A Sermon by
Lloyd H. Dunham
Unitarian
Universalists have something wonderfully unique
to offer anyone on a spiritual quest.
Where
else can one find a community of people
who will encourage a broad and open spiritual search
without a doctrinal straightjacket!
Nowhere
else in organized religious groups
is such an open search for spiritual values and truth
not only tolerated
but encouraged!
There
can be special excitement when we take time
to
celebrate our diversity
and as we learn about each other’s spiritual path and
journey.
. Learning about each other’s
spiritual path
can broaden our perspective
and drawn us closer together
a well-known UU minister and author
has set this kind of experience in a very helpful metaphor.
He
asks us to imagine the world as a Cathedral.
If
you have walked the aisles
of the National Cathedral in
or the Cathedral Church of
or one of great cathedrals of
this metaphor will
be especially vivid for you..
As
the sun is filtered through many massive windows,
each with its unique design and color,
one is surrounded by a symphony of color and light.
that the windows in this cathedral are beyond number.
Each
is different.
Each
reflects the light into the cathedral in a different way.
Each
window tells a story about the creation of the world,
the meaning of history,
the nature of humankind,
the
mystery of death.
He
sees this as a metaphor for Unitarian Universalism:
Unitarians
speak of the oneness of the light..
Universalists
tell of many windows
through which the light comes.
Together
they honor many different religious approaches,
excluding only the truth-claims of absolutists,
because fundamentalists,
wherever they come from,
claim that the light shines
only through their window.[1]
“The
same light shines through all the windows.
But
each window is different,”
says Church.
He
points out that
“none of us is able to fully comprehend the truth
that shines through another person’s window.”[2]
If
we accept this idea
we will be appropriately humble
about the light from our own window
while being respectful of and open to
the light that others may experience
from quite a different window.
There
is much to be gained
as we pause by each window of our imaginary cathedral
one at a time,
to savor its particular story,
its special colors and light patterns.
Let
us first stop by the cathedral window of Native American spirituality.
There is a
happy reverence
as we focus on Native American rhythm and reverence in
worship.
especially in its connectedness to all forms of life around
us
and to the rhythms and beat of the heart and drum.
The Native American’s respect
for our roots in the goodness of nature
enriches our common journey in faith.
Though
many of us have come from Christian roots
and, indeed, may continue to be followers of the Nazarene,
we would all do well to pause by the cathedral window
of liberal Christianity.
to learn how Christian UUs find liberation
from the traditional creeds and doctrines.
Freeing
the man Jesus from the creeds
allows his life and teachings to inform and strengthen our
own.
It also allows many of us
to heal the wounds that linger
from our own Christian upbringing
in orthodox or dogmatic church settings.
Turning
to the cathedral window of Humanism,
we hear about the deep respect for human values
and human life.
An
ethic built upon its effects on human beings
calls for caring and compassion
as it enhances human existence.
Humanism
teaches us
that the lives of people are more important
than all the religious doctrines and creeds..
When
we are introduced to Buddhism,
we are led to a cathedral window
through which we see a system of teachings
that is primary for many Unitarian Universalists.
We
may be touched by the serenity and power
that followers find in the Four Noble Truths
taught by Guatama Buddha.
This
spiritual path,
dating several centuries before the common era,
offers us a new approach to life
as we experience the serenity growing out of Buddhist
meditation.
Again,
the non-Buddhists among us,
can be enriched by what we learn.
Wiccan
or Pagan spirituality is often a mystery
to those who live in a different tradition.,
Yet we see
through the Wiccan cathedral window
Much that
connects us
with what we may already have learned.
At Community UU in Daytona Beach one of
our own
is training to be a Wiccan priestess.
We are awed by her teaching the Pagans’
appreciation
for the interconnectedness of all creation,
an organic web of which we are all a part.
The
basic Pagan tenant
“An ye harm none, do as you will”,
asks us to pay attention to the impact on others
of all our
decisions and actions.
No
one set of rules or principles fits all Pagans.
We
discovered that the word “Pagan” is simple in its meaning:
It really
means “non-royalty”,
“common folk”.
