by Kate Lore, Director of Social Justice

A sermon given April 22, 2007

First Unitarian Church

Portland, Oregon

OPENING WORDS

As surely as we belong to this universe, we belong together.  We join here to transcend the isolated self, to reconnect, to know ourselves to be at home, here on the earth, under the stars, linked each other.  Come and let us worship!

First Reading by 18^th century German philosopher Goethe:

“When the healthy nature of man acts as a whole, when he feels himself to be in the world as in a great, beautiful, noble, and valued whole, when harmonious ease affords him a pure and free delight, then the universe, if it could experience itself, would exult, as having attained its goal, and admire the climax of its own becoming and essence.”

Second Reading by 13^th century Sufi poet, Rumi

I am the dust in the sunlight, I am the ball of the sun . . .  

I am the mist of morning, the breath of evening . . . .
I am the spark in the stone, the gleam of gold in the metal . . . .
The rose and the nightingale drunk with its fragrance.

I am the chain of being, the circle of the spheres,
The scale of creation, the rise and the fall.
I am what is and is not . . .

I am the soul in all.

SERMON

One morning, long, long ago—in fact, 114 million years ago, something incredible happened here on Earth: The first flower ever to appear on the planet opened up to receive the rays of the sun.

Prior to this momentous event, the planet had been covered in vegetation for millions of years but none had ever before flowered. I imagine that this first flower probably didn’t survive for long, since conditions were not quite yet favorable for a widespread flowering to occur. One day, however, such conditions came about.  A critical threshold was reached, and our planet became filled with an explosion of color and scent.  It was an evolutionary transformation in the life of plants.

Much later, flowers would come to play an essential part in the evolution of consciousness of another species: us!  Think about it: over the years, flowers have provided inspiration and insight to countless artists, poets, teachers, and mystics.  In the New Testament, for example, Jesus, himself, tells us to contemplate the flowers and learn from them how to live. And the Buddha is said to have once given a “silent sermon” during which he held up a flower and simply gazed at it.  After a while, one monk began to smile. It is said that this monk was the only one who had understood the sermon. According to legend, that smile (which has been interpreted over the years as “realization”), that smile was handed down by twenty-eight successive masters and much later became the origin of Zen.

So it is no accident that flowers are included in so much Buddhist art.  Seeing the beauty in a flower can awaken humans, however briefly, to the beauty that is an essential part of our own innermost being, our true nature.

This was all described by Eckhart Tolle in his latest book, A New Earth.  Tolle raises the possibility that important religious teachers like the Buddha and Jesus were some of humanity’s “early flowers,” so to speak. That is to say, they were our precursors. They were rare and precious beings who were as revolutionary in their day as was that first flower 114 million years ago.  And when they appeared on Earth, conditions were not yet favorable for widespread comprehension of their messages.  This, argues Tolle, is because humanity wasn’t evolved enough, hadn’t yet reached a critical threshold of understanding to grasp the teachings.   Thus, these great teachers were largely misunderstood by their peers.

So, this raises the question:  are we more evolved now, some 2,000 years since the Buddha and Jesus were alive?   I truly think that we are.  Although this evolutionary growth of consciousness has seemed to come in fits and spurts—and even seems to regress at times—I definitely see human progress when I look over the past 20 centuries.  Consider the gay rights bills that just passed last week here in Oregon, for example.

But in these days of population growth and climate change, of industrialization and shrinking natural habitats, the question becomes whether or not are we evolving quickly enough to preserve life as we know it? 

But I want to be clear: this is not going to be a doomsday Earth Day sermon.  Rather, I want to share with you this morning why it is that I am feeling hopeful in spite of the many problems threatening the health and future of our Mother Earth.

Let me start with the assertion that we already possess the technical knowledge, the communication tools, and the material resources to grow enough food, ensure clean air and water, and meet the rational energy needs of all of us.  We have everything we need to survive and thrive for generations to come. Everything, that is, except for the required shift of consciousness that will inspire us to implement changes on a global scale.  Many of us are still plagued by the old habits and understandings that have caused the mess in which we now find ourselves.

But here is the good news: although still relatively small, there is a rapidly growing percentage of humanity that is suddenly experiencing this necessary shift in consciousness.  Some associate the shift to the popularity of quantum physics and the Al Gore movie on global warming.  Others attribute it to the emergence of the internet—which has brought connections and ideas from all over the world into our living rooms. Still others see it as a natural result of the end of empire.  I personally think that all of these things are having their impact.  Just go to any bookstore and you’ll to find a number of books on the subject, some written by notable scholars such as Joanna Macy and David Korten.

These two writers differ greatly in their fields of expertise—Joanna Macy is a Buddhist scholar, after all, and David Korten is an expert in business and economics.  But both are currently telling us the same thing: that we are now living a defining moment in the course of our history. That the era of cheap oil is ending, climate change is undeniably real, and economies can no longer rest on the unsustainable foundation of financial and environmental debt.  Out of necessity, they tell us, we are collectively entering a new era.  We are moving away from the life-killing political economy birthed by the Industrial Revolution and we’re moving towards a sustainable, life-enhancing political economy that exists in harmony with the Earth.  They both refer to it by the same name.  They call it “The Great Turning.” Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

Simply put, this concept of The Great Turning encompasses all the actions currently being taken to honor and preserve life on Earth these days—and there are lots of them.  But it is more than that, too.  It involves a new understanding of who we are and what we need to be happy.  In large numbers, people are learning the falsehood of the old paradigm that there is an isolated, competitive self.   In its stead, we are beginning to embrace a new paradigm in which our separateness is seen for what it really is: an illusion.  We are discovering our inter-connectedness to everything, our mutual belonging in the web of life.  So despite centuries of mechanistic conditioning, we are slowly learning to name, once again, this world—and everything in it—as sacred.

