“Missing Our Lives” from Quiet Mind by David Kundtz

This reading begins with a quote by Ed Hays-------------- “When we lack the proper time for the simple pleasures of life … then we have missed the purpose of life.”

One of the strongest and lasting images of my life is the vision of myself as an old man, waking up early one morning, and realizing --- in the cold, gray dawn --- that I had “missed” my life.

In my vision, I would know in that moment of truth that I had not been awake, had not been aware of the pleasures I truly wanted, and had been afraid to risk.

It would be a moment of overwhelming sadness.

My vision is fearsome, but my fear gradually lessens as I take time, throughout my days and years, to reconnect to myself.

So I try to move into my vision and spend time with it and ask it what it wants from me, what it has to give me.

I am not the only one with this fear of missing something important. Jack Kornfield makes a similar point: “As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life.”

Ronald Dahl is a physician and parent. He wrote in a recent issue of Newsweek about the pace of life and his concern about its implication for our well-being. “I sensed the fear that I may miss chapters in my children’s childhood amid my hectic, overfilled life.”

He too, it seems, has a fearful vision: waking up one morning and realizing that his children are gone, and worse, he doesn’t know them.

Consider what “missing your life” might mean for you. What will you most deeply regret having not been, or accomplished? How can you begin to live so that you will be present to what is most important to you?

Reading

“Taking Time to See” from Quiet Mind by David Kundtz

These are the days of the “time famine,” says Odette Pollar in her newspaper column aimed at helping people work smarter.

She cites some interesting statistics.

According to a Harris survey, the amount of leisure time enjoyed by the average American has shrunk 37 percent since 1973. In the same period, the average work week, including commute time, has jumped from fewer than 41 hours to nearly 47 hours, and in some cases up to 80 hours a week.

I like the term “time famine,” and starvation is certainly an appropriate analogy for our situation. Many of us are starved for time and we have a passionate desire to be fed.

We are starving for those moments of solitude when we can just hang out, cleaning out a drawer of looking through old letters, with no pressure or guilt. Our starvation deprives us of the nutrition those in-between times used to give us: a feeling of centeredness in our lives, of awareness of our spiritual needs and those of our families, a confident sense of self-knowledge.

A Georgia O’Keeffe quote comes to mind --------- “Nobody sees a flower, really – it’s so small – we haven’t time, and to see takes time ….”

Georgia O’Keeffe’s words ring authentic as you look at her paintings of flowers. She spent many hours “doing nothing” with a flower.

No time famine for her.

Her artistic life in the desert was a statement against that idea.

And we continue to benefit from the results [of her doing nothing].

In a famine --- at least in the best of situations --- those who “have” help those who “have not”.

Thus a question presents itself: Where are you in the time famine, among the haves or have-nots? Sometimes one, sometimes the other?

For the have-nots: Today, stop and really look at a flower (or an O’Keeffe rendering of one).

For the haves: Help someone else to do the same.

Sermon

Good Morning.

It is a pleasure to be in your pulpit.

I want to thank Alison, your DRE, my brother, Paul and his Covenant group, especially Joyce Kirk, for the work all of you have done in preparing for this service.

When Joyce called me for a title, I had no hesitation as to what I wanted to speak on this morning.

I believe our theology is unique and a gift to the world we inhabit. And I am always eager to preach about it.

I will first give a thumb-nail sketch of our theological background and history as an institution.

I will then - using the metaphor of a house - describe our distinct Unitarian Universalist theology as seen through the eyes of Reverend Rebecca Parker, president of one of our two UU theological schools.

And finally I will express some of my views on how we do and don’t educate ourselves, our youth, or our children in our theology or live our theology in our day to day lives.

And finally I will make a few closing comments.

THEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND – TRADITION

First it is important to understand that our Unitarian Universalist house of worship sits within the “free church” tradition.

In that tradition the belief is that people create church – not God – not the Pope – not anyone or anything else. – Here begins our distinctiveness. –

Our understanding is that there resides within all humanity an inherent religiosity and this religiosity is a universal human phenomenon. It is the basic drive that propels all peoples in all places and times to build and maintain faith communities.

Given that understanding, we see diverse religious cultures, rituals, liturgies, and traditions as a natural outcome of this universal religiosity permeating all of human kind.

There are other religious groups who sit in this “free church” tradition. the Baptists, the UCC, and the Quakers -- to name 3 we are familiar with. .

Another important piece of our background is the understanding and acceptance that our theological history is grounded in Christianity. This is important in understanding who we are. It is a fact of our history that is often overlooked, ignored and even denied.

