I sometimes like to begin a Talk with a joke: Some flight of fancy; some whimsical bit of humor that someone has fashioned out of whole cloth. A fictional piece of prose that might make you laugh. Today though, the truth is funny enough.
Alanis Morissette sings a song in which she asks, “Isn’t it ironic?” Unfortunately, she uses as examples things that aren’t ironic at all. She sings, “It’s like rain on your wedding day.” “Isn’t it ironic?” No, it’s not. The only time rain on your wedding day would be ironic is if you were a TV meteorologist and you had forecast sunny skies on your wedding day and instead it rained - that would be ironic. If Alanis Morissette is searching for ironic stories to sing about, please allow me to suggest three possibilities.
As you probably know, Rush Limbaugh opposes a government healthcare plan. He said this past week that if Congress passes a government healthcare plan, he’ll move to Costa Rica. Rush Limbaugh has now given Democrats a huge incentive to pass a government healthcare plan. And come to find out, Costa Rica already has a government healthcare plan. Isn’t it ironic?
As you probably know, Glenn Beck opposes a government healthcare plan. He said last week that he opposes a government healthcare plan because he says any government-run program is socialism. Glenn Beck said he knows about socialism because he read about it in a book. He said he got the book from the public library, which is, of course, a government-run program. Isn’t it ironic?
As you probably know, Sarah Palin opposes a government healthcare plan. She said this past week that when she was a kid and her family needed healthcare, they would get free government healthcare. Sarah Palin’s family would get free government healthcare by crossing the border into Canada, which, of course, has a government healthcare plan. Isn’t it ironic?
There you go Alanis. Use any or all of those three stories and you can truly sing, “Isn’t it ironic?”
If you listen to my radio show (called “Faith and Reason,” Friday mornings from 10 till noon on WPRR – a little plug) you might find this hard to believe: I don’t like to talk about politics. Really. In fact, I never do talk about politics. Let me explain.
A parishioner said to me once that she doesn’t like to hear politics mixed with religion. I don’t blame her. Neither do I. And I don’t like to mix politics with religion. (I especially don’t like church politics, but that’s a whole nother story.) I just wish that that parishioner had lived 2,000 years ago. Then she could’ve told Jesus himself that she doesn’t like to hear politics mixed with religion. I wonder what Jesus would’ve said to her.
Maybe you remember that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Now to me that sure sounds an awful lot like an anti-war, political statement. And Jesus said it in a sermon! I wonder if that parishioner would’ve said to Jesus 2,000 years ago: I don’t like to hear politics mixed with religion. I wonder what Jesus would have said to her.
Maybe you remember that Jesus said, in what’s called the Sermon on the Plain, “Blessed are you who are poor…but woe to you who are rich.” Now to me that sure sounds an awful lot like an anti-capitalist, maybe even a pro-communist political statement. And Jesus said it in a sermon! I wonder if that parishioner would’ve said to Jesus 2,000 years ago: I don’t like to hear politics mixed with religion. I wonder what Jesus would have said to her.
Maybe you remember that Jesus said, when asked about paying taxes, “Render therefore unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.” Now to me that sure sounds an awful lot like a pro-tax, pro-government political statement. I wonder if that parishioner would’ve said to Jesus 2,000 years ago: I don’t like to hear politics mixed with religion. I wonder what Jesus would have said to her.
I think Jesus would have said to her: I don’t talk about politics mixed with religion; I talk about justice. (And that’s what I say too on the radio: I never talk about politics mixed with religion; I talk about justice.)
Of course, the difficulty of me trying to talk about justice the way Jesus did is: I’m not Jesus. And I’m not one of the many prophets who’ve spoken about justice over the years, either.
I’m not the Hebrew prophet Amos, who said, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” I’m not the Tibetan prophet The Dalai Lama, who said, “I believe in justice and truth, without which there would be no basis for human hope.” I’m not the American prophet Martin Luther King Jr., who said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Believe me, I know I can’t talk about justice the way they can. So what should I do?
Naturally, if I wanted to avoid talking about justice, I could just talk about what happened 2,000 years ago; what the religious leaders and the government rulers did and said back then. Some clergy have made a career of doing that.
Naturally, if I wanted to avoid talking about justice, I could just talk about how God wants you to be rich: drive a bigger car, steer a bigger boat, own a bigger house. Some clergy have made a career of doing that.
Naturally, if I wanted to avoid talking about justice, I could talk about nothing at all; speak soothing sounds of sanctimonious swill to people who like to check their brains at the door, along with their coats. Some clergy have made a career of doing that.
But: I don’t think you came here today to hear me give you an irrelevant history lesson, I don’t think you came here today to hear me tell you how to fatten your wallet, I don’t think you came here today to hear me say some sweet-sounding sentences signifying nothing. I hope you came here today to hear about justice.
