hall. So i started attending whenever i could. The second month i attended. A gentleman had filed a complaint against the police department. Because he was ticketed for changing lanes without signaling. After he had been followed by the officer for a mile or so. He believed he had been racially profiled because he was african-american. And he also teaches young african-american men. How to deal with police. He says you go ahead cooperate get the ticket then complain. So he paid the ticket and filed with the internal affairs department of the dallas pd. Internal affairs decided the officer had acted appropriately. In issuing the tickets. This gentleman was not satisfied so he filed with the citizens police review board. When they had heard testimony from both internal affairs and him. The discussion among them centered on how often one. Anyone. Changes lanes without signaling. Even police officers do. A board member recognize the name of the officer because his name had come up before in a complaint on racially profiling. This board member declared that he would go informally. To the assistant chief in that area and discuss the issue. Finally the board decided to refer the case back to internal affairs for further investigation. An action. However the board can only hear cases and make recommendations. They have no power per se. I still don't have any answers and i haven't quite figured out how i can get involved in these issues. But i believe the outrage we feel is not only what has happened. But that details and videos are not forthcoming immediately after an incident. For the details keep changing as in the case of michael brown step. Reluctance for whatever reason to release all details. Leads to fear of cover-up and distrust. Indeed tom hartman in his book the crash of 2016. Mentions distrust of institutions as a characteristic. The fourth turning. So what's the fourth turning. William sprouse emil how are historical demographers. Who wrote that they found cycles in human history. Turnings. Send it repeated for hundreds of years. They said there was an approximate 80 year cycle of four turnings each of about 20 years. The following descriptions. Confirm lifecourse associates online. The first turning they described as a high. This is an area an era when institutions are strong. And individualism is weak. Society is confident about where it wants to go. It's an errand which both availability of social order. And demand for social order are high. A recent example would be the. post-world war. In our recent history. The first turning ended around 1963 with kennedy's assassination. Prices. Are followed by hives. Which require people to work together and build. The second turning is called an awakening. Institutions are attacked in the name of personal and spiritual autonomy. People seek to recapture a sense of personal authenticity. And availability of social order is high demand is low. Around 1,900 this was a time of labor protests. In the most recent cycle it involved campus and inner-city rent unrest. In the city 60s and 70s. The third turning is the unraveling. Institutions are weak and distrusted. Individualism is strong. Our society begins to distrust institutions and leaders. There is an edgy popular culture and schism about values. Think about the roaring twenties in the last cycle. The third turning is a time of cynicism and bad manners. In the fourth turning is the crisis. Institutional life is torn down and rebuilt. Strauss and house is always in response. To a perceived threat to the nation's very survival. Community purpose rains and people want to be members of a larger group. From fourth turnings come refreshing. And redefining. Open national identity. Along with rising civic engagement. The last cycles fourth turning began with the stock market crash of 1929. During the fourth turning availability of social order is low but demand is high. Fourth turnings in the past. Ended with world war ii. The civil war. And the american revolution. Unfortunately they say many times before. Turning in in war. We need to prevent that. We entered the current fourth turning between 2005 and 2008. In the theories adherents expected expected to last until about 20. 25. Prices may face this. That may face is turning include financial collapse. Protracted war. Weapons proliferation. Energy shortage. Environmental crisis. In foreign civil wars. Most importantly it is the response. To the advance. Not the event. Which define an error. The fourth turning is a time of opportunity. For regenerating society for transforming institutions. And once again defining who we are. This is the moment. Paul hawken discovered myriad groups of people taking this opportunity. This discovery drove. Him to write the book blessed unrest. He describes being on the lecture circuit and talking about challenges to adjust society is he saw them. Your people would come up to him afterwards and talk about the group's they were working with. To solve social problems. There was a coalescence of people into small. Active. Groups. He started trying to catalogue and count them. The estimated in 2007 that there were approximately 1. 22 million. Groups. World war i. Not one movement. But i'm movement of small groups addressing social justice. He calls it the largest social movement in all of human history. Is an organic movement. In fact the appendix to his book is over 110 pages. Listing the group's his staff found. By subject. Not now. Because there were too many of them. It is a book of hope. Are fifth principle describes the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process. Within our congregations and in society at large. The right of conscience. The democratic process. Here's some thoughts to baron mine. The democratic process begins with voting. Parisa parsa. Writing in the 7 principles in word and worship. Says i began voting. I need to declare however futilely. My own resistance to the prevailing culture and politics around me. We live in a democracy are constantly asked to choose. Between our faith in the abstract ideals of our political system. An hour doubt that we can affect anything at all. Sound familiar. She goes on to say boating. And this is a long parenthetical. Paragraph. Is the shorthand for taking interest in. An ownership of the process by which we as a community live our faith and shoes to use our collective power. To shape our world. In accordance with that faith. Is a sacrament. Voting. Is a sacrament. Those are powerful words. April babies the unitarian minister and activist of mid-twentieth-century. Call conscience the site of the soul. It is our compass. And our god when the rules of the world are broken. Or have become a herald of orange. Finally. Thomas jefferson said that we in america do not have government. By the majority. We have government by the majority. To who participate. The dangerous was that although our consciences niggled. We stay on the fringes joining and causes and name but not risking much. So how do we pull all this together. How can we move beyond voting. How can we move a step closer to risk. We can start by keeping current on what is happening around us. And signing petitions. Which is a way of voting just not at the ballot box. And we can call or ride our legislatures. When they receive our comments they tally the results for the issues. Again it's a way of voting in a more immediate manner. What is the participation part that makes the difference in regenerating our society. During the fourth turning. How can we make this fourth turning the most significant ever for social justice. I want to tell you about the power of one. About one person who affected his community in a significant way. About 10 years ago and it guy who did websites for people. Became interested in the past free car network in oak cliff. The streetcars would stop running in dallas in the 1950s and the tracks were paved over. You can see where they were because of the cracks in the pavement. Several outcroppings of building show streetcar stops. Promotive commerce and local shops. Perhaps you have been to the bishop arts district in north oak cliff. It was one such stop. So this it guy did a website for what he called the oak cliff transit authority. He got media attention and it became more real. So he set up a real organization by that name. Dedicated to promoting intermodal transportation. Eventually the screen. Company obtain nonprofit status and aboard. First he was just one person with a dream. To see sprint cars brought back. But over the years he got people interested in funding in the form of donations rolled in. You started with a dream. And website. Now i think this is an unusual case an unusual action by a truly extraordinary person. But the nine nana's. We're very ordinary housewives. In western tennessee. They played bridge together. We started discussing what could we do to help people. I remembered when their grandparents would find somebody in the town that died. So she would go over and take a cake or something through them. But i wanted to go a bit deeper. So. They regularly rose at 4 a.m.. And they baked. Pound cake. They did this for thirty years before their husbands found out. Damn it boy. They decided to find ways to save money out of the household budget and put it to greater good. When i would hear of someone who is in need and they listened closely or they eavesdropped as they. Characterized it. At the hairdresser or in the grocery store they would find out where the person lived and send the package. With a note that said somebody loves you. And include a pound cake. As time went on they would drive through low-income neighborhoods and spot the houses with lights off after dark. Probably the utilities were shut off. Since they would return very early the next morning before the sun was up and drop off a pancake and a note. Anonymously pay the utility bill. After 30 years however one of the husbands notice. Unexplained extra mileage on the car. In large amounts of cash withdrawn from the savings account. His wife said he came at her with items highlighted. When confronted she tried to explain but her husband just wasn't buying. So she invited her friends over with their husbands. Once the ladies presented their story their husbands agreed to join the effort. Their children found out and encouraged sale at the pound cakes online. And that's a business was born and they gained more money. To put into good cause us to help people. In fact they had to move to a commercial kitchen. During the past 35 years the 9 nana's ordinary housewives. Have contributed nearly $900,000. To help people. In their community. Change is in the air. 5 years ago i fought hard to keep developers from changing zoning in my neighborhood. Of mostly 100 year old homes i wanted them preserve not bulldoze for upstart uptown style apartments. I felt alone. But now there is a groundswell of neighborhoods in the bishop arts district. Advocating for resident review of developers concepts before dirt starts flying. The boy scouts of america is changing its rules to allow gay leaders. We have marriage equality finally. But there is work to be done. Immigration issues still raise their ugly heads. Although the estimated population of undocumented immigrants. Has decreased in the last few years. And deportations are lower than in former years a local apartment complex has notified its residents. That lease renewals require a texas driver's license. Or id card. Items which require. Proof of. Legal. Status. Anderson social security number which also requires. Legal status. The residents have not initiated a suit yet but they are talking with the aclu. Maybe the new owners have not followed the farmers branch trials. We're in an ordinance prohibiting rental to undocumented immigrants. Was declared unconstitutional by the federal courts. The minimum wage is currently 725 an hour. Could you get by on $290 a week if you work 40 hours. The working poor miss is that they are all losers they didn't try hard enough. But barbara ehrenreich author of nickel-and-dimed. And not getting by in america recently said. If you are earning $9 an hour. You can heart work as hard as you want. But you are probably never ever going to be above water. But city-by-city the minimum wage is being raised to $15 not immediately mind you but phased-in. Seattle and san francisco have led the way and new york's. State wage board has proposed a phase hike to $15 an hour for fast-food workers. Our common ground street choir. Has partnered with labor groups to serenade walmart several times in the past year. We advocate for $15 minimum wage. For workers. Here's another story with which i am intimately familiar. It's from my own neighborhood in oak cliff just southwest of downtown. Dallas. It was that it guy again. A few years after he started the oak cliff transit authority. He was talking with friends about how the older areas of the community were barren. Not friendly to pedestrians or bicyclists the streetscapes were hot concrete with empty storefronts. So the better block project was born. The idea was to transform a city block for an afternoon into something that was friendly. Two people. To create living art. The first such project was on the street next to my house. So what did it look like. They took a three lane one-way street with parking on one side. Down to one lane. With wide and sidewalks. Cafe seating in shrubbery. They painted a bicycle lane. Be empty storefronts were transformed into pop-up shops. One of them an art activities for children. Became a real storefront shop called oil and cotton. Which has been offering classes and supplies for art projects since then. Street musicians played as the sun went down. People with dogs and strollers walk the streets at in the chairs. Drink coffee and ate the pastries. And listen to music it was magic. And they invited all the local city council persons and mayor. To experience the streetscape. Jason roberts the it guy. Said they wanted to show how the city's laws were preventing people based development. And help was necessary to break a few laws to achieve something for the greater good. It also demonstrated that it doesn't take years and millions of dollars to accomplish this. Since then the better block team has been to places all over the nation and the world. Teaching folks how to transform. Streets. And demonstrate to their local governments that it can be done. In the first people plaza in north oak cliff has been completed. Where there was once a cut through straight. It will allow us to prove to the naysayers that homeless people will not take up residence at the plaza in the middle of winnetka heights historic district. A true activist jason says that if you want to crosswalk go out and paint one. The first time the city comes and paints over it. The second time you painted the city comes and paint over it. The third time you painted the city says. Might need a crosswalk here. And then i put in a real one. He also reminds us that when the villagers are our villagers are restless. The city sits up and takes notice. Remember that oak cliff transit authority streetcar dream. Last month the first streetcar run from union station. So point in oak cliff began. Although it only just makes it across the river into oak cliff it's the beginning. And work on a bishop arts station is in progress. Start small. But think big. One person. Can make a big difference. Healing the word wounds of the earth and its people does not require saintliness or a political party. Only gumption and persistence. It is not a liberal or conservative activity it is a sacred act. It is a massive energy. Prize undertaken by ordinary citizens everywhere. Not by self-appointed governments are oligarchy. We can change the world. We can take this opportunity of the fourth turning to make this a new. Brighter. More just society. We just have to get out there and do it maybe paint a few crosswalk. Thank you.

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20140518-Homily.mp3

This month we are talkin about truth a lot. And trying to be true to ourselves. In the 3000 year old hindu rig-veda. It is written truth is one. And the wise call it by many names. Now this is a challenge to our ingrained western understanding of sort of a monotheism of you do one god one right answer when a cetera. And yet even within the traditions of monotheism there are multiple ways of understanding and approaching the truth. Or the holy or god. As parent or lover or spirit or creator redeemer sunwarrior destroyer shepherd. Etcetera. And as many different words as we might throw at our understanding of the holy or the ultimate. We have to recognize that there are some significant limitations. Their inherent. Because words are only symbols. Words are only symbols and. As such they are human creation. People make them up. Tube survey function. And because words and humans that are particular and are finite. They cannot express and encompass the totality of existence finite or not. And that includes the nature of the holy. Whether it is finite or infinite. And so therefore any human claims. To have. Complete understanding of the nature of truth. Or god or the holy. Washington the whole mind of god. Is impossible. And a mistake. Any human experiences or claims about the nature of the ultimate truth holy goddess god are only partial and finite and therefore. Any exclusive truth claim. Or claim to the truth. Capital t. Definite article. Of things then leads us to. Idolatry. Now i know this is going to come as quite a surprise to some of you. The contrary to popular belief. Idolatry has nothing really to do with the ideas stone idols and. Things like that or graven images. Idolatry occurs when we. Put something that is not the ultimate in the place of. The ultimate. Okay. When money. Becomes more important than human relations. Or our relationship with the universe. Then it becomes an idol that's just an example. The relevant one but an example. So. We have to keep in mind then that. Idolatry happens when we confuse our human language and symbols about. The truth. The holy. With the nature and reality of the holy itself. Another word the map. Is not the terrain. The words are not the reality. And the finger pointing to the moon. Is not the moon. But when we confuse those things. Then we enter into the realm of idolatry. In her groundbreaking work. A book called in conjuring god a spiritual journey from bozeman to banaras. Harvard the illusion diana act rights quote we must not claim that god or as we know god. Exhibit exhaust the reality of god. So our experience and even experience of humanity as a whole. Does not exist sauced the possible reality. I've god or truth. To do so she says it's too late claim. Ultimately playing ultimate c4 human symbols and language. And is truly idolatry. God always transcends but we humans can apprehend or understand known tradition no tradition can claim the whole lie or the truth. As its private property. As gandhi gandhi put it so succinctly. Revelation is the exclusive property of no nation. Wartribe. So we can substitute ruth. For all of those statements about god so. Example we must not claim that truth as we know truth exhaust the reality of truth. To do so and claimed ultimacy for him and symbols and language is truly idolatry. All of this we talked about in the last few weeks. A couple weeks back we talked about sort of the nature of truth as we understand it. In unitarian universalism in his liberal religionist. Ender 3. Basic. Types of truth or truth. One that we historically think about. Is tradition. That which we inherit. Yeah there is. Reason and critical thought. Scholasticism. The last one. Tends to be. Intuitive subjective experience. Those personal things that we can. Be moved by but we cannot really communicate effectively. To the other that which. Historically has been called the greater mystery. And historically. There has been a hierarchy in which you might have profound personal experiences and you might have. A tremendous intellectual insight. But they are all subject to. Interpretation by tradition. That witch has the inherited truth worth oriti. And so. That's been sort of the way things have generally gone for most of human history. What are the differences for us is that we do not have that hierarchy. That for us these are in a constant trial login. Prediction for us it's not just stuff from our immediate institutional historic past. But from all of inherited wisdom and understanding. Humanity. That revelation is not sealed. And therefore there was always a possibility. I've new understand. I've new truth. Coming through. Said that those three are in a constant. Dialogue with each other. So that's a big deal when it gets to the idea of. What is true and challenging idols and idolatries so that we are constantly you know if we think that we've got it nailed down that's a warning sign for us. That we should probably look again now this is confusing. Insert jeep has its attractions. I know that i would really like to have certainty about how my children are going to turn out when they grow up. Or no certainty about you know my family's. Life or certainty about how our congregations going to grow and do things like that but it's not realistic. To want that certain. To have that surgery anyways not likely. If we did it would probably be disappointed. It'll take all the fun out of. Yeah i know somebody you could do less fun right. Just another girl's experience. So when. We deal with these. Issues of. Uncertainty that is that is a part of who we are as a tradition is to engage with the ambiguous. And do not necessarily be. Comfortable with it but to be familiar with it and to know how to work with it. Because that is the nature of our reality. And any attempt to prematurely closed off. Some aspect of. The evolving understanding of what is true of what is the whole. Of our lives. Is. Going to cut us off from. Even greater possibility. Gross. For being for. Revelation. Now this is even more important now when you consider the fact that we live in. Play profoundly diverse community. Global community. But also an immediate geographic community. I live. In the same my kids will be going to barron elementary school. Just down the street. And i live in the most hispanic we demographic census tract in collin county. That's a lot of diversity. Then within that neighborhood you start looking at all the irish catholic families that are there. In the korean families that are in that neighborhood. And the gay and lesbian couples and families that are in that neighborhood. Just within one block. Which i live. And all the anglo family. So and i'm going to put marilyn on the spot back there how many languages are spoken in the public schools here. 92. 93. So we have 93 languages. Spoken in the plano public schools. The other second language after spanish is chinese. Central texas folks. North central texas. Alright. You know and my my feel logical. Colleagues are any mom. And a female rabbi. Okay and other people. Of other face. Should we live in a diverse community but diversity itself is not pluralism. Diversity simply says there's. A lot of different things. And we might be willing to tolerate intolerance is very important it's for step. In a civil society. The tolerance also says. That i also have the right not to tolerate. When we stop at just. Tolerance. Until we have to enter into a deeper pursuit of. Truth and challenge our own ideologies. No in that we often have a lot of emotional things i want to talk about just a little bit. Amy if you remember truthiness. Yeah i talked about that. And even i didn't you know. Stephen colbert. And man am i going to miss his show when he moves on to do the two what is it late night or tonight show. David letterman show. The late show. So we're the greatest satirist in american history probably since mark twain. Talks about truthiness and he puts that out there. Is. He says it used to be everyone was entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts. But that's not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. Perception. Perception is everything. It's certainty. People love the president is george bush. Because he's certain of his choices as a leader. Even if the facts that back him don't seem to exist. It's the fact that he is certain. That is very appealing to a certain section of the commute the country. And i feel at economy in the american populace. What is important. What do you want to be true. For what is true. He goes on and says truthiness is what i say is right and nothing anyone else says can possibly be true. This afternoon there. You remember some of this time. It's not only that i feel it to be true but that i that i feel it. To be true. There's not only an emotional quality. But there's also a selfish. Quality. He says in a later interview with charlie rose he goes i was thinking about the idea of passion and emotion and certainty over information. And what you feel in your gut. As i said in the word that episode re-introduced truthiness. He said that. That sentence that one word. That's more important. Too i think in the public at large. Not just the people who provided in primetime cable. That that it is out are in the culture. The people want certainty. And they are willing to get it at any price. So how does this have to do with pluralism pluralism is not about certainty it's about difference. Anna and uncertainty as we engage with each other. The things that. Create pluralism a pluralist pluralism is a dialogue. Much like the trial all we have of the different aspects of truth. There are. Specific things. That create. Pluralism. Pluralism is not diversity alone. But an injured it's it's an energetic. Engagement with that diversity. I mean we have a lot of diversity in a lot of places and we live very ghettoized existences. I mean how many gated communities do we literally have. And the further west and plano you drive the more of them there are. Right. It's measurable visible is tangible. In this new world religious diversity pluralism is not a given but it is an achievement. Second-floor ilysm. Requires not just tolerance but active seeking of understanding. I'm reminded of the words of the the lakota holy man nicholas blackout who says. That we seek the peace that comes through understanding. Diana x says that tolerance is unnecessary public virtue. But it does not require christians and muslims and hindus and jews and arden secularist to know anything about one another. It just has to be. Civilly indifferent. It does not. He does nothing to remove our ignorance. Love one another. And leaves in play stereotypes and half-truths. And the fear that underlies all patterns and divisions. And potential for violence. And in the world in which we now move our ignorance of one another will be increasingly. Cosplay. She says. I think we just have to look around the news to see that's the case. But finally she also says in this is something that we had unitarian universalist are often accused of. Is the pluralism is not relativism. You know we are not relativists we don't believe anything and everything. Although sometimes were gullible. And we don't believe everything and we're not so open-minded that our brains fall out. The new paradigm of pluralism diana xs. Does not require us to leave our identities. And our commitments behind. Because pluralism. Pluralism is not about finding some neutral ground. Where we all come together and have some sort of theological swap meet. Okay that's not it. That was an effort by us in the 1950s and lot of other people to find common ground that neutral. Ground well it was a disaster of a theological process. It didn't work. And i got to say as much as the whole golden rule thing it's attractive. It doesn't. Because all of the different golden rules that people have different traditions come from very different places. Interpretation and have very different meanings within. It's always done is we've taken our interpretation of it and imposed it on somebody else's. It's a kind of. Theological colonialism. So. Pluralism is about engaging with the other. For the purpose of mutual transformation. It's a conversation not an argument. And we have to do it from the place where we stand from the place where we come from. The thing that is most important for us in any kind of exchange with something or someone who may be considered the other. In whatever way that mean is that we must be deeply rooted. And where we stand. Because it isn't being deeply rooted where we stand that we can then with authenticity engage with the other. Without fear of somehow being drawn off center or being uprooted or being taken over or converted or whatever. Which is a big fear people have when they engage. That somehow it some level there going to be. Become somehow something else. The people who have been most successful historically. And doing this kind of interfaith or intercultural engagement are people who are deeply rooted in their home community. As they say. Martin luther king jr.. Mahatma gandhi. Not people would consider sort of the illogical relativist. In any way shape or form and i would lift up malcolm x after his hodges. Deepening understanding of his rootedness. In islam. All of those. It's alright at work. All of those are examples of how we are deeply rooted. By being deeply rooted how we can then with. Real authenticity. And real freedom. Engage with the other. And we can discern real truth. And we can hear real truth even about ourselves. And we can escape. Truthiness. And we can escape the idolatries of our own. Presuppositions. And our own. Stereotype. So in a pluralistic world. This is how we as unitarian universalist and is anyone. Anyone. Canby. Greater. Being a part of this large and beautiful and amazing society in which we live. And have our being. Resident living in. Brighton. And get a wised. Realities. Assembly cut us off from. Potential. For being. More than we are. My colleague. Who served horizon unitarian universalist church. For 27 years had a big party last night. And he is noted for having a saying he says. Becoming a unitarian universalist and for him going into ministry. Has made me a better person than i ever wanted to be. And i think that's the thing we risk if we do this well. That we can be better people. Then we may have ever. Ever. Wanted. So let us go forth. And be rooted and open. Rich homie clothes and wings set.

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20130811-Sermon.mp3

I had come to the opinion that i was well above average and things like. Vocabulary grammar spelling you know all those things that make up with all being literate i think my mistake was using as a baseline postings by strangers on face. Because once i got the seminary i began being assigned all these articles and books were sometimes i was looking up a word every paragraph. My parents warned me not to major in art in college. One of the words i kept coming across with the word packs. The ras is how many of you may know what that means that i wouldn't know you're with it and even after a trip to dictionary.com. I wasn't sure practice as distinguished from theory. Application or use as of knowledge or skills. Context in the reading. Let me see let me see believe that they intended it to mean more than that. So when all else fails i decided ask the professor. Theology professor wrote on the board. Practice do an envelope that theory thing. And then on each and he threw those double-headed arrow. Indicating a cycle. He then described the circular are spiraling interplay between the contemplation and action. Implied in the term praxis. Well i was surprised at how synchronistic this discovery was. Synchronistic another word i had to look up. Meaning coincidence in time i was reading the active life by parker palmer for another class. Parker palmer to respected writer lecturer teacher and activist. And i can easily imagine that you've heard them quoted from this pulpit on occasion. In the book palmer tells us our drive to aliveness expresses itself. Into elemental and inseparable waze. Action and contemplation. We may think of the two is contrary modes but they are one at the source and they seek the same end. To celebrate the gift of life. Rather than speak of contemplation and action. We might speak of contemplation hyphen and hyphen action. Letting the hyphen suggest what are language of skewers that the one cannot exist without the other. When we fail to hold the paradox together when we abandon the creative tension between the two then both ends fly apart into madness. That is what often happens to contemplation and action in our culture of either or. Action flies off into frenzied a frantic and even violent effort to impose one's will on the world. Or at least it survived against the odds. Contemplation flies off into escapism. A flight from the world into a realm of false list. In our invocation this morning from the hindu scripture the upanishads we heard. But those who can bind action with meditation go across the sea of death through action and enter into immortality. Through the practice of meditation. Well if you use were traditionally more concerned with how we live our lives here on this earth and immortality but this excerpt drives home the importance of both meditation and action. Those we consider our spiritual ancestors of shown as brilliantly how to hold that creative tension between the. Just about six weeks ago i was standing. At the sight of henry david thoreau's cabin near walden pond i was lucky to be there with the. Coming-of-age classes from denton and dallas. No many think of thoreau horses the transcendentalist contemplatively sitting in the woods observing nature. Which of course he was. But don't forget that he was also an abolition. Attacks resistor in the author of resistance to civil government also known as. Civil disobedience. Earlier this year i saw a video. Doctor martin luther king junior and he acknowledged the influence of thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience. Certainly are you you principles call to practice both contemplation and action. The encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations in the third principle called tester contemplation among other things. Justice equity and compassion in human relations and the goal of world community. With peace liberty and justice for all or clear directives to take action. You use have historically taken social justice issues very seriously. Others we consider our spiritual ancestors include suffragist olympia brown. Nobel peace laureate jeff levermore and albert schweitzer. And the founder of the n-double-acp mary white ovington. Sometimes people are surprised at how many famous names are associated with unitarian universalist. Which brings me to my next point. When taking action be prepared for the element of surprise. Are ministers at first church begin assigning a while back. This past year was called yes y e s which stood for year of engagement and service. Many of the acts included the element of surprise. Let me describe what i need. Gathering sunday the ministers and the leaders of the three parts of a yes project. Describe the plans and goals and some of the activities for the year. The three parts of the project were neighborhood. Community and global yes. Sign up tables for the different aspects of the project. Fiendishly near the coffee urns. They were surprised and overwhelmed by the number of people who are excited about the initiative and signed up right away that very morning. We were also surprised by the response from other churches we reached out to. Of course you can get a lot more done partner partnering with those who are passionate about the same issues you are. Even if you may disagree about other it. All too often those other issues create stereotypes. To keep us from seeing what we can do together. But that's a topic for another day. When one of our groups visited a nearby traditionally protestant church they were not only greeted with open arms. They were surprised that the church wanted to join them on their next visit to a third church. They even came to our ice cream social in the spring. This past summer members of first church for reading soul of a citizen by paulo which are readings. Was from this morning. We had a book study group on wednesdays. In one of the chapters the author tells of protests held during the nixon administration against escalating the war in vietnam. President nixon claimed to not be taking these protests into account at all during his decision-making. But years later. It was revealed that those protests had a profound impact on the decisions bay. And may have even help stop a nuclear attack. Several members of the book study group reported they had participated in these protests earlier. And have been disheartened by the lack of noticeable effect their efforts that made. They were surprised to learn years later while reading a book at church. But their actions had an important effect on those decision maker. Be prepared for the element of surprise. Story points to an important question for those of us wanting to ask for those things we believe are important. How do i as one person have an effect. Especially when there are so many when they're such an overwhelming number of important causes that demands my attention. Especially when i'm already so busy. Let's look at some things that appear to keep us from helping. The first is that story told us we may not find out until years later that we had an effect we might not ever learn of the effect. Occurred to me during that wednesday book study. I think i would be happier with myself working for what i thought was important. Even without a notice. The fact that i would be doing nothing. As frustrating as that might be. Even dr. king said in his last speech. I may not get there with you. Why don't know that i should expect to get there either. 4 years. My grandmother volunteered every saturday to food bank that worked out of the fellowship hall of her very small baptist church. She quietly filled ziploc bags. From the large containers that corporation. Stores that donated. She had little idea and i really don't think she thought much about. How many families did she was helping. It was after her death that both my aunt and both parents. Inspired in her memory to volunteer there once or twice a week. She not only did the good that she could do. She inspired others to do good as well. During your contemplation during your meditation. Quiet times in the shower or on your commute. What comes to mind that needs your attention. I've heard it described another way. What is it when your told about it when you hear it on the news. Breaks your heart. Is it the texas ranks second only to mississippi is having the largest percentage of its citizens struggling with food insecurity and hunger. Is it the texas rank. 51st and voter turnout in 2010 behind all other states and the district of columbia. Perhaps it's that texas has the highest rate of uninsured in the nation which leads to untold health problems for our citizens. Obviously i could go on and on. Most of us are very busy. I read this week we need to stop the glorification of busy. The workplace asked us to stay longer hours and be more productive during those hours. Our families deserve quality time with us. Exit uu you're on at least one committee. I'm in no sense of the phrase a time management expert. But i do know time is like money in that you have to know how much you have and where it's going in order to budget atwell. I heard a story about a fellow church member who is right at budgeting his time. Think smart and organized he was much sought-after as a volunteer. When someone asked him to help with a project he knew what his current commitments were how much time he did agree to devote to each of them and whether he had any free time to offer. If he had two hours once a month on a saturday offer in that pit with her knees he could help them. Now conversely. If you have 2 or 3 hours a week or a month. I'm sure there are organizations that would gladly use your help. But you don't want to offer your time until you know what you have to spare. Because you don't want to give away the time you need for yourself and your family. I've also heard people claim they don't think they have any applicable or useful skills for a cause they believe. Is important. But you do have gif. My grandmother feels ziploc bags with flour. If you can't stand with a megaphone and rally those protesting. Perhaps you can make sandwiches for those on the picket line. If you're uncomfortable calling strangers on the telephone. Perhaps you can addison print flyers a newsletter. You can't organize a giant fundraiser for a nonprofit. Perhaps you can hold the hand. Comfort. One of its clients. I've even been told there are those who are good at writing checks. Causes that they support. What is it that breaks your heart. Or makes your heart sing. Theologian frederick buechner is written. Purpose is the place. Where your deep gladness meets the world's need. In another bit of synchronicity i found this quote by the dalai lama justice. The compassionate community will not be achieved only through prayer. I pray myself but i accept its limitation. We need to take action to develop compassion. To create inner peace within ourselves. Share that inner peace with our family and friends. Peace and warm-hearted nurse can then spread through the community. Just as ripples radiates out across the water when you drop a pebble. Into a pond. Just a few years ago i came to a realization. I was told. I have been led to believe. Others were. Finding how. I could do good in this world. They had led me to believe that in order to be a minister. Couldn't imagine doing anything else with your life you were so passionate it was like being a chef for a acura one of those types. Why have a great imagination i can imagine doing lots of things with my life including being a chef. But what being a minister. That's what i was saying. Help. I was also told especially when i graduated high school back in the late 70s. Especially in kentucky growing up in the methodist church the being gay and being a minister or mutually exclusive. Now years later. Seeing you you. We've learned that that's not the case. Able to go back. Sitter. Other patient that i set aside years ago. My point is this. Don't let anyone tell you. Not too. Good. You are compelled to do it. Squirrel. People have been told. Doyoung. Called. Too short. Paul or two gay. Straight or whatever. They went ahead. You did it. Gandhi told us. Be the good you wish. Seats in the world. Don't let someone else tell you. Cancel. I've also read. It's never too late to be what you might have been. I don't know that i totally believe that at this point in my life i don't think i'm going to win that tony award for my brilliant tap dancing on broadway. But i do believe with all my heart this. It is never too late. Do the good you are compelled to do. Squirrel. Look towards. Those you use past. Spyro. Be prepared for the element. Fry's. Find your passion and use your gifts. And go and do. It's good. You work. Help.

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20140209-Homily_1.mp3

In december of 1831 the hms beagle set sail for what was to be a 5-year voyage. The primary purpose was to conduct a hydrographic survey. But i'm bored this ship with a naturalist charles darwin. Darwin had always displayed a veracious interest in natural history and had already gained some renown with his publications up to this point. Darwin was ill during long stretches of the voyage which covered vast distances around south america. The galapagos archipelago. Tahiti australia and new zealand. Darwin was hardly the most popular man on the ship. But he did impress the others with his commitment to creating detailed notes of all that he observed. Even when he was very ill. When the beagle return to england in 1836. Darwin said about analyzing the information he had collected. A task that would take many years. And would include many colleagues. At the time he had embarked on this journey of observation and data collection. He already was determined to understand what we now call evolution. He was not alone. And asking that question. He was not the first naturalist to grapple with this problem. The complexity of how life develops on earth. In april of 1850 for another english naturalist alfred wallace arrived in what was then called the melee archipelago. Like darwin he was determined to doggedly observe and detail the species that he encountered. Wallace spent eight years in the melee area traveling over 14,000 miles on 70 expedition. He collected over 120,000 specimens. I saw evidence that darwin had seen years before. Geographic divisions. And therefore different environments. Correlated with variations in species. In 1859 who do you regret a geographic line that separated what he had seen as it is still known today wallace's line separates the observable differences between the fauna of southeast asia from those of australia. In 1859 darwin published on the origin of species by means of natural selection. He anticipated the controversy that it would create and coming from a unitarian family. And having one study to be a pastor. He understood that there would be implications that were far beyond the realm of science. Fast forward a few decades and we observe high school teacher john scopes being arrested for teaching about evolution in his tennessee classroom. In violation of state law. At the now-infamous scopes monkey trial. Prosecutor willing william jennings bryan refer to evolutionary theory is simply millions of guesses strung together. Anti-evolution activists were galvanized by the trial and its aftermath and attempts were made to outlaw the teaching of evolutionary theory in 13 more states. This style this attitude. In characterizing evolution. Has been branded into the hearts and minds of many and our country and also around the world. And as we may observe. This alleged academy of science vs religion continues unabated to this day. In dover pennsylvania. In kansas. And here in texas. This iconomy is played out in state boards of education. Courtrooms. The public square. Many times the public squares the internet. We observed that those who oppose the teaching of evolution undergo their own evolution with regularity. Morphine creationism into intelligent design. Establishing new groups with. Obscure names such as citizens for objective public education. Changing their language changing their targets changing their tactics. With a strategy to teach the controversy. We know there is no shortage of fuel for them to run on. We stand now nearly two hundred years since darwin stood on the deck of the beagle. And we routinely hear the phrase to believe in evolution. To believe in it. As in i do or don't believe. But biological evolution is not something to believe in or not believe in. It isn't santa claus or the easter bunny. It is a foundational concept that has enabled advances in science for decades. And the benefits that we all enjoy from those advances are clearly. We can observe that homo sapiens sapiens is a species that assigns meaning. We are a meaning seeking group. In particular we assign meaning to phenomena in the natural world as we observe them. Turn back centuries and people believed in geocentrism. That the heavens revolve around the earth. We didn't quite have evidence to the contrary yet and so we assigned personal meaning to that. People also believe that the orbits of all celestial bodies were perfectly circular. Having a predisposing belief that circles carry their own special significance in god's world. And thus we assign personal meaning to that. And when science disprove these ideas. A process that involves many people. Many attempts elucidation. There were those who felt the meaning they had assigned to the previous models was under threat and therefore they were under the. But here now. Centuries after the copernican revolution took root. How often do you meet someone who is feeling truly upset. That the earth orbits the sun. Has it happened to you lately i like to see a show of hands with gray tanks because their entire personal theology had been crushed by the understanding that there is no celestial body that moves in a perfect circle. Are there people sitting at starbucks organizing a protest about kepler's laws of planetary motion. Not so much. Because we assign meaning but we also have the ability to shift the meaning that we. We affirm today the value of science and inquiry. And we also understand and encourage our yearning for meaning. And we observe that these things may coexist in our lives. Everyday.

