Getting Religion, by Rev. Michael McGee, Sept. 18, 2011

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”Getting Religion”

        I did a lot of reflecting about our faith over the summer while I was listening to lectures and concerts and sermons at Chautauqua Institution – not to mention sipping wine with friends on porches. And I had a revelation – yes, Unitarian Universalists can have revelations. It suddenly dawned on me after 38 plus years of ministry what our Unitarian Universalist faith is all about.

        “About time!” you might say, but to be fair, since our faith has no creed or dogma, it can be and is defined in many different ways. But this morning I would like to share what seems to me to be the essence of our Unitarian Universalist theology. Are you ready?

        Many people are motivated to seek a spiritual path to heal their pain and liberate their spirits. I know some UUs have cardiac fibrillations when they hear the word “spirituality.” But I define spirituality not as a path to salvation or nirvana but as our awareness of the deep connections in our lives.

         These connections are myriad:

• connections to our inner world of meaning and purpose,
• to those we love,
• family and friends,
• those who are suffering, 
• hopefully to all the people and creatures of our planet,

and ultimately to the Holy itself, however you may envision the ultimate reality.

        These connections are like a vast web that ties us to all that is, has been, and ever will be. Can you visualize that? Can you see yourself intertwined into this vast web of connections and linked through this web to all of existence? It's like the internet, except that instead of being a way to communicate and access information, this interdependent web connects us spiritually in one reality.

        The more we are aware of these connections and sustained and strengthened by them, the more we experience the unity of life. Religious leaders from all faiths have spoken of the oneness of life for many centuries, as have poets and prophets. And today scientists tell us that biology, chemistry, and physics are revealing more and more that the cosmos itself is tied together in one inextricable whole. As Joseph Campbell writes, “Our true reality is in our identity and unity with all life.”

        I find it exciting that our Unitarian heritage has spread this good news from its beginning, over 500 years ago. Unitarians preached to the world that God could not be fragmented, whether into a trinity or any other fraction, because the Holy is One indivisible, mysterious, unity.

        Today we understand the Holy to be existence itself, every creature, every plant, every river and rock. This is the new Unitarianism: the unity of all things, the oneness of all being. And to experience that deep connection, that sense of harmony and wholeness, is to feel a bliss beyond description.

        The Jewish theologian, Martin Buber, described this unifying experience as the I-Thou, which is a way of seeing the sacredness of each life we encounter. We cannot always be in an I-Thou relationship, but by being intentional we can enhance and expand that experience.

        We can do that in three ways. First of all, by letting go of our egos. The ego is a smoke screen that blinds us to the deep connections within and around us and instead gives us the illusion that we are at the center of the universe and that our needs eclipse the needs of others.

        One way to diminish our ego is by using our innate curiosity to ask the big questions of life – which is exactly what we'll be doing this year with our “Big Questions” sermon theme and in covenant groups. As Lama Surya Das writes in the book, “The Big Questions” – which we're using as a resource in our covenant groups -- “The art of questioning is a wisdom practice and, perhaps, the quintessential element in all wisdom practices...”

        Fortunately, many UUs are born with the Why Chromosome, which we use to ask questions about the nature of the universe, but we need to keep deepening those questions.

        And we feel our unity by practicing gratitude and joy. When we can continually give thanks for the many blessings in our life, even when the pain is great -- when we can feel joy for the caring relationships and deep connections, even when grief makes it hard to breath, then we can be healed and made whole.

        This is how I see the spiritual path, and it's a path our church encourages and supports and challenges you to take, no matter how difficult the obstacles. But there's another path that's essential for our lives, and that is the religious path.

        Like spirituality, religion has a negative connotation to many Unitarian Universalists, because both terms have been defined in narrow and limiting ways. But we do not have to accept those definitions. Let me repeat: we do not have to accept those definitions.