Nothing
strange or mysterious about that!
Moral
responsibility is present
in Wiccan teaching concerning karma and reincarnation.
We
were told that Pagans look to a kind of nameless divinity,
to powers that we can tap into.
Some
call it God.
Others
call it Goddess.
Whatever
the name
these powers draw
the Pagan beyond self
into the spiritual realm.
For
many non-Pagans,
there is enrichment in discovering
that there are common threads that connect our several
paths:
respect for creation,
honoring the web of life to which we all connect
and taking responsibility for the ways we impact others.
This
fall in Daytona
we will have UU pastor Abhi Janamanchi
lead us to the cathedral window
through which we can view his Hindu roots
and how they can enrich our quest.
Such
is the wonderfully diverse group
we call Unitarian Universalists!
Of
course it is no easy task
to maintain that diversity within any religious community,
especially in a small UU fellowship –
but I believe it can be our good UU news
to the communities around us!
A
rabbi felt it when he visited our church in 1999.
After speaking
to us on that occasion about Yom Kippur
he wrote to our
congregation, saying
“When
people of different points of view
can join their hearts in worship,
something extraordinary occurs.”[3]
***
This
marvelous mix is to be not only celebrated
but also diligently maintained.
It
is a delicate and vulnerable uniqueness of our tradition
that we dare not loose.
In
our small “cathedral” in
We are blessed with a set
of banners,
each with a symbol of a major spiritual path.
These
banners become our windows,
opening to all of us
the richness of the world’s spiritual treasures.
“If
we Unitarian Universalists
are unable to recognize the ground that we share,
we shall remain only marginally effective
in helping to articulate grounds on which all might stand
as children of a mystery that unites
far more profoundly
than it distinguishes one child of life
from any other.”
This,
he reminds us, is our Universalist inheritance.[4]
This
enriching diversity is emerging
from some unexpected places.
The
Roman Catholic priest and Dominican monk,
Matthew
Fox,
got into trouble with the Catholic hierarchy
for speaking of a more inclusive search for spiritual truth.
In
his new book,
One River, Many Wells,
he draws on many of the same sources
which Unitarian Universalists value.
This
former monk
pleads for a new and deep ecumenism.
Fox
has long been a student
of the great mystics
of many faiths.
In
discovering the richness of shared spiritual journeys
he has claimed an independence
which caused him to be expelled from his Dominican order
and from the Roman Catholic priesthood.
He
has broken new ground
in pulling together writings from many religious paths
and from science
to lay the foundations of a new mythology and spirituality.
He
calls us to reach beyond the creeds and doctrines that divide,
to come together in a shared experience of wonder and awe.[5]
There
is arrogance about claiming superiority
and exclusiveness
for a particular spiritual path.
In
the process of making such a claim
we cut ourselves off
from enriching and expansive new insights and inspiration.
As Molly Young Brown has said so well,
“Acceptance,
inclusion, and integration
are the keys to wholeness…….
Every aspect has value and truth.
As
soon as we reject or deny any part of ourselves,
we are fragmented.
Wholeness
means exactly that:
no part left out.”
Matthew
Fox agrees with another Catholic monk
who, after fifty
years in
rubbing
shoulders with Hindus,
says that the time has come
“to share one another’s spiritual riches.”
Fox states that that is the
goal of his recent book.
Most surprising is his
comment,
“Isn’t it time that instead
of trying to convert one another
we delved into one another’s spiritual riches?
We get to the core of
religion
by going to the heart experience,
not
by dwelling on doctrines
that so easily divide
even within religious traditions.[6]
He sounds very much like a Unitarian
Universalist should!
While
we should not be seeking to minimize or eliminate
the distinctiveness of the pathways we share,
we need to identify the common ground among us..
The
Hindu philosopher Ramakrishna
has said,
“I
see people who talk about religion,
constantly quarreling with one another.
Hindus,
Mussulmans,
Brahmos,
Saktas,
Vaishnavas,
Saivas
all quarrel with one another.