Whether these understandings come through Gaia theory, systems theory, chaos theory, or through liberation theology, shamanic practices, or even Unitarian Universalism, such insights and experiences are now freeing growing numbers of us from the grip of the industrial-growth society. They are offering us nobler goals and deeper pleasures. They are redefining our wealth and our worth, thus liberating us—finally—from compulsions to consume and control everything in sight.

To me, I view this trend as a natural emergence of the Feminine (or Yin) Principle in a world that has been strongly skewed toward the Male (or Yang) Principle.  But however you view it, there is no denying the fact that something is sparking a transition of gigantic proportions around the world and it is giving me hope!

That’s because one of the best aspects of this shift is that there is less room for panic or self-pity.   No, with these new understandings of who we really are, it is gratitude that generally arises, not fear.  We become grateful to be alive at this moment, when—for all the darkness around us—blessings abound. The Great Turning helps us stay mindful and steady, helping us join hands to find the ways the world self-heals.  The present chaos, then, doesn’t doom us but becomes a seedbed for a better, more sacredly connected, future.

I think this is a very exciting time to be alive: we have so much potential; we can make such a difference!  Of course that’s not to say that these coming years will be easy.  One can always expect resistance to change, especially when it affects profitability and patterns of dominance.   No, we are bound to encounter times of suffering and uncertainty.  And at times our grief will seem overwhelming—like the type of grief so many of us are currently feeling about the war, and Darfur, and New Orleans, and so many other disasters.

But like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world. So please don’t feel paralyzed or afraid of the anguish you might be feeling these days.  These responses arise from the depth of your caring and the truth of your interconnectedness with all beings. After all, “to suffer with” is the literal meaning of compassion.  And this world could use a lot more compassion.

So then—where do we start if we really want to bring about The Great Turning?  There are so many different and pressing issues to choose from.  Shall we save the whales first or should we focus instead on global warming or perhaps helping battered children? It’s hard to choose sometimes.

In her wisdom, Joanna Macy reminds us that all aspects of the current crisis reflect the same mistake, setting ourselves apart and using others for our gain.  This is important so I want to say that again: all aspects of the current crisis reflect the same mistake, setting ourselves apart and using others for our gain.  So to heal one aspect of our world helps the others to heal as well. So just find what you love to work on and take joy in that.  And never try to do it alone.   

We don’t have to look far to see some outstanding examples of this type of collective activism.  We can look right here within our own church.   In the past five weeks, for example, two of our social justice groups have provided us with some powerful Great Turning activities.  Both efforts brought scores of people together and both were connected to simultaneous efforts going on around the globe.  Of what am I speaking?  Well, on March 18 our Peace Action Committee helped organize the activities marking the 4^th anniversary of the war in Iraq which included a march, a rally, an interfaith peace service and a concert for mothers of slain soldiers.  The scope of their efforts is simply amazing. And, if that wasn’t enough, just last weekend our UU Earth group helped organize a global warming rally and a political advocacy trek to Salem.   I don’t know about you, but I’m mighty proud of and inspired by these good and caring Earth citizens.  In fact, if any of you here participated in either of these efforts, will you please stand now and let us show you our appreciation?

We are the people we’ve been waiting for!

Barbara Kingsolver says it so well when she says “. . . we must remind ourselves that we aren’t standing apart from the crowd, we are a crowd. We’re a prairie fire, a church choir, a major note in the American chord, and the dominant one in the song of the world” [We are]:

·        A million North American students rejecting the tyranny of the logo and the sweatshop behind it;

·        [We are] A thousand farmers in India lying down on their soil to prevent its being seeded with a genetically-altered crop that would steal their history and future;

·        [We are] A hundred sheep farmers in southern France defying a fast-food hegemony by making cheese in limestone caves exactly as their great-grandparents did;

·        [We are] Tribal elders from east to west inviting peace to enter the world through Hopi cloud dancers and Sufi dancers;

·        [And we are] The Women in Black who stand in eloquent silence on every continent, refusing the wars that would eat their sons and daughters alive.

We’re the theater of the street, the accurate joy of children’s hearts, the literature of tomorrow’s wisdom arrived today, just in time.

So, my friends, just like that first plant that somehow mustered the ability to create the Earth’s very first flower, we, too, must muster the ability to create The Great Turning.  May we evolve into something beautiful, something that inspires all life.  And as we face the brokenness around and within us, may our hearts break open and bloom to ever-greater compassion. May it be so!

PRAYER

Will you please join me in prayer?

Holy One, beyond all names

We give thanks today for being alive, for participating in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, and organs that draw nourishment from it.  It is a wonder beyond words.  May we use our one short and precious life for the betterment of all beings, that we might bring about the healing of our world.  Amen.

BENEDICTION

May we be the always hopeful

Gardeners of the spirit

Who know that without darkness

Nothing comes to birth

As without light

Nothing flowers.

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Copyright 2007, Kate Lore. All rights reserved.