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Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven "Reframing the Language of a Heretic Faith" Rev. Ann C. Fox Note: A reading follows the sermon. Please read it first. |
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I dedicate this sermon to our Fourth Principle: a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. As many of you know, Unitarian Universalism has no creed, or fixed belief. We believe that each individual must decide for him- or herself what is true about such things as life, death, God, evil, and so on. The topic of this sermon is "Reframing the Language of a Heretic Faith." Since concepts of God and evil, are part of our cultural heritage, we religious liberals must redefine or reframe their meanings so that we can have a theological language that we can use amongst us that is in alignment with what we truly believe in all our diversity. My goal is to add to our comfort level when we discuss our beliefs with one another and with people of other faiths. Heresy means an opinion that disagrees with religious orthodoxy. The word heresy comes from the Greek hairesis, which means "choice." We are religious liberals. Liberal means generous. Religious liberals choose for themselves what they will believe and not believe. "As religious liberals, we seek deeper and wider understanding, greater tolerance, broader definitions…; we want to stretch our minds…." (Muir, p.1) When I use the word "God" in my prayer, or in general, I assume that you will interpret for yourself who or what God is for you, knowing that I have my own interpretation. Today, let us look at some common religious concepts and say what they mean to us religious liberals. We'll consider evil, sin, death, heaven, hell, God, Grace, and blessing. Although these may seem like a lot to consider, some concepts can be grouped together. However, whatever I say about these concepts is not the Unitarian Universalist truth. No one person can speak for all Unitarian Universalists. (By the way, for those of you who are new to this church, we say "UU" as a short form of Unitarian Universalist because it is such a mouthful!) What I say is either just my own thinking or what I have heard or read many UU's say they believe. First, regarding sin and evil: Sin is generally understood to be committing an act that is against religious law such as breaking one of the Ten Commandments, like stealing or lying. Evil has a similar meaning: a person who commits harmful acts. However, a person who has orthodox beliefs may believe that the devil or Satan is the cause of sinful behavior or evil acts as he did at the beginning of time with the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. Most Unitarian Universalists believe that the Garden of Eden story is an ancient myth to be interpreted metaphorically, not literally. We might think that Adam and Eve are Everyman and Everywoman who illustrate that all women and men are capable of choosing to be good or not and that we are all capable of good acts and bad acts. We assume that as we evolve, we make better choices. People who commit terrible acts have a lack of something that makes us human. It is not that we deny the existence of evil or harm-doing, it's that we don't think there is an evil force behind it. We don't believe in the devil; it's just a manifestation of human fear projected into the concept of Satan. However, if our more orthodox friends do believe in Satan, I hope we can accept that and feel comfortable asking whether they'd like to hear a different point of view. (And honor their response if they say, "No!" Now, about death, heaven, and hell: surveys show that UUs generally don't believe in heaven and hell as places. They consider heaven and hell to be states of mind. We create our own heaven or hell right here on earth and we have a choice in changing our state. Our circumstances can be challenging, such as ill health, addiction, or poverty, but we still have a choice about how we handle our response to circumstances, hopefully with help from kind friends. Surveys also show that UU attitudes towards death are various with many believing that life ends with death. Others believe that consciousness survives, and yet others believe in an afterlife of some kind. Instead of death, the focus is generally on life and what we are doing with it. "It's the recognition that in living well, we are preparing to die well. It's the recognition that there is continuity between living and dying, and the way to prepare for a good death is with a good life." (Muir, p.47) This is why we call our memorial services Celebration of Life services. As part of a self-improvement course, one of my friends was to write down what she wanted her epitaph on her headstone to say about her. I watched her struggle mightily with this for days and it made me think about it for myself. My friend realized that the life she was living wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to make her life more service-to-others oriented. Her focus was on how she lived life. Fredric Muir says that we should think of others when we are going to die in that we should be sure that our affairs are in order so that the people who are left behind are not overwhelmed in trying to sort out a mess! Again the focus is on the living. When I was leaving my corporation to go off to seminary, one of my colleagues asked to talk to me. He said he had done some research on Unitarian Universalism and he was concerned that my soul would go to hell when I die because Unitarian Universalists were heretics. I thanked him for his concern and said I would consider his point of view as I went through my education, but that right now hell wasn't anything I believed