[THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF UUISM ARE PROJECTED UP ON THE CHANCEL SCREENS]

Transcription

1 DIRECT EXPERIENCE OF THE TRANSCENDING MYSTERY AND WONDER Sermon I in the UUFVB Sermon Series The Six Sources of Unitarian Universalism Rev. Scott W. Alexander, Preaching Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach Sunday, September 7, 2014 This morning, as we transition from Summer into Fall and coincidentally begin my fifth year as your settled minister My, how time flies when you re having fun! I begin a brand-new sermon series, which I will preach on occasional Sundays over the coming months, about the six official sources of our Unitarian Universalist faith. It s my educated guess that a majority of you had no idea (until I announced the focus of this sermon series) that Unitarian Universalism even has an official list of sources but it does! Most of you are surely pretty familiar with our seven official and guiding UU principles we print them faithfully every Sunday in the order of service, and I incorporated them into this morning s opening words and here they are once again projected above [THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF UUISM ARE PROJECTED UP ON THE CHANCEL SCREENS] We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: 1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person; 2. Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; 3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; 4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; 5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; 6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; 7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. as found in the by-laws of the UUA, our parent denomination. Now just a bit of important history, if I might. These seven principles of ours were not (as I m sure you understand) found on ancient tablets centuries ago on some mountaintop nor did they descend from heaven into the hands of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau or any of the other great Unitarian Universalists of our past. They are rather the result of hundreds of years of evolution of our Free church tradition. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, both the Unitarians and the Universalists in early America drafted various faith statements and covenant documents which articulated their liberal Christian beliefs. But our current and dare I say modern? list of seven principles didn t begin to take shape until during World War II, when the American Unitarian Association, laying plans for the expansion of UUism following the war, commissioned the most famous and articulate minister of the time the Rev. A. Powell Davies of Washington, DC to head up a committee charged with coming up with a statement that would set the theological ground for the growth of the movement. Here are the five guiding principles they came up with in the mid-1940s as the world was being ravaged by World War II, the Holocaust and other atrocities: [THE FIVE WORLD WAR II PRINCIPLES ARE PROJECTED UP ON THE CHANCEL SCREENS]

2 The Five principles that will guide our Unitarian faith: 1. Individual freedom of belief 2. Discipleship to advancing truth 3. The democratic process in human relations 4. Universal brotherhood, undivided by nation, race or creed 5. Allegiance to the cause of a united world community These five liberal principles worked well for the denomination in the years following World War II, when we experienced very rapid growth in our congregations, especially in the burgeoning baby boomer suburbs of America s expanding cities. Indeed, in 1961 when the separate Unitarian and Universalist denominations officially merged these five principles were incorporated (with a few other affirmations and ideas) into the by-laws of the new Unitarian Universalist Association. But just a few years later in the late 1970s when women in the denomination demanded a more gender inclusive statement of the faith s purposes and principles the UUA spent several rather agonizing years carefully drafting a new statement of seven foundational principles, which after much debate and revision was finally officially adopted by the delegates at the General Assembly in Atlanta in This is the list of seven UU principles we still use today fully 30 years later. [THE SEVEN CURRENT PRINCIPLES OF UUISM ARE ONCE AGAIN PROJECTED UP ON THE CHANCEL SCREENS] We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: 1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person; 2. Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; 3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; 4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; 5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; 6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; 7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. These seven principles (which will undoubtedly be revised again by the denomination at some point for our free faith and our theological thinking is never static!)...these seven principles are today the center and soul of our faith tradition and because these seven statements reflect our core values and beliefs as a religion, they guide us as we strive to live out our lives in the world as Unitarian Universalists. Many of you will remember that last summer the summer of 2013 I preached a seven-part sermon series focusing on each one of these allimportant principles of our faith. If perchance you missed part-or-all of that series (or are interested in reflecting on these principles more deeply), that sermon series is available on our UUFVB website, both in video and text formats. But enough on the well-known principles of our faith! As I have already said this morning I begin a sermon series on the official Sources of our Unitarian Universalist tradition. After enumerating our seven principles, the by-laws of the denomination (adopted in 1984) immediately go on to officially identify six foundational Sources that give shape to our faith and here they are: [THE SIX SOURCES OF UUISM ARE PROJECTED UP ON THE CHANCEL SCREENS]

