Sermons by Minister Pat Guthmann Haresch

We Need One Another

Candidating Sermon delivered by Patricia Guthmann Haresch
Sunday, June 4, 2006

Chalice Lighting

The central task of the religious community

Is to unveil the bonds that bind each to all.

There is a connectedness, a relationship discovered

Amid the particulars of our own lives

And the lives of others. . .

It is the church that assures us

That we are not struggling. . .on our own

But are members of a larger community.

The religious community is essential

For alone our vision is too narrow

To see all that must be seen

And our strength too limited

To do all that must be done.

Together, our vision widens

And our strength is renewed. (Mark Morrison-Reed)

Responsive Reading #468, We Need One Another

Reading

The precious life

That is in you and me

Is the same in all.

Rich and poor, wise and simple,

Strong and feeble

We are joined by a mystic oneness

Whose source we may never know,

But whose reality we can never doubt.

When one suffers, we all suffer.

When one hungers for bread, we all hunger.

When one tramps the streets in search of work,

We all tramp the streets. . . .

The mystic oneness of the one with the many

Has been glimpsed

By all the great seers and leaders of humanity.

We are our neighbor's keeper,

Because that neighbor is but our larger self.

Let a sense of our vital unity

With all people everywhere

Possess our minds and hearts.

Behold, you shall love your neighbor as yourself,

Because your neighbor is yourself. (David Rhys Williams)

In my job, sometimes my best material comes from my little boy's books and songs.  Here's a great song adapted from one of Will's favorite singer/songwriters, Laurie Berkner.  This simple song contains some truth about ministry, acceptance, and the condition of being human.  But, I'm going to ask you for some help.  Whenever I hold my arms out, I would like you to sing back to me whatever line I just sang to you. 

[Sung]  I'm not perfect,  [repeat]

No I'm not [repeat]

I'm not perfect, [repeat]

But I've got what [it is that] I've got

I do my very best, I do my very best

I do my very best each day

But I'm not perfect [repeat]

And I hope you like me that way.

We're not perfect, [repeat]

No we're not [repeat]

We're not perfect,  [repeat]

But we've got what [it is that] we've got

We do our very best, We do our very best

We do our very best each day

But we're not perfect [repeat] 

And [you know we're loved just that way].

            Perhaps you're thinking, didn't our ministerial search packet say we wanted a minister who could walk on water and now she's telling us she's not perfect?  What was your Search Committee thinking?

            Yes, I'm not perfect.  We're not perfect.  But, I'm not trying to beg any sort of theological debate like whether we are born good or bad or sinners or that whole thing.  What I mean is that by our nature, if there is such a thing as human nature, all by ourselves each one of us is incomplete.  Though we may try to do it all, like my son says, "I can do it all by myself,"  the truth is we need each other. 

            In one sense, this idea of "needing each other" is tough for a group of independent Unitarian Universalists to accept.  And weren't we all raised to be self reliant, take care of ourselves, not ask for anything from anybody? 

            We live in the "Don't Tread on Me," republic.  The motto for my state of New Hampshire is "Live Free or Die."  Scott Russell Saunders observes, that in this country "we have understood freedom for the most part negatively rather than positively, as release from constraints rather than as a condition for making a decent life in common.   Hands off, we say; give me elbow room; good fences make good neighbours; my home is my castle. . .I'm looking out for number one, we say; I'm doing my own thing.  We have a Bill of Rights, which protects each of us from a bullying society, but no Bill of Responsibilities, which would oblige us to answer the needs of others."  We celebrate the self made man, those who have risen up apparently all by themselves by their bootstraps.  Yet, we know that it takes a village to raise a child.

             The old notion of self reliance is a myth.  We are caught in an interdependent web of relationship made of visible and invisible strings.  The old way of being stoic and doing everything on one's own, not asking for help is now recognized as being unhealthy and dysfunctional.  It is a greater sign of strength and wisdom, to ask for help when one needs it, then to let one's self or one's organization become unhealthy or falter in some way. 

            Isn't "making a decent life in common" why we are drawn to congregations?  Why you and I were drawn to this place?  Don't we all desire to be a part of a community as Saunders describes "that is exuberant, joyful, grounded in affection, pleasure, and mutual aid.  Such a community arises not from duty or money but from the free interchange of people who share a place, share [in doing work and breaking bread together], sorrows and hope.  Taking part in the common life means dwelling in a web of relationships, the many threads tugging at you while also holding you upright." 

