INVOCATION                                              Awakening                                       Harriet Kofalk

Awakening

in a moment of peace

I give thanks

to the source of all peace

 

as I set forth

into the day

the birds sing

with new voices

and I listen

with new ears

and give thanks

 

nearby

the flower called Angel's Trumpet

blows

in the breeze

and I give thanks

 

my feet touch the grass

still wet with dew

and I give thanks

both to my mother earth

for sustaining my steps

and to the seas

cycling once again

to bring forth new life

 

the dewdrops

become jewelled

with the morning's sun-fire

and I give thanks

 

you can see forever

when the vision is clear

in this moment

each moment

I give thanks.

 

 

 

CHILDREN’S FOCUS                          Pumpkins     (Abridged)                           Mary Lyn Ray

                                                                                                                  Illustrated by Barry Root

Once upon a time there was a field.  It was a particular field in a particular place, where it lived among young hills that would grow up to be mountains.  Across from this field there lived a man who loved it.

One day a sign appeared in the field.  It said For Sale.

The man knew what that meant.  Bulldozers, houses, streets and streetlights.  The man cried.

He wished he could buy the field.  Then it could always stay a field.  But he had very little money.  He counted what he had, and it wasn't enough.

Then the man thought of pumpkins.

The next day he went to the farm store and bought an envelope of seeds, which he scattered in the field.  Soon the field was covered in pumpkins.

When it was time to harvest, there were four hundred sixty-on thousand, two hundred and twelve pumpkins, which the man planned to sell for a dollar each.

Then he sent the pumpkins out.

When they arrived - these round, orange, heavy, bumpy pumpkins - people bought them.  All over the world - there were jack-o'-lanterns being carved.  There were pumpkin pies baking and muffins muffining.

He had enough money to buy the field. The man might have planted more pumpkins.  He had kept one back for seeds.  Pumpkins would make him rich.  But he had everything he needed.  So he decided to give the seeds away.

Because somewhere, someone might love another field pumpkins could save.

 

READING                         Mindful                    Mary Oliver

Every day

   I see or hear

      something

         that more or less

 

kills me

   with delight,

      that leaves me

         like a needle

 

in the haystack

   of light.

      It is what I was born for -

         to look, to listen,

 

to lose myself

   inside this soft world -

      to instruct myself

         over and over

 

in joy,

   and acclamation.

      Nor am I talking

         about the exceptional,

 

the fearful, the dreadful,

   the very extravagant -

      but of the ordinary,

          the common, the very drab,

 

the daily presentations.

   Oh, good scholar,

      I say to myself,

         how can you help

 

but grow wise

   with such teachings

       as these -

          the untrimmable light

 

of the world,

    the ocean's shine,

       the prayers that are made

           out of grass?

 

 

 

MESSAGE  and GUIDED MEDITATION                      I Can See Clearly Now

 

Back when I was in business and attending motivational seminars on a fairly regular basis, I more than once participated in an exercise that was meant to help clarify priorities.  Perhaps you've done this same thing.  It starts with a pack of maybe fifteen note cards, each with a different "value" on it… things such as family, success, achievement, love, financial security…I can't remember them all…but the point was to put these cards in an order that reflects the way you prioritize your values…which ones are most important to you.  I recall several versions of this exercise…in one, you work with a partner that you know really well, and that partner put the cards in the order of how they perceive your values to be rated…and then you compare that with your own list. In another, you do a survey of how you spend your time, and then arrange the cards in an order that is true to how you actually live your life.  In still another, you take these cards onto an imaginary life raft, and one by one throw them overboard until you are left with the three values that are inviolate for you.  I'm sure you get the picture. 

 

The idea of this exercise is to gain some clarity about your personal values.  Now, I don't remember any of these workshops going any further than putting together this list, but it seems to me that there is a very important next step.  For, if you can become clear and definitive about the values that motivate and inspire you, you can create a vision for your life, a goal of where you want to go. It's common for visions to be described as goals or destinations, but more importantly, having a vision gives meaning to the journey itself.  Imagine that you are lost and you don't know where you want to be.  You're out wandering aimlessly.  No amount of walking will get you to your goal, no directions can help you and any map is useless.  I'm reminded of the mazes that are often printed on children's menu placemats.  They clearly mark "start here" and "end here".  What would be the point if there were no clear destination?  Clearly you have to have a destination in mind before you can get to where you're going.[1]  So it is with our daily lives…having a reason to go forward, with some vision of a destination, no matter how far off, surely makes the journey more meaningful. 