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20150412-Sermon.mp3

Who is start on the slide up here. Is the. Section of. Fdr speech on january 6th to the joint session of congress. In 1941. It says in future days which we seek to make secure we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression. Everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship god in his own way wherever in the world. The third is freedom from want. Everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear. Anywhere in the world. And that is no vision of a distance millennium. It is a definite basis for kind of world attainable in our own time. And generation. Franklin delano roosevelt save my family. Fdr was. Revered for having saved my parents and their families during the great depression. As they struggled with being in rural iowa. Providing social security and being insightful enough to prepare for wars that came. They knew he gave them aid comfort and stability when those things were in short supply in this country. And later he did the same for much of the rest of the world. In his state of the union address to congress on january 6th 1941 he outlined a morally outlined and morally grounded america's commitment to providing aid and arms to great britain and the rest of the world in the face of fascist aggression in europe and imperial japan's conquest of china southeast asia and the pacific. The end of that speech you numerated. Four freedoms. That the us would guarantee to those who are being invaded occupied oppressed and killed. In that speech before congress fpr said. All things we just read. Let me reiterate. The first freedom of speech of is freedom of speech and expression. The second is freedom of every person to worship god in his way everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want which translated into world terms mcmeans economic understanding which will secure to every nation the healthy peacetime life prison habitants. Everywhere in the world. And the fourth is freedom from fear. Translate to. In the world terms means a worldwide reduction of armaments. The point in which a such a thorough fashion that no nation. Will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor. Anywhere in the world. Again he closed that this is no vision of edisto millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of. Kind of world is hannibal. In our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny. 50 taters seed create. With the crash of moths. Growing up in early 1970s in fort worth. Under the flight path of f-111 fighter bombers and f-22 b-52 bombers from carswell air force base. And a big jet transports out of general dynamics you remember those suckers. Yeah. Lisa come in at less than 1000 ft over our houses. Have you ever heard of a 62 at less than 1000 ft. Engines full blast. Wowed. Very loud they used to come over on sundays too at our church of a few miles away and often the minister would have to stop preaching. To just let it go by. I first. I first became aware of the four freedoms. In issues of the saturday evening post that we would have flying around the house. So he probably familiar with those and then there's a repents of norman rockwell's iconic paintings depicting each of the four freedoms. Does a massager. Give me advances slideshow. There we go. Is one of them. They were common in periodicals and in society in general and to me they were assumed to be an integral part of what it meant. To be in america. And of course we did or should provide all of those freedoms not only for ourselves but for others. In the world whom we don't who don't have. With today being april 12th. And being the 70th anniversary of fdr's death that are mostly congregational singing my freedom. The four freedoms a champion like i said earlier seems like a natural fit and also seems like things we needed to talk about. As much as. We needed the four freedoms in early 1941. Only 11 months almost to the day before pearl harbor. We need the mail even more. Here. And around the world. It was a commitment by this country. To those freedoms in a world torn apart by extremism violence and fear. Now we need to renew the practice of these four freedoms here in this country torn apart by extreme extremism and as a model for world seemingly insane within stream isms violence. And war. Freedom of speech. We need that. We need to be able to articulate. What it is we are experiencing and know that we are safe in doing that. But we feel afraid to do that. Because people carry guns out in the open. And feel very little hesitation. In today's. Paper i believe was or maybe online i read that. There is around eight or nine percent of population who own guns who also have serious impulse issues. With violet with anger. But they're not categorize as mentally ill. But they still have issues in the violence and anger. And they probably don't show up on anybody's radar. And so people wonder why we. Don't necessarily speak out as much as we might want to. It also could be because we're also put into a free-speech zones. As president bush did when people protested the iraq war. Freedom speech is essential. It has been denied. And diluted. By giving. Money. The equivalence. I'm speech. Two corporations especially. Essentially by equating money with speech it means those with much money have the most speech. And there is no equality of that. We need that change. We also need that to change around the world we see view oppressions people suffer all over the world. Russia. There is no freedom of speech. China. But also in places we wouldn't think of their types of speech they're simply not allowed in other parts of the world. Even great britain united kingdom. You're looking at this issue of. Freedom of speech. It also. In one sense does tails on one issue right into the issue of. Freedom award freedom to worship. When we look at things like the religious freedom. Restoration law that indiana and i think arkansas are trying to pass. Now in south carolina. I was apart of the multi-faith. Interface. Organization that worked on and promoted and got pushed through. The religious freedom restoration act in south carolina. It didn't do any of the stupid things. That's the one in indiana and arkansas. And one in texas doesn't. Surprise you know. Because people really did what. The hell. A maintenance of what we had understood was religious freedom in this country. They wanted to simply restore put it back where it was. And it was just a huge effort and i worked across the table. The people from practically every religious community you can imagine for chipley people doing prison ministries. Because they didn't want prisoners to be excluded from that protection with a lot of states do. To freedom to worship. That's crucial. And yet. Mosques are attacked. All over. People are denied opportunities to build houses of worship. On flimsy grounds. I'm actually reminded of. When i was working when i was a member of the congregation in dayton ohio. The fellowship there was located in a community called far hills which was like the park cities here it was its own entity. Within the middle of dayton. And it's where if you had money you lived. That was because when it flooded is early part of this century and that was on the high ground. And they all moved in high ground. When. When our congregation was growing. And needed more parking which they didn't have is all street parking the city systematically eliminated all the street parking around the building. And then when you piss couple charged. Okay. Bought property and they were getting ready to build on the property if they bought it and passed all the things this city basically threw a bunch of zoning changes out them that they couldn't meet. It said you can't build there anymore. And so they were. And had to leave. Now the unitarians got very smart with this i think they. What community doesn't need a car to get to church on sundays. Orthodox jews so. There was a growing habad community. Nearby and they were looking to move to a larger facility. And so they sold the building to the local habad. Congregation. So it's still a house of worship and the city can't have it torn down and tax it. Which is what they want. So i thought that was inelegant solution. So the people still have freedom to worship their you just going to have to adjust a little bit. We need to make sure this is possible around the world. You know that unitarian-universalism is not allowed in russia or any number of other countries because it's not part of a selected list not part of the orthodox catholic. Protestant. In china we are suspicious. There's a a fledgling tiger gation in hong kong. And only because of hong kong's exceptionalism is that even allowed. Religious freedom. Which we take for granted here. Candy. In the story that was shared earlier. The shield the message for all ages. Destroy franciscan vide and king sigismund the 6th. King john. He was a young man and died young after surviving like an assassination attempts in 10 years. And we still think that he may have actually circum 21. But the. He passed what was considered is is the first religious. Toleration act in the world. Polly to torta. Past. 15. So we need religious freedom here and around the world. Part of what we do as a religious community as we work with those who have. Not. resources who don't have resources. I got a call i mean i got called out this morning as i was driving to church. Asking for assistance. We work with god's food pantry. We do all sorts of things. We have funds that were left to us. To do these things. Freedom from want. Freedom from want is not about. Abound. If i know that the norman rockwell picture is of a thanksgiving dinner. With a big turkey and everything like that and by the way they're all sorts of. Takeoffs on that image online if you want to go look them up some of them were out tonight. kind of funny. But the india freedom from what. Any of us who have gone hungry against our will. Really. Get that. It was a great article in the paper the other day of of. An editorial by woman in from kentucky who talked about the criminalization of poverty. More and more and more restrictions are being put on the poor. Just because they're poor. Assumptions made about their criminality or their lack of control food is being chosen for them by politicians. Were denied them by politician. So they can't have seafood that means they can't like tuna. In a can. Right. Or flank steak. Even though it may be the cheapest cut of me. So there are things that people in various states are doing to make. Poverty. Amoral. Morley punishable offense. And a. Judiciously punishable offense. They are actually that if you were poor you actually judged more harshly for some of the same things anybody else. My experience in life. And you suffer a greater consequence. We take that and we multiply that to all the places in this world where. Subsistence farming is no longer possible because of climate change. War because land is being bought up. By companies who want to harvest their watersheds. And sell the water internationally. This happened in several places in central and south america. An indigenous peoples another japan to fight against that. Commoditization of water. So our freedom from want. The powerful one. It is a powerful need. And along with that comes. The need for freedom from fear. I find it interesting that in the united states actually when we actually are our most secure now. As far as crime and other things go yes bad things happen to people. But. You know it's not like the wild and wooly 80s. Yeah that's a lot of people had you know we don't don't have a lot of those things going on as much. New york is you know considered a form of disneyland. It's so safe. You know and. Collin county has a very high. Security rating. People want to move here. At a time when we were actually most secure we are being made to feel the most fearful. By forces that want us to be fearful so we will not make good decisions. So that we will have to rely on them. And give up our power of choice. So we need freedom from that kind of fear. We also need freedom from the fear. Of things that we don't feel in control of climate change. Of. Maybe too much. Too much organization. Too much sprawl. It also the fear that were one paycheck away from being. In the needing freedom from what category. In the world that freedom from fear takes so many other forms. The costly bombarded by all of the. The images and messages about various kinds of extremism. Conflict raging in the middle east. Again. Conflict raging in africa. Central america. Ukraine. Those people need freedom from fear. The people in iraq and syria. Do not. Deserve. What is being done to them. What that means to do i don't know there are many choices. But i do know. But they don't deserve that. Our unitarian universalist principles say all of these things in slightly different ways but they say all of them. From the inherent worth and dignity. Every person. And the pursuit of. Justice and equity. And world community. And recognition that we are all part. Avenue connected web of all existence. It is foundational to who we are as a church as a faith community there are things we can do in our community we're doing many of them we're trying to help children and help those who are in want don't have to fear because they don't have money to buy a coat. But don't have money to buy food. You try to give them fresh things. We grow things we tried you think we're gana cleats or not contributing to. The pollution. We try to reduce our footprint here in the building. By going to different types of. Air conditioning and heating and cooling units. As the roof repairs will allow us. And. And god bless. Play morten sending all the hard-working people like to kill around others who have put in hours and hours and hours on this to get these things to move forward. So we are. Is a congregation doing some important things in there more we can do we stood up. We made a very strong statement about equality. Just a couple of months ago. And we're probably going to do some more keep in mind. The elections coming up the city elections here there are people running specifically to. Get elected and. Overturn. Before i turn. Esther platform. So if you're saying i don't need to vote please do if you're in plano if you're known community cuz i'm sure they're people probably looking to do the same thing there are people looking to be elected to various bodies. Collin county community college and two school boards who are also looking to rollback. Common sense types of things. Evolution. We have no proof. So as a safe community we have those things we can do and that is citizens we have those things we can do. But we also need to mobilize those things so that we is. Corporately as a community as a congregation and corporately as a city and corporately as a state. We can mobilize the energies of. Oh. Of the people. To do the will of the people. So that we can. Move forward so that we can reimburse. These four freedoms. That i assumed were simply a part of the air i breathe when i was a kid. And now we look back at it as the poodle days. Who'da thought the seventies were the good old days. As we look back on this anniversary of fdr's death. And what are. Parents and grandparents did. What day. Swat 4. We can look forward. With our own hope. And our faith. That this was not a fluke. The one thing. One of the things that professor kahless is up in his book is is a fairly system critique. Departed ministration. And its failure to realize the hopes that those who voted. In 2008 for president obama had. And basically the statement is just not that he did too much is that he tried to do too little. His dreams were too small and that he compromised you say. And. I have to agree. I think many of you felt the same. There is a term for this is called wasting a crisis. When a crisis occurs as fdr encountered in the great depression and world war 2. And it's we've encountered and so many interesting crises we've had the last 20 years now. There's an opportunity there. To move things. On a level that is. Exponentially greater than it might be otherwise. After 9/11. The political right dentist in this country and they moved us more to a security state. And took away much of what we were looking for and. Pulled back a lot of the economic. Sports. By using that. As their prices. We had a crisis. But we didn't. And we americans failed to make our government do but it need to do. So the next time let us be prepared a crisis is not something to run from. Get something run to and see what we can make out. So as a congregation. As we encounter difficulties. Struggles let's look for the opportunities. In that. And that citizens lettuce to that also here. What are safe. Are going to turn your personal space or safe as americans. Curious forward. By working for and sharing in the responsibilities of these four freedoms and many others. Perhaps i can help some. And smoke some small way. Maybe help save someone else's family. Perhaps we can save ourselves. Perhaps we can help our world not only save itself. To make it thrive. If we. As is we are then perhaps. Better able to embody the beloved community. On our earth made more fair. Oliver people want.

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20130818-Sermon.mp3

To our guests and visitors and returning visitors welcome back. You're welcome for the first time. Explain we have a monthly scene. That we try and integrate into the services and other things we do in the church and this month the theme has been transitions. So you're going to give her a lot about change this month from variety of people. For last two speakers this month. Today is also a day that i try and reserve once-a-year talk about covenant in our community. Because it is essential to finding element for us. So we have an intersection of those two things which is kind of interesting. Imagine if you will. The damp. Sailing ducks. Have a ship in the atlantic ocean. 16:30. The ship is the arabella. And on it john winthrop the future governor of massachusetts colony is reading aloud to his fellow puritan settlers. Following. Now the only way to avoid shipwreck and to provide for our posterity. You should follow the council of micah. To do justly. To love mercy walk humbly with our god. We must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities. For the supply of others necessities. We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness gentleness. Patience and liberality. We must delight in each other make others conditions our own. Rejoice together labor and supper together. Always having before our eyes our commission and our community. In the work our community as members of the same body. So shall we keep the unity of the spirit. In the bond of peace. Now i can only imagine. It took four group of religious refugees to leave behind everything new and fly headfirst into the pretty much unknown. For them to embrace and risk. And to embrace risk and radical changes in their circumstances. They entered into covenant with each other in order to navigate the changes ahead. And to better fulfill their lives and spiritual mission. We use the word covenant around here a lot. Some people more than they are comfortable with. We have a congregational covenant which we said earlier in the service. But what is it. A covenant is what you use the illusion rebecca parker cause freely chosen and life-sustaining interdependence. Freely chosen and life-sustaining interdependence. And the reverend robert latham the former interim minister to this congregation. Defines a religious covenant as quote a compact. Among a group of people which states their mission and how that mission will be transformed into reality by their life stewardship. This is not the same thing as stating a belief or purpose. Those may not entail any pledge or commitment to fulfill or carry them out. A covenant on the other hand is explicit and its intention to fulfill its purpose. Play some offers that. Well purpose calls for an empowerment of its vision. Covenant empowers its vision with commitment. Let me say that again for emphasis. Well purpose calls for an empowerment of its vision. Covenant empowers its vision with. Commitment. Another important thing is that covenant is not static. It is not wedded to the status quo but to the community's vision. It is not static but dynamic with an intention to support change and growth not to prevent it. In fact the covenant is bill for growth and change. Covenant is how we live together in our daily rounds and it keeps. Tanning kit keeps determining. It's keeping determines if we are in right relationship with each other. My colleague rev victoria safford wrote in an article in uu world magazine this last may. She said. The central question for us is not. What do we believe. But more. What. Do we believe. In. To what larger love to what people principles values and dreamed shall we be committed to whom what are we accountable. In addition so deeply steeped in individualism and she says it becomes a spiritual practice for each of us to ask not once and for all but again. And again. Even over 90 years of life. How do i decide which beautiful clumsy and imperfect institutions. Will carry and hold. In the words of one congregations bond of union. My name hand and heart. The life of the spirit is solitary she says. But our answers to the questions asked us to speak. Call us to live. In the plural. Now in my understanding covenants ask us. Two basic questions. Why we come together and how are we to be. Together. What are our purposes in making this free in mutual agreement and in that light how do we go about living with each other. Consequently covenant a living confers identity and builds community. When our covenant is clear about why we are together and how we will be so especially in times of change. We know. Where we want to go and how we will get there together. The visible out working is of our covenant. Rrr ministries. The rockrimmon orbit leasing says ministry is covenant in action. And i always like to emphasize his covenant in space action. It is covenant stewardship. And the only appropriate gauge for measuring the effectiveness of ministry is the covenant it seeks to embody. We heard earlier during announcements death in on the 24th on saturday there will be a large gathering of both elected and identify a self-identified leaders and others who wish to participate as a. Intentional effort to examine deeply. And maybe come up with some possible directions for how we are going to better live or omission in our community. How are we going to make a difference. In the lives of other people. Even as we find ways for us. To express. Those things which are important for us to express. Are goodwill. This is an important part of our covenant. Service. Is it slaw. It is to covenants freely and mutually entered into that we recognize and exercise our freedom of will and choice. Hence we are cool to recognize the free will of others and our responsibility for the obligations we recognized towards each other in particular and in general. Engaging each other through small groups or covenant groups is a profound way to make real and personal the potentials of governmental religion. Implicitly or explicitly. A covenant expresses our collective understanding of what we hold to be of worth and what our relationship is. To it. It may be a belief in divine salvation through grace or our inherent worth and dignity and interconnection to the web of existence. In this the purpose of covenanted community. Used to call us back into our commitment to our chosen relationships. When we stray from them as we all too often do. As i saying earlier the persian sufi mystic rumi reminds us cam-cam whoever-you-are wanderer worshipper lover of leaving. And lover who stays. Do we broken our vows a thousand times. Come yet again come. Rumi is not just addressing some passing group of people. But those who made the ultimate violations of covenant. Wanderers refers to those who left the covenant worship for refers to those who have worship idols things beyond other than the covenant. Too so he asks again. So you've broken your vows a thousand times. Come yet again come. If part of the promise in a lived unitarian-universalism is that encouragement to spiritual growth and acceptance of one another. As we search for truth and meaning then that part of the promise must be allowed each and every sunday for each and every age. Whether we have been hurt by another places definitions of religion or spirituality in the past. Or. Still see great harm done in the name of religion and other places today. Living that promise. Is being willing to meet the other person along the way and to keep living a covenant together. Even if so many of our beliefs and experiences. Are so very different. Covenants in their very nature embodied basic theological understandings we hold as unitarian universalist. First we have free will to make sense of and express our understanding of our relationships with each other and that which we consider to be of ultimate importance. Secondly we each have. Value in and of ourselves which must be recognized and respected by each other through our obligations to each other individually and collectively. Third. Our emphasis on the ways we will be with each other as a process. And not just as a means to an end. Is a manifestation of our understanding of the exists that existence is constantly in motion. It is incremental and constantly evolving. And consequently we do not know what will happen in the future. And that revelation and possibility are open and ongoing. We can assume neither damnation or utopian progress. But have hope and optimism. In the limitless possibilities of existence. As author wendell berry writes about the covenant of marriage in his book standing by words. He says. We can join one another. Only by joining the unknown. Your union is going where the two of you. And marriage. Time. Life. History. And the world. We'll take it. You do not know the road. You have committed your life. To away. The very incremental. Nature of life means a couple of things. One is that changing the world takes longer than we realize or want. This is often very frustrating. For those of us. I reminded of a story that dane and perry told on radio show years ago where. He said he found himself one of those places where i was like get the heck out of my way i'm trying to make the world peaceful. Dinner thing is though that. Secondly unfortunately because of the very incremental nature. Of things. Everything we do. Count. That is truly. Grace. Hange actually holds great hope for us personally. As a congregation and as a society. With endings come the possibilities of renewal or re-creation. Change is a part of living with all of its grief and its goodness. Change the part of living. To be fully human we have to respect and embrace change with all of its risks for doing harm. Along with all of its powers and potentials for joy. Creating the beloved community. Through our covenants. We call each other into free and responsible commitment to build our common good. We are being observed. Yes we. Are being observed by many both inside our religion. And in the larger community to see what we will do with our potentials. Influence and shape the nature. North texas religious landscape and. The remediation of harm. If we take seriously our liberal ideas. And being in the world then. To make real and concrete these coming until ideals in this congregation and a larger community. Is not only desirable. But necessary. For the very manifestation and ongoing embodiment of the beloved community we aspire to foster in to be in this world. When we walk and act together. In our principles our ability to effect change in the world is amplified. When we embrace our role as change agents. As well as being affected by change we are empowered. Now that's important because sometimes we like other people to change but we don't want to have to do it ourselves. Right. I'm reminded to equip that comedian brett butler said she was i'm all for the revolution coming now i'm just afraid i won't be able to find a good moisturizer afterwards. Said if we are change agents we must also be willing to be affected by change. When we are committed and reliable we become trustworthy to ourselves and others. When we embrace patience and the knowledge that everything we do counts. We can be present and optimistic about the future. When we embrace embrace and apply the truth. That best way to bring our principles to fruition in the world is to leave them out in our own lives. Then our lives. Dancing. On the web of changing interdependent existence. Will resonate with the singing harmonies. Integrity. Hope. For worldmade warfare. With all of her people one. Recipe.

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Sermon_0927_p1.mp3

The human condition seems to be determined by doubt about doubt. Truth is not denied or rejected but it is believed the truth the voice of truth has a suspicious undertone in fact a methodological device of falsification can be extended to a life born by doubt true believers found their existence on the alleged rock of an indubitable truth that offers scores of verification that is proof of his indubitably truth that is edible cases and situations eventually in a slow evolutionary process and individual may come close to a resemblance of truth or if you will a verisimilitude literally something resembling truth he goes on sincere of tolerance as was demonstrated by castillo in his opposition to calvin's theocratic terror castillo believed in god and put his faith to doubt just as his considerable knowledge never lost sight of an inherent ignorance this world views of course more than a private and personal attitude it's a way of life that stands out is the hallmark of democracy just as absolute truth alleged and truly believed is the hallmark of every type of tyranny after all isn't institutionalized opposition of a component of multiparty government and countervailing force and ss the essence of democratic political systems society is unthinkable without sincere and consistent doubt the middle path is that can lead us to truth about being fundamentalist and doctrinaire nor do we need to fall into a mushy atavism they list 7 conditions necessary.

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20150830-Sermon.mp3

Two weeks ago when in our service we had book reviews. I was sitting back over here and i. And donna will i had just read. A real exciting book. And i thought i would share it with the community because it's going to be controversial. And it's going to raise a lot of questions and. Who played lot of discussion. Start out let me ask a question. Those of you i know a lot of you have come from different traditions and so you must have read some of the new testament or maybe all of the new testament. Have you ever thought. You'd like to change some words in there or add some new books have an anyone's ever thought that. Wow that's good. Cuz today i'm going to tell you about. It's been done. In the early 1970s. I had a discussion with a history professor and we talked at length about. How we thought there ought to be a third. Testament. The old testament hebrew bible. The new testament the christian scriptures and then. The christian writings from the 3rd century to the present day. Well it never happened. Even though some people still talk about. The fact they would like to have such a third. But what has been done. Is the publication of a. New new testament. Hey not the. A new new testament and the reason the council and the editor wanted to make it a new testament. Is because they anticipate. Lot of people are going to disagree. And they'll want to take out some of the books maybe add some other books or change them of the translation because we know there's been a lot of errors in translation throughout the history of the new testament. So-so ain't noon attachment. Yep contain but they kept the 27 books of the regular new testament. Because i don't want to mess with that although in their translation they did make some editorial changes were where the the greek language could be a variation for example where you have gender that could be either male or female. They kind of traded off sometimes male and sometimes female where the regular new testaments at least an english-language mail mail mail all the way through. And so so they made variations in some of those translation. I became aware of it because i good friend of mine. Was the director. Of the translations. From the coptic language and from the greek language and i just learned two days ago. That's why she's finished a dissertation on. Three books in the nagamati library which deal with creation and i'm anxious for her to publish that her at least have it available so i can read what she has to say about those three books. Well in order to understand. Hey new new testament we have to. Reflect back on how the new testament came to be in the first place. Because there's a lot of questions about it. If it's helpful to see what happened in the early churches in the first three centuries congregation read from whatever manuscript they had available. And all they had available were copies of copies of copies of copies of handwritten document and you know when you. Copy something by hand from a text. You're going to make errors in the copier of the copy is going make an errand the copy of copy of copy is going to make an heir and the in the new testament. And not all agree in terms of what the new testament is in the eastern orthodox churches they have a new testament which is different from what we know in english and no in the western church. Theologian marcion who lived in the middle of the 2nd century. Was the first person to make a list of books that should be read in the churches. He believed that every book and every letter written for christians was in air. Except for the letters of the apostle paul. And park. Of the gospel of luke. So that's all. Gillespie hat. At the end of the second century. You're an ass the bishop of lyon france. Was the first to designate matthew mark luke and john. As the four gospels that are to be read by the church. For yes because there's four corners to the earth and the wind blows from for directions there for four gospels. That was his thinking. Women 363 364 the church had held a council in laodicea asia minor which is now a part of turkey. And. There's where we first see the first list of 27 books that we know of as the new testament today. But i am glad to see if they made to list the one with 27 books. And another list with 26. Play 26 left out the revelation of john the last book of the new testament. Oh that's what that was all right with me and so they begin to insist on these books being written in the church and not others. Dim the lake 300. Hope to masius. Ask theologian and translator jerome. Another one of the church fathers. Jerome. To translate these 27 books into latin. And he translated them into latin and it became the official vulgate. Translation which the roman catholic church promoted and said that if. Was the book 3 read and it was to be read in latin. Well. I'm late for 1400 martin luther tried unsuccessfully to remove four books from the new testament. And he because he didn't like what they said and didn't think they agreed with what the rest of the new testament but he was unsuccessful in that. But the controversy continued for another hundred years and then finally in the 16th century at the council of trent. It was decided for the first time. But the 27 books that we know of now. As soon as possible. Consisted. New testament canon the official documents for the new testament. Well today most scholars believe in the. Cancellations. And know that there are a lot of errors lot of controversies for example. Marcy i'm like talala letters of paul but we know now that if the 13 letters of the apostle paul only seven were written by paul. The others were written by someone either using his name or maybe somebody by the name of paul but not the quality of pasta. Another thing that happened in. 367. Athanasius the bishop of north africa who lived in alexandria he wrote an easter letter to all of the churches of north africa all of his congregation. And he said. These 27 are the only books to read will have no others read in his churches in north africa. And so you can see how they were insistent upon that and if people had other books they were to burn them. That might suggest something for what i'll be saying in just a few minutes. Well. In the past 160 years. We have found 75 manuscript from the ancient world. And these manuscripts some of them we knew about because the names were mentioned in the heresy trials. Somewhere mentioned as as one of the early church fathers writing about something else they mentioned book and said it was wrong so we knew about some of them but some of the books like. The thunder perfect mind no other ancient manuscript except the one found at nagamati. Let me see a word or two about nagamati. And this is this. Particulate called nagamati library. Nagamati is a town. In the upper nile. South. Water flows north to the mediterranean show up in the south is nagamati and across the river in. Little area. Who are five bedouin farmers. Came to a little hillside there and work digging in the soil because the soil at was nitrogen-rich until they would dig the soil and take it back to put on their gardens and on their farm. Well. In 1945 it was december 1945 when they were doing this. And. It's interesting. The man who was involved in this discovery. Was a man by the name of muhammad ali. Well. Anyway muhammad and his crew went out to dig in his brother was digging and hit a skeleton. He dug up the skeleton. Didn't know who it was. When it was buried. But then they thought would have better dig around cuz sometimes people bury things in their caskets are when their body is buried. He had a jar. And he dug it out of the ground it was about a 2 ft tall jar it had a cap on it that was sealed by bittman the car like substance could get in from the dry egyptian soil. And when he dug it got up out of the ground and all of the workers were looking at it. Better not break it open it might have an evil genie. But then. They thought it might have gold. And you know what limbs out between the meeting genie and possibility of gold. So they crashed it open appointed no gold. No evil jenny. Just 52. Document some of them were bound together in leather binding and italy were bound in the fourth century because some of the scrap paper used to make the binding on the. Back of the book. Had dates like 367 or something like they're two or three years from these. Is just to help make the binding before the manuscript. Well mohammed then pour some of them up cuz he wanted distributed equally to the workers the field workers. But they didn't want any part of it. So what is he doing takes off his turban and lays it out plaza mall into a turban. Takes it home and dump them in the shed. That he has for his animals. And that night his mother went up to the shed to get some kindling or something and she saw a few of them took a man to burn to spark the fire for the evening meal. Lucky she didn't burn too many. So anyway that's that's part of the story but there's another interesting twist to the story because mohammed and his family were involved in a blood feud. It happened at six months prior to this december discovery. Muhammad's father was working as a night watchman for a german irrigation company. And somebody came in during the night. I need a film newsletter steel irrigation equipment. The next day. The family of that man came and killed. Muhammad's father. Well. They didn't know what to do and he muhammad begin to think about those books and maybe he oughta do something with them. But he. When they had a neighbor from their community common say the man who killed your father is up here on the road and he's asleep by arjaro. Molasses he was probably sitting at the road to sell molasses probably glad that he's asleep so muhammad and his brother got their maddox's went up there in the man. So they hacked into death. They cut open his chest. Took out his still warm heart. And the ada. A blood feuds are real blood feud. I am.. But the only thing that there was a concern because they found out the man they killed. Was the son of a local sheriff had to do something with some. And you can't export them advancing with him. So he had given the one book with a lot of manuscript in it to his coptic priest who live in the neighborhood. And the coptic priest had a. Brother-in-law was itinerary. School teacher and he made the cycle every week so once a week he would be at the coptic priest house so the priest gave him the book and he looked it over and and being educated he thought this might be valuable. And begin to ask around. Dealers who always trying to fight scripts and smuggle them out of the country. And. The word got around apparently because the government confiscated the books. Later the book later they let him sell it to the coptic museum so he got a little bit of money out of the book. Well the director of the coptic museum. He he looked over these documents. He knew an archaeologist and a scholar from paris who was in cairo ne. Show them to him and he said yes those look like. You're important august be something done with them so the coptic museum contacted the united nation unesco. Organization. And unesco then looked at them. Said that yes they really were important so they call together and international team to get those fragments and pages under glass. The photocopy them and them two to begin the process of translation they were all written in the coptic language. The the book that was produced out of that it was edited by james m robertson who was an american scholar. New testament and so he knew the ancient. Scripps. I am.. He along with his crew translated these books and it's taken quite a few years for it to come out and and be popular. Because in the meantime a year-and-a-half after this was discovered the dead sea scrolls were discovered discovered up the bank from the dead sea in the hills in 13 different caves. That one got all the attention that's something to get attention till later. But it became important and has been studied more and more and scholars today have to study up if they're gone talk about early christianity. The new note estimate. As added ten bucks as i mentioned. The new testament. Seven of them come from the nagamati library and three from other ancient manuscripts that were available this is the first. Addition and change. In 1,500 years. To the new testament. In the last hundred sixty years late they had discovered 75 manuscripts. And throw. Gwen this committee. Got together council. They. Went from 75 manuscripts. Down to 43 - grips. And then down to the selection of the 10 that are included the bible seven of which kinds from the nagamati library. And then three others. Now the requirement. For it to be included in a new new testament that was that the book or manuscript had to have been written sometime between 25. And 175 common era. And the reason for that was because 175 is the latest knowing date. For any of the regular 27 books of the new testament. And so they didn't want to. New edition that came from a later.. In fact karen king from harvard. Argued that links it with the council trying to get one book she wanted included but it was. 2 years too late and so the council finally decided no not to include the book well if it's interesting and what they developed. Call hossack was the editor and the reason i came to know about this book in the first place is because my friend was the director of translations of the coptic and the greek she's really a good scholar and coptic language and greek language. To get her book dealing with. With that. Creation stories there's three of them mention three. X. Manuscript in montgomery that have. Stories about creation so i'm anxious to get her writing and see what that has to say. But then how. Selected 18 other people to be on the council to make. This decision. Now it was a pretty balanced council 9 were women pinworm in. Two were presbyterian. Three roman catholic. A3 episcopalian. For methodist. United church of christ one lutheran to jewish rabbis who were. Jewish-christian dialogue scholars and what was that i think a new testament scholar as well and then one who specially was the yoga buddhist tradition so these 19 came together. 3 evangelicals who are invited to be on the council refused. I refused because here was a bishop who wanted books from the first second century all the way to today included. He refused to be on the council. They selected seven from nagamati and three others let me just mention what they are. The prayer of the apostle paul. Doc b's first avatar from nagamati. The gospel of truth. The gospel of thomas course we've had the gospel of thomas in the greek language from other manuscript discoveries but this one is is apparently we are complete so they took the gospel of thomas from. The thunder perfect mind that only exists in the library. The prayer of thanksgiving. The letter of peter to philip. And the secret revelation of john that's not the revelation of john's revelation the last book in the regular new tesla the secret revelation of john it's very much like the same kind of book. Predicting well who knows. Three other manuscripts outside of the nagamati collection one was the book of odes of solomon. And when you read the odes of solomon. It sounds like you're reading the psalms. In hebrew bible. Scholars believe they were hams that were some in the early church so they're interesting. The next one selected was a gospel of mary a very interesting gots when he probably heard because i've been a member of books written about the gospel of mary mary was thought to be. Peter said she was more important to jesus. And when jesus died mary taught the disciples some of the things that jesus had taught her privately that they didn't know about now the story of davinci code that's all fake didn't have anything to do with mary about the gospel. And then the book the acts of paul and fear this interpreting book exciting story i read. If that's all you could you read about the young woman whose betros to the richest man in town. And she's sitting in her window up on the second story. And she hears a voice down in the neighbors courtyard around the corner she can't see. The apostle paul. And he's pitching and luxury in and goes on for 23 days. No she wants to follow the apostle paul and she does and goes through two or three miracles and thanks and and she then lived on another into her seventies as a leader and a teacher in the church. And in fact the story was so great that. People particularly women wanted to hear the story for some 600 years. And then finally after about six hundred years the catholic church says it's forbidden. Don't read that burner do away with it. And so we didn't see it down to the present day. What are we conclude from all of this. Like include that manuscript. Add support to spiritual development. When you've got the hymns of the church. And you got some prayers that work full press. Some of these things and then just some of the teaching devout help people develop a spiritual side. And particularly some of these. Members of the council. Have held seminars and. Workshops in studies on some of this material and they found that particularly young adults. And adults who have been turned off my religion find some of this very interesting. Women will find them especially exciting because it really emphasizes the place of women in the church and number the books do something. And i. As we know the regular new testament. Pics app. Female references it eliminates reference to women leaders in the church and azra said. Only seven of paul's letters are his. The apostle paul and it's his. Other six. Ar. The ones that talk about women be quiet in the church. Don't speak ask your husband at home. You know that kind of thing so women will find these new looks interesting. The new nene new new testament is going to be a real challenge to the history and development of. The new testament. As well as the development of the church cuz it raises. Question when you read this thing about what why do you ever heard these things before. And you'll find a lot of churches will never make mention of this. And the preachers will never mention it. But there's so much that's been discovered in the last hundred and sixty years. The people are saying to their message why haven't you ever told us that stuff. Ministers don't want to preach about it because. It might stir up some controversy. Well as i mentioned before evangelicals will have a fit they'll fight it tooth and nail so we'll just have to see what happens. Students who are either going to be studying for ministry or studying to be religious educators will have to deal with not only a new testament but all of these documents and more things that we have found. 160 years as we've discovered more manuscript. Only the book is only available in hardback and so when my friend let me know that it was available i ordered it right away and i asked barnes & noble if it's available in paperback and they said. Paperback should be coming out in september. I haven't been back to see where i'll have to wait till today's see if it's been published in paperback. Through the years. With the discovery of new manuscripts and fragment. The original text have to be changed because they're their lot a just. In fact. Professor. Chapel hill north carolina professor of religion. Bart ehrman thank you are in scripture than there are words in the new testament are words of the new testament where a lot of those changes would be like what i talked about copies of copies of copies. Thousand. A in the scriptures south people going to have to take a new look at all of that and for those who are interested in.

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20130707-Homily_1_070713.mp3

Good morning. Leadership. What comes to mind when you hear that word. I picture i huddled masses of people confused directionless and afraid. They do not know where to go only that there's someplace that they must go then from out of the crowd. 11 figure steps up and elevate himself or herself above the crowd. I'll turn to look at this lone figure. He shows a willingness to take responsibility over this crowd of wretched souls. He is able to express his ideas clearly and above all is full of self-confidence. There even seems to be a ray of light shining down upon this remarkable figure. With a strong commanding voice he comfy confidently states follow me. The mass of people without question or hesitation follow this solitary figure this commanding figure this. B l. How many can relate to that seemingly natural born leader. I know i can't. Take responsibility over people i can barely take responsibility over myself. Express my diaz clearly. Do you have any idea how many writes and edits i did on his homily alone. Not to mention how i can trip over my words thank you for bearing with me by the way. Pull up the self-confidence oh my goodness don't get me started. I can relate more to the confused and directionless crowd. But even though many of us may not feel that we are leadership material that does not mean being a great leader is out of our reach. Let's take a look at the story of moses. What is the story is real or a tale of myth and legend is inconsequential. What is important is how most of us can relate to moses when it comes to dealing with the call of leadership. And the reluctance they heed that call. So one day moses comes upon a burning bush and god tells moses that he would have. Damn talk to pharaoh and leida a large amount of slaves out of egypt and then guide them to the promised land. Quite the task to say the least and understandably moses was quite reluctant. First moses showed a lack of self self confidence. He asked who am i to go to pharaoh and what if the slaves don't listen to me. Second moses claimed that he lacked the ability to communicate well and communication is key to effective leadership. After all we would have a completely different story here if pharaoh responded to moses. Let who go now i can't understand you. I don't have time for you if you can't clearly tell me what you want. My schedule is completely full see my secretary on the way out and make an appointment for next month to try again. Finally moses just plain admitted i don't want to do this please send someone else. I'm sure many of you can relate to this reluctant later i know i can. We let our fears and anxiety getting away and what could become the road to becoming a great leader. What can we glean from the story of moses for dealing with insecurity and the face of leadership. First when presented with the leadership opportunity you're not expected to face the challenge alone. God told moses hey don't worry i'll be with you. Nevermind the whole theater issue and disembodied voice factor. Moses had to mentor to provide support and encouragement so to a mentor will be there for you to offer support and encouragement. Second moses was provided an assistant named aaron as moses claims he cannot communicate well. This illustrates that necessary leadership traits need not be present in a single person. But present within the group as a whole. What skills and traits you make feel you at can be overcome by adding individuals to your group who possess those respected skills and traits. So even though moses did not display the traits of what would be expected of a great leader. He did accomplish his seemingly impossible task of leading all those slaves out of egypt. What cats have you been asked to leave. Are you so different from moses. What we can learn from overall is that our fears and anxieties can be cast aside involving the call of leadership. Leadership is not a solitary endeavor but generally a team effort is involved. They're those that provide mentorship and there are those that provide their talents to aid in the accomplishment of your presented task. Let us not let our own reluctance get in the way of our leadership potential.

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20130526-Sermon_052613.mp3

Is victoria rev victoria safford said. In the reading i just read from her. Essay on covenant from the world magazine. The life of the spirit. The life of the spirit is solitary. Better answers to these questions call us to speak call us to live. In the plural. One of the great challenges to us as unitarian universalist. Now. Has been a transition away from. And individualism. Which we embraced from our transcendentalist forbearers. With great gusto. I sometimes feel that they would not have recognized it either. Fortunately over the last twenty or so years is has begun to change and and change greatly. So that now the understanding is that individual transcendence by itself is simply not enough. That it is. As total beings that we are the most complete expressions of the holy together. Whether we are dealing with things like wars. Or tornadoes in oklahoma or san antonio or cartel. We are not separate but part of a larger whole. Real transcendence transcendence has been our theme for this month. Real transcendence is not about escaping the here and the now be more fully engaged and aware of it. I think it was for me one of the spiritual practices that reminded me of this is when i started doing tai chi years and years and years ago. And. I was practicing it with a group of people back in missouri and. The teacher and i had my eyes closed. I said why he goes because you need to watch what you're doing. Because this is not an escape it's a being present. He says you close your eyes just nc2 kind of not be here he goes you need to be more here not less so. It's a kind of mindfulness and in this. We is unitarian-universalist reject the the aristotelian mind-body split or the solo body split of the physical endorsed by saint augustine. We reject the dualism. Expressed in this supposed split between the physical and empirical. Our experience and our mental and are spiritual beings. Let me be clear that i am. But i'm rejecting is not the idea or experience of the transcendent or a transcendence. Unitarian universalist sources are clear that these experiences of transcending wonder and mystery are essential. For our whole being. What i am rejecting is the mistaken idea that we have to transcend or lead behind this reality in order to encounter or be part of the holy. We reject the idea that the transcendent. Is a denial of the value and worth of this life and this reality. On the other hand we are not denying the possible existence of other realities that transcend this one. But we reject is that those realities are anymore real or more valuable or important than this one. Over many years over. 25 years. I have been a student off and on. And it sometimes practitioner of contemporary shamanic practices usually entailing a spiritual journey to other realities. Usually through drumming and rhythmic and training and one of the first things that all of my teachers make clear to me is that the other realities experiencing shamanic state are not less or more real than this one. We reside in what. Mini. Call our ordinary reality. And we may visit other non fornari realities. And journeying to these non-ordinary reality is not a form of escape. From this reality. But it is important from these to gain the information and power inside to help us in living in this reality. In this part of our lives. This is a form of transcendence that does not seek to split us off from our physical reality or to deny it but you supported and enhance it. Unitarian universalist theologian. Author 10-day co. Wrote the book the embody self frida schleiermacher solution to conn's problem of the empirical self that'll by itself as a snoozer. Again i think the titles important the embodied self. Important part. At the end of her book she paraphrases schleiermacher who in his own book on religion says. Our body lies in the bosom of the infinite world. And every sinew and muscle of our body feels infinite life as its own. Essentially we are manifestations of that which we call holy is the same time. We are the cosmos risen to self-awareness. And a yearning. Anna singing. That we live. Our job is not to choose one mode of perception and being over another but to embrace them and dispel the illusions of their separateness. I think a good example is. The more obvious problems with the current paradigm of western healthcare. Is that treating illness. And not the patient. The person becomes objectified as the disease. While working as a chaplaincy intern at the university of chicago hospitals many years ago i regularly heard doctors and nurses and social workers refer to patients as the diabetic in bed one. For the cancer over in room 3. At first i was appalled. And i even tried to address it in staff sessions which was not taken well. By a ministerial student intern trying to address this to obviously experienced medical professionals. People communicating. In reflection i feel there were a couple of pieces to this phenomenon. While it is used as a coping mechanism. Allowing people in high-stress situations to get some necessary emotional distance. It soon becomes a way of perceiving others to begin with. Patients are reduced to being their illness. Often we are unwilling or unable to allow others to phone for express the realities of their physical experiences as people. Particularly in regard to pain or illness. Perhaps this is because we fear the implications of these conditions may hold. For us. If we allow a another person to be fully present with themselves and with us in their physicality. If they own the reality of their corporeality. Then we are literally face-to-face with our own. Physical being and its limit. And we may be very uncomfortable. With any implications. If we are dealing with the present reality of another person not trying to treat them as their condition. Then we are forced to be in contact with awareness of them and ourselves as incarnate physical beings. Yeah this is part of the story of who we are. When we let others at ourselves share the realities of how we are actually feeling. How we experience ourselves we are sharing these stories the midst of who they and we really are and in this sharing this listening to what thomas more calls the poetics of the body. We are open to the possibilities of healing each other. Contemporary pagan theologian starhawk shared a story. Route several decades ago now at our general assembly. Teaching ritual classes at holy names college in california she opened with the first session of a semester with a question does anyone have something they would like to share in order for us to know you better. He's like a pretty basic question. Enough for some people in academia to seems pretty progressive but you know. We get to know each other. This is a group of people who are meeting at holy names was a catholic college but she had a a pagan witch teaching app. For a while okay. Needless to say that it didn't last a long time but. And they are outside. One young man stood up and said i have something i need to show you. He said he had aids and stripped down to his shorts showing the ks lesions already covering his legs. He walked around a circle of clergy and professors letting them touch him or he'll him as they would. In this singular act of bravery. He went on to relate his pain and his fears and his anger at the disease already ravaging his frail body. No one was going to cure this young man but his ability to share his story and to be seen and heard created the possibility for healing for himself for those present and even for some of us. When i was sinking down sinking down sinking down. Finish my sorrows ground. Friend to me gathered around oh my soul oh my soul. Oh my so. So what does it mean for us to experience healing in the larger sense of this word. Play indicated earlier healing is the experience or renewal of restoration to a place of harmony or balance. Healingwell most often replied to our physical selves often describes the fundamental purpose of religion. We just helped us with a path and a community. To live in greater health and harmony with each other and the universe. We seek this out because we often experience ourselves or our lives as wounded or disconnected from the sources of our lives and maybe even from the holy. And even from ourselves. And being here together and religious community many of us are seeking renewal healing and reconnection. For the truth as our face knows it is that we are never alone. Or cut off. From the source of all. As a religious community. We are also called to bring our message of healing and connection and inherent worth. To the community beyond our walls. Share our good news of hope. And wholeness. To witness to the possibilities we have experience in our own lives. But sharing and demonstrating our faith also. Let's also be more than our words and ideas as crucial as they are. There is an old saying in religious circles they don't care what you know until they know that you care. Our faith must be born out here. If we believe in a saving message of this faith then we have to support it. And show with power of transformation to others. We need to make manifest our faith in the kinds of lives we lead. And how we support and shape the world we live in. That what we believe has the power to heal and provide for curing. As the dalai lama has her marked one cannot be truly spiritual and stand by and do nothing. Ministry. Is to minister unto. And we are all ministers in relation to each other. Outwardly our experiences of the sacred. Being on holy ground maybe in places as large as the grand canyon or is intermittent sheltering asthma circle of a loved one's arms. Our bodies are also to be respected and honored as sacred for who we too are. Heart of the cosmos. The holy made manifest. We are not only made in god's image better than interval part of the holy itself. As such we are good gift to be cherished for our own sakes. Ourselves we are a part and parcel of the sacred. Inhabiting body and holy ground. Within each of us the tree of life may bloom and give shelter to ourselves and to each other and the world. And here. We all are struggling incomplete. Yet precious. Yearning expressions of the holy in this serious house on this serious earth. Breathing in the blunt aaron which all our compulsions meet as the poet says on this and all the holy grounds of our lives we are constantly surprising hungers in ourselves to be more serious and to grow wise. As unitarian universalist we call upon ourselves to respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are apart. And by this we mean the same understanding that we. Are related to and connected to and part of everyone and everything else. Is the late author and science popularizer caller carl sagan says we are star stuff. Candlelight universalist minister unitarian universalist minister and lyricist katapatan wrote. We are the operator unproud. It's twins on musically. We are part and parcel of blood and bone of that which surrounds us. This relatedness is not a myth and allegory. An analogy or a symbol or an archetype or an abstraction do it may fill those roles. As unitarians. And universalist we recognize it is a fact of biology chemistry and physics. As well as metaphysics and spirituality. Therefore unitarian universalism is also a relationship centered religion. Culture after culture and people after people refer to the world and nature and to that and those around us in terms of family or community. Whether it is saint francis of assisi speaking of brother wind and our sister mother earth. For the lakota holy man nicholas blackhawk scene quote many hoops that make one circle why does daylight and starlight. With the shapes of all things living together as one being as children and one mother and one father that language a relationship is unmistakable. In human terms the intent is to underline the radically immediate relationship of what we as modern westerners have come to see as dead and or other and therefore. Disposable. But this language and understanding does is turi contextualize our place in the universe. And a relationships to everything. We are no longer the top of some evolutionary ladder upward and onward forever. But instead we find that we are potentially violent. Safari potentially violent part. Imaginations but sensitive web of interlocking relationships. The healing is in the experience of transcendence of being brought back together with all that is and not split asunder from it. I am stuck recently buy some movie trailers. Amelie movie phantom let me know. I want to think about having small children. There's a new movie coming out with will smith in it called after earth i think. I'm really disappointed already and i haven't even seen the movie. On a scale of millions of years for them to evolve. And it supposed to be 1,000 years i'm like right there. But then he's also saying his son who has crash-landed with you know it's a robinson crusoe think that. These animals have evolved this way to fight human beings because you know and i'm like that's really egocentric. To get back at people who did some horrible things. That's really human eccentric don't you think is like yeah where it's still the center of the universe even when we're not here. I don't think so i have problems with that. Is a species on this planet would currently has the greatest ability to affect it. We have taken on powers which we must. Learn to use with great discretion and humility. And we are responsible not only to ourselves but to all of our relations the two-legged the four-legged and the wing it. Past present and future. Well this is a part of our sacred responsibility it is also part of our salvation. This issue of responsibility of sacred and crucial. Not only because of some bleeding-heart codependent need to save the world issue it is crucial because the difference between simply being in a relationship and being in community is the matter of being accountable to each other. What are the three things i find consistently when i work in any community setting is there are three things that must be present in any relationship. There must be a 40 accountability. 30. Accountability. Prefix of arizona's. Responsibility. Attention. Responsibilities have the same as accountability. She got to have those three balance if you're accountable. Time but you got to have authority and responsibility. If you're if you're in if you're going to be responsible you know you got to have the authority to do things. Those of us who work in middle management positions know all about those look away. Lititz liberals down the project of expanding the category of who was a vow. For who we responsible for and to. We have added many many categories of people from. On property dwight men to the mentally ill racial minorities religious minorities women gay lesbian transgender people and on and on and we're still at it today. We recognize all as a part of community. Universalist forebears rejected the idea of an elective group of people being chosen by god. They rightly pointed out that we are all children of the universe. And part of the same community. And therefore responsible to and for each other. We find ourselves ation our healing in our transcendence. You know relationships. With each other and in our participation in the life of a community. In a life in which we feel increasingly cut off from everyone and everything including ourselves let us remember that we are not alone in a dead world of things. But rather we are crowded. All around by many particular manifest presences and manifestations of the holy. Sometimes when i'm driving in my car and i'm feeling cut off. I have to remind myself. So what ime in. Maybe a man-made or human-made construction but it is made of elements from the earth even the plastic. Comes from the earth. And that i am connected in so many unusual and amazing ways. To everything. Even when. I would feel alone. So on this day and on everyday let us remember this. And be comforted and act accordingly. But together we all live upon. A sacred mountain we all walk upon this sacred earth. We live beneath the sacred sky and we are all surrounded by all of our relations. The transcendence is not something. That we achieve alone or on our own. But it's part of a community of living. Living breathing being. Part of covenant. That we call us. Recipe.

