First Unitarian Society
Sermons (2002-2003)
By
Rev. Kendyl Gibbons
Sermons on tape may be obtained through our Membership Office.
On the Threshold
June 1, 2003
We end our program year with a reception of new members, and celebrating a class of ten religious education graduates. As the sands of our nation and our world shift underfoot, what does it mean to cross the threshold into the unknown? When the safety of the familiar is no longer possible, how do we find the courage to move forward, to see the opportunities within challenges, and to offer our leadership in the service of visions that are not yet entirely clear? What are the thresholds to be crossed in your own life, and in our life as a community?
The Tides of History
April 27, 2003
Growing up as a Unitarian Universalist, certain ideas were taken for granted not only in my church, but by the entire culture that I was part of, or so I thought. The eventual triumph of Enlightenment and individualism across the globe, together with the elimination of all things primitive, including destitution and superstition, was a confident expectation. Even as we celebrate Earth Day today, demographic, political, and economic trends are calling that confidence into question -- if we are awake to such developments. What are the implications of these trends, and how might our vision be widened by this awareness?
The Real Miracles
April 20, 2003
The observance of Easter this year coincides with the Sunday designated as Earth Day. The annual resurrection of life through the cycles of the planet's seasons is one of the obvious sources of mystery, wonder, and rejoicing, but that same response is called forth often by life's smallest gestures, as well as by humanity's most poignant aspirations. These have nothing to do with supernatural interventions, and everything to do with how we look at the world and each other. Today we celebrate our connections to the earth and to the community of humanity.
Checking in on the Checklist
April 13, 2003
In January, I proposed a checklist for people who were wanting to shape their New Year's resolutions around their commitment to humanist values. This Sunday we will take another look at that list and explore some of its implications in more detail. How do we give form to our commitments and make them real in the world? If you made use of this list, whether you found it helpful or not so much, I would love to hear from you about your experience.
Now is the Time
March 23, 2003
This is not the day that we have longed to see together; this is not the world we would have made. But this is the world and the time in which our duties lie; we all have brothers on the front lines, we all have family in Iraq. And we have one another, and one day soon, a new world to build once more.
Life Everlasting
March 9, 2003
This year's auction sermon topic, assigned by Art Higginbotham, focuses on the idea of immorality. Does such a concept have meaning in the context of humanism, or a naturalistic philosophy? Is it something we could create through the events and achievements of our natural lives? Would we really want it, and what does our long fascination with this idea tell us about the truth of the human condition? The Children's Chorus will sing at this service.
Over in Zion
February 23, 2003
This morning concludes the celebration of Black History month with a consideration of the history and cultural significance of the black church in America. How has this institution survived in the face of racism and oppression, while fostering the African-American community's sense of heritage and dignity, as well as its quest for justice? What might predominantly white congregations have to learn from the black church experience, and how can we relate respectfully to it in today's multicultural society? The choir will offer a musical interpretation of this theme.
Eternal Vigilance
February 9, 2003
Thomas Jefferson, among others, observed that liberty is not self-sustaining; if our rights are not attended to and jealously guarded, they will tend to slip away unnoticed through our fingers, and into the hands of controlling authority. American citizens appear to have concluded either that our long time tradition of civil liberties is safe from any meaningful threat, or else that the risks of terrorism are such as to justify the voluntary relinquishment of the freedoms we have so much taken for granted. The last time we let this happen, we wound up with Senator Joseph McCarthy and his extremely destructive 'red scare' tactics. If we do not wish to sow the seeds of another such exercise in tyranny, we had better start taking action.
In Your Own Backyard
January 26, 2003
On this weekend of the UUAHP Affordable Housing conference, some reflections on how we understand the idea of home, and how to confront the Not In My Back Yard syndrome that sometimes derails attempts to provide for our less fortunate fellow citizens. Legend tells that there is treasure buried in one's own back yard, and there is, of course, No Place Like Home. How do we discover, and preserve, that treasure in community? The second collection, in support of affordable housing work in the Twin Cities, will be received at this Assembly.
Remembering What You Want
January 5, 2003
One of the most basic premises of the humanist philosophy is that people can take responsibility for their own choices, and that it is up to us to implement our values in our actions without expecting supernatural rewards or punishments. This seems simple enough, and yet self control is one of the most demanding exercises of the human understanding and will. The aphorism says that "Discipline is remembering what you want." In this season of clean slates and New Year's resolutions, how can we improve the odds that we will remember what we want - or even know it in the first place?