Another awareness to consider is that in 1568, when King John Sigismond declared his tiny Kingdom of Transylvania to be “Unitarian”, he was declaring that unlike the Catholics and Lutherans of his time, the Unitarians imaged God as one – as a whole – not as three. ---- Simply that and nothing more ----

That was a major departure from the accepted Christian conceptualization of God as a trinity.

Those Unitarians of Transylvania - in no way perceived themselves as stepping out of the Christian tradition.

Quite the opposite, to this day the Unitarians in Transylvania -- of which there are over 70,000 -- remain theologically grounded in Christianity.

It is imperative for us to remember that many Unitarians around the world today, including Unitarian Universalists in this country, continue to see themselves as being grounded in the Christian tradition.

Our liberal religion got started in this country as the result of an argument with the Calvinism of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. As our forefathers engaged in that argument, they definitely saw us as staying within the Christian tradition.

The declaration from the Calvinists that they had difficulty with was -- that all human beings were born depraved - born in sin. It didn’t matter what you did with your life. Your destiny was predetermined. You were either saved or damned.

You had no control over your destiny.

Our forefathers were very uncomfortable with this idea. John Murray, the Grandfather of Universalism in this country, after much thought, determined that instead of being a cruel and judging God, God had to be a God of love with humanity being born in God’s image.

Murray saw Jesus as a powerful human being with a creative, loving and generous heart given to us as a symbol for us to emulate.

Our grandfather of Unitarianism, William Ellery Channing, saw people as having many “bounties of the soul”: free will, capacity to love, ability to make decisions, responsible, creative, with aesthetic qualities, able to have many feelings, able to admire and appreciate the beauty of the natural world around us, etc..

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Unitarians of that era moved into a more humanistic language as a way to describe ourselves – in some instances giving up the concept of God – as a greater power than ourselves.

In contrast to that approach, during the past 1/4 century there has been a steady movement toward a language of the spirit in describing ourselves.

We have been and continue to be conflicted about the use of the word “God” yet it is amazing to me how many of our people can sing “Spirit of Life” and feel its message. Spirit of life, come unto me, Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion. Blow in the wind, rise in the sea; move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice. Roots hold me close; wings set me free; Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.

Another evidence of our language shift can be found in our statement of Purposes and Principles. In the front of your Hymnal, on the backside of the title page) about mid way through ---- it says, “….. The living tradition we share draws from many sources: Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit …..”

There you have it “a thumb nail sketch” of our history. There is much, much more to our beginnings that is rich and deep in theological content. I encourage you to do some reading and explore our history for yourself.

OUR DISTINCT THEOLOGY AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF Reverend Rebecca Parker

I am borrowing the metaphor of a HOUSE from The Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker, President of our Unitarian Universalist Starr King School for Ministry, as a way to share with you our distinctive Unitarian Universalist theology.

No metaphor is ever perfect – take from it what will help you in better understanding who we are.

There are copies of “Our theological House” with your Order of Service which may be helpful to you as I talk. I will be defining some large and relatively unused words that come from the field of systematic theology.

Please understand that none of what I say is black and white. All of it has many nuances and dimensions that we will not delve into now, given our time restraints.

Lets begin by seeing ourselves as a place.

We are a house of worship among many different houses of worship. And our house of worship, our place, has a distinct theology which is different from the other houses of worship in our neighborhoods.

The various parts of the physical house represent the different areas within our theological house. All the parts relate to the other parts – none stand alone – or outside the whole.

In Theological School this is called “Systematic Theology”.

No part of the house stands on its own - separate from the rest of the house. All parts are in relationship to one another – just as all parts of our physical houses are connected and in relationship in some way to the other parts of the house.

Just as each part of our human body relates to all the other parts of our body.

Incidentally, notice that the house is a traditional New England style house. It’s not a yurt, a cliff dwelling, an igloo, a mud house, or round house. This has implications in itself.

Our Theology was born and had its beginnings as a religious entity in New England. We, the ongoing institution, have New England “genes” in us – so to speak. “Our DNA is New England.”

And now for the definitions:

Theology – Foundation

The foundation of the house represents our basic theological grounding.

I have already mentioned that we are part of the “free church tradition” We believe that people make church – that all human beings have an essential religiosity that needs satisfying.

The primary focus of our theological foundation has to do with how we conceptualize our human being-ness and its relationship to God or to ultimate-ness.

