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Rev. Beverly Waring Sermon
February 5,2012
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Two recent conversations contributed greatly to this sermon. The first I overheard at a gathering of UU ministers and Religious Education
professionals. The person speaking was comparing asking a Unitarian Universalist a theological question to hearing a weather forecast
on the TV news. “If you don’t like the answer,” he said, “just ask someone else or (in other words) turn the channel.” Now, I have a
problem with this comparison. I love the fact that we Unitarian Universalists are theologically diverse. It is this diversity that expands our
vision and brings new perspectives into our spiritual and ethical lives. This is who we are and what makes our Unitarian Universalist voice
so relevant in the dialogue about the issues the world is facing today. I marvel that, like in the Sufi tale, whether Theist or Atheist,
Humanist, Pagan, Buddhist or however we define ourselves, we can all be “saints, each coming to perfection through unique paths.”
However, (back to the comparison to the weather forecast) I would really like to know if I need an umbrella, a snow brush or sun screen
when I leave the house in the morning.
The second conversation that contributed to this sermon took place at another gathering of ministers. I overheard someone tell another
person that she was a “born again” Unitarian Universalist. Unfortunately, I was not able to hear the response or much of the rest of the
conversation but it did stay on my mind long after that brief encounter. I have to admit that this was the first time I had heard born again
and Unitarian Universalist in the same sentence. Those were not words I was used to thinking of together and overhearing that exchange
prompted more thought about the idea.
What I came to learn is that being born again is very much a Unitarian Universalist concept. In fact for those of us who have chosen this
liberal religious path it is essential. Think about it. We call ourselves a living tradition. We accept that this is a path that does not offer a
once and for all, definitive answer to our questions, big or small. And the concept goes back a long way… back to the 16th century in
Transylvania as a matter of fact. The motto of the Unitarian reformer, Francis David, was “semper reformanda.” Always reforming. Ever
evolving. Born again.
This is similar to the sentiments expressed by English author D. H. Lawrence in a letter to a Congregational minister. Lawrence said in
part, “I believe one is born first unto oneself while the world is a nursery, and the pretty things are to be snatched for, and the pleasant
things tasted; some people seem to exist thus right to the end. But most are born again on entering maturity; then they are born to
humanity, to a consciousness of all the laughing, and the never-ceasing murmur of pain and sorrow. Then, it appears to me, one
gradually formulates one’s religion, be it what it may. A person has no religion who has not slowly and painfully gathered one together,
adding to it, shaping it; and one’s religion is never complete and final, it seems, but must always be undergoing modification.” Always
reforming. Ever evolving. Born again.
The ministry of Ralph Waldo Emerson provides us with an example of what Lawrence was speaking of when he said “one’s religion [ ]
must always be undergoing modification.” In his later years, Emerson served as interim minister in Lexington, Massachusetts. According
to some, he used sermons he had written and delivered during a previous ministry. The story goes that as Emerson read the sermons he
would, at times, pause, look up, and say with a smile, “I no longer believe that,” and then go back to reading from his manuscript. Even
Ralph Waldo Emerson experienced Unitarian Universalism as unfolding, ever evolving, always reforming.
One way to think about the process of being born again is to focus on our 4th UU principle.
Expanding our vision and appreciating new perspectives is fostered (dare I say demanded?) by our commitment to affirm and promote a
free and responsible search for truth and meaning. For someone who was not raised in the Unitarian Universalist tradition, this is a
profoundly freeing concept to wrap the mind around. Newcomers to our faith often find this principle to be both the most exciting and the
most terrifying of all our principles. For many, coming from religious backgrounds with dogmas and creeds, where asking questions was
discouraged or beliefs were freely given as absolutes, the encouragement to seek answers that feel right and true for you is the most
inspiring aspect of Unitarian Universalism.
To further illuminate my understanding of our 4th principle and how to live it, I draw upon an example from Nature. I grew up near Niagara
Falls. Seeing this powerful force of nature hundreds of times and realizing the impact it has had on my life is one way that I conceptualize
our free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
I have seen the Falls from practically every vantage point possible. Ok, so I never went over the Falls in a barrel, but even if I had, my
view would be obscured by how tightly closed my eyes would be. I have, however, seen the Falls at night and in the daytime, up close
and from a distance. I have seen the Falls in every season - running freely and when it was a frozen bridge of ice. I even saw it when it
was dry because the rock face was being repaired.
I have been above it and below it. I have walked behind the Falls and viewed it from a vantage point so close that I could reach out and
put my fingers in the water just inches from where the river dropped over the edge to create the Falls. And each of these vantage points
provided a different perspective of the very same body of water. Each evoked its own set of feelings - scary, powerful, small, invincible,
peaceful, mysterious.