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Sermon_040812.mp3

As a child growing up in the relatively liberal disciples of christ tradition. In the 1970s i learned about jesus mostly through reading the bible comic books. We received on sunday morning. Later in high school. I believe that is that is this morning the story in an artificially. Format that led me for years understand the story of jesus of nazareth. A story with a beginning. It was also the comic book format that while making the stories more accessible for my young mind. I know this is a common experience. Did my family jesus and our practice of christianity was a reflection of our white suburban liberalism transplant. In our congregation jesus was a moral teacher. Reminding us of the golden rule. And to aid our neighbors even if. Usually just enough to help us feel justified in not being more conservative or dogmatic. Jesus was a peacemaker to the degree that it could be integrated into the lives of community which made his living. Carswell air force base command and general dynamics bring the height of the vietnam war. Jesus was an embrasure of the radical of. In other words jesus tended to look a lot like us. Unitarian universalist minister emeritus in pamphleteer that reverend daniel higgins. I affirm it as a symbol system through which i edit reality. I would add that the reverse is true for all of us as well that the realities we know in aspire to realize or simple system service we edit our understanding. Jesus. And my colleague barbara marshman is a lifelong universalist and a religious educator. Pinche matter-of-factly observes quote in coming to some intellectual conclusions about jesus his life and teachings. We do what every other girl. For us. In jesus of nazareth. Unitarian and universalist attended to find the enlightened rabbi the social critic orthodoxies of his own. Toomanywhy comfort zone. To engage and to be responsible for the larger experience of humanity. We see him as human and not more divine than any other. He's a democratic figure not a king. He is an iconic class and advocate for a radical community of all souls. Since before the 19th century unitarian minister theater parker deliver his seminal sermon. The transient and permanent in christianity in 1841. Unitarians are found that they have tended to be more interested in the religion of jesus. Rather than the religion about. Who was jesus and what did he say that has meaning and relevance for our. This is the perennial question. As unitarian universalist. The tendency to look for the truth of jesus and his teachings goes back way before parker goes all the way back to thomas jefferson. How many of you know that thomas jefferson used to take the bible and cut out. The parts that he liked. He cut out the teachings of jesus. And and put them into a notebook and eventually this was a couple of versions. You can still buy. We tell it to her. The jefferson bible. For recognizing the differences between. Jefferson still found jesus to be a reasonable compassionate moralistic social critic philosopher. Jefferson himself. Fahrudin arguably more supportable academic analysis still tend to reflect. Some of us are here this morning on a sunday instead of it being somewhere else. Because we have rejected or at least ignored the jesus we were raised with. We may have become cynical about christianity and might even agree with the sas and satirist ambrose bierce. Who wrote that the definition of a christian is one who follows the teachings of christ insofar as they are not be consistent with a license in. Others of us might be in sympathy with samuel and. Are we talkin about. Many of us have leftover traditional religious communities to make our way here to this liberal religious community. We usually let those places because what we felt were narrow dogmas with artificially divided the world up into good and evil. Saved and unsafe sheeps and goats whatever. Yet well we may have left those traditions behind their still tendencies. Either it is all good or all bad since the bible is not all true then it must be all false and we have jesus. Fortunately this view is no less the case in our congregation has been in. Still there is a tendency that all of us. Who are recovering from something else. Need to be aware of lest we commit the same sins of exclusivism. That we sought relief from. As i see it the challenge for us as unitarian universalist. As part of an intellectually critical religious tradition. Just to be present to vote. Call being aware that the things that we think he know about him. Are tempered. By who we are and perhaps what we are looking for. If we examine how we understand jesus then we may in fact learn a great deal more about ourselves. Who we think he is. They offer us insights. We need him to be. And why. In all the myriad of ways that we can relate to this palestinian jew who is executed nearly two thousand years ago each. Offers something in return. We are tradition here that for nearly two hundred years has understood jesus as a human teacher. Who offers us humane and ethical teachings for a better life together. Now what do answer when he asked. Who do people say that i am. As he gazes back at us with our own eyes. What does that young and fearless prophet. Now have to teach us about our own lives. And our own yearning. And how to walk with each other. And holy way. Happy easter.

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Sermon_061911.mp3

The title of today's. Sherman is harry potter and masculinity it's not just about the lawn denny moore. Yeah my wife says are you kidding you're not going to use that title are you. And i said yes because there's also sort of a subtitle that goes with it. It's also about that hat. No us we get to silly here. It is father's day and on father's day i like to try to talk about issues that have relevance to mininail lives. And because sometimes we get so little of that. Elsa video. I want to talk a little bit about the harry potter series because it is one of the emerging mystic springs or narrative structures. That our children and grandchildren are going to inherit. Lessen the same way that a lot of us inherited culkin. And other phone. Popular literature. And with the last of the movies coming out in a month. I wish we take us to be nice. The. Opportunity is for us to do a little reflecting as we look back now as sort of that whole chapter is being closed over the last. 18 years or so of both books and movies. Coming out around this. This is actually from the english movie version they called the philosopher. Instead of the sorcerer. Isn't england they know the story of the philosopher. Better than. That's good maybe the next one. Now there is a lot of wand waving going on in these movies. Just got to get a picture.. Well you know if i didn't want my picture took i wouldn't wear the hat okay. There is water wand waving going on the scene of a dueling seen here from. With harry and draco malfoy his nemesis. But that presage is much more serious things this is. Play a clip from next the last movie actually. Where harry is fighting. The evil villain voldemort. In a fight to the death. At the end around the destruction of what was hogwarts. Go ahead and go to the next. And harry has his share of. Negative role models to deal with their is draco malfoy and his thugs crabbe and goyle as well as. Some of the people on the slytherin quidditch team who are really. These are nice looking. Clean-cut young boys. And as we saw earlier lucius malfoy his father. Who. The way he dresses this is not in the standard repertoire or. Western mail right. Cinemas park. Renaissance reenactment. Lucius. Is. Very. White way to say this. He is very machiavellian. I am in kind of nasty character. Compared with. Albus dumbledore here played by richard harrison. Who played albus dumbledore in the first dumbledore. And. Assertive harry's. Protector taking harry into the school when he turned 11 and away from a family of mughals he was being raised by who. Mothers. Family the dursleys you got any pictures of the dursleys here the dursleys are everybody's suburban english nightmare. And they are the perfect family. And every way possible and just really awful. And then we have. Voldemort. Who has come back to life so many times people lost count. And. And at the heart of his charm. And here he is. Play by ray fiennes. With a lot of cgi work removing part of his face and other things. Looks like some of his reincarnations. Snakes and other stories. And here he is with harry. Harry got his scar on his forehead was voldemort when she killed him as a baby. And. Misspell rebounded. Mostly. And so harry is the boy who lived. He is. Representation of salvation. Steve hall. But before we have all of that wonderful kind of negative role modeling going on. We have some really interesting remodeling this is an illustration from children's edition of. The first harry potter book. This is hagrid coming through a doorway. To recruit rescue harry. Gone so far as to move out into the middle of the north sea on an island. Got to get away from the mail sign to recruit him to go to his hogwarts wizarding school. And hagrid has come to retrieve him on his birthday. 11. And hagrid burst into the door. There's the doors on the floor. Knocks it down. And he's carrying in his hand a pink umbrella. The hybrid is hat giant. If we weren't later in the series. He's a big guy. Play by robbie coltrane. In the movie. I think abrella hides his wand. So there's an interesting thing that within a pink umbrella lies the. The power the one that he's not supposed to have. Because he is half diet. Until there's some unconventionality hear about hagrid. She isn't what she seems she cries when a baby dragon is taken away from him. He's racing. And he also has a gigantic three-headed dog name. Agrippa, say another surrogate mentor and father figure or harry. This isn't the end of the second movie where are in the great hall and hagrid's return from having been sent to prison. As gabbana really awful horrible place. Because of a. Mistaken. Pranks. So. There is this huge giant of a man. He was also so tender and loving and motherly. In a way that this. One might consider clumsy but actually is really very. So. That's an unconventional. Sense of masculinity. Movies. Where is again. Directions. Albus dumbledore. And that's a phoenix that is just burst into flames and is not coming back out of the ashes. And extremely bright and early in harry's there. Thing versus the flames on harry walked into the office and harry. Immolating. So this one is very tender moments here. Again. Almost. Stereotypically call feminine. But i think that. Wanamaker very carefully says there is. Let me have been careful not to label things. That are not. Things that are not conventionally masculine don't automatically become. We have to be careful about that fact we need to embrace the conventionally mascot. In order to open up spaces for us. Room for. This variety is complexity. Masculine. Here's another one of him with albus dumbledore l played by michael gambon. Over the roll. Hairstyle. And do they are in little village little fighting where harry potter was actually born and. His parents were murdered. Ironically elvis also. What interesting things that happens at wanamaker. Read her article didn't know about. Publishing is that. Jk rowling. Announce publicly that yes albus dumbledore. Was gay. This was huge news if you weren't paying attention. And it just went to prove a lot of people that she had an agenda. And. I think she's had some interesting remarks. Basically. There's nothing. In the box. Limousine. Other than. Simply. Beanie. Person. Now these two characters. Professor slughorn the top-left has an old potions master. Is brought back into the movie. Series. He is a collector of people. Do you like to have. People who murder or serve his protegerse people who he can claim as his own. And so he's seeking to collect. And that's a different kind of messy whenever he's very acquisitive. Form of. Being in the world. And then i walk hard earlier gilderoy. Is flim-flam man who's made a really good living taking on. The work of other people by wiping out their memories after he gets their story and he wipes after memory and he writes the story as his own. You can't do squat really. He's really good at wiping out memories it's not all you can do. And it comes back to haunt him later. Interesting. Text me the website. They have this picture was gilderoy with a subtitle ernie thayer unwanted touch. And and that's definitely think she might say gilderoy is is. Is that kind of backhanding backs. Slapping kind of person. Next one here this is. Lupine. Professor lupin. Is partying to teach they have a hard time keeping the dark arts defense against the dark arts positions filled. And he comes in. And he's a werewolf. And he was also a. School chum of harry's father. And with a buddy of yours. And hung out with them. Anti carey's mother and father meet apostles. Even being afflicted malaysia. And he. Is. Someone who suffers a great deal but he doesn't let his suffering. Find me you. I think that's an interesting. Hideaway inn on the stiff-upper-lip kind of way but the way that he. Incorporate. Who is gracias. And goes forward. He is able. Ashley. Quite quite wise. Meaning of himself. And this is sirius black. British leave sirius black as a villain character. He is the prisoner of azkaban name. The surge movie. Later on turns out that he's been wrong he's been praying. And. Here they are in. Sirius black. Historic home. This is in the order of the phoenix. And. Sirius black is harry's godfather. And yet he's a he's a fugitive from the law because they still haven't been able to prove publicly that he's not. Guilty of stealing this other person. And so he's on the lam. But. He and harry he represents a possibility for harry. Howdy normal. Light. With a caring adult male. 2. Has his best. And throughout the series he does things. Support harry. Ice beer dispenser of wisdom inside and. And really caring support. Not even mentary so much. Running figure. Stand-in for a lot of it. Arthur weasley. This is father of his best friend and probably soon-to-be his father-in-law. And arthur is. In many ways. Seeing as something of a clown but he's also a very brilliant man. Very brave. Greekrave to send a very loving father. And. Very mischievous in his own right and raising of large number of red-headed. Previous song. Daughter. So. He also is another form of. Unconventional. Masculinity. We don't see. You saw how he reacted to lucius malfoy. That we had. The movie. That. You can see he really wanted to do something. But he didn't. And he chose the better judgment sociable model for children. And he didn't want to. Give in. And he's really fleshed-out much more clearly the books. And it's also a place where harry actually saves his life. Anyone. As well so they have a close by. Severus snape. Cheapest. Is seen as sort of a villain or negative character in his experience at by harry because. When he comes to school. Sleep is not very nice to him because out of his way to be cool actually. I am kind of it represents to some real. Struggles within. People to deal with both their anger their frustration. And also his desire to be caring and loving and humid is right and honorable. Is probably actually 10 most honorable figures. Higher storyline. And yet we don't know that. Here at 1 saying he's getting hairy and his. Buddy run back to their studying to talkin. And in another scene he's protecting them. Problem. Werewolf. So. He has all these different quality. Cares deeply about the children he works with. And is something of a champion of the underdog himself he just doesn't know why this. Secretly very nice. And i think that. The relationship between albus dumbledore and severus snape is an interesting one between two men. Albus dumbledore who is the greatest wizard of his age. And severus snape who is the reformed death eaters or the one the bad guys is. Come back to the good guys side. Which theoretically maybe not. That's a very interesting relationship especially if you look at just the way this is. Define sue very different ways of expressing masculinity. They're both very non-traditional. Non-conventional. Take that the book. And this in the movies really kind of. Play up well. And yet. No no. Their masculinity or their power or their authority or they're honorable this or any of those others. And yet they're not. In fact if they dress the way they do. There's a great line about all this dumbledore. From the very first book. He's described. Are you coming out here we go. This is from the very first movie when. The very first book the very beginning where. Sa. Nothing like this man that ever been seen on privet drive that's the house in surrey where harry potter is living. In a couple board under the stairs. He was a tall thin and very old and judging by the silver of his hair and beard. But you're both long enough to talk into his belt. He was wearing long robes. A purple cloak. Brown and high-heeled buckle boots. Is blue eyes were light bright and sparkling behind halfmoon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was albus dumbledore. So here you see somebody who looks like they've had a rough lie. And yet they're wearing purple clothes. High heel boots with buckles. And also there's a lot of kind of. But we might almost consider cognitive dissonance. Given to us. So what's the point of all of this. And in this is just scratching the surface by the way. I think he comes into this. Complexity and diversity. Ways in which we can be men. Women in the world. Are present in this series of will send many other forms. And is unitarian universalist we recognize. All of world literature as. Possible. Religious canon. You haven't opened. The wisdom. And inside. And jk rowling shows deeply a complex reality for boys and girls for men and women. Allowing for more possibilities is simply masculine or feminine in. Conventional. Just because something is not masculine and a conventional sense does not then my default make it feminine. In a. There are ways to be men. Challenge current norms which have integrity and i'll have sissy. Alderaan. I think this is important underlined terradyne here. Do we live in a post in. World. North royalton. That's a big. Nature of our reality. What i find interesting in doing research for this is that. I'm reminded again. a lot of feminist writers. As much as they decry dualistic cyst. They operate in dualistic system. They want everything to be one thing or the other black and white good or bad. So they are still held captive to the thing they say they are. Getting. 2 hour. What is something we also all have to be careful of. It's where we come from we always carry those internal imprint. How we do. How we understand the world and so although we may. Switch sides we may still be operating in the same realm. Either or good ad. I'd like to close with a statement that wanamaker afterwhile maker makes the end. Because by portraying a cast of boys and men. Performant range of masculine characteristics and doing so in negotiation. With a gemini. Masculinity or convention. Rawlings novels open up more possibilities for boys. What's a broader definitions of what it means to be masculine. Acknowledge a reader. Able to grapple with contradiction. And if m characters and situations. The test and contests. Instructed borders. Here within these. Wonderful photo children's books. Eddie's amazing opportunity. As a father is someone who has a free rules. I am constantly. Figure out what is it. How iracing. What am i going to have him. What am i going to virginia. Call my going to interpret. And i find it this is. Maybe some of those reefs. My son. Nephews. And 80% of the energy that with children in g. So take this with you. Show that not everything is as. Magic. But we are also connect.

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Sermon_101412.mp3

On june 14th 2005 apple ceo steve jobs delivered the commencement address at stanford university. Speech jobs who was recovering from surgery to remove cancer from a pancreas. Reflected on his own mortality as he delivered an uplifting but sober message. Live everyday like the last because one day it will be. This is an excerpt. He said when i was 17 i read a quote that went something like if you live each day as if. It made an impression on me and sends them to the past. If today was the last day of my life would i want to do what what i want to do with today. And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row. I know i need to chain. Remembering that i would be. That all be dead soon is the most important school i've ever encountered help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything all external expectations all pride all fear of embarrassment or failure these things just. Leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way i know to avoid the trap of thinking that you have something to lose. You're already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. No one wants to die even people who want to go to heaven don't want a guy to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it and that is as it should be because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life-changing. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new. Is you. It someday not long from now you will gradually become the old. Andy cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic. It is quite true. Nazareno steve jobs. Had a recurrence of his cancer passed away. Other people have other takes on. This whole issue of dying and living. Jerry seinfeld had 10 but i like this. According to most studies people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is that. Death is number two. Does that sound right. This means to the average person if you go to a funeral you're better off in the casket. Who i miss deeply. I'm always relieved when someone is delivering eulogy and i realize i'm listening to it. Hilton may have said the art of dying graciously is nowhere advertised in spite of the fact it is market potential. And isaac asimov said life is pleasant. Peaceful. It's the transition that's trouble. What do we say. Living. Well no one is. We generally do a firm that death is a natural thing. Late great minister forest church said. Religion is our human response. To the duo reality of. Penalize. And having. I'd actually like three that water quote for you. Religion is a human response to jewel reality. Being alive and having to die. We are. Not the animal with advanced language or tools as much as we are the religious animal. Knowing that we must die we question what life means. The answers we arrived at may not be religious answers with the questions. Forces us to ask are at the heart of the discussion. Where did i come from. Who am i. Where am i going. What is life's purpose. What does all of this signify. Is not life. Cool. Only it's permanent. Nicole is to live in such a way that our lives were worth dying for. This is where love comes into the picture. The one thing that can't be taken from us. Even by death. The love you give away. Along these lines. I heard a formulation similar to the one that make barn house. Chandelier in a reading about the two cylinders that she saw in a dream about the. Secret. And yes i believe comes from the hasidic tradition. So basically imagining if you were born with sort of an overcoat on and it's pocket on one side were instructions. For a living. And you put the paper and it says. From dust you have, none to dust you shall return. The paper says. Yours is the earth. In the fullness. There are. My reaction to first hearing this golden nugget was how very profound. But as time went on and began to wonder what is an ashley mean. I mean is there some secret to living and dying. You know well is mark meg barnhouse reflect on. These lines. My first seminary experience. I'm a very conservative methodist minister. Professor. And he said probably the best thing you can do for your spiritual life is to write your obituary. And to the updated every year. On your birthday. January. One of the seminary professors and he said he said it was a very bracing and focusing practice. Racing. Consider my life. In this way. The workshop. There's a handout. It's called. Here's how to write your own state-of-the-art obituary assuming of course that someone else will finish it. A couple of the relevant person that i like to offer. Memberships in military service. Other types of honors your family both deceased and surviving. Get down to source material on listings items elsewhere. Activities about you. It's important to have those little nuggets the wanker somebody else will find something they think is about. The core. Which is to write a few rich paragraph in the third person. What do i want people to remember about me. Now i know sometimes. But this writing about ourselves in this way can be very therapeutic. Forest church. How to begin changing your life thoughts for a summer day he says begin now you have everything you need everything plus. Next you are. At your fingertips is a treasure trove of memories and dreams. Put one memory together with one good dream and you're ready to begin. Good memories are memories that make you feel good about yourself. Sweet dreams of the stuff of which tomorrow's good memories. Farm aid. Begin. As you are. And interline. And. Ironically hoes paradoxically quite frankly ending scare the bejesus out of. Because it the kind of change. Andar. Cells with relationships to the world as it is. And then there is a possibility. Afraid. Eternally. It's common for various endings. To perceive finality of our physical. Minion xiety which we have about pain. Even small changes. In our lives. Habitat. You know brad pitt as joe black kind of death. And we're not even aware of that. Except our anxieties. I were afraid. Sometimes for fear of the unknown. Venus. To sleep to sleep. You know. Life is terrible. In this i'm reminded of an old friend who just couldn't stop. Destructive relationship. Okay. He said well once you would have enough packages you start to miss. You're afraid there won't be anything. If you give up the pain. The emotional consequences of profound. Even with what seemed like. Or a new relationship for a new trial. There's often sadness and a sense of loss. At some level we have a need to grieve for those parts of our lives that are now past. We haven't need to say for good or evil. Gone. William bridges is a humanistic psychologist books on transition. He feels that these transactions are part of our natural process of actual renewal. Much as. No part of the old dying and the news coming into its own. Understanding these processes. Federal power. Perhaps work with them. Will have a greater ability to impact these changes in the consequences. Hennessy hold out for us if there will usually be. After the endings in the chaos. Chaos itself is a place of. Disintegration. By our being more aware of this pattern of death. For ending and disintegration in chaos. Digression. We have the possibility of greater control or at least more understanding of the ocean. Which will take place. I'm always reminded of the heroic miss. That are ancestors. How to. Because it gave them now only comfort but guidance. When something horrible happened. Pass this sea of turmoil and chaos. In their lives there was a distant shore. I have to talk about it think about in the trams i reminded of the rings movies. Gandalf. Is there a whip. I believe it's mary. On the powers of. Minas tirith. And it being attacked small-size terribly desperate. Hello harlot. What happened. What happens next. I know this is it this is the end. Yentl said something along the lines of. There something more. Yes. Description of. The distant shore. This actually holds great hope for us personally and as a congregation. And as a society. Because we're always. We're looking at 10. How we worship together and. We're looking at all sorts of things we have new people coming in. 9. 11 hughes me you would know and what four of them sign the book yesterday. So. Has come in here we find a place that way we like it. Then i went to see this way just right. Lady bear. Just wright. Life isn't like that. Another day's when i can hold my son and my daughter and. You're just right. You know in this moment. This is. His perfect can get if there is such a thing. But i also know that i don't want them forever to remain in this state. I want them to grow i want them to move on. A lot of struggle strike pain. Creation. A real nice were his observed about the shift from one paradigm or worldview to another she says the death throes could be the birth. I hold on to that but i think about all of these. And demons in my only understanding there is. And it is doing everything that a trap wounded animal would do. Why. It doesn't mean we let it bite us or scrapped us or hurt us. It also gives us the ability to maybe if we hang in there we won't be there much longer. Don't count on it. Responsibility. What are the beliefs that defines religious liberals that such as an emphasis and a certainty of the importance of processes. I means rather than ends how we get somewhere affects the quality of the end. The quality the way we live our lives cannot help that affect the quality of the way we face our death. As i said last week i strongly feel the beliefs we hold shape the way we live our lives. And this is no less true about our views of daphne anything else. You can have faith in. Our lives affect our views of death and cause of death affect our lives. 10 wheel tanadoona life the same way. Unfortunately. It has often been that many you use him embrace the radical individualism. And it's distorted individualism usually elevates the individual to a top of a pyramid. Rather than trying to find. The balance of interdependence. Unfortunate in this type of radical individualism now holster by our consumer culture. Is it a tends to breed a growing isolation from others in the mistaken notion that we have to do things. On our own or else we are somehow. It says the goal is to be self-sufficient it says that we are born alone die alone. And that is all. Reply. Source source of hope for many of us is that even with the death of a loved one we can change. The nature of that relationship. As you use we reject. Theory of having a fall under depraved nature and embrace the idea and ultimately optimistic universe. We have reflected that in our first principle of our covenants inherent worth and dignity of every person. The whale often we interpreted praises highly individualistic instead of statement. Is actually a statement about not an individual about about. Oh. Individual. If all are worthy than the fate of one is the fate of all. And we are all in this together. The only promise. I was sacred thing. Is that a more abundant life. She'll probably heard me and some other people say something like that during the wedding yesterday. Understanding of death helps us to be healthier. And liberated engaged in fulfilled as persons in community. But even understanding limits our willingness and others. If it threatens every bandar solidarity with sheets with each other. And all that is it's not understanding. 4. We need one another in life and death and we are not cut off from each other even after death. Seventh principle the interconnected web of all existence of which we are apart. We affirm that reality. Even if it's just on a physical level. You know one of our. Listen to science named after american scientist. He says things like this. Neil degrasse tyson. He says. Universe. We are star stuff. Chemically we are connected to the entire planet. Biologically we are connected and related to every living organism. And it's just. The science. We're always connected to each other. To all of these different ways. We are part of a world community session backwards and forwards throughout the generations. And we do not die alone you do not live alone and we just together. Not alone. And however we understand death. Whatever just beyond it. We are each other's in this life. And for eternity. We can acknowledge and work with the reality of our being alive and having to die. In so doing we can. Better nurture the growth. Vision and desire. Personalized indians congregation. We are being and becoming. The ever-changing living embodiment. All that greater beloved community. That we are. And that we can be even more. Living laws. Thai in love. It's that easy at that.

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Sermon_100310.mp3

Before i start i know there may be some grammarians in the room. And what did you correct me on the sermon title that was published originally. Which was more than you and i. Cuz i was told it should be you and me. So i have corrected that in my computer file. For future reference. We just say that the army unitarian universalist. In order to be safe from ignorance of who i am and ignorance of who you. And others are. As powerful precious. And holy beings. I am unitarian-universalist in order to be saved from despair by knowing that i am a part of a greater reality part of the interconnected web of all existence and that i am not isolated that i am not alone in a culture that desperately wants me to think that i am alone. Ignorance and despair. As unitarian universalist these are what i am charged with saving the world from. Ad astra minister you charge me to help you do the same. As individuals. And as a community. To become and to be aware and healthy. And loving and hole. And wise. As a church we are covenanted members of the unitarian universalist association of congregations. And this is the institutional religious denomination of which we are apart. I know many of us wish the name was shorter. But we got what we got. Uu minister george kimmich beach writes that the word covenant signifies a framework within which intentionality takes effect. And the reverend robert latham a former interim minister here. Define sacrilegious covenant as a compact among a group of people. Which states their mission and how that mission will be transformed into reality by their life. Stewardship. This is not the same thing as eating a belief or a purpose. Those may not entail any pledge or commitment to fulfill or carry them out. Covenant on the other hand is explicit. In its intention to fulfill its purpose. Latham says. Oil purpose calls for an empowerment of its vision. Covenant. Empowers its vision with commitment. Covenants ask and answer to basic questions why have we come together and how are we to be together. What are the purposes what are our purposes in making this free and mutual agreement. And in that light how do we go about living with each other. Consequently. Covenant of living confers identity and builds community. When our covenant is clear about why we are together and how we will be so. We know where we want to go and how we will get there together. Visible at workings of our covenant. Our our ministry. Robert latham says ministry is covenant in action. It is covenant stewardship. And the only appropriate gauge for measuring the effectiveness of ministry. Is the covenant it seeks to embody. Implicitly or explicitly it covenant expresses our collective understanding of what we hold to be of worth and what our relationship to it is. It may be a belief in divine salvation through grace or our inherent worth and dignity. And interconnection to the web of existence. In this the purpose of covenants of community is call us back into our commitment to our chosen relationship. When we stay stray from it. In creating or joining a covenant community such as this one. We enter into commitment with each other and our covenant. It is the act of entering a uu congregation covenant that determines when someone becomes a member. Without membership. Commitment there is no identity with the body. Contrary to popular belief among some unitarian universalists. There are no you use who don't believe who don't know what yet. Any more than there are baptist methodist or mason's who don't know it yet. Public entry into commitment with our covenants announces the point. I wish we have become. Identified as a unitarian universalist. This does not mean that those who have made the commitment that have lapsed or not you use they are simply inactive. But they have had to first at least make that commitment. You can't be a non-practicing you you without first becoming a practicing you you. Covenants in their very nature and body for basic physiological understandings that we hold is unitarian universalist. First we have free will. To make sense of an express our understanding of our relationships with each other. And that which we consider of ultimate importance and value the holy. Second we have value in and of ourselves. Which must be recognized and respected by each other. Through our obligations to each other individually. And collectively. Third. Our emphasis. On the ways we will be with each other as a process. And not just as a means to an end. Is a manifestation of our understanding that existence. Is itself incremental. And constantly evolving. Fourth. Consequently. We do not know what will happen in the future and that revelation. And possibility are not closed off or preordained. We can assume neither damnation or utopian progress but we can't have hope and optimism. In the limitless possibilities. Of existence. Through our covenants we call each other into free and responsible commitment to build our common good to bill that, good requires resources. Forgiving a time or talents and our treasure. This is a fundamental spiritual practice. Nona stewardship. And we can it can be learned and it can be done by everyone despite maybe some handicap we may have. Such as being a little tight with our money. However like most things worth doing it may take effort. But it is doable. I would offer that perhaps this is. The saving nature of liberal religion which is not something that we do on the side but as i practice and as a faith that are central to who we are. Liberal religion is not a hobby or a leisure-time activity we do with what we have leftover. It is the lens the medium in and through which we live our lives more abundantly. If our saving messages of hope are to be heard. Then we have to provide for the megaphone and shout it from the rooftops. Fundamentalist evangelical christians do not succeed at what they do. Because they are afraid. Or because they are stupid. As much as we might like to think so. In order to dismiss them and go merrily on our way. No they are responding. With intellect and heart and conviction. Play different message of salvation and transformation for themselves and the world which they believe brings hope. As religious liberals we deeply disagree theologically with the conservative and he'll calvinist christianity on the nature of reality and know that many of their beliefs are not only wrong but highly toxic. They are going about the nature of god jesus other religions the nature of human persons and a relationship to creation. But no matter how wrong we know they are they think they are right and they are willing to put their money their time their sweat and their effort where their mouths are. They succeed because they believe what they do is serious and important. And they prioritize it in their lives and give proportionate to that important. It is nothing more mysterious than that. I would say though however. We may think about all that it is not even christian conservative religion of any kind that is our main competition. Ironman competition. Is market consumerism. Which is far more prevalent and well-funded. Now more and more and more people are coming to our congregations and other churches about all hives. To escape. That. Consumer culture. To find an alternate way of being in the world. Many sociologist at the illusions not considerate. To be the first truly global religion. And i do not say this with any irony. It has its own theologies. Our insufficiencies that can only be filled. You're feeding at the trough of stuff. We should buy and consume. Consumerism denies our inherent worth and dignity and our fundamental interconnectedness with all other. And our existence. It seeks to diminish and isolator. And that is the primary function of any totalitarian system. Is to diminish isolate and atomize relationships. They would have us worship at their golden calf. And pay for the privilege. So with such well-funded competition for our hearts and souls and resources and those have our children. Are individual actions while necessary are not sufficient by themselves. So yes i may choose not to buy goods from somewhere. Why they choose to shopping later particular kind of store or buy gas at a particular gas station or not buy gas at all. It is so beyond. What you and i were me. Believe. And do alone. The response must be collective. In order to have the synergy. To be effective in the marketplace of ideas and in the construction of institutions. The perpetuate and shape the paradigms our world lives by. As our current president of our association peter morales says. We can be the religion of our time. We can only do this together. As an association. Where there is fear. There is power. Fear is a sign of. The power of the dreams that we have suppressed. And are afraid to claim for ourselves and the world. There is power in our dreams to change. And to be what we know we can and perhaps should be. But what. Do we fear. Could it be change itself. I know the comedian. Brett butler has often remark that she's all for the revolution coming now she's just afraid she can't find a good moisturizer afterwards. But growth is life. And it is also change and change reminds us of death. So we try to stave off death by refusing to embrace our life. And so we stay safe and small and unfulfilled lives. As a religion we could stay safe and small congregations that do not find their voices. When we have a gospel of hope and joy that should be shouted from the tops of mountains. And whisper. In the ears of babies. However. Religion and our religion especially is not about being safe and comfortable. Comforting. Yes. But not comfortable. It is an axiom that ministry and i would add religion. Are about comforting the afflicted. And deflecting the comfortable. I think what we are seeing in our society at large right now is a process of the uncomfortable afflicting the comfortable. And. It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out. How much more afflicting we're willing to place on those who are. More comfortable. Religion. It factor supposed to get in our way. It is supposed to be a struggle. Gathered here in this struggle and the power. They go hand-in-hand. Are christian universalist ancestors rejected the idea that just that a just and loving god would condemn his children to an eternity of suffering and a hell that they did. But they did often hold that there perhaps might be a time of trial. Or purgatory for the refinement of our beings. Before our entry into union with god and all the saints. I believe that we do not have to die. Chris. either the bitter of a purgatory or the suite of the kingdom of god. My sense is that we. As a world as a nation as a society a state. Are burning in purgatory's of our own making. And unless we do something to change that. Save the world as we know it. We are condemning not only ourselves but our children unto the seventh generation. To live in it. The good news. Our good news is that the holy spirit of life has in fact equipped us all people. To do something about this state of affairs by virtue of all of the holy texts and wisdom. Humanity throughout all of the ages. To our use of reason and critical thinking and most importantly through our intuition our profoundest experiences. What we know is right. And good. That we and all people are inherently worthy expressions of creation. Set the divine seeds of the kingdom of god the beloved community reside within each of us. And collectively they burn for release into a springtime of amazing possibilities. It is not about being safe. Imperfect. Living. All religious living tradition. Is about taking risks and becoming wise. It is supposed to force us. To make hard choices. Prioritize. To make sacrifices to that which we know to be right and good. And important. And holy. Liberal religion. Is a life practice. For holding it for jiloty of our lives. In a way it shows us just how strong we actually are. Liberal religion is the place where we can be reminded that to use traditional language to kingdom of god or to use dr. king's words the beloved community. Is within each and everyone of us. Liberal religion this liberal religion then brings this knowledge and these experiences together to project. 2 racks. To affirm those visions of a world made fair with all of her people one. One acted a time to see that vision that dream brought into being. To see what lies behind the shrouds of our fears. And with each breath and each heartbeat each thing we do that is in line with this profoundest authenticity of who we truly are. Then in those moments as they become longer and more common. This veil between what is and the justice of what can be. Becomes just that much thinner. Unitarian up assistant the illusion james luther adams said. By their fruits you shall know them. So what is our group. Our association in our religion to be. Is it a drinking fountain in a private park in the gated community where only we and our selected friends can refresh ourselves at our leisure. Or is it an expansive life-affirming ignorance bustang to despair destroy hope giving fountain of the waters of life. Or justice rolls down and peace. Like an ever-flowing stream. That we have to paddle like mad and to stay afloat on and laugh with joy all the while. Can we take our faith to the streets to the highways and byways. My first taking it into our hearts. And asking the spirit of life. To move in our hands. Giving life the shape of justice. I choose the ladder. And say yes to the space. And to our association of congregations. What's that place before us the loftiest of ideals. Without counting the cost because it is about more than you. And me. But we are doing is nothing less than changing lives. And perhaps saving.

