Reading Chittister - What are you born to do?

This month the UU A Way Of Month book selection is Following The Path: The Search For A Life Of Passion, Purpose, and Joy by Sr. John Chittister. Sr. Joan’s little book helps us reflect on the primary existential questions of why was I born, and what is the purpose of my life?

“Happiness, I have come to understand, comes when what I choose to be about in life is actually worth spending my life doing.” P.22

“To discover and pursue what we are called to do in life is the very fundament of happiness.” P.24

I have often said to myself, “It’s not a bad life if you know how to live it.” And figuring out how to live it as I have gone along has been very important to me. Where this idea came to me from, I don’t know, but I have strongly held it and reminded myself of it throughout my life. Having told this to myself, I also am quickly aware that I don’t usually know how to live it, but it is much clearer what I shouldn’t do so I go forward humbly seeking God’s will for me.

“To have a vocation meant having the mark of God on the soul of the one reserved to do the work of God.” P.25

“But at the same time, those same two qualities – knowing that we have within us something that marks each of us in a special way and that this quality has been given to us for some reason greater than ourselves – are the essence of coming to wholeness. The task of determining what that quality is and what to do with it is the single great work of being alive.” P. 25

This sense of vocation, a calling from God to do something important with one’s life, is the basis of faith. Our first experience of faith is feeling that other people have faith in us. People who love us and care for us are expecting something important for us in our lives. Who, in your life had faith in you? Hopefully it was a parent, or great parent, or some other relative, but sometimes that faith in us comes from people outside the family like a teacher, a coach, or a mentor of some other kind.

And did you ever express faith in someone else’s life? It is the greatest gift of marriage and parenting to nurture and care about the other person’s growth and development. Helping ourselves and others become their whole selves we become co-creators of the universe.

Becoming who we really are, being on the right track in our lives, actualizing our potential is the most satisfying and fulfilling thing in life which makes us happy. Stephen Gaskin said that ultimately the only thing we have to offer another human being is our own state of being.

Chittister writes, “I decided to write this book because I am at the stage of life myself now where being able to look backward is an important credential, too much underrated and too often overlooked.”p.27

She goes on “And finally it may help those too – for whom most great public decision making is now largely over – to come to understand their own lives, to complete them, if necessary, and to make peace with circuitousness of its journey to fulfillment. Then that warm mist of happiness which the philosopher Aristotle said could not possibly come much before the end of life can finally be quietly, serenely wallowed in.” p.28

Chittister ends the  introduction with a quote from Thomas Browne, “Life is a pure flame, and we live by an invisible sun within us.”

Why do you call your online magazine, "UU A Way Of Life"?

People have asked me about the title of this online magazine , "UU A Way Of Life", and I have responded that Unitarian Universalism is not just another religious belief, a religious denomination from which to choose in the market place of churches, but rather it is a way of life.

The seven principles are the basis of a covenant that we make with other people, and with the Spirit of Life to live according to certain principles. These principles are grounded in what Adulous Huxley calls the perennial philosophy which means that these seven principles are drawn from at least 6 sources.

Rather than being a religious faith which often mocked for its superficiality because of it lack of a creed and dogma, Unitarian Universalisk is a deep and rich faith requiring ongoing effort if it guiding principles are to be implemented and manifested at a deep level in a person's life. Unitarian Universalism is not a faith for sissies, or the immature. It does not lull the adherent into a false sense of security with easy answers but requires a grappling, a struggle with transcendent ideas that challenge the adherent to live a life which is a work of art in progress.

Unitarian Universalism is not a belief system. It does not require or even encourage a simple conversion experience of accepting belief in a deity and then being "born again". Rather Unitarian Universalism requires deep reflection, and meaning making that slowly takes over one's whole life and way of thinking, feeling, and behaving. One can't simply declare , "I'm a Unitarian Universalist" one actually has live one's life in covenant based on its principles which the person decides to affirm and promote. The covenantal understanding is similar to taking religious vows or vows to one's country or vows in marriage. When one decides to become a Unitarian Universalist one decides and agrees to  take on a responsibility to live a life true to oneself, to one's fellow congregants, and most importantly to a vision of a better life, well lived based on the seven principles drawn from the six sources. This decision and agreement contributes to a life of purpose and meaning which is very deep, rich, nourishing, and satisfying.

Becoming a Unitarian Universalist is to answer a demanding call, the response to which is a path of meaning, fulfillment, and great joy.

My Kind Of Church Music - Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bob Marley

Luke 12:22-32 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

²² And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, ^[a]do not worry about your ^[b]life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add a single ^[c]hour to his ^[d]life’s span? ²⁶ If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰ For ^[e]all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.  

³¹ But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ³² Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

Grace - being aware of God's love in our lives and the lives of others

The theme for January, 2013, is grace. Will you write something about your experience of grace? Please. Here are my thoughts written down on 01/03/13 at 9; 40 PM

William James said that our experience comes from deciding what to pay attention to.