Some of the words I’m about to say may be difficult for some people to hear. I’m thinking of people who believe America is the greatest country on earth. I’m thinking of people who believe America can do no wrong. I’m thinking of people who believe America has the best healthcare system in the world.
A study conducted by Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Health Alliance and published late last year by the American Journal of Public Health found that nearly 45,000 people die annually in America for lack of health insurance. You’ve probably heard about this. 45,000 Americans die each year because they don’t have health insurance and they can’t afford to go to the doctor or they can’t afford the medications that will keep them alive or both. 45,000. Americans. Dead.
Where’s the outrage? Where’s the outrage from Right To Life? Where’s the outrage from Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak? Where’s the outrage from the tea-baggers? We’re not talking about some abstract numbers in a budget. We’re talking about 45,000 Americans who die each year because they don’t have health insurance.
America does have the best healthcare system in the world, but it’s the best healthcare system - money can buy. And if Americans can’t afford to buy into it, the attitude of many lobbyist-loving lawmakers in Washington is: too bad. Too bad.
Thank God that apparently most House and Senate members support the healthcare bill making it’s way through Congress. Hopefully it will be signed into law by President Obama in a few weeks. It’s not perfect. Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio opposes it because it’s not a single-payer, Medicare for all bill. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont also wishes it were a single-payer, Medicare for all bill, but supports it because it will mean 30 million Americans who don’t have health insurance now will have it under this bill.
I hope people like Dennis Kucinich – whom I admire – won’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We saw that in 2000, when Ralph Nader said there was no difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Really? Do you think he still believes that, one war of choice and tens of thousands of deaths later? I hope people like Dennis Kucinich learn from Ralph Nader; for the sake of those 30 million people without health insurance. And I hope people like Dennis Kucinich remember those 45,000 Americans who die every year for lack of health insurance.
I sometimes like to conclude my Talks with a moving piece of poetry or the touching lyrics of a song. Today, I’m going to end with a television commercial. (Please forgive me.)
I saw an interesting ad the other day. The sad thing is, the ad has been running for about four years - and I just now saw it? Oy! Anyway, the ad shows one person helping someone and somebody else notices that and then later that person helps someone and somebody else notices that and then later that person helps someone and so on and so on and so on. Maybe you’ve seen the ad. The tag line is: “When it’s people who do the right thing, they call it being responsible. When it’s an insurance company, they call it Liberty Mutual. Responsibility. What’s your policy?” It’s a delightful ad. Liberty Mutual received many emails supporting it. Their business increased dramatically. The company has started The Responsibility Project, continuing to encourage people to be responsible. I think it raises some interesting questions about responsibility regarding healthcare and justice.
If we ourselves already have health insurance, do we have a responsibility to make sure other people have health insurance too? If so, how do we go about doing that? If House and Senate members themselves already have health insurance (and they do have really good health insurance), do they have a responsibility to make sure other people have health insurance too? If our House and Senate members vote against making sure other people have health insurance, do we have a responsibility to vote against them and for their opponent in the next election?
I find it fascinating that countries where they say Christian churches are relatively empty on Sunday, like England and France, respond to people’s healthcare needs in the most Christ-like way, by caring for the sick, as Jesus said to; while America, which some people claim is a Christian nation, responds in the least Christ-like way, by telling the sick and the poor they’re on their own – something Jesus never said to sick and poor people. (Oh, and by the way, Liberty Mutual is an insurance company, but it’s not a health insurance company: too bad. Too bad.)
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Don't Worry, Be Happy...In Holland?
Last Sunday I gave a talk at a church in Grand Rapids. My wife was in the congregation. She told me later that she was trying to get my attention. She was smiling at me, in hopes of getting me to smile. I guess I wasn’t smiling enough. I told her I wasn’t thinking about smiling, I was thinking about what I was saying. But she has a point: I should smile more when I speak. (:-)
You’d think I would smile more, because I’ve lived in Holland now for a year and a half and Holland is said to be the second happiest city in America. You’ve no doubt heard about this. Holland was just behind Boulder, Colorado and just ahead of Honolulu, Hawaii in a Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. They scored each city on health and well-being, what they called happiness. The results are based on more than 350,000 telephone surveys across the country. I mean no disrespect, but I know several people who got a chuckle out of Holland being a happier place than Honolulu. Holland? A happier place than Honolulu? Huh?
After the story about Holland came out, I saw a bumper sticker on a car outside an area restaurant. It said, “I wish Hillary Clinton had married O.J.” Yikes! Well, that’s not a very a happy thought. Hopefully, that’s not a true reflection of Holland.
I Googled “Holland Happy” the other day and it came back, inviting me to “Holland Happy Hour” in May. I’m thinking: During Tulip Time? Really? “Enjoy drinks and food with us,” the website said. In Holland? Then I noticed it was talking about Holland the country. Of course, in Holland, Michigan within the last year or so voters did approve the sale of beer and wine on Sundays. Hey, I’ll bet that made many people happy.
