Reading “Revelation” from Promise of Spring by Clinton Lee Scott (A Unitarian Minister), pub. 1976

Truth comes in small installments.
Seldom does it break forth in fullness
         upon a darkened world.
Revelation is not a once-for-all disclosure:
         it is the product of long,
         laborious and often spurned discovery.
It is found by philosophers, scientists, home makers,
         and just anyone who lives a thoughtful life.
Truths are ever building and built upon:
         As fallen leaves form new soil,
         truths of former seasons become
         the compost that sprouts the new growth.
Truths make their way on an unmarked course
         through the wilderness of ancient error.
         Their encounter is with imposing authorities
         and the hobgoblins of distrust and fear.
Dogmas of yesterday become the doubted
         notions of today,
         revered orthodoxies of the past the
         rejected fables of the present.
We do well to cherish our meager wisdom,
         and hopefully await a deeper
         understanding.
For truth comes to earth in small installments.

Sermon

         Some people go to church because it is a habit or tradition or because they like the people, regardless of whether the message from the pulpit is agreeable to them. At first, I thought I was looking for religious education for my children. Later I realized that I was also seeking for a “belief fit” and a community to which I could relate. I found that I “fitted” well with the community of people and the open-mindedness of the little Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Laguna Beach, California. They relished the diversity of beliefs amongst them. And they enjoyed the fellowship of our informal, bi-monthly dinners for eight as well as the various social justice work we did together.

When Unitarian Universalists come to church, the minister is so happy because he or she knows that those who come are there because they want to be there, not because of guilt or tradition or habit. Some people come through our doors because they’re wondering what we believe and whether our belief resonates with their own; that is, if they know what they believe. Others come here hoping to find out what they believe. Newcomers might be surprised to find that those of us, who come here week after week, year after year, are here to find that out as well! People with open minds are often willing to readjust their beliefs in an ongoing process.

The Fourth Principle of our faith is that “We covenant to affirm and promote a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” Now, we are a people who like to be clear and precise about the terms we use. In addressing this search for truth and meaning principle, the first question for us might be, “What do you mean by truth?” Perhaps you saw the cartoon where in the first frame it said Year 1612; two knights were facing one another. One knight asked, “Do you believe in God?”

The other answered, “No!” whereupon the first knight yelled, “Heretic!” and killed him.

The second frame was labeled with the year 2004. A young boy, who was reading a comic book said, “God, damn!” His mother turned him over her knee and spanked him saying, “Thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain!” Obviously, both the soldier and the mother were operating from their truth. It would have been interesting to ask the dissenting soldier and the little boy what they believed.

How many of you grew up in homes where it was not acceptable to use the word God in this way? We were not allowed to speak this way, even in my home where neither of my parents went to church or had much opinion about religion at all. Our parents were operating from unexpressed beliefs.

The dictionary defines truth as “something verifiable” or “something agreed upon by all.” In the book The Truth about Truth, the editor says, “People all over the world are now making…shifts in belief about belief….We glimpse new ways of thinking about ourselves, new possibilities for coexisting with others—even profoundly different others.” (p.2 and 11, Anderson)

All of us operate from a belief system, whether the beliefs are values or beliefs about a God concept. It is powerful and confusing to have the freedom to decide for ourselves what we believe. On the other hand, it is more difficult for us to know on what we base our religious belief. It used to be that most people believed that scripture was the word of God. Following the Enlightenment era in the eighteenth century, theologians began reinterpreting the doctrines and stories we previously accepted to be true. Although Unitarian Universalists still find inspiration and wisdom in the Bible, most of us read the stories as metaphors. We might interpret the idea of the ‘Chosen People’ as a metaphor of the evolution or formation of a people from a simple and violent tribe to a more civilized people who followed laws that helped them to determine what was fair and just. If you read the early scriptures, you will be mightily shocked at the sheer abject violence and primitiveness of it. You might be impressed at how God becomes kinder and gentler as the story goes on.

Why didn’t the editors of the Bible strike out the early violence? I suspect it was because they wanted to retain the story of how they, as a people, developed. Forward thinking Jews have taken these stories and teachings and have produced volumes of commentaries on them to make them more meaningful in modern times.

Because Unitarian Universalists hold widely diverse views on the Bible, the concept of God, world religions, and the origin of the Universe, we have formed seven Principles, values that most if not all of us can agree upon. Many of us interpret our lives in the light of these seven principles. This is not to say that truth is not important to us. It definitely is. But we don’t have to define truth exactly the same way. The question remains, however, as to how we determine what is true for us. It would be interesting to know how you each determine what is true for you about spiritual questions such as what is my concept of the divine, if any. How do I draw spiritual strength? What is my relationship to the Universe? How do I explain the existence of evil?