            Rather than the motto from Western philosophy, "I think therefore I am," the new motto of the day, our time, might be the African proverb, "I am because we are."

            We need each other for support, for sustenance, to expand what it is we might achieve that we cannot do alone.  When I enter into this space, yes, as a trained professional, I come in with on-the-job training as a minister, thousands of dollars worth of undergraduate and graduate training in Unitarian Universalist history, theology, conflict resolution, worship arts, world religions, administration.  Perhaps you've even seen my credentials.  Yet, of course, into this room each one of us, brings a long list of unique skills and life experiences that alone might be amazing enough, but imagine the power and awesomeness and you've probably witnessed it from time to time, when a group like this unites talents and wisdom and together works toward something, toward a common vision and goal. 

            In a sense, we need each other to complete each other.  We are communal beings, dependent upon each other and all of life.  In his last Christmas sermon, Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, "We are interdependent. . .all life is interrelated.  We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. . .Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."  As our Unitarian Universalist principles state, we are a part of "the interdependent web of all existence."  We know this interdependence as a daily and scientific fact, but it is also a spiritual reality.  We believe all of the cosmos is made of the same building blocks, the elements, atoms and molecules.  In the words of Norman Cousins, "I am a single cell in a body of four billion cells."  David Rhys Williams refers to this underlying reality as the mystic oneness, the vital unity.  Many of the world's religions would call this "underlying unity of life" the Divine.

            From a Sikh source, "God lives in all, and abides with you too. . .The Divine dwells inside everything."  (Tegh Bahadur)   In Hebrew scripture, the Prophet Isaiah declares, "All is filled with the glory of God. (Isa 6.3)  Among the sacred Hindu texts is the Bhagavad-Gita.  It states that "I am the Self, [an underlying reality] that dwells in the heart of every mortal creature."  From the Taoist text, The Tao Te Ching, "Before creation a presence existed . . .Perhaps I should have called it "the fullness of life," since fullness implies widening into space, implies still further widening, implies widening until the circle is whole."  I like that.  As an alternative to  God or the Divine, we might call whatever presence is the sum of all the parts, "the fullness of life."  You and I and all of the cosmos together make up the fullness of life.  

            As some Native Americans would say, "All are our relations."  Some liken the mystic oneness, the relation of all to each other to a body.  Norman Cousins words again, "I am a single cell in a body of four billion cells.  The body is humankind. . .I am interlocked with other human beings in the consequences of actions, thoughts, and feelings."  From the Muslim poet Saadi, "All peoples are members of the same body, created from one essence.  Even in Christian scripture, the Apostle Paul suggests that all are a part of the body of God and individually members of it.  (1 Cor 12.27)  As members of one great Unity, Paul goes on to say "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it." (1 Cor 12.26)

            If one member of the body suffers, we all suffer.  When one rejoices, we all rejoice.  We need one another to heal.  Our hearts soar even higher when we can share our celebrations with others.

            When the Apostle Paul spoke of this body imagery, he was writing a letter of encouragement and advice to a congregation in Corinth.  He was referring to the idea of spiritual gifts, that there is a diversity within this unity of the body.  Each member of the body has been given special gifts and talents for the common good of all.  Paul writes, "Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. . .The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head of the feet, 'I have no need of you.'" (1 Cor 12.14 & .20-.21) 

            All the members of the body, the single cells among four billion cells are needed and important for the whole.  Paul concludes, "What should be done then, my friends?  When you come together, each one has a hymn [who here among us has a hymn], a lesson [who here has a lesson], a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.  Let it all be done." (1 Cor 14.26)

            Let it all be done.  What are the gifts in you that you already and might yet offer to this community, to the world, to help make this congregation, help make the world a Beloved Community?  Whatever might be your joy, your passion, and skill, share it here.  Alone we are imperfect, but if we all bring [sing] "what it is that we've got," together we can be awesome.

            And what each of us has got is all that we've got.  It is only through the time, talents and treasures of the members and friends of a Unitarian Universalist congregation that a religious community remains.  Our price for freedom without strings attached, is that we are not part of a denomination that foots the bill. 