Here is where the basics of our institutional UU theology grounds itself. ---- how we conceptualize our human being-ness and it’s relationship to God ---- or some might say to the ultimate. Ours is a theology that has a tradition a history and distinct characteristics.

We have our own ethos – our own distinct theological culture. It is important that we be able to articulate who and what we are to ourselves, to our children, to our youth and to the larger world. We are weakened in all that we do when we can not do that ---- from our visioning, to our mission statements, to our educational programs, to deepening stewardship, to building relationships in the larger community.

Two sound bites from our theology that we are all familiar with are -------- Unitarians believe that “God is one.” Universalists believe that “God is love”.

Now let me be clear…..

This is NOT your or my PERSONAL theology.

This is the particular theology of our INSTITUTION that has been handed down through the centuries and is now in our hands to preserve, care for, and transform.

We are the inheritors of this particular theological culture – this particular theological House

We are the inhabitors of this house. We have made this unique house of worship – our theological home.

We are its caretakers.

And we are the transformational leaders of this very unique place as we take it into the future for the generations to come.

Sadly, too often we simply live in this house without knowing what it represents.

Too often we rush ahead with attempts at transformation before we have an understanding of its history, culture and traditions.

Ecclesiology – Walls

Lets move from the foundation to the walls.

The walls of the house represent what holds us together – or our Ecclesiology.

Our Ecclesiology defines the nature and purpose of our distinct theological house. It defines the meaning of our coming together.

Our Purposes and Principles, to a large extent define our Ecclesiology.

We have practices that emulate those principles and purposes:

– sitting in a circle

– viewing questions as good

– encouraging an active imagination

– hands on social justice work

– shared responsibility

– understanding that we are accountable for our actions

– our strong commitment to congregational polity ---- to name a few

Soteriology – Roof

The roof of the house represents that which shelters us ---- or our Soteriology.

Soteriology is a theological term referring to the theory of salvation.

It speaks to what we need to be sheltered from and how we need to be protected or saved or healed in the presence of danger.

Our distinct theological understanding is – God’s love embraces the whole human race.

And we believe it is the power of our creative love that will save the world.

In our house it is understood that there is no divine force that will divide us. If anything, we need to be saved from our own evil doings.

Eschatology – Door

The door of our house represents our Eschatology: where we have come from and where we are going to.

In Greek “escaton” means the final end point.

Our distinct Eschatology is an easy sound bite.

Where we have come from is not as good and where we are and where we are going is even better. --- onward and upward forever ---

I’m sure some of you have heard that expression before ---------

Our theological thinking has evolved and been modified during this past century as a result of devastating experiences suggesting that life is not always on an upward swing. -- WWII – Vietnam – Apartide – the twin towers --

Currently we are grounded in an acceptance of natural forces which push us toward experiencing a greater goodness now.

There is the awareness that the “kingdom” of beauty and goodness surrounds us daily if we would but take it in and experience it.

This relatively new approach is called “Realized Eschatology” and in its simplest terms recognizes the blessedness of life as we live it day by day.

Missiology – Windows

In our metaphorical theological house, the windows represent our understanding of how we relate to the other houses of worship.

Our Missiology is --------

Our mission is to be good, hospitable neighbors.

We invite our neighbors into our house to sit at our kitchen table with us and drink coffee.

We send our children out to visit our neighbors in their houses.

We expect to be active in the neighborhood association.

We have decorations in our house that come from all sorts of neighbors.

Our sense of neighborhood is BIG.

It includes the local, national, and global neighborhood.

Our Missiology is clear: Good hospitable neighbors benefit everyone in the community.

Pneumatology – The elements (wind, fire, water)

And finally lets’ look at our pneumatology - the elements of wind, fire, and water.

These elements represent images of the spirit.

“Pneuma” is a word for spirit or breath of life.

We believe that the breath of life moves through everything

and is pervasive in our environment.

It weaves us together and connects all of life.

It is greater than anyone of us.

It is tangible to us only in its effects on our lives.

Emerson called this; “…the Over Soul that breathes through all things…”

Much like the wind, we feel its effects but can’t see it.

It can be soothing, inspiring or gentle: a sunset, fall colors, a full moon, a rainbow, northern lights, etc.

Or it can be a destructive force of great magnitude: the tsunami, hurricanes, earth quakes, floods, etc.

Now you see who we are as a distinct theological house among other theological houses.

EDUCATE AND LIVE OUR THEOLOGY

I am both hopeful and discouraged by what passes for committed Unitarian Universalists and lifespan religious education in our faith communities today.