3 The Six Sources of Unitarian Universalism The living tradition which we share draws from many sources: 1. Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life; 2. Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love; 3. Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life; 4. Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves; 5. Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit; 6. Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support. You might well wonder why our free-thinking denomination has bothered to formally enumerate six sources which inform and shape our faith tradition. Well it s because, like all faith traditions, ours needs to answer [DUM DA DA TA DUM!] The Epistemological Question [THE FOLLOWING GOES UP ON THE CHANCEL SCREENS] The Epistemological Question in Religion: By What Authority Does Your Faith Tradition Say Something Is Real or True Good or Right? And what is The Epistemological Question? Well, because epistemology which is a kind of fancy academic and philosophical word simply means the methods and grounds (or theory) of knowledge, the epistemological question in religion is simply this: By what authority does your faith tradition say something is real or true good or right? Authority is a really big and essential issue in religion because (and I think this is obvious to anyone who thinks about it) if a religion any religion cannot answer this question in a reasonable, sound, or authoritative manner, then it is in real spiritual and intellectual trouble! For many traditional Christian religions indeed for most of the Christian congregations here in Vero Beach the epistemological question in answered in a way something like this: [THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE IS PROJECTED UP ON THE CHANCEL SCREENS] Mainstream Christian Epistemology: The source of authority for our religion is The word of God and the teachings of Jesus, as recorded in The Bible, and as interpreted by church doctrine and tradition. This in all its various Christian articulations is a clear and reasonable epistemology In the Judeo-Christian scriptures God and Jesus have shown us the way to what is real and true good and right.

4 Indeed, in the 18th and 19th Centuries, both the early Christian Unitarians and the early Christian Universalists had biblically based epistemologies very similar to the one you see projected here. Both early Unitarianism and early Universalism relied almost exclusively on biblical scripture (and their albeit liberal interpretive understanding of the nature of God and the teachings of Jesus) as the sources of ultimate truth and ethical behavior. But with the arrival of the 20th Century, both Unitarianism and Universalism (as faith traditions open to and influenced by religious humanism and the other great religions of the world, most especially the great Eastern traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism) with the arrival of the 20th Century, we UUs began to embrace a much wider and more inclusive spirituality (and epistemology) and began to move far beyond the confines of their strictly biblical and Christian roots. Unitarians and Universalists as they increasingly encountered the wisdom of the other religions and philosophies of the world most especially the teachings of modern day Humanism the Sources of our evolving faith began to look more and more like the list included in our current UUA By-Laws: [THE SIX SOURCES STATEMENT GOES BACK UP] The living tradition which we share draws from many sources: 1. Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life; 2. Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love; 3. Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life; 4. Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves; 5. Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit; 6. Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support. You will see that, in honor of our distinctly Judeo-Christian roots for, again, remember that both Unitarianism and Universalism began as liberal Judeo-Christian sects the fourth source of Unitarian Universalism is: Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves (and I will address that all-important fourth source later in this sermon series) But as I am sure has already caught your attention modern Unitarian Universalists while valuing and honoring our Judeo-Christian past do not see Jewish and Christian biblical teachings as the first and foremost epistemological source of our faith they listed it fourth after these three other sources they regard as, well, perhaps more primary. And what did they list as the first (and therefore arguably foremost) source...the source which is my topic for today? Well it s very telling the first source of Unitarian Universalist faith is: Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life.

5 To me although this whole statement is useful and important (and I will address every part of it in this sermon) by far the most important part of this statement is the first two words: direct experience. Do you remember The Epistemological Question I posed earlier? It is: By what authority does your faith tradition say something is real or true, good or right? Well, in our faith tradition, the single most important source of truth, wisdom, and moral guidance is your own personal and direct experience with the world. This epistemological assertion (that gives great authority and credence to your own personal and direct experience with life) sets us radically apart from most American faith traditions which as we have already observed believe that the single most important source of truth and wisdom is The Holy Bible, which is said to reveal the laws of God and the teachings of Jesus. But for us Unitarian Universalists, it is our own direct and personal experience with the world that must first and foremost be consulted and trusted as we shape our religious and ethical lives. In our faith tradition, then, each individual is urged to engage the world and use their own reason and conscience and direct experience to determine what they must believe, what is of ultimate value and how they must live. This radical trust and empowerment of the individual is foundational to understanding Unitarian Universalism. Here in this faith community, no one is ever going to tell you how to understand the world or shape the purpose and meaning of your life. Epistemologically, then, we trust first and foremost that your own heart and your own mind will, over a lifetime, show you the way to what is real and true good and right. We truly believe human beings can be trusted with this spiritual and ethical freedom and responsibility. Now, as I am sure you understand, in some theological quarters mainly conservative Christian ones we Unitarian Universalists have been sharply criticized for giving so much authority to each individual to discover their own truths, and chart their own spiritual journeys. It has been passionately suggested by more conservative traditions that human individuals (when left to their own intellectual and spiritual devices) can surely wander off into dangerous and erroneous theological and ethical places. And I might agree with this fear about the open epistemology of our free church tradition if this first source of authority one s own direct experience with the world was the only source of truth and morality we affirmed. But you will notice and this is very important for understanding our faith tradition that we immediately follow this first source about trusting your own, direct experience with five others five other solid and time-honored sources of religious truth and ethical precepts that bind us Unitarian Universalists to all of humanity s great spiritual and ethical traditions. So it is very important for you to remember that the individualism and freedom we so boldly lift up in this first source for we do trust you to use your own heart and mind as you shape your ethical and religious life is offset, constrained and balanced by these other sources of our faith, which rely on thousands of years of diverse religious insight and wisdom from all of humanity s great religious and philosophical traditions. What I am saying is that looking at these six sources together you are not free in this liberal religious community to believe anything you want. In this faith tradition, you constantly need to blend your own direct experience (our first source) with humanity s historical wisdom, as reflected in the next five sources. Do you all get this crucial epistemological balance of ours between: 1. Your own direct, personal, first-hand experience and