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Sermon_031410.mp3

Anymore. In trying to determine what is actually. Going on and reliable and true. About life. I am reminded of the recurring nightmare that many of us who wear corrective lenses have. We are not able to find our glasses because we need our glass to see where we have left our glasses. I see this resonates with some. When we are unfocused and confused we might not know or recognize the truth we are looking for even if it is right in front of us or even sitting on top of her head. We need ways to identify and test what we lay our hands on. In the marketplace of ideas and information we can use the opinions of others as guides but in the end. We have a responsibility to go out and test it for ourselves. Now i grew up looking to walter cronkite on the news media for reliable facts. And i have that reinforced by rigorous journalists training. Journalism training in high school. I can only. Speculate that my late teacher great mrs. thompson or misty. Is rolling in her grave now as she sees what passes for journalism. Cable news network. In contrast. An article last month in the boston globe newspaper called exploring truth in journalism says that quote. Last year the pew research center's biannual survey found lowest level of trust in the news media in over two decades. Only 29% believe the media generally quote gets the facts straight unquote. The worst ranking pugh has ever. I think the importance of this is illuminated for us by the latter part of our reading earlier by. Rodger rosenblatt. You're up for timing 1984. Saying if one asks then where the larger truth is to be sought. The answer is where it has always been in history poetry art nature education. Conversation. In the tunnels of one's own mind. People may have come to expect too much of journalism. Not of journalism at its worst when one is confronted with lies. Cruelty and tastelessness. It is hardly too much to expect better. The trouble is that people have also come to expect too much of journalism at its best because they have also invested too much power in it. In so doing they have neglected or forfeited other sources of power in their lives. What shall we make of this ask the journalist. A culture that would rely on the news for truth could not answer that question because it already would have lost. Qualities of mine that make the news worth knowing. If people cannot rely on the news for facts however. And journalism has no reason for being. Principal reason journalist exist in societies that people haven't need to be informed. And of and comprehend the details of experience. Innocence everyone is a journalist seeking the knowledge of the times. In order to grasp the character of the world. To survive in the world perhaps to move it. One of the regular infusions about an evil within unitarian-universalism. Is that we are somehow just a bunch of socially progressive moral relativist. Or that there are no constants and what and why we hold. The face that we do. In typically infuriatingly religious liberal style the answer is probably well yes and no. Only make an effort to save what we believe and why the formulations we approached begin to look in many ways like our principles and purposes. We use the principles and purposes as a touchstone. For most of articulation about ourselves theologically and morally. Let me take a moment just to share this especially with our newcomers in gas. This is not afraid at least not intentionally. And not in the traditional sense. This is a democratically arrived at covenant between the member congregations of our association. It was studied and debated at great length many times. It is not set in stone as witnessed by the changes it underwent a 1995. It's another proposed changes last year which were voted down. Covenant authority comes from all of us as members of the congregations and as member congregations. This is a statement of belief commonly held among us. Now. It is not a litmus test for participation in this or any you society. But it is a good fit indicator. We also do not believe. In nothing. And not everyone no matter how inclusive or welcoming we try to be will find salvation that they see here. So how do we determine the truth of things. Without relying on any ducks final formulations. The reason human beings want answers given to us is that it is easier if we are given. The answers. No i also just recently heard a program. About a book on the nature of choice. Mayfair this on npr recently. And appears that we have too many choices. It's actually harder for us than if we have. Sure but just enough choices. This may be an interesting thing for us as unitarian universalist consider. If we don't have. Too many choices. We don't have to spend as much time and energy and we can focus on application. And practice. The difference for us as unitarian universalist is that the process of finding of determining what is true he is the application and is a religious and even spiritual practice. For us. As legendary defense attorney clarence darrow said. Pursuit of truth shall set you free. Even if you never catch up with it. The content of truth and understanding is not separate. From the ways we pursue discover and determine them. Now i can spend copious amounts of time telling you this story of how we came up with the following sources of truth and understanding. But i'll cut to the chase and outlying but i understand her three basic ways of knowing. What is true in the sources of truth. Truth is thinking about. Truth with a small or lowercase t. Not the big uppercase. Capital t. We do not believe we have arkan. Have all of the truth or truth capital t. But we're pretty certain nobody else does either. Cindy very infuriating even interface settings. We also know that there is new truth. New revelation. Constantly being given a revealed or made available to us. And therefore truth religious or otherwise is not steal. Or consigned to a particular time and place. God's presence in the universe for the holy. Does not end at the end of the bible or the koran or the back of the vita or any other text. These in turn mean that we also have a role to play and i need to share in order. To have a better or full understanding of what is indeed true. A fundamental understanding of. What we're doing is religious liberals was articulated well by unitarian suffragette susan b anthony. Speaking of her quaker friend and suffragette lucretia mott. She offered that we seek truth for authority. Not a 40. For truth. Near pizza. Receipt. Truth. For authority not authority. For truth. For example i am not putting susan b anthony because her saying it somehow gives it more or less credibility. But because she said it's so well and concisely. My reason for citing her is to give her attribution. Not. To claim her as a source of moral authority. In a world where we rely on experts for just about everything it is important to remember that it is not who says a thing. What they say and how they got to where they could say it. I find it an important personal practice for myself to be aware. Of our human tendencies to cite authority. For truth. Like the whole thing i've well yeah well my dad says. Or know my teacher says. My minister says. My god says. They're giving all of this there are three basic sources of truth that adversely universal. Buy used by humans in determining truth particularly in dealing with religious. B3ar tradition. Wisin. And experience. Tradition. Reason and experience. Edit use the ways we define these in which we interact with them that is different for us as unitarian universalist. In most religious traditions. That which is inherited. In most religions tradition. Wear that which is inherited. Understanding. Usually is the lancer which critical thought or reason and experience and intuition are viewed so think of this way. Music tradition is sort of like. Your glasses are your sunglasses. And you see everything else the other two through those lenses. Always. So it somehow they're in conflict with what you you're seeing even through. Then there's a problem. In essence. Grand tradition trumps the other two in a kind of hierarchy or ladder of proof. Unitarian universalist. Tradition has a slightly different definition and relationship to reason and experience. For us tradition includes not only those things from our own institutional. Is he a logical path. It also includes. All the inherited knowledge and wisdom of humanity. All of the inherited wisdom and knowledge of humanity. In our day-to-day conversations with other folks. How many of you and being asked about your religion have have been asked if unitarian universalist use the bible. When asked that question i used to waffle and try to give a highly refined answer it cause my own eyes to glaze over within disinterest. What i say now in response to that question is yes we do use the bible. And however we also used the koran the hindu bhagavad gita and the buddhist sutras and the tao te ching. As well as the collected works of shakespeare the humanist manifesto is the declaration of independence of the united states constitution. And the lyrics of rock musician tom waits. The last one off and gets a really cockeyed look for some folks cuz i don't know who he is. I like explain that i think tom waits praises raises some important points for theological reflection when he says things like there is no devil is just the god when he is god when he drinks. Germany. Possible sources of truth. Next rest critical thought and reason are exactly that. With all of the nuances and varieties from the scientific method to logic and debate. And it strives to resent the empirical that which can be observed and verified in an objective way. In contrast intuition and experience are subjective and usually highly personal and individual in nature. There are things we can know directly but can only convey to others. Indirectly. This is a reason for songs and poetry. An art. As unitarian universalist we understand these three basic sources tradition reason and experience. Be interacting with each other on the same level there's not a hierarchy. But each is a lens through which we view the other two. So we use one lens looking at a 2 and then we go to the other and look at the other two. All the way around we are constantly. Going from one of these three lenses to look at the others. And back and forth. In the same way that various colors were magnifications of lenses bring out otherwise less obvious detail or colors. So did these sources highlight in each other. But might otherwise not be seen or understood. We discover truth through a three-way conversation or trilog. Reasoning for us tradition which informs experience and back and forth and around we go. It is a constantly ongoing process a conversation. In which we approach each other with the at least at the very least and initial openness. The other might have something to contribute to our understanding. Perhaps even change what we know. To be true. It is an unrelenting openness to other possibilities of what the other might teach us. An ad was understanding of the truths that are knowable by us. I feel that this openness. Is a part of our strength as unitarian universalist. As religious liberals. They can also be weakness if we let it deteriorate into an assumption. That is unitarian universalist we can believe whatever we want. Becoming so open that our brains fall out. To discover the truth of our lives here and now takes deliberate and intentional acts of attention and practice. In the end. Discerning truth is a spiritual discipline. Education and discussion are religious disciplines for us. Just as action in the world to create change at to know others are our own spiritual discipline. As writer rosenblatt wrote earlier if one asks then where the larger truth is to be sought. The answer is where it is always been. In history poetry art. Nature education. Conversation. In the tunnels of one's own mind. So how do we know what is so. Through engaging. Through our direct experience and through the use of critical thought. For certain this way of knowing often takes longer. And is usually messier and perhaps less certain in the short run. But it has the advantage of steering us in the palace of wisdom and compassion. In the long run. Better help us. And the world. Tubi. Whom and what we can be. Together. As the beloved community.

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Sermon_060610.mp3

No in this movie clip which we just saw from star trek the motion picture. The character spock has mine melded with invading alien. The sentient machine v'ger. And what logic chasing spock finds is that this purely logical being is in fact. Baron. That is it cannot understand the simple experience the reality of touching and being touched as a human or vulcan. Does. One hand to another. Decino is reminds me of a limitations. Our intellects or even our souls by themselves. That transcendence. By itself. Is not enough at least in the idea that transcend into something we do to get away from our physical selves. But it is not as total. That it is as total beings that we are the most. Complete expressions of the holy. Recently we've been witness to. Should have front-row seats some some really big dramas in the world. Particularly the oil spill in the gulf coast. Hi my brother and his family recently went down to the wetlands on the alabama coast so they could say goodbye to some of their favorites places. Because i have a feeling that they will not be intact in the near future. Is brings home. A lot of things that we are not separate. The part of a much larger hole. Real transcendence as i understand it is not about escaping. The here and the now adding more fully engaged and aware of it. Perhaps this may be what we call mindfulness in the buddhist tradition. As unitarian universalist we actively reject. The mind-body split. Of the aristotelian philosophers or the split between the soul and the body endorsed by the christian saint augustine. We reject the dualism expressed in this supposed split between the physical and the empirical of our experience and the mental and the spiritual. Declare that what i am rejecting is not the idea or experience of the transcendence or transcendent. Are unitarian universalist. Sources are very clear. These experiences of transcending wonder and mystery are essential to our whole being. What i am rejecting is the mistaken idea that we have to transcend or leave behind this reality to encounter or actually be a part of the holy. We reject the idea that the transcendent is a denial of the value and worth of this life. And this reality. On the other hand. We are not denying the possibility the possible existence of other realities that might transcend this one. What we reject is that those realities are anymore real or valuable or important. Then this one. Over the last 25 years i have been a student and sometimes practitioner. Contemporary shamanic practice practices which usually entails a spiritual journey to other realities. One of the first things my teachers made clear to me is that the other realities. Experience in shamanic state of trance are not less or more real than this one. We reside here in what may be called our ordinary reality. And we may visit other non-ordinary reality. And this journey into these non-ordinary reality is not a form of escape from this reality. They can be interesting. But to gain information rather they are. Therefore finding new things for power inside wisdom to help us and living in this reality of our everyday lives. This is a form of transcendence. That does not seek. Our physical reality. Or deny it. But rather to supported and enhancement. Unitarian universalist theologian tandeka who is. A well-known scholar. And author of a book called the body self schleiermacher solution to khan's problem of the empirical self. If you think the titles daunting how to read the book. Well at the end of this book which is really actually quite good. She quotes schleiermacher from one of his books on religion. She says. Everybody lies in the bosom of the infinite world and every sinew and muscle of our body feels infinite life. As its own. This is the kind of transcendence that the transcendentalist. Who our forebears were talking about it is not an escape. Come here but rather it is an extension. Of our current experience and existence. Essentially we are manifestations. Of that which we call holy. And at the same time we are the cosmos itself risen to awareness and urinating we are the earth upright and proud. Urinating and seeing that we live. Our job is not to choose one mode of perception and being over the other but to embrace them and dispel the illusions of their separations. For example what are the most obvious problems with one of the current paradigms of western healthcare is that of treating illness. And not the patient. I know some of you in this room i've had that experience. The person becomes objectified as the illness or the disease. I was working in a university of chicago hospitals sometime ago. I regularly her doctors and nurses and social workers refer to patients as the diabetic in bed one. Or the pancreatic cancer in room 3. At first i was appalled and even tried to address it in staff sessions. But as time went on i too found myself on occasion. In reflection i feel there are a couple of pieces to this phenomenon. Well it is used as a coping mechanism and allowing people in high-stress situations to get some necessary emotional distance. It soon becomes a way of perceiving others to begin with. They are reduced. To being their illness. Often we are unwilling or unable to allow others to own or express the realities of their physical experiences as people. Particularly regarding pain or illness. We fear the implications that these conditions may hold for us perhaps. If we allow another person to be fully present with themselves and with us in their physicality. If they own the reality of their corporeal notice. Then we are literally face-to-face with our own physical being and all of its limitations and we may be very uncomfortable with the implications of that. If we're dealing. With the present reality of another person. And not trying to treat them as their condition then we are forced to be in contact with the weariness of them and ourselves as inkarnate manifest being. A physical. Creature. Yep this is part of the story of who we are. And when we let others and ourselves. Share the reality of how we're actually feeling of how we actually are how we experience ourselves. We are sharing these stories the myths of jose and we really are. And in this sharing. Just listening. To what thomas more calls the poetics of the body. We are open to the possibilities. I'm healing each other. And ourselves. Contemporary pagan theologians starhawk. Shared a story a number of years ago at our general assembly and she also put it in one of her books. Well she was teaching ritual classes at holy names college in california. She opened with a session of a semester with a question. Does anyone have anything they would like to share in order for us to know you better. Seems like a pretty basic question for. Teachers especially. In a seminar setting. And as they sat on the bay area hillside one young man stood up and said i have something i need to show you. He said that he had aids and he stripped down to his shorts. Showing the ks lesions already covering his legs. He walked around the circle of the clergy and the professor is letting them touch him. Or helium as a wood. In this singular act of his bravery. He went on to relate his pain and his fears his anger at the disease already ravaging his frail body no one was going to cure this young man but his ability to share his story. To be seen and heard. Created the possibility. Healing for himself. What does present and even. Perhaps for some of us. What does it mean for us to experience healing in the larger sense. Of the word. As i indicated earlier. Healing is the experience. For renewal restoration of a place of harmony or balance. Healing. Well most of us was often applied to our physical beings. Often describes the fundamental purpose of religion. Which is to help us. With the path. And community to live in greater harmony and health. Each other and the universe. We seek this out because we experience ourselves and our lives as wounded or disconnected from the sources of our lives. And maybe even from the holy itself. In being here together and religious community many of us are seeking renewal healing reconnection. Traditionally what may be called salvation. But the truth of our faith knows. It is. Is that we are never alone. And we are never cut off. From the source. Of all. As a religious community we are called to bring our message of healing and connection and inherent worth and dignity beyond our walls to share our good news and hope and wholeness. Witness to the possibilities we have experience in our own lives. But sharing and demonstrating our face must also be more than our words and ideas as crucial as they are. There is an old saying in religious circles they don't. Care what you know until they know that you care. Our faith. Must be borne out in our actions as well as our words. We believe in the saving message of this face then we have to support it. And show others its power of transformation. I need to make manifest our faith in the kind of lives that we lead and how we support and shape the world that we live in. That what we believe has the power to heal and to provide for curing. Has the dalai lama has remarked one cannot be truly spiritual and stand by and do nothing. Ministry is to minister unto. And we are all ministers. In relation to each other and the world. Outwardly our experience of the sacred of being on holy ground may be in places as large as the grand canyon or as intimate as the sheltering arms of our loved ones. Our bodies are also to be respected and honored a sacred for we too are part of the cosmos the holy made physical. We are not only made in god's image but as an integral part of the holy itself. We are apart of that divine. Seed. As such. We are good gifts to be cherished for our own sakes. We ourselves are part and parcel of the sacred inhabiting holy ground. Then each of us the tree of life may bloom and give shelter to ourselves to each other and to the world. And here we all are. Struggling. Incomplete. Yep precious. Journey expressions of the holy in this serious house on serious earth reading in the blunt aaron bechar compulsions meet. On this and all the holy grounds of our lives we are constantly surprising hungers in ourselves to be more serious. Enter growize. As unitarian universalist we call upon ourselves to respect. The interdependent web of all existence of which we are apart. I distinctly mean this same understanding that we are related to and connected to and part of everyone and everything else. As the late author and science popularizer carl sagan said we are star stuff. Relate unitarian minister and lyricist kenneth patton. Said we are the earth upright and proud in us the earth is knowing its winds are music in our mouths in us its rivers flowing. We are part and parcel of blood and bone of that and those which surround us. This relatedness is not a myth. It is not an allegory it is not a symbol. Or an archetype or any other kind of abstraction though it may fill those roles. As unitarian-universalist it is a fact of biology. Chemistry and physics. As well as philosophy and metaphysics. Therefore unitarian universalism is also a relationship centered religion. Culture after culture and people after people refer to the world and nature and do that and those around us in terms of family or community. Weather at saint francis of assisi speaking your brother win sister earth sister moon and mother earth. Where the lakota holy man nicolas blackhawk seeing many hoops that make one circle why does daylight and starlight the shapes of all things living together as one being at children have one mother and one father. The language of relationships. Unmistakable in human terms the intent is to underline the radically imminent relationship as modern westerners have come to see and. As dad and other and therefore perhaps to disposable. What is the language and understanding does is to reconceptualize our places in the universe and a relationships to everything and everyone. We are no longer the top of an evolutionary ladder upward and onward forever. But instead we find that we are potentially. Violent part of a tenacious but sensitive web of interlocking relationships. The healing is in the experience of the transcendence of being. Brought back. Together in harmony with all that is and not. Split asunder from hit. As the species on this planet which currently has the greatest ability to affect it. We have taken on godlike powers. Which we must learn to use with great discretion and humility. We are responsible not only to ourselves but to all of our relations. Two-legged. Four-legged. And the winger. The past. In the present and in the future. Well this is. A part of our sacred responsibility. It is also a part of our salvation. This issue of responsibility is crucial. Only because of some bleeding-heart codependent need to save the world. It is crucial. Because the difference between simply being in a relationship. And being in a community. Is the matter of being accountable. To each other. For each other. Religious liberals down the ages have been about the project of expanding the category of who was a vow or who is to be responsible for and to. We had added many many categories of people from on property dwight men to the mentally ill racial minorities religious minorities women gay lesbian transgender people on and on. We recognize all as a part of community. Universal has forbearers rejected the idea of an elective group of people being the chosen of god. They rightly pointed out that we are all children of a benevolent universe. And part of the same community. And therefore responsible to and for each other. We find ourselves ation our healing our transcendence of what is in relationships with each other and in our participation in community. In a life in which we feel increasingly cut off. From everyone and everything including ourselves. Let us remember that we are not alone. In a dead world of things. But whether we are crowded all around by the many particular manifest presences of the holy. On this day. On everyday. Let us remember this. And be comforted. And act accordingly. That together we all live upon the sacred mountain. We walk upon a sacred earth. We live beneath a sacred sky. And we are surrounded by all of our relations in our own.

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Sermon_051511.mp3

Journalist jane lampman of the christian science monitor. Right. From flourishing megachurches to potent voices in political arena the growth of conservative christianity is fully on display. Many attribute this growth to america's desire for an anchor and is swiftly changing world a set of rules to live by. Yet the surgeon spiritual seeking beyond the bonds of organized religion continues apace as well. Less than half of americans attend church in any given week. Though only 2%. Say they don't believe in a higher power. In recent calls. 84%. Say spirituality is important in their lives and 62% consider themselves deeply spiritual. These facts. Are in stark contrast and at odds with our often monolithic perception. The christian right in this country and especially in a community such as ours. In his 2005 book restless souls the making of american spirituality. Dr. lee schmitt a religion professor at princeton university right. Accessible the scholarly survey of a vibrant part of american spiritual heritage. His book brings to the fore the septon struggles in which the primary. Primacy of individual experience is joined. 20 hole weather spiritual practice. And social commitments. Dr.lee sees the spiritual left history and global vision as a as a continuous if. Quieter counterweight to the religious right in the quote. Workout working of american democracy unquote. Reporter goes on to say about this perhaps a striking illustration of its cultural influence came in a. 2005 leaf net newsweek survey which revealed that 79% of americans and a remarkable 68% of evan jellicles. Said they believe good people of other faiths can gain salvation. A position contrary to christian orthodoxy. In his book restless souls dr. schmidt explores the cultural roots of his broader search for meaning. He finds its origins in the intellectual circles of early 20th century early 19th century america. And it's. Evolution in the rise and flourishing of religious liberalism. In all its variety and occasional eccentricity. Sounds like us. Criticising the orthodoxies of their day liberals exchanged piety. For spirituality. What could be called the coat spiritual left. Close and zip code from dr. lee. Deep in the grain of american culture he says it is here for the long haul. In its commitment to individual searching reconciliation among face and social progress this spiritual left is. Quote not a rootless baby boomer question sits but. A more deeply grounded and complex exploration of cosmopolitan and spirituality. Call it includes romantic and even though you tell him as he knows it also is rooted in the yearning for more direct relationship with god or the divine that. Feed the deepest hungers of the heart. Beginning with ralph waldo emerson. My horse. And the transcendentalist club in 1838. Schmidt presents his story largely through the inner lies of prominent figures. Individuals today who might be concerned. Thought leaders among them throw water quitman. William james. Swami vivekananda. Rufus jones sarah farmer howard thurman and oprah winfrey. As we read in the ear hurting the reading just a few minutes ago from very taylor who teaches at 4 seminary in california. And by the way there he developed a number of courses focusing on the intersections between theology and popular culture. He shared with us. What it means exactly when a person declares himself or herself to be spiritual-but-not-religious is a matter of some debate. Some people find spiritual and irritating term that means nothing of any real substance. I'm sure that resonates with some of you. A marker for some sort of wishy-washy sentimentalism that passes itself off as real face. Others have embrace it wholeheartedly and the rise of spiritual language and sermons and discussions as well as growing interest in spiritual directors in many churches. Going to embrace of on the whole of the term of some levels even amongst post-religious. He says i don't think there is one definition for the term or for its usage. Spirituality is an umbrella word a catch-all concept used characterize a commitment to the sacred elements of life. It defies a singular definition. The fluidity of the usage of the word. It is also an evolving term rather than 106. Determination. One thing that it does signify he says almost universally is the rejection of traditional face. Is a primary source of connection to the divine. I would argue he says that traditional face are no longer the first resource that people go to in order to develop and nurture their spiritual lives. But instead function more a secondary archives with witch. New spiritual permutations are created. Those who choose to explore their spiritual quests. Within traditional face environment. Do so with very different eyes and intentions. Than previous generations. Of secrets. He says that for me. Spirituality is the religion of the 21st. I find that an astonishing statement. From someone who is actually very deeply involved with more conservative christian community. Such as fuller seminary. Some additional comments that come out about acadamia and the emergent church movement. Are some considerations. Here's a quote from the end of a recent book on religion in modern called religion in modern times. A couple of sociologist. Primarily linda woodhead. They say. In short. We predict that a wide variety of religions will continue to it to coexist but that the winners will be those which put people in touch with god beyond self. Make a difference. Sustain supporting an effective not defective effective communities. Emphasize experience. Have a political or economic job to do. And empower. This comes at the end of a 495 page carefully argued empirical analysis of religion and spirituality of all types. Across the western world. The author of the article about. This particular quote. Says it seems to me that the sentence describes many of the emergent communities that i have experienced. And heard about interesting the authors develop a spectrum of types of religious groups. Those are fake all religions of difference. Which emphasized the distinction between humans and address ended often judgmental god this is the god of supernaturalism that most. People. In this community and related liberal churches have moved away from. And on the other end of the spectrum are those. They call spiritualities of life which emphasized and imminent amendment. Experience of the divine or even equate god self and the world. But now for those who don't know these five-dollar words imminent means that. God dwells within. And that we are apart of and god is a part of. So. With all of this stuff. That we're hearing. From sociologist and scholars. On the nature of. Religion. As is moving forward. What does that. And i can't say. That i'm a consumer of a lot of online media for the christian community especially cuz i got a lot of good technical stuff. Not just technology but i mean really have workout a lot of the bugs about how to do community. Effectively. Until there's a lot to be learned from them. And. But i also noticed there's a tremendous desperation. Underpinning most of what they do and it's not the usual we got to save souls for jesus kind of desperation. It's all my god they're not coming anymore desperation. Every major. Western religious community is in decline. Everyone. There are sure few exceptions here now independent churches here with their but overall. Major decline of participation. Can churches. And religious community. Of the primarily the christian heritage church. They're in a panic mode. Call blancpain. At the highest levels i don't show at the low-level they're freaking out. So. Applications for. Which we'll talk about. Is unitarian universalist we acknowledge three basic sources of truth. Four ways of knowing truth. Ain't no particular order their critical reason. And then tradition and by tradition in our case i mean the collective inherited wisdom and knowledge and practice of humanity. Thirdly we know through experience and intuition. The first source in our unitarian universalist principles and purposes states that the living tradition we share draws from many sources. Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder. Affirmed in all cultures that moves us to a renewal of the spirit. An openness to the forces that create and uphold life. So this language about spirituality is not novel. For us. As unitarian universalist we provide each other with what is described in our principles as quote encouragement to spiritual growth. Anybody ever says you weiner do spiritual growth here. Yes we do. It's in writing. Yes we do. We encourage each other to spiritual growth. A free responsible search for truth and meaning. And the goal of world community with peace liberty and justice for all resulting in from and in our respect. For the interdependent web of all existence of which we are. Heart. Emphasize that web of all existence. Not are dependent web of lies. It's bigger than a disney movie. It's the interdependent web of all existence. And i know that this is one of the the main things which drew me to unitarian-universalism it sounds a lot like spirituality that others talking about being the religion of the 21st century. Over the years i found that we made mean several different things often at the same time only thing talked about. Being spiritual spirituality. Whatever it ends up being defined they all seem to have something about them that must experience. And in general they all seem to be referring to a connection with something transpersonal something beyond ourselves. A connection with something beyond ourselves it will help us find context. Coherency in meaning in our lives. Some people find this in their relationships with each other in authentic community. Others may seek more individualized or personal experiences. Yet no matter what forms our spiritual experiences tank. They are relational. In nature. We find meaning in context in relationship. To ourselves and to each other. And shoot the other. We find ourselves. With a deeper awareness of our relationships with other people creation or some form of the cosmic is. Holy. What i feel this ultimately points to. For us as a nation. As a congregation as a movement even as a world. Is that there is a world that once public community. In which to have and share personal experience. A place to provide and validate. Or at the least not invalidate. Our experiences of the sacred. Knowing that which is beyond knowing. No. One of the things that we have really tried doing well as a face movement over the last 50 years and by the way we are celebrating our fiftieth year in june as the unitarian universalist association with the consolidation of the previous unitarian association of america and the universalist church of america. They came together to form that really long word. Unitarian universalist. No hyphen. And. We're celebrating them. Really really well over the years. Is try not invalidating other people's experiences. They happen to conflicted ours. As some of you know what i'm talking about cuz you been on both sides of that. So. We we really do try and we can leave it really good lip service so we try and work on that. But i'm working in the area of experience. And trying to ride people at that place where they can have. That. Public community in which to experience and share. The things they. Encounter with the holy. Not been as good as we should be. Your place is there x. We have those. We could be a lot better. In many ways. Emergent spirituality of the late 20th and early 20th first 21st century that's us. Is about getting rid of things that get between a person and their experience of the holy. Know what often happens for a lot of us is we. Think we have rejected or gotten rid of the stuff that gets between us and god but a lot of times were holding onto that baggage it's like jacob marley's chains in screwed. You know when in the christmas carol which was written by a unitarian by the way. So we're dragging those things around still and we need to learn how to let go of that stuff. Or even pick the lock and take the best stuff out of there and move on. This whole experience of letting go of getting past what's getting between us and god or the holy. This is very much what the protestant reformation of the 16th fifteenth and sixteenth centuries aimed at achieving. To get away from that which interferes with the direct an authentic experience of god. The emotionally-charged great awakening. And ethan lightman both of the late 17th and 8th 1700's and 1800's very different but similarly motivated effort to be awakened to or enlightened. To this more direct and vital experience of the ground of our being. And our unitarian movement it was a it was an effort to try and get the real heart of what the christian scriptures were about by using reason to analyze them. Well and then along came the transcendentalist who said no that's not enough. We got to keep moving then keep doing these things and we can't move ever since. We see aspects of this in the various almost. Thyromental christian center. The first two centuries of a common era. All of these have in common a questioning of the status quo in religion and society. This was definitely what jesus was about. As well as buddha before him and muhammad after him. At one of the things that happens when we challenge the status quo. He is we have to be willing to be challenged ourselves. I've been reflecting i'm facing my 50th birthday in june. And. I've been reflecting a lot on. What all of this means to get older etcetera. And realize that in my twenties it was very easy to be. Sort of gung-ho and. Almost almost fearless. And reckless about my. Political declarations anything. Set my wife. You know i didn't have any sunk investment of experience and practice and money in. Relationships and things like that. And now you get older and i can see why people get more conservative as they get older. Where's. Stockholders. You know. And the trick is we have to not be held captive by those attached. As the buddhists. In order for us to evolve and to move forward in our spiritual and religious line. And as a religious movement we have the same challenges. How do we maintain the physical necessities of things that we need to sustain a thriving religious community and yet to be unattached. Well that's true. Dynamic tension. Well that's what drives us. In our religious lives and frankly if it wasn't there i would have a job. When the things. You turn your wrist was in his often mistakenly perceived as just. I eat no rules no boundaries. The sandbox without walls. And that we can believe whatever we want. Have you ever heard that we can believe whatever we want here. I seen more hands. No we don't. Hear me loud and clear we do not believe that we can believe whatever we want there are certain boundaries on this. Cannibalism is out right out the window. I've heard people say about cannibalism. Well i don't think it's really acceptable is just kind of rude generally. So there are boundaries and that's an extreme example. But as we can see from the previous definitions and examples we are all religion and not just a collection of spiritual individuals with hangout together. You know i think when someone wants describe their fellowship as a. A collection of. List of democrats. With spiritual leanings you like potlucks. Unfortunately that hits really close to the mark for some of our churches. I know that's not true here. Right. I do too. But is that all that defines us. And that would be the question is that all that defines us. He often defined in those ways by people with more orthodox traditional. Belief systems. Because we are not their definition of religion. Both of which are narrow and rigid. So in this situation we are much more a middle way between the extreme rationale. Side of. Liking our names now. Dawkins. That con. Sometimes you just. And people on the other side of. Tisha logical philosophical spectrum. To think that. They know the mind of god. Better than god. However we experience religion and spirituality it is not. Leaving us to escape from our lives. Although just about any practice or anything can be used as an abuse to escape. Whether we are led into deeper connections and stronger communities. And stronger commitment. To our lives and to our relationship. As a community. The congregation here. We want to know what do people need. So that we can offer them away. To experience the things that we have found here that nurture us. It helped us. The cheapest. The help our families that help us be more of who we want and need to be. In our lives. And yet sometimes the way in which we do that is off put. We don't realize it. Part of this. Spirituality. Part of it is being aware. That is a part of the spiritual discipline that most traditions have is. Awareness. Being present in the moment. What we say. We do what we are hearing. So that. Who we are. Is not so loud. But they cannot hear what we are saying. Because no one. Innately knows how to do all of this stuff on our own. And this is why we come together as a community. Study groups as covenant groups. Is any type of shared interest. Bethesda church andaz. What are groups in our community. To learn together. Share our spiritual and religious journeys. And with. The greatest. To create a world. Of a shared hope. For a better future. A better present. For ourselves for our children. For the future of humanity and.

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20150405-Sermon_2.mp3

Large crowds gathered around to hear jesus's message of hope. Love and welcome. This man punches pilot and the romans worried that he was a dangerous troublemaker. There came a time when jesus decided to go to jerusalem. The big city. To challenge those in power by saying that all people were love. And worthwhile. It was a dangerous thing to do. But his message needed to be heard. On thursday night of the week he entered jerusalem. He shared a meal with his friends and went with him to the garden of guess the name to pray for strength and courage. There he was arrested by roman soldiers. The next day. Jesus was sentenced to die a cruel death. By being nailed to a wooden cross. Which was the roman punishment for people considered troublemakers. On the friday that he was put to death his friends all scattered. Triton's that the roman soldiers would hurt them too. After jesus's death a follower named joseph of arimathea took his body and washed it and prepared it for burial. He placed jesus's body in the tomb. And rolled heavy stone across the entrance. Jesus's supporters were sad beyond all words. And terribly afraid. They felt hopeless. The messenger of hope was gone from them crushed and killed by the cruel roman empire what were they to do. On the third day after jesus's death. Three women went to the place where jesus was buried. Bringing spices to anoint his body. On the way they talked about how difficult it would be to roll away the heavy stone in front of the tomb. But when they got there. They found the stone rolled away and jesus's body gone. The women ran from that place. Frightened. Not long after that jesus is friends and supporters began to talk with one another about his teachings. They tried about his message of hope and his belief that each and every one of us is loved by god. They heard the reports from the women about the empty tomb. They wondered. Sometimes when they talk about the things that jesus had said it seems like he was right there with him. So strong was his presence that many followers said that jesus had returned as a holy spirit. They said. As christians do today. That jesus was born again. Or resurrected. They remembered the love jesus taught and gradually they began to feel hope again. There's sadness didn't go away completely. But it faded. As they remember jesus they knew deep in their hearts. That love is stronger than cruelty. And stronger than death. His spirit lived on as it does today.

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Reading1_011710.mp3

How far is reading today is from the active life by parker palmer. He says if disillusionment is one of life's natural forms of contemplation. The experiment of dislocation is another. This happens when we are forced by circumstance to occupy i've a different standpoint. From our normal one. And our angela vision suddenly changes to reveal a strange and threatening landscape. I think for example of a man who lives 40 years in perfect health until one day the doctor tells him he has terminal cancer. I think of the woman who was held the same job for 30 years until an overnight corporate takeover leaves her unemployed at 58. I think the person who finally is forced to admit that the alcohol is made life so unbearable. The only choice is to change or die. The value of dislocation like the value of disillusionment. Is in the way in which it moves us beyond illusion. So we can see reality in the round. Since what we are able to see depends entirely on where we stand. Standing in the middle of a field it is easy to imagine that the earth is flat. Standing on the moon and looking back at our planet we can see more clearly. What her true form. Of course contemplation that comes through this location is likely to leave us lonely. Others often do not share our dislocated you of things. Sometimes they are threatened by our new truth. I want her the story of amityville irish monk who died and was buried as was the custom in the monastery wall. One day the monks were going about their business and heard noises from within the wall and remove the stones so to find their brother alive and well. He began to tell them but he had learned on his journey beyond. Everything he said was contrary to the teachings of the church. So the brothers put him back in the wall and sealed the crypt. The brothers put him back in the wall until the crypt forever. The story suggests that one more way that life draws us into accidental contemplation. The unbidden. Some of us find it is hard to choose solitude or has. Dislocation or disillusionment because solitude removes us. Turn the collective lights that off and reinforces our comfortable. The license many moments. Group exclusive willy-nilly moments when we. Say or feel or do something that the group does not want to deal with. Moments when we are forced to find our way without collective support. Nice moments. We once again have the chance to penetrate illusion. Had to touch. Reality.

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Sermon_101010.mp3

There is so much in our world right now that is so. Wrong. And we often wonder what the causes are of it and one of the things i like to do is to look at putter underlying reasons perhaps. For some of the things that are the way the world is. It's a complex place we live in. Even the greatest scientists and philosophers barely understand all of what it is that. Makes. The world and the universe what it is. But we can try and shine a little light. On the dirty corners. They're rs to shine a light on. So i'm going to try and. Begin tackling a fairly large subject. As i mentioned earlier. Freda nakahashi nakashima brock. Is a research associate at starr king school for the ministry. In berkeley and a harvard fellow former repello. Panda rev.dr rebecca and parker is an ordained united methodist minister into a fellowship with the united methodist church and the unitarian universalist association. And she has been the president of our school is starting school for ministry since 1990. 20 years. In their book. Proverbs of ashes. Rita nakashima brock rights christianity is haunted by the ghost of jesus. His death. Was an unjust just act of violence that needed resolution. Such deaths qantas. Rather than address the horror and anguish of his death. Christianity has tried to make us a triumph. Jesus's story has been shaped. Buy the history of responses that religion have made to his death. Likewise many other victims of violence have found their own stories. Assumed by religious justifications. The turn violent realities into the stories of our salvation. This is not too unusual. People who have found themselves into feet off and reframe. There are realities in ways that try to. Reshape it. Tried to give it meaning. Rebecca rebecca parker rights. A god punishes disobedience will teach us to abandon your when it be wholly to protest and right just refused to cooperate. When i read this i'm remind you to some of my own experiences in my own life. One of which is where i feel i'm. Barely missed one of those moments that might have. Cost me d for pain and anguish. When i was 11 i was in the texas boys choir. Well-known organization well-respected. And i was an up-and-comer i was on the face play the second or third string team. Didn't get to go on the big international tours to kind of local stuff. And the boys choir had a process of discipline which was pretty brutal. They basically hit you in the head. With their hand with a ring college ring turned inward now people go to jail. Okay. But this was a 1970s. And. What i only began to understand later now. Fairly large family is pretty vocal. And we don't put up with much. So i complained bitterly about this kind of treatment. And how wrong it wasn't my mother was furious. Special education teacher. And my father who had been a boy scout executive for 30 years was really pretty unhappy about the whole thing. But what i found out later after i left the choir after about a year-and-a-half. Actually i was kicked out. Because i refuse to show up for an emergency rehearsal they should they called on the weekend i'd already made other plans. And needless to say my father wasn't too upset about it cuz i went on a camping trip for the boy scouts instead. But i found out later through someone who is a family friend. Who became one of the associate directors of the choir for a while. Was that the. Lead director. Internationally famous man george bragg deceased. Was. A notorious pedophile. And he was eventually went a couple years after i got to the choir it was reported to us by another. Family who lived across the street from us whose son was in the touring choir. That he had been caught by a father. Pochoir is sponsoring canada and beaten nearly to death. Find father. And then he suddenly retired for medical reasons. Essentially require board didn't want to have a big. Sing. So they basically told him get the hell out. And he fired everybody who had been his lieutenants and captains also. But i found out was that there was an entire process of abuse that was instituted systematically to try and find the boys would put up with stuff. So that brad could then abused them. With impunity. This has been going on for decades. And there were the parents of former choir boys who were involved in this and professional staff and associate director. All sorts of people. This is the whole system built around this. In order to. Be a part of the greatness of this man in the choir but also to perpetuate. His. Violations. I found out that i was in line. And that the thing that probably saved me was the fact that i complain like hell. About this stuff but that somehow i had been targeted. As a possible. Object. Predation. Not the time that means. But as you get older and you have experiences of world begin. Understand what. Bullet you dodged. I have also read and blogs online and other places that there other people who've had comprable experiences. And i knew some of the boys who were probably his victims. Went to school some of them for many years even through high school. Can i have great. Empathy and. Compassion for them even though some of them were total jerks. Parker. She wrote a god who punishes disobedience will teach us to abandon your. When they probably be wholly to protest. And righteous to refuse to cooperate. I managed to escape a horrible fate. How many in jordan suffered because of being obedient. Deciphering. Which was made of virtue. Historically the idea that the primary story of christianity is about jesus's suffering and blood atonement. Did not emerge. Until the 2nd. Thousand years of christianity. In a later book that parker and. Brock wrote called saving paradise i am just getting into this book but it's pretty interesting how christianity traded love of this world for crucifixion and empire. They systematically. Show how that there is not even iconography about the crucifixion. Until the second millennium. And it comes about primarily as a consequence of the crusades. And pope urban the second. Even though we blame constantine another for doing this. Their efforts to create a sort of unanimity and and imposes for a vampire. On christianity ashley failed miserably. It wasn't until charlemagne and then later urban the second. That this kind of. Iconography this understanding of blood atonement. Actually was absorbed from a lot of pagan traditions. In from the norse. Actually. You swear a great deal of this came from. The earliest known crucifixion. Symbol is actually in germany. It's not in the catacombs just not in rome. So early christianity. Instead it was based and focused on. Creating community which emphasized avis worldly understanding of paradise. That was a part of being in a whole relationship with god and god's creation. So on one hand we have is whole understanding of a paradise and that paradise was not something divorced from this reality it was not heaven that we went to afterward that came about afterwards with other kind of crucifixion. With the blood atonement understanding focus. The previous understanding was a paradise was here now the beloved community the kingdom of god was here within us. And that those the saints who had passed. passed beyond. We're part of that they lived in a suburb. A paradise. And this is shown in iconography in church after church after church of the first millennium in europe primarily in the mediterranean. In contrast to. Fifi ology of blood atonement. And suffering. And obedience. Unitarian universalist have tended to find. The enlightened rabbi the social critic of the orthodoxies of his own day. Too many of us he is a reformer who calls us back from her middle-class comfort zones. To engage and be responsible to the larger experience of humanity. We see him as human not as more divine than any other. And he is a democratic figure not a kingly one. Is an iconoclast an advocate for a radical community of all souls. That's before. Nineteenth-century unitarian minister theodore parker be delivered. His seminal sermon the transient and permanent in christianity in 1841. Unitarians have found. If they intended to be far more interested in the religion of jesus. Reddit and religion about jesus. And this also seems to be with the first century christians also had in mind. Some of us are here this morning. On sunday instead of being in some other house of worship. Because we have rejected or at least ignored the jesus we have met have been raised with. Primarily this was a jesus who suffered and died for our sins not a jesus who showed us how to be restored. Relationship with god and all that is. We may have become cynical about christianity and might even agree with the sas and satirist ambrose bierce. A unitarian by the way. Who wrote the definition of a christian is quote one who follows the teachings of christ insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin. Others of us might be in sympathy with samuel butler comments that people are equally horrified at hearing the christian religion doubted and at seeing it practiced. But which christianity are we talkin about and which jesus. Do we see. Many have left more traditional religious communities to make our way here to this religious community. We usually left those places because of what we felt were narrow dogma switch artificially divide the world into good and evil the saved and unsaved. Get well many have left those traditions behind. There are still tendencies for some of us to continue to see the world in dualistic terms good and bad them and us black and white. Since the bible is not all true then it must be all false and we evict jesus along with the rest. Fortunately this view is no less the less the case. In our congregations. Then it has been and not too distant past. Still perhaps there was a tendency. That all of us who are recovering from something else. Need to beware of lest we commit the same sense of exclusivism. And narrow-mindedness that we sought relief from. Biblical scholar marcus borg points out that while there is a world denying and culture tonight quality to some of jesus's teachings. We must guard against misinterpretation. He says quote it was not a world denial based upon a dualistic understanding of the material or natural world as evil and the world of the spirit is good. Jesus took the light in the natural world as the creation of god. He was reported to enjoy both food and drink and was known for banqueting with outkast. So he spoke of abandoning the family is the center of one's loyalty and security and apparently unmarried himself. There is no reason to think that he was supposed to sexuality and deed he sanctified the family more than his tradition did. He goes on. Rather his challenge to conventional wisdom was a challenge to what might be called in cultured religion. Religion accommodated to conventional wisdom. And increasingly shaped by those were the beneficiaries of. Conventional wisdom. When this happens religion becomes a legitimate her. Of a way of life rather than the invitation. To a new way of life. In short. It was the world that conventional wisdom as the center of identity and security. That jesus negated. How do you think jesus would respond to our current culture. Do you think he'd be in favor of laissez-faire capitalism. I'm looking for a bumper sticker says jesus was not a capitalist. I may have to make one. Anybody want to buy one. Thunderer tire fundraiser coming on. According according to marx boricua jesus is doing is challenging idea that religion justifies the status quo. Rather religion is to be about the revealing of our primary relationships. Being not to kiss and kin but there's a holy and to each other and every person as an expression of the holy. As unitarian universalist we affirmed inherent worth and dignity of every person and our common interdependence. That all of us are. Powerful precious holy and not alone. I'd like you to say that with me. I am powerful precious holy and not alone. I am powerful precious holy and not alone. So in your darker moments remember that. I am powerful precious holy. And not alone. Not me personally but you. To love our neighbor. You should recognize ourselves and the holy in them and respond in kind. It is to see their inherent worth and dignity as unique manifestation. Of god of the holy. Just like you and me and to see the intimate and intricate. Interconnections we have with each other. And finally to respect those relationships as wholly themselves. Religion of jesus is not about death. And obedience. First. Rather it is about restoration. And wholeness. It is about our intimate and necessary relationship to the other in the here. And the now. Marcus borg i think also gives us another crucial piece of understanding. Jesus teaching in this area he says. Jesus's challenge to conventional wisdom must be always kept within the framework of his perception of reality as gracious and compassionate. I was not raised with that understanding of jesus. The jesus is understanding. Of everything. Is that the perception of reality as gracious. And compassionate. Cherbourg. Jesus is message it's not a new requirement for commandment or law which many would have us think it is but rather an invitation. To perceive reality differently. As it really is. Namely that at the heart of everything is reality. That is in love. With us. Brock & parker offers at. Salvation begins with the courage of witness. Witnesses who gaze in. Steady. Whose gaze is steady. Salvation begins with courage of witnesses. Whose gaze is steady. Steady witnesses neither flee in horror. Hide their eyes nor console with sweet words. It isn't all that bad. Nothing good is intended by this. Violence. Is illuminated. By insistence. Exposure. Steady witness. In. The hidden life of violence by bringing it into public attention. They helped restore souls fragmented by violence. They accompany the journey. To healing. Salvation also requires love. Faint hearted love idealize love inpatient love cannot walk in the valley of the shadow of death they say. Feeling lovely offer touches the hidden wounds of violence lance's the place is a storage, andres torres glimpses of the soul. Parker says. Love and compasses life. Like an arc of fire across the night sky. Presents blesses those who await it. Incensing presents. We embrace a passion for life. Love is a seal upon the heart. A hunger to create. To honor life to protect it. And to see it. Passion for life burns fiercely and cannot be quenched by many waters. It is as strong as violence and death. As we see more deeply into the luminous steps. We draw closer to that fire at the heart of thinks. So when's that quote. The failures of blood atonement and redemption through suffering are all around us in our daily living violence is glorified and sanctified and suffering justified as a price of a virtuous life. Restoration of our sense of being whole in right relationship with the universe but the holy is not a function of the suffering and death of jesus. Or anyone. Rather it is a function of our knowing our innate wholeness and holiness. And standing up for that of all others. Even those we don't like. The virtue of the story of the good samaritan. Is not in the suffering of the victim. What is virtue is in the compassion and healing love for a fellow human being by the samaritan. It isn't seeking to bring that person to healing and wholeness in spite of violence. Not because of it. So as we reflect on these things. Perhaps new understandings of. What our relationship with jesus. With god with each other maybe let us go remembering the cautions of ralph waldo emerson when he said. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives and character. Therefore it behooves us to be careful what we are worshipping. For that what we are worshipping we are becoming. I invite you to go forth in your life. To think on these things. To challenge them where you find them and even within those you know. As unitarian universalist we affirm the inherent worth and dignity. Every person. And our common interdependence. And we proclaim that we are all. Powerful precious holy. And not.

