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Homily from August 2, 2009
by Peter Scales

Trustee, Canadian Unitarian Council

"Our Third Source, Wisdom from the World's Religions"

Our opening hymn [#190] took words from Samuel Longfellow, including: “Every race and every time has received thine inspiration” and “reason’s noble aspiration.” The hymn we just sang [#203] took words attributed to Francis of Assisi, calling all creatures terrestial and avian to sing along with the earth, air, fire and water. We can draw inspiration from these words, and from the music [by Haydn and Vaughan Williams, respectively]. Do these words guide us to ethical living? Not directly. Do they guide us to spiritual living? Directly!

What do the following words mean?

inspire: take in the spirit [different from inhale; L. halo, breath]

conspire: together in the spirit

aspire: motion toward spirit

respire: with the spirit once more

expire: losing the spirit [different from exhale]

Tell me if this rings a bell: “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and knowledge, and if I have faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.” Two thousand years ago the apostle Paul wrote that in a letter to the people of Corinth. To what end was he trying to inspire the Corinthian Christians? I think he wanted them to hold ‘love’ as the highest value. Most of them already had a religion before he came along and convinced them to accept his message of Christ’s love. Paul wanted them to throw off their old beliefs and accept only Jesus as lord and saviour.

But we modern Unitarians are not like shaggy old Paul. We tend to be pluralists, by which I mean that we see wisdom in many religions. Unlike religions that were written down centuries ago and reinterpreted ever since, ours is a living tradition. We are open to gradual changes in our Unitarian Universalism, I suppose because we have seen things change during our lifetimes and we realize that some changes are entirely positive.

Today’s homily is about one of the six sources of our living tradition. Will you read the sources along with me? Take a look at the hymnal or the back of your order of service. I invite you to read the sources aloud with me, or to remain silent and listen to the other voices in the recitation. [recite] My aim today is to describe the third source, then to talk about how we can - and do! - integrate new wisdom into our traditions. My aim is also to inspire you to observe world religions – including Christianity and Judaism but also religions that are not so familiar – and to be open to their wisdom.

The third source of Unitarian-Universalism, including its preamble, says that “The living tradition which we share draws from many sources, including wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life.”

Historically, Unitarian Universalism is rooted in two religious heritages. Both Unitarianism and Universalism are grounded on thousands of years of Jewish and Christian teachings, traditions and experiences. The Unitarian heritage has affirmed that we need not think alike to love alike, and that God is one. The Universalist heritage has preached not hell but hope and courage, and the kindness and love of God. Like many other Canadians, we meet on Sunday mornings, and our Sunday worship services follow the ‘sermon sandwich’ model: announcements and singing as the bottom half of the bun, then a few garnishes, about 20 minutes of homily meat, closing words for the top bun, and a closing song as the pickle slice on top.

Within the sermon sandwich, here at Capital we include group singing, group recitation of texts, the semi-mystical lighting of a chalice, meditative silence, time for children of all ages, the lighting of symbolic candles, the ringing of a brass gong from a far-away country, remembrances of spirits who have ex-pired, and the sharing of financial gifts. After the worship we have important community building over tea and snacks. Finally on a Sunday morning, we meet in Room 5 for deeper sharing and exploration. This model is not unique to Unitarian-Universalism. It is an order of service which functions very well and which allows us to do what we want to get done. And this model is flexible enough to accept wisdom, actions and words from other religions. Are you with me so far?

Craig Beam of the Waterloo, Ontario, Unitarian Church tells us that until the 1960s when Unitarianism and Universalism merged, our two main sources were Judaism + Christianity on the one hand, and reason + science on the other hand. During the 1950s and 1960s, Canadian Unitarianism became more and more humanistic, skeptical and atheistic. Into the 1970s, though, Canadian Unitarians were looking for two things which they felt were not offered by ‘strict’ humanism: more spirituality, and more ethical instruction or guidance. This hunger led many Unitarians to look to Buddhism and paganism or earth-based spirituality, drawing wisdom from those traditions and practices.

Many people are here in part because they were hurt or have suffered loss, often at the hands of Christian, Jewish or Muslim leaders or power structures. This is not a secret but it is not something we often discuss. I believe that those who are hurt are wisely protecting themselves from further hurt, by coming to this safe [or safer?] place where we make and share community, and where we are, as Vancouver writer Doug Todd repeats in Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia, collectively “spiritual but not religious,” to many different degrees. We come together because we hunger for community and perhaps for spiritual and ethical discussion and even direction. Some of us have an idea of what the Jewish and Christian ethical teachings are, and we feel that there are critical gaps. So we look to other ethical and religious systems for inspiration.

Many here are humanists, agnostics, atheists and skeptics. And some folks who accept those titles see that humanism, agnosticism, atheism and skepticism do not give a lot of ethical guidance and do not give any spiritual guidance. So we look to other ethical and religious systems for inspiration.

