Sermons

READINGS

Hope ~ Czeslaw Milosz (The World) 

Hope is with you when you believe
The earth is not a dream but living flesh,
That sight, touch, and hearing do not lie,
That all things you have ever seen here
Are like a garden looked at from a gate.

You cannot enter. But you're sure it's there.
Could we but look more clearly and wisely
We might discover somewhere in the garden
A strange new flower and an unnamed star.

Some people say we should not trust our eyes,
That there is nothing, just a seeming,
These are the ones who have no hope.
They think that the moment we turn away,
The world, behind our backs, ceases to exist,
As if snatched up by the hands of thieves.

This is what you should do ~ Walt Whitman
(Excerpt from Preface to 1855 edition, Leaves of Grass)

This is what you should do:
Love the earth and sun and animals,
despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants,
argue not concerning God,
have patience and indulgence toward the people...
reexamine all you have been told in school or church or in any book,
dismiss what insults your very soul,
and your flesh shall become a great poem.

SERMON

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - BY EMILY DICKINSON

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.

Hope is a funny thing. Some will say that hope is nothing more than the longing of those too lazy to make great stuff happen. Others will counter that hope is what keeps the downtrodden and the oppressed alive even in the midst of their misfortune and suffering.

There are Buddhist teachers who say that before we can achieve inner peace, we must abandon hope because it is hope that keeps us stubbornly attached to specific outcomes.

Christians will tell us that all of the Gospel rests on the hope that the power of God will rescue humanity, or at least a significant portion of humanity, from its own stupidity and wickedness.

Wikipedia informs us that Hope is an optimistic attitude of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish a desire with anticipation".

Polish writer, Czeslaw Milosz, (seslaw Me-los) in his poem titled Hope writes:

Hope is with you when you believe and that hope is like a garden looked at from a gate. You cannot enter. But you're sure it's there.

Emily Dickinson understands that hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.

Hope is such an intangible thing, and yet, we are full of it. Hope is an attitude of the mind and the soul. Hope is a mindset; a way of seeing beyond the closed garden gate into the garden itself; not knowing for sure that we can ever get there but being utterly certain that it is there. Sometimes it is only hope that keeps us going when the odds seem to be against us.

It is not mere chance that places Hope as the theme for the first Sunday of the Christian time of Advent. Advent is the four Sundays that lead up to Christmas. It is a time when Christians focus on two things: waiting and promise. During Advent we learn to appreciate the need for patience while waiting for the promise that the Savior will be born. We light candles in the darkness so we don’t feel alone and abandoned and cold as we wait. And we hope. Every year we hope anew.

Yes, the Christ child was born more than two thousand years ago according to the Christian tradition. With his birth, we were to see the world redeemed and all of God’s creation, including human beings, reconciled and brought together in peace and harmony. Well, we still hope for that world – whether or not we believe that a Savior has come or will come or will come again – we hope for a world where all will live in peace. Is this a foolish hope? No, because if we do not hope for such a world, and believe in the possibility of such a world, how we can we keep going in this broken and hurting world? And if we do not work for such a world, what are we doing here and why does it matter?

And then, we may rightly ask – how do we, here in Castine, Maine, express our deepest hope for such a world? We express that hope through an attitude of optimism and a commitment to the possibility of achievement. We may well not live to see the ultimate end result, but we can surely see small signs of progress in our work and in our lives.

On this Sunday of Hope, then, I invite you to think about this:
What do you hope for right now?
In your life?
In the lives of those you love?
For your congregation?

These are questions for reflection, but they are not merely rhetorical questions. Hope is an attitude of heart and mind that carries with it your own expression of energy. Hope is energy waiting to find motion and strength to work for its achievement. As that energy is released, it will do its work.

In my line of work, I am often confronted with the gaping chasm that lies between what congregants say they hope for and what they actually have. This is true in most congregations but congregations have vastly different ways of handling that truth.

Here is the If Only of congregations . . . .

If only we had what we lack, we could do the most amazing things here – you can decide what amazing things you hope to do here.

If only we had more younger families we would be stronger and better.

If only we could reach more people with our message of Universal Love this place would be full on Sunday morning and other times too.