When we become aware of God's love for us, we experience God's grace. We do nothing to deserve it or earn it or buy it or persuade God to give it to us. It comes freely, unconditionally, and often catches us off guard. We are surprised by it, and filled with joy by it in astonishing ways. We feel humbled by it, and it brings tremendous peace and contentment.

Grace is paying attention to our experience of God's unconditional love. Grace turns around and lifts us up and we realize that we are loved.

My Kind Of Church Music - Wanting Memories - Sweet Honey In The Rock

Editor's note: My Kind Of Church Music is a regular feature of the UU A Way of Life online magazine which appears most Wednesdays.

What was the beginning of the world?

"There is a beginning, and there is no beginning of that beginning."

Chuang-Tzu
Dad what was the beginning of the world?

It was a twinkling in the eye of God, sweetheart.

What does that mean?

It means that God is love and love has no beginning or end. It just exists. We don't know why. It is simply our inheritance. Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present. Beginnings and endings were created by humans. They do not exist in the mind of God. Sometimes you will know this when you experience the Holy Instant, when time stands still, when you get caught in the flow and when you come back to time's awareness you say, "My golly where has the time gone!?" The answer is that it didn't go anywhere, we simply have returned to our self consciousness and will start arbitrarily marking time again.

Wow!

Reading Buehrens/Parker on UU ecclesiology - What is the role of the church?

The second part of Buehrens and Parkers book, A House With Hope, deals with ecclesiology, the study of what it means to be a community, a church. Unitarian Unversalism is a covenantal ecclesiology rather than a revelatory ecclesiology where the truth has been given to some but not to all and many are dependent on the few for the truth and guidance. Unitarian Universalists believe that each individual has inherent worth and dignity, and believes in the free and responsible search for truth and meaning,  and has something to share with the whole. This understanding that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is to recognize and acknowledge grace in the world. Jesus told us that where two or more are gathered in his name, there he (Love and Grace) will be.

We recognize this grace in a colloquial way when we say that two heads are better than one and three heads are better than two. We intuit that we are social creatures and rely on each other for feedback which influences our awareness and identity. The Sociologist  George Herbet Mead called the social mirror.

Buehrens writes on p. 54: “Covenant as a concept is not just about commitment to a particular community. Because of its connection to hope, it is also about a community’s commitment to a vision without which we all perish.” 

We all need to belong to something bigger than ourselves from which our identity and safety flows. Without it, as in primitive tribes where shunning was used as punishment, we die. And what is that vision of which Buehrens writes? He doesn’t articulate it specifically, but I take it to mean the seven Unitarian Universalists principles derived from what UU identifies as its six sources. It is a theology which is unique and ultimately is based on love.

Further, Unitarian Universalism relying on its ecclesiology of covenant, should strengthen its recognition of Grace which gives rise to awe, and gratitude because we become aware with grace that we are loved and cared for by the Universe for no other reason than that we were given birth to what Matthew Fox calls the Original Blessing which is LIFE and which is our natural inheritance. This LOVE is made manifest in our care for one another and the world. As the Pagans marveled at the early Christians when they said, “See how they love one another,” we, too, as Unitarian Universalists should strive to create this same culture of love in our congregations and in our relationship with the world.

Buehrens writes: 

“Too much liberal and modernist religion, I fear, is all too likely not only to forget that ground, but even to think that covenantal relations are simply a matter of our own intentionality, and not a gift – what the Puritans called ‘a covenant of grace’, rather than one of works. In the biblical tradition, after all, the most basic of covenants were initiatives not on the part of human beings, but on the part of God, starting with the covenant of being itself, the Creation.”  P.53

Whether we know it or not, are willing to recognize it or not, willing to acknowledge it or not, we have a covenant with LIFE, the universe, that which sustains our existence here. The Buddhists call it “right relationship”. We, have lost our way as a species, as we destroy the planet we live on. The ecology is contaminated in significant ways and our wrong relationships with each other lead to genocide both intended as in the holocaust, and unintended as resource inequality leads to millions starving to death.

And further Buehrens writes, “Robert Bellah was right when he suggested that the radicalism of authentic covenantal hope is necessary to subvert our too easy, liberal complacency with any status quo – if we are ever to fulfill the promise of our heritage: the promise of covenantal, democratic community in right relation with others and with the creation. And that hope must now be both global in its vision and local in its realization.” P. 55

To overcome complacency, we, as a Unitarian Universalist people, must commit ourselves to continuing quality improvement. Our Universalist heritage tells us that our work is not done until the whole body of Christ is saved, brought to enlightenment, brought to salvation. It is a work which Teilhard de Charin called the evolutionary trajectory from Alpha to Omega. The work of humanity will not be done until we have achieved heaven on earth. 

As we continue on the journey from Alpha to Omega, may our UU congregations be Oases of light and hope providing support and encouragement along the way. Our UU churches are the yeast in the dough, the salt in the stew, the source of nourishment and rejuvenation for weary travelers.