Everything is a Miracle

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Erin Walter
December 4, 2022
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel says “to be spiritual is to be amazed,” and research shows cultivating our sense of wonder and awe can stave off narcissism, spark joy, and promote connection. Rev. Erin Walter reflects with us on our December theme of Wonder.

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

IN THE SPIRIT OF SEARCHING
Rev. Joan Javier-Deval

In this spirit of searching
out of depths unknown
the spark of light ignites
and we are born.

We enter a world,
a universe,
not of our own making.

Our lives unfold in mystery and wonder,
questions abound for which
there are no definite answers.

And so we gather in community
to be reminded
of what is most ultimate
and what is most sacred.
In this spirit of searching and of reverence
let us worship together this morning.

Affirming Our Mission

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

Meditation Reading

To wonder is to cultivate a sense of awe and openess.

Sermon

“EVERYTHING IS A MIRACLE”
By Rev. Erin Walter, © all rights reserved.

Would you turn to a neighbor, and tell each other your names if you don’t know each yet, and then tell each other a color that you love. A color that brings you joy or delight. Repeat it a few times so you have a shot at remembering.

My favorite color has always been sunshine yellow. The color of summer. The glow that, like scripture jumping off the page, declares joy cometh in the morning.

I live in the woods of Bastrop, about an hour east of here, among many very tail trees. And just before Thanksgiving – before my husband and I would host our extended and chosen family – all the leaves turned yellow, it felt like overnight. I don’t know if I missed it last year in the stress of moving to a new home, but this year, all of a sudden – boom – my favorite color as far as the eye could see. I was in awe. So were our Thanksgiving guests.

Then yesterday, as I sat reading on my porch, one of my spiritual practices, all of a sudden a sustained gust of wind came and rained all of this yellow down on my books and me. Yellow leaves in my coffee, yellow leaves in my hair. Yellow everywhere. It was magical. Beautiful. And part of me was sad. That was it? Only a week? The trees will not be yellow anymore.

But then I remembered, hopefully, I can look forward to this every year for the rest of my life, and that! can pass that awe down to my children and hopefully my grandchildren and great grandchildren when they come to these woods. And I remembered my responsibility to his land, to our earth, to something greater than me.

I didn’t experience that wonder in a vacuum. I can thank the’ divine for the miracle of nature, and there were choices I made to put myself in that moment. I listened to my spirit when it said during the pandemic, “Move somewhere with more trees,” And again, every morning, I keep my prayer practice of starting the day on the porch, staring out at God’s creation.

Where did you experience wonder this week? What has helped you feel closer to the holy? I hope you will look for wonder in the favorite color of your neighbor this week and think of them, let them know.

—————-

Our church has named five values for itself, and the first is: Transcendence – To connect with wonder and awe of the unity of life.

Wonder is a universal part of religious and spiritual life across the ages and around the world. So many sacred texts are about both saying “Wow” and asking questions – wondering — to make meaning.

German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein said,

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.”

I can only tell you that raised in this church – grounded in a universal, interconnected love- and continuing to choose Unitarian Universalism daily despite its challenges – I feel a deep spiritual orientation to option 2. Everything is a miracle.

And I was delighted to learn this week that scientific research also shows the benefits of this orientation – of cultivating our sense of wonder. That awe can reduce stress, stave off narcissism and promote connection.

“Why You Need to Protect Your Sense of Wonder – Especially Now” David P. Fessell and Karen Reivich, Harvard Business Review

“Often the things which bring us awe have an element of vastness and complexity. Think of a starry night sky, an act of great kindness, or the beauty of something small and intricate ….

“Cultivating experiences of awe is especially important and helpful now as we renew our energy and make plans for a more hopeful future (in light of the COVID pandemic).”

One experimental group, when asked to draw pictures of themselves, literally drew themselves smaller in size after having an awe experience. Such an effect has been termed “unselfing.”

The researchers found: As you tap into something larger and your sense of self shrinks, so too do your mental chatter and your worries. At the same time, your desire to connect with and help others increases.

Does that sound like church to you? I hope so. We are here to be connected to something larger than ourselves.

Awe:

- helps us expand our sense of possibility and stimulate new ways of thinking.

It also helps us build relationships. Awe frequently happens in solitude, yet it draws us toward others – the desire to share this feeling!

This reminds me of my band mate Katy Koonce, a trans musician and therapist originally from small-town East Texas, whose late mother was known to point and exclaim in her Texas twang, “Look at that moon!” I know Katy misses her mom Donna deeply, as do so many of us with loved ones who’ve become ancestors. And one of the ways she keeps her spirit alive is by telling friends about her mom’s love for the moon. So whenever Katy’s bandmates or friends from Zumba see a full moon, we take a picture and text it to the group thread with a caption “Look at that moon I” It has become a spiritual practice in our chosen families. Donna’s sense of wonder spread to Katy who has spread it to her friends, and now I share it with you. May our wonder and awe be so contagious.

————-

Scientists also found that awe inspires pro-social behavior like generosity and compassion, perhaps evolving to aid group solidarity.