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Reading_091309.mp3

Already this morning is taken from the active life by writer and philosopher parker palmer he says that to be fully alive is to act the capacity to act is the most obvious difference between the quick and the dead but action is more than movement it is movement that involves expression discovery reformation of ourselves and our world he says i understand action to be any way that we can co-create reality with other beings and with the spirit through action we both express and learn something of who we are of the kind of world we have or want action like a sacrament is the visible form of an invisible spirit an outward manifestation of an inward power but as we act we not only express what does in us and help give shape to the world we also receive what is outside of us and we reshape out in ourselves when we act the world acts back and we and the world are co-created to be fully alive is to be is to also contemplate by contemplation i do not mean the practice of a particular technique like sitting the lotus position and chanting a mantra in fact the obsession with contempt technique seems to me to reflect the hubris of technology more than the humility of the spirit i understand contemplation to bien anyway that we can unveil the illusions that masquerade as reality and reveal the reality behind the mask one of the great threats to full ole liveness is the sleight-of-hand practiced by our egos and our culture to keep us from seeing things as they are contemplation happens anytime we catch the magician deceiving us and we get a glimpse of the truth behind the trick whether it is a happy truth or a hard one that truth will always quicken our lives with these definitions it is easy to see the contemplation and action are not apart from each other but are part of each other whenever we act in a way that illusion that action is contemplatively.

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20140511-Mothers%27-Day-An-Introduction.mp3

Thank you for the spirit of all-encompassing love and forgiveness with what you are going to surround me as i start this is a story about an important unitarian who lived many years ago during the american civil war someone who was very famous for writing something that she wound up not liking very much at all and someone who is not remembered or not often remembered for her other great contribution to american culture. Julia ward howe was a prominent unitarian layperson the director of the perkins school for the blind in boston. Founder of the first american women ministers group. And a popular poet. She was also an abolitionist someone who fought against slavery. She was such an avid supporter of the abolition of slavery and the union cause. But she wrote a song that became very popular. So popular that 150 years later. If i start singing it you will probably see it with me. It's called the battle hymn of the republic and it goes. Mine eyes have seen the glory. Well julia always believe in putting an end to slavery. She came to believe that war. Was not the way to solve problems. On a 19 1870 only five years after the american civil war was ended when another war broke out in europe the franco-prussian war. Julia ward howe has had enough. She joined a small but growing band of international peace activists. They denounced war as senseless conflict. Julia ward howe decided that if anybody understood how to work for peace. It was mothers. Because mothers understood how awful it was to have your son or husband killed or crippled in a war remember that this was 150 or more years ago and only men got sent to war at that time. Men care about their sons to. But in those days when only men declared wars and fought wars julia thought that mother said home had a special role is peacemakers. So she wrote a manifesto which is a long word for a big important document. And she had her manifesto translated in 25 different languages french german italian spanish and swedish and she's got out to deliver it at international peace conferences across. Europe. But because she was a woman. The european organisers denied her place on the program. Angry. But undaunted she hired her own hall. And put up posters. To advertise her own event. But few people came. So she returned to the united states not broken but inspired with a new idea. She called it mother's day. The way julia originally thought of it mother's day was not put mother's on a pedestal it was another woman and a jarvis just thought of that and it was a greeting card company that made it into the commercial extravaganza that it is today but julia the activist. She wanted to draw mothers out of their kitchens and parlors. Into the public square to unite as many women as she could in a common cause the protection of children from war or as she put it to promote the alliance of the different nationalities the amicable settlement of international questions to the great and general interest of peace. She didn't call her annual festival international peace day she called it mother's day. Because she thought no other group could more naturally or persuasively sponsor an annual festival of love and peace. Mother's day at she envisioned it would remind us that the whole world would be a better place. If only everyone might rise to the challenge of motherhood. Nurturing life. Fostering peace. Getting love. And on june 2nd 1870 she issued the first mother's day proclamation. Which we will read together responsibly it is in your hymnal is number 573. But the words are also on the screen. Arise then women of this day. Say firmly we will not have great questions decided by ear relevant agencies. Our son. From the bosom of the devastated eartha voice goes up with our own and it says disarm disarm. As men have awesome forsaken the plow in the m and bill at the summons of war let women now leave all that many left of home for a great and ernest day of council. Let them know each other as the means whereby the great human family can live in peace.

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Sermon_072411.mp3

Good morning i do on topix. This is. I'm going in america together tour this fall. Where. I'm almost using the same words. Cheerleaders at the very beginning of the slide. Ubuildit. No american has to be apprehensive the other i was surprised and thrilled to read those words. Buu. Good morning with readings. This topic is about. Finding the truth is your own responsibility. I before that i want to share a few things. It's a delight to be here the unitarian universalist church. Argelia said that i may be a closet unitarian. Bye. what i mean is. For the last 40 years. How many of you have visited the beliefnet quiz. Everyone i have to for the last 40 years. During the christmas holidays every year. Find the test. Uchealth. How much is score. Each pay. I always made 192 tunein universal. And the next one was quaker. And reform judaism. How much universal unitarian is. The more open you are about god and humanity in creation. Uscore henry everytime. 42. Get those attitude syndrome. Now greetings. The essence of greed. Addition. Personification when you say hello. What is in wallace three aspects in the greeting. When is acknowledging stranger. Second i want to connect with you. I want to have a relationship. These are the three key elements embedded in every religion since i saw the symbols here i thought it would be appropriate for me to share those things. Can the hindu greeting when they said namaste. The essence essential aspect of daddy's. Lentic goodness in you. Connect with your goodness in me. Together we can create goodness. Indeed joliet. Islam judaism and the christian faith the actual what this is used. When you said salaam shalom peace to you. What you are doing is asking the other pond the other person. Condition. In peace. Can you repeat that back to me you're telling me soaking please. Drink together we can talk please. It's like when you invite somebody to home. On the weekend for dinner. Invariably ask you what do i need for dress. The idea is the guest want to be involved with you they want to connect with you. With their own diversity so that's the idea of him greetings number to sheriff you greetings. From alphabetical order about 8 to 9. And you're welcome to repeat after me silently. You don't have to all you can do it loudly with me. Who started the baha'i tradition. A lot of hope. The buddhist tradition badanamu. Namaste. Peace to you. Jai jinendra. What is a jain tradition and you go to judaism shalom aleichem. Go to the islamic tradition salaam alaikum. Distinct tradition sateria call. In the week and the other bears predictions mother. Airstream tradition z coming up the end. Amazon. Use 409. All the greetings implements i want you to be blessed i want you to be in please. And i want to be together what it would we do that that be peaceful connect. Talk about creation. Different people have different. God has created about seven billion of us each one of us has a different. Believe. Different dna different thumbprint 7 billion / 7 billion. So we have created of unique we have sub uniqueness. It's not the police chief who have difficulties. If all of us had the same company. It's a different iphone that is a future. Open. Security offices that are going to go buy the iphone. I'm glad each one of us is different. Accepting and respecting.. Unique. Assembly control ism. Laurel is amazing adjectives. Off accepting and respecting every witch way. People. Create appreciate the divine. Whether it is evolution creation arabic doesn't matter which can they can argue all they can argue but we exist we are here today. How to record the how do we make life better for everyone. Otabek process evolution creation of big bang theory any other system that is imaginable. Two things two major products came out of that. What is the matter. And the other one is life. When the matter was created like. For example of the jupiter and stars the planets everything was program. Play the creator god whatever you want to call it to be finding its own balance continuously. Jupiter has been put around the orbit around the planet sun and it has been going on i don't know how many billionaires it will centennial. It is very precise movement. Joey's moon around the earth. All of these are conditioned program. To follow a certain path so there is a balance. Look at the universe all the trillions of stars. They're not colliding with each other. When. Life human beings were created we were not created with automatic balance. We will not put the get up in the morning and doing the evening come back a circle. Refrigerio giving the free will to choose what we want to choose or the ultimate play balance. And the truth is what is needed if not we'll be colliding with each other killing each other and doing all sorts of things. Environment of fear of balance is the key and god has given as a feeble to find our own battles. The next. One please. The creator when. He she it whatever you want to assume. Created us. It was a lot of love in it. How many fur mothers with two or three small children here. You want your children to get along you want your children to be wilmaris. You want your children to be well-fed well-educated. Parents. When you talk about. The teacher the one every one of the students to score a. If you are a chef in that restaurant you want everyone has a chance to enjoy the food. God when he created all of us the seven billion of us she wants us to enjoy life. She wants us to get along with each other. She wants us. To help peace peace of mind and coexist in harmony. Then he has given a divine guidance. Let us free. He has created us with a free-will yet he says if you're lost. No nation no tribe no community no human is ever deprived of god's love and guidance. Please. Gaidos has come in different religions you can call it profits. Peacemakers. Are any name you want to give. In your own church right here. It is a peacemaker when you have a issue that you are discussing. What a while looks like you may not find any resolution. Different opinions argument. Different size to it. But someone at the end will speak. Why don't you do this. But everybody's quite over think about this to begin with. Succumb to your resolution. What is a peacemaker god has inspired. In every group every tribe. Bring that we are given different titles prophet messengers peacemakers all of them are doing. harmony and peace and coexistence among ourselves. Let's talk about the truth. White suit is so critical to leave in harmony in balance. In safety and peace tooth is the most crucial element of all of creation. Human scores are endowed with free will. They have the freedom to choose right from the wrong. No matter what your parents. Your teachers. Your prophets. You about others are your leaders tell you about others. We need to find a truck. For example in your family one of their members. How much house at well you know doing the death of somebody he's people who are greedy and came and all they were interested was. Putting your property today. Grieving a dying person saying peaceful words. I'll listen because you believe that person your mother your sister. What a good friend you believe that. Whatever that person is saying to you immediately built by us. Towards another person a point to that person and another party in a church or some other place. Because you believe that person is bad person. And as a result. Every time you see that person something happens to you something negative energy passes. Ripley's the goodness in you. And because you believe something that is not truthful. We have to find the truth ourselves because we are responsible for her anguish. Because we are responsible. Or how we feel about others. It doesn't matter what others feel. Howwefeel internally. Language the apprehension that we go through it becomes crucial for us to find it. Play switch releases food freezes. From all the anxieties. We alone beto roberto. Nobody bears are barbie. India nightmares. When you hit somebody. When you think of murdering somebody when you think of. Taking revenge on someone who hit you. Audio store.. Our son you want to take advantage you make it nightmares about it. You alone there. Departed. Even if your parents your spouse your brothers. Your pastor 6 by you that you're okay everything is alright. It's alright you for the moment you feel okay but when you go back to sleep and have the tightness. So who is this who will solve the problems. We can pray that will help. We can have listened somebody listened to others without my child's unlikely responsibility. Find peace and salvation. Spider-man house. We are responsible for the reaction. We responsible for what we do and pay for it. Receive the benefit of feeling good having a high-energy. We can blame everyone we can when things go wrong. As it was alluded earlier what happened in norway. Ouija. Start doing the blame game start. Doing all sorts of things. But what is the end result huaraches. When you find the truth is going to find solutions early. Not blame. Solutions. Absence of truth. Imagine what happens when there is no truth. Simple example in your own home. Small. Toddler crawling up. Leave the kitchen. And you say those coils that red-hot your fingers. The child may not believe it. He may not have experienced one. Are your brother or sister might just go do something you tell them not to do it is not right. You still go and experience. Something very difficult they realize that is a close. But have been known. What somebody has shared with them. Are there one inference their own reference. If they have provided. Admissible could have been avoided. Is a lot of chaos that happens. When you don't follow the truth are there several examples i can. Sure with you. Do you hear about the boy who cried wolf. And you probably know the story i love you bye. She's yelling dissolve and the whole town comes back to save. A boyfriend. Olfaction. And he does there was a real one people didn't believe him. Sweet happens in our life on a day-to-day basis. Telling the truth is very important not necessarily forget god wanted it doesn't matter what god wants. Belly button. Telling the truth. Away from. Australia from anyone. How good it feel. Telling the truth is so much energy. You feel confident you don't. Bow your face you can walk confidently because you tell the truth. Punishments play some harsh realities are being truthful but deep down is a confidence in you that is a joint. Presence of fruitvale safe society. Example of the boy. Other example of a boy who cried wolf. If we start telling the truth that is a degree of trust. When i start saying something. The amount of trust you again. Until stella something with tencel billy the moocher. When it is something negative about other people. I need to wait. Before we leave. Because it's going to ultimately house. Father mother. Not even god the day of my birthday. I have to mostly nightmares. Watershed a few things. About. Watch some of the religious traditions. Aguadito. Bienville hutto texas. Finding the truth is your own responsibility. I didn't find the same verse similar words in every religious tradition. Muhammad. Sunnyvale rimouski live. In fact in the koran. A divorce party 96 days. If you are in quitters person. Affair. Person with a little comfy you with a tale story. Use your discernment. Let you hurt people unwittingly and afterwards. Be filled with remorse for what you have done. President reagan had said. Trust but verify. Mahatma gandhi had said. Ultimately prevails. It is. Ultimately prevail. All the religious traditions. Sadie said thank you because it benefits each one of us individually. God doesn't care what you tell the truth and god cares that you live in peace. That is the whole idea of religion. I want to share a story about. Michael jeter i need the truth. Years ago i was born and raised as a muslim. When i was a teen. I was looking at reading of the koran. Some of the horses did not. I did not like doing. Translation that i was reading. Some of them seem like. They were hateful towards other people. I just walked away from it. After 30 years animated sort of 80s. Around. I have all the holy books in my. Mucho i open the books randomly open the flood. So one day i was flipping packages. Edward stephanie finding the truth is your oldest possibility 11. And everyone was attacking islam and quran. Do i believe what everybody says or do i need to find the tools on my own. I started taking. I doubt they were too. Translations of karandikar deliberately mistranslated when was done in the times of crusades. What do european things. The political interest to save. Information. So they paid money. Today. The monastery of abbey in france. Mistranslated koran so when their fellow subjects. they will generate head towards. The muslims. So they can go with the crusades. Auto.. Turkish empire the ottoman empire. In 1819 agent. One of the muslims neocon. Who lost their power. Hip boots. More than about 60 versus image translator. Which makes muslims don't like the christians and jews a lot of people were reading that they were questioning but all of that carry the question right around 9:11. It's a blessing in disguise 911. Because it islam most of people found out. A lot of delivered mistranslation. I dug into it i started writing. And i was taken back. How holy book has been mistranslated how i have been missing for 30 years. Ladybug that was not his. The book is coming out that is a website on it. Can i find the book the quran to be a book of wisdom. Book of florida. I don't hate anybody. God has not signed a deal with christians muslims are jews behind our backs they cannot do that. But shadows the very image of god that is a god is all loving caring. Respectful tomorrow she cannot do that humans have messed up with your holy god doesn't do that. The last few things when you can size message lord krishna jesus christ muhammad given. Religious tradition. Minutes. When jesus said follow me. The same word for said by krishna. In the end. Surrender to me. Concur and it says submit to my will. Garcia's. What does god want what does jesus born. That's about not to fall down not to do anything they want all they want is for us to coexist and live in peace. When jesus said follow me is not telling you to walk in his foot baths in the jerusalem watched across all this ain't become like me. Analysis submit to my well he's telling become like me. Meaning when god is non-discriminatory. She's not telling you one thing telling someone something else. And also is not making deals behind over bag. He has lost every human being his son his moon shines on the dirtiest. As one of the krystal clear model indiscriminately that's how god loves all of us. God doesn't create discrimination this is what jesus. Krishna god humanity become like me. With no head for anyone. You are all mine. I created you you belong to me and i belong to you. There's no distinction between you. When like a teacher like a mother like a shovel on. Able to get along i want us to get along. That is a message you finding all those i'm finding the truth. No matter what anybody says about hinduism. Islam religion. If you find one foot from one source. Question. Do some you're willing it. Rifftrax 4510 translation you find the meaning when you find it to you find salvation you find yourself to be free. Chick-fil-a fremont street. Thank you very much.

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Minister_Reflection_121309.mp3

We gathered in a community of diversity and yet also one of underlying unity. Like all of the animals trying to fit into those mittens while needed warm. We all need warmth of each other. Of our help. Of our presents together. In a world that sometimes seems cold and indifferent. The great uu writer kenneth patton said this house is for the ingathering of nature. And human nature. And i can think of no better story to reflect that for us. We're also together now in a time of diversity and. Middle of hanukkah and of advent we have solstice coming shortly. And other holidays and days of remembrance. Days of celebration. And a new year. Ahead of us. Even if we reflect on the old one. Some of us will. In the words of one of my favorite singer-songwriters. He says i'm looking forward to looking back on this year. Some of us are also looking forward because. We know that. The world is not go backwards could only forward. And so we take our wisdom with us. Even if the animals may have taken some wisdom with them after they. Got into those mittens in her little too crowded. Sometimes. Our lives got a little too crowded. And maybe the cricket puts her paw in and things come apart. So maybe become wise know our limits. At the same time expanding our hearts. Like the grinch expands his heart. And our generosity. May itself no no balance.

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Sermon_040112.mp3

When i was a kid. April fool's day. I did it because i was. And i loved it because i occasionally managed to return the favor. And i imagine that this. April fool's day which is today. As a cultural celebration exists apart from established religions governments. And famous people. It is 1/4. Nobody expects us to buy gifts or to take their significant other out to eat in fancy restaurant. And nobody gets off of work or school. It exists to have fun. You poked fun at each other and ourselves and seemingly nonsensical. Historically the origins of april fool's day or unclear. Many explanations are given relating to various. And the murder of innocents to. The transfer of. Jesus is cassidy hermana toward the other before his death. Mostly nice.. Distillation. In france under the old julian calendar celebration of the new year begin on march 25th. And in keeping with the coming of spring. And the celebration lasted for 8 days. I think that's great. I am eight days of new year celebration. First. In the 16th century king charles the ninth officially change the date of new year's. And it took time for that inappropriate electronic era for news to get around. So for years some people didn't know of the change. Those who practice the old eight we're often called april fools. And subjected to ridicule and pranks. The confusion also alleged exchange of false greeting for the first day of the new year. And switch edition of practical jokes pranks and hoaxes misdirection. Etc. And it's an equal-opportunity holiday. For everyone despite age or station could be home herbal to being cool. History and across cultures there are celebrations like. From hill area in ancient rome to holy and hindu traditions. Colors of pigment. And a in. And in that in that holiday that celebration dates back to 536. Before common era. And it's called sizdah bedar. Probably the oldest known prank tradition in the world still alive. And this is many. Interesting factoids that while researching. April fools. That is april fooling is only good for the first 12 hours of the day. So at noon manage. Most of the time. A number of people have her marked on april fool's day and fooling around in general one classic is that however big the fool there's always a bigger fool to admire him. Herbert spencer offers that. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly to fill the world with pools. An anonymous. He who lives without falling. From one offer we hear that. And the late author john updike wrote looking foolish does the spirit good. And one of my personal favorites from mark twain is. The 1st of april is the day we remember that quote we are the other 364 days of the year. Now the actual word fool. Comes from the french word. Switching term comes from the latin. Windbag. So in light of that definition. And the differences that ministers generally know better than to try and answer the question. Some field of this definition of impart related to. The word folly comes directly from pool. Evil times it was a synonym. For evil. Wickedness and vice. As well as foolishness. Contrast. The word silly. Also offer applies to pools and clowns and jesters. And it wants match be blessed. Bacilli in the medieval sense of the word and sensitive to the religious impulse. My children my son. And i say you're silly to. Many scholars feel that pools in the european sense are. A more recent descendant or offshoot of tribal shamans and have always had some relation to the sacred. Acting contrary to social convention. Any early christian church it was common to refer to jesus as a fool. The apostle paul. Did this in his letters and in the early middle ages monks often aspired to be clowns of god. for christ. Writer in modern full fred fuller says this was due to the humility and simplicity. This was when jesus was an opponent of the establishment established. After all according to the christian scriptures jesus consorted with harlots and tax collectors and lepers. Not exactly the expected posse of a messiah. He entered jerusalem riding on an ass and his reputation for being king of the jews. Jesus went to the cross as a mock king. But i posted yet here's the king of the jews. And credited with performing the classic. And resurrection. Whether this secondary to the perceptions people have had. The trickster figure is more often mythic figure. Usually juggling the seeming paradoxical characteristics of slyness and foolishness. Of heroism and dc. Perhaps the purpose of all this is to break apart to dualism. Hey that's awesome damn the black-and-white the good and evil. Perceptions that come so easily to civilized. And to human religions also. It turns our conventional wisdom. On their heads. This reminds me of a story. Monica bruton. Used to stand in the street on a market day. And he was pointed out as an idiot. He always chose the smaller coin. It one day a kindly man said to him. Nasiruddin. You should take the larger coin. When you do you'll have more money and people will no longer be able to make a laughingstock of you. People will stop offering me money to prove that i am more of an idiot than they are. And then i would have no money at all. The fuller clown in particular. Personifies e-mail stereotype. He is symbolically and inversion of the wise king. The clown shows us the bumbler and the vulnerable feeling centered. And as a shaman. The clown dispenses the medicine of laughter. Laughter is our most trustworthy exorcism you can drive off demons. A sense of humor restore is a sense. Proportion. Personally i think. Inform people a stand-up comedians and satirist. Over the last 30 years is also been in direct parallel to the rise of a more dehumanizing effects of our current culture. The address are hidden feelings. By naming and laughing at our demons we feel a little less under pressure and a little morning control. I'm particularly minded of influence above jon stewart and stephen colbert i've had on the public discourse over the last decade. Because of their work and so many others we can truly see that the emperor's often have no clothes. One of the defining characteristics of fools. Researcher and writer har astra. Offers about play that it was stores are optimus. It changes our perspective stimulating creativity. Play lenoir chair. Professor of psychiatry at university of california. Quote we control over the world we get to manipulate symbol control the outcomes of events. In fact she says that. Play is not just an activity. It is a state of mind. And all the mental activity of play comes at you sideways. Therein lies its value. It's just mental activity is never a goal in of itself. Terry uses this transformative classic mental state of play. To unfreeze them from behaviors and attitudes that they are locked into due to their traumas. To place.. Engagement play regularly. Or more likely to live longer. And happier and healthy. Lies. Mark this should be very good. Heart rachel is in his wife are resin clown. Not really. Play is defined by some sort of challenge and struggle. There is a tension will be resolved. Even non-competitive games have an element of tension such as working together to keep the air. And attention has been shifted from being between people. Shooting between people and some other force her condition like gravity. There's often a real sense of the dramatic tension and release and all types play. His situations of oppression or stagnation. Play can become a vehicle for innovation and deliberation. This is why. Solitary and systems. Fatality aryan society. Please intentionally subsumed in which are intended to reinforce the system at hand and discourage deviation. Haters are notorious for having no sense of humor about themselves. One of the things i learned early on. Religion is that the less sense of humor religion has about itself. The more dangerous it probably is. Play. The fool. Then can be a vehicle for personal and cultural transformation. It can be a motive change innovation as well as. Remember the word heretic. Which we as a religious tradition embrace. The word heretic mean. So this adds new waiting important to the saying that if you can imagine. Display gives us the opportunity to try on new ways of doing things. The possibility of developing foundry by again to recreate our world. To realize the goals we set for ourselves individually and collectively. As i talked about before a couple weeks ago we talked about collective worship. Part of the work of the church part of the workout worship. Is 2. Create. A place where we we play axes kingdom of god they love and community. Where we try on what it would mean to do this even if it is just symbolically for. Play is an exercise in self definition. It reveals what we choose to do. The work we do as a religious community is in fact a type of play acting out the beloved community we seek to create in the world at large. No one is forced or even co-workers to be a part of our free religious community. There is no threat of eternal pain or whips of guilt to inspire membership. Although at stewardship time we might wish to reinforce. Unfortunately no. There is no threat of a pain or suffering. To risk looking foolish in front of each other and. Total strangers. Here we can risk and play by these rules of mutual respect and personal integrity and perhaps. Our society can also. Being a fool for the sake of the power of life and living what is right and good is to step out not only on path. But sometimes. Figure of the fool for the joker. Card decks. Is not an intrusive. Idiot. Kind of mindless. Hastings. But rather. Is a creature of faith. He steps off the cliff or the branch not because he doesn't know any better. But because it makes sense to do so on some larger scale. There are times when it is right and important to do what must look like insanity. Two other people. Because that is what it's called for in the moment. Certainly social reformers throughout our history have been accused of being crazy or stupid. Or all of them. Pools. Iconoclasts. And. Full can successfully challenge the powers-that-be. Robert graves tells the story of king philip of spain. Who decided to increase his persecution of the jews. He ordered that every spaniard with jewish blood would have to wear a certain shape of hat. 3. When a monarch asked him who the heck were for the floor plaid one for me. 14d. Take me to the point that most of the people in spain probably had some. King philip. Who are some dangers or transforming. Mucinex. George carlin. Red skelton. Smothers brothers. Monty python. Timothy leary. Bart simpson. Any others. Homer. Foolishness can beer release. From pension. A chance to break normal patterns of behavior and to give permission to step outside of the box of our everyday lives. But even more powerfully it is an opportunity to change. Our lives. Perfume. The truths that fools and blue full scan bring us. We are also open to possibilities. Joy wisdom. As well as pain. Indian food. But rather because suffering may be one of the consequences same struggle. Same openness but can also bring acceptance love. And grace. Are we still. When we speak and listen. Authentic selves. What psychologists call art russo. Only speak from our hearts. From the center of our being. It is the experience of the hope for joy for a fulfillment. Which motivates me to mishima relationship to. It calls me. To dissipate. We find this whenever we. To relationship. In relationship with each other each other. But. The nature of the beast. We risk. In that commitment. They were also able to discover the reality of our underlying. Our relationship everything. What we consider our source of means the ground of our being. Joy is our experience of our awareness of the holy. We become the vulnerable fool the ceiling centered person pinned in. Wrist. Are not things we make the processes we engaged. There is no separation between and in. In commitment. How we get where we're going is important. Every fool knows. This joy this fulfillment is not just an end product or something we get after the fact. Rather if we do it right if we're really connected and open then there is joy and fulfillment of the process in the struggle is. Personally i discovered early in my life. I might avoid likelihoods of suffering. What i have learned from the various relationships over my life. Foolish and otherwise. Is that when we do this but i when we discover. This woman when we are i disconnect. From others. We are not willing to risk that possibility. We're also kept from the possibility of. And that really is. In all the worst sense. Like all human experiences our play our foolishness can lead us to places we did not intend to go. Some will be great discoveries in other pits. That we will have trouble getting out of. If our foolishness becomes goal-oriented or goes from life-affirming to life denying that are search for fulfillment. He comes consumption. Our desires become addictions in our freedoms. Troll. Our light-heartedness becomes indifference. Spontaneity. The fool the trickster dances on. Hippolyte. And the dark. Races and our shadows the whole week. And evening changing things is posing are illusions about the world as we know it. So on one hand being a fool for life. Can you being so serious about our lives that we are willing to look ridiculous. And even suffer humiliation for what we hold to be dear. And on the other hand it also means. Being of such a fool. A whole life long. We can be both. Foolishness is the very real. Sirius stock. And yet when we begin to take ourselves too seriously we get stuck. Reminder. Self-correcting system. It allows us to fail in order to gain. Foolishness allows us to fail. So we can gain the wisdom. Remind ourselves to imagine what he wants. You need. Candy. Play. Let's see what happens. And then to laugh at ourselves. Hopeful. Listen silly foolishness. What is. Hopefully. Whole of our lives.

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20131201-Sermon.mp3

As i mentioned earlier were talking about peace this month. And. Are there a lot of different definitions of it. The first one that it is the absence of war or conflict and they're also couple others. That are floating around there that it is freedom from upsetting thoughts or feelings. Now this one particular reminds me of jane austen's pride and prejudice. Where mr. bennett father. Will not deal with the fact that he has a daughter who has no sense at all. Lydia who's about to run off. Do stupid things. And all he wants to do is get her out of the house so he can have. Peace. We will have no peace until she has done what she's going to do. So that's one kind of piece that we. Later comes back to bite him. There's harmony in personal relations which is similar. Sometimes i think that we. Forget that harmony really requires a little more than just. Again the absence of any kind of conflict that actually requires. Harmonizing and. A harmony. That means working together and being in sync with each other. Not just not in conflict. And then there's also a more formal one estate or. of peace between governments and agreement to end a war. Interesting lee i went to the book stores looking for things i go online and look at things a lot but i also like to see what's actually in the bookstores and i won't name the main major chain i attended to. But i was able to find their section on war really easily. It was fairly substantial and i'm a history buff and i read all this stuff you know and i know a lot about it. But then i started asking. One of the clerks i said where is your stuff on peace she was what he mean by peace i said you know peace you know. Show all we got stuff in philosophy anything much of anything in current events. That's kind of sad commentary. Nothing much of the newsstands. And you know i guess maybe under philosophy go well we can go over there as next2new wage. I said well isn't that interesting that you would have that. Over there rather than dealing with. You know. An end and that wouldn't be a section on its own. She goes. Yeah. I get it i just not ensuring so that was an interesting kind of reflection on what are we valuing what are we what is in demand but. Is. Something. The people will buy. Maybe it's just not sexy enough. The origin of the word peace comes from the middle english and goes peas comes from the same as appeasement and pacify. And that comes from anglo-french and from latin pox. Familiar with. There a lot of. Ways to try and understand peace. And different people have different perspectives on it. That could be one. There's inner peace there's outer peace as we heard earlier there is a movement towards a more holistic understanding. Along those lines mahatma gandhi. Said there is no way to peace there is only. Peace. And he also said the day if power. Pavlov. Give me the day the power of love overrules the power the love of power. The world will know peace. Chuck bow hunting elk in his book diary says it is. So hard to forget pain but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace. Ralph waldo emerson. Says peace cannot be achieved through violence it can only be attained through understanding. Albert schweitzer. Vault insider does it unitarian. Says that until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things man will not find him will not himself find peace. And aristotle said it is not enough to win a war. It is more important to organize the peace. I wish george wish i'd read aristotle. But there's also a little lighter take on this david barry says my therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace. Is to finish what i start. So far today i have finished two bags of eminem's and a chocolate cake i feel better already. A lot of it come out of a culture in which pieces become. A dirty word. Or. Word with. The salt and the sultan has no flavor somehow. That is the right it is kumbaya has. You know. Mamby pamby or. Less than realistic. And i would offer up some of the insights of jody williams who's in 1997. Nobel peace laureate. And she. Is only one of a dozen women who have ever won. The nobel peace prize. Just want to 7 we're still alive. She received it as the chief strategist. The international campaign to ban landmines. Which established the first global treaty banning anti-personnel mines. She believes that peace is defined by humans. Not national security. Choose is defined by human security. Not national secure. And she says that must be achieved through sustainable development environmental justice and meeting people's basic needs. And to this end she has co-founded the nobel women's initiative endorsed by 6. Auto seven living female peace laureates. She chairs the effort to support activists researchers and others working towards peace justice and equity for women and us humanity. She also continues to work on global landmines. Landmine eradication. Now i've seen a number of things that she's written and done. Money more interesting ones and actually fairly condensed. Is a 2010 ted talk that she did. She says. What i consider to be peace is sustainable. Is a sustainable peace in which the majority of people on this planet. Have access to enough resources to live dignified lives. Now understanding. Most conflicts are really three basic forms of conflicts over to look at the sort of income. Contrast year. There are really three forms of conflict that we encounter most of the time in the world one is. Conflict over process of some sort. And this can be negotiated. Because we can negotiate new processes. Even with fur in the united states senate. And the other the next and these are in order difficulty. Vanessa is resources. Conflict over resources of not having enough of something. Or too much or desire to have more of. And again this can be negotiated usually. And the third one. Just different from the first two is conflict over identity. You cannot negotiate identity. And that's a whole other area of learning of. Coming to understand this is where the hard work usually comes in. No the unfortunate thing is just never really just one of those things it's all of those things all tangled up together. Issues like the conflicts in most places. Rrr / identity but it's usually about money and resources. The conflict in northern ireland was almost always about who had. Access to resources. Who was economically oppressed. The shisha. Sunni conflict in most of the middle east is usually around resources. You know and power. So you know how you often have these resource-based complex there. Overlaid with this whole identity. Issue. And so we don't have to try and. Pick those apart. But i think if we hit that. Middle one. Resources i think it will do a lot too. Declaw the others. I believe that prayer can be. An important part of our spiritual lives. Can be maybe efficacious my mother certainly believes it works because she got me back here. In texas after 27 years. So she believes it worked and. Is certainly there are. Cases to be made for that. Not very scientific ones but cases. So. I think it's important for us to spiritual people to realize that the role of. Spiritual activity is to support other kinds of activity not as a replacement. For it. Into the send jody williams shared a fascinating story. And she talks about. She says i was in her oshima a couple of weeks ago. With his holiness the dalai lama. We're sitting there in front of thousands of people in the city. And there we were about eight of us nobel laureate and he's a bad guy. He's like a bad kid in church. We're we're steering and everybody waiting our turn to speak and he leaned over to me and says jody. I'm a buddhist monk. I said yes your holiness your robe gives it away. He said you know that i kind of like meditation and i pray. I said that's good that's good we need that in the world i don't follow that but that's cool. And he says. But i have become skeptical. I do not believe that meditation and prayer will change this world. I know. What we need is action. His holiness. In his robes is my new action hero. So part of it is for us as a religious community as spiritual people of people of faith. To say what can we do. What is it that we have to offer we have a unique vision of how. People should live together. Of what it means to achieve justice. Judy. Offers up some more she says in my view what we need today is people getting up and taking action. To claim the meaning of peace. It's not a dirty word she says it's hard work every single day. And if each of us who cares about the different things we. Care about got up off our butts and volunteered as much time as we could. We would change this world. They would save this world. And we can't wait for the other guy. We have to do it. Ourselves. My first. Interviewed here and it's hard to believe that was. 7 1/2 years ago almost. I did my kandidaten. One of our young adults. Are you. Soon-to-be young adults ask me. What we could do you know to make. A difference. In the world how we you know and at first your brain starts feeling like. And then you realize out. You show up. You show up. You know. Do you know how buddhism in las vegas or like. You got to show up to what you got to be present to win. Okay. So we as a religious community have the opportunity. And i'm going to be talking much more in-depth about. All of these things. About your how-to's and stuff. Will next week in later on. This month. Scene comes up for this month is that this is often peace and a peace joy to the world peace on earth goodwill towards men and women. You know. Glad to hear an amen over there. And. And yet we often don't know what we're talkin about. We assume that everybody's talking about the same thing. Maybe. Maybe not. There's an opportunity for us to reflect on those things that kind of get turned into wallpaper. For us most of the time. Actually seriously sit down and think about what does it mean. What does peace really mean. I tend to i tend to fall down on the place where martin luther king jr. did. Not so eloquently but. Basically we have to have equity and justice. You know as jody wells talks about is a sustainable peace. Is only available when there are peace and equity. For equity and justice available to us. Only remove. The causes of. Most forms of conflict. I still think the oracle at delphi. Offers us some of our best advice along these lines. Anyone know what that said. Oracle at delphi. I have a classical education in here somewhere. The oracle at delphi the greek oracle at delphi had two inscriptions on it and the inside. The one was no die self. And the other was nothing too much. For all things in moderation. And i believe that is a caveat to that which is moderation and all moderation. But. Essentially. If we were to try to do those two things i think. Consciously we've been pretty good shape. You know jesus of nazareth. Whatever we think about his birth in december. And all of the things attached to it. Here's some interesting things to say about peace. He said blessed are the peacemakers. When you speak out against violence when you stand by those who are hurt or ridiculed. When you listen to those who disagreed you disagree with. When you give your time and energy to help others when you try to fix forgive those who hurt you. When you love. And open yourself. Two others. That is the blessing of peacemakers. Is the father of two small children. And it's someone who is raised in the shadow of nuclear war. During. The cold war. My children. They don't do duck-and-cover drills now they do armed gunman drills. In schools. I'm not sure which i'm more upset about. But our children. Want. Peace. And they know it. There are these untainted barometers. For some of these things. And i think i'm going to close with it with a prayer that was. Written by a child. Says dear god we thank you for giving us your peace. Help us to spread peace at home and at school by loving and caring for one another. Help us to spread peace by listening to one another even if we don't agree. Help us to spread peace by sharing our time with those who are lonely and who need a friend. Help us to spread peace by thinking and praying for children who have no food. Or frightened. And live. Let us pray everyday for peace for our families and for our friends. And for ourselves. So let us go forth with the. The soul of a child. Seeking to spread peace where we can. To better understand it as we better understand ourselves. Other. As we move forward into trying to help the world. Our. World. This world. Be that beloved community. That we so. Aspire to. And so cherish. The idea of.

