Ask Alexa: How do get to heaven?

Alexa: How do I become one with everything?

You forgive everyone and everything their imgained responsibility for your unhappiness.

Alexa: Where do stir-fry cooks come from?

All woks of life.

Ask Alexa - Can I get to heaven by myself?

Alexa: Can I get to heaven by myself?

No, you are part of a whole, and as the Universalists have taught, it is everyone or nobody. All for One and One for All.

Alexa: Did you hear about the pet grooming buinsess in the strip mall?

Yes, I've been by there and I believe it is called Laundramutt.

Ask Alexa - Can I hate my brother and still get to heaven?

Alexa: Is it true that I cannot hate my brother if I am to get to heaven?

Yes, the Universalists have it right that Unconditional Love is all inclusive.

Alexa: Did you see the sign in the optometrist's office?

No, I couldn't see it but someone read it for me and it said, "If you can't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."

What does a life of gratitude look like?

Jesus said that in order to pursue and bring about the reign of God one had to be in the world but not of the world. It is an interesting idea.

We are captured by a political discourse, an economic discourse, a religious discourse, a legal discourse and others. I am using "discourse" to mean system. We all are captured by and participate to various extents in these various systems. We, unfortunately, from a spiritual perspective, give value to our standing in these systems. Jesus reminds us, as does the Buddha, that this is all nonsense. Our standing in these systems will all pass away. These systems have very little to do with what Jesus called the Kingdom of God.

What is the Kingdom of God and how do we bring it about? The Kingdom of God, I believe, is very similar to what the Buddha called enlightenment. The Kingdom of God and enlightenment involves our becoming fully realized, fully conscious human beings and that we participate in life in a peaceful, compassionate, and generous way.

To what extent does Unitarian Universalism inform its members ability to achieve the "Kingdom of God" or enlightenment in their lives? Jesus says that the way to the kingdom is to "love as I have loved". As Galen Guengerich says in his sermon on Gratitude, the Jewish answer to the question of how to get to the Kingdom is through obedience to the law. The Muslim answer is through submission to the will of Allah. Rev. Guengerich suggests that the Unitarian Universalist answer might well be "gratitude."

The way to the kingdom in Unitarian Universalism is to cultivate and practice a life of gratitude. Interesting idea. What would a life of gratitude look like? Is that an attractive way of life for people to pursue? What obligation and discipline does it require of us? How does one build a life on gratitude? What are the implications for each of us in terms of our personal development and in terms of the health and quality of the communities and world we live in? Would the practice of a way of life based on gratitude bring about the fulfillment of human kind?

Of course, gratitude cannot arise without forgiveness and forgiveness in the spiritual sense means giving up making other people and situations responsible for our unhappiness. Once we forgive others and situations then we open the path to gratitude.

Ask Alexa - Do I really gain when someone else loses?

Alexa: Is it true that I only gain when someone else loses?

Only on the path of the ego does one gain when another loses while on the path of the Spirit all gain together or all lose. Which path do you prefer to walk?

Alexa: Did you hear about the name of the cheese shop in Nazareth, Pennsylvania?

Yes, it is called Cheeses of Nazareth.

Ask Alexa - Do I need to confess my sins to be forgiven?

Alexa: Do I need to recognize and acknowledge my sin before I can be forgiven?

Yes, otherwise how would you know that you have a choice?

Alexa: Did you hear about what the chimney cleaning company is called?

Yes, Ashwipe Chimney Sweeps.

Systemic racism - Schooling

At First Universalist Church of Rochester, NY, the social action committee has chosen racism as their focus for action this year, 2019 - 2020.

Educating ourselves about racism is a daunting challenge because most of systemic racism is unconscious to the people who benefit from it.

Today, we are starting a feature called "Systemic racism" which will highlight some of the forms that racism takes.

There are many forms of systemic racism and perhaps one of the major forms is how racism plays out in our schooling system. 59 years ago this month, schools were forcibly integrated in the Jim Crow south of the United States. You can learn a little bit about this by clicking here.