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Rev. Chris Jimmerson
October 20, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

Author, theologian, and Minister David Augsburger writes, “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.” Feeling truly heard can be such a blessing. Might it also be true that truly hearing is a sacred act that will nourish our own soul?

Chalice Lighting

This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.

Call to Worship

When you listen so completely to another, you are also listening to yourself, listening to your own problems, to your own uncertainties, to your own misery, confusion, desire for security … We are talking together about what human beings are, which is you.

– J. Krishnamurti
(a philosopher, speaker, writer, and spiritual figure from India.)

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

LISTENING WITH THE HEART
by Gary Kowalski
(a white, retired UU Minister and author of numerous books on animals, spirituality, history and the environment.)

Maybe prayer doesn’t mean talking to God at all.
Maybe it means just listening.
Unplugging the TV, turning off the computer,
Quieting the mental chatter and distractions.

Maybe it means listening to the birds
And the insects, the wind in the leaves,
the creaking and groaning of the trees, noticing
Who else is out there, not far away but nearby;

Sitting so still we can hear our heartbeat,
Watch our breath, the gentle whoosh of air,
The funny noises from our own insides,
Marveling at the body we take so much for granted.

Maybe it means listening to our dreams,
Paying more attention to what we really want from life,
And less attention to all the nagging, scolding voices from our past.

Or maybe it’s all about listening to each other,
Not thinking ahead to how we can answer or rebut or parry or advise or admonish,
But actually being present to each other.

Perhaps if we just sit quietly we’ll overhear a peace whispering through the centuries
That’s missing from the clamor of the moment.

Maybe prayer means listening to the silences between the words,
Noticing the negativity of space,
The vast, undifferentiated and nameless wonder
That underlies it all.

Maybe prayer doesn’t mean talking to God at all,
But listening with the heart,
To the angel choirs all around us.

Those who have ears,
Let them hear.

Sermon

“Sainthood emerges when you can listen to someone’s tale of woe and not respond with a description of your own.” So says author, Dr. Andrew V. Mason.

And yet, listen to these statistics that indicate our sainthood may be a ways away from emerging yet:

• 75% of the time, we are distracted or preoccupied rather than truly listening,
• After listening to someone talk, we can immediately recall only about 50% of what they said. Even less if we didn’t like the subject or the person! One hour later, we remember less than 20%,
• It takes less than 7 seconds for you to decide if you trust someone or not. If not, our primitive brain then filters out whatever else they say,
• Less than 2% of the population has had formal education on how to listen,
• We listen at 125-250 words per minute, but think at 1000- 3000 words per minute,
• Most people are uncomfortable with silence and can only make it less than 10 seconds before having to ask a question or say something to break the silence.

And yet, 85% of what we learn is through listening, not talking or even reading.

Further, one in five Americans reports feeling lonely every single day, and having someone to talk with and who will share with us is the key element for alleviating loneliness.

So, it seems we too often are not listening to one another, at least not deeply.

Not only that, but studies show that most of us, most often may not be deeply listing to other important aspects of our lives, such as:

• Our own inner voice and calling.
• Our own emotions.
• What our own bodies are telling us.
• Nature.
• God, or that which we consider ultimate and larger than ourselves.
• The cry of a world that is hurting and needs us to hear and take action.

Theologian David Augsburger wrote, “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person they are almost indistinguishable.”

And, as our Call to Worship pointed out, doing the listening, hearing deeply is essential to our own wellbeing. It is how we learn and grow the most. It is how we create connection and belonging. It is the way in which we live love.

Now, I want to pause and acknowledge that for folks who face physical hearing challenges, which these days includes me, the language around deep listening might feel ill-fitting.

So let’s acknowledge the metaphor and respect that, for all of us, deeply understanding, respecting, and embracing one another involves all of our available ways of accessing and interacting with the world around us.

Telling our stories, and feeling that they have been deeply understood and respected, it vital to us as humans. As already noted, it is one one the huge ways by which we feel loved.

It creates a sense of belonging and acceptance.
It is how we process large emotions, such as grief.
It can alleviate suffering and help heal our woundedness. Deep listening is a gift and a blessing we can give to one another.

And doing the deep listening is a one of the practices that can nourish our own souls and transform our own lives the very most.

When we truly hold the story of another, we open ourselves to love – we create love in our relationships.

The sense of belonging and acceptance it creates for the person to whom we listen, it creates for us also.

And, it may touch our own suffering in ways that begin to heal the wounds we carry.

As I mentioned earlier, offering deep understanding to another is a major way in which we learn and grow.

When we fully embrace the sacred stories of others, we ourselves move into the hallowed space that is the ground of our own sacredness.

Now, that is pretty, abstract language, but how, practically, does such deep listening help us to learn and grow?

Well, probably in too many ways to cover them all today, but one of the bigs ones is it helps us overcome one of the major barriers to our own intellectual, emotional and spiritual development.

Confirmation bias.

And all of us as humans share a tendency toward it, at least to some degree.

Confirmation bias is when we come to believe something, and then start to only take in that information which supports what we already think, while simultaneously ignoring or reinterpreting anything that might contradict it.

Sound at all familiar?

Let’s bring it a little closer to home.

Let’s say, one were to decide something like, oh, I don’t know, those ministers talk too much about God during church. (or visa versa, but anyway).

Confirmation bias would then cause us to only sit up and take notice every time God or related language gets mentioned during a church service – you know, scribbling in our order of service, talkin’ about God stuff again.