6 2. The time-honored spiritual and ethical wisdom of all of humanity s great religious and philosophical traditions? So now that we have that epistemological balance settled we can move on to the rest of this first source statement of ours which answers the question: Direct experience of what? Well, the answer we Unitarian Universalists came up with is direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life. That s quite a spiritual mouthful, isn t it!! How (and why) in the world did the denominational leaders drafting this statement (remember, that was way back in 1984) how did they come up with this particular wording which was subsequently officially voted on and adopted by the denomination as a whole? Well, I think it is obvious that they struggled long and hard (I can tell you they diligently worked on this wording for many months!) to come up with an inclusive-butmeaningful statement that could be embraced by Unitarian Universalists across the wide theological spectrum of our movement, while still using what former UUA President the Rev. Bill Sinkford called A Language of Reverence that would reflect our spiritual seriousness as a movement. In other words without alienating either theists or humanists (and everybody inbetween)...they worked to find a way to affirm that ours is a spiritual movement concerned with deep and holy and sacred and ultimate things, without excluding anybody by being too specific! So the political genius if you will of this rather-broad-and-elusive statement is that (for example) both a traditional UU Christian from New England (for whom a belief in God and Jesus is important) and an ardent humanist UU from the Midwest (for whom perhaps human love and social justice are the center and soul of their faith) can read this statement and feel that their most deeply held spiritual and ethical perspectives are included and honored! Now some might dismiss this rather vague spiritual statement (about transcending mystery and wonder ) as a terrible example of what happens whenever a committee of people are put in charge of drafting a document but given our broad and interesting theological diversity as a religious tradition, I actually think that it is a pretty inclusive and effective statement of what Unitarian Universalism is all about! In any case, it is my hope that every one of us in this congregation no matter where we are on our individual spiritual paths and no matter how we personally understand our life and purpose on this planet I hope that everyone of us can read this first source statement of ours and find some way to personally and meaningfully relate to it. Let me briefly tell you how I personally relate to it. As I have regularly shared from this pulpit over the four years that I have you re your minister in my own spiritual life I regularly experience something I can only call a powerful-yet-fragile Spirit of Holiness, Purpose and Grace that is sunk deep down in everyday things on this planet. I feel this life-sustaining and loving spirit on a daily basis in the manifold beauty of nature, in the goodness and compassion of persons and communities, in the love and care of family and friends, and I even sense it deep within my own heart as I seek to grow in my capacity to be more loving, compassionate, grateful and joyous. In my spiritual life, this Spirit of Holiness and Health that I feel is so present in my world gives me hope and meaning and reassures me that my life can have both purpose and joy. For me this sacred spirit that breathes through my world is very much a transcending mystery and wonder, that moves me on a daily basis to a renewal of the spirit and to an openness to the

7 forces which create and uphold life, and I devote my spiritual life to evermore cultivating both awareness of and participation in this positive and purposeful spirit. So that is how I personally spiritually relate to this first source of our Unitarian Universalist tradition. And I hope that each of you whether you call it God or spirit or love or justice or beauty or holiness or something else have some spiritual something which is larger and lovelier and more lasting than yourself which calls you in your spiritual life to purpose, decency, goodness and joy. What is essential to remember (as a Unitarian Universalist) is that here in this free religious tradition, we expect you to rely on and trust your own direct, personal experience to inform, animate and inspire your personal faith while (at the same time) we also expect you to honor and respect all of these other tried and true sources of human understanding and goodness: But, first and foremost, we ask you to use your own reason and your own conscience and your own everyday experience with life and persons to shape your own spiritual and ethical conclusions that will responsibly guide you through life. Yes, our liberal faith tradition gives you a great deal of freedom to chart your own spiritual course and determine your own spiritual and ethical beliefs and commitments but always always within the light of what humanity as a whole has distilled to be good and true over the ages. The bottom line is that in our free church tradition, your personal faith should first arise (free and unfettered) from within your own mind and heart, and yet be constantly nourished by the timeless light of human understanding. Spiritually speaking then, in our faith tradition it is a both/and situation we are saying trust your own mind and heart (as you look for what is real and true good and right) and, at the same time, listen to the mind and the heart of universal human understanding. This interplay between the self and humanity s wider truths it s enough to keep you busy for a spiritual lifetime! AMEN.