October 14, 2018
The unifying themes of this program are justice, love, learning and hope. The messages come from sermons and readings from Unitarian-Universalist sources. The program title comes from a beloved Unitarian-Universalist hymn, “Spirit of Life,” which includes the words, “Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion” and “Move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.”
A power outage this week got me thinking about our true nature as humans.
Commentary
By Orlando Montoya
It happened the night of the storm. I was lying awake. And, as I was in bed, somewhere in the distance, an electrical transformer blew. The first thing I noticed was the silence and the darkness, as the fan that’s always on, white noise to help with sleep, shut off, as did my bedside clock. Because electricity travels faster than sound, the loud boom, muffled by the trees, came about a second later. Then the dog started barking. And it occurred to me, as the wind blew and I lie in bed underneath a roof, underneath a large tree, that life is like that. At some point, nature will shut us off. Whether we notice the silence, the darkness or the loud boom first isn’t up to us. But the sequence always ends with someone who loves us being startled. We can’t escape our true nature, which is to say, mortal. It’s not a happy thought, I know. But the week before, I’d seen Yezmina Reza’s play “God of Carnage.” In that play, Reza proposes that humans can’t escape the fears that control us and that civility is just a thin veil over our true nature, which, according to her, is hysterical crying, shouting, vomiting, adult children, much like our politics. I can accept a “flash, boom, darkness” view of human nature, death, the line in Waiting for Godot, “They give birth astride a grave, the light gleams and it’s night once more,” but I can’t accept Reza’s “screaming, tantrum, savage” view of human nature, incivility. The same humanity that gave us light at night, fans and clocks, electricity over large distances, also gave us ever more peace, ever more justice, ever more hope and ever more reason to enjoy the brief light. Let’s enjoy this light, candle-made if necessary.
Sermon
“Come Sleet, Snow or Hail” (4/15/18)
Shawn Newton
First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto
Sermon
“Where Hope Comes From” (9/23/18)
Mark Ward
Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Asheville, North Carolina
Sermon
"All of Us Need All of Us To Make It” (5/7/17)
Elea Kemler
First Parish Church of Groton, Mass., Unitarian-Universalist
Sermon
“It Depends” (6/3/18)
Bill Sinkford
First Unitarian Church of Portland
UUA Principles and Sources
Our liberal faith as defined by the Unitarian Universalist Association
UUA Statements
Messages from the Unitarian Universalist Association
Natural Silence
Used by permission of ListeningEarth.com
Braver Wiser
Used by permission of Braver Wiser, a publication of the Unitarian-Universalist Association
Quest Monthly
Used by permission of Quest Monthly, a publication of the Church of the Larger Fellowship
World Religions
Written by Orlando Montoya
Interfaith Calendar
Written by Orlando Montoya
UU FAQ
Written by John Sias from interviews with Rev. Steve Edington
Published by the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Nashua, NH