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Sermon_030809.mp3

In our current times. Happiness is not necessarily one of those things were hearing a lot about. On npr. Or. Any other channel for that matter. For some things are harder than for others. But this is also a part of the human experience. In our own declaration of independence in this country which is considered a transcendence dental document. About values. And human relationships. It ends with life liberty and the pursuit. Of happiness. A lot of people have used that to. Justify a lot of behavior that spindle fashion just kind of bad. And. Also to raise questions about what does it mean to be happy what does it mean to pursue. Happiness. And why should we. The author of ecclesiastes wasn't battling the fear of meaninglessness. He was battling. The disappointment of. Success. Pleasure of getting what you want. Is often. Leading. I am reminded. Have a great. Narrative. An episode in star trek. The original series. Hand winch at the end of a gruelling fight and conflict. Spock says to the rival for his wife's affections. I give her to you. Samson because. Remember that. Having. Is often less pleasurable. Then. Wanting. It is not logical. But it is often so. So we dream about getting jobs about positions accepted prestigious schools. Getting through seminary. And we feel that we're lucky to get an hour maybe a day of euphoria good feelings about all that articulate if success was unexpected and then there was a moment in which it was revealed. The envelope please. More typically however you don't get any euphoria. When success comes increasingly when success seems increasingly probable. And some. Final event confirms what you have already begun to suspect. The feeling is more one of. Relief. The pleasure of closure and released. In such circumstances. The first thought maybe. The first thought is seldom hooray. Fantastic. It's okay. What do i have to do now. It's the. After enlightenment the laundry kind of. Take. For lot of people who are in in leadership here in the church. Sometimes we feel like. Getting that closure on something is. The release of the. Stress or the the effort. On the real pleasure in the real joy. Is in pursuit. Itself. Physiologically animals get a rush of dopamine. The pleasure neurotransmitter whenever they do something that advances their evolutionary interest and moves them ahead in the game of life. Basically primarily food and sex give pleasure. Yeah for them. And people do this in a little more complicated way there a lot of other things that we do we see status we developed friendships reputation finding the best mates. Accumulating resources rearing our children to be successful at the same processes. People have many goals and therefore many sources of pleasure. Do you think we'd receive an enormous and long-lasting shot of. Reinforcement with the dopamine. But here's the trick. With reinforcements according to hate he says. It works best when it comes seconds not minutes or hours after. The behavior. So the idea of immediate gratification actually has some basis. In physiology. He said just try to train your dog to fetch by giving him a steak 8:10 successful retrieval. I'm reminded of cesar millan anybody know who season milan is. The dog whisperer one of the best human psychologists i have ever seen. Phenomenal. Phenomenal. Missouri. Yes it is he says in a dogs are there in the moment. Ultimate buddhist i think in some ways. He says that elephants are trained that are trained to work also experiences they feel pleasure if whenever they take a step in the right direction. Richard davidson. A psychologist who brought the effective type and. Approach circuits of the front left cortex. Write about two types of positive effect. The first she calls. Pretty goal attainment positive effect. Now if my computer had not died terribly death this week. Blue screen of death. We got t.i. people in here. Rit people in here to. Yeah well i had two computers do that. That and my backup laptop. Blue screen of death. If i had not had that i'd have screen i'd have all sorts of slides for you with this stuff. But i don't. So you're going to pay attention. So. Davidson says that. Daddy's 2. Types of positive effect. He calls. The first one pre goal attainment positive effect. So in advance of attaining the goal. Which is the pleasurable feeling you get as you make progress towards a goal. This probably feels familiar. Think about something like that you f***** on. The second he calls. Post goal attainment. Positive effect. And this guy's got to be an academic. So. Post goal attainment. Positive effect. But she says arises once you've achieved something that you want to achieve. You experience this ladder feeling as. A sort of contentment. And as a short-lived feeling of release from the left. The prefrontal cortex reduces its activity after golling after a goal has been achieved. In other words. When it comes to gold pursuit. It really is the journey. That counts. Not the destination. What are you saying is that the. Experience of pleasure we get after attaining the goal is much less than the one we get while we're pursuing. He says set yourself any goal you want. And most of the pleasure will be had along the way. With every step that takes you closer. Some people spend their lives working hard at tasks and expect some special euphoria at the end. How many of us have. Done that sort of thing. And when we find we achieve that success only to find a moderate. Or a short-lived pleasure. They asked. We may ask as the singer peggy lee wants did. Is that all there is. Inconsequentially we may devalue. Accomplishments. As a striving after wind. Unitarian universalist. Particularly. Are on a spiritual journey. I think we all think that critiqued for is that. A spiritual journey does not a religion make. Oh contraire. Especially if we look at. The empirical. Studies that are not coming for that i'm talking about. Goals are important. We have to accomplish things to perpetuate life. Keep things moving. But they are not the reason that we stay engaged in the journey. It is because we engaged. With a possibilities. Of for joy. In our own. Faith tradition. We are not a doctrinal tradition we re coming until 1. Pictures about the agreements. The ways in which we come together. And the ways in which we are together. The ways in which we walk with. In our lives. For good or ill. Enjoy and pain. And hope. And as a covenanted community it is a process base. Experian. Not an ins oriented one. We are less concerned with the eschatology. The end times that would comes later and after although we do it cheve. Or wish to achieve the. Close to the realization of the beloved community the doctor king talked about. But we recognize. That that is. A goal that we are moving towards. In the longer-term. And it is the way in which we are together. That makes a difference. Even dr. king and his work. Talk about. It is the way in which things are done. The effect. The quality. Of the outcome of the things that we are doing. In his case. He felt at peace and peaceful means. Where the way to do that. So if we as a community. Are engaged and processes. Done for us it is to be engaging ways that are healthy. For us as a group and as individuals. Processes that respect. Each other. And also call us. Wisdom. Is that learning which is gained in the journey and not just. At the end of summer. Accomplished. A pilgrim's journey. Is yes to get to someplace. But it is the journey itself. Which is often seen. As the religious act. This is why people have built labyrinth. We have one on our property. How many minute we had a labral tear on the property. We have a labyrinth to go over past the garden. Down the hill by the pond. Don't send your kids there by themselves. Please. But there is a labyrinth. And the reason people walk labyrinth is because it is a symbolic journey was designed for those who could not go on this great pilgrimages to jerusalem or two lords or two other places. It was to take place. Take that. Journey and do it inwardly. But it was to take the journey. What are the things that hate doctor hate talks about is that. We adapt to situations. That as we achieve things in our lives there is and in an evolutionary. Process in which we adapt to the new situation. Whether it's good or bad. So this is one reason humans survive quite so well. But it also means that if we achieve a high level of. Accomplishment two things. We adapt to that as as normal it becomes normative. For us. And if we have. A. Problem. Illness disease. We will adapt to that as being normative in some way also. He says that this adaptation principal at work. Is things like people's judgments about their present state are based on whether it is better or worse than the state to which they have become accustomed. So if you've accomplished a great deal. In your life. And yet there are people around you accomplishing even more. Then there is the sense of relatives. Impoverishment. On the other hand if you have suffered a great deal. And something positive comes along. That's a benny. That's. That's a good thing. Has the lutherans like to say could be worse. Adaptation is in part just a property of neurons. Nerve cells respond vigorously to new stimuli. The gradually they obituaries. Firing less. To stimuli. That they have already become used to we become inured. Humans are habitual animals. So. I think we're the interesting thing comes out of this is that it is change. That contains vital information. For us in our growth. Not steady states. It is changed to which we are. Challenge to which we learn new things. Through which we. Have the opportunity for new stimulus. And in this habituation though. 10 things that happened is we actually recalibrate. Again we become our set points are moved. In line with the new reality. Doctor hates says instead of following buddhist and stoic advice. To surrender attachments and let events happen. We in fact. In the real world surround ourselves with goals hopes. And expectations. And then feel pleasure and pain in relationship to our progress. When we can buy the adaptation principle with the discovery that people's average level of happiness is highly heritable. That means. It's genetic. We come to a startling possibility. In the long run it doesn't matter much what happens to you. Good fortune or bad you will always return to your happiness set point. Your brains default level of happiness. Which was determined largely by your jeans. Now he does go on to elaborate on this. In a few minutes. But you said the second-biggest finding and happiness research after the strong influence of genes upon a person's average level of happiness is that most environmental and demographic factors influence happiness very. Little. But there are some that do. Influencer. A good marriage is one of the life factors most strongly and consistently associated with happiness. And a part of this apparent benefit comes from what called a reverse correlation haven't even know what a reverse correlation is. Looks like it's correlated one way but it's actually correlated another. Okay good we got to see if i care. What happens is that people aren't happy because they get married but happy people get married and are in happy relationships. People stay. Happy people stayed. Married longer than people with lower happiness set point. How many of you may have been in relationships with people that no matter what the heck you did. They were miserable. And i noticed most of you to raise your hands are probably no longer with those individuals. Or you won't be for long. If they're here. This is wisdom we call it. And mostly this is because. Happy people are more appealing as date partners and because they're probably easier to live with espouses. Much of the apparent benefit is a real and lasting benefit of dependable companionship which is a basic need. And we never fully adapt. Either to it or to its absence. Also religious people are happier on average than non-religious people. And this effect. Arises from the social ties that come from come with participation in the religious community. Okay. So if you were going to church that must be a happy person. That's not it. The effect arises for really like the hope that was so. This effect arises from the social ties that come with participation in the religious community. As well as from feeling connected to something beyond. The self. But we often refer to. As a sense. Of. The intimate. And the imminent. Of. The immediate and the transcendent. The present and the ultimate. In all of this research. People are often heaven surprised to hear that older people. Are happier than the young. In all of the studies because. The old people have so many more health problems. And yet people adapt to most chronic health problems. Although there are the degenerative ones are or not the kind that you adapt to. This is in the same way that people who live in cold climates affect people who live in california must be happier. But they're probably wrong. People believe that attractive people are happier. Then unattractive people. But they too are wrong. On the other hand i'd like to get a shot. From surveys done by psychologists. Ed diner diner. Is that within any given country at the lowest end of the economic scale money. Does buy happiness. People who worry every day about paying for food and shelter report significantly less well-being than those who don't we know that this affects physical health. Mental health. And everything possible when the basics of life. Are in short supply. But what you are free from basic needs and have entered the middle class. The relationship between wealth and happiness becomes smaller. The rich are happier on average. Then middle class but only by a little bit. And a part of this relationship is another rivers correlation. Happy people grow rich faster. Because as in the marriage market they are more appealing to other people. They're more attractive people are attracted. To help. And well-being. Now that doesn't mean all wealthy people are particularly happy or particularly. We know that's not the case. So well that self has only a small direct effect on happiness. Because it is so effectively speeds up the head mystic treadmill. For example. As the level of wealth has doubled or tripled the last fifty or sixty years industrialized nations the levels of happiness and satisfaction with life. Have. Not changed very much. So vast increases of gross domestic product. Divide 2 comforts. Larger homes more cars. Television restaurant meals better health longer life. But these improvements become. Normative conditions to which we have the set points re. Calibrate. All are adapted to and taken for granted so that they do not make people feel any happier. Or more satisfied. There is a happiness formula. That has been. Come up with. Part of all this research is that which we talked that there may be a happiness set point in people. The reality is that it's probably not a setpoint but that within each of us. There is a range. And what we can do is to try and find ways to optimize the higher ends of our range. For happiness. And those can be affected. By external factors. So. Well one way maybe to change our internal settings. And some of us have been doing a lot of personal work over the years. God knows there are probably a lot of therapists put their kids through college from this group here. I know they have in my case. So whether it's through meditation or prayer chant or prozac. For cognitive therapy. We can. Adjust those set points song. But jeans themselves often turn out to be sensitive to environmental conditions. And in this potential range of probability distribution. Better run the high-side and low-side of potential range. Is determined by many factors that. Buddha and the stoics. Would have considered. As non consequential externals. One of the biggest determiners. Refining and happiness is. That there are two fundamentally different kinds of external factors. One art the conditions of our life. Things we probably come habituated to. And the other are. Voluntary activities. That we undertake. Conditions include. The facts about her life that we really can't change. Our demographic profile. As well as things that we can like our marital status and and our logistics of our lives. Conditions generally tend to be fairly stable or constant overtime. At least during various segments or periods of our lives. And so they're likely the kinds of things that we adapt to. Underhand voluntary activities. Are the things that we choose. To do. Such as meditation. Exercise. Learning a new skill or taking a vacation. Anybody remember those are. Vacations. Because such activities must be chosen and because most of them take effort and attention they can't just disappear from our conscious awareness the way conditions can do which we've become habituated. So. Here's an important part. Wake up. Voluntarily magic. Voluntary activities therefore offer a much greater promise. For increasing happiness. Well avoiding adaptation. Effects. So. They're likely to offer us. Maura perry for sense of happiness. Fulfillments. And are less susceptible to becoming. Habituated. Now part of this is the issue of control. And we know that when people feel they have more control. They definitely have more happiness. A formula. For those of you who like formulas. You want to write this down or. Brick oven and write it down on your paper there. Here is the formula in in in in alpha numeric form. H. Which is happiness. Imagine is up here on the wall. I thought robert fulghum do this entire presentation without a powerpoint. And we saw it perfectly. So imagine i'm robert called him. Okay forget that okay. Happiness is h.h.. H. Is equal. 2s. Which is. Starset point that rain. Okay. Plus. Are conditions. Okay. Plus. Are voluntary action. Okay. H. Is equal. 2s. See. Okay. Happiness is equal to r. Set point basically how happy we can be able capable of being happy at. Plus the conditions we have you know if we're living in dire poverty. But has some effect on a fairly comfortably. That has another effect. Plus. Are voluntary activities are voluntary action. Those things over which we choose to have. Choose to do and take pleasure in doing. Pain and gain fulfillment. So it turns out that there really are some external conditions. See. That matter. And there are some changes that you can make in your life they're not fully subject. Sierra tatian principle. And that might make you laugh tinley happier. So it might be worth striving to achieve them. Some of the areas where we cannot adapt that can affect us but negatively possibly our thing is like noise. Noise. Is one of those things that we are not adapted to. Human beings do not generally adapt noise especially erratic. Non predictable kinds of things this is why people who live on in high noise areas tend to have a higher level of physical and mental illness. Commuting. This is close to home for some of us. Commuting. Although people may quickly adapt to having more space in their homes they generally don't adapt to the commute. Dickly for driving in heavy traffic. Studies have shown. That after years of driving. And community people still have not adapted to them they're still stressed. By these things. They are. Not adding to their happiness are distracting from it actually. But on the other hand driving under ideal conditions is often enjoyable and even relaxing and can be an ad. 2r. Sense of well-being. So it's worth striving to improve. The quality of your commute. Alright. That doesn't mean everybody get the really big car. Here's a big one like a control we talked about this one before. What are the active ingredients of noise and traffic. Is the smes that could help them get under our skin and it would keep us from adapting to them is our lack of control. Studies have been done where. People are putting situation and they're allowed burst of noise. Given. And. One group was told that they had a switch. Did they get hit. And turn that off. If it got to the point where they just couldn't take it anymore. And a group that had the ability to that had the knowledge that they had control. Over the situation. Was able to function at a higher level do tasks. Which required concentration. And most of them in in in fact they never none of them hit the stop button. Because they felt they had control they could actually tolerate it. So control has some fairly strong. Effects on us or our perception of control. Some of us are often dissuaded with about how much control we actually have. Overthinks but. So control over our environments this is why flexible working environments are often. Very helpful. Another one. Another external issue is shane. This is one that we do not adapt to. This is often seen in areas where plastic surgery. Is done how many of you ever watch time does extreme makeover shows. I'll come on i know you do. Alright see okay. Yeah your channel surfing at 2 just like the rest of us. And what are things you want to see is these people have it is tremendous emotional. Transformations. That really seemed almost. More profound than the physical ones. The happen. And this is often because people able to let go of a sense of shame ascent of. Being less than what they are. And being. Then more. Of who they feel they truly are. And a final one. An external that actually does have some tremendous impact on our. Happiness. His relationships. In fact it's the condition that is usually said to trump all others. In importance. Is relationships and especially the strength and number of personal relationships. I think this is why all of these viral communities like facebook and twitter and other things. Are becoming so popular. His people are looking for. Strength and number of relationships and connections. Which is also why things like covenant groups which we are starting up in our neighborhood networks will be starting up are important for. Me just wrap up by saying. That. Charlotte bronte said this. She said that it is vain to say that human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility. They must have action. And they will make it. If they cannot find it. So. In our pursuit of happiness. Let us remember that is often the active being in pursuit. It is in that space where we are going to find our greatest happiness. And at the same time. It's not all about how we function internally. If not about detaching ourselves from the world. We should be engaged in the world thing in mashed. Unhealthily is not the goal. Being engaged. And i didn't gauged. We are then able to be in better. Awareness. And achieve a higher level. A satisfaction. And fulfillment in our lives. This is a part of a much larger conversation and a much longer one. And i encourage you to. Engagement. As we continue. Together. In community.

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20140511-Flower-Communion.mp3

Norberto capek. Was born in 1870 and was raised a baptist and then czechoslovakia. In 1910 he was introduced to unitarianism by professor thomas mazurek. The first president of czechoslovakia and his american wife charlotte. Who was from the first unitarian church of brooklyn new york. Tropic later moved to the united states where he attended the unitarian church of east orange new jersey. And the 1923 traffic return to his native land where he founded the unitarian church there. This new church grew rapidly with the prague congregation reaching over 3,500 members it was and still would be the largest unitarian congregation in the world. Deprive congregation was very diverse made up of many people with catholic protestant and jewish backgrounds. To serve this diversity and his vision of a democratic and religious community. And liturgies created. And created unique rituals and symbols including the flower communion. One of his hymns that we sang a number eight earlier mother spirit father's spirit was one that he penned. The czech community was caught up in the tidal waves of world war which swept through europe. With the german occupation. Traffic continued to preach with the gestapo sitting in his congregation. Then they came and arrested him in march of 1941 for listening to the bbc. In 1942 chappaqua sent to dachau concentration camp. His papers were stamped with the words. Return unwanted. Even in prison capek continue to write hymns and actively inspiring his friends family and congregation right up until his death later that year as a subject of medical experiments. The flower communion was originally designed by norbit topic to make tangible the idea that each of us brings gifts. To our religious community. And together those gifts create the beauty of our church. Internet service also takes away gifts when we are part of this religious community. And often we do not know who gave the gifts which mean the most to us or who receive with gratitude the gift which we ourselves have given. This is the nature and the inherent mystery. A human community. This day. We celebrate the same ritual again. And the flowers connect us not only to each other here in this congregation. What do unitarian universalist all over the world and from many years ago. Who we may have never met. But whoever also participated in this celebration. A community.

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20140921-Sermon.mp3

Now if i had my druthers. And it's a southern word for those of you don't know if i had my druthers. I would be showing you a clip of a video of a ted talk but i saw i'm going to actually share some of it with you i have the transcript i'm going to read the transcripts with that but i'll be sharing some of that with you and this is from a. Presentation given by a simon sinek. Back in 2009 called how great leaders inspire action. He says. About three years ago i made a discovery and this discovery profoundly changed my view on how i fought the world worked. And even profoundly change the way in which i operate in it as it turns out there's a pattern. As it turns out all the great and inspiring leaders and organizations in the world where there's apple or martin luther king. They all think an act and communicate the exact same way. And it's a complete opposite to everyone else. All i did was codify it and it's probably the world's simplest idea i call it the golden circle. Just remember nothing else north golden circle. If you cut if you if you could ted talk golden circle you'll find it. So imagine if you will a large graphic. Three concentric circles and in the center is the word why. And then the next ring is how and in the outer ring is what. So. Now he says this little idea explains why some organizations and some leaders are able to inspire others and others are not. I need to find his terms. Everybody on the planet knows what they do. Some know how they do it. And what do you call it your. Differentiated value proposition or a proprietary process or usp. But very few people or organizations know why they do what they do. And my why he says i don't mean to make a profit. That's a result. It's always a result. And by why i mean what's your purpose. What's your cause. What's your belief. Why does your organization exist. Why do you get out of bed in the morning. And why should anyone care. Well as a result. The way we think. The way we act the way we communicate is from the outside-in it's obvious we go from the clearest thing to the fuzziest thing. But what he has found is that. Inspired leaders and inspired organizations regardless of their size regardless of their industry all think and act and communicate. From the inside. Out. So what this says is that we must be clear. About that which we maybe less the least clear about. We must be clear about the y and not simply hope that it will reveal itself in the process he goes on to provide example of apple computer and he says they're easy to understand and everybody gets it and he said if apple were like everybody else. Their marketing message would sound something like this. We make great computers. They're beautifully designed simply to use and user-friendly. Want to buy one. And he says that's how most of us communicate that's how most marketing is done that's how most sales are done and that's how most of us communicate interpersonally. We say what we do we say how are different or how we're better and we expect some sort of behavior purchase a vote something that like that and he says here's our new law firm we have the best lawyers with the biggest clients were always performed we always perform her client who do business with us here's your new car it's great gas mileage it has leather seats by 100 inspiring. How inspiring is it to sit through a program where someone says well this is what we're doing now this is our most recent quarterly report this much money we've done just kind of thing or the other we fix the roof. I'm aspirational for this week understand. You know all these things we do and they might be interesting if you're on the inside dealing with those things. But if you're on the outside looking in. really. That important he says that none of what he's telling us has his opinion it's all grounded in the tenants of biology. Not psychology biology. Pretty foundational he says if you look at a cross-section of the human brain looking from the top down you see what you see is the human brain is actually broken into three major components that correlate perfectly with the golden circle. Our newest brain are homo sapien brain are neocortex. Corresponds with the what level. The neocortex is responsible for all of our rational and analytical fought. And language the middle two sections make up our limbic brains. And our limit brains are responsible for all of our feelings like trust and loyalty. I've heard it referred to as our men million rain. Are higher porpoise. Yes that was a joke but not mine actually it's also responsible for all of our human behavior all decision-making and it has no capacity for language. And that might be crashing for some of us who are wrapped up in language all the time. So in other words he says when we communicate from the outside. In. Yes people can understand vast amounts of complicated information like features and benefits and facts and figures. It just doesn't drive our behavior. When we can communicate from the inside out we're talking directly to the part of the brain that controls behavior and then we allow people to rationalize it with tangible things we say and do. This is where decisions come from. You know sometimes you can give somebody all the facts and figures and they say i don't know what all the facts and details save it just doesn't feel right. I'm even been in sales and that's happened. You know you're right you know you got them and they go. No not working. Why would someone use the verb feel. Because the part of the brain that controls decision-making doesn't control language and the best we can muster up he says is i don't know it just doesn't feel right. Or sometimes you can say you're leading with your heart or your leading with your soul well i hate to break it to you those aren't other body parts controlling a behavior. It's all happening here in your limbic brain the part of the brain that controls decision-making and not language. Now i think this isn't terribly important. Things to take into consideration april looking at the whole issue of what the people of call the culture wars. George lakoff who's written a number of books particular one on. Immoral politics. Talk about. Why people do the things they do and there's a lot of books actually written on why are people doing all these strange things they say one thing but then there for the death penalty or. Or they're probably life and they carry guns at their. You're not in public what's going on. And what it is is these are appeals to our emotional state. It's more complicated than this but in in in that she'll do. People. Do a really good job appealing to fear which is easiest emotion to access. And by using that. And other emotions such as loyalty or. Community. People can have their behavior changed. Now next month we'll be talking about. The issue of evil. Empire what we talkin about is how. Context affects how people behave. In regards to things such as evil. So this does not mean that our limited brain is evil or that it's a mushy a soft place that we have to guard against what it means is that we have to realize in the brutal fax department that this is how our brain works this is how we work we all do this. The interior life that we lead. Has more impact on power we actually live our lives than anything on the outside except for maybe the weather. And food supply. So this is really important stuff and if we is a religious community have a message refills tremendously important to share with people. Then how do we do that. You know if you look at. One group of people. For communicating about come here and be a part of community. Come here because. We have something profound for you. As opposed to well we believe this this this in this in some sort of policy statement. I need this is where some of the right where some of the policy wonk types screw it up in the political sphere he actually talks about this a little bit. He says. If you don't know why you do what you do and people respond to why you do what you do then how will you ever get people to vote for you or buy something from you or more importantly be loyal and want to be apart of what it is you do. So if we're not clear about it. They're certainly not going to be clear about it. Now later on in. His conversation. If ted talk he does finish up by talking about. Inver hills, my crappy. You know off the wall. Off-brand. Dvr. Sativa had this great idea but they failed because they led with what. And how rather than why. And he said he's going to offer an example of the law of diffusion he's in summer of 63 1963 250,000 people showed up the mall in washington to hear dr. king speak. They sent out no invitations there was no website to check the date how do you do that well dr. king wasn't the only man in america who was a great orator and he wasn't the only man american who suffered pre-civil rights in america in fact some of his ideas were bad but he had a gift and he didn't go around telling people what he needed to. I believe i believe i believe he told people. And people who believed what he believed took up his cause and they made it their own and. We got the word out. And lo and behold 250,000 people showed up on the right day at the right time to hear him speak. Know how many of them showed up for him. 0. They showed up for themselves it was what they believed about america that got them to travel in a bus for 8 hours to stand in the sun washington in the middle of august have you ever been in washington in the middle of august. It's what they believe. And it wasn't about black versus white because 25% of the audience with white. Dr. king believed that there were two types of laws in this world and this is very simplified my new. Those that are made by a higher authority and those are made by man. And not until all the laws are made by manner consistent with the laws are made by her authority will we live in a just world. It's just so happens the civil rights movement was the perfect thing to help him to bring this cause to life. We followed. Not for him but for ourselves. And by the way. Sonic says. He gave a i have a dream speech not the i have a plan speech so. That would be what i say from mister senate golden circle. So what is it that we what are our message what is it that we are we need to be clear about and we always talk about elevator speeches and all sorts of things like that how we better communicate. And all of those are helpful. And keep in mind that this clarity about the why doesn't happen immediately it's not something we can simply have a group together. Because we're trying to engage with a non-rational. Heart. Of ourselves. And then when you doing this is a community you're doing this collectively. Now it's easy enough for us to be non-rational with other people anyway. And it often doesn't go well. Think of your family vacations. A christmas or thanksgiving so now we have to try and get with this so it's not necessarily a quick and easy thing to do. But there are some things we can talk about our tradition has to offer us and i'm going to offer one of those and this is a fairly straightforward one this is a nice when you can look up if you want to the five smooth stones. Of liberal religion. Which ironically the author of wood. He just curled when he heard that his publisher gave it the title he he did not. And the five smooth stones are supposed to be a reference to the five smooth stones that david picked up from the streambed before he went confronted goliath. So but adams is five smooth stones are one revelation and truth are not closed but constantly revealed. To all relations between persons ideally to rest on mutual free consent not coercion. 3 affirmation of the moral obligation to direct one's efforts for the establishment of a just and loving community so we should proactively. We have a moral obligation to direct one's efforts to establish a justin living community. Or denial of the immaculate conception of virtue. I think about that denial of the immaculate conception of virtue. And affirmation of the necessity of social incarnation what that means this ain't going to happen unless we do it that's really going to mean. Good things are going to happen by themselves they only happen when people do them good must be conscious given for manpower in history. + 5. The resources divine and human is going to sound familiar that are available for achievement of meaningful change justify an attitude of ultimate. But not necessarily immediate optimism sounds like bluestack what stockdale. Paradox. There is hope in the ultimate abundance of the universe. As internal restless and religious liberals we are religious doubters we do not claim to have all the answers because we're pretty sure nobody else does either. Those who claim to have all the answers i actually would hold that they actually have one less answer than those who don't they don't. We are not believers and some immutable static truth clothes for alzheimer even closed off for a while. Revelation is not closed new truth understanding and grace are constantly being revealed to us and all creation this is why we are we say that we are living tradition that we talked about in from good to great. You know he says you must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end regardless of the difficulties and at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts about your current reality whatever they may be. Now it's easy to stand forth and point fingers at people. I am in will do it sometimes they actually deserve it but as the old saying goes when we point a finger at someone else we got 3 more pointing back at us. We may be able to justify critique of others but intellectual philosophical and religious honesty require that we be willing to submit ourselves to the same analysis. An interfaith. But work. There's what they call a dialogue decalogue and one of the those rules is that you cannot hold somebody accountable to your standards or to your face but you can hold them accountable to their own. So is somebody holding us accountable to our standards. That means we really got to dig in and be very honest with ourselves and. Get into that. So. All communities. Had issues and so like surfing a wave occasionally wipeout. Liberalism failed in the early part of the twentieth century through a naive philosophy of constant progress onward upward forever and ever. People actually said it like that. I think of it sort of has like a perpetual motion machine. Optimism. But ran smack-dab into the first world war. The depression and the second world war. Holocaust the a-bomb and all that fun stuff. So we had to learn that recognizing respecting the inherent worth and dignity of other people. Does not mean ignoring or denying the equally inherent capacity of humans for evil something. That we will explore next month. The self critical functions of liberal religion are in many ways it's the defining hallmark's self-reflection and self-criticism allow for correction increased understanding and innovation. And renewal. In essence no form of a liberal religions are final but as dr. king said in quoting unitarian theodore parker and and and then barack obama had stitched into the carpet in his office. The arc of the universe is long and it bends toward justice. Again it sounds a lot like the stockdale. Paradox. And in stockdale and jim collins is recollection. They called herself honesty. Only when we are courageous enough to patiently deliberately and self-reflective lee challenge ourselves and our assumptions to come to a broader justice and deeper truths individually and collectively will we experience the salvation deliberation from injustice and the renewal of our world which is the promise of liberal religion but even in the midst of the struggle to be assured of the ultimate hope. That we will prevail in the end. And that love is greater than death and suffering. I am a unitarian universalist in order to be saved from ignorance of who i am. I'm who you are and others are as powerful precious and holy beings and i mean unitarian universalist to be saved from despair by knowing that i am part of a greater reality part of the interconnected web of existence and that i am not isolated than i am not alone in a culture that often desperately wants me to think so. Ignorance and despair as unitarian universalist these are what i am charged with saving the world from. And as your minister i am charged to help you do the same. And become and be aware and healthy and loving and whole and wise. So the good news our good news. Is that the holy the spirit of life has equipped us equipped all people to do something about the state of affairs. By virtue of the holy texts and wisdoms of humanity through the ages through our use of reason and critical thinking and most importantly through intuition. Our profoundest experience of what we know is right and good. That got thing. That weed and all people are inherently where the expressions of creation that the divine seeds of the kingdom of the heavens god the beloved community reside within each of us collectively. And they burn for a release into a springtime of amazing possibilities. We have a message. I hope. Enjoy. That we need to be clear about. And we need to shout it from the tops of mountains and whisper it into the ears of our children. Religion our religion especially is not about being safe and comfortable. Comforting yes. Comfortable no is an axiom that in ministry and in all religion are about comforting the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. I'm just doing my job. Now we also like the idea of afflicted the comfortable. Because we remove ourselves from that category. I mean a little roll of real revelation happened back in the 1990s when bill clinton was elected president. And he started calling for people to. Buck up and do things until people realize about me. Oh wow. No no no them not me. So we have the same thing. Religion is supposed to get in our way. It's supposed to be a struggle. It's not about being safe and perfect religion our living tradition is about taking risks and becoming wise. It is supposed to force us to make choices to prioritize to make sacrifices to that which we know to be right and good and important and holy. Liberal religion is a life practice. For holding the fragility of our lives in ways that show us just how strong we actually are. Liberal religion is a place where we can be reminded that to use traditional language the kingdom of god or doctor kingsland good the beloved community are within each and everyone of us. Progressive baptist minister. And modern prophet will campbell. He's not the the model for the character will be done in the kudzu in cartoons. Boc those. But he says what we do is our religion. So what is our religion. What vision. Will persist is it a drinking fountain in a private park in a gated community for only we and our selected friends can refresh ourselves at our leisure i got to say when i go to the shops at legacy. Or i drive to my kids pediatrician on the west side of town. That's what i see gated community after gated community after gated community. And places where are you if you don't have money you don't belong. And if you're not the right color you don't belong. But money will help. Or alternative is our vision. That we offer the world and expansive life-affirming ignorance busting despair destroying hope giving fountain of the waters of life where justice rolls down and peace like an ever-flowing stream that we have to paddle like mad they all float on and laugh with joy all the while. I like that one. So. We become clear about our message. About who we are. And. Why we do what we do. Not why we want to do what we want to do. That's aspirational why we are and do what we do. Why i asked you as a personal spiritual practice to do that for yourselves you journal great making notes. Make up a song about it. Think about that. So do we take our religion to the streets into the highways in the byways by first taking it into our hearts. And asking the spirit of life to move in our hands. Getting life the shape of justice. I choose the ladder and say yes to this face. Which is placed before us the loftiest of ideals without counting the cost because what we are doing is nothing less. And sharing our vision. Hopefully there by. Saving the world.

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20130526-Reading_052613.mp3

I'll reading today is actually from something quite recent. It is from the most recent issue of ruu world magazine which i got my hard copy the other day. And have been reading through. In an article called bound and covenant by my colleague victoria safford. She offers us some things that. Mason familiar to some of us but may also shed some new light on. The issue of covenant. She writes coding james vila blake love is the spirit of this church on service is its wall this is our great covenant to dwell together in peace to seek the truth in love and to help one another this is very similar to our own congregations covenant and it was originally written by james vila blake in 1894. Victoria says. In the first weeks of my first ministry in an old new england congregation a woman came to see me. Nearly 90 years old she was a lifelong member of that church her parents are joined in the late 19th century. She didn't like change she said. She wasn't sure that she liked me. Or what she called my point of view. Just remember she said i have outlived all of your predecessor and i will probably outlive you. This woman was dedicated was a dedicated political conservative in what had become a progressive community. She was a liberal christian in a congregation that had known gracious eras a theological diversity and also some fits of intolerance. She works for the us state department through three wars and for the american unitarian association. To the merger with the universalist church of america. In this church of her childhood but she never left most votes at the annual meetings had not gone her way for the past 40 years she was no stranger to discord. In the end she did l-live me there she died shortly after i accepted a new call to another state. And always saddened by the news. Over 10 years we cultivated a fierce respectful love for one another. And what i loved in her most was her commitment to that church. No matter what. Perfect galaxy to it the ferocity with which she paid her pledge each year no matter how way were the budget or insufferable and her humble opinion the sermons. She kept your covenant with that people. With their proud history and the bright promise of their future and with a free faith tradition they embodied. I was a young minister then and her way of being in relationship integrity taught me more about unitarian universalism than anything i've learned in seminary. I think often of her on sundays when we welcome our people each week saying. This is a congregation bound not by creed but by covenant. We are bound by covenant each to each and each to all. Rebecca parker cause freely chosen and life-sustaining interdependence. The central question for us is not. What. Do we believe. What more what do we believe in. To what larger love to what people principles values dreams shall we be committed. To whom to what. Are we accountable. In addition so deeply steeped in individualism it becomes a spiritual practice for each of us to ask. Not once and for all but again and again. Even over 90 years of a life. How do i decide. Which beautiful clumsy and imperfect institutions will carry and hold in the words of one congregations bonded union. Put my name. Hand and heart. The life of the spirit. Your solitary. But our answers to these questions asked us to speak. Call us to live. In the plural. The sounds. This portion of the reading.

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20150524-Sermon.mp3

So here we are. Purchase or like polar bear. Waiting for something to happen. But not sure what. Here we are in this place in this time. We are soon to be addressing perhaps the supreme court's ruling on same-sex marriage the number of congregations are actually planning what are they going to do which either way. We're assuming maybe that's wrong but we're assuming at this point that is going to go. In direction we wanted to. And summer you were predicting a 6-3 vote. I am reminded of something. That i learned over 20 years ago at seminary. While i was at a conference in madison wisconsin. I was part of the public conversation about lgbtq. Issues. And it featured the first openly elected or first elected openly gay member of their legislature. What she had to say then about working for the lgbtq rights. Community in a hostile environment. Kerry's hope as we struggle. With climate change. And perhaps the future of our species. Marvin gaye song mercy mercy me. Which came from his groundbreaking album what's going on could have been just another liberal artist rant about bad things. But instead he's human eyes has both its content and its tongue. The crisis of pollution and species extinction that had exploded in public consciousness in the early 1970s. When was the first earth day. 70. 87. 1970 instead of going on a righteous rant. Marvin gaye makes it a heartfelt. Almost a tearful reflection on the state of things. He lifts up his concerns to an almost biblical level. He has written a lament. Or lamentation. For the environment and ourselves. Mercy mercy me. As i mentioned last week. The issue with mercy which is our theme this month. Is often a choice between righteousness and happiness. This is the basis of forgiveness. Which is not an approval on an offense. What an intentional releasing. Of its hold on our life. And rabbi harold kushner well-known for his. Book why do bad things happen to good people. Rabbi persinger says. Holding onto something like a grudge. Is like drinking poison so the other person will die. Think about it. We're holding onto a white hot coal. In the possibility that the offender will be coming by us and we can throw it at. Those approaches. Make our lives more toxic. And shorter. Lululemon. Filament is a cry of pain. Suffering loss. Longing for relief. Does not have to be dramatic. This heartfelt. That's marvin gaye.. Well mercy mercy me. All things ain't what they used to be no no. Where did all the blue skies go. Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south. And east. Will mercy mercy me father. Nearly 20 years ago that song mercy mercy me sword to the charts. He was listen to. Antphrodite. Was listening to the first openly gay legislature. Legislator in wisconsin representative tammy baldwin. 20 years after. But i was listening to tammy baldwin in the early 90s. Meantime tammy baldwin has since served. 6 years in the wisconsin assembly 14 in the us congress. And house representatives and now she is in her first term as a senator from wisconsin. So no small accomplishment. But what she said back then when she was still a legislator. In wisconsin. But she said that i feel we can build on now hope and is her response to a question about what we do. And and then then current situation regarding lbdt rights. Her response was simple and profound. Family suspicious of simple answers. Because unless you look deeper. Unless they actually unpack to have more complications than. It's problematic. Headers.. The herd simple outward response was. Basically we should keep on living our lives. And creating the world we want to live in by creating the families of the communities in the institution. That we desire and we need. Metaphorically if we cannot gain entrance to the city then we build strong healthy communities around it and keep moving. We create the alternatives. That we seek and make them. The dominant paradigm. We live and become the change. We desire. I think we're seeing the fruition of that approach with the supreme court hopefully ruling in favor of marriage equality. I think that's why it is. Move so rapidly. Because it has become a part of the very fabric. Our lives. When we take this approach and we look at issues like climate change. Which is the single most threatening thing we have going right now. Forget ikeda isis and. Everybody else and trans fats. Yeah. When health becomes a marketing issue i get really suspicious missouri. What we can do. Is weekend on a global level. We can call. The challenge to the powers of empire. You're getting attention on the greed. Which is killing us. One of the difficulties. With. Doing a broad-brush disabled just climate change is that easy to. Engage with thad and to even project ourselves onto that because it is so abstract. It is so far removed from our daily reality in some ways. Unless we make it. Relevant to our reality unless we find those things in our reality which are. Part of that process. It's also easier to be compassionate and it's easier to love humankind and hate people. You know. I know people who said things like this i love humanity i just can't stand people. You know they get my way they annoy me. They're inconsistent. So the abstraction is easier. So now we're faced with this more granular reality. Of the everyday. Think globally act locally right. So here we are then we have to take this down to a more. Day-to-day level. Because that's where we can actually affect it because of the global level we tend to feel completely removed from any ability. Or if we do is just a drop in the ocean there. Where can we actually affect things. I think much as this congregation has already done work with education. And we can look at education policies in this state we really should work on those things and try and get better funding and excetera. But we have not chosen to do is to work with the school in our community. Which truly needs our support and our help. And are partnering with them. And it has been extraordinary beneficial. To everyone involved. The same goes with food insecurity. So that same kind of approach can be taken to dealing with an addressing and raising awareness is raising awareness i think is the key to those things that are killing us by cm. It's not individually then collectively. The kinds of individual things we can point to that are being affected in the world by this thing called climate change things like hurricane katrina and the devastation of the gulf coast specially. The 9th ward in new orleans for we actually have mission trips in the summer. Go and try and help. Undo some of that damage. Or perhaps some of you heard about the different island nations that are now petitioning of the united nations for a relief because their countries are disappearing under the water and they will no longer be there and so where do they go with populations of hundreds of thousands of people. The arctic nations companies can't wait to get in how are losing their livelihoods because the polar bear and it's destroying the ecology. I think one of the most challenging things i heard recently was a guy who helped found the skull vard. Seed bank in norway they have your mpr had a bunch of stuff on it. This is a place where he started like 20 or 30 years ago he gathered several hundred thousand or several thousands of seeds types and varieties to put into a permanent cold storage as facility to bank the genetic. Diversity. Of our food crops. They chose the location they did because you said you need to be down. Like 100. 30 degrees to keep the seeds at a perfect temperature and by being where they are on this mountain in norway they get 105 degrees below zero. Free. So but you said the big challenges that most of the seeds that will let all of the plants. That we have from the entire agricultural revolution. Of humanity. None of them have seen the climate that we are creating these climates has not existed for millions of years. Going back to the dinosaurs so we are pretty climate that we did not evolve in that are plants and our food did not evolve in. So we are essentially transporting ourselves to an alien environment and then challenging ourselves to adapt to it. That's the reality of what we're doing. And his dramatic effects i think this is probably one of them. You know i love rain i grew up in texas you know rain is a good thing mostly. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. So i mean are we. Are we literally on the edge of seeing a regional. Climatic zone shift. Is the climatic zone that is coming to louisiana in east texas moving our direction. Because historically. Climatic zones in this area have run right through arlington. There's one climatic zone fort worth and westin dublin. Going dallas in east. A little better but not as wide as he's texas. I think we may be. Or something else. But our reality is changing. Everyday. And anna pace. That nature never intended. The pace of this change is something that takes millions of years. In the natural order of things. So we're putting a stress on ourselves in our environment it was never designed to handle. So what are we doing about it. Well we can hunker down. And protect ourselves and some way. Build our bunkers and. Bomb shelters in our seed banks. Maybe good things to have. Or we can raise awareness of this. On a day today. Everyday level. With our friends our neighbors with ways we do things the way we behave the way we live our lives the choices we make. Those are two. But we have to bring it down to our level. We have to live it out in some way and we can told you that. You know i can't afford a prius right now frankly. And. A lot of other people can't either. So what do we do. Dr.les be more efficient. We eat more closely to. Food source the organic gardening we have here in community gardens a great example of that. Try and be more aware of where things are from. We teach our children. We hope that their generation 2 has more luck than we do. Cuz my hope is that we were going to be building these communities of hope and salvation and care. And awareness. Around. All of these wellheads of empire. And just as we are seeing now with the. Marriage equality issue and others. That there will be a sea change. Of opinion and approach. And need soon enough. That it is not. An irreversible situation for us. I don't like to be scary and say the end is near. A lot of people do that and really wrong. But in this case i don't think so. If we need to pay attention.. So in a country that prides itself on its academic excellence we have about. Third of our population that do not believe. In climate change. Because it conflicts with their religious values. Or if it does exist they see it as a sign of the end times and why should they stop it. So this is part of what we're up against and this is where we on a day-to-day basis have the opportunity to be informed and to be sources of information not just information. Information does not impact people. Heartfelt. Relationship effects people. So just spouting numbers and policy and stuff does not work. Doubt. Does not work. Not being connected how has your life been adversely affected by this. How have life other people been adversely affected by this. How is this wrong how is this against. Aetiology that supports the creation. That we live in. How is this against our understanding of inherent worth and dignity of every person. And our common interdependence. And world. In existence. We all share. So i say. As in the old song. Throw away your expansion shoes we're in this for the long haul. That we do that. We knuckle down the admit this is a long-term project. We're not going to solve this overnight. But we have to start. You have to begin. With ourselves. Their families with their congregations with our communities. I feel fortunate to be in a community that actually has a little bit of la johnson others i like to see more of that. So. In the midst. Of the lament mercy mercy me. What is pico. I gathering together. And gathering up. Full of ourselves and old we are. And knowing. It's similar things. Have attempted to thwart all of our ancestors. And they too. Have. Triumph. So let us make it an intentional effort on our part. May we go forth. Heal our lives. And heal our world. In the passion. And hope.