Perhaps some people were surprised that Holland is considered a happy place, because of the history of Dutch immigrants coming to America, to places like Holland. Many people came to America from Europe a couple hundred years ago, to escape religious restrictions, seeking spiritual freedom. In contrast, many Dutch people came to America from Europe a couple hundred years ago, for just the opposite reason: they were escaping spiritual freedom, seeking religious restrictions. Now that may be a little exaggerated, but not much. Europe was too religiously loosey goosey for them, and too liberal in other ways also. (Politically. Sexually.)
You’ve probably heard the old story about Holland from many years ago. A Catholic guy moves to town. One Sunday afternoon, the Catholic guy is out mowing his lawn. His Dutch Reformed neighbor comes over and asks him not to do that because, “We don’t work on Sunday.” The Catholic guy says, “Gee, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” He stops mowing his lawn. That Friday, the Dutch Reformed guy is out grilling hamburgers. His Catholic neighbor comes over and asks him not to do that because, “We don’t eat meat on Friday.” Religious wars have probably been started over less. I would suggest that story describes how Holland used to be, not how it is today (although my wife doesn’t want me to mow our lawn on Sunday; she’s afraid our neighbors won’t like it).
I was listening to NPR the other day. The Diane Rehm show. I caught it in the middle. A professor was talking about the choices we make. She said people choose Coca-Cola because it makes them happy. Scientists have proven this. They’ve hooked people up to MRI machines and found that Coke causes the happy part of people’s brains to light up. She said it’s due to marketing. Maybe you remember the happy ad from years ago, where people are singing on a hillside, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke.” Many, many years ago, Coke had an ad campaign that portrayed Santa Claus the way many of us think of old St. Nick today, as a jolly old fat man in a red suit, the same color red as a can of Coke. What makes you happy? Coke? What do we mean by happiness? Is it walking around all day with a goofy grin on our face?
Many years ago, people got a kick out of the Bobby McFerrin song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Bobby McFerrin sang, “Here’s a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note, don’t worry, be happy. In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. Don’t worry, be happy. Don’t worry, be happy now.” How do we go about not worrying and being happy?
Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” What Jefferson meant by “Happiness,” what philosophers mean by happiness, isn’t what many of us mean by happiness. It isn’t about walking around in a state of bliss. It’s about a life well lived. But what’s a life well lived?
Buddhism teaches that we all want to avoid suffering and we all want to achieve happiness. I think what Buddhism is talking about, avoiding suffering and achieving happiness, is getting to the point of having peace of mind, the peace that passes understanding, inner peace. In other words, don’t get bogged down in petty problems.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, a Unitarian, said, “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” I think Ralph Waldo Emerson is talking about having peace of mind, the peace that passes understanding, inner peace.
In the Christian New Testament, in Philippians, we read, “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” It seems to me if we, “think about these things” – whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, any excellence, anything worthy of praise - we’ll be on our way to having peace of mind, the peace that passes understanding, inner peace. In a word, happiness.
I have to admit, I never in a million years thought I’d live in Holland. I thought of Holland as a small town, suspended in time, in about 1950. But what I’ve come to know about Holland in a year-and-a-half of living here, is that Holland is a small town, sure, but one that is alive with activity, with many friendly people, who care about others, including the less fortunate. A serene, peaceful place. One might even call it happy.
If you’re wondering what you can do in Holland to be happy, and maybe even achieve inner peace, might I make a few suggestions? How about a trip to the Holland Area Arts Council, the Holland Museum or Holland’s soon-to-be-open African American Museum? (Yes, Holland is going to have an African American museum.) For outdoor lovers, how about walking on the beach, seeing a sunset over Lake Michigan or enjoying one of the city’s many parks? For food lovers, how about a hash brown omelet at the Windmill Restaurant, an ice cream cone at Kilwin’s or a pizza with everything but (anchovies) at Fricano’s? (For those who are seeking inner peace and inner pizza.)
When the story about Holland being a happy place came out, ABC News arrived in town, with a great deal of skepticism. Basically, they couldn’t believe that people in Holland are happy. They talked about the city's double-digit unemployment rate. They showed somebody stumbling in a snowstorm. But the ABC news story said that there are more than 170 churches here and that many people in Holland care a great deal about their loved ones. They concluded that maybe those two things, faith and family, make Holland a happy place to live. And those are the kinds of things – faith and family - that make even a serious-looking minister smile. (;-)
You’d think I would smile more, because I’ve lived in Holland now for a year and a half and Holland is said to be the second happiest city in America. You’ve no doubt heard about this. Holland was just behind Boulder, Colorado and just ahead of Honolulu, Hawaii in a Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. They scored each city on health and well-being, what they called happiness. The results are based on more than 350,000 telephone surveys across the country. I mean no disrespect, but I know several people who got a chuckle out of Holland being a happier place than Honolulu. Holland? A happier place than Honolulu? Huh?