For difficult topics like these, I like to do it the way that mystics have done it: by contemplating the topic from a clear place within myself, being open to making a discovery, free of fear and judgment. Would you like to do an exercise in determining truth?

Let us contemplate something with an element of mystery in it. How about the size of the universe? Let us try this technique:

Close your eyes and take three deep breaths.

Let us make a clear and peaceful place within us:

Say three times, a) May I have peace, b)May I have clarity.

Silently ask yourself, How big is the Universe? How big is the Universe? And allow an impression to come to you…How big is the Universe?

Hold the response in your mind. And say to yourself, Where am I in this Universe? (Pause to notice the response.) There is the Universe and here I stand. In your mind’s eye, hold these impressions.

Open your eyes. Apprehending what is true for you requires that you balance the intellect and the emotional response in order to make an intuitive leap. You did this by asking a question that goes beyond the intellect from a place of peace and non-judgment.

Our religion should help us with perceiving truth. We can interpret scripture metaphorically through story and teachings or prayer. We are a self-chosen people—we chose to be together. Or we can gain insight by contemplating questions from a powerful place of clarity and peace as we just did.

The reading this morning said, “Truth comes to us in small installments.” I believe this to be true. And in the responsive reading, Sophia Lyons Fahs says, “Some beliefs are like blinders, shutting off the power to choose one’s own direction. Other beliefs are like gateways opening wide vistas for exploration.” I hope our meditation was a “wide vista” for you.

However, for the more practical questions of life, we cannot avoid doing the hard work of accumulating information. In these coming weeks, we will all have to contemplate the important things that face us as a nation, such as which leader might bring the greatest benefit to the nation and the world. We cannot come to a clear understanding without adequate inquiry and contemplation. This is why our tradition offers topical sermons so that we can consider certain topics against what we believe to be true.

For a little change of pace: Let us contemplate what happens when a Buddhist becomes totally absorbed in his computer program? He enters Nerdvana!

Now that you’ve had a little break, let us consider a congregation as a “people”. We become a people when we sense that we are on a journey together towards a similar goal with the journey being more important than the goal. A few things are required to feel like “a people.” One is that we gather regularly in worship for that gives us a sense of how it feels to say and sing and hear the words of our brand of liberal religion. Another is to get to know one another to find out what we have in common. If we had a doctrine to which we all subscribed, we would assume at least that in common. For us, we need to do it in two major ways. One is that we work together on social justice projects and the work of the church. Another is that we meet in groups to probe the depths of our thoughts and feelings with one another.

One of our ongoing social justice projects is contributing food to the Shepherd’s Pantry and working to help distribute the food from the Pantry. The baskets for the pantry are always at the back of this room and in the sanctuary where we’ll be having our services from next week onwards. Some of you go faithfully to the Pantry to unload the food on the second Tuesday of the month at about 11:30 am. And others pack the bags and distribute them on the Saturday when it is our turn. We also contribute to running the soup kitchen in New Bedford. I hope that this year we can once again do a fundraiser for Heifer International.

If the Social Action team leads the charge, this congregation is usually willing to help make something happen for the sake of others. Doing something “for the sake of others” outside of ourselves is also how a people become a significant group, a significant people.

We looked into other ways of deepening our relationships. Eighteen months ago, we began Small Groups that met twice a month to discuss topics in depth. This has been a good way to know one another. Next week, we’ll have a signup to begin some new groups. In a few months, I hope we can have some potluck suppers for eight every other month.

After our centennial celebration in October, I would like to offer an adult education course called Build Your Own Theology. Perhaps you will find a way to attend this. If we ponder important questions and issues together and work together for a better world, we will certainly become a people who find truth and meaning in our lives. It is not hard but it does take commitment. The benefit is an enriched life of personal growth and deeper relationships. In his essay, “The Search for Meaning in a Global Civilization, Vaclav Havel says, “”The only real hope of people today is probably a renewal of our certainty that we are rooted in the Earth and, at the same time, the cosmos….It must be rooted in self-transcendence….as a hand reached out to those close to us, to foreigners, to the human community….what seems distant from us in time and space, but with which we are nevertheless mysteriously linked.” (pp 237-238, Anderson) May we be a people of truth seekers, knowing that our truth will change as we change.

References

The following has inspired and informed this sermon:

Anderson, Walter Truett, editor. The Truth about the Truth: De-confusing and Re-constructing the Postmodern World, New York, New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1995.

“Perceiving the Truth,” an article called by Jose Stevens in the February 2004 newsletter of Power Path Seminars (Vol. 13, No. 2)