And then, we would also ignore or explain away when no or very little such language gets used, never hearing that other folks would like more of a language of reverence.

Same thing with, “Worship should follow a set order of service and be exactly one hour” versus “No, services should be experimental and vary depending upon what needs to he addressed.”

or … “Too much boring old classical white people music” versus “No, we have too much new-fangled, non-reverent music.”

And then, too often, we only hear and remember what we don’t like and miss out on enjoying what we love!

The beautiful thing about listing deeply to others is, in order to do it, we have to acknowledge what they think, even if it contradicts what we do.

Now, that may not mean that we come to agree with them, but it at least allows information that confirmation bias would have otherwise caused us to ignore, and by doing so, we open ourselves to learning and growth and a possible expansion of our own perspective.

Not to mention a greater understanding of our fellow human beings and their beliefs, potential biases, and preferences.

I think of when I studied Buddhism. I didn’t become a Buddhist as a result, but I did come to understand how other folks perceive their world, and it altered my own practices – enhanced and added nuance to my own theology.

This way that listening deeply can break through our confirmation biases, I think, can be especially important when we find ourselves in strong disagreement with others.

Author, actor and founder of Urban Confessional: A Free Listening Movement, Benjamin Mathes tells a story of when he held up a sign that simply said, “free listening” at the Republican National Convention.

I want to read you an edited version of his story, because I don’t think I could do it justice otherwise. He writes:

She was just staring at me.

Finally, she walked up, and like a young warrior preparing for battle, she said:

“I don’t usually do this … But, I think abortion is wrong. It s not a form of birth control, and people who have them should be arrested for murder.”

… I wanted to stop her, and tell her my story.

I’ve sat with two loved ones as they suffered through the difficult decision and consequences of ending a pregnancy. It was a brutal human experience …

There were so many things I wanted to say.

I wanted to change her mind, to argue, to disagree. It s a natural response.

But, if my story brought me to my beliefs, then I needed to know how her story brought her to her beliefs.

So, I asked:

“Thank you for sharing that. Tell me your story? I’d love to know how you came to this point of view.”

She seemed surprised by my interest.

“Why? It doesn’t matter. Your sign said Free Listening, so I gave you something to listen to.”

“Give me more to listen to.”

“They should be locked up! Its wrong. Its not right to go out and sleep with whoever, then just toss away the result like it never happened.”

She paused … then inhaled the entire world.

“And its not fair. All I’ve ever wanted to be is a mom. My whole life, I knew I was meant to have children. Then, when I was 18 É 18 the doctor told me I’d never have children.

I kept it a secret, and when my husband found out, he left me. I’m alone, my body doesn’t work, I’m old … who will ever love me …”

I wondered if she could hear my heart breaking

Sometimes, there s nothing to “disagree” with.

I didn’t need to be right.

I just needed to be there.

She wiped away a few tears, gave me a hug, and thanked me for listening.

Maybe one day, she’ll hear my story. But today, it was my turn to hear hers.

I hope she felt loved.

The truth is, … our love can hold space for paradox, tension, and disagreement … our listening, must bring in, not edit out.

Dare to listen, dare to be quiet, dare to seek understanding; in the end, it’s the people we need to love, not their opinions.

Now, Benjamin Mathes didn’t change his mind about reproductive justice that day.

He did learn something about our own biases regarding those with whom we disagree.

And in fact, those who study it say that the number one way to dialogue with folks with whom we disagree, is to start with the question he asked, “Would you tell me your story?”

As one researcher put it, “Hear the Biography, not the ideology.”

Now, I’d like to quickly share a few other important tips for listening deeply, whether or not we agree or disagree:

• When possible, maintain eye contact and watch for verbal cues.
• Stop formulating your response while they are still speaking – you can’t keep an open mind if you do.
• Wait until they pause to ask questions and then only ask questions to clarify. “How can you possibly think that?” is not a clarifying question.
• Practice the 80/20 rule – if you are talking more than 20% of the time, stop talking and start listening more.

Finally, I want to close with two really big ones: Stop interrupting!

Author and researcher Diane Schilling writes, “Interrupting sends a variety of messages. It says:

• ‘I’m more important than you are.’
• ‘What I have to say is more interesting, accurate or relevant.’
• ‘I don’t really care what you think.’
• ‘I don’t have time for your opinion.’
• ‘This isn’t a conversation, it’s a contest, and I’m going to win.’

And, lastly and maybe most vitally, treat listening deeply as a spiritual practice … because we have to practice it in order to actually do it in our daily lives.

As I mentioned earlier, almost none of us were taught how to listen.

And one of the ways we can get the practice is right here, in this our religious community.

We can practice with each other.

And our small group ministries are designed specifically to encourage deep listening.

We can use them as models.

What if we made life our own small group ministry?

Whether it is with other people; our own inner voice, emotions or body; that which we consider ultimate; God; the cry of a world that needs us, deep listening is a sacred act.

“The truth is, … our love can hold space for paradox, tension, and disagreement … our listening; must bring in, not edit out.

Dare to listen, dare to be quiet, dare to seek understanding … Then, might our sainthood emerge after all.

It’s worth a try.

Amen.

Extinguishing the Chalice

We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.