If only we had an endless supply of money we could do so much more in our work for healing and equality and justice and peacemaking.

If only . . . . .         we are right full of if only.

If only is not a strategy for success or for achieving and of the change we want to see in the world.

If only is not hope. If only is a throwaway daydream. Hope is an attitude of optimism that captures and channels energy in specific directions.

In order to move from if only to something more strategic, something we actually can believe in and work for, we need to live into the But Then.

If only we had more younger families we would be better and stronger, but then we would need to get up and go out and find more young families and find out what is important to them and get to know them as families and neighbors and then see if there is common ground where we can work together and maybe that would strengthen the congregation.

If only we could reach more people with our message of Universal Love this place would be full on Sunday morning and other times too, but then we would need to be quite sure what our message is and we would need to figure out how to share that message and then get really good at sharing that message, and then maybe, this place would be full or at least we might have lots of people working together for things that reflect our values and principles.

If only we had an endless supply of money we could be so much more involved in our work for healing and equality and justice and peacemaking, but then we would need to admit to each other that we actually do have an endless supply of money and we would need to take personal responsibility for sharing that money in ways that promote healing and equality and justice and peace.

If only is easy.
But then is hard.

The But then that is our focus for today is that last one. You know, the one about money. For those of you who have been with this congregation for a while, you know a few things about money here. For those of you a bit more new to this congregation, I’ll let you in on a few things. One thing we know is that our financial year is the calendar year. So, we’re coming into the final month of our fiscal year. That means that we are already looking ahead to the 2017 financial year. We passed a budget at the Annual Meeting a couple of weeks ago. Passing a budget doesn’t get us the money we need to do all the things we put into the budget. So, another thing we know is that our annual giving campaign begins in December. You will be getting a letter in the mail early in December in which you will be asked to make your financial pledge to this congregation. Here is a third thing that you know – the currently pledged amount here in this congregation does not come close to meeting our financial obligations for a year. We are very fortunate to have an endowment that is carefully invested and managed for you by your finance committee and our investment company fund experts. Every year – so far – our endowments have produced enough earnings that a substantial percentage of our operating budget comes from those earnings.

We know that as a congregation of sixty or so souls, we are wealthy. This wealth is both a gift and a curse. It is a gift because we can do things that help to assure the future for this congregation and this building. It is a curse because we allow ourselves to think that our individual giving is secondary and perhaps doesn’t really matter very much or isn’t really needed. That kind of thinking undermines the health and future of this most wonderful congregation. Oh, and besides, it is wrong.

Here’s another truth. We do need you. We absolutely need your hopes and dreams. We need your hard work. We need you to keep showing up for Sunday morning and for all kinds of other work and play. We need your generosity and your gifts of time, of talents, and of treasure. Our campaign to raise money to operate this church in its most excellent way possible is an exercise in generating and channeling energy – the energy of hope and the energy of generosity.

Sure, it’s about the money – it would be disingenuous for me to say otherwise. But I assure you, it is about way more than mere money. Giving is a spiritual practice that benefits both the recipient and the giver. Trite? Maybe, but maybe not. There is a saying in some churches – we want you to give until it hurts; until you are making a sacrificial commitment of your money, and that is good for your soul and your salvation. Well, we don’t say that here. What I am willing to say to you is that you might consider giving until it feels good – really good. For those of you without financial health and stability, generosity takes a different form, but it is that same spirituality of generosity that makes us feel good – like we belong and like we matter to the ongoing thriving of this congregation.

No guilt. No shame.

It is probably accurate to say that with only our endowment, this congregation could keep the doors open, the lights and heat on, and the building adequately maintained for years to come. But what would be going on here? Anything important? There is such a difference between surviving and thriving. We are not at risk for our survival – as so many smaller congregations are. Are we, however, thriving? There is so much we might be doing in our congregation, in our town, in the wider area that represents our membership, in our state, and maybe even in the whole wide interdependent web of existence.

If only we had enough funding we could be real and engaged comrades with our friends in Aquino. We could send some of our people to our partner church every year and bring some of them here every year. We would be in a real partnership of personal relationships and we would share an investment of hope and energy and fabulous times together, but then our pledge income would need to be high enough to support that program.