        We can breathe new meaning into those terms, or rather the original meaning. Spirituality originally meant the breath we breathe, the life force we share with one another. And religion meant to bind together, to connect, and to make meaning.

        When we can envision ourselves as an inextricable part of the unity of all life, then everyone and everything becomes a part of my family, and though the reunions can get out of hand, we discover that we cannot diminish or disparage anyone. From our sense of unity we are called to live lives of radical and universal love. And that's our Universalist faith. Does that make sense?

         OK, maybe we don't feel a radical and universal love for everything: I still dislike mosquitoes and poison ivy and there are some people that really bug me. But my point is that our goal as a spiritual person is to be aware of these deep connections and to live out that unity in radical and universal love as much as we possibly can.

        Not so easy to do, is it? But that's where our faith comes into the picture. You can certainly do a lot of good spiritual work by yourself, but for what purpose?

         I believe the point of becoming a spiritual person is to evolve into a religious person, that is to “get religion.” Getting religion means that we're not just going to feel our deep connections with life and a sustaining unity with the universe and then do nothing with that revelation. We're actually going to take the next step, and that is to live a life of radical and universal love.

        But we can't do that by ourselves, can we? It doesn't work that way. To live a life of love means to be in deep connection and relationship with those around you and to be in conversation in a caring community.

        That's what we do in this church, isn't it? This is not a place where people are told what to do and then you do it. Right? We're always in conversation about important issues and possibilities for the future, sharing our joys and sorrows, and telling our personal stories.

        Worship is an ongoing conversation every single Sunday about the big questions of life. In our church school, the children learn how to have deeper conversations with each other, as well as with their own conscience. And we are always in conversation about how to make our church into more of an multicultural, green, justice-seeking, beloved community.

        Our covenant groups are an especially good way to practice challenging conversations. In the training of covenant group facilitators yesterday morning, I reminded the leaders that their task is to keep asking questions of their group that will challenge them to deepen the conversation, to move outside of their comfort zone so they can do the soul work that needs to be done.

        Another way to get religion is to practice generosity. And I'm not just talking about giving money – though I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of our congregation in our capital campaign – but giving of ourselves by making room for others. This year is an especially good time to be generous by practicing radical hospitality in welcoming people to our church.

        In order to grow this church to 1,000 members by the end of this year, we need to welcome newcomers not only with open arms but with open hearts and with the Aloha spirit. To add 100 members to our church this year is not an insignificant matter. It means that 100 people will have found a religious home they may not have otherwise discovered. And it means that we will have 100 more people to help us in our struggle to liberate souls, to save lives, and to protect our planet.

        We also get religion by practicing compassion. Compassion is not pity or charity; instead it's the awareness that those who are suffering in our congregation and in our community and in New Orleans and Guatemala and India, are members of our family. And we open our hearts to feel their pain, and we open our hands to heal their suffering and to make peace and justice in our world.

        To get religion is to work side by side with fellow members and friends of UUCA, as well as those in our community, in our denomination, and with others, in the never-ending journey to build the beloved community. To some this may seem demanding and even depressing, but I experience it as a joyful journey because it's the best opportunity for feeling our unity with all life and a deep connection with our ethical values.

         So what do you think? Does this work for you?

        We need to live spiritual lives of deep connection and unity with all of existence – that's Unitarianism. We do that by letting go of the ego when we ask the big questions, by becoming more mindful when we let go of the past and the future, and by continually giving thanks for the many blessings in our lives.

        And we get religion by building community through deep conversations, by opening our hearts in generosity, especially in welcoming others to our faith, and by growing our compassion through radical and universal love – and that's Universalism.

        We are many, and we are one.

        So this is our faith of Unitarian Universalism, and this is our calling. Do you have something more important to do with your life? Oh, did I mention that this is a lifelong journey, and we need to be forgiving of ourselves and others when we aren't perfect?

        This is the faith we yearn for and seek and need to live out in our lives.I ask you to believe deeply, to live deeply, and to love deeply.