This is crucial at a time of … in our country, our faith movement, and our world when we are called, to save our planet and our communities, to get past individualism and focus on collective liberation.

So how to put ourselves in the path of wonder, in a spiritual stance for awe to arrive?

Rachel Carson, white American marine biologist and conservationist who lived from 1907-1964, wrote: “One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, ‘What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?'”

As a songwriter, I have expressed this in one of my own songs, “Hit By A Bus,” with the lyric, “If you look me up and they say, we’re sorry, we’re sorry … ” I am always writing about living life to the fullest and trying to appreciate it while we can.

In the book “In the interim” about Unitarian Universalist interim ministry, I was struck by one of the questions the book recommended that interim ministers pose to the community in our listening circles: “How would it feel to arrive at the church and discover it was gone?”

I know from the listening circles Rev. Jonalu and I held that many of you dream of quite the opposite – of the church growing, in impact, in spirit, in diversity.

————-

The good news is we can cultivate wonder, and it may make, us and this community a more welcoming place.

The Harvard Business Review study suggests some ways:

- Take an “awe walk.” Wander and be curious and observe the everyday beauty around you, even in a familiar place like your neighborhood or church grounds. I used to do this when I was a hospital chaplain in Oakland, CA, when I served patients in advanced stages of cancer, recovering from strokes, or adjusting to life with amputated limbs. I went back to these “beauty walks” during my deepest grief of the pandemic – when so many jobs including mine were eliminated, live music was gone, losing a beloved aunt to COVID, my kids were isolated – I walked my neighborhood every day, taking photos of flowers, literally smelling the roses. It didn’t fix it sometimes I see a certain kind of flowering shrub and melancholy washes over me – but it helped get me through, one day at a time.

- I bet many of you had similar experiences, maybe even miss the free time you had for walks in early COVID times. How did we get back to such busy lives so quickly? May we save time for beauty walks.

- The Harvard report also gives us a bit of a “l didn’t need Harvard to tell me” moment, saying “The harmony and complexity of music can also elevate and inspire awe.” Create your own personal “awe playlist.” I made one while I was writing this sermon, and I will include it in the Faith Connections email too. I’ll make it collaborative so you can add songs too. Please email me and tell me which ones you added.

Another option for awe: tune into news sites and podcasts that spread good news – acts of kindness, generosity, and perseverance. Keep a file and tap it when you are feeling overwhelmed or depleted and want to be elevated. Anti-racist activist Scott Butki from this church has done that. He has a public Facebook group called Positive, Inspiring Life-Affirming Stories and Videos with more than 950 members. Sometimes I go there to share in the wonder of life. During COVID, Scott wrote that “spending more time in this group is to find positive stories that make me less worried about COVID.”

Experts say to ask yourself: “What took your breath away this week?” or “What made you glad you’re on this planet?”

These questions are similar to some of the ones Black womanist theologian Monica Coleman uses in her book, Not alone, Reflections on Faith and Depression. If wonder and awe feel like an impossible uphill climb this time of year, I highly recommend Coleman’s brief devotional readings in Not Alone.

———–

Remember, wonder isn’t just awe. It is curiosity. To say, “I wonder … “instead of “Nope” when someone shares an idea. To try on other ways of thinking, feeling or being.

“The more I wonder, the more I love.” – Alice Walker wrote in the color purple.

In this time of interim ministry, we have been asking you to bring your sense of wonder to this community – to wonder with the interim ministers and each other in the listening circles, sharing your awe at the things you love about the church and being curious about what does and doesn’t meet the spiritual needs of others. Wondering together about our future, what it would mean to even more fully live out our mission.

We have heard from you about wanting to grow in size, impact, and inclusivity, and at the same time we’ve heard your pain and worry about change, aging, illness, abandonment, and more…

We’ve heard from some members of color about the longing for a more diverse and representative UUism.

I want you all to know that the ministers and staff have taken your feedback as the deep and powerful gift that it is, and while not everything is visible on the surface yet, we are reflecting, praying, and working on it.” Some examples:

- Developing a diverse list of guest preachers, so that no matter who the church calls as its next senior minister, you will be seeing and hearing from more than just white ministers.

- Seeking diverse sources for music and readings, and inviting more of you into lay leadership”. This is why you hear us name the culture and background of sources, because naming has power and we are being intentional in our choices.

- Supporting a return of the BIPOC group and BIPOC families group …

- Bringing the Transgender Inclusion in Congregations curriculum to the church, starting in February. Stay tuned for more on that and other programs.

This is shared ministry. You, as volunteers, are reinvigorating the caring team, the social justice council, and more…

The leaders of this church are trying to balance what we all know we need in Advent – more peace and rest, more time to stare up at the night sky in awe – and the programs and work you and our mission are calling for.

The words of Valerie Kaur that Carol read: “To wonder is to cultivate a sense of awe and openness to others’ thoughts and experiences, their pain, their wants and needs. It is to look upon the face of anyone or anything and say: You are a part of me I do not yet know… “

God, rain yellow leaves on me.
Remind me to look at that moon.
To get to know the parts of us we do not yet know.

Blessed be.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 22 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