Benediction

HOW TO LISTEN
by Joyce Stephan

Tilt your head slightly to one side and lift your eyebrows expectantly. Ask questions.
Delve into the subject at hand or let things come randomly.
Don’t expect answers.
Forget everything you’ve ever done. Make no comparisons. Simply listen.
Listen as if the story you are hearing is happening right now.
Listen as if a move might frighten the truth away forever.
Don’t attempt to copy anything down.
Don’t bring a camera or a recorder.
This is your chance to listen carefully.
Your whole life might depend on what you hear.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 24 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Chris Jimmerson
September 29, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

This month, our church has been participating with our sibling churches throughout the country in the UU Climate Justice Revival. We have had a variety of learning and participation opportunities throughout September, focusing particularly on the climate crisis. This Sunday will be the culmination of those activities, and we will explore how faith can ground us in hope and resilience as we work to save our planet and ourselves.

Chalice Lighting

This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.

Call to Worship

THE MOMENT
by Margaret Atwood

The moment when, after many years
of hard work and a long voyage
you stand in the centre of your room,
house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,
knowing at last how you got there,
and say, I own this,
is the same moment when the trees
unloose their soft arms from around you,
the birds take back their language,
the cliffs fissure and collapse,
the air moves back from you like a wave
and you can’t breathe.

No, they whisper.
You own nothing.
You were a visitor,
time after time
climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.
We never belonged to you.
You never found us.
It was always the other way round.

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

HOW THE EARTH TRANSFORMS US
by Thomas Starr King
from an 1863 sermon entitled “Lessons from the Sierra Nevada”

Thomas Starr King was an American Universalist and Unitarian minister. Starr King was a dedicated abolitionist and supporter of black liberation. He was credited by Abraham Lincoln with preventing California from becoming a separate republic. He is sometimes referred to as “the orator who saved the nation”.

I believe that if, on every Sunday morning before going to church, we could be lifted to a mountain peak and see a horizon line of six hundred miles enfolding the copious splendor of the light on such a varied expanse; or if we could look upon a square mile of flowers representing all the species with which the Creative Spirit embroiders a zone; or if we could be made to realize the distance of the earth from the sun, the light of which travels every morning twelve millions of miles a minute to feed and bless us, and which the force of gravitation pervades without intermission to hold our globe calmly in its orbit and on its poise; if we could fairly perceive, through our outward senses, one or two features of the constant order and glory of nature, our materialistic dullness would be broken, surprise and joy would be awakened, we should feel that we live amid the play of Infinite thought; and the devout spirit.

Sermon

This month at the church, we have been participating in the nationwide Unitarian Universalist Climate Justice Revival.

So it is sadly synchronistic that, as we entered this capstone weekend and worship service of our month dedicated to climate justice, we have witnessed the heartbreaking destruction and loss of life caused by Hurricane Helene.

Because of the climate crisis, our existing model for tracking and predicting hurricanes has become woefully inadequate.

The model is based largely on maximum sustained windspeed, and because of warming sea waters, these storms are growing more powerful, with higher winds developing. This has led some scientists to propose adding categories 6 and 7 to our current 5.

Perhaps even more significantly, our storms now can intensify much more rapidly, as Helene did, and they are massive.

So, they can bring greater destruction over a much wider swath of areas and cause much greater damage and loss of life even at lower categories because even with lower wind speeds they now bring such immense tidal surges, rains, and other storm effects

And these ever more threatening hurricanes are just one of the many increasingly severe weather events we are enduring across the globe because of the human caused climate crisis.

Now, I suspect that I don’t need to convince most of you that the climate crisis is real, is a huge threat, and that it is, in fact, being caused by humans.

So, if I have climate crisis deniers listening in this morning, rest easily. I am not going to try to convince you to change your minds.

In fact, the folks who study these things say that would most often be a waste of time – that we are better off talking with folks who are convincible but not yet engaged, as well as talking amongst those of us who already believe the climate crisis science, so that we are moved to hope and action, rather than getting mired in despair over how daunting the climate challenge really is.

Many, many thanks to church members Victoria and Bob Hendricks, for leading so many activities, artistic projects, discussions and more this month that have allowed folks of all ages in this church to do just that!

Each week, Bob and Victoria have led us in a different area of exploration. Their first weekly theme was “personal action to fight climate change”.

As you heard earlier, folks in this church sent over 8,000 postcards to climate engaged, but inconsistent voters, encouraging them to get out and vote in this election.

Further, we’ve discussed that we can all reduce our carbon footprint, vote, and take public action on the climate crisis.

And studies show that the more each of us do that, the more other folks will join in and do so also.

The next theme is on how “a fight for any social justice, is a fight for climate justice”.

(Slide)

Bob send me this picture from one such discussion where folks in this church put magnetic markers on a board to show the justice concerns we address.

First, I am struck by such a wonderful range of justice concerns. Second, they are all so intersectional. Here are just a few examples specifically related to climate justice.

• • Immigration – the climate crisis is driving huge increases in migration, as folks are forced to leave their native lands that are becoming uninhabitable.

• • We know that LGBTQ+ youth are much more likely to experience housing insecurity and are thus more likely to be extremely endangered by climate events like Hurricane Helene.

• • BICPOC folks are disproportionately being displaced by climate gentrification, as extraordinarily wealthy, mostly white folks take over geographic areas less likely to be as susceptible to the ravages of climate change.

• Democracy – We know that severe weather events make it much more difficult for low income and poor people to vote.

And, these areas of justice are also interconnected because we have more power when know they intersect, and so we combine our efforts.

Victories in one area of justice so often lead to victories in others. The next theme is that we have to talk about the climate crisis.

