"Zero?" by Gordon B. McKeeman in Out of the Ordinary, a UU Meditation Manual, 2000.
This sermon is in response to questions asked by a couple of you here. These were written out and dropped in the Question Box on the Welcome Table. So I call this a Sermon from the Question Box.
Last week our guest preacher Peter Bowden challenged us to confess our faith. I agree with him that we should be more eager to say to everyone (including our family and friends) that we're Unitarian Universalists. And we should be bold (but, my goodness, never pushy!) about spreading the good news of our UU faith. Yes, we have good news - that ours is a living faith which liberates us from old doctrines and opens us up to new possibilities. Ours is a faith of hope and love. Peter urged us to develop a brief statement about Unitarian Universalism when someone asks "What's that?" We jokingly call it the elevator speech.
But after we have given our brief elevator speech...maybe something like "Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion based on freedom, reason and tolerance," what do we say? I mean in a long conversation with a friend over a pizza or a glass of wine about our deepest values and heartfelt beliefs. Is our faith more than a place holder with no content, just a zero?
The questions I received in the Question Box are about faith. "How would you describe your personal religious philosophy?" one asked. "And how does it affect your ministry?" Another was "How can adults help our children explore their faith?" I'll address the first one first.
What is my personal religious philosophy? I'm not exactly sure what the questioner meant. Did he mean what I think of God? Or what I think of the afterlife? Or what I think of the nature of humanity? There are many ways to approach this one. I'll try to keep it brief.
Am I a religious humanist, a theist, or a mystic? Yes to all. A Christian, a Buddhist or a Jew? Perhaps some of eachŠ and more. Putting a label on someone is tricky, since labels can be misleading or misunderstood. Maybe the best label to use in describing my religious philosophy is just "Unitarian Universalist!" I'm not trying to evade the question or to be cute. And I hope to explain these words in a way that makes sense.
Maybe I best begin by describing what attracted me to the UU church in Brockton 25 years ago. It was its total acceptance of me and my husband David just as we wereŠ "come-outers" from other religions in a mixed marriage. And the same was true for all who entered its doors. It took some time for that acceptance to sink in and I was at first hesitant to be really open with the people in the Brockton church. I guess I was afraid of rejection if they found out who I really was. But I soon discovered that I didn't have to hide my background or culture or religious heritage. And we weren't asked to renounce anything or to accept any creed. I finally breathed a sigh of relief. My dignity and worth as a person was affirmed in deed as well as in word.
What I experienced years ago when I first entered that UU church was genuine warmth and openness. This is the spirit I encourage and support here at the First Parish Church. This is the first step of putting our faith into action.
Now here are some of the details of my religious philosophy. What do I think about the nature of humanity? Are we inherently good or sinful. Are we a strange mixture, some of each? I find myself nodding in agreement with what I call the Universalist philosophy as expressed by Gordon McKeeman in his meditation "Zero?"
"The long histories of our faith's traditions speak in an affirmative voice of our belief in human possibilities. They reject the notion that we are fundamentally sin-sodden, disobedient creatures bound for perdition unless divine intervention saves us. Rather they see all of us bound together and with but a single fateŠ We see the promise of humanity in its arts, its literature, its ideals of love and world friendship and community." This was what I believe in, too: the promise of humanity. A most hopeful faith indeed!
Along with a belief in human possibilities, I believe in our responsibility to contribute something to society, to make this a better world. Not only is ours a hopeful faith, but I believe we are as much about works as faith. In the Letter of James in the Christian Bible, the author wrote that faith without works is dead. As Dorothy Day said, "No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There's too much work to do."
What about my views of God? I think I fall somewhere in the middle of the great diversity of Unitarian Universalists. I'm not a secular humanist who rejects all concepts of the supernatural. But neither do I believe in a well-defined God. Yet who among us does? In general UUs are spiritual seekers. Most of us are open to new thoughts and experiences about matters of the spirit. That requires a certain humility, "walking humbly with thy God" if you will.
Yet, I do have some ideas about God. Stated most simply, I'm a Unitarian in that old sense, believing in the unity of the divine. I believe in one God, the creative force which connects all in a great interdependent web. I don't believe in a "personal" God - one who has a human-like form, but in the God of many names and the divine mystery beyond all names. I shy away from patriarchal words like "King" or "Lord." Yet I find comforting phrases like "Gracious Father" and "Loving Mother." Please understand that I use these terms metaphorically...if I speak them at all. I still struggle with religious language. And I find it easier to sing about a "strong Father God" in one of our hymns because it's understood that these words aren't my own, but are written by someone else. I wonder if you feel the same.
I would describe my view of God as panentheistic. It's one of those long Latinate words meaning that there is a God or a divine force both within the Universe and transcendent to it. I believe there is some mysterious creative force which existed before this universe came into being and therefore is beyond it. Yet it is also within the universe, guiding it toward ever higher states of complexity....from gases and nebulae, to stars, to planets and moons. And this creative force is manifest in the three billion years of life evolving on Earth. I have a sense of the sacred in many people, places and things. There is divinity both inside and outside of you and me.
