If There’s A God, Can I be
Homecoming Queen?
October 24, 2004
LIGHTING THE
CHALICE
INVOCATION Prayer of An Agnostic Walter Lewinnek, July 1985
I
would like there to be a God
To
whom I can ascribe
The
mystery of the dormant world in a seed,
The
orderliness of the heavenly bodies,
The
ecstasy of love.
I
would like there to be a God
Whom
I can hold accountable
For
hate and injustice.
I
would like there to be a God
To
whom I can address myself
When
I want to give thanks.
I
would like there to be a God
On
whom I can call in despair,
Although
I realize
He
may be otherwise occupied at the time.
I
would like this God to be a private God,
Not
a patented God,
Nor
a commodity,
Or
an entrepreneurship;
A
beneficent God,
Not
a well-spring of violence.
If
there is such a God
(And
I have
Neither
the credence of simple faith,
Nor
the hubris of denial),
If,
as I say, there is such a God,
It
does not matter whether they call him
The
Eternal One,
The
Great Spirit,
Or
the King of Kings.
For
by whatever name,
He
is one God to all mankind;
And no one owns Him.
SINGING TOGETHER Bring Many Names #23
CHILDREN’S FOCUS
In God’s Name Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, Illustrated
by Phoebe Stone
This story begins “After God created the world all living
things on earth were given a name…but no one knew the name for God.” Everyone finds a name for God that reflects
her/his life experience…shepherd, healer, mother, source of life…and tries to
convince others that their name is the correct name. Eventually they realize that all the names
for God were good, and no name was better than any other.
I BELIEVE … Sheryl Hemp & Brenda Halfman
(Sheryl and Brenda each shared what
they believe and how it is useful/helpful to them in their daily lives.)
Sheryl:
(Not available at time of printing)
Brenda:
A belief I've carried with me wordlessly throughout much of my life was recently articulated and added to by a Unitarian Universalist named Sally Patton. She created and led a workshop I attended, and during her introduction to the two day event, she said, " I believe we are all shards of the Divine." As I heard her say this, my scalp started to tingle, goose bumps prickled the back of my neck and made the hair on my arms (which is much more prolific than I'd like it to be) stand straight up. I'd always carried with me the belief that all people are special, no matter what. Because I believe this, I tend to be a good, empathetic listener and I have a wide variety of friends of all ages from all sorts of different backgrounds. But I never felt at ease in the world. I'm idealistic by nature, and I frequently felt great disappointment and even despair over everything from merely rude behavior all the way to egregious and inhumane acts visited upon one human being from another. All people are special, so why the heck did the world suck so much? Eventually, these disappointments and the inevitable accumulation of stresses involved in every day life culminated in a full-fledged major depression. Through therapy, support of family and friends, anti-depressants, church services and committee work and self-help books, I slowly began the climb out of the dark hole I found myself in.
After
many months of work and support, I heard Sally Patton describe us as shards
…."shards of the Divine" and I knew instantly that everything that
had come before had prepared me to hear and feel what it meant to be a fragment
or a shard of the divine. I realized
we're not supposed to be perfect alone, but if we shards get together, maybe we
fit together seamlessly into a Divine Whole, or, what I believe is more likely,
maybe we simply and lovingly smooth each other's sharp edges as we bump against
one another in our work together, allowing our individual bits of divinity to
gather strength in community.
This articulation and clarification of my understanding of the human condition has allowed me to look at my life and the life of this congregation as an organization with new perspective. We're supposed to fall flat on our faces…we become divine when we reach out a hand to help each other up, dust ourselves off and begin again.
MESSAGE Julie
Stoneberg, Ministerial Intern
Recently I heard Houston Smith, an expert on the world's religions, use an analogy that I found helpful to describe how it is that there are so many different views/ideas of God. He used the sky as the metaphor, saying that each of us has only a small window to look out upon that sky. While we each assume that everyone else must see the same thing, in fact our unique view is just that, a small window onto something vast and unnamable, untamable and impossible to be completely seen out of one window. For some people, the sky they see is evil and menancing, for others blue and sunny, and for still others, it is a dark abyss dotted with points of light.