Telling our stories is one of the most powerful ways we can encourage one another to join and/or stay in the fight.

Stories like in the film, Cooked: Survival by Zipcode that we showed at the church during the revival.

It tells the heartrending story of a tragic heatwave in Chicago” in which 739 citizens died over the course of a single week, most of them poor, elderly, and African American.

• Intersectionality.

In a wonderful Ted Talk, “The most important thing you can do to fight climate change: talk about it,” climate scientist Kathryn Hayhoe acknowledges that talking about it can be really hard.

She says that rather than talking about science and facts, we should look for shared values to discuss.

I have a friend who is more conservative, but who loves nature and gardening.

The climate crisis is changing what plants they can choose and altering some of our mutual favorite nature spots, and that has opened up a whole conversation between us that had never been possible before.

Well, our final theme this month is the importance of public policy in combatting the climate crisis.

The truth is, while all of our individual efforts are absolutely vital, they will not be enough to overcome the damage inflicted by large corporations that

are placing short-term profits over people’s lives and even their own, longterm viability.

The only thing that can stop them is public policy, and they are spending billions to make sure their voices are louder than than ours.

And that can be discouraging, I know. But we can vote in greater numbers.

We may have less dollars, but we can make sure we have many, many more voices to amplify.

Bob Hendricks tells the story of how by 2021, climate activists had grown greatly discouraged by how, despite putting pressure on congress for many years, their voices were getting drowned out by the corporate lobbyists.

But then, the Biden Administration introduced the Build Back Better Act, that due in large part to their efforts, included billions in funding to fight the climate crisis.

Through many a battle, even after it looked like we might lose several times, eventually, we got a version passed that included provisions that could reduce carbon pollution by 43 to 48% by 2035.

My beloveds, we can have hope.

We can win the battle to begin reversing this crisis.

Just visit drawdown.org and see the multitude of science-backed ways in which we can do it.

As our call to worship and our reading earlier illustrate, we can find hope by remembering that we are inextricably woven within the web of all existence and letting the beauty of that center us in a great love for it, just as we have centered our UU faith in love.

And one of the ways that we do that is through embodied ritual.

So this morning, I want to invite you to participate in one such ritual.

We have provided you with these sheets of water soluble paper. And yes, it is environmentally friendly, even after dissolved in water.

I am going to play a video featuring just some of that for which we are centering ourselves in love.

I invite you as the video plays to contemplate two things:

• • 1. where you find hope and love regarding the climate crisis, and

• 2. at least one commitment you will make to combat it.

I invite you to either write these on your paper or to simply whisper them into it. If you are online, please feel free to post the same into the comments.

During the music, I invite you to then come forward down the outer aisles and dissolve your paper into the vases of water we have placed up front, exiting down the center aisle.

After the service, we will use the water to nurture our tree of hope and remembrance that we planted on our grounds a few years ago and that has against all odds survived both ice storm and draught, sometimes just barely. May the love and commitment you mingle together in these waters keep hope and remembrance alive and thriving.

All blessings upon these waters. All blessing upon the hope, love and commitment you have blended into them.

Extinguishing the Chalice

We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.

Benediction

– Thich Nhat Hanh

This beautiful, bounteous, life-giving planet we call Earth has given birth to each one of us, and each one of us carries the Earth within every cell of our body …

We can all experience a feeling of deep admiration and love when we see the great harmony, elegance and beauty of the Earth. A simple branch of cherry blossom, the shell of a snail or the wing of a bat – all bear witness to the Earth’s masterful creativity … When we can truly see and understand the Earth, love is born in our hearts. We feel connected. That is the meaning of love: to be at one.

Only when we’ve truly fallen back in love with the Earth will our actions spring from reverence and the insight of our interconnectedness.

May we heed his words.

May the congregation say, “Amen”, and “blessed be”. Go in peace.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 24 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Chris Jimmerson
September 22, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

We are barreling toward the holidays and all the joy, stress, love, grief, community, busyness, beauty, loneliness, and so much more they can entail. And then there is also a major election and its as yet unknown aftermath. How do we begin to find our spiritual center so that we can be better prepared for the heightened intensity of the season to come?

Chalice Lighting

This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.

Call to Worship

WE ARE
– Clarissa Pinkola Estes

We do not become healers.
We came as healers.
We are
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.

We do not become storytellers.
We came as carriers of the stories
we and our ancestors actually lived.
We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.

We do not become artists.
We came as artists.
We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.

We do not become writers … dancers … musicians … helpers … peacemakers.
We came as such.
We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.

We do not learn to love in this sense.
We came as Love.
We are Love.
Some of us are still catching up to who we truly are.

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

REMEMBER
– Joy Harjo

Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence
of her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too.
Talk to them, listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.

Sermon

Happy Holidays!

No, Rev. Chris isn’t losing it.

It’s just, it is September and all of the stores have had Halloween decor out for weeks already.

I was at an HEB the other day, and they already had a whole fall Thanksgiving merchandise display up.

A local news station recently ran a story about a great brouhaha that has erupted on social media over Hobby Lobby already putting out Christmas decorations.

So, like it or not, we already get to start thinking about the impending season of joy.

Or angst, depending upon your perspective.

So, I thought we might start this morning with a little embodied spiritual engagement.

I will ask some questions. If the answer is true for you, and you are here in person, please just raise your hand. Or you can stand up and cry hallelujah if you are so moved. If you’re online, feel free to answer in the comments.

Of courses if you are uncomfortable with any of this, it’s fine to just think about what your answer might be.