First, I want you to hear me say – there are some remarkable people giving their amazing talents, time and financial resources to our congregations, to our Districts, and to our Association of Churches.

There are simply too few of these folks!

Yes, it is true that we have people joining our congregations and we have children attending our Sunday morning programs. And we have some youth that are active in our youth groups. And even fewer young adults and campus groups functioning.

Our congregations sometimes offer adult education classes and sometimes do not have any adult education at all or they are offering the kinds of programs that can be found in Libraries, YMCA’s, and community programs across this country.

There is simply too little of these things happening in our faith communities.

Why? Why are we in this dilemma?

I can point to several things --- all of which are prevalent in the larger society we live and work in, as well.

We are consumers.

We let the “dollar” determine our values all too often.

We Americans are “workaholics”.

We live out of a base of “fear” --- fear of terrorists --- fear of random shootings --- fear of viruses --- fear of cancer --- fear of global warming.

Yet we go on doing all the things that keep us where we are.

Our children are scheduled every minute of every day and watched constantly ---- out of fear. Our doors are locked and our window shades drawn ---- out of fear. We don’t know our neighbors ---- out of fear and over-work. We are geographically separated from our families ---- often because we took the better paying job. We don’t walk because we don’t make time to walk. We don’t talk to strangers ---- out of fear and suspision.

When Odette Pollar coined the words “time famine”, she was pretty close to accurate.

And when David Kundtz, in Missing Our Lives, talks of a father having a fear of missing chapters in his children’s lives, he certainly pushed a button in my heart.

Many fathers – and these days – mothers, too, experience the loss of relationship with their children before they even get to be pre-teens.

All of this makes it very difficult to practice our theology in any authentic way or to take the time to be present with each other ---- with our children and youth in our faith communities.

Often there is no perceived need on our part to practice community building relationships, to give to our faith community money, time, or talent.

Yet, when a crisis hits, it is often the church that people turn too. And when we do, we expect a loving caring minister, a caring committee, a pastoral care committee, and generally a loving, caring community of people ready to listen, to care, and to support us through our crisis.

And I know – from experience – when some of us --------- are asked to volunteer on a committee, make a decent pledge to the church, teach a religious education class, make coffee on Sunday morning serve as a leader for our church ------ our answer is often,“no”.

The excuses are numerous ----------

We are too busy.

We don’t have the time.

Our job and family demand too much of us.

We need our Sundays to do household chores --- to have “down” time.

We can’t afford to make a pledge.

Yet ---- we have multiple cars, large houses in very nice neighborhoods and school district, 3or 4 TVs, 2 or 3 computers, blackberries, cell phones and other gadgets that we consider necessary to live in our world today.

I recognize that most of us are affluent – some more than others.

I recognize that most of us are reasonably educated.

I am guessing that less than 5% of UU’s worry about or don’t know where our next meal is coming from.

What I also know – from experience – is that there are people who make their faith community a high priority in their lives, who give generously to their faith community and the larger Association of Unitarian Universalism, who build deep and enduring relationships within and beyond their local faith community, who understand that they have a responsibility to engage, to involve, to immerse themselves in that most important work of growing the soul of the human being the Unitarian Universalist way.

There are simply too few of us!!

Too few of our congregations have in-depth lifespan religious education programs – that teach our unique history and traditions.

Too few members in our congregations “live” our theology. What do I mean by that?

Examples might be ---------- have a chalice in our homes can talk to a visitor in our home about its meaning do hands on social outreach in our local community regularly – weekly - monthly are confident enough in our UU beliefs to be able to talk about them in conversation with those of other faith traditions insist that our children regularly attend one- one hour religious education class – once every seven days ---- instead of participating in soccer, ice skating, etc. at that particular hour have a commitment to learn about our history and traditions give 3% or more of our income to our faith community read the “World” when it arrives in our homes have a working knowledge of what in going on in the larger UU Association of Churches intentionally attend other UU churches in the area make it a priority to attend the Joseph Priestley Annual Spring Conference

These are but a few ways of living our distinct theology

We can do all these things!

We can be passionate about who and what we are!

We can come from a place of love --- not fear!

We can come from a place of abundance --- not scarcity!

We can come from a place of knowledge in our meaning making ---- not ignorance!

We can come from a place of commitment --- not consumerism!

We have the power – together – to live our distinct theology!

And by using that power we will be changing the world one day at a time.

Let us begin the hard work of living our distinct Unitarian Universalist theology! So may it be.