We
each look out through our own unique lens onto what lies beyond our
understanding. Our experience, on the
earth side of the window, colors what we see when we try to look out at that
sky. What we believe, what we think we see
in that sky, is forged out of our personal worldview. That is to say, we make God out of our own
image, not only the other way around.
This was certainly expressed in the children's story today…people choose
to name God in a way that gives some meaning to their existence…shepherd,
healer, maker of peace, mother…this is the power of naming. Naming gives the object its dimensions and
characteristics, making that object tangible yet somehow limited. Once something is named it has been put in a
particular box, restricted by the boundaries of our narrow language and
single-vision understanding.
Before
I go further, I want to name some of the underlying assumptions and potential
pitfalls in this sermon. First, you
should know that I am going to say the word "God" about seventy
times. For those of you who have little
valves on your ears that automatically close down when you hear that word, I've
now given you fair warning. Second, I do
not intend to make any statement about the actual existence of God. I believe that we each have the right to
interpret our view of the sky and to make a determination about what lies
beyond. Yet, I am in no way
implying that God is simply a construct of the human mind and experience. The truth is, I simply don't know. I cannot see the whole sky. This does not make my viewpoint right or
wrong; mine is just one window looking out onto an unknowable mystery. I will only say that it seems the height of
arrogance for any human being or community to claim to have sole access to the
Truth about God, truth with a capital "T".
Being
human can be very confusing. We have one
body, one set of experiences, one set of eyes, and try as we might to walk a
mile in someone else's shoes, we can never get into someone else's skin. At the same time, we have so many
similarities that it's hard not to expect that we all must share a similar
understanding of the ultimate. But, our
personal images of and relationships with God are simply not transferable. What might seem so obvious to you about how
the world works and where meaning is to be found often makes no sense to the
person next to you.
I
admit that the title of my sermon today could be seen as flip, even irreverent,
but let me assure you that I am both very serious about and very much in awe of
this topic. I was moved to talk about
this when I found myself fuming over the public rhetoric in these pre-election
months. God is being used by many as a
great seal of approval. You've heard
it…God is on our side…we are right because God says so…even "God bless
America" has been used to suggest that others in the world are not so
blessed. This kind of thinking has
bothered me for years. Take, for instance, the typical interview with the newly
crowned Miss America or the winning SuperBowl quarterback. We often hear them thank God for giving them
a victory. These winners may not be
aware of it, but they are claiming to have been singled out by God.
It
makes me wonder about the losers, the unchosen, the marginalized, the ugly,
those with darker skin tones, the childless… are these people whom God has
abandoned? Have they done something so
terrible as to have God turn against them?
Herein began my first doubts about the fundamentalist religion of my
childhood. We sang in Sunday School that
Jesus loves all the little children.
But if Jesus loves all the little children, why were
some…(particularly the ones with skin tones other than mine)… why were some
born into countries and homes where they would never hear the word of the
Christian God or have a chance to be saved?
Why had I been "chosen" to be born into a family that might
somehow guarantee me a place in heaven? I personally cannot believe in a God
who chooses some people over others, passes out blessings to a select few, and
is the arbiter of who wins and who doesn't.
Even
so, I've often been envious of those who profess a strong belief in God. There are huge advantages, very useful
benefits for those who claim to know God’s Truth. For one thing, there is always a place to
turn for the answers. Believers can find
God's word in Holy books, they can ask their priest or minister, God's
spokesperson, for the answer, and they can have direct access to God through
prayer. Even if there's no easy answer,
believers can be assured there is someone to turn to in gratitude or
despair.
Some
people's belief in God arises out of a need for security or assurance. This can certainly be a simple need for
comfort during difficult or scary times, something we all need. It can also be about owning a heavenly
insurance policy that will get one through the pearly gates. My dear father, bless his soul, many times
tried to convince me that to believe in God was the only safe thing to do. He had it all worked out in a grid
formula…those who believe and those who don't believe over the possibilities of
'there is a heaven and hell' or 'there isn't a heaven or hell'. For him, the only secure position, the only
safe quadrant was to believe in a Savior.