After the story about Holland came out, I saw a bumper sticker on a car outside an area restaurant. It said, “I wish Hillary Clinton had married O.J.” Yikes! Well, that’s not a very a happy thought. Hopefully, that’s not a true reflection of Holland.
I Googled “Holland Happy” the other day and it came back, inviting me to “Holland Happy Hour” in May. I’m thinking: During Tulip Time? Really? “Enjoy drinks and food with us,” the website said. In Holland? Then I noticed it was talking about Holland the country. Of course, in Holland, Michigan within the last year or so voters did approve the sale of beer and wine on Sundays. Hey, I’ll bet that made many people happy.
Perhaps some people were surprised that Holland is considered a happy place, because of the history of Dutch immigrants coming to America, to places like Holland. Many people came to America from Europe a couple hundred years ago, to escape religious restrictions, seeking spiritual freedom. In contrast, many Dutch people came to America from Europe a couple hundred years ago, for just the opposite reason: they were escaping spiritual freedom, seeking religious restrictions. Now that may be a little exaggerated, but not much. Europe was too religiously loosey goosey for them, and too liberal in other ways also. (Politically. Sexually.)
You’ve probably heard the old story about Holland from many years ago. A Catholic guy moves to town. One Sunday afternoon, the Catholic guy is out mowing his lawn. His Dutch Reformed neighbor comes over and asks him not to do that because, “We don’t work on Sunday.” The Catholic guy says, “Gee, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” He stops mowing his lawn. That Friday, the Dutch Reformed guy is out grilling hamburgers. His Catholic neighbor comes over and asks him not to do that because, “We don’t eat meat on Friday.” Religious wars have probably been started over less. I would suggest that story describes how Holland used to be, not how it is today (although my wife doesn’t want me to mow our lawn on Sunday; she’s afraid our neighbors won’t like it).
I was listening to NPR the other day. The Diane Rehm show. I caught it in the middle. A professor was talking about the choices we make. She said people choose Coca-Cola because it makes them happy. Scientists have proven this. They’ve hooked people up to MRI machines and found that Coke causes the happy part of people’s brains to light up. She said it’s due to marketing. Maybe you remember the happy ad from years ago, where people are singing on a hillside, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke.” Many, many years ago, Coke had an ad campaign that portrayed Santa Claus the way many of us think of old St. Nick today, as a jolly old fat man in a red suit, the same color red as a can of Coke. What makes you happy? Coke? What do we mean by happiness? Is it walking around all day with a goofy grin on our face?
Many years ago, people got a kick out of the Bobby McFerrin song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Bobby McFerrin sang, “Here’s a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note, don’t worry, be happy. In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. Don’t worry, be happy. Don’t worry, be happy now.” How do we go about not worrying and being happy?
Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” What Jefferson meant by “Happiness,” what philosophers mean by happiness, isn’t what many of us mean by happiness. It isn’t about walking around in a state of bliss. It’s about a life well lived. But what’s a life well lived?
Buddhism teaches that we all want to avoid suffering and we all want to achieve happiness. I think what Buddhism is talking about, avoiding suffering and achieving happiness, is getting to the point of having peace of mind, the peace that passes understanding, inner peace. In other words, don’t get bogged down in petty problems.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, a Unitarian, said, “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” I think Ralph Waldo Emerson is talking about having peace of mind, the peace that passes understanding, inner peace.
In the Christian New Testament, in Philippians, we read, “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” It seems to me if we, “think about these things” – whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, any excellence, anything worthy of praise - we’ll be on our way to having peace of mind, the peace that passes understanding, inner peace. In a word, happiness.
I have to admit, I never in a million years thought I’d live in Holland. I thought of Holland as a small town, suspended in time, in about 1950. But what I’ve come to know about Holland in a year-and-a-half of living here, is that Holland is a small town, sure, but one that is alive with activity, with many friendly people, who care about others, including the less fortunate. A serene, peaceful place. One might even call it happy.
If you’re wondering what you can do in Holland to be happy, and maybe even achieve inner peace, might I make a few suggestions? How about a trip to the Holland Area Arts Council, the Holland Museum or Holland’s soon-to-be-open African American Museum? (Yes, Holland is going to have an African American museum.) For outdoor lovers, how about walking on the beach, seeing a sunset over Lake Michigan or enjoying one of the city’s many parks? For food lovers, how about a hash brown omelet at the Windmill Restaurant, an ice cream cone at Kilwin’s or a pizza with everything but (anchovies) at Fricano’s? (For those who are seeking inner peace and inner pizza.)
