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Peacefully Dwelling A Worship Service by the Reverend Mark W. Christian The First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City Sunday February 27, 2005
Reading It Is Possible to Live in Peace Mohandas K. Gandhi (SL 576)
If someone with courage and vision can rise to lead in nonviolent action, the winter of despair can, in the twinkling of an eye, be turned into the summer of hope. It is possible to live in peace. Nonviolence is not a garment to put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our being. It is possible to live in peace. Nonviolence, which is a quality of the heart, cannot come by an appeal to the brain. It is a plant of slow growth, growing imperceptibly, but surely. It is possible to live in peace. If a single person achieves the highest kind of love it will be sufficient to neutralize the hate of millions. It is possible to live in peace. If we are to reach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children. It is possible to live in peace. The future depends on what we do in the present. It is possible to live in peace.
Prayer and Mediation Romans 12:12-21 New English Bible
Let hope keep you joyful; in trouble stand firm; persist in prayer; contribute to the needs of God's people, and practice hospitality. Call down blessings on your persecutors – blessings, not curses. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in agreement with one another. Do not be proud, but be ready to mix with humble people. Do not keep thinking how wise you are. Never pay back evil for evil. Let your aims be such as all count honorable. If possible, so far as it lies with you, live at peace with all. My dear friends, do not seek revenge, but leave a place for divine retribution; for there is a text which reads, ‘Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay.’ But there is another text: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; by doing this you will heap live coals on his head.’ Do not let evil conquer you, but use good to conquer evil.
Peacefully Dwelling A Sermon by the Reverend Mark W. Christian Delivered to the First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City Sunday February 27, 2005
Today we continue our series on the affirmation we share each week. This week I ask what it mean to be a community that claims “To Dwell Together in Peace?” Does this mean we are pacifists? Does this mean peace is our concern only to the extent that “we” dwell together? What commitment do we have toward other people dwelling in peace? Does this call on us to find the spirit of peace “dwelling” in our hearts? Peace means many things—where to begin? The first thing that is called to my mind by the topic of peace is the ongoing war in Iraq. This week, one of our members, Randi Haley, came by the church so we could discuss a project we are working on together. She had just left an ongoing silent vigil called Women in Black—which points out the lack of peace and peaceful means that dominates the world. Randi said that a small group of women stand silently and hold signs of mourning. Her sign witnessed the deaths that have occurred on all sides in the present war in Iraq. Randi told me that the protests in Norman and Oklahoma City are part of a larger network of Women in Black demonstrations. I went to the Internet and found the “Women in Black” website. It reads in part: We are silent because mere words cannot express the tragedy that wars and hatred bring. We refuse to add to the cacophony of empty statements that are spoken with the best intentions yet may be erased or go unheard under the sound of a passing ambulance or a bomb exploding nearby. Our silence is visible … We wear black as a symbol of sorrow for all victims of war, for the destruction of people, nature and the fabric of life. I want to thank Randi for embodying the deep ethic of “Peacefully Dwelling” that we affirm together in worship. I am continually thankful for the ways you, the members of this church, live out our ethic. I wonder, with some regularity, who is really in the pulpit and who is in the pew around here. To Dwell Together in Peace: as Unitarian Universalists we have a long connection with peace issues. Ours was one of the first North American religious organizations to take a public stand against the war in Vietnam. I remember in High School—circa 1973—having a history textbook with a picture taken in the mid-60s which showed a giant banner denouncing the war draped over our Association’s headquarters on Beacon Hill in Boston. Unitarian ethics in a High School text book? Today they would probably have to put a disclaimer on the page stating that ours is just a theory—with many unexplained gaps in the chain of events. And a theory we are. And gaps we have. We have had our share of pacifists. John Haynes Holmes served “Church of the Messiah” in New York City in the early 20th Century (that church is now known as Community Church in case you’re curious about the atypical name). Holmes was an outspoken pacifist in World Wars One and Two. He studied with (and counseled) Gandhi and was among the founding members of both the ACLU and the NAACP. John Haynes Holmes, though, was the exception, not the rule, among Unitarians and his outspoken and unyielding pacifism isolated him within our movement. Perhaps the words “To Dwell Together in Peace” are better understood as an affirmation of hope than a statement of fact—more of as an expression of intent than a description of fact. I learned a classic example of our sometimes inconsistent commitment to peace in this very church back when I was in high school. I didn’t really intend for this sermon to turn into High School reminiscences—oh well, such are the musings of the Spirit. In the early 1970’s—the predecessor of our Thespian Covenant Group—The Congregational Players—performed the play “The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. Bill Walker portrayed Thoreau and (if memory serves) Earl Hearn (or possibly Gene Bragdon) played Emerson. One of the high points in the play is a confrontation between two of our guiding lights. Thoreau has been arrested for failure to pay his taxes in protest of the Mexican American War. Emerson arrives at the Concord Jail and, in an exchange that is likely apocryphal, upon seeing Thoreau behind bars asks “David, what are you doing in there?” The ever-acerbic Thoreau counters, “Waldo, what are you doing OUT there?” I suppose there has always been more than one way To Dwell Together in Peace. A number of our members and friends have been among the regulars at the Spiritual Walks for Peace that have been