Growing up, I was essentially unchurched. Mom and Dad were United Church people but not fiercely so, and they stopped going when we three kids started walking. As a teenager I had little idea of the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer even though I could sing it in two or three languages. Because I loved to sing the liturgy, when I was 16 I sang in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church choirs in Kamloops and Vernon, BC. I did not know what the words meant but I cherished the feeling that I got from the tones and rhythms of the orthodox call-and-response service. I did not take communion – not because I had not confessed my sins but rather because communion did not involve singing, and I was there to sing! It was the other-worldly sensation of the music which drew me to be a church-goer in those days. Somehow I sensed that there was wisdom in that practice.

I still remember vividly my first ever Unitarian service. It was in Anchorage, Alaska, and the speaker described beautifully a First Nations totem pole with all its symbols and hierarchy. Here was a world religion – two religions, in fact – that were new to me and which both had wisdom that inspired me. This is part of what our third source means.

I was already a Unitarian years later when I attended my first Jewish service, in Kingston, Ontario. Rabbi Justin Lewis told the story of the exodus from Egypt, across the Red Sea. Then Rabbi Justin asked the congregation, “What do you think of this?”, and several men gave their interpretations. Rabbi Justin incorporated into his service what we at Capital do after coffee time. From a young age, Jews are encouraged to ponder and question their written texts. This is something that I hope we Unitarians do, too. Our living tradition encourages us to look to world religions for ethical and spiritual inspiration. In this example, we can take the Jewish constant questioning of authority as an ethical guide.

Yesterday on the Tsartlip territory, north of Brentwood Bay, Bel and I observed how people of all ages – teens, middle-agers, elders and even toddlers – danced together on the sacred pow-wow grounds. Is the pow-wow arena always sacred? No; it is usually a soccer field. But through a simple ceremony the Tsartlip people made the ground sacred. Is the James Bay New Horizons always sacred? No; it is usually an activity centre. But we make it sacred by our presence and our routines. We do not need a physical cathedral, temple or church. Like the pagans and Wiccans, we realize that any place can be holy. Christians and Jews know this, too. Perhaps in some way, this is common wisdom. I don’t know if there are world religions which strictly do not have specific buildings for worship; do you know?

Who dances in worship? The religious people who come to my mind are the Sufi Muslims and the Hasidic Jews. Both religious groups are known for their ecstatic dances, which they use to get spiritual. Some Wiccans and pagans dance to mark the seasons and to show reverence for the earth. I like the story told by Joseph Campbell, whose book The Hero With a Thousand Faces inspired George Lucas to write the Star Wars screenplay. Campbell describes an interfaith meeting in Japan. After a few days a Baptist preacher asks a Shinto priest, “I think I get what you are saying but I don’t understand your theology.” The Shinto replies, “We have no theology. We dance.” Is there room in a Unitarian service for dance? What would dance say about us? Are any of you inspired to dance at church?

From where do we Unitarian-Universalists get our reverence for the living things in the interdependent web of all existence? Primarily from the Buddhists, and really only since 1994 in the official literature. (If you have a hymnal that was printed before 1995 there may be one fewer principle or source than more current printings.) In part from the Buddhists, we are inspired to ethical action in favour of the entire biosphere.

Why do you think so many of us are comfortable with the sound of the djembe that Dick plays on some Sunday mornings? I like to think that our incorporation of the European piano, the African drum and our Victorian voices is one way that we rise up in spirit together, inspired to create a joyful sound that includes many harmonies!

When I see TV footage or movie portrayals of the ecstatic worship of some African-American churches – though I disagree with their theology – I am inspired by their spirituality. Does anyone else feel that? In Victoria, when I see the Baptists, the United Church people and the Salvation Army soldiers working with less fortunate citizens – though I disagree with much of their theology – I am inspired by their ethical stance. That is why – in addition to my monthly cheque – I freely put cash into our collection basket to support charities that work for justice and The Good.

Sociologists tell us that one of the functions of a religion is to inspire or teach its followers to live ethically. Do you get that here, at Capital? I do. Many of you are exemplars of ethical decisions, large and small, and when you talk about ethics or when the children’s story talks about ethics, I am inspired. Does the theoretical or theological source of ethical action matter? Hmm... not vitally, I would say. If you draw moral and ethical lessons from Tibetan monasticism or Jamaican voodoo or conservative Judaism, and those lessons help you to live a spiritual and ethical life, then I thank you and I appreciate your example. Would I ever say to myself, “I appreciate her ethical actions but I refuse to incorporate her lesson into my life because it was inspired by a little-known religion from far away?” No! The living tradition which we share draws from many sources, including wisdom from the world’s religions, which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life.

I look forward to conspiring with many of you at the Forum, in Room 5 after coffee. My aim has been to inspire you to observe world religions – including Christianity and Judaism but also religions that are not so familiar – and to be open to their wisdom. It is my belief that there is no Absolute Truth... no single fount of wisdom. I seek ethical and spiritual inspiration wherever I can get it. Like many of you, I cherish the search as part of my life-long practice. And that is why the third source of Unitarianism is so close to my heart and head.

May it always be so!

© Peter Scales 2009
Peter Scales, MA

Trustee, Canadian Unitarian Council