Be a stream not a swamp

Rev. Meg Barnhouse

October 16, 2011

The third in the series on the seven UU Principles. We talk about acceptance, spiritual growth, encouraging one another. What is “spiritual” for Unitarian Universalists?

“Come into the circle of love and justice

Come into the community of mercy, holiness and health

Come and you shall know peace and joy.”

Reading:

The words of Maria Mitchell (pronounced with a long “i”) Nineteenth century Unitarian astronomer and educator

Small as is our whole system compared

with the infinitude of creation, brief as is

our life compared with the cycles of time,

we are so tethered to all the beautiful

dependencies of law, that not only the

sparrow’s fall is felt to the uttermost bound

but the vibrations set in motion by the

words that we utter reach through all space

and the tremor is felt through all time

Sermon

I’m in the middle of a series of sermons on our seven Unitarian Universalist principles. We’re up to the third one now, which says that we covenant (promise) together to affirm and promote: “Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.”

Let me start with “acceptance of one another. That is Unitarian Universalism 101. We come in the door of a UU congregation and we feel that maybe here is a place we can be who we are. All of who we are. What a relief! What a blessing! So it comes with some reciprocity where we are called upon to accept others the way they are as well… it’s still great.

Our church not only accepted but celebrated differences yesterday afternoon on the Capital steps when you all turned out to bless a mass wedding service where around 20 same-sex couples said their vows to one another to make commitments to become life-partners. One woman came up to me after the ceremony to say “The support your faith community showed for us here has renewed my faith.” We sometimes focus too much on whether we feel accepted. I urge you to understand what your acceptance means to others. You lived your mission yesterday.

So acceptance is UU 101, but it’s never over. We work theoretically and practically on acceptance of groups and categories of people. When it gets down to it, it’s about individuals. Some people are easier to accept than others. We’re just talking about within our congregation here. We have astronomers sitting next to astrologers, Libertarians next to Democrats, those who pray next to those who only make wishes. One way of accepting one another is to ignore differences, keep everything on a superficial level, and be sweet. Another way is to engage with a person you’re having trouble with, be curious about your differences, ask questions.

The second part of the principle is “encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.” The word “spiritual” comes from the base “spirare”, to breathe. Spiritus, the noun that most recently has given us spirit and spiritual, means “a breathing, the breath of life.” My definition of spiritual growth has to do with a bit of Christian scripture I memorized as a child. It’s a list of what the author calls “The fruits of the spirit.” If these things are growing, your spirit is being well fed and watered. If they are not growing, your spirit needs some attention. Here is the list: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control are increasing. Given the etymology of the word, maybe you could say it is whatever gives you room inside to breathe deeply, and whatever helps people breathe when they are around you.

I’m going to talk to you about a few ways of growing spiritually as members of this congregation. People talk about church growth all the time, and what they often mean is getting more people in the door. I’m interested in that, in being hospitable to all the people in Austin who need this church, but I’m more interested in the growth of the people who are here right now: growth in spirit, growth in engagement, growth in generosity with time and talent here and elsewhere in life, growth in wisdom, and growth in enjoyment of life. Here are some ways to grow here.

1. Stretch yourself to say good, blessing things to other people. Blessing doesn’t have to be formal and scriptural sounding; it can just be “I like hearing your laugh.” “It’s good to see you this morning.” Blessing can be a question about your family. Saying “I’m sorry for your loss.”

2. Stretching yourself to serve people you don’t know. Making sack lunches for the working homeless, building houses for low-income families, serving meals at a soup kitchen, lobbying legislators for changes that will make those problems less severe. You could start serving people you don’t know right here. There are a good number of people around here that you don’t know. You serve them by blessing them, by having respectful conversation, teaching their children, inviting them to take another step into the center of this congregation.

4. A spirit deepens when a person practices gratitude. Focus on things you are grateful for, and open your heart in gratitude as much as you can.

5. You grow spiritually by giving when you don’t have that much stored up. One writer, Victor M. Parachin, put it this way. “Be a stream, not a swamp. Remember, it is the mountain stream that carries fresh, life-giving water because it flows out. However, the swamp is stagnant. A swamp collects and retains water that comes its way. Don’t be the kind of person who seeks to accumulate much before allowing a little to flow through. “If you own things you don’t use, clothes, furniture, houses, spiritual teachers will say that those things don’t belong to you. They need to be let go of to find their rightful owners. Now, some of you may be saying “she’s stopped preaching and gone to meddling’.” Just consider. What is enough? It is a sickness of the spirit that most of us share, to lose track of what enough is.

We are in the middle of our stewardship season now, when we ask one another for money. You visitors, close you ears now, because giving is a right and a privilege of membership. You members, this is a blessed time in a way, because we have to look at our money situation and ask “What is enough to keep for my family? What is enough to give away?” This congregation needs you to look at your money as green energy that fuels the mission of this church. You are needed. Yes you. It’s healthiest when we have each person, each little family, giving its fair percentage. It’s not up to someone else. We are all grateful to those among us who have promised their support for next year. The amount is not as important as becoming generous within your means in your support of this faith. Be a stream, not a swamp!