At the time I couldn't really argue with him. But now I see why that grid didn't sit right
with me. It focused too much on the
afterlife and didn't place much value at all on the precious life we have right
here and now.
Another
perk of belief is the ability to place your cares into God's hands. If you truly believe that God will take care
of things, then you can choose to ignore your earthly responsibility. This is particularly true of theologies, like
my father's, that focus on the transcendent…that is, that minimize the
importance of existence in deference to a more important after-life. Please don't get me wrong here. I know that there are many, many, many people
of strong faith and belief who work tirelessly for heaven on earth. But it is tempting, in a transcendent belief
system, to ignore the very real need to participate in the human
community.
For
others, a belief in God may provide the only assurance that justice will
prevail. This is particularly true for
oppressed people and theologies of liberation. Earlier, the choir sang "My
Lord, What a Morning", a spiritual that envisions the Day of Judgment,
when things will be made right. The
slaves could believe in God because God was synonymous with eternal principles
that they had to believe would prevail.
To believe in a Redeemer God was perhaps the only way that slaves could
sustain themselves in desperate times.
The spirituals and the beliefs behind them provided a means of imagining
a different future, a better day ahead.
But
we should remember that the slaves' beliefs came out of a context of
powerlessness. Often in our society,
knowing the Truth is a power-grabbing claim.
You see, to claim that God stands with you is to claim that you are
virtually omnipotent. Such a position
contributes to a bifurcated world…a world where there must be winners and
losers, chosen and unchosen. There can be no discussion, no conversation, no
tolerance of others because there is one way which is right, and all other
paths lead to…well, H-E-double hockey sticks.
An
option that some have chosen, when presented with such a power-mongerer of a
God, has been to abandon God into the hands of others, perhaps to decide that
God doesn't exist, then to turn and to walk away from belief. For some, such a negative experience of God
may be what led them to humanism, or atheism, or even Unitarian
Universalism. But non-belief is really
only a matter of semantics, I think, because we all have our own Gods, whether
we're willing to label them that way or not.
That is, we all find some source that guides our lives…be it social
justice, or the environment, or reason, or love. Maybe those who claim there is
no God are simply stating that they cannot believe in the kind of Gods that
have been forced upon them.
So
what use DO we have for God? It might be
fun to be homecoming queen (although this would require a God who can work
miracles) but in truth, I don't really want a God who could assure me of
a crown. What kind of a God would
be adequate for you? What potential
aspects of God might sustain and renew you in these desperate
times?
Rabbi
Harold Kushner wrote a little book about 15 years ago called "Who Needs
God". While this title is
provocative, after reading his book, I think a more appropriate title might be
"Who Needs Faith" or "Who Need Religious Community". Kushner conflates God and religion, clearly
associating belief in God with participation in a religious community. What I find useful about this book are the
many reasons he finds for belief, reasons I find both compelling and applicable
to us as Unitarian Universalists.
For
example, Kushner talks about belief as filling a vacuum and providing us with a
sense of who we are and why we are here.
It is not hard to find in the media, in our communities, in our homes,
examples of vacuousness, emptiness. Last
week, Rev. Paul talked about the suicide rate in this community, a pervasive
epidemic that is an indication of high levels of meaninglessness and lack of
purpose. If religious belief can fill in
any of these empty spaces, it has immense value.
Religion
also teaches us to face personal storms, disaster, and war in the company of
others. I've heard it said, and often
said with something of a sneer, that some people come to church solely for the
social aspects. But to come to church to
be with other people, especially other people who are willing to live examined
lives, is an incredibly good reason to come to church. Religious community not only brings people
together, it encourages them not to see the world as a lonely or hostile
place. In the words of Kushner, here
"we are lifted out of our individual isolation and transformed into a
single organism, singing and rejoicing…"
Another
primary reason why we need belief is that it transcends reason; it offers us a
glimpse of the numinous, the unexplainable.