 

Those maze placemats often mark the ending point as the "winner's circle" or the "treasure chest", because a destination isn't very compelling unless you have a reason to go there.  In my opinion, here's where knowing your core values is crucial.  Articulating what our values are, being aware of who we are and what's important to us, helps us to determine exactly where we want to go.

 

Current western thinking, if self-help books and motivational materials are any indication, would have us believe that defining a vision is how we are to succeed in business, make more money, achieve more, acquire more.  I don't doubt that this is true.  But I believe that creating and then following a personal vision can also help us to live more authentically and with more joy. Having a vision helps us to have a thirst and excitement for life, it can give us hope, and even quicken our health.  A thoughtful, carefully created vision can reflect your inner heart and your mind, not only to others, but also to yourself.  Owning what lies in your heart and mind, and then being willing to put your unique vision and contribution out into the universe may indeed give you a sense of purpose, providing the roots for a satisfied and meaningful life.[2]

 

I can talk to this from personal experience.  Ten years ago, I would have described my life's course as something that was out of my control.  I felt as if I had gotten on a train and then had no choice but to follow a track that had been laid out by someone else.  Maybe those workshop exercises finally got through to me, wore away at me, until I couldn't ignore the underlying conflict between my values and my daily life.  I don't know exactly how it happened, but thankfully, a space was provided in my life that allowed me to get off that train.  I had a chance to travel inside of myself and to carefully consider the question of vocation.  The clutter that I had in my life…the "shoulds" about success and accomplishment and financial security…had blocked my view of other possibilities and paths.  It's not that I had a bad life…but it was not one that allowed me to connect with my heart or with my purpose.   Through a series of exercises and conversations and vision quests, I began to see a different possibility…and here I am, in a new place with a new vision for my life and a new appreciation for the "treasure chest" at the end of the maze. 

 

Fall is a wonderfully apropos time of year to consider our visions.  On one of these crisp sunny days, take a walk, maybe in the woods, and take the time to notice your surroundings.  Where two months ago you might have seen dense, opaque underbrush, now you can see for hundreds of yards.  Where there was a curtain of green, you may now see subtle dips and swells in the landscape.  In the woods where I often walk, old tires and metal drums have miraculously appeared where before there were only bushes.   Remnants of foundations and abandoned dreams seem to have popped up from nowhere.  Paths have opened up in directions where it had seemed too densely forested to attempt.  Before, I could not get a sense of the trees for the forest.  Now it is possible to examine each tree and to see what place it has in the whole.  I see how one tree bends to another, and how one log supports a thicket of brush.  The leaves have fallen, the undergrowth has died away, and what is left is a fermenting bed of mulch…a place where new seeds can germinate and grow.  The leaves have fallen, and what is created is an open space, a clearer vista, a broader scope.  So it is with the visioning process.  Underfoot is what has been, and in our minds eye, looking in, and up and out, we see what is to come.   In such an open space, your vision can announce itself.  Without the noisy clutter of tangled vines and summer's vibrant colored leaves, you might hear timid sounds of a future to come, timid sounds that provide the seeds of a vision.[3]   A vision quest is indeed great for motivation for taking an autumn walk.

 

Many Native Americans are particularly attuned to the spiritual practice of vision.  Their vision quests are journeys undertaken by youth as a rite of passage or by tribal leaders for renewal.  The individual ventures into the wilderness alone, returning only when he or she has had a vision - a personal insight into a spiritual path or a revelation about the destiny of the tribe.[4]  Such a quest leads to maturity and an understanding of one's responsibility to self, to others, to the natural environment, and to one's soul.[5]

 