OK, first question. How many of you are just jazzed about the upcoming holiday season?

How many of you are already stressed about it and would happily tell Hobby Lobby exactly what they can do with their way too early Christmas decorations?

Any abstentia?

Personally I feel deeply that the display of Thanksgiving and Christmas decor should be banned until the average daily high temperature has fallen to no more 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

And during the middle of all of it, we also have that pesky election coming up.

How many of you are feeling extremely nervous about the election and/or its potential aftermath?

Well if you are having less than joy-filled feelings about the holidays and/or the election, you are not alone.

Surveys have found that 62% of folks feel elevated stress during the holidays. Forty percent don’t want to celebrate at all because of grief and loss. Sixty percent feel lonely at some point during the holidays; 64% of folks with psychological challenges say the the holidays make their conditions worse. Cardiac mortality is highest during the holiday season.

Now, add to that a presidential election year, where three quarters of the population says they are feeling stressed and anxious, over a quarter are in conflict with their family or loved ones, and 40% say they are depressed about it. We have seen that before, right here at this church.

For several weeks after the 2016 election, I remember having to pull chairs out of the fellowship hall and put them in the back of the sanctuary to handle all of the folks coming to our services because they needed community in the face of the fear and trauma they were experiencing.

My therapist told me that therapists were seeking each other out for counseling sessions in the aftermath of that election.

During the 2020 election and its aftermath, our requests for pastoral care went way up, especially after the January 6 attempted coup (and that’s what it was. We were just lucky that it was so incompetently planned).

So, while the holidays can certainly bring joy, community, family, generosity and more, one of our pre-holiday annual rituals has also become trying to prepare ourselves for the potentially not so bright aspects of the season – the sheer intensity of it.

As I was thinking about this, the first thought that occurred to me is that we have to start our preparing by centering ourselves – locating ourselves within that calmest, strongest, truest self – that spark of the divine within each of us.

And that’s how being a part of a faith community like this one can be such a huge support for us moving into the upcoming season.

The second thought that occurred to me though, is that one of the things that makes it more difficult for all of us to find our spiritual center is that we are all carrying at least a certain degree of collective trauma and grief from the events of the past several years. And we have to recognize that in order to move past it.

So, I want to spend some time this morning talking about everyone’s favorite holiday topics – trauma and grief.

First though, I do want to let you that you don’t have to take my word for any of this – I ran it by my therapist, and she said it was spot on. Of course, I am paying her to make me feel better.

So first, collective trauma and grief are much like our individual experiences of them, only they occur when entire communities experience them all at once.

Communities that have gone through natural disasters, war and genocide, our country after the terrorists attacks of 9/11/2001, the world community after the Covid pandemic are a few examples.

My therapist pointed out that it was only a few years ago that we were all witnessing images of refrigerator trucks parked outside of our hospitals because so many people had died of Covid that the morgues were all full.

So, she commented, it would be a far stretch to say we are past having collective trauma and grief that may be hampering our ability to engage our spiritual center.

Now, quickly, trauma and grief are not the same.

Trauma is the emotional and psychological response to deeply disturbing or distressing events whether or not they involve a permanent loss, while grief is a collection of strong, often painful feelings that follow a loss or that happen in anticipation of a loss.

I’m talking about them together today though, because they so often occur together and can be strongly interwoven.

For instance, an unaddressed trauma response can often lead to what is sometimes called complicated grief – where we either delay our grief because we are unable to fully engage with it, or we kind of get stuck in continuous, profound and often disabling grief because of the trauma.

All of this is especially common with collective forms of trauma and grief. Now, of course, when we are part of these collective experiences we also experience it as individuals, and it doesn’t change that we may at the same time also experience traumatic events or loss in our own individual lives too.

Before I talk about how we might move though collective trauma and grief, many of you know that I am grieving the recent loss of my spouse Wayne.

So, it would feel disingenuous for me not to talk a little bit about individual trauma and grief.

I will ask your understanding that it is too soon for me to able to talk more than just a little bit about it. And, again, I don’t pretend to be an expert on all this. I am reading a good book about it though, because I am a good Unitarian Universalist.

Here are a few things I can say.

• • Messages of love and support matter. Thank you to all of you have sent such messages to me.

• • For me, physical affection helps a lot too. Hugs are welcome. For other folks though, please do ask first whether physical expressions of affection would be helpful or not.

• Asking how I am doing is not particularly helpful.

Most of the time, the honest answer would be “I have no idea. I cry a lot.” And that’s OK, my book says that’s part of grieving.

Still, I might not especially feel like talking about it just then and how I am doing seems to change every few minutes anyway.

Having said that, know that I forget and ask folks that because I genuinely am concerned about how they’re doing.

Know we all sometimes struggle with knowing what to say, and that when our heart is in the right place, that will be clear, even if we don’t know what the right words might be.

As Parker Palmer put it,

“It’s not about what you say … I took comfort and strength from the people who neither fled from me nor tried to save me but were simply present to me.”

We can more support those who are grieving by offering compassion, understanding and tenderness.

So, please understand I find I tire easily, which my book says is also very common, so I am not at 100% and will have to pace my church schedule for a while.

I also have absolutely no memory. So please forgive me if I forget things, or something never makes it to my to-do list. Feel free to send an email follow up so it’s more likely to get on that list and to check back later with a gentle reminder if it seems like maybe it didn’t.