This wonderful creation story of the universe and of Earth does not transcend the laws of science, but is governed by them. Life is miraculous enough without a giant hand coming down and messing with the laws of chemistry and physics! Like Sophia Lyon Fahs, a pioneer in UU religious education, I think the single cell amoeba seen under a microscope is a miracle. And so is the Right Whale swimming in the North Atlantic. Life on this planet is so precious that we must do all we can to preserve and protect it. I'm glad that we teach environmentalism to our children in Sunday school.
I think I've become more of a mystic as time goes on. What I sense of the sacred is as important (or maybe more important) than what I think and reason about it. I find that meditation connects me to something vastly greater than anything which can be described in words. It is comforting and restorative. I am challenged to incorporate more meditation into our worship services in a meaningful way.
I feel compelled to say something more about Christianity...simply because many of us have a complicated relationship with it. We either come from a Christian background or simply live in a predominately Christian culture. Although I'm not a Christian (as Christians would define it), I am moved by Jesus' messages of God's love of all people and of radical social equality. And I would ask what liberal or progressive person in this country hasn't been so moved? Yet I am also influenced by Jewish teachings about working for the welfare of the community. And by Buddhist teachings about compassion and seeking to end all suffering.
Above all, I believe in a God of Love and Hope. This is the God who imbues all people with inherent worth and dignity, not just the ones who believe a particular way or follow a particular path. I don't mean that humans aren't capable of pretty nasty and horrible things. I'm not that naďve. But I believe God created human beings as something special. We are not created literally in "His" image (as I said, I don't believe in a personal God), but we have some pretty amazing gifts...maybe unique in the Universe. We humans possess a higher consciousness. We are immensely curious. We appreciate the wonders of creation. We dance and sing to express joy, sorrow, longing and wonder. We create art and music. We empathize with those outside our immediate family or tribe and have compassion for the stranger. We homo sapiens or "wise beings" are the only ones who have these abundant gifts. And these gifts are what we hope to nurture in our children.
I believe that one reason Unitarian Universalism is such a saving faith is that it teaches a positive view of human nature. We reject the doctrine of Original Sin. And we know how people (including children) respond to the message that they are important and that they are loveable just for being who they are.
This brings me to the second question: "How can adults help our children explore their faith?" Parents and teachers have a tremendous influence on children's beliefs. Most children ask questions that are deeply religious at a very young age. It's surprising when you stop and think about it. As soon as they have language, they ask questions. They ask about the meaning of things. They wonder why some people are good and others are cruel. They ask about where living beings come from and where they go after death. My daughter, Leah, was no exception. When she was five she asked questions about death and heaven. I had no idea that a child of five thought about such things. Children ask many questions. How do we answer? I'd say this is often an art more than a science. Sometimes we may not want to say that we don't believe in heaven if a beloved pet or relative just died. It doesn't hurt to temper adult rationalism with hope. However, in most cases I'd say we adults should be pretty honest with our children about our beliefs. Depending on the age, we might have to keep our answers simple. But I would also leave the door open for a child's own exploration. I suggest stating your beliefs as your personal beliefs, not shared by everyone. Maybe you could even give an example or two of these others. Then start a dialogue. Ask the child what he or she thinks.
Of course, many experiences can foster an attitude of wonder and reverence in children. It doesn't have to involve a deep discussion about ultimate questions. Have you ever felt great awe watching a film in the Imax Theatre of the Science Museum? I have! And taking a child to the zoo or to an aquarium or on a walk through marshland when the wild flowers are in bloom can be deeply spiritual as well.
Another thing. I would particularly advise parents who are new to our church to become more knowledgeable about Unitarian Universalism. It will not only help you answer your child's questions, but will help you, too! In my early years at the Brockton church, I think I learned as much about my new faith from teaching Sunday School as I did sitting in the pews.
I also remember a UU course I took when Leah was little called Parents as Resident Theologians. It was quite good, I thought, in helping me answer her questions. It encouraged me to prepare in advance what I would say if and when she asked these questions about birth and death and ultimate meanings. That was about 20 years ago and I've forgotten most of what we talked about. But that course, as I recall, was very helpful. I discovered that there is a new, similar course called Parents as Spiritual Guides, which was published in 2001. It consists of six two-hour sessions. The UUA website describes the course this way: "Parents as Spiritual Guides encourages spiritual growth and faith development in children and adults by helping parents nurture children's natural sense of wonder, develop celebrations and rituals in the home, and claim their significant role in the dynamic process of children's spiritual growth." It sounds like a terrific resource.
Despite all my study and thinking about religious matters, I don't have all the answers. I, too, am on a spiritual journey and sympathize with those, whether child or adult, who struggle with matters of faith. You may be rejecting something taught to you in your childhood (or merely doubting it) and are now looking for something to replace it. You may have no religious faith in particular, and are looking for some greater connections and something more meaningful in life. Rather than a Zero, Unitarian Universalism offers you a faith which is real and substantial, a faith which is reasonable and life-affirming.
Creative Power of the Universe, Mysterious Source of All Being,
We thank you for our gifts of higher consciousness, of curiosity, of creativity.
We thank you for love and compassion and our sense of deep connection to fellow humans and other beings.
We thank you for the freedom to journey where we will in search of greater truth and meaning.
Help us to cultivate our many gifts. Give us strength for the journey.