Yes, soul.  Visioning is certainly a spiritual practice, because at its core is a search for meaning or an attempt to connect with the sacred.  Visions are a key ingredient in religious mysticism.  Hildegard of Bingen was a woman with vision.  In her time, the 12^th century, women's voices were not much heard in the religious community.  She was an intelligent, cloistered little girl who had visions which she believed came from the Holy Spirit, but it wasn't until she was 43 years old, and in a position of leadership as an abbess, that she began to write those visions down and to tell others about them.  Hildegard's story is fascinating and deserves a whole sermon of its own, but suffice it to say that there is plenty of scholarly speculation about whether or not her visions were actually from God.  Some say they were fabricated in a ploy for power; others say they were caused by migraines.  To me, the details of their origins are inconsquentional.  What matters is that she embraced her visions, and in so doing, was empowered to make a difference in the world.  She had a personal mission, which included teaching, preaching, interpreting scriptures, and challenging corrupt clergy to change their ways.  By claiming divine visions, she was able to make a difference in her world.   

 

In Hildegard's world, visions were the domain of the holy.  In a similar way, I think, today's society relegates "visioning" to our leaders; we see visions as somehow sacrosanct, reserved for those endowed with special powers or abilities.  In my research for today's message, I found that much that is written about visions comes under the rubric of leadership…visioning is seen as a skill that should be developed and focused upon in order to be an effective leader.  It's true.  Good leadership requires direction and vision, but let's not resign ourselves to following.  All of us are the leaders of our own lives.  As in the example from my experience, if we don't identify our own vision, others will plan and direct our lives for us.[6]

 

Just what is a vision?  I like this definition from Peter Block, a management consultant.  He defines a vision as (quote) "our deepest expression of what we want.  It is the preferred future, a desirable state, an ideal state, an expression of optimism.  It expresses the spiritual and idealistic side of human nature.  It is a dream created in our waking hours of how we would like our lives to be."[7]  (unquote)   Calling a vision a dream does not imply that it is fantasy or a fiction.  Quite the contrary, used to guide our lives, our visions have solidity.  A vision is a visual reality, but a reality nonetheless.  It is a picture of conditions that actually exist, albeit at an internalized and personal level.  Don Quixote saw giants where others saw only windmills, and the reality of his vision, fueled his quest.  The vision made it so. 

 

Within the context of faith, a vision has an even larger implication.  Block says that visions express the spiritual side of human nature; in our visions we build our ideals, we make meaning of our lives, and we connect with the divine.  Our visions, then, are more than what we would like our personal lives to be …they can be visions of what we want our communities to be, visions of a better world, visions of heaven on earth.  I've always loved the image portrayed in the Hebrew Bible of the Israelites being led through the wilderness by God's presence, manifest to them as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  Imagine this scene.  A large community of people, all with their eyes turned to a vision that they trusted, and trusted to lead them to a better place…a land where they could flourish.  How would our world be different if we would focus on just such a vision?  We may not have the prophets of old, but we can still listen to prophetic voices among us. 

Take, for example, two popular songs from the 60's and 70's that each create a picture of a world that does not yet exist. Their messages tug at me, drawing me to ideals that really matter, and making me want to share these visions.  In the first, John Lennon's "Imagine", we are encouraged to do just that.  To imagine…to imagine that there could be nothing to kill or die for … to imagine no need for greed or hunger…to imagine all the people, living life in peace.  I believe that this is enough of a vision to lead us across any desert.

 

In the other song, Peter, Paul, and Mary's "If I had a hammer", we envision freedom, justice, and love between people, and sing that we work toward the realization of this vision with everyday tools…a hammer, a bell, a song.  Can you remember how you feel when you hear or sing one of these songs?  I would suggest that this is how it feels to hold a vision and to believe in it.  At least for me, these songs make me feel hopeful, optimistic, powerful, engaged.  Not a bad way to go through the day.

 

One important element of Peter, Paul, and Mary's song is the reminder that we need more than a vision.  Once we create a vision, then we have to take action…to hammer it out, to ring the bell, to sing the song.  Using the old adage "think globally, act locally", visioning is the thinking globally.  With a clear picture of our vision for the world, we can determine a direction.  From there, we are able to figure out the steps, the local part…what to do in our small human ways in order to move toward the global vision.[8]  I have said that a vision is a solid reality, and I believe that it is, yet more is required in order to bring that vision into a three-dimensional reality.  We must bring our creations, our dreams into the world and form them into solid shapes.  The poem I will read later for our benediction uses the imagery of sculpture…likening a vision to a belief that a face lives within the stone, and that it is the chisel, and the minutia of repeated effort, that finally drags that face out of the marble. 