Finally, a couple of related items – grief doesn’t just happen because of losing someone we love like I am experiencing – and sometimes we can get all judgy about trauma and grief, and that can make folks who are grieving the loss of a job, or a dream, or a pet, or a marriage or relationship and so on, afraid to share what they are feeling.

So, related to that, we often don’t know who is coping with trauma and grief, and as I’ve said, and my therapist verified, we are all dealing with some degree of collective trauma and grief, so we might do well to just always approach one another with that compassion, understandings and tenderness I mentioned earlier.

OK, now, how do we help each other move through collective trauma and grief so that each of us is better able to spiritually center ourselves as we move into this election and holiday season?

Remember after 9-11, when we are told to just go shopping? That’s not it. Perhaps not surprisingly, what it does involve is many of the same ways we center ourselves individually, only for collective experiences we also heal together communally.

One of the best examples of this I have read is the story of the grieving parents, as well as the children who survived the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting.

It is hard to believe the children who survived are now young adults. Together, as a community, the folks from Sandy Hook:

• • created opportunities for public mourning and embodied rituals

• • offered the children therapy involving theatre type play

• • engaged in community art projects reflecting upon their losses

• • made lists within their community of folks whom they would check in on and who would check in on them

• • volunteered to help other people through the trauma of the seemingly endless stream of continuing mass shooting events

• organized to advocate changes to this country’s abominable gun laws.

Those last two kind of remind me of the saying by author E.B. White

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”

I think we too often forget that in our efforts to save the world, we are also, so often, saving ourselves.

As we approach this holiday season and this election, as a religious community, we can do all of the things they did to help each other work though our fears and any pain we may carry so that we can, as we heard in our call to worship earlier, catch up to the love we truly are.

Certainly, depending upon how the election and its aftermath go, we will offer rituals and other opportunities for processing it communally.

If you are feeling like you might like some support moving into the holidays, please feel free to contact caring@austinuu.org.

Together, we can help each other remember – remember our profound interconnectedness, as so beautifully illustrated by our reading today.

Together, we can help each remember – remember to offer one another compassion, understanding, and tenderness throughout the season.

Remember that we, as a community are faith-FULL. Remember that we already have strong hearts. Remember that we already are true hearts. Remember.

Amen.

Extinguishing the Chalice

We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.

Benediction

Now let us go out into the world centered in the love we already are.
Now let us remember that the universe is within us and we are the universe.
Now let us know that our fears and sorrows can open us to even more joy and even more love.
Now let us find peace in building the Beloved Community.

May the congregation say, “Amen”, and “Blessed be.”
Go in peace.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 24 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Chris Jimmerson and Rev. Michelle LaGrave
August 25, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

Rev. Michelle and Rev. Chris will answer your questions about the church, life, the universe, and everything (though neither will pretend to have the answers to all that).

Chalice Lighting

This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.

Call to Worship

The marvelous thing about a good question is that it shapes our identity as much by asking the question as it does by the answering.

– David Whyte

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

Courageous people willing to admit ignorance and raise difficult questions is usually not just more prosperous, but also more peaceful than societies in which everyone must unquestioningly accept a single answer. People afraid of losing their truth tend to be more violent. Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question.

– Yuval Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Sermon

NOTE: This is an edited ai generated transcript.
Please forgive the omissions and/or errors.

Michelle
So today is our question box sermon. This is a time when we attempt to offer an answer to some of your questions. It may not be the only answer or the right answer or the best answer, but we will offer some answers, some potential answers and I also want to and we will do our best to get all of these questions I want so much to answer everyone they are so precious today we may not get to all of them but we will try and realizing each one could be a sermon in its own right. You’re asking two preachers. So double the trouble.

First question that we received ahead of time is a two-part question.

HOW SHOULD YOU RESPOND WHEN SOMEONE SINCERELY SAYS THEY WILL PRAY FOR YOU?

Michelle
My answer is most of the time to look them in the eyes with kindness and gratitude and say thank you because it is about them and their spirituality and they are offering you a gift in the best way that they know how. Some of the time that may not be appropriate. What I’m thinking about are instances relating to oppression, such as when someone offers to pray the gay away, or offers to fix your disabled body, or things like that. In those cases, I would not respond in those ways.

But if you’re in some time of crisis in your life, facing a hospitalization or surgery or grieving a loss, then gratitude is what I would offer as the best response to an offer of prayer.

The other half of that question is:

HOW ABOUT WHEN THEY ARE SARCASTIC OR NASTY ABOUT IT, SAYING, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU SURE NEED THESE PRAYERS?

Michelle
A simple ouch. Or, wow, is fine. You can call them on it and say, you know, that’s a really hurtful comment. It’s okay to name it and say it. Prayer is not and should not be a weapon.

Chris
Thanks, Michelle. I wouldn’t add a lot to that except I try to also remember that we don’t know what they think of as prayer when they say this to us. So for Since I do pray, but it’s not to a higher power, it’s kind of just putting my wishes for the universe out there. So if I say I’m praying for you, I’m sending you well wishes, is what I mean by that. If they’re sarcastic or nasty, I just tend to say, well, and I’m going to pray your hairdo gets better too. I don’t actually. I think that what I do consider sometimes with something like that is do I need to set boundaries and or is this a person I need to continue to have in my life?

The next question,
DID GOD CREATE HUMANS IN GOD’S IMAGE OR DID HUMANS CREATE A GOD IN THEIR IMAGE?

Chris
Yes.

