Hopeful Thinking

A lot of us have a hard time with loaded phrases like the “Holy Spirit.”  Even those who embrace it a term of their faith and have come to an understanding of what they themselves mean when they refer to it have differing opinions about what it means or the impact it makes on both the world and on them.  To me it is one of several terms that ultimately describes "something that deeply binds us all" and is ineffable , something grand beyond description.  What Christianity names "Holy Spirit" is its term for the unnamable force that connects us all; if that’s not too much of an over-simplification of the theology.  The interdependent web of all existence referred to in the UU 7th Principle is, I believe, our name for the same matter-less substance that matters quite a lot.  But in what other ways have we named this Force?  I believe it is Love.   Love itself is in my opinion the most common term for Holy Spirit.  Some might argue that love infuses ...

Order of Service - First Parish Church - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - “the Virtue in the Vice” Meditation and Responsive Affirmation : “Books & Covers” We ought not to look at a thing once and say anything definitively about it.  For there are many layers to a thing.  Every experience, every person, every moment has inherent within them  layers upon layers of value and opportunity.  How many times have you met someone and made a snap decision about them and why they act as they do, or say the things they say?  How many of you have taken the time from the moment of encounter to wonder about them first?  Likewise, we sniff in disdain at anything which does not conform to our idea of normative.  But how many times have you found out afterward that not only was it a good thing, but that it was a miraculous thing?  How often does it turn out to be a sheep in wolf’s clothing? I am the book. I am the cover. I see without judging. I h...

They “pledge allegiance to the flag Of the United States of America And to the republic for which it stands is One nation, under God, indivisible With liberty and justice for all.” People do that.  The pledge their allegiance.  They make a vow.  They give their word that they will give of themselves and their talents and their lives for the greater good of the tribe to which they belong.  They vow to create and build, as well as destroy, on behalf of their people. Most of us of at least a certain age would instinctively rise, place our hands on our hearts and recite the Pledge when instructed to do it.  And we’ve done so since childhood.  We learned to say it long before we knew what it meant.  That generally comes later.   Think for a moment about how you feel about the Pledge of Allegiance right now.  Meditate on the idea of it for a moment.  Think about your opinion.   Decide how you feel about it, if you’ve neve...