A Season of Mindfulness
December 15, 2002
Slow down. Let go. Simplify. The longest night will come, and pass, whether we have baked or decorated or entertained or shopped or shipped or not. The gifts of love are seasonless, as is the heart's hunger for quietness and clarity. The Buddha's message is one that should resonate with us as humanists; take the time to think about what you are doing, look carefully at your own life and the interconnection and impermanence of all things, release your attachment to your desires, and quit trying to run the universe. Bohdi Day reminds us that enlightenment is a practice of the mind and spirit, and that the light we seek in this season must shine from within us as well as around us. And you know, our own western religious heritage is not without its teachings of simplicity and inner light; let us conclude our time together, and set a tone for the week to come, with the old Shaker hymn whose message is especially appropriate for these days, 'Tis the Gift To Be Simple.
The Candle in the Window
December 1, 2002
Praise to the light that shines in the dark days, the candles that we place in our windows for a testimony to the world; praise to the courage that is kindled in human hearts by that light; praise to the compassion that calls us to connection beyond fear; praise to the faith that lights the light, ever and again, in poignant memory, in mourning, in celebration, in desperate need, in yearning hope; in vision of the life that could be. Praise to those who stand among us, living the covenant in generosity and dedication, luminous as beacons to call us on; for their light shines in the darkness, and all the darkness in the world has never, and can never, put it out.
The Discipline of Gratitude
November 24, 2002
Every religious tradition throughout human culture emphasizes gratitude as the most productive and appropriate response for us to take toward life. Despite all challenges and hard-ships, it is fundamentally a gift to be alive and to enjoy human experience. The more grateful our attitude, the more joy we get out of life. While there are significant moral ambiguities in the historical events associated with our national holiday of Thanksgiving, the underlying message of the day is one we should heed. How do we cultivate our capacity for gratitude? At this service, we will welcome new members, and honor those reaching their 10th anniversary of membership.
The Authentic Community
November 10, 2002
Religious congregations struggling to thrive in the 21st century have more in common than they do separating themselves, and much to learn from each other. If humanism is to survive as an institutional option for future generations, we must be able to reflect and act with intention when we try to say who we are and what we hope to accomplish together. Why are the mega-churches, with their rigid and irrational theologies flourishing, and what if anything ought we to pay attention to in their success? At this service we will celebrate our new group of chalice lighters and reflect both upon the Long Range Plan of the board and the work of consultant Michael Durall.
With the Praise That Grows Not Old: Remembering Paul Wellstone
October 27, 2002
Having given his life for the common good, may he receive the praise that grows not old, and rest in the noblest of tombs, where his glory is laid up to be remembered always, proclaimed in both word and deed. For the whole earth is the monument of valorous men; let their virtues be commemorated not only by columns and inscriptions in their own country, but live on with unwritten memorials, graven not in stone, but in the hearts of all humanity.
Celebrating Coming Out
October 13, 2002
Puritanism has been defined as "the haunting fear that some-one, somewhere, may be having a good time." In fact, the historical Puritans were not as anti-sexual in their attitudes as the Victorians who followed them, but American society has a deeply ingrained suspicion that anything related to pleasure is probably irresponsible and dangerous. Combine that suspicion with a patriarchal impulse to dominate people's choices "for their own good," and you get a culture that demonizes desire. On this National Coming Out Sunday, I wonder, how can we reclaim our human heritage of innocent pleasure from the damages of censorship and violence?
Why I Am Not Saying the Pledge of Allegiance Anymore
September 22, 2002
The recent flash of controversy over requiring students to recite the pledge of allegiance, with its claim of 'one nation, under god' in school, has caused me to re-examine the whole concept of an act that I have taken for granted all of my life. I conclude that there is a more fundamental problem than the phrase 'under god', and that in fact I cannot recite this bit of patriotic propaganda at all hereafter. That decision lifts up one of the tensions that dwells always at the heart of liberalism; what is it proper for us to pledge our allegiance to?
A Modest Salvation
September 15, 2002
Nine Pennsylvania coal miners spent three days this summer trapped in cold water and darkness, buried hundreds of feet under the earth, while their loved ones waited in terror of their fate, and the most exacting of human knowledge and skill pressed forward to find and free them. They were rescued, "nine for nine", and many people spoke of 'answered prayers' and 'miracles'. What does this ordeal really have to tell us about the faith of which the human spirit is capable? The first of this year's Hands On Humanism awards will be presented