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Reading_112909.mp3

Recognizing the start of advent i bring to you today of quorum by maya angelou. It's called amazing. Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes. Enlightening rattles the eaves of our houses. Floodwaters await in our avenues. Snowballs upon snow. Upon snow to avalanche. Over unprotected villages. Is sky slip slow and grey and threatening. We question ourselves. What have we done to sew a front nature. We interrogate and worry god. Are you there are you there really. Does the covenant you made with us. Still cold. Into this climate of fear and apprehension. Christmas answers. Streaming lights of joy ringing bells of hope. And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air. The world is encouraged to come away from me. The way of friendship. It is the glides thunder abs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner. Flood waters recede into memory. No becomes a yielding question 28 us as we make our way to higher ground. Hope is born again in the faces of children. It rides on the shoulders of our agent as they walk into their sunset. Hopes red around the earth brightening all things. Even hate. Which couches reading in dark worthy. In our joy. We think we sure whisper. Excuse our. Then only hafford. We listened carefully as it gathers strength. We hear a sweetness. The word. It is loud now louder than the explosion of bombs. We tremble at the sound we are thrilled by his presence. It is what we have hungry for. Not just the absence of war but true. Harmony of spirit at the comfort of crazy. Security for our beloved and their beloved. We cut hands and welcome the peace of christmas. We back in this good season to wait awhile with us. We. Baptist. Methodist and muslim. Say. Come and fill us and our world with your majesty. We. Did you and the janus the catholic and the confucian implore you to stay awhile with us. So we may learn by your shimmering lights. Lil boosie on the complexion. Ic. It is christmas time. On this platform of peace we can create a language to translate ourselves to ourselves. And each other. At this holy instant we celebrate the birth of jesus. Into the great religions of the world. We jubilate. Precious advent of trust. We sat with glorious sons the coming of hope. All the earth's tribes loosen their voices to celebrate the promise. We. Angels and mortals. Believers and non-believers. Look heavenward and speak the word aloud. We look at our world and speak the word only. We look at each other. And then into ourselves. And we say without shyness. Apology or hesitation. He's my brother. East mices.

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Reading_082111.mp3

Are reading this morning is. Jennings hines dowling your trip with the power of covenants. Levi walker. Published by our denominational publishing arm. It is at the end of a lot of. History. Looking back on the nature of a covenant means. That. Author here wallpapers. Makes these comments. We have seen that liberal religious covenanting is as old as our earliest route. In english shepherds ism and puritanism. We have also seen that it is. Contemporary as a commission on appraisal report. Interdependence. This potential impact on how we will associate in the new millennium. As individuals within our congregations. Congregations within our association. The fundamental to our unitarian universalist heritage covid-19 was little discussed in modern liberal religious circles until very recently. January 1997 announcement board. Covenanting initiative fulfilling a promise created summer. Then interdependence renewing congregational policy was introduced. The 1997 general assembly. It generated active consideration of covenanting as a basic element in our heritage or congregational pieology. It stimulated some discussion. Is relevant in contemporary unitarian universalist. Many of us have. Realize that you're logical diversity alone. Is an entirely inadequate basis. Gray strongly association. Congregations as of individual. Corporate office location of congregation. Rather theological diversity by itself him to be diverse in the absence of an organizing principle. Assumes an appropriate behavioral contact. Come increasingly clear that defining and securing agreement. Association of behavior. Critical role. Liberal.

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20141019-Sermon.mp3

So. We reach the end of. Fisherman's i'm preaching on evil this month. And next week we'll be dealing with masks and other things along those lines. We talked about what is evil. And i like philip zimbardo. Explanation of what evil is in his book the lucifer effect he says evil is the exercise of power to intentionally harm. Psychologically hurt physically. Or destroy morally. Crimes against humanity. Now he says there are three basic. Ranges or places in which this evil may manifest itself or take place. In the first fear he talks about is the dispositional. Fancy word for saying how the individuals disposed for. Character earlier in the reading. Inside of us as an individual how we are predisposed. The second one is situational. External to the individual and that would be in our case for a competition today the bad barrel. And then beyond that is the systemic. The broad influences. Cultural political economic legal power. And this is the real realm of the barrel makers. And the question i would always ask is where is the power in the system. And what is it doing. As i mentioned earlier. Philip zimbardo is an expert. In dealing with these issues of how people behave in unusual situations such as prisons or. Survival situations. And he was a participant and organizer of the stanford prison experiment. And then also has studied abu ghraib and many other similar situations where there was significant abuse. Now that the usual explanation that people want to make. About these kinds of situations and in fact when abu ghraib broke loose and there was all sorts of ugliness it was that the people involved were a bunch of rogue soldiers that was the line that used by the pentagon. That essentially they were a few bad apples so it's them not us we're not responsible for that. You know they they did this on their own volition but what we know is that it's not quite true. For individuals there's actually a very small number of people who would do this sort of thing who are sort of bad apples to begin with. If you're interested in that i recommend the book the sociopath next door. Basically one in 25 of us can do pretty much anything we want with no conscience. And yet it's those people. Who go through life doing nothing terribly wrong. Who may be most affected by the situational forces that were talking about. Then we find that it is. The barrel maybe okay so it was a situation. That was involved so is it was the barrel that made them bad it was the situation. They were put in a place where they didn't have. Enough supervision or something like that but it's not our fault. And then we come to the level of where accountability really does lie. With those who made the barrels. I wish the apples go rotten. And that is a bigger question. Cuz sometimes that implicates us. Either as individuals or as citizens. Of this country. I just read this morning in the paper well or actually was online excuse me that the obama administration is actually considering. Not. Reinterpreting the treaty on torture. And changing the way the bush administration had interpreted. Which was pretty loose as not applying to. Places outside of the. United states. They're contemplating this. Despite all of the. Commentary to the opposite and even executive order barring that kind of behavior. Because there is a change in our situation. And their situational pressures that people feel being put upon. The good people. They come into these. Situations. Are just like us. And all of us do things. At times based on situations we might not otherwise. Given other circumstances. We have to acknowledge the fact that while we all have inherent worth and dignity there is also the inherent potential. To do something contrary. To those qualities. And that. The situations that we create. We find ourselves in. Hey can have a lot to do with how we behave in those situations. But i have found is that accountability really is sort of the key to a lot of these things. And that is in fact what zimbardo found in his findings is that there was a lack of accountability. All the way down. From the people who made the barrels to the people who ran the barrels. The people who. We're acting out in the situation. There are three things that are necessary for healthy communities function for us to function both as a community here and in the larger world. They are. Authority responsibility and accountability. Authority means we have the power to do something. Responsibility means that it's our job to do whatever that is. And accountability means that. We will be. Pulled into account. For what we have or have not done that maybe our responsibility. If those three are not in balance. Then there is all sorts of interesting things that can happen. We all know the plight of the middle manager because a lot of us are middle managers. That you have all sorts of responsibility pressing down on you from the top. And not enough authority to do the things that you're being asked to do. You got all sorts of pressures pressure from the bottom too. Do you think the pressure from the top. So there's a b. Alignment there between authority and responsibility and accountability. When these things are not in balance then we are not able to be in balance as individuals and as a society. Let me look at the systems. We have to take those into account to this is why it's important. For us to understand who is making the decisions at higher levels this is why it's important who we elected to public office this is why it's important to understand the nature of those. Who are running. Programs and systems. Unless. Analytical level are founders of this country understood these dynamics of power. Which is really what we're talking about is power. Which its ability to create or inhibit change as a covenanted community. We take these things very seriously. We have an accountability to each other we have accountability to the to the principles that we uphold we have accountability to larger association to which we belong and to other groups to which we affiliate. So we we call ourselves into accountability. And as individuals we are accountable to each other for our behavior. First things done and those things not done. The line through good and evil the line between good and evil he says zimbardo says. Runs through the human heart. Now the hope that zimbardo this up for us. Or dealing with these things this. Situational stuff is that we also have tremendous opportunities to make other choices that awareness of all of this empowers us than to make other choices to make choices for good. The only thing she does talk about is those who choose not to make a choice. And that can be a valid choice in a situation. But a lot of money also lifts up is that what he calls the bystander effect is that those who do nothing are usually giving their consent to what is transpiring. And so one of the questions asked upon us as universalist is what are the things that we are giving our ascent to. In our communities. Been in our world. Modding bystanders who do nothing. If he talks about the difference between a gyro. Is not a villain. But a bystander. Who does nothing. So being a hero. Zimbardo talked about was we heard last week he said you have to be a hero you have to learn to be a deviant and i think that appeals to some of us. Because we are going against the conformity of the group. Heroes are ordinary people whose social actions are extraordinary. They're people who act. 1920 things that gets in our way sometimes of acting as we're afraid we're not going to do it right or we're going to mess it up we're going to make it worse. And as a recovering perfectionist. What are the things i hope will help me perfectly recover is an understanding that that done is better than perfect to do something is better than trying to wait for the perfect moment or to do the perfect thing. Sometimes were surprised by what happens when we do that. We are called to confront systems. Of evil. That perpetuate bad barrels and rotten apple. We are called to confront the. Systemic. Pipeline of school-to-prison. That we now see and many of our communities. Not just minority communities anymore but pretty much anybody who is below a certain threshold socioeconomically. We are called to challenge the new jim crow book that was a card or common reed series the new jim crow. By michelle alexander. Talks about that in great detail. So that's just an example of the kind of thing that we are called to challenge as. Unitarian universalist we deal with the issue of had had help the bad apples. Maybe. Recover some other themselves. Whatever man see apples from turning bad in the first place this is a lot of our work with the schools. She try and work with those who are most at risk. Love making. And being in situations where bad choices. Ar. More common. More likely. So we are called as universalist to challenge those things. To be deviant. To the standard norm. Now in theological terms that's known as being a heretic. It's over this really like the idea of inherited there's something adolescent about it. We just have to make sure we're not rebels without a cause or a clue. So we are called to be. Heretics those who choose. That's what heretic means one who chooses. So we have to be heroes who choose. To make a difference. To choose. To deviate from the standard norm when that is oppressive and damaging and harmful to people. If we want to we can expand that beyond people to the environment to the world. However we define community. I am hopeful. That as we understand better. Potential for our own in our own flaws. To do the wrong thing. And flaws of anyone. So we also discover our potentials to do the right thing. And our opportunities to do them. We are cold to minister to each other. As. Covenant in a covenanted community we are called to be able to reach out to each other end to have reconciliation. In. The poem by the sushi. Mystic rumi. We know the lyrics now part of a song. Cam-cam haha do you hard wonder worship leaving. O'jays no care havana. I'm here again come the thing we often forget is that when it's sung there's a descant. Legos though you've broken your vows 1000 times. That's how the poem actually begins. So you've broken your vows a thousand times. Come come. Whoever you are. Comeback. Now it does mean that we will hold each other accountable. But that there is a place for us to find reconciliation. If we are willing to engage with that. And so even when we may go a little rotten ourselves a x. There is the possibility that we may ourselves be able to find. That reconciliation. So this is not about being perfect. It is not about being flawless it is not about having all the answers. It is by being present to each other in ways that are vulnerable. And healthy. And responsible. So we may all build a greater beloved community together. We are here. To join our efforts. To be a community to be a. Visual aid. For the world. And that means we do things in a flawed way to. Because as one of my mentors went said if we can't do what we talked about. Ourselves. And we have no claim on anybody else. So. As we look at these issues of. The kinds of evils that are done in our world and that we met ourselves participate in at some level. There is always the opportunity. To become the hero. To do something. To seek reconciliation. To heal the hoop of the world. Is black help with what. Should we can be the builders of the dream. Should we can do but we are called to do. To resolve. All. Of these things that we find. And to be the community that we want to be. And that we can be the people that we've always imagined and the community that we always desired.

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Sermon_120912.mp3

And for religious liberals hope is central and a defining concept. Even more than most orthodox tradition. How much religions offer hope of a salvation. For less desirable. Scholars tell us that hope positive circumstances. Open flies a certain amount of perseverance. Leaving a positive outcome is possible. Other scholars offer a contrast between hope and optimism. The difference between hope and optimism they say hope entails pathways and thoughts to an intended goal. Optimism. But it does not necessarily provide any critical thinking about how we're going to arrive at this improves teacher. Give them not held at hope. Encourage. Turn universalist we believe they're great many reasons. We believe in the inherent worth and dignity. Every person. Persol being the connected web. I eat we are not alone and we're part of a larger whole. We reject the idea. Thicker than ultimate democracy. We believe in the grace. Nick metal nature of reality. In that everything we do count. Revelation of truth are not closed. Resources both divine and human are available for achievements of meaningful change. And they justify an attitude of ultimate fit not necessarily immediate hope. There is hope in the ultimate abundance. The universe. While i believe this saves. Unitarian universalist our hope is not. Kick back and take it easy and they got the universe will. Balance a checkbook. Rather it is an understanding that we are co-creators with. Of mystery which we are are. Liberal religion is a life practice. Liberal religion is a place where we can be reminded traditional religious language. Doctor martin luther king junior's words. He's within each and everyone of us. It is often in our darkest moments when we reach out and faith and hope. That there is someone or something beyond ourselves. Even in our despair. 19 years ago. Weird. John hopkins. Shutdown. My family and i were devastated i was in seminary. Every week. i had memorialize my father. Chicago. Naperville to chicago. Initially i was lonely in. Fortunately i entered in internship. My loneliness and grief were engaged in transmitted by the experience. And looking back i now realize just how fortunate i truly was. Unfortunately many of us. Caught up in the ongoing loneliness estrangement and fear. Our frailties. In this country this isolation and strength might have been further intensified by our midst of the self-made man. Or the self-realized loaner the lonesome cowboy the lone ranger the rags-to-riches all off ratio alger. Indiana southwest. That we have to be careful of. The world and all the people on it become merely a state. We are. Cut off. Fila sweatshirt sayings. In our lives. Fear of violence.. The human beings can have. Actual physical contact with another is often reduced to an abstraction. I can be seen and the email and texting short irl. Irl. In real life. Yes this is not a virtual reality it is reality. Into anonymous units of production and consumption. Receipts to be citizens members of holistic community. As physical and temporal beatings we are defined by an existing relationship to those and that which are around us. If we are cut off from authentic relationships with others relationship. And it is the state of isolation from everything and everyone. Which is so profound. Contact even with ourselves. That i mean by lonely. Sociologist and philosopher hannah arendt. Right loneliness is not solid. Solitude requires being alone. Loneliness shows itself most sharply in the company of others. Lonely man. Artist whose hostility he is exposed. The solitary man. Intelligent in a dialogue between me and myself. The dialogue of the two. In one does not lose contact with the world of my fellow man. Because they are represented in self with whom i lead the dialog. 60 years ago so the language is a little. Gender insensitive. Covid-19. Tubi. In solitude. Loneliness can occur anywhere. Describe an experience similar to the popular saying by fictional character. Buckaroo banzai. Remember no matter where you go. There you are remember no matter where you go there you are. That's right. Nothing worse than ever said. It is an experience of being aware. In contrast. Missing you. If we become isolated in our profound loneliness we ourselves and our. No. Oppressive systems corporate consumerist. Isolation. We don't censor ourselves not even trusting our own inner voices. Let alone our relationships with others. We become suspicious. Our awareness of our true interconnectedness. He's depressed as we deny our coming bonds out of fear and a need for certainty and security. I need a more personal level for ourselves for you and me and for everyone. There is the potential. To transform it and to create relationship our despair into joy. First we must recognize in a breakthrough or loneliness with experiences of relationship with some other for that be family friends. For the holy the doll goddess goddess hera. This experience the other the transpersonal is what i believe most. This is one of the practical and traditional aspects of religion especially those based on personal relationship with the divine. Martin luther. Salmonella. This is good stuff everywhere. He said there must be a god because man needs. And i believe i understand. Take me to basic training in the air force. Job training experience. I was separated from loved ones. I was in my late twenties on through. College i been married. Get the money for graduate school. This isn't going on. And still was emotionally affected by. It could not do anything. Fortunately. This is august. Antonio. I say fortunately because due to the darkness i could often see the moon. Hang low in sky. Now as someone. This moon is a symbol of the goddess and its presence reminded me. Not cut off. After a while as i struggled. Gasping petitions to other names. And i believe that our principles and hope. And which helps me to refresh my commitment to the space. All the time. I mostly find it is in the commitment of you. And others to this beloved community. Here and across our world that makes it possible to go on when the pain. Seems overwhelming. It is our ability as. Unitarian universalist. People. Reach out hand-to-hand and heart-to-heart and together. To help everyone to turn fear into courage. Despair. No matter what we understand the source of disgrace to be. Whether it is the power of human community. The implications are the same. There is who. We are not alone even in the darkness we can claim for ourselves. Which is our birthright as co-creators and participants together in this sacred and holy. So this season. That we are in is not about. And we should not feel additionally burdened by guilt because we are not into the holiday spirit. So let's get our party on. The season is in fact a reminder that we have life in the midst. In the midst of darkness. It is about the possibility of joy in the midst of sorrow and pain and labor. It is a reminder to us as unitarian universalist that people including our cells are inherently worthy. Share this message of hope. In many ways. As great as our own desire is to withdraw. And protect our tiny spa. We are to each other the bearers of this light and this whole. We are the magi. We are the flask of oil. We are the ones who sing the light for each other. Together. We blow bright the embers of our souls. Flames of each other's cars against the winds of despair. Together. This road of hope. Lettuce kindle and carrie are remembering this season. Hope. So hear this good news and give the world. Starting with yourself. Not hell. Encourage. Bright blessings be upon you and oliver. To this season.

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20130929-Sermon.mp3

Good morning. First of all i want to say that it is a privilege and i'm truly honored to be here with all of you today. 4 after a while. I get to go to a religious places he some new faces. Otherwise every single day when i go to the mosque i see the same old faces which is great to see the people coming coming every single day before a change this is great. I am truly honored to be around patrick and getting to know him also we met at the national day of prayer. And that's when we exchange numbers i had actually even called him over to my mosque because we had an interfaith event. At that time he was busy with some other responsibilities at the church he could not come. Cetus and his wife. So i got to meet her also and this is a great family may god bless them. Patrick had asked me to come in just a few words a vocation to talk about you know what i do being really honest you know there was a a spiritual crisis from an islamic from islamic community overall there's a spiritual crisis in the united states my parents they came from back home they came from overseas. And a lot of the people who you see right now in a muslim community they are from overseas they have come either from the middle eastern countries. Or they have come from the subcontinent countries such as india pakistan and bangladesh. And what has happened is that they came. With a lot of ideas hopes and ambitions and goals and dreams. And it began to pursue their those dreams. And i dream was the dollar bill. And they begin to just work hard hard and hard. And i truly believe that if there's any country in the entire world right now where you can. Despite your color race religion if there's one place where you have the opportunity to chase your dreams it is the united states of america i truly believe that. And. What happened was that our parents came. And they got so involved. With their responsibilities. You know my my father has three jobs in the very beginning just working hard and hard. That he got married. And as families came to the united states but there was not an overall vision of what we want to do with our children. And it happened in 1988. I was born 1981 so i'm only 31 through 32 years old. And. We're and the parents came the children were born here in this in the united states. And as they were growing up here. There were people that came from overseas and it begin to explain some of our parents that look. Do you want to live the united states. Fair enough. But what's going to happen to the spirituality and the religion of your own children you're going to lose that. So what happened was that at the age of age i mean i was a very young child. And a lot of people say well that's really bad your mom and dad were really bad people and i'm like no they're not bad people. At the age of eight my parents did send me to pakistan. I was only a young kid you know and. And at that time i along with some other of my colleagues we went we're just more kids that time 8910. You know we we were amongst a generation where we just go to each other's homes. And i remember those were the days where you had the first nintendo wii on the first intended use of push in the game and push it down and then if you had a blank white screen you take it out. And put it back in i remember those were the days. And then you had the days of super nintendo. And then. Those are the days where we just go we were small kids and but then we travel to pakistan. And why to memorize the holy quran. And this was truly an honor. And this is something that is unheard of. For the simple reason is that we personally i remember i used the entire quran and the quran was in arabic the original quran is in arabic and we had to memorize it in arabic and the the the fascinating part of all this is. That you cannot even speak a lick of the language. And you're able to memorize from cover-to-cover around 300 pages of arabic word for word. And i and we had like little kids of all ages were memorizing the qur'an right now i know the entire quran by hard cover to cover i can read it. And since we believe the quran has not been changed. Even to the smallest detail to the smallest vowel that's why whenever in the holy month of ramadan when i leave the prayer we have to read the quran in there. And try to finish all the entire quran and 39. It has been preserved to the point where if i make a mistake there's someone who will stand behind me and they will take out my mistakes. So it says ost memorization of the quran. I finished that at the age of 11 i still did not have a lot of direction as to where do i want to go really my life. And that is when i came across my father actually came across another person. Who's the teacher of mine he's currently living in the tampa bay area. And he talked to my father and my father he had just. You know first when he came here i would like to say he was like a party animal you know no religion there was nothing and so there was no prayer and even when i i knew there's something called a mosque. And i would ask my father that why don't you go to the mosque and he says that the most are for losers. I am so this was even his own concept it was like he was in fourth place is it's a place where people who don't have anything going on there live or not busy in life. This is who those are the people who go to the mosque. But eventually what happened was that i truly believe that god you know showed him the light. He began to understand. And people just kept on coming to my father and visiting him from our mosque and you know he changed. He changed. And at that time when he changed he changed tremendously. And that is when he ran into some other young islamic scholars. And he was inspired by them. And that's when he came one day and he says that i want to make you as long as caller. And i was like man i'm going to go get someone else again why you coming to me for you know i have great ambition go get someone else while you're coming to me for well i truly thank god that he he he he chose me for that. At the age of 15 i went to the went to the united kingdom and i stay there for approximately seven years. And i came back in 2003. And ever since then. I have been serving the community. We studies several islamic sciences timer after seven years i mean i would swing by and come to that you come to united states time and time and time again and over the time i picked up a british accent also i had a lot of my friends will make fun of me and then after i came back so if i just hang around with them for a while i lost a british accent over time and. And since then as patrick mentioned that i've been just serving the community and. You're the one thing that i will say is that. As being your mom is not an easy job i tell you honestly it's not an easy job. Because. First thing is.. The reason i chose to be who i am and why i can continue to do this because i have a lot of other friends. Who were imams at one time. And they begin to go to school and they got their degree and they got a master's in physics or science or medicine and so forth and they became doctors. And he just chose to just become a medical doctor they open up their own practice and clinic. Any just hoses they chose to do that and you don't step away. From being an imam. And what happened was that. You know even though i'm sitting right now i'm just trying to get back into school. I have you know i'm busy as i know some of you say i have two children have two beautiful daughters. Seven you say well i have more than that have free time while i'm still busy because of them because of responsibilities at the mosque. But. At the end of the day i felt like that you know what there was a time my life i feel like that you know what. Being a mom is too difficult why. Because a lot of our parents once again i'm dealing with a lot of parents who are or from overseas. And when they come from overseas there is a huge difference between the. The role and imam feels within the united states. And and the role the same role that your mom would play whether it will be in the middle eastern countries. Or in the subcontinent countries. Here is more like a fatherly figure of the community if there's someone was a problem they will come to me if there is some difference of opinion or conflict within. The administration of the mosque also that's when they will call me people who have you know marriage prop mirror problems counseling. I do all of that and then you know visiting different places. Whereas the role of an imam back home would be simply just only one and that is you simply go to the mosque everyday 5 times a day and you leave the prayer and you can simply walk out that's all that is all it was. And so since the role is much more complex here. And i saw that how much i'm able to help people out. I give it a long thought and i thought to myself that you know what this is where i want to be. Now even though i do have some relatives who have you know who are living overseas. And they have told me that if you come to this country. Anyone who has an american passport. You get a great job if you can speak english great job come here. You don't forget about where you're living just come here enjoy it does become a teacher and that's it. And for a while my parents they bought you know they kept on pushing me think about it think about it. And then i thought about it i said that to myself that you know what if i just go there i'll be just simply a school teacher. That's all i will be. I'll come home in the evening i'll be with my kids i'll be with my wife. And that's it. But here as an imam i'm able to inspire other people i'm able to help out other people. And this is something that i personally learned from. If i'm in islam of course you know that we believe in prophet muhammad. And this is one thing that he always did is that before he put himself forward he always put the needs of his own community forward. He always looked at other people what they wanted before he looked at what he wanted himself. And that's that's what pushes me forward every single day when i see that the challenges what we are going through. It pushes me forward every single day this is actually this is my fuel. This is why pushing me forward every single day then after that as you all know that this was when i was in england but 911 to plays. And may god bless all those who lost their lives in that. And what happened was that. When i came back there was a lot you don't even till today. There's a lot of islamophobia that takes plays a lot of misunderstanding that takes place. And as a community i felt that if i were to travel anywhere else i will not be able to do this work. And that's why i feel like that. I want to go everywhere i've been to different places i've been to synagogues churches. And just trying to help even clarify what exactly is from is what what it is what is not what it. You know what does it mean to say about it and so forth. And i feel like that this is a part of my responsibilities also and i continue to push myself forward for that. Besides that you know i'm still just you know a lot of people when i come to my community. And i will say this that one the reasons and there's you know you know. You don't think god. Times have changed. Because before in our all these communities around the united states and all the muslim communities. Because there was a lack of leadership was taking places that they were bringing people from overseas. And where that when they were bringing people from overseas they were not able to connect. With the with this generation the kids of this generation. When people would have come with their marital problems they had no training in that area. And so what happened was that the community's realized. That we need youngsters we need people in from our own community. Who have grown up in our own community. To lead our own communities also. And bring me to honest i grew up in arlington i was born in florida but i move to arlington at a very young age i mean i've seen orange and develop. I really have cr to develop i do disagree with the cowboys stadium in arlington but but the thing is that i've seen orange and develop i've seen the entire metroplex develop over my before before my eyes. And and that is when the communities realize and honestly with me along with another friend of mine who does exactly what i do. We we were the small kids who were playing basketball in the parking lot of the mosque. Like you have a basketball goal here i know it was broken i saw when i came in but you know we were just those same kids and a lot of people they would come to the mosque and they will feel like that why are these kids are playing they should be inside the mall's praying and doing all this and there were people at that time who said that you know what as long as long as these kids are here. And they're doing it here on our premises we know they're not anywhere else. They're still save. They're still save it eventually what happened was that you know. Through god's guidance. We this is the path that we took. And so far once again this is what pushing me forward now as time went on they realized that we need younger imams and that's where i came into the picture a lot of other mosque. We have that kind of the same mentality also and that's why one thing that i do as a i'm still young myself. And i'm free i'm heavily involved with a lot of sports. Like i love sports a lot i know the cowboys play are playing today at 3:25 otherwise i would have told patrick i can't come today so even yesterday someone came to me was like a mom you know what to do right i'm like i know what to do. So there was another guy standing there yesterday night at the molecules like what are you guys talking about. He says. And then that that gentleman he referred to me again he says that imam tell him what i would what would i want you to pray. So i said this guy he wants me to pay the cowboys are 3-1 after today so easygoing guy jolly guy and people become they talk to me because there was a time where that you know this happens within psychology also there's some people who keep themselves very very reserved they don't smile. They don't you know me with anyone they don't socialize with anyone. And they were lonely mom to do the same thing also why because they feel like that if i you know if i showed my true colors who i am people are not going to have a lot of respect for me and i look at it in a different way i feel like that religious leaders need to be they need to have humor as well patrick has that also that's great and you guys are lucky to have that. And so that's what that's something that i do and one thing that i always try to do within my own speeches is that i try to make this subject relevant to everyone else. Because there was a time once again where people would they would give sermons. And. People are just in fact after the sermon there more depressed in before the sermon and so what happened was that personally that's what i do is that i give examples. And i will give examples about football about basketball and that is where i get all the kids involved. And even if i ask them after a sermon that what is one part of the sermon that you understood they said the football examples what i understood and that is it the rest of it i was texting i was texting someone else so that's what happened so so this is an n and once again what pushing me forward every single day to do what i do. Is just knowing that there is a need out there there's a lot of education a lot of teaching that's left that's left. Personally once again i always try to do this with my own community and. And just knowing that there's a lot of hope out there there's a lot of homeless people who want to learn. There's a there's a fire outside in the world people are looking for for hope as i think your your educational director right she was talking about the beginning about faith and hope and i think there are a lot of people who are looking for faith and hope. If you look at why people commit suicide now and days and why there's all these problems is because they don't have an outlet. To sort of release that tension that pressure that frustration and they're looking for that and whenever i get a chance if i come across someone as a lucky with my community you know i come across and so. This what this is what drives me for it every single day. Because that they society that we live in is it really preaches individualism. It really preacher that you only worry about yourself you don't worry about anyone else. And it's in because of this we have really lost perspective of who we are we are we are the son of adam. And we have you do as a quran says that we have been set on the faces hours to help each other out to love one another you know. You know despite and you know it regardless of a regardless of whether you know you there are differences of culture race religion. Still you are to love one another respect one another and this is what i teach and i preach also every single day in this is my field. So having said that thank you very much.

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Reading1_041209.mp3

Refers to reading this morning come from the easter story. From the christian scriptures book of mark. Chapter 15 and 16. They brought jesus to the place of the skull. They offered him wine mixed with murder but he would not take it. They crucified him and divided his garments among them casting lots to decide what each should take. It was 9 in the morning when they crucified him. Those who pass by derided him saying save yourself. Those were crucified with him also taunted him. When it was noon darkness came over the whole land. At 3 jesus cried. My god my god why have you forsaken me. Then jesus gave a loud cry. And breathed his last. On the first day of the week. At early dawn they came to the tomb saying. Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb. They looked up and saw that the stone had already rolled back. And on the right they saw a young man. They were alarmed. Batman said to them. Why do you seek the living. Among the dead. Said he went out. And fled from the tomb for terror and amazement had seized them and they said nothing. For they were. The sands are reading.

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Sermon_020512.mp3

So if god is a river or do i still need to paddle. That reminds me of a story. As we heard earlier in the midrash partners by rabbi mark gilman. If you will keep trying to finish the world god says i will be your partner. The man in the woman asked what the partner and god answered a partner is someone you work with on a big thing that neither of you can do alone. If you have a partner it means you can never give up because your partner is depending on you. On the days you don't think i'm doing enough and on the days i don't think you're doing enough even on those days we are still partners. And we must not drop must not stop trying to finish the world. That's the deal. And they all agreed to the deal. The angels asked god is the world finished yet. And god answered i don't know. Go ask my partner. I think this is an elegant description of what we call a covenant. In our community which is a foundational. Part of being a unitarian universalist. And it's also a good example of delegation. Does you who serve on committees or have worked. Related things you know about delegation. If you don't somebody probably giving you things to do. But i think it's also an elegant understanding of. Co-creation. That things are always being. Finished. The things are always being done. Two things are always becoming. More. That we are always becoming more. So if god is a river do we still need to paddle. I offer a qualified yes sometimes most the time why not. We have so many images of of what we understand as this river of god. In the chorus of peter mayer song which i read earlier. God is a river not just a stone god is a wild raging rapids and a slow meandering flow. God is a deep and narrow passage and a peaceful sandie sholl. God is a river swimmer. So it go. At hand. Yeah we probably need to be paddling. Probably pretty hard sometimes. Another times maybe not so much. When i was growing up i spent. Years a couple years as an explorer scout. Boy scouts. Originally it was because i was 14 years old and i could hang out with girls. Any sports coed. So keep that in mind when kids talk about sports. We had a great time it was high adventure post which meant we did a lot of of. Things like. Hiking canoeing. Camping and rock climbing. And once when we were learning to do some canoeing in preparation for a trip down the rio grande river where there's some. Really significant rapids at the water's up. Early leaders were talking about what to do in certain situations and they wrapped up by saying no matter what be deliberate and doing something. Even if it's just sitting there and being carried by the current. So be deliberate and doing something even if it's nothing. And it is this intentionality that is often more important. The flow or our life in this river of god. That we are co-creating that we are code flowing with. I tend to think in this context that maybe god is more of a jazz musician than a symphony writer. No problem here. But i think the gods has to be a little more into improvisation. I hate to keep up with this is probably necess necessary. That we are always. Find yourself a new place. In new times new ways. Having to adapt. And therefore we are in a constant dance. Constant movement. Constant co-creation. With future. No i think one of the interesting things about the theology that i. Have come to embrace especially as the unitarian universalist is the idea that we can't really compel god or the holy for the universe to do anything. Just no joke that explains this i think. A guy is praying to god he says. God. I would like to ask you a question and got response no problem go ahead. Lord is it true that a million years is but a second to you. Yes that is true. Well then what is is is a million dollars to you. $1000000 to me is better penny lord then says the man may i have a penny. Sure says god just a second. Edison profound truths there. So we can't compel the universe to do. Our wedding. But we can. Work with it. We can swim with the current. We can swim in directions that will take us places that. May not be exactly where we want to go but it may be closer than if we have it. Funny important understandings theologically for us as unitarian universalist. To look at the issue of. What does it mean that the nature of the holy. One of us were raised with an understanding of god or goddess or the holy as being. Call aa supernatural interventionist. Play some people might think of it as like. United states now in foreign countries. We're more powerful we just jumped in forever. Need to be done. Sometimes it's a good thing sometimes not. But this perception that god is omniscient on the potent. Omnipresent. And. Will tinker. In the lives of men and women and the universe. Is one that we have found generally very unsatisfying because it's actually makes god capricious and a bully. And. I don't think that that's. What we understand to be the nature of the holy. An alternate to this an alternative to this is. A theology that. In technical terms is known as pain pan and theism. Pantheism. Which means. And god world or world and god said that basically the creation and god of the same thing. And there's some wonderful parts about that but there's some complications. Pantheism means. The world in god. That the world and god are. Cohabitant. Co participant with each other but that god or the holy is more than. Just but we understand creation to be. Good description of this is by alan anderson and debra white house who have a book called new thought a practical american spirituality. They say that universal arrangement. Is not pantheism all is god pan and theism. It is best known for its used by process theologian charles hartshorne. And also buy it which who is a unitarian universalist. And more recently by matthew fox. Pantheism says that all is in god. So what if god were the ocean and it's a psychic ocean and we were the fish. If one considers what is in god's body to be part of god. Then we can say that god is all there is and then some. The universe is god's body but god's awareness or personality is greater than the sum of all the parts of the universe. All the parts have some degree of freedom in co-creating with god. Nasa start a momentary career as a subject and experience is god as divine initial aim. As experience carries on its choosing process it is a. Freely aiming reality that is not strictly god. Since it candy part from god's purpose to some degree. Get everything is within god. Now what this means in human language. If it's a little dry. Is that. Like the cells of a body. We. Participate. In a larger reality. Now the cells in our bodies. Can do their own thing. And sometimes we can direct them to do things specifically. But that's pretty unlikely. And even if we do they night may not necessarily respond. Right. And sometimes our cells can be very beneficial things there can be. A healthy mutations and they can be unhealthy mutations we can hit up a cancer. Or we can end up. With. Diseases. Or. Ourselves can do exactly what they should do in fight off. Diseases. So. The fact that they individually have their own sense of free will. Things are not predetermined. And this is important because. We have to have free will. And also the fact that we have. Free will means that the universe is always changing and that we are always changing with it. This also means that there is no predetermination. That there is no predestination. But it also means is for all of the 2012 hoopla about the mayan predictions and stuff. Don't worry about it. That's what it means. Sure you might be able to like i think of the future is sort of like the weather. The weather good example symbolically. You can predict maybe out to a certain degree with varying degrees of accuracy but the further out you go it just falls apart. There's just too much chaos too much noise and too much uncertainty. Out in the world and in the universe. So that is why. Things evolve as. We move through it. Pillow jeanine biblical scholar jesus. In this way. He says i argue for a found it a different foundational concept of god. A different route concept for thinking about god which i call pantheism the middle syllable n is crucial to distinguish it from pantheism. Which is sometimes confused with. This way of thinking about god or the sacred or the spirit. Which are terms are used interchangeably sees god not as a supernatural being out there. But. As a non material presents and reality which is right here and all around us. Work goes on to say and i also argue that penalty isn't which literally means everything is in god. Is faithful to the musical tradition and indeed the theological tradition of the church. One of the best shorthand ways i know of explaining this he says is that the two semi technical terms the transcendence of god and the eminence of god. To say that god is transcending means that god is more than everything. Is beyond everything. To say that god is imminent. Means that god is present in everything. So the imminence of god's means that sacred is right here. The transcendence of god means the sacred is more than right here. I think many people who say they're not sure they believe in god or actually say they don't believe in god are thinking about the god of supernatural theism. The one i talked about earlier the supernatural interventionist. Sabor concludes by saying with the penalty of stigmata god is present and everything. God is the source of everything. That doesn't mean god is the source of everything that happens. The god is present in everything. This addresses the issue of evil does god make bad things happen to. Well if we have free will then god's not in charge of everything that happened. So bad things happen not because god make some happen but because of circumstance and because of our own actions. Collectively and individually. Says it is not a blame-the-victim situation trust me. Ralph waldo emerson our transcendentalist forbear. Right in relationship to all this he says god resides not in former religion but in nature. Not in right but persons. I grow in god i am only a form of god. He is the soul of me i can even with a mountainous aspirate aspiring say i am god. I am god. I had board meeting so i really wanted to say that. Fortunately not since i came here. I know the board is terribly relieved to hear this. Emerson goes on to say god becomes part of us and we are apart of god. These mystical fingers begin to say say this. Over and over again his essay emerson tells us we live in succession in division in parts of and particles. I was pretty pushy and if you think about quantum physics. We live in succession in division in parts and particles. Meantime within us is a soul of the whole of the wise silence the universal beauty. Do it every part and particle is equally related. To the one the eternal one. We see the world piece-by-piece as the sun the moon the animal the tree. The whole of which these are shining parts. Is the soul. We have this. Sense of a larger reality in which we exist in which exists within us. Which we are part of. At we are co-creating. The totality. A reality with. I think it's really important things about process theology. For this form a penalty ism is that it's more about. It's more than about. What we are it's about what we are becoming it's about what we are doing. All the time it's about that act of creation and re-creation. In process theology and infinity ism the interconnected of all interconnectedness of all. Preserves the past. And feed the future. The future which is open and undetermined and constantly being created. By us and by the universe. And by god together with us. I think there is a tremendous hunger in our hearts. To be a part of this co-creation. I think part of the malays and our larger society right now is that we're cut off. From participation in co-creating our reality and that we are subject to something. By somebody else's will. I think this is some of the response we've seen from things like the occupy movement. And others attempt to reclaim that creativity. In controlling. Our lives. In changing the nature of the reality that we are participating in and which. Will be created in the future. I am struck by the line in the the song let the river run acquired so magnificently by carly simon. Desire and. Spiritual. Upwelling. We the great and small stand on a star. And blaze a trail of desire. To the darkening dawn. I know that sometimes i feel. But i. And caught up in a blazing trail of desire. To be part of something more. Remember that i am part of something more to know that i am part of a universe that is constantly evolving and creating. So even if we don't believe in god and atheistic. Notion of. Some other thing out here. Even if we simply accept the idea of evolution we are constantly co evolving with reality. Fairco creating. Kobe coming. With something more than ourselves. So if god is a river do i still need to paddle. Yes. But even if you want paddling try to be intentional about that. Because we are all a part of the river even if we are. A fish one moment. A spark of light on the water another. We are all creating this great flow of reality. We are part of this everyday. I think one of the great. Sins if there is one in the world are those voices. Both outside of us and inside of us that's a. We are cut off. From everything else that we are utterly alone. Because that is a lie. I think it is one of the greatest evils that we have in the world. You are not alone. You are not cut off. You are a part of something much greater than yourself. It manifests itself. In communities such as this one. It manifests itself in our relationship with. The world. With our families animals. It manifests itself in our dreams. And our creative desires. In the trail that we wish to blaze with our desire. So i say to you keep paddling. If you're not paddling. Delete be intentional about not paddling. Cuz god is something larger than ourselves even if we don't believe in god.