Actually, that was a joke, but I’m going to talk in a minute about a theology that I hold that I think would answer that, yes, or both. And I also, though, want to get to what I think this question may be getting at, which is that when we create an idea of God that reflects ourselves, that we humanize, it’s too easy to cast our own selves into that God and to cast our own prejudices and our own hatreds and our own behavior into that God and thereby to excuse those things about ourselves. So I think that’s the danger of creating a God in our own image.

A theology that really supports me these days is called process relational theology and the idea behind it is though we think of ourselves and this pulpit as solid objects – we’re really not. We are processes of evolution or becoming so the very fact that we’re having this conversation today is changing us. As we have it the Buddhists would say, “That flame in our chalice seems to be a solid object but it’s really not.” It’s a process of fuel and oxygen repeatedly being burned….

…its tributaries is calling us to live in the ways of love. And so from that perspective, that river of love that I call God is both creating us and we are contributing to God and creating God at the same time. So I think that’s a lovely theology and it calls us by the very nature that we’re all processes to engage in liberation together because none of us can become…

Michelle
… so you may recognize that this question refers to an early line in Genesis about God creating humans in God’s image. And the interesting thing about the Hebrew is that it is actually plural, Elohim, in our images, that there are a multitude, a multiplicity of gods, not just the one monotheistic God that we have been taught to believe in.

The Hebrew Bible came into creation over at least 1,400 years, depending on how you do the math, possibly a few hundred more years than that, depending on which academic scholar you follow. And it took all of that time to come into what most Christians consider to be a solid monotheistic perspective that they have today. In the meantime, if we were to think about the ancient Israelites, such as those who the story is told about wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, they believed that there were other gods out there and that the God that we now call simply God was their God. And they imagined when they were fighting with other groups, with other cultures, other peoples, as in wartime, not simple conflict, that while the humans were battling on the field here on earth, their God leaders were also battling up in heaven. And it was the stronger God who would win.

So when we talk about God’s rod and staff, we’re really talking about the symbols of God that are carried in and before a people, especially during wartime, not instruments used to beat people, their symbols. That’s a complete misunderstanding of the Hebrew.

So long answer is, interestingly enough, now that we are U.S. who believe in a multiplicity of theologies and philosophies, we can go right back to the beginning of the Hebrew Bible that also believes in a multiplicity of gods. Hopefully ours won’t like go to war, though. Oh, and then the next question I have is:

I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE DISCUSSION OF GOD AT THE UNITARIAN CHURCH. I WOULD IMAGINE THAT IF WE TOOK A SURVEY OF OUR CONGREGANTS AND ASKED IF THEY BELIEVED IN GOD, MOST WOULD SAY YES. NOW, OF COURSE, INDIVIDUAL BELIEFS IN GOD WOULD VARY TREMENDOUSLY. MY QUESTION IS: WHY DON’T UNITARIANS EVER DISCUSS THE SUBJECT OF GOD, EITHER FROM THE PULPIT OR IN SMALL GROUPS? I IMAGINE IT IS BECAUSE IT WOULD MAKE SOME UNCOMFORTABLE AND OTHERS FELT IT WOULD BE TOO CLOSE TO PRESSING A DOGMA. BUT IT SEEMS A BELIEF WOULD HAVE A BIG PART OF SPIRITUALITY WHICH I FEEL IS LACKING IN UU.

Michelle
This could totally be a sermon in response. That’s a very long question. So I have so much I would love to say about this.

One is that as Unitarian Universalists, we are a faith tradition of people who are come-outers. We do have our children that we raise in our faith and grow up and remain UUs. We also have many, many new people who are constantly leaving other faith traditions and coming into our faith traditions. They are bringing so much of their religious hurt with them that as a community in order to support them, we are often in the position of supporting people who are feeling really hurt and broken over concepts of God and religion…

…I’m not sure I want to call it standard Christianity, but mainline Christianity believes in this Greco-Hebrew amalgamation of a monotheistic god with all sorts of omnis attached to it doesn’t mean that’s the only definition of God.

We UUs have as much power and privilege to define God in the way that we see God as they do. So we can say that we believe in a God and define that God for ourselves, whether it is as a river of love or a force in the universe or the power behind evolution, all sorts of different kinds of ways. So yes, we often default to terms like eternal, sacred, divine, holy, universe, earth.

But we also have this opportunity to learn to translate in and amongst each other and with other faith traditions to make the theology work for ourselves. This is where it comes in of not being you, easy to be a UU. We have to work to be UUs, right? Amen. That’ll move us along. Next question.

WHAT IS YOUR SECRET FOR CREATING SUCH A POSITIVE, ENGAGING, EXCITING ATMOSPHERE FOR ALL AGES AT FIRST UU, BOTH IN THE SERVICE, ESPECIALLY IN THE SERMON, AND ALL AROUND THE CHURCH, IN SPITE OF ALL THE WORRIES THAT SURROUND US AND OUR DAILY LIFE, POLITICS, CLIMATE, VIOLENCE, ET CETERA.

Chris
Wow. There’s a whole other sermon here. So first, thank you. Questions like this help me keep that positive outlook. I think that for Michelle and I as spiritual leaders of the church, or at least speaking for myself, in order to do that, I have to know how to do that for myself. Where do I sustain myself? How do I find that positive energy even when things are hard?

And for me, I go back to that sustaining theology, process theology, that I was just talking about and try to make that real in my life, even when things are hard….