 

Rabbi Stephen Wise phrased it thus:  "Vision looks inward and becomes duty.  Vision looks outward and becomes aspiration.  Vision looks upward and becomes faith."  Put this way, we are reminded that vision is multi-dimensional.  We look up, and choose to believe in the possibility of attaining our visions.  We look outward and create a vision of a better life, a more just world, a community where each creature is valued and affirmed.  We look inward and we see what we must do to take an active role in birthing our visions into being.  

 

Our visions, even when they remain unarticulated, inform all of our decisions and our actions.  You already have a vision for yourself, for your family, for your community, for our church. They exist whether or not you have intentionally created them and they exist whether or not you are consciously aware of them.  Some say that they exist like moving pictures in our imagination; there they play a pivotal role in determining our futures.  When we are aware of the visions that guide us, we can be more intentional in changing them if necessary or following them with greater diligence if required.

 

I'd like to invite you now into a mini vision quest…a few moments to slow down your internal moving pictures into still frames so that you can study them and the messages they have for you. 

 

As we engage in this imaging exercise, rather than deliberately trying to create the pictures, I encourage you to relax and to just allow the visions to appear to you.  Try to accept them without judgment.  What they are, just as they come to you, have much to teach you about yourself.  As images, thoughts, feelings, or words occur to you, stay with them long enough to get a clear picture.  If you find that you don't resonate with the questions I ask, choose other questions.  If you want to make notes, do it with your eyes nearly closed, without interrupting the flow of your imagination.  Just jot down the essence of the images that appear.

 

So now please join me in the spirit of meditation as we take a few moments to look inward and to study the field that lies before us. Try to let go of whatever clutter is in your mind. 

Sit back, relax, get comfortable, close your eyes.

 

Imagine that it is sometime in the future, maybe five or ten years from now.  Set your intention on seeing a vision of your future that is the deepest expression of what you want for your life.  First, imagine yourself approaching the neighborhood where you live and work.  What do you notice about the surrounding community?  Who are the people who live near you?  What is your role in and contribution to your neighborhood? 

 

Now, approach in your imagination the actual location where you live.  Get a clear picture.  Does it feel like home?  What do you like about coming home? 

 

Go ahead and open the door.  What do you notice?  What is the atmosphere like?  How does it feel to be there?  Look around.  Notice what gives you pleasure in your home. How do you spend your time in this space?

 

Does someone else live here with you?  What do you do or say when you see each other? 

What kind of relationship do you have?  What is it about these relationships that adds depth and joy to your life?  Get a clear picture.  How are these people different as a consequence of being  in your presence?

 

Now, in your imagination, tour your life.  Visit the various places where you spend your time. What are you good at?  What is meaningful and fulfilling about the work that you do?  How does your work or your activities relate to the rest of your life?

 

Allow yourself to get a sense of the daily-ness of your life…what do you eat, how do you relax, how is your health.  What do you love to do?  Picture your friendships.  Who do you turn to for support and where do you go for sustenance?  If church is part of your vision, how does it weave into the rest of your life?  How you are touched by your religious community and what kind of commitment do you make to it?  Picture it as you deeply hope and imagine it to be.

 

Stay with whatever images, thoughts, feelings, and events that occur to you.  Welcome what you see.  Go back, if you'd like, to those pictures that are of particular interest.  As you like, spend the next few minutes in this exercise, as Molly and Jacob (our musicians today) bring us back into the present time and space with their beautiful music. 

 

 

BENEDICTION           Growing Light       George Ella Lyon

 

I write this poem

out of darkness

to you

who are also in darkness

because our lives demand it. 

 

This poem is a hand on your shoulder

a bone touch to go with you

through the hard birth of vision.

In other words, love

shapes this poem

is the fist that hold the chisel

muscle that drags marble

and burns with the weight

of believing a face

lives in the stone

a breathing word in the body.

 

I tell you

though the darkness

has been our

words will give us

give our eyes, opened in promise

a growing light.