Religion gives us a vehicle to express our wonder and to try to link
this mystery with our own lives. As in the words of Walter Lewwinek's
poem, to whom are we to ascribe the mysteries of the seed, the orderliness of
the heavens, or the ecstasy of love.
Sheryl
and Brenda shared their beliefs today and it is obvious that they have strong
beliefs that guide their lives. Sheryl
said that her beliefs help her to stay open and grounded, and remind her to
keep trying. Brenda told us that she
sees herself as a “shard of the divine”, a belief that helps her to understand
what it means to be human.
I,
for one, need, and therefore believe, in a God who can pull me out of my
self-centered mire and show me what a wonderful world I'm a part of. Sometimes this happens in the sudden flash of
color in the leaves, sometimes this happens with the seemingly serendipitous
phone call from a friend at a crucial moment, sometimes I even think that God
speaks to me through my crazy little dog, Tillie. Like Walt Whitman, " I find letters from God dropt in the
street."
Several
years ago, UU World published an article called "Grassroots Theology"
which contained essays from several people about what they believe. (We have copies of this article available if
you're interested in reading more.) The
late Henry Stone, a UU atheist, believed that the only heaven we'll find is
here on earth. He said that though he no
longer believed in God, he very much believed in the love of people for
people. With all due respect to his
beliefs, I think it is possible to say that his God was love…for this is what
gave him purpose and comfort.
Ricky
Hoyt from Santa Monica believes in God, but not a personal God. For him, God is everything, in
everything, everlasting. So whatever happens,
God will still be there, which offers Ricky comfort, assuring him that
everything is in balance and always at peace.
I
particularly liked the contribution from William Saunders of
Massachusetts. He reminded me that while
Unitarian Universalism admirably holds the conviction that the lives of other
people matter, we can get over-absorbed in this at the expense the forms of
religious experience that are best known in moments of inwardness and
solitude. This is a God I think I can
use, a God who holds the mystery, reminding me that there is something beyond
what I can see or reason, a space into which my soul can soar.
A
couple of weeks ago, Rabbi Kushner was interviewed on NPR's "Speaking of
Faith". Although I can't remember
the exact numbers, he said that he once asked a group of high-schoolers about
whether or not they believed in God. A
large majority, like 75%, said that they did not. But when he asked if they'd ever had an
experience of feeling the presence of God, the holy, almost 100% of them said
yes. Perhaps this is an indication that
when we cannot reason God, when we cannot prove that God exists, we think we
can't believe. Yet I believe that we
need some vehicle to give credence and shape to those experiences that connect
us to something beyond the logical and scientific. Be it imagination, visioning, loving, hoping,
meaning-making; these are the experiences that feed us; these are the places in
our hearts out of which we should create and claim our images of God,
powerfully positive images that deserve to be in part of the world's pantheon.
If
there is only one God, and if that God stands on the side of winners and power,
I have no use for that God. But a God
who comforts me, who plants seeds of hope and creativity, a God who is way too
big for one name or one Truth to hold, well, that's my kind of God.
Swing
Low, Sweet Chariot, another hopeful spiritual, expresses a desire to be carried
beyond tangible experience, into a more luminous, more secure, more loving
place. As we sing these soulful words,
I invite you to remember all of the ways in which your beliefs carry you
through your days, carrying you to the places you call home, for these beliefs,
these Gods may provide just the chariot you need.
BENEDICTION
As
we go from this place, I encourage you to remember the beautiful image at the
end of today's children's story. May we
all, in this room, in this neighborhood, in this county, in this state and
country, on this planet, be willing to come together and to see each other as
if in a mirror. Standing together, it is
possible for each person to worship their own Gods, for God plays no favorites
and takes no sides. In the words from
the midrash used as a dedication todays’ storybook:
of each and every person.
The Holy One said:
“Do no be confused because you hear many
voices.
Know that I am One and the same.”
Pesikta de Rav Kahana 12:25