When the story about Holland being a happy place came out, ABC News arrived in town, with a great deal of skepticism. Basically, they couldn’t believe that people in Holland are happy. They talked about the city's double-digit unemployment rate. They showed somebody stumbling in a snowstorm. But the ABC news story said that there are more than 170 churches here and that many people in Holland care a great deal about their loved ones. They concluded that maybe those two things, faith and family, make Holland a happy place to live. And those are the kinds of things – faith and family - that make even a serious-looking minister smile. (;-)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Live Your Life Fully Alive
[Delivered at Unity Church of Practical Christianity in Grand Rapids.]
Before I begin I want to thank Marty Lovse for asking me to speak here today. And I especially want to thank you all for showing up (and not sleeping in). I have an affinity for Unity churches. My theology and yours is pretty much the same, I think. We like a lot of the same people. Jesus, of course. And also Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Neal Donald Walsch, Eckhart Tolle. So I’m honored to speak to you today.
I heard a guest minister preach one time. Before she began she told the congregation: Let us agree on one thing, when I am through speaking today, you will not applaud. What? I thought: Well that’s kind of presumptuous, isn’t it? I would like to change what she said just slightly. Let us agree on one thing, when I am through speaking today, you will not boo (you know, unless you absolutely have to).
I’ve never preached a sermon at the suggestion of a parishioner. Not because I don’t value and listen to what parishioners want me to say, but because no one has ever asked me to preach a sermon on a particular topic. Until recently. I concluded a sermon a couple months ago basically by quoting St. Irenaeus, who said that “the glory of God is a human being fully alive.” I said that you are to live your life fully alive. That was pretty much the end of the sermon. Then afterwards a couple of people said, “What do you mean: live your life fully alive? Why don’t you preach a sermon about that?” OK. So, that’s what this is today. I think there are seven steps to take to live your life fully alive. Awareness. Gratitude. Truth. Compassion. Justice. Joy. Peace. Let me explain.
When I was seven years old or so, I remember being in my front yard all by myself, but then all of a sudden not feeling alone. I looked around, but there was nobody or nothing that I could see; just me and our tree in our front yard. What was that I felt? Was it the presence of God? Was it the presence of Jesus? Was it the presence of the Holy Spirit? I don’t know. Maybe it was that for the first time in my life I was conscious – I was aware of my self, of being a part of creation. I think the first step to take to live your life fully alive is to seek awareness. We can seek awareness in many different ways. The easiest way I’ve heard of to seek awareness is to simply breathe. When people say, “Take a breath,” I think what they mean is: be conscious, be aware of who you are and what you’re saying and what you’re doing. Simply breathe. Another way they say to seek awareness is to meditate. I try to meditate everyday. I don’t always do it, but I try, usually just to clear my mind of all thoughts and just be. Another way they say to seek awareness is to exercise or go for a walk in nature. I try to do that everyday. I don’t always make it, but I try. I don’t think you can live you’re your life fully alive without taking the first step: seek awareness.
Meister Eckhardt, a 13th century Christian mystic, said, “If the only prayer you ever say is ‘Thank you,’ that is enough.” I think the second step to take to live your life fully alive is to express gratitude. I think it goes hand in hand with being aware. Once you’re aware, of yourself and the world, you’ll want to express gratitude – for life, for creation. Now I know there are people who like to think they’re a “self-made man” or a “self-made woman,” that everything that they have, they got from their own effort. But we didn’t create ourselves. We didn’t create the ground we walk on. We didn’t create the air that we breathe. We at least should express gratitude for those. To God, to the universe, to whatever your belief system tells you. I don’t think you can live your life fully alive without taking the second step: express gratitude.
Gandhi is one of my spiritual heroes. Gandhi says, “God is truth.” I think the third step to take to live your life fully alive is to pursue truth. Now I realize that there are some religious people, many Christians unfortunately, who are afraid of the truth. They’re afraid of what the truth will do to their belief system. They don’t want to see the truth in evolution because they’re afraid that that means they’re calling God or the Bible a liar in the story of creation. They can’t wrap their minds around the possibility that God created evolution. It’s like the Jack Nicholson character says in “A Few Good Men,” “You can’t handle the truth.” They can’t handle the truth, so they pretend that the world is 10,000 years old, rather than billions of years old, which scientists say it is. I don’t think that you can live your life fully alive without taking the third step: pursue truth.
The Dalai Lama says, “Love and compassion are not luxuries, they are necessities. Without them humankind cannot survive.” I think the fourth step to take to live your life fully alive is to act compassionately. Love and compassion are synonymous, at least the way I use them and the way the Dalai Lama uses them. Compassion, unconditional love, is the feeling we have for our loved ones, and it’s also the feeling some people have for complete strangers. That’s why they feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked. We all ought to feel that way. I don’t think you can live your life fully alive without taking the fourth step: act compassionately.