in. We are still friends. Speaking of heaven and such, one person I would like to ask about all these concepts I'm addressing here is Forest Gump. Remember the retarded young man in a movie of this name who was really a wise fool? Perhaps you've heard the story about when Forrest Gump went to Heaven. He meets St. Peter at the Pearly Gates who says to him, "We've heard a lot about you Forrest. But since it is getting very crowded in this place everyone now has to pass an entrance test consisting of three questions that you must answer correctly in order to get in here." "Oh, okay," said Forrest Gump. "What are the questions?" St. Peter said, "First, what two days of the week begin with the letter "T"? Second, How many seconds are there in a year? Third: What is God's first name?" How do you think you could answer them? The next day, St. Peter was surprised to see Forrest again so soon. He says, "So what are your answers, Forrest?" "Well, the first one-which two days in the week begin with the letter "T"? Shucks, that one's easy. That'd be Today and Tomorrow." St. Peter's eyes open wide and he exclaims, "Forrest, that's not what I was thinking but you do have a point so I'll grant you credit for it. Now how about the next question?" Forrest said, "Now that one's harder. But I thunk and thunk and I guess the only answer can be twelve." Astounded, St. Peter says, "Twelve?!? Forrest, how in Heaven's name could you come up with that?" Forrest says, "Shucks, there's gotta be twelve: January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd…" St. Peter holds up his hand, "Okay Forrest. It's not what I had in mind but I'll give you credit. Now, what about the last question. What is God's first name?" "Oh, that's easy," said Forrest. "God's first name is Andy!" Exasperated, "What? Andy?!? Now, how did you figure that!" "Aw, shucks, that's the easiest one of all!" said Forrest. "I remembered the song "ANDY WALKS WITH ME, ANDY TALKS WITH ME, ANDY TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN." So St. Peter opened the Pearly Gates and said, "Run, Forrest, run!" Moving right along to God, Grace, and blessing, these three really CAN be considered almost as one concept. In the reading, Frederic Muir says that, to him, "God is the world. . . .; it is the process that keeps life as I know it working." We call this description "process theology." Grace is the gift of the process that is available to us if we just open ourselves up to receive it. Blessing is the reception of the gift. A friend said to me last week following the tragic fire in Rhode Island where 99 people died, "Did you see the signs that said 'May God bless the victims and their families.' Can you imagine they say this and yet their so-called God let it happen?" I responded, "Oh, I think people are so distressed at the loss suffered by others that they are using the traditional religious language to say how very sorry they are and that they hope the victims and their families and friends will receive significant help, real and invisible, to bear the tragedy. The sign could have said, "We're sorry for your loss and hope you get help." But, that would not convey their powerful sense of empathy and the deep desire for the healing of the grieved. People fall back on traditional religious language in exceptional times and I hope we will give ourselves leave to do the same. Even those of us who don't even believe in God as defined by Fredric Muir can still interpret "May God bless you" in his o r her own way. Have you seen what sign we make as a UU blessing? (The minister made the gesture of two UUs together-rather like a W.) We use God language to express what we call "ultimacy" or the highest reality we can think of. One of the first papers budding clergy have to write in seminary is about our concept of what God is. Fredric Muir's definition of God/Grace/blessings works for me because I've often thought that God was creativity or the process of creativity, or in the process of life. For me, quiet reflection, prayer, meditation is a way of opening up and flowing with the process of life. I've heard others express that they feel grace in the act of group singing or in especially meaningful activity. Universalists have always said, "God is love." I would interpret "love" also as creativity. (However, my own concept of God, or divine process, would take much longer than the few paragraphs above. And I'd also leave space between the lines for the sheer mystery.) What is glaringly absent here, I think, is the UU view of the concept of salvation or atonement. If you want to know that, you'll have to come back next week (March 16th)! We have talked today about basic religious concepts. I hope you feel free to believe what you truly feel in your heart to be true about God, grace, blessing, sin, evil, death, heaven and hell and allow others their interpretation as well. If it is all too confusing, let love be your guide. May you find your own truth satisfying and may you share it with others. If you need help, not only love but Forest Gump can help.
Reading: from "God II," Heretics' Faith
In his book Heretics' Faith, Fredric Muir says, "I often use the word God merely because it's from the common pool of representations, what is called language-but I don't like it because of all the connotations, the "baggage," that comes with it. My higher power or God is not of or in this world it is the world. As such, it works for me; it makes sense to me socially, politically, and spiritually when I confess to a God that is the world, for God and the Cosmos are one-they are synonymous. God is everything I know and probably don't know; it is the process that keeps life as I know it working;
References
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