They
haven’t the intelligence to understand
that He who is called
is also Siva
and the Primal Shakti,
and that it is He, again,
who is called Jesus and Allah.
“There
is only one Rama
and he has a thousand names.’”[7]
If he were
here he could say the same of
Christians,
Humanists
Pagans,
Muslims and Buddhists.
As
we listen and question at the different cathedral windows
Seeing the one
light reflected in many different ways,
we discover the special gifts of Native American,
Christian,
Jewish,
Humanist,
Buddhist
and Pagan spiritualities.
What we find broadens our
horizons
and enriches us all.
It
gives us a new pride
in what it means to be Unitarian Universalist.
Whatever our particular modifier,
we are first Unitarian Universalist.
Our particular
“window” to the light is secondary
to that which draws us together as one community.
UU pastor
calls
us to a vigorous evangelizing
for a broad Universalism
that he insists is fundamental
to bringing our world together
and healing its deep wounds.[8]
Maybe you read his article in UU
World
nearly two years ago.
I hope you find his comments as
commanding as I do
when he says,
“Given
our commitment to pluralism,
Unitarian
Universalism should represent the perfect laboratory
for modeling amity
in
a world rife with passions
that stem from differences of belief.
Often,
however,
we too muster more passion for that which divides us
than we do for all that unites us.”
He
goes on to say,
“How
can we presume to contest theologies that divide,
not unite, the human family,
without a uniting passion of our own,
without a deep, shared commitment to our own first
principles?”[9]
As
a relative newcomer to Unitarian Universalism
I
am troubled when I discover how many UU groups
take on one religious idiology or another
to the almost hostile exclusion of all others.
I
hear what
loud and clear.
Each
of our UU fellowships across this land
have something very special to demonstrate
in our divided world.
If
we will,
we can demonstrate
what it means to be a pluralistic community,
what it means to be open to each others’ spiritual riches,
what it means to live in caring community
with people of diverse religious perspective.
We
have something to share.
The
word “evangelism” is foreign to UUs.
Even
if we don’t accept this word
that some of our neighbors hold captive,
the truth in that word is
that we need to be openly enthusiastic
about the openness and diversity
of our religious communities.
There
are many windows by which we find spiritual nourishment!
One Light through many windows,
One river, many wells!
Poet
Barbara A. Brannon wrote:
One light from many windows, in
different colors shines;
One flame from many candles, burns bright within our minds;
One life to us is given, its seconds
ours to spend;
How manifold its
living, and infinite its ends.
One God with many faces, we meet
on many roads;
Who dwells in Holy places, and
lives in low abodes.
One Earth with many nations must
share a common Sun;
A world of
celebrations, a universe at one.
One Song with many voices now
rises from our hearts;
And from our separate choices,
one chorus, many parts.
One light through many windows in
different colors shines;
One flame from many candles burns
bright within our minds.
William
Schulz, former UUA President,
pronounces a fitting benediction on these thoughts and
ideas,
saying,
This
is the mission of our faith:
To teach the fragile art of
hospitality;
To
revere both the critical mind and the generous heart,
To prove that diversity need not
mean divisiveness,
And
to witness to all that we must hold the whole world in our hands.[10]
*****
Resource
list on next page
Resources:
Brannon,
Barbara A.; One Light through Many
Windows, a poem copyrighted 2001,
can be sung to a tune with meter 7.6.7.6.D
Burklo,
Jim, Open Christianity, Rising Star
Press,
Church,
Forrest; A Theology for the 21st Century,
in the UUWorld,
November/December, 2001
Fox,
Matthew;
Hart, Connie; composer of music for Brannon poem. 2003,
Kowalski,
Gary; Science And
the Search for God, Lantern Books, 2003
Natalie,
Joyce; Lyrics and Music, In Community, 1999,
[1] Church, Forrest, Theology for the 21st
Century, UUWorld, November-December 2001
[2] Ibid.
[3] Kane, Rabbi S. David in a letter dated
[4] Church, Ibid.
[5] Fox, Matthew;
[6] Ibid. p. 4
[7] Ibid., p. 14
[8] Church, Forrest; Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Source unknown