The Hebrew prophet Amos said, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” I think the fifth step to take to live your life fully alive is to do justice. When we act compassionately, we help the poor. When we do justice, we try to eliminate poverty. Archbishop Dom Helder Camarra of Brazil said once, “When I fed the poor, they called me a saint. When I asked, ‘Why are there poor?’ they called me a communist.” It’s asking, “Why are there poor?” that justice demands. It’s picketing for peace in the world. It’s demanding healthcare for the 30 or 40 million Americans who don’t have it. I don’t think you can live your life fully alive without taking the fifth step: do justice.
One of my favorite Christmas carols is, “Joy To The World.” “Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King.” Ironically, one of my favorite songs is also entitled, “Joy To The World,” by Three Dog Night. “Joy to the world, all the boys and girls now, joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me.” I think the sixth step to take to live your life fully alive is to experience joy. Whatever it is that brings you joy - being with loved ones, playing cards with friends, climbing Mount Everest - do that. If your job doesn’t bring you joy, find a job that does. Or, if that’s not possible, find some creative endeavor – painting, sculpting, writing – that does bring you joy. I don’t think you can live your life fully alive without taking the sixth step: experience joy.
One of my favorite verses in the Christian New Testament is found in Luke chapter 2, verse 14. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward all.” I think the seventh and final step to take to live your life fully alive is to achieve peace. The peace I’m talking about here is inner peace, the peace that passes understanding, at least as much as we can achieve that kind of peace this side of the rainbow. And I think that we achieve peace when we achieve those other six steps - seek awareness, express gratitude, pursue truth, act compassionately, do justice and experience joy – I think that’s when we can achieve peace, at least as much as is humanly possible. I don’t think you can live your life fully alive without taking the seventh step: achieve peace.
Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” I think Jesus was all about teaching people to: live your life fully alive. He liked a good party. He liked to eat and drink with friends, so much so that they called him a “glutton and a drunkard.” I don’t think he was a glutton and a drunkard, I just think he liked a good wedding reception. He liked a good glass of wine every now and then. Now I know there are people who can’t drink a glass of wine because they’re alcoholics or can’t eat what they’d like because of cholesterol or they refuse some food or drink for spiritual reasons. That’s fine. But I hope that people who can eat and drink, do so. I think to live your life fully alive is to make the most of life whenever you can: eat, drink and be merry – in moderation.
Baha’u’llah, who founded the Baha’i faith, says that, “we should live in the rose garden of the spirit.” I hope that I’ve made it clear (if I haven’t, let me do so now) that when I say: live your life fully alive, I’m talking about life in the spirit; that we are more spiritual beings with bodies than we are bodily beings with spirits. By spiritual (and I don’t always like that word, because it’s so nebulous) but by spiritual I mean whatever it is you do to: live your life fully alive, living out of your whole brain, your left brain and your right brain, your intellectual side and your emotional side, thinking and feeling at the same time. That’s how I think you live your life fully alive.
Who would you say lives their life fully alive? At the risk of stating the obvious, I think that one person who lives their life fully alive is…OPRAH WINFREY! Not because she’s worth a billion dollars or more. Not because she has a talk show every day. Not because she publishes a monthly magazine. Not because she’s produced plays and movies and won an Academy Award for the first movie she ever acted in. I think she lives her life fully alive because she seems to me to be spiritually grounded. I think she is full of the spirit and that helps her to live her life fully alive. I think that’s how she can do all the things she does. So I think Oprah Winfrey would be a person who shows how to: live your life fully alive.
I was reading a story a week or two ago about a popular African American Gospel singer: Tone’x (toe-nay) I think is how you pronounce it. He’s 34 years old. He was married for four years. He had all kinds of singing engagements lined up at churches and religious conventions. Then, I think to live his life fully alive, to live in truth, he came out of the closet. He admitted, in so many words, that he’s gay. Immediately, all his singing engagements, at churches and religious conventions, cancelled. Not everyone wants everybody else to live their life fully alive. Some people want other people to live their life in the closet, to live a lie, to live their life half-dead. But that’s no way to live. Tone’x, the gospel singer, finally realized that. I hope you realize that too. To live your life fully alive you have to be who you truly are.
I was listening to the radio recently and I came across Dave Ramsey, the financial guru. He tells people to live life debt-free. He tells people to “Live like no one else so that some day you can live like no one else.” He was addressing people’s fear about the future of the economy. He says, “I’m not afraid of the future. My house is paid for, my car is paid for, I have some money in the bank (I suspect he has millions in the bank.), so I’m not afraid and I don’t think we should live in fear. We should live in abundance.” He said, “Wouldn’t it be great to go out to dinner and leave the waitress a $100 tip? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to go to coffee and put a $50 bill under your coffee cup for the waitress?” (I imagine that every waitress in the country listens to Dave Ramsey.) Dave Ramsey is talking about how to live your life fully alive, which I think we’re meant to do. I think we can do that - by seeking awareness, expressing gratitude, pursuing truth, acting compassionately, doing justice, experiencing joy and achieving peace. If you do all that, I think you will: live your life fully alive.