held with some regularity over the last couple of years. Some of us are pacifists or at least have the heart of a pacifist. Others of us detest war but are unwilling to go so far as stating that war is never without its own justification. Still each of us affirm our intent to dwell together in peace. Some of you long-timers, no doubt, remember Paul Rassmussen. Paul and his wife Betty are among the stalwarts of Channing UU Church in Edmond, now. I remember talking to Paul one day about the time the first Gulf War broke out. Wayne Robinson, who was then Minister at Channing, had just preached a fiery sermon advocating pacifism and the service ended with a lively singing of the old spiritual “Down By The Riverside.” I ain’t a gonna study war no more. I ain’t a gonna study war no more… I remember Paul sharing reservations about that song. Paul told me that his childhood was spent in Denmark. He said he remembered the day the German Ships dropped anchor in the harbor and the tanks rumbled through the narrow city streets. He recalled looking upward at the roaring fighter planes crisscrossing the sky. Paul told me that while he loves peace, he can't be so definitive in his opposition to war. Perhaps “Peacefully Dwelling” takes more than opposing war. I don’t believe in fate but I’d be an idiot to deny serendipity, so I can’t put too much meaning into this, but I wonder: is it mere coincidence that three recent Secretary’s of Defense have been Unitarian Universalists? William Cohen and William Perry served on the Clinton cabinet; Elliot Richardson served as Nixon’s Secretary of Defense while U.S. troops were mired in Vietnam back in ’73. Our ranks bring forth Secretary’s of Defense while we are a religious tradition that aspires “To Dwell Together in Peace.” I am not too sure what to make of that. Maybe the best way to approach peace is not focus so much on war—duh! Why didn’t I think of that earlier? Helen Keller observed that “I don’t want the peace which passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace.” Similarly, our UU Service Committee boiled it down to a pretty simple formula. About 15 years ago I remember a UUSC banner that proclaimed—“Plant Justice. Harvest Peace.” The formula is poetic in its parsimony. Perhaps the best way to dwell together in peace is to seek justice as a community. That is why I am so proud of our Change for Change program, our Sustainable Living Organization and the tireless souls who serve on our Social Justice Committee. These efforts connect our sentiments for a better world to the gears necessary to build justice and compassion in the world. Peacefully Dwelling involves yoking justice to compassion in the enduring service of peace. Committing ourselves to justice is a challenging goal, though, because our complicity with injustice is ubiquitous and often wears such clever disguises. Being an urban church (assuming that anything in Oklahoma City can truly be called urban) means that many people who have slipped through society’s cracks end up on our door step with alarming regularity. Literally. As the keeper of the discretionary funds account I am regularly called upon to decide who we can help and who I will turn away without assistance when hurting and needy people call on us. I know that I can’t help everyone. I know that I can’t actually solve anyone’s problem in a systemic way. Still, we are called upon to help and I am called upon to decide. Something of dwelling in peace is tied up in this because what these people really want is peace. They ask for money but they need peace. They crave peace when they ask for assistance. I can’t offer them peace but I try to offer them compassion and dignity. Still, I have to admit that I get callous, sometimes. This week, I walked into my office and could see a car parked in the driveway in front of our handicapped ramp. After a few minutes, when the car had not left, I decided to check it out. Were they trying to find the door? Were they casing out church? Were they parked on the side of the church so that someone wouldn’t see them? I’ll be honest—my intentions weren’t guided by peace or compassion when I headed to the parking lot—I wanted that car to move. They were in the middle of the drive way for God’s sake. I went outside figuring that as I approached they would drive off. They didn’t. They didn’t even look at me as I walked—and I am a bit hard to miss! Finally I walked up to the car and asked if I could help them—translation: “Can I help you leave?” As the man rolled down the window I could see a young boy—about three years old, I guess—asleep in the back seat. I quickly surmised that the driver didn’t speak English. I think he asked if I spoke Spanish—“Un pocito” I replied—in what turned out to be the only words I said that I think he understood. For what seemed an eternity I tried to figure out what he wanted. I tried to direct him next door to Villa Teresa—“Iglesia Catholica?” I asked being pretty sure I got close on the Iglesia part. No luck. After a few moments I said, “Sorry,” and walked away. He rolled up the window and drove off. I have now concluded that he simply needed a place to be and that being in the shade of our sanctuary looked safe and peaceful. I guess I got my peace back. He left. He was no longer disturbing me. I suspect now, though, that I failed miserably at dwelling together in peace. To Dwell Together in Peace is not a statement of fact. It is our aspiration. It doesn’t affirm what we already do—it points us to how we are called to be in the world. Peace is amorphous and I am not sure I can really tell you much about how to dwell in it. On this day, in the revealed and sanctified light of that affirmation we share—let us stand renewed in our hope to embody peace in this community. Let us commit ourselves to shining the beacon of peace not just on our lives but on all life. Let our commitment to peace in the world— all the world—be renewed and refreshed. Let us understand our calling to peacefully dwell in our inner and outer worlds, in the world of humans and the world of nature, in the world of nations and the world of solitary lost souls. I close with these words attributed to Lao-tzu from the Tao Te Ching— If there is to be peace in the world, There must be peace in the nations. If there is to be peace in the nations, There must be peace in the cities. If there is to be peace in the cities, There must be peace between neighbors. If there is to be peace between neighbors, There must be peace in the home. If there is to be peace in the home, There must be peace in the heart. May we make it so. AMEN
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