… I’m doing a whole sermon here. One of the professors, Sharon Welch, where I went to seminary, talked about when things are really hard, letting go of the outcome is so important and thinking about what are we going to do? How do we live? Can we find the joy regardless of the outcome? So, for instance, I think with the climate crisis, we do work toward an outcome that we hope for. And I think that outcome is possible. And I think we’re also seeing that we may not get the outcome we hope for. We’re seeing some really scary stuff. And if we only look at that outcome, it’s hard to fill the joy in what we’re doing now. And so living according to our values in the moment and working for what we dream about in the world, whether or not we know that’s going to happen, helps us maintain that joy.

The final thing I’ll say, many of you know what I’m going through in my personal life right now. As a young Southern Texas male I was taught that the way you deal with those negative things is to not feel anything at all. And let me tell you that is not the answer because feeling nothing at all I can tell you is worse than feeling grief and hurt and pain. We need those things because without those things, we also don’t feel love and joy. So let me tell you, the hurt is worth, the love is worth the hurt. It absolutely is. And please don’t try not to feel. Feeling, you have to feel. And that’s the whole gamut of things because if you anesthetize the pain, you anesthetize the joy and love.

Michelle
And I would just put that right back on all of you when I can walk in here on Sunday morning and pick up on so much energy and life and vitality and joy. It feeds my spirit so much. It’s the best part of the entire week for me is when I arrive here at church on Sunday morning. And I don’t know if any of you online can pick up on that or feel it at all. I hope that you can. And I assure you that it is here. And that is from all of you.

And on top of that, I walk into working with this great staff team with Kinsey and Shannon and Brent and Aubrey and everyone else and they are just amazing to work with and you are so lucky to have them and I feel so lucky and blessed to work with Rev Chris to minister with him I am just having the best time doing that. So, that really feeds my joy. Next question.

I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A MINISTER GOES ON SABBATICAL OR OTHER LONGER TERM LEAVE HOW IS THE WORK OF THE CHURCH CONTINUED. WHO COVERS FOR THEM.

Michelle
This is a very relevant question right now. So as many of you know, Chris’s husband is in hospice. So he will be facing bereavement leave at some point. And we are going to hold and support him through that whenever that happens. Also, Chris is due for some sabbatical time this year and I will let him share in a moment about what he might do on his sabbatical.

I am also facing some surgeries this year. So as a congregation that has a form of policy governance which requires us to have a continuous operation plan. The basic plan is basically you are going to have one minister all year with periods of two ministers for maybe a couple of weeks at a time here and there.

So this is a joy today to actually be with Chris before he goes out for another couple of weeks. So Chris will be out for two weeks in September, for sure. He will be out for sabbatical in November and December. I will be going out for a total knee replacement in January and February, Chris will be going out for sabbatical in March and April. I will be saying goodbye to all of you in mid-June and then taking another opportunity for my other knee, total knee replacement and moving to wherever I go next. So between the two of us, we are planning to have a calm, stable, sustaining year. We’re probably not going to do a whole bunch of brand new, huge initiatives. It’ll be more like little tweaks and improvements here and there, and also just keep one of the reasons I chose to come to this church is because you are vital and alive and thriving post-pandemic. So we want to keep that going and that’s basically the plan.

Chris
Great. I wouldn’t add a lot except just to let you know that I was actually due for my sabbatical and then the pandemic happened. And then I was talking about taking it and then our minister Meg retired. So it’s been a while coming. I look forward to it. The reason we do sabbatical is to refresh ourselves a little bit and to get some time that we can think about, what in the world am I going to preach about next?

Right now, what sounds good to me for sabbatical is to load my two pups in the car with me and have a general idea where I’m going and then just drive. So I would love to do that for a little bit. I will also mention that we will bring in some help, some coverage part-time. We have talked with Aaron Walter, who you’ll remember was one of our interim ministers last year, and she will be helping us out. So I do want to get to a couple of these, and we’re running out of time. So one of the questions that just got asked is:

WHY DID MICHAEL SERVETUS GO TO GENEVA WHEN EVERYBODY TOLD HIM NOT TO?

Chris
Because he was a Unitarian. Just kidding.

WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST FULFILLING IN YOUR WORK AS A UU MINISTER?

Michelle
Oh my gosh. So much. Like I already said, the joy and vitality of coming in here and being with you in person on Sunday morning. But the things that touch my heart the most are when you share your stories about how you are going through life and what you are learning and how you are growing and changing from it, how you are transforming.

Chris
So I think we’re running out of time. I agree with all that. I think the only thing I might add is that I want to be a part of a faith that makes a real difference for us and for other people in the world. I believe this church does that. It certainly does that in my life. Being with you’all makes a real difference. That is the thing I love the most. Our faith makes a difference in the world for the better.

Michelle
All right. Actually, I’ll close with a little story, and then we’ll sing. We just had a board retreat, and at the close of that board retreat, we came to a place where I felt like the entire board was on-board with really doing the work of dismantling white supremacy culture, and really turning in the way that they’re thinking about how to do the work of governing this church in a new way. And so I am so excited and fulfilled by having heard what they had to say.

And Chris and I were talking this morning about apologies for the past. For the first time, we’re excited about writing our monthly monitoring reports. Because a whole new world has opened up, and we’re going to be able to do it in such a better way. And I just love that.

Extinguishing the Chalice

We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.

Benediction

As we go out into our world now, may we continue to explore questions more profound than answers. And may we also find some really good answers every now and then. May the congregation say amen. And blessed be. Go in peace.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 24 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776