If only we had enough funding to produce a media ready live stream worship service we could stay in closer touch with our members and friends who live somewhere else while we are here freezing. We could engage in fantastic outreach to folks who may only know us through an online presence, but then our pledge income would need to be high enough to support that program.

If only we had enough funding to upgrade our buildings and install state-of-the-art listening assistance and acoustical support for concerts and lectures and presentations of all kinds, but then our pledge income would need to be high enough to support that program.

Shall I go on? – or better yet – you go on. Where does your hope meet your generosity? What is the song that your heart sings that never stops? What lies beyond the closed gate to the garden you do not yet see but know is there?

Energy. We all have all kinds of energy. Every day we spend our energy in ways both mindful and mindless. Generosity is a special kind of energy. It’s like potential energy waiting for a small catalyst that propels in into kinetic energy and does really amazing stuff in all parts of life. Generosity changes the momentum of our lives. Really. Listen to this . . .

The cultivation of generosity is the beginning of spiritual awakening. Generosity has tremendous force because it arises from an inner quality of letting go. Being able to let go, to give up, to renounce, and to give generously all spring from the same source, and when we practice generosity, dana, we open up these qualities within ourselves. Letting go gives us profound freedom and many loving ways to express that freedom. Generosity is the beginning of the path. When the Buddha taught, he always began with generosity.

The Buddha said that a true spiritual life is not possible without a generous heart. Generosity is the very first parami, or quality of an awakened mind. The path begins there because of the joy that arises from a generous heart. Pure unhindered delight flows freely when we practice generosity. We experience joy in forming the intention to give, in the actual act of giving, and in recollecting the fact that we’ve given.

That is wisdom from Buddhist teacher, Sharon Salzberg. You know Sharon – she is one of the founders of the Insight Meditation Society and she is world famous for her work with the Loving-Kindness Mediation. So, it’s reliable.

Jesus taught about generosity too. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus what he needed to do to obtain salvation, Jesus told him to give away his riches and make a difference in the lives of poor people. Jesus told a story about money – well, he told a few, but the moral of the story is that where our heart is – there is our treasure and similarly, where we place our treasure is a sure sign of where our heart is.

For Muslims, one of the Five Pillars of their faith is generosity. In order to receive the benefits of their faith, one must practice generosity and charity and give alms - - it is good for the soul and it is good for the neighbors.

So you see, we are not that special in coming together to practice generosity and to be quite intentional about giving to the work of this congregation. It builds relationships. It builds trust. It enhances engagement and personal investment in the success of what we do together.

We really can change the world. All it takes is

Mindfulness
Commitment
Steadfastness
Love
Hope
And
Generosity

I pledge to my congregation every year since I was about 6 years old.

Now it’s about 5% - and I make contributions to organizations whose work I support in my efforts to be the change I want to see in the world. Generosity makes me feel good. Giving a substantial amount of money to one place gives me a real sense of ownership and investment and I want to see success and progress and I will do my part to make all our hopes a reality.

I hope you will carefully consider your pledge for 2017 and make a generous pledge - more than you did this year or last year if that is at all possible. Or perhaps you have never made a pledge and this might be the year to do that. Perhaps you can’t manage much in the way of financial support, but you could increase your level of participation.

Make your hopes known and be super enthusiastic about being invested in how we spend your money and use your time and talent. Make a joyful noise about what is important. Measure how well we do with all that is given to us.

Let me end with some words of wisdom about generosity from UU Minister, Thomas Rhodes.

Each week we take up an offering for the support of this congregation,
and often, for the support of others who are working for a better world.
To be honest, we need your support—especially in todays economy,
when pledges are down and the future appears uncertain.
But there is another truth here as well.
Another truth that says: some of us need to make an offering.

Some of us need to make an offering
not only because the congregation needs our support,
but because we need to remind ourselves of our own generosity.
Because the act of giving something away
is a tangible way of acknowledging the gifts we have been given.

If we don't have enough for ourselves, we may be poor in material wealth.
But when we don't have enough to share, then we are truly poor in spirit.
And none of us should leave this place feeling poor in spirit.

We can change the world, if we will.
Let us be that change.

Blessed be.   I love you.  Amen.