For me, my experiences at Niagara Falls are a metaphor for facing life. Just as we can see the Falls from a multitude of vantage points,
we can view anything from a variety of perspectives and realize each view is valid and true and all have their place in the struggles and
triumphs of humanity.
It is important to note that differing and changing perspectives are not just something we accept from others but we should also accept
from ourselves as well. Just like I need to accept the part of myself that now realizes there is more than one way to make a peanut butter
and jelly sandwich --and I forgive myself for enjoying it cut in quarters instead of half on the diagonal. This is not the same as thinking
badly of the little girl who wouldn’t even try the sandwich the first time the wrong kind of peanut butter was used. Nor is it the same as
blaming the person who first introduced me to chunky peanut butter. Instead, it is accepting that change happens, new ideas enter the
picture and some of those ideas are more true than what I previously accepted as the truth.
Being born again, answering a question differently than we did before, finding a new place for ourselves in the world, these are all
examples of maturing, of being open and authentic, of accepting change brought about by new ideas and perspectives – all good things
for human beings to embrace.
Just like the physical vantage point from which I viewed Niagara Falls impacted my perspective, so too did my emotional state of mind
influence what I saw and how I interpreted the experience.
Is this not true for most of us? How different things look and feel if we are over-tired, scared or distracted. Think of how facing a
challenge alone feels as compared to tackling that same challenge in community. Approaching a problem by listening to others and
discerning together the most likely successful solution is similar to viewing the Falls with someone else and sharing what each of you
experience. Being open to those “aha” moments, big or small, when that quiet voice, within you or from another person, asks a question
or ponders aloud can provide the spark of a new idea, can start the process of being born again.
I remember taking my son to Niagara Falls for the first time. He was just three years old and his fearlessness and curiosity drew me in
and allowed me to shed my typical cautious adult outlook. When I let my eyes wander where his did I saw details I would have otherwise
missed. When I followed his lead and closed my eyes and raised my face into the cold spray that was bouncing over the stone wall at us,
the experience became about the sounds and textures and temperature of the water. And when he wondered out loud if the water ever
got tired from moving so fast or scared because it fell so far, I did not laugh. His question was sincere and required a far better answer
than I had that day. In that moment my eyes were opened to a world I had not yet imagined.
This brings to mind a meditation by Burton D. Carley, who says in part:
“I wonder if the river ever despairs of its downward destiny and
harbors a secret desire to flow up.
I wonder if winter yearns to be warm like summer,
or if a flower wishes it could bloom out of season.
I wonder if silence would like to shout,
or if the sky wants to fall down and become the earth.
I wonder if the world sighs after more than it is – as we do, as we do.”
Looking at Niagara Falls, whether sighting through binoculars from the far shore, facing it head on from a bridge, or kneeling on a small
piece of land within reach of the boiling rapids, you can’t help but wonder about the multitude and diversity of perspectives understood
within its view. You can’t help but contemplate the dreams imagined, the tears shed, the truths realized and the meanings found while in
the presence of nature’s beauty. Maybe this is true for you when climbing a mountain, walking in the quiet of a pine forest, smelling the
sweetness of spring flowers. Maybe you feel born again while protesting an injustice, feeding the hungry and homeless or walking to
raise money for a cause you passionately believe in.
And I wonder with gratitude at the power to inspire, the ability to open us up to possibilities, the gift of increased awareness that exists for
me not only at Niagara Falls but also in the presence of those with whom I share a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
Following my son’s lead and allowing the spray from Niagara Falls to wash over my face offered me an opportunity to experience that
moment from a joyful childlike perspective. I was born again in that moment. So too can appreciating the diversity and the depth of vision
encountered on our journey, and letting it wash over our hearts and souls, give us an opportunity to expand our perspectives and find
new meanings.
By seeing and experiencing other ways of understanding the world, barriers that more rigid ideologies have created are broken down and
a vision of a life worth living is enlarged.
Embracing and living our 4th Principle, encouraging a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, welcoming our ability to be born
again and again and again, can expand our vision, increase our appreciation for diversity, and inspire us on our journey. It creates a
vision that might please those of you who agree with e e cummings that we can never be born enough. How has living this principle
impacted your life? How has being on this path within a richly diverse community awakened you to new and exciting possibilities? Can it
move you to stand fearlessly before the world, turn your face toward the wind, and let the mysteries and miracles of life wash over you?
Let it Be So.
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Can Unitarian Universalists Ever Be Re-Born Enough?
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