A Sermon by the Reverend Ellen Rowse Spero
First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church,
Chelmsford, Massachusetts
May 16, 2004
Ancient Reading: 1 Kings 19:11a-12
Modern Reading: by the Rev. Rebecca Parker, President, Starr King School for the Ministry
Copyright 2004, Ellen Rowse Spero. All rights reserved.
Our Universalist ancestors were never afraid to recruit new adherents to their faith. Quite the opposite, they were enthusiastic evangelists. Their joy in their belief of God’s universal love was something they wanted to share with everyone. They wanted to bless the world.
The Unitarians were a little more circumspect. Generally, they were suspicious of emotional displays, especially around religious conviction. They preferred their religion within the bounds of reason, appealing to the more educated mind. And they did not want just anyone joining their churches. As Mark Morrison-Reed noted, the Unitarians harbored a "liberal fear of mass appeal."
Following the merger in 1961, the Unitarian approach to membership has generally prevailed. We tend to avoid blowing our own horn, lest we be seen to be evangelizing. We trust that those who want to join us will find us on their own. On the surface, we require little for membership: signing a book and making a pledge of record. Except for a Sunday or two a year, when we recognize our new members, we don’t’ make a big deal about it. If anything, we downplay the idea that we are a religious organization, an association of communities of faith. Yes, we have worship services and other suspiciously religious looking stuff, but you know, most of people come to our congregations for the community, and, maybe, RE for their kids. That is what I hear anyway.
For me, it has been a rough week. The images on television and in the paper of abuse of prisoners by U.S. soldiers, the horrific execution of Nicholas Berg, the continuing spiral of violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians, the humanitarian crisis growing in the Sudan—all these have left me variously repulsed, angry, and despairing of humanity.
Then I read the ministers’ chat line and I see that Unitarian Universalists are going ‘round and ‘round on the same old issues: quibbling about whether or not we can say the word "God" or use sacred language in worship, whether or not we are a religion, a movement, or a philosophy, whether or not the folks at the UUA headquarters in Boston are trying to undermine our cherished individualism and congregational polity, and whether or not we really need ordained clergy. Most of the time, I know this is just part of Unitarian Universalism. And I counterbalance it with the ways in which we have lived the covenant of our faith, how we have chosen to stand on the right side the inherent worth and dignity of each person or justice, equity, and compassion in human relations, or the well-being of the interdependent web of life. Tomorrow, same sex marriage will be legal in this state. The Methodists and the Episcopalians are on the verge of denominational splits on issues related to homosexuality. Members of the hierarchy in the Catholic Church have gone on a campaign of misinformation and high-pressure lobbying against same sex marriage. But Unitarian Universalists had this argument thirty years ago, and we can bear witness to the fact that same sex couples and their families are not going to destroy the institution of marriage or the moral fiber of society. Quite the opposite in fact. I am proud of how we have struggled with and lived our faith.
But our on-going quibbling over language and definition has me frustrated more than usual this week. It is indicative of how Unitarian Universalists keep the idea of being members of a community of faith, of being a religion at arms-length. This is demonstrated by the fact that many of those who identify themselves as UU are not part of any congregation or the UUA, and by the fact that although Unitarian Universalists have one of the highest income levels of any religious group, we also have the lowest level of pledging.
I understand the reluctance up to a point. Many people come to us having had negative experiences in their previous religious homes. The tragedy then is to come to believe that it is the negative that defines the whole: that religion and religious institutions must be bad because some religious leaders and followers use it in ways which curse the world: separating people into the chosen and the unchosen, justifying demeaning and violent actions in the name of God or some higher purpose, viewing this world as not as a sacred trust but a source of evil or endless suffering.
But religion is a human institution, and as such, it can, like all human gifts, be used to curse or to bless the world. The question I believe facing us today is whether we as Unitarian Universalists, as religious liberals, are willing to take a stand, to be counted as people of faith whose religious tradition calls us to use our gifts to bless the world. I believe it is time for us to respond to the Universalism in us, to shout from the rooftops the good news of our faith: that every person matters, that there is an abiding Love which is stronger than fear and hatred, that together, we can make a difference, we can heal the world, that given the choice, we will bless the world.
Religious Fundamentalism is a powerful force in the world right now. It is powerful because in these confusing and chaotic times, in the face of terrorism and violence, it offers its followers clear answers. Religious fundamentalists, whether they are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or perhaps even UU, know where they stand. They know the mind and will of God. They know who is saved and who is not. They know what will happen after we die. They know that they are right, and that any action they take is justified. Such certainty, such clarity are very attractive and give the adherents a heady sense of power as well as security.
The reading about Elijah is one I often turn to when I am struggling. It reminds me that the Holy is not found in the dramatic and apocalyptic, in the fire and the earthquake, the violence and the noise. The Holy, this abiding and revolutionary love, as Rebecca Parked called it, is the still small voice inside me, and around me, inside and around all of us, that call us. But I must take the time to pause to listen for it. I must find and create the places and times to intentionally listen to this call to bless life. And being an active, involved, committed religious Unitarian Universalist is how I choose to bless the world.
My colleague Brent Smith, in a post of the UU ministers’ chat, in a conversation about all the horrible news images this week, gave a definition of religious that I find moving and appropriate to us: "… religion is not philosophy or metaphysics. It is not about morals or ethics, what is good and right, or evil and wrong. Religion is not about speculation about what will happen to us when we die, despite the evidence from the NY Times Bestseller list, nor the preferences, tastes, or demographically identified needs of the culture. It is not about our psychological feelings or the therapeutic. It is not about right doctrine, the correct interpretive hermeneutic for use upon Scripture, or views of human nature and the nature of God. The religious life is first of all about faith. Perhaps it is enough, perhaps not. Ultimately, even in the midst of the deepest, darkest despair of ourselves and one another, even when the God we wish for, long for, and need we cannot find and the god we are certain we've found leads us towards our own destruction, when the innocent are shackled and denigrated by a political system whose origin was in liberty and divinely endowed human rights, and a man is beheaded in the name of God, the man and woman of faith says yes I said yes I will Yes."
It is a tough task to say "yes", to bless the world in the face such brokenness and fear and even horror. How can we have any effect? I believe we can by seeing how we bless the world in large and small ways everyday, by connecting the way we live our lives with our faith. We do this by raising our children to be thoughtful and compassionate beings; by taking part in a walk to raise money a just cause; by working to save some of the wilderness for conservation or finding homes for orphaned dogs; by creating gardens as sacred spaces; by organizing food drives for the Open Pantry and gift packages for U.S. soldiers overseas; by coming here and participating fully and enthusiastically in the life of this community of faith…These are just some of the ways I know that the members here, including our newest members, have chosen to bless the world. And all of us gathered here are here because at some level, as religious liberals, we trust that we can bless the world through the living of our lives.
I believe ultimately that this is what is means to be a member of a Unitarian Universalist congregation, to be a religious liberal in a Unitarian Universalist context: to commit to choosing to use our gifts to bless the world, this messy, broken, beautiful world, with the hope and the faith that together, we can make a difference, that, together, we can discern that still small voice that calls us to say yes, yes, I will. Amidst the shouting and the violence of our times, people want to hear the message of a hopeful faith. We need to stand up and counted as people of faith so the people who need us can see we are here.