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Sermon_021212.mp3

But you know sometimes in the course of a conversation with people in my life happen to mention what church i go to that happens in the south. Does he know. You sort of expect the reaction you should come with me to my church i'll save you instead. The people at the church i grew up in were such judgmental hypocrites they said they're talkin about love your neighbor and they spent the entire coffee hour gossiping about other people's clothes. Or who was having an affair with whom or who wasn't raising their kids right. I don't want to be there. Or i got into a big fight with our pastor and i couldn't go back. It somehow it was it's really the theology that people talk about. You do hear you know i got the questioning the preset. Austin's the thing that kicks off the questioning. Is the community. Because that's the hardest part of any religion that's where we start but unfortunately it's where we tend to. Some of the nastiest fights i've ever seen actually have happened in congregation. The church that i grew up in. Out in lubbock was a very large disciples. Congregation which is liberal christian. Although liberal in texas of course has a different meaning them liberal someplace else. And wasn't it was a large congregation with. You know. Large downtown city block. Building in a 50 kids in the high school youth group probably a couple thousand. Members and my father was a deacon. Sometimes an elder he was usually somehow involved in the governance but the board of it was they had sort of a small-bore they called the elders and then the larger board they called the deacons and all of these together we're supposed to govern the community. Well they had the same minister for 30 years he retired they hired a new minister in who had an extremely different personality it was really good but he was very different and there were a few people who just couldn't get used to the new style he's not like dudley strain and so we don't like him what happened was that a couple of the biggest pleasures came to the board of elders and they said we want him gone or we're not going to pledge anymore so the board of elders without taking it to a vote. Went to the minister and asked for his resignation not wanting to create conflict within the church to be the source of conflict. He tendered his resignation my father had a fit. High-handed undemocratic. Oligarchic. Allowed a few of the wealthiest members to force their will on the entire congregation without any kind of vote or discussion. So we left you can sort of think of it when i was thinking back on this story i thought you know this sort of like occupy lubbock. 30 years before its time. My dad never has had much truck with that 1%. But i thought happened over and over again and just as a sidebar i want to say that experience was what made me think. Intentional interim ministry that's why we do that. So that people can get over the minister they've had for 30 years and love and can't get used to the thought of anyone else. Song telling you the story not. Just evidence that church leadership can be corrupt. It's an illustration of how the schisms between people. Relationships among each other are awesome what drive people out of religious community. Poet kathleen norris. Talks about asking a friend of hers who was a monk. What is the hardest thing about being a monk. And she's thinking. Poverty stuck inside with the. Monastery all year long getting up at 5 a.m. for matins. He said. Other monks even the holy ones you know. Church isn't the only place where the conflicts happen but it does seem to raise the stakes doesn't it. People have the idea we shouldn't have any personal conflicts at church. We should be loving and forgiving all the time my husband. And he rolled his eyes and he survived i thought church was supposed to be a place where people didn't act like that. Like what human. There's two people were still people i'm still a person i mess up. You know i hurt people's feelings i say things i shouldn't. Way too often i say things i shouldn't. C.s. lewis made the observation and can't really judge christianity by weather every single christian acts in the way that we think a christian should act. You said you have to compare the way christian acts to the way he would act if he weren't a christian. Think how bad that could be. The same thing works for us. How would we act if we didn't have the first principle. Did every human being deserves to be treated with honor and respect. We carry the expectations everywhere i mean they're higher it searched but we do it at the grocery store too. Those other parents at the school if they would just whatever it is i can't believe the teacher did that. Can you tell us been a lot of time at school. Frenemy that's so rude. And sometimes we hang on to the resentment song after we moved on. From a situation. We can tie up our feelings. Tore the whole community. Put a whole religion or a whole city. With resentment to one person. I'm sure that there is more than one of us in this room. Who has a gut-wrenching reaction. To certain religions or to certain religious language. Not because you have a particular theological objection although you may but that's not what creates that got reaction it's those old fink feelings of resentment or anger or shame. And it's good for us to be aware of where they can come from. Maybe that's the suitcase you've been carrying around. Did tony lorenzen talked about last week. Maybe it's time to unpack it. But instead of unpacking those dirty socks here. No on the positive side as part of our spiritual path these disagreements with people can prompt questioning that sends us out into the world. Either physically or metaphor. We begin the hero's journey. We leave home. Get lost. We encounter dragons. We slay demons we discover new lands. We discover new people. We learn the vital spiritual lessons that you can only borrow. By getting one. And by being a stranger. Being a stranger opens your heart. You're forced to take in you site. To open yourself to new ideas two different kinds of people really different kinds of people. When we're trudging on the same pads everyday driving the same road to work and do the same tasks you eat the same lunch. Your head is down your thinking what to fix for supper got to help the kids with your homework. Getting lost forces us to look around a little bit. Some of us look around and find a unitarian universalist church. Some of this fine new talents. Find a new physical landscape a new country and you state to move to a new tribe that makes you say these are my people. My daughter discovered choirs. Chicken in theater she came home. Mom they're my people. You find your tribe. On that journey. To find your tribe. Being a stranger. That changes us. Who's who been a stranger. Are more likely to recognize and welcome a stranger themselves. Professor taylor says of her college students. The students who liked longer trips overseas come back changed for good. Haven't gotten lost in dublin madrid or cairo. They come home both stronger at the edges. And softer at the center. They begin to listen to the news. They can find the inner hebrides on a map. When exchange students arrive from bosnia kazakhstan or zambia. The students who can farfromhome themselves are the first to show them around they sit with them in the dining hall. Because they too have been strangers. The jewish and the christian traditions both emphasize the spiritual value of welcoming the stranger. Where they have entertained angels unaware. The practice that does not require traveling to zambia. Or going to the greyhound bus station to look for lost souls. Who is a stranger. Aren't we all. How many times a day do you encounter people you don't know. People you have no connection with nothing obviously in common. Barbara brown taylor. Says a good way to warm up. Is to focus on one of the human beings. Who usually sneak right past you because they're performing some menial tasks. Such as taking your order. We're handing you your change. The next time you go to the grocery store. Try engaging the cashier. You don't have to invite her home for lunch or anything. But take a look at her face while she's trying to find arugula on the laminated list of produce. Here's someone who exists even when she's not ringing up your groceries. As hard as that may be for you to imagine. She's someone's daughter maybe someones mother as well. She has a home she returns to when she hangs up her apron here. A kitchen it smells of last night's supper. A bad where she occasionally lies awake at night dealing with her own demons and angels. Don't go too far with this or you risk turning her into a character in your own novel. Which is a large part of her problem already. It's enough. For you to acknowledge her when she hand to your chain. You saved by shopping at winn-dixie today she says looking right at you. All that's required of you. Is to look back just made her eyes for a moment when you say. Sometimes that is all another person needs to know that she's been staying. Not the cashier. But the person. But even if she doesn't seem to notice the encounter has occurred. You noticed. And because you did. Neither of you will ever be quite the same again. Fanciful right maybe even a little silly. Triumph. You can be such a profound practice. Did those who try it meet with powerful inner resistance. You know how many things i have to get done before 6. Encounter another human being in line. Give me my arugula and let me get out of here. Sometimes the resistance is a little more personal. Jesus took a lot of flak for welcoming lepers tax collectors prostitutes. As hard as it is to admit to ourselves sometimes that in a resistance to really sing someone is face on social class. Or color what they're wearing. Some other externality that just rubs you the wrong way. Maybe you sent me won't have anything in common with the obnoxious overly made-up woman with the dragon nails who takes the last chocolate cupcake at the pta meeting. Or the noise a group of high-school boys. And the ragged elderly man who doesn't smell so good. On the dart train. Those are the strangers that it will do us the most good. When we take 10 seconds to really see them. And recognize their humanity. To recognize this person. Contains the same spark of divinity. A sacred life jonathan sacks who's the chief rabbi of great britain observed. The hebrew bible in one verse commands you shall love your neighbor as yourself. No fewer than 36 places commands us to love the stranger. Well first of all we've been strangers ourselves we've been lost. We've left the community angry or dispirited or ambitious and wander through a new landscape looking for a home. Many others in this church. Not robin coupon as we learn this morning but a few of us. Had to leave our childhood church homes. Looking for a place where we wouldn't feel lost and alone. And we love the stranger because we recognize that they too are human. And therefore holy. That little spark that we call life. That we can call the divine. Is in every human being regardless of religion or political party or color or job grade world is too full of enemies republican-democrat pro-life pro-choice for against gay rights. Palestinian vs. israeli. Sunni versus shiite muslims versus christian versus muslims. Locally. We see african americans fighting hispanics for control of school boards. For the chance to name a dallas isd superintendent who looks like then affluent people in suburbs versus struggling people who want section 8 housing in a nicer part of town too often our communities are defined by who we are against. My enemy's enemy is my friend we're guilty of this here too. Character in the evangelico right. Whether that's a community that you ran away from or just one that you have a lot of very fundamental disagreements with. It's too easy to say i have nothing. In common. With rick santorum. Nothing. We're all humans. We have people we love children that we protect and try to raise right. However different are answers maybe we're asking the same question. You may remember jonathan swift from here. Junior high english classes he's the one who said. We have just enough religion to make us hate each other. But not enough to make us love each other. I think you'll be of this. There were people i butted heads with enough that neither one of us will make eye contact with the other any longer. Abstract at home when i'm just thinking about this person and she's far far away. I resolved to remember that anger arises from fear and then i should have sympathy with the fear. And then i get to some of them. I can feel the glare boring into the back of my skull. And i find myself. Refusing to let that person in the eye. And recognize her essential humanity. And shake her hand. Annie lamont tells a great story in her book plan b. Now lamont likes to call herself a bad christian. She's a very deep believer but she is imperfect. And more than a little neurotic. She is also an unabashed political liberal. So in this story which takes place during the presidency of george w bush. She tells about her minister giving a sermon about how god loves everyone even george w bush. Lamont says his drives me crazy that god seems to have no taste and no standards. You're the most days this is what give some of us hope. Ramon is sitting in her cue listening to the sermon and struggling against her deep visceral dislike of bush. In my head i saw the president walking on an aircraft carrier with his little squinched up yertle the turtle mouth. Like a five-year-old used adams the ship. Which is dad probably does. Photo of signing papers. And something made me stop. I wasn't thinking about his legislation or his tax cuts for the wealthy. I just. Experimented with the idea that god loves him just as much as god loves my niece clara. God looks at him the same way my brother looks at baby clara. How could it be. But i stuck with it. And after a while i could feel the tiniest of spaces in the knotted up chain. The lightest breath between tangled links. In that space. I saw the face of a boy i used to know superimposed on the president's face. A boy named john who like the smartest girl in the first grade. When she wrote at her desk she squished up her face intently fiercely. And john thought that expression was what helped her to be smart of his face to when he read. For an entire year. For a few seconds. I imagine the president doing this in first grade as well actually. I remember him doing this before in the oval office. Imagined him as one of the people in my own family who failed at school or at life. You got monster drunk. Beauty getting raped. As mine did. Lamont goes on to admit she's never going to get anywhere with this president but she's going to try and that one moment of light shining through a loosening knot. Dance something to strive for. The supreme religious challenge says rabbi sacks is to see god's image in one who is not in our image. Barbara brown taylor ads for only then can we see past our own reflections in the mirror. To the god we did not make up. By which she means the divine that we did not project onto. These other people. Accepting this challenge to see the spark of the divine in people who are not like us. Is our biggest opportunity to grow. To grow more compassionate more loving more forgiving. We can't begin with w. You have to begin with c. Taylor says the point is to see the person standing right in front of me. Who has no substitute. Who can never be replaced. His heart holds things for which there is no language. His life is an unsolved mystery. The moment i turn that person into a character in my own story the encounter is over. I stopped being a human being and become a fiction writer other people into characters and stories. Cuz don't we do that. Am i the only one i know. The other day i was fretting about a friend who had responded to a text. I mean we've all done this right and i send a text to expect a response back hours pass. A day passes. I done something to make him mad. Didn't you know i was waiting for an answer. So there's enough that they're fixing rider in my head. That i started spinning stories in several different unpleasant directions all at once. Finally that holding myself enough to think you know confirming that schedule change might be at the top of your list. Maybe he's busy with other things so i gave myself a stern talking-to about making up scenarios when i have no factual information paul likes to point out you need data. Turn down when i finally did hear back. Keeping busy taking care of a rental car and dealing with body shots after minor car wreck last week boy did i feel bad. There was no intended or unintended flight just a really hectic day. Nevermind me of a book and a philosophy called the four agreements which i actually heard about here at this church many years ago on on a book sunday. I don't remember all the four agreements the one that stuck with me was don't take anything personally. The idea is it's not about you. When somebody does something else it's not about you. Don't be offended. That's what the writer of the four agreements made exactly what taylor said about making other people characters in your story. It means not making assumptions about other people's feeling. Or motives. It means no describing hill intent. The other people's actions. When we refused to take things personally. We can loosen that not just a little bit. Give ourselves a little space to see people as they really are standing right in front of us with your squinched up their mouths. We need these other people in all their strange particular peculiarities. To draw us out of our narrow internal universes. When we're busy taking things personally all we can see is our own personality. Barbara brown taylor tells a great story about the desert fathers who are early christian monks. When an elder who lived all alone undertook a 70 week fast eating only once a week during all that time in order to become more receptive to god when he was little more than bone and vapor he asked god to reveal to him the meaning of a certain bible passage. God would not do it. The elder disappointed by how little his fast met. How little it had done for him. Decided. I'm going to go ask one of my brothers. I give up. Divinity close the door to his cell and angel of god appeared to him saying. You're 70 weeks fast didn't bring you one step closer to god. But now that you have humbled yourself enough to go to your brother. God sent me to reveal the meaning of the passage. The angel told the elder what it meant he wouldn't win. Taylor continues. I like to think that the elder went to visit his brother anyway. Breaking his fast with him. And swapping stories about what i've trickster god was. Several years ago i was on the receiving end of. Just kind of small holy encounter. That i've been talking about. I was preoccupied with a whole bunch of school district staff. Parenting stuff business stuff. Maybe a little depressed. There was something i needed from the office supply store so although what i really wanted was to be home with a cup of hot tea. I was out in the cold when head down trudging up to the automatic sliding doors. A twenty-something african-american man was standing just on the other side of the automatic doors just on the sidewalk. And when i came up to the doors. He looked right at me and just gave me this big grin and said smile okay i have to admit normally i would find that kind of thing extremely annoying. It was something about him. There was something about his presence in the way he looked at me. Instead of going out. Video. You know a little. Smile back. Went on into the store. Something loosened up. At that moment some some small knot in my chest worked its way a little bit loose. Since i went through the store i'm comparing prices on cans thinking did i imagine that. Going back out there's no one there. I'm not a superstitious person. Doesn't even know me know that i maintain a certain open-minded skepticism. About things like spirits and angels because i drove home to my cup of hot tea i found myself wondering. This is not a normal thing for me to wander so i'm. Telling you. I'm thinking. An angel. Why was he there. Why did he speak to me. What did he see in my face. Did made him want to tell me. Smile. The nature of our encounters with each other. Really not important. What's important. If it at least one person is willing to treat it as holy. To recognize the other end just as important as himself. If you've ever been on the receiving end of such an encounter. Then you know how it can change you. By looking you in the eye unexpectedly another human being to the despair right. Leaving you buck naked long enough to see another way of being held out in front of you. The encounter changes you. It's what life is all about. The assignment. Is to get over yourself. The assignment is to love the neighbor you did not make up. As if that person wear your own strange and particular cell. Do this. And it doing will teach you everything you need to know. Do this and you will live. Hyatt the next time you're buying groceries. Try this morning over the snack table and founders hall. Namaste.

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20150125-Sermon.mp3

You ever have one of those things get caught in your head and then eventually one day you kind of gold. I've been saying that to myself all along. Most of the time it's kind of negative. So happy soul self-talk things usual chattering monkeys is little. Recording these. Sound b playing in our heads. All the time on. A loop. Of some sort. Is constantly reinforcing. Thanks. Stories. I have found in my experience. Are in fact. But at shakur was saying in the video clip from the ted talk. That. We are the stories we tell ourselves. Neuroscience says now that the vast majority of the influence on our internal self including our physical body. Comes from our own mind. Our own mind aside from traumatic kinds of things that can't be ignored or dramatic situations like an environment. What will you think here in our mind. What we internalize. Has more impact on our physiology our health. The rest of the way we perceive and in live our lives. Send any other factor. So the stories we tell ourselves. Create us. We we are. The stories we embody them quite literally embody them. One of the interesting stories i heard a couple years ago was about how. Teenagers going off college now are grieving. Are grieving and longing for. The times when their parents went to college or others did before facebook and other social media. Because they cannot reinvent themselves. When they get there. Because they are carrying all of this baggage. All of these connections with them. I cannot imagine what it would have been like for me. When i was trying to get out of texts. And go to missouri when i was going to go to college. If i could not have left behind. All of those connections from my high school years. They were miserable. It was a miserable time for me i didn't want those connections. I didn't want those people to be able to find me i wanted to be left alone by those people. And i wanted to meet new people. And i wanted to be able to tell news stories. And to create new stories that would help me recreate. Myself. Our children are not getting that opportunity. You know one of the things we used to have about the wild west was people would come out west. And reinvent themselves. Diarrhea coming from england to america the colonial. was to reinvent ourselves. A lot of times. Become. Moerlein with who we were wanted to be. A lot of experience this. Kind of experiences we have all reinvented ourselves in some way. But when we go back to places where people knew a different narrative of us. Is a cognitive dissonance setup sometimes inside of us. Like during the holidays. Okay. Thanksgiving christmas anniversaries family reunions. All those things we come back into contact with someone who knew us. When. In a different context. And they have no idea what we're doing now. Or who we r who we have become. Or becoming. There is a cognitive dissonance. And yet one of the fastest ways to regress is to go home. Get to find ourselves right back into that narrative right back into that family system structure however. It is that we experienced it. The inner voice. And my colleague. Make barn houses now administer down at first austin first unitarian church in austin. Brutosaur a number of years ago called her in her motorcycle gang. Which was a radio show she and i'm number colleagues did in the carolinas and georgia on mpr. She says i get surly when someone tells me i've lost weight. It wakes up the rebel in me. I don't know why maybe i don't like being on public display maybe it reminds me of the one time i went on a supervised diet. One time was enough my good-nature was almost ruined. It wasn't the salad and chicken breast i lived on for 2 months it was the diet supervisor into the idea of being good. For three years. You out there who have never dieted. Being good means eating the things you are allowed and not eating the things you aren't allowed. The diet supervisor would weigh me three times a week in her office tell me how much i had lost or not. Give me the little herb pills that were supposed to help me eat right and take my money. If i hadn't lost she'd ask. Were you bad. No i was good i would answer through clenched teeth i just didn't eat the food i was supposed to i know she got tired of hearing about my inherent goodness but she kept asking the question maybe she decided never again to deal with dieting theologians or therapist. Since they can't answer a simple question like where you bad with a yes or no answer. Once i asked her about the counseling. That was ever ties by the program the brochure said you could get counseling and i needed some i needed a lot since i had been eating salad and chicken breast for a month what do you mean where's the counseling she was grieved. I tell you how much you've lost in and i asked you how you're doing that's there's the counseling. After waiting and paying when i was headed out the door she could call out to me be good. How can you respond to that it made me feel like riding the hell's with the hell's angels. It made me feel like piercing my nose and getting a tattoo on a large neolithic goddess. Instead i would snarl i am good to clint chief. Then i would get in my car and peel out of the parking lot. I know some people don't have such a powerful rebel streak when someone says be good they have to go to move the courthouse. I do. Couple years ago there was an ad before a movie in which a young actress in a bare room spotlit and told the camera that crack cocaine was so deadly and compelling and addictive that no one could try it without getting hooked once hoped you would die. My best friend and i look each other in the dark and agreed that even though it was never occurred to us till now to try cat crack cocaine. I know some of you have a rebel inside when someone tells you the rules you immediately want to break some of them. I was in training with a jungian analyst in mill spring when i had a dream about a motorcycle gang riding through my house breaking things ripping the rugs buy-wise analysts looked at me with bright eyes and said meg. You have to give those boys something to do she told me the harley riders were rebel elements in my psyche and they were going to tear up my life if i didn't give them a job. I assigned him the job of patrolling my life's boundaries. If someone tries to make me responsible for something that's not my responsibility or if i'm being asked to do more than i can do or someone intrudes on me emotionally or spiritually i hear the boys and girls in the biker gang start circling. They help me say no. They help keep me safe they help me let go of being compulsively sweet. And they laugh at the voices in my head. Let's say i have to be thin to be good. So there's a story about an inner story about things going on there so that about creating ourselves stories. Stories changes. Sometimes the most times that can be very good thing. We tell stories about jesus or other enlightened leaders. Hopefully we profit from their example. Unfortunately they're also toxic stories. I just read yesterday actually. That the movie american sniper. Since it started showing. There has been a 72%. 72 fold. Increase. In anti arab and muslim. Public statements and threats in the country. Usually quoting one of the lines in the movie about basically killing the savages. This has real. Implication. For what we do. It's not that we shouldn't tell the truth. Love stories but we must also put them in context. On the other hand stories of oppression. Have moved people to do things to change that. When the stories of oppression came. Cross. The tv wires. Airwaves airwaves that time. The 60s particularly. It changed people's heart. To the point where when dr. king asked for people to come down and march on selma. They responded in mass. Dr. richard leonard one of our colleagues. Who. Do tape recording journal during the 18 days he was down there and selma. And this is a version of it. Get that has been corrected by others who were there who said nah that wasn't quite what happened. This is an excerpt from it. Monday march 8th i had an indoor ministers meeting is community church of new york without the faintest idea that by nightfall i would be in the state of alabama and that for the next 17 days i would be involved in an epic struggle that would fashion the future of our country to an extent. Antoinette sent the world. It was skipping down he says we talked donhead. Been all over the country speaking for equality and race relations mail had been in mississippi only recently. Involved in lunchroom sit-ins. My only visit to the deep south had been as a teenager in a twelve-year-old car riding through real texas and arkansas. I remember well the sign over the road in greenville texas how far away is greenville texas from here. Here's the sign set. Welcome to greenville the blackest and whitest people. Late 50s. He said i also had. I had also attempted with donald harrington another one of our. To attend the funeral of the four little girls killed in birmingham church bombing in 1963. On that occasion our plane load of civil rights supporters have been turned back with a bomb threat. By the time the plane head-to-head been searched it was no longer possible to make the connection in atlanta that would get us to the funeral in time. So 70 northern sympathizers of the children and their families were effectively prevented from attending the funeral. But now the arrow was swinging in my direction. Indeed it pointed straight at my heart. One of us was going to answer doctor king's call. Fade had laid his warm hands squarely. On my shoulder. And i said. I would represent. The community church. I would go that afternoon. I will be back at my job in two or three weeks. Or so i thought. So there's a story. Of. Creation story. Wait to so many other stories. Another study recently has shown that children. To have a strong. Understanding of who their ancestors were there specially there. Immediate generations. Have a higher level of resilience to difficulty. Control. That's not too surprising. It gives you a place. Identify yourself and models. Declaim. In my own life. My childhood was not. Great. I was a mouthy little thing. Smart. With no real sense about. Paying attention to what other people were doing around me. And i got in trouble. A lot. For he spoke with my peers. The authority said it was great. Teachers and all those. It was often lonely. But one of the things my family had done was to make sure to tell us our stories. Stories of my ancestors and i got to spend time with one of my grandmother who was a storyteller herself. An iowa my parents stories from their childhood during the depression. My dad's. Occasional stories from world war ii. My mother stories of teaching in impoverished communities. First time she used her iowa spanish. With a group of children hearing in in texas and fort worth and she used. The christian word for diaper for a four napkin and the kids thought that was the funniest thing they'd ever heard because it's the word for diaper here so why would you put a diaper on your lap. So those kinds of stories that also the not-so-nice stories you know. Like my great-grandfather surviving the wreck of the sinking of the lusitania. And his son. Jumping ship in new york harbor to pursue a girl. And chasing her all the way across the country only to loser. I find another one. And to be in the country illegally for number of years. And working hard. English-irish eminem. For another ancestor. General sterling price. When was incompetent generals in the civil war. Thank god he was a confederate. Not a direct ancestor but he's out there on the limb on the tree and laugh at my family laughing ourselves sick in 1968 when the movie true grit came together and he started. Or stories of ancestors of mine who are not nice who treated their own children horrifically. And yet how those. People grew up to be amazing people who then changed how our family treated its own children. Call my mother. Learn compassion and. Demonstrative physical qualities. From my father's family of all boys. Because that's how. They were raised. And her as well. So we have these stories that help around us that help give us hope. And allow us to be audacious at times. 2. Be. Who we are that we understand our own creation story. All creation stories. Any opening reading jeanette read so well. Number 419 in your hymnal. And i like it because it hawks about. Sort of the nature of these stories. Look. To this life look to this day. For it is life. The very life of life. In its brief course lie all the verities of realities of your existence. The bliss of growth the glory of action the splendor beauty. For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. Yesterday is but a dream. Tomorrow is only a vision. Let's add a well-lived. Makes every day i dream of happiness. And every tomorrow evening. Look well therefore to this day. When we are considering our own stories our own creation myths. If you will. And recreating ourselves. Weather in swear in recovery from some addiction. Or if we're. Coming back from some illness. And we claim the badge on survivor. Or if we are changing. In the place we are in our lives we're empty-nesters or. We're now parents of teenagers or. God forbid and minor 3 and 6 keep it that way. And. Whatever. We're doing 22 change cuz our stories change. And starting over there just changing. As we consider. Our story as a community. And we will be doing that starting next week. This is our 40th anniversary this year. And it began on february 2nd 1975 but didn't begin but that's part of a marker that's when. A group of people came together wrote a charter and and and began the wheels turning to become. A new congregation. And versions of the story are going to be told and like many good stories there are many different versions of it. But the stories we tell about ourselves. Have. An impact on who we. Ar. And who we can become. If we tell stories that are limiting. Life denying then that limits us if we tell stories on the other hand that are about perseverance about who we can be. About. The realization of potentials. Even stories about setbacks. Are informative because it is only in our losses in our setbacks that we become wise. What wisdoms have we carried forward. From those whose shoulder was we stand. Every sunday that i get to preach here. I look down here and there is a brass plate. Here in the back of the pole. It says henry. M. Murphy. 1988. Who the heck is henry and murphy don't answer that. Don't answer that. Well hank pank murphy. Was the husband. Of our late dear nancy murphy. And he was the first president of this congregation. And he built this. Yes he built a lot of this stuff. So. Please in many ways are holy items. Then the sense that they are artifacts of the hands of one of the founders of this congregation. Who we are going to be. It's up to the stories we tell about who we were who we are. In the stories we tell about who we want to be. If we are about the business of transforming lives. Let's transform hours. And transform our communities. And transform the worlds. We're not doing this alone. None of us are. Keep that in mind. As we create ourselves. Again and again everyday. But stories. We tell ourselves.

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Reading_091210.mp3

A reading this morning is from a book which has been out for some little while now called a house for hope. The promise of progressive religion for the 21st century. One of his co-authors the reverend john buren's. Who is the former president of our association will be our speaker in the puppeteer in a month on october 17th. He will also be hosting a discussion that morning before service about the book so please come bring your checkbook by books he will be signing for us to have other book by him i'm sure he would love to sign them also. And if you don't have those we may have some of those available as well. For christian revival held this year is an annual national event being held at. That week up weekend proceeding so if you want to know more about that please sign up for that there should be some excellent a preaching and other things going on there as well. John is. The co-author of this book along with rebecca parker who is the president of our seminary at starr king school for the ministry in berkeley california also an excellent writer and reading i'm going to offer you today is from the beginning of chapter by john. He says god changes. There i said it. It's the central affirmation i believe off progressive theology. Some conservatives may call it heresy. I can understand that. Many of us were raised with an opposite assertion. We saying great him saying change and decay in all around ico thou who changest not abide with me. So let me say that i also believe that god does abide. And in yours. Even as mortals and civilizations and ages pass. In his book love and death written while he was dealing with terminal cancer my dear friend and colleague for his church. Repeated a longtime assertion god is not god's name. That is god is only the word we mortals in western culture have for a reality far more profound. And connective than any of our various inherited images of the holy. God is a reality for us says. Presidents in each. Yes greater than all. Reality is relational. So how could god not change. Surely we changed history changes the universe itself. Changes. The history of theology is all about changing human conception of the divine. Consider robert rice book the evolution of god or simply go back to the bible there the relational nature of god with god affected and changed by what we do or leave undone. Is far clearer than philosophical theologies later on. Because ever since jerusalem met athens and the followers of philosophy in the bible theology in the west has tried to pay god abstract static philosophical metaphysical compliments. In the process we made the god of western sea ism not only omnipresent but also omniscient. Omnipotent and perhaps worst of all impassive. The last term translates as unaffected and unchanging. By us by our human actions failures or sufferings. There may be ways to reinterpret these terms in ways that are both spiritually useful intellectually coherent but for many people the goddess such classical theism has only receded further and further away. Up and out away from the creation from history and from human living itself into a distant transcend and increasingly irrelevant space beyond all time. But before we say goodbye to god. Entirely. Too easily. Some reconstruction of history maybe in order. The problem in theology was named as long ago as the 1500s. An italian biblical scholar and named fastest socinus. A leader in the radical wing of the reformation in poland. Said that god is neither static nor impassive. He thought both ideas contradicted scripture making him according to the 21st century philosopher charles hartshorne. At a unitarian universalist. Perhaps the first process the illusion. Hartshorn who influenced both rebecca parker and me. Joined alfred north whitehead in creating a process view of all reality. When adequate to what modern physical sciences. Has now taught us. Everything is in process. Even a seemingly solid bedrock of earth has gone through enormous changes since it was starstuff. And then magma. Nor is reality quite as ancients saw it changing combinations of earth fire and water and air or spirit. Nor is it made up chiefly of mass and space as in newtonian physics. What seemed to us to be things are dust packets. Of energy. Related. For a time. There are events and actual occasions. So are we. Actual metaphysics or theology for today. Must reflect. That. Reality. So ends our reading.

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20150315-Sermon.mp3

Someone asked me recently why were talking about redemption this month. They said they asked if it had something to do with the bag van. That was. Being held someplace else. you know. I said no. That it is a part of our somatic cycle. And that we are in the season of lent in the christian tradition. Leading up. To the stories of jesus's ministry and his. Time in jerusalem and then eventually his crucifixion by the romans. For being an upstart troublemaker. Until this issue of redemption. If if we is unitarian universalist do not believe that we need to buy fire insurance for our souls. Then what are we being redeemed from. We are all seeking redemption from something. To change or improve the quality of our lives. If not you would likely be someplace else. You would not be here. So what are we seeking to be redeemed or saved from. Take a little brass. And reflect. On that quest. What are you seeking. Redemption from. Yes and when you may be comfortable i invite some of you to just share that speak about lolly to the room. I think all of these are things we would all generally find some. Resonance with. I'm more practical level i was thinking student loans. I am probably many of you would feel truly redeemed. If it's by the forgiveness of those burdens. I think i would be a great act of redemption and healing in our country if that it was. That's right yes my sister wife and i go. Digiorno that is my wife. Give me not see her very often cuz she's usually preaching in fort worth. So i feel that we are seeking redemption probably from. Toxic beliefs. Practices habits. There are toxic ideas. In our lives that poison our understanding of the very nature of our being and of our existence. Our unitarian universalist forebears were concerned that we be redeemed from the ignorance of doctrinal orthodoxy. And it's misinterpretation the scriptures. Particularly around issues of free will. Are universalist forebears sought redemption from despair of orthodoxy sphere of a judgmental hell-raising gone. Ignorance and despair. Those are pretty good things to be redeemed from. And to redeem the world. In our current dominant western culture these look something like loneliness or isolation. Sincere. Of not having or being enough. And these are intricately. Intertwine. And loneliness we experienced a totalizing of or universalizing of experiential categories the world becomes a collection of black or white. Them or us on or off perceptions and grand event. That just feels like the news. There is not the room. To appreciate nuance. For the incremental nature of our very. In the jewish high holy days of rosh hashanah. The jewish new year and yom kippur the day of atonement. The focus of those holidays. Is to seek forgiveness and atonement for wrongs committed against a god and other people. It is a way of making the way smooth before us as we enter into the new year of the jewish calendar. At the beginning of the yom kippur service the canter chance the following. By consent of the authorities in heaven on earth. We permit centers to enter. And be a part of the congregation. Who are they sinners. They're all of us. In the process of seeking atonement and forgiveness it is recognized in the jewish tradition that god can only forgive. Those transgressions. Committed against god. Interesting difference. And for those committed against other people we need to seek. The forgiveness of those we may have wronged. Including ourselves. Conversely we can only forgive those trespasses which may have been committed against us. Not those committed against another. Again this. Can't hold things by proxy. Traditionally christians put a little different spin on this with jesus's crucifixion and resurrection creating redemption for all of our sins and trespasses including an inherently fallen or sinful nature. In exchange for belief or works or both or neither. Depending upon one's today. But even then it is important for us to engage with each other not just ourselves. Then perhaps some transcendence power. In the christian scriptures in the book of matthew chapter 5 it is written so when offering your gift at the altar if you remember that your brother or your sister has something against you. Leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother or sister. And then come and offer your gift. Now the intent of these and other traditions is to. Clear the path of our relationship. Of obstructions to a more whole and healthy experience. Of ourselves. At each other in relationship. To ourselves and each other. Into the universe. Is the path. To reconciliation. Healing. And renewal. 2 restoration of harmony into that which is. Most consistent with our best selves. As we can and inspired. On a larger scale. Tyranny in totalitarian systems such as global corporatism. And fundamentalist religions rely on fear to get us to restrict our own liberties. Hansar loneliness and deny our common bonds. In order that those systems may try to fill the vacuum. Giving us more fear and denying us even more liberty. Are physical psychological emotional moral and societal well-being. Our birthright. Ends up being traded for the short-lived illusion. Of security. We think that if i can have the right beliefs. Or think the right thoughts i will be redeemed from emptiness. Meaninglessness. If i stay away from others i can be safe from harm. If i work hard enough and make enough money i will be safe. From one. For misery. But nothing could be farther from the truth. If there is no room to be in reflection alone and together. Then there is no opportunity to experience ourselves. And others as. Human. We become by default and by need for purpose. Autonomous anonymous pieces. Other system which consumes and produces for its own. We become that which is produced. And that which is consumed. Nothing less. And nothing more. Not giving all of this. What's a response. As unitarian universalist as a religious community which affirms our interconnectedness as well as individual inherent worth and dignity. We offer messages of hope to those in despair and challenges to those who create and profit by misery. For ourselves for you. For me. And for everyone there is the potential to turn the experience of our loneliness. Pinterest solitude. And relationship. Our despair. The first one to recognize and break through our loneliness with experiences a relationship with some other but that is family or friends or community or the holy the doll goddess god etcetera. This experience of the other is what i believe most people mean when they speak of spirituality. What spiritual experiences were i'm spiritual but not religious. Is that experience. Is that first. Order. Experience. This is one of the practical a traditional aspects of religion especially those based on. Personal relationship with the divine that even when there is no one else close at hand we know or feel or believe or intuit. That we are not ultimately. Alone or forsaken. Martin luther. Someone who i'm not in the habit of quoting. Once wrote. There must be a god because man needs one being who. And i believe i understand this conviction. Not some of you heard me talk about my time in the air force and somebody maybe and then heard this sharing. But i enlisted my light twenties in the air force i did. College got out in the middle of the recession in the 1980s. Here. During my 6 weeks of basic training at lackland air force base in the following year of job training experience probably the most. Profound sense of continuous isolation loneliness and dislocation in my life. I was separated from loved ones and. Culture i was immersed in was utterly alien to anything i had thus far encountered. I mean i was a peace activist in college. But i had to get my life together. During basic training the persistent effort to destroy an individual's will ledgewood general terror. Which was often so bad that i did not know how i was going to get to sleep. Where to get through the day. Fortunately do the summer heat of san antonio. How many times you hear that sounds. Fortunately do the summer heat of san antonio. We did our physical training at 4 a.m.. While it was still dark. Still hot. I say fortunately because due to the darkness i could often see the moon. Hanging low in sky. Now it's someone who was particularly identifying. As. Participating community at that time. The symbol of the goddess the moon it's presents reminded me that i was not alone or cut off. I was part of the larger sacred hole. It is such a worthy and sacred to and after a while as i struggled to keep up with the breakneck pace of double-time run. And keep in mind they put the short people in the back. So the long people are tall people long ago by setting the stride. As we're keeping up with the space of double time runs i could see. Other lips moving in the dark. Gasping petitions to other names. I was not alone. We were not alone. Not long afterwards i heard this echoed again in the seventh and first principles of our unitarian universalist. Covenant. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are apart. And the first inherent worth and dignity. Every purse. In more recent years i learned in even more actively affirming way to say this. Can you heard me say this from time to time. I am. Powerful precious holy and not alone. So let us say together. In the first person. I am. I am powerful. Precious. Holy and not alone. In the second person. We are powerful precious holy and not alone. I'm. Unitarian universalist in order to be redeemed. From the ignorance of who i am of who you and others are as powerful precious and holy beings. I am a unitarian universalist to be redeemed from despair by knowing that i am part of a greater reality part of the interconnected web of all existence and that i am not isolated that i am not alone in a culture that desperately wants me to think that i am alone. Ignorance and despair. As unitarian universalist these are what i am charged with saving the world from. And as a human esther i am charged to help you to do the same. Become to be aware. Be healthy. We loving and to be whole. And. Gather to be wise. I find that liberal religion. Is a life practice. Holding the fragility of our lives in ways that show us just how strong. We actually are. Liberal religion is the place where we can be reminded that to use traditional religious languid the kingdom of god or he was martin luther king's words to beloved community. Is within each. And everyone of us. I firmly believe. That we are here. In this moment but parker referred to as. Aliveness. We are here to redeem ourselves. Other. Our cultures are posterity. Creation itself. Suffice it to say that liberalism is not about being safe in perth. I living in turner versus tradition is about taking risks. Becoming wise. It is supposed to force us to make choices. Prioritize. To make sacrifices to that which we know to be right and good. Important. Good to be together because it is together. Has rebecca parker mentioned in her reading that. We. Can be redeemed. And that. Together. We can redeem the world not simply by working ourselves. But by being together by celebrating. My singing by dancing. By feeding each other by caring for each other's children. And grandchildren. I welcome each other into community. I just saying farewell. Danette may come. His. Together. That we are. The strongest. And hopefully. The most hole.