Before I begin I want to thank Marty Lovse for asking me to speak here today. And I especially want to thank you all for showing up (and not sleeping in). I have an affinity for Unity churches. My theology and yours is pretty much the same, I think. We like a lot of the same people. Jesus, of course. And also Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Neal Donald Walsch, Eckhart Tolle. So I’m honored to speak to you today.
I heard a guest minister preach one time. Before she began she told the congregation: Let us agree on one thing, when I am through speaking today, you will not applaud. What? I thought: Well that’s kind of presumptuous, isn’t it? I would like to change what she said just slightly. Let us agree on one thing, when I am through speaking today, you will not boo (you know, unless you absolutely have to).
I’ve never preached a sermon at the suggestion of a parishioner. Not because I don’t value and listen to what parishioners want me to say, but because no one has ever asked me to preach a sermon on a particular topic. Until recently. I concluded a sermon a couple months ago basically by quoting St. Irenaeus, who said that “the glory of God is a human being fully alive.” I said that you are to live your life fully alive. That was pretty much the end of the sermon. Then afterwards a couple of people said, “What do you mean: live your life fully alive? Why don’t you preach a sermon about that?” OK. So, that’s what this is today. I think there are seven steps to take to live your life fully alive. Awareness. Gratitude. Truth. Compassion. Justice. Joy. Peace. Let me explain.
When I was seven years old or so, I remember being in my front yard all by myself, but then all of a sudden not feeling alone. I looked around, but there was nobody or nothing that I could see; just me and our tree in our front yard. What was that I felt? Was it the presence of God? Was it the presence of Jesus? Was it the presence of the Holy Spirit? I don’t know. Maybe it was that for the first time in my life I was conscious – I was aware of my self, of being a part of creation. I think the first step to take to live your life fully alive is to seek awareness. We can seek awareness in many different ways. The easiest way I’ve heard of to seek awareness is to simply breathe. When people say, “Take a breath,” I think what they mean is: be conscious, be aware of who you are and what you’re saying and what you’re doing. Simply breathe. Another way they say to seek awareness is to meditate. I try to meditate everyday. I don’t always do it, but I try, usually just to clear my mind of all thoughts and just be. Another way they say to seek awareness is to exercise or go for a walk in nature. I try to do that everyday. I don’t always make it, but I try. I don’t think you can live you’re your life fully alive without taking the first step: seek awareness.
Meister Eckhardt, a 13th century Christian mystic, said, “If the only prayer you ever say is ‘Thank you,’ that is enough.” I think the second step to take to live your life fully alive is to express gratitude. I think it goes hand in hand with being aware. Once you’re aware, of yourself and the world, you’ll want to express gratitude – for life, for creation. Now I know there are people who like to think they’re a “self-made man” or a “self-made woman,” that everything that they have, they got from their own effort. But we didn’t create ourselves. We didn’t create the ground we walk on. We didn’t create the air that we breathe. We at least should express gratitude for those. To God, to the universe, to whatever your belief system tells you. I don’t think you can live your life fully alive without taking the second step: express gratitude.
Gandhi is one of my spiritual heroes. Gandhi says, “God is truth.” I think the third step to take to live your life fully alive is to pursue truth. Now I realize that there are some religious people, many Christians unfortunately, who are afraid of the truth. They’re afraid of what the truth will do to their belief system. They don’t want to see the truth in evolution because they’re afraid that that means they’re calling God or the Bible a liar in the story of creation. They can’t wrap their minds around the possibility that God created evolution. It’s like the Jack Nicholson character says in “A Few Good Men,” “You can’t handle the truth.” They can’t handle the truth, so they pretend that the world is 10,000 years old, rather than billions of years old, which scientists say it is. I don’t think that you can live your life fully alive without taking the third step: pursue truth.
The Dalai Lama says, “Love and compassion are not luxuries, they are necessities. Without them humankind cannot survive.” I think the fourth step to take to live your life fully alive is to act compassionately. Love and compassion are synonymous, at least the way I use them and the way the Dalai Lama uses them. Compassion, unconditional love, is the feeling we have for our loved ones, and it’s also the feeling some people have for complete strangers. That’s why they feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked. We all ought to feel that way. I don’t think you can live your life fully alive without taking the fourth step: act compassionately.