            Each congregation is independent, freely associated with the Unitarian Universalist Association.  As a congregation you are free to make your own decisions.  Free to take whatever direction you want.  Free to call a minister of your choosing.  Whatever is provided here whether it be the shelter, the electricity, the spiritual and intellectual sustenance, the choices, the vision, the music, the welcoming in, comes from all of you and the broader circle of this congregations' members and friends.  Within UU congregations, we need one another in so many ways.

            Now you might say, "Okay, Pat, that's all fine and dandy.  But, what about you?"

            What about me?  In a sense what I have just presented to you forms the basis of my way of doing ministry, you could say my theology of ministry.  The assumption that we are all involved in circles of community, webs of relationship centered upon something whether it be family, a neighborhood, social justice work, what we do for a living, or a congregation.  That the harmonious and dynamic workings of communities is where positive change occurs.  Where the individual can be supported and people working and playing together can make a difference.  As a minister, my job is to be mindful both of the individuals ("the single cells") and the whole network of relationships within the congregation.  Some liken a minister to a diagnostician, who in a sense is always taking the pulse and temperature, concerned with the health of the congregation. 

            I don't come with a pre-packaged plan of this is how church is done and what I think all of you should do is "x" or "z".  Although as Jennifer is learning, I do have ideas.  My main job is to listen.  Listen to what's in your heads, hearts, and souls.  You are the dream makers.  As minister, perhaps my role is more of a dream weaver, (I like the sound of that, "dream weaver") drawing from many resources to help you all bring all of your dreams together.

            This is my model for ministry.  Here's the church, here's the steeple, open it up and here's all the people.  There's no minister.  Because the people call the minister.  It's all about the people.  It's all about you.  My image of ministry, my gifts are that of facilitator or companion on the journey.  One who meets you on your path to God or enlightenment, the spiritual journey, however you name it and helps you get closer to your goal, either as an individual or as a congregation.  I come with training and resources to help you attain your hopes and aspirations within this and the broader world.  Perhaps it sounds a bit illusive, a bit simple, but believe me, the work is very concrete and is no small task. 

            Ready for a joke?  Have you ever heard the one about a man who fell overboard from his little boat and was thrashing around in the water when another boat pulled up.  And the other boater shouted, "Jump in, we'll save you."  But the drowning man answered, "No, God will save me."  Other boaters tried to help him twice more, until a rescue helicopter finally arrived and hovered over him. Once again, the man refused help on the same grounds.  "God will save me."  Well, the man finally drowned and, try to imagine, as he crossed the Pearly Gates he gazed into God's eyes with obvious confusion.  "I placed my faith in you and you let me drown." "Let you drown?", exclaimed God. "I sent  you three boats and a helicopter and you refused them all."

            In a sense this is how we are saved, this is how we are fulfilled, this is how we are healed and loved.  We do it for each other.  (If we will let others help us.)  We do it as a community, each with our own unique contributions.  We are the rescue boats and helicopters.  Call it the fullness of life or the Spirit of Love, it is within and moves among all of us, through each of us. 

           The Apostle Paul wrote to the congregation in Corinth, "Now there are varieties of [spiritual] gifts, but the same Spirit. . .To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Cor 12.4-7)  Each of us have been given gifts from the Spirit, The Universe, all of life.  In a sense, we are the hands, the eyes, the feet, the ears, the voice of creative force and energy.  This is how we serve, we help, we minister to each other.  As your called minister, I can bring in the presence of professional ministry, but the Spirit of Love, the fullness of life resides in all and works through all in one way or another.

            I close with words mostly from Rabbi Rami Shapiro that gets back to this notion of the Invisible String and what we do for each other in circles of community.

We are loved by an unending love.

We are embraced by arms that find us,

            even when we are hidden from ourselves.

We are touched by fingers that soothe us,

            even when we are too proud for soothing.

We are counseled by voices that guide us,

            even when we are too embittered to hear.

We are loved by an unending love.

We are supported by hands that uplift us

            even in the midst of a fall.

We are urged on by eyes that meet us,

            even when we are too weak for meeting.

Embraced, touched, soothed, and counseled. . .

Ours are the arms, the fingers, the voices;

            ours are the hands, the eyes, the smiles;

[Imperfect as we may be.

We are the rescue boats and helicopters sent to those who are drowning.

We are connected in mystery and miracle by invisible strings that tug on us while holding us upright.]

We are loved by an unending love. 

May it be so.