Rev. Ann C. Fox
(508) 992-7081
minister@uufairhaven.org
Unitarian
Universalist
Society of Fairhaven
Natural Abundance
a sermon by Rev. Ann C. Fox
March 1, 2009
Have you been regarding your life or life in general as abundant recently? What would abundance be for you? A simple definition is “a plentiful, over-sufficient quantity or supply, overflowing fullness.”
It occurs to me that it is easier to think of abundance in a natural way at four times in our culture: spring and summer, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Spring and summer put abundance before us first in the renewal and beauty of the earth, second in the fruits and vegetables enticing us to healthy eating and the warm weather welcoming us to outdoors activities. Thanksgiving and Christmas offer us opportunities to find our abundance in relationship to one another.
This time of year, when the earth is frozen and the winds sharp (and the snow falling, like today), natural abundance is more likely to be found in being warm and cozy with our relational groups wherever we are. But, harsh economic times have crept into our collective psyche, regardless of whether we’ve been directly affected in the way of unemployment or not.
Our attention has perhaps shifted to the national scene where greed has overshadowed the wholesomeness of the concept of “abundance.” Indeed, true abundance has become for me a refuge from the current human drama of materialism gone wild. The rampant materialism of the last several decades has threatened the natural abundance of the earth to support all the earth’s creatures.
You might have read about Bernard Madoff who was considered a financial genius and who for decades provided high financial returns for thousands of clients. Even nonprofit foundations that distributed their money to worthy causes trusted him. Many extremely wealthy and not so wealthy people invested every penny of their life savings with him. Then the truth finally came out that Madoff was running what is known as a Ponzi scheme—a financial game where an individual fools people into thinking that his investing is spectacular but that what he actually did was to pay dividends out of the money new investors gave him. This works as long as new people keep investing. When there are fewer newcomers, the dividends decline and finally dry up. Did you notice the outcry over Bernard Madoff being under house arrest in his New York mansion? People who had lost their life savings couldn’t stand the fact that he was able to live in luxury when their homes were in foreclosure. They want justice and soon.
Our riches from money are not the true abundance that will sustain us in difficult times.
Perhaps you have heard the story of the very wealthy father who took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip for you?”
“It was great, Dad,” replied the son.
“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.
“Oh, yeah,” the son said.
“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?”
The son answered: “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”
The father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.?”
Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing?!
Our sense of abundance is affected by our perception. Yesterday I had a great sense of abundance when I was making a big pot of soup. While the beans and brown rice were boiling, I cut up the vegetables with our wonderful chef’s knife, which cuts everything without much effort, but you have to be careful not to slice off your finger or part of your finger! In between cutting the vegetables, I stirred the beans and rice so they wouldn’t stick to the bottom of the pot and each time noticed the tiny beans and the grains of rice were plumping up and the gravy was becoming thicker. Then I noticed the juiciness of each of the vegetables: onions and carrots, which I put in first since they take longer to cook; then I peeled the potatoes and noticed that they were also particularly juicy; same thing with the squash. The juice glistened on the vegetables.
While the soup was cooking, I chopped up the potato peelings and put them together with the tops of the strawberries we had with breakfast. Then, I got my worm box and my rubber gloves, and made pockets in the soil, looked at the wriggling red worms and put the mixture in the pockets and smoothed the soil together again. This, I thought, is abundant life, and sustainable as well with absolutely no waste whatever. There were many things that day that made me think of the abundance of my life but I could see that I was open to the abundant perspective, more intensely, no doubt, because of the topic of this sermon.
Abundance can be experienced in the flow of the everyday tasks. Being in the present moment is being in the flow. Even in difficult situations, staying in the flow of the moment allows us to remain calm and helpful to the situation.
Experts tell us that “flow” is blocked by anger, fear, impatience, or resistance. Deepak Chopra advises us to be aware of the “unity” of ourselves with all things. (Chopra, p. 259) He says that we should look for contentment in any moment or task, which is a bit like counting our blessings. He counsels that we ask ourselves, “Who am I?” in this moment of flow or unity. In difficult times, he urges that we become aware of how we co-create our life with others and that co-creation is much more enhanced by reminding ourselves of our unity with others.
Abundance for me is definitely in the flow of life and my relationship with all that is my life, including the smallest tasks, like chopping vegetables and stirring the soup. But, the greatest abundance is in my relationships with my family, friends, and my church community.
When the financial markets kept falling last year and this year, I saw my life savings reduce by one third. I know that many of you have experienced the same thing. Perhaps you have lost even more. It caused turmoil within me for we do create some expectations based on how we have organized our lives and those expectations were beginning to crumble. But, being in the same boat together with so many others was comforting and the humorous newspaper cartoons helped to laugh it off.
The reading from Simple Truths this morning says that “Money rules our lives.” It is true that we need money to exchange for the goods we need, to maintain food, clothing, and shelter. But notice that the rich man supports his desires and the poor woman supports her needs. No matter what we have lost, we have likely still enough to support our needs. We may have to give up plans to retire early or have a second home in Florida; but perhaps the economic shock will cause the nation as a whole to look more closely at what we might have lost had we held on to the gains of the last decade or two. Perhaps we had to lose false abundance to realize true abundance.
Perhaps you, like me, have confidence in the plan that President Obama has put forth. It is not perfect, but it goes a long way to encouraging the nation to focus on what is important—people not greedy enterprises; health care for all, not tax breaks for corporations who send jobs overseas; extending unemployment benefits, not cutting taxes for the already wealthy. We will reclaim the values of the creators of the Constitution who intended abundant life for all.
To restore flow or a sense of abundance, Deepak Chopra advises:
1) Learn to give more money, time, and attention;
2) Be generous in praise and appreciation from the heart and in detail;
3) Follow your passion.
I have a far deeper abundance that any investment could yield. I have you for my religious companions in beloved community. We are approaching our stewardship campaign when we pledge to support our church for the coming year and that support determines the programs we can offer. I am fortunately employed and my spouse still receives his social security income. In joyful recognition of these facts, Leo and I will raise our pledge by 10%. I invite those of you who are also in similar circumstances to join us in raising your pledge as you are able and as a way of supporting those who are not employed. (If you need more direct help, I hope that you will let us know.)
I am deeply touched by those of you who do not have a retirement income at all and have only limited financial resources and yet you still contribute to your church—you bless us with your sacrifice. You are like the widow that Jesus praises for putting all she can into the temple coffers.
Through our services and our events, we celebrate together the beloved community. Our relationship is like a dance in the flow of abundance. Let us celebrate that shared abundance by attending the focus session after coffee hour today or in the weeks to come; you do not have to be an official member to join the focus groups.
May beauty, friendship, caring, spiritual nourishment, and upliftment be ours as we navigate together upon this new, sustainable path of true abundance.
References
Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann. Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life, New York: Scribner, 1996.
Chopra, Deepak. The Book of Secrets, New York: Harmony Press,
McFague, Sallie. Life Abundant,
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001.2004.
© The Rev. Ann C. Fox