The Hebrew prophet Amos said, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” I think the fifth step to take to live your life fully alive is to do justice. When we act compassionately, we help the poor. When we do justice, we try to eliminate poverty. Archbishop Dom Helder Camarra of Brazil said once, “When I fed the poor, they called me a saint. When I asked, ‘Why are there poor?’ they called me a communist.” It’s asking, “Why are there poor?” that justice demands. It’s picketing for peace in the world. It’s demanding healthcare for the 30 or 40 million Americans who don’t have it. I don’t think you can live your life fully alive without taking the fifth step: do justice.
One of my favorite Christmas carols is, “Joy To The World.” “Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King.” Ironically, one of my favorite songs is also entitled, “Joy To The World,” by Three Dog Night. “Joy to the world, all the boys and girls now, joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me.” I think the sixth step to take to live your life fully alive is to experience joy. Whatever it is that brings you joy - being with loved ones, playing cards with friends, climbing Mount Everest - do that. If your job doesn’t bring you joy, find a job that does. Or, if that’s not possible, find some creative endeavor – painting, sculpting, writing – that does bring you joy. I don’t think you can live your life fully alive without taking the sixth step: experience joy.
One of my favorite verses in the Christian New Testament is found in Luke chapter 2, verse 14. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward all.” I think the seventh and final step to take to live your life fully alive is to achieve peace. The peace I’m talking about here is inner peace, the peace that passes understanding, at least as much as we can achieve that kind of peace this side of the rainbow. And I think that we achieve peace when we achieve those other six steps - seek awareness, express gratitude, pursue truth, act compassionately, do justice and experience joy – I think that’s when we can achieve peace, at least as much as is humanly possible. I don’t think you can live your life fully alive without taking the seventh step: achieve peace.
Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” I think Jesus was all about teaching people to: live your life fully alive. He liked a good party. He liked to eat and drink with friends, so much so that they called him a “glutton and a drunkard.” I don’t think he was a glutton and a drunkard, I just think he liked a good wedding reception. He liked a good glass of wine every now and then. Now I know there are people who can’t drink a glass of wine because they’re alcoholics or can’t eat what they’d like because of cholesterol or they refuse some food or drink for spiritual reasons. That’s fine. But I hope that people who can eat and drink, do so. I think to live your life fully alive is to make the most of life whenever you can: eat, drink and be merry – in moderation.
Baha’u’llah, who founded the Baha’i faith, says that, “we should live in the rose garden of the spirit.” I hope that I’ve made it clear (if I haven’t, let me do so now) that when I say: live your life fully alive, I’m talking about life in the spirit; that we are more spiritual beings with bodies than we are bodily beings with spirits. By spiritual (and I don’t always like that word, because it’s so nebulous) but by spiritual I mean whatever it is you do to: live your life fully alive, living out of your whole brain, your left brain and your right brain, your intellectual side and your emotional side, thinking and feeling at the same time. That’s how I think you live your life fully alive.
Who would you say lives their life fully alive? At the risk of stating the obvious, I think that one person who lives their life fully alive is…OPRAH WINFREY! Not because she’s worth a billion dollars or more. Not because she has a talk show every day. Not because she publishes a monthly magazine. Not because she’s produced plays and movies and won an Academy Award for the first movie she ever acted in. I think she lives her life fully alive because she seems to me to be spiritually grounded. I think she is full of the spirit and that helps her to live her life fully alive. I think that’s how she can do all the things she does. So I think Oprah Winfrey would be a person who shows how to: live your life fully alive.
I was reading a story a week or two ago about a popular African American Gospel singer: Tone’x (toe-nay) I think is how you pronounce it. He’s 34 years old. He was married for four years. He had all kinds of singing engagements lined up at churches and religious conventions. Then, I think to live his life fully alive, to live in truth, he came out of the closet. He admitted, in so many words, that he’s gay. Immediately, all his singing engagements, at churches and religious conventions, cancelled. Not everyone wants everybody else to live their life fully alive. Some people want other people to live their life in the closet, to live a lie, to live their life half-dead. But that’s no way to live. Tone’x, the gospel singer, finally realized that. I hope you realize that too. To live your life fully alive you have to be who you truly are.
I was listening to the radio recently and I came across Dave Ramsey, the financial guru. He tells people to live life debt-free. He tells people to “Live like no one else so that some day you can live like no one else.” He was addressing people’s fear about the future of the economy. He says, “I’m not afraid of the future. My house is paid for, my car is paid for, I have some money in the bank (I suspect he has millions in the bank.), so I’m not afraid and I don’t think we should live in fear. We should live in abundance.” He said, “Wouldn’t it be great to go out to dinner and leave the waitress a $100 tip? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to go to coffee and put a $50 bill under your coffee cup for the waitress?” (I imagine that every waitress in the country listens to Dave Ramsey.) Dave Ramsey is talking about how to live your life fully alive, which I think we’re meant to do. I think we can do that - by seeking awareness, expressing gratitude, pursuing truth, acting compassionately, doing justice, experiencing joy and achieving peace. If you do all that, I think you will: live your life fully alive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
