Giving Thanks

As we express our gratitude, our hearts and hands are open to receive more gifts, and we can give thanks again.


I realize it may be early to talk about this, but...

I still believe in Santa Claus.

My mother was a truly wise woman.

When I informed her that I
  no longer believed in Santa,
    she kindly explained to me that Santa Claus
      is the spirit of giving.

To this day, I can't really argue with that!

Santa Claus is associated with the Holy Day
                 of Christmas.

As we prepare to celebrate the Holy Day
   of Thanksgiving,
      we do well to remember the many things
         for which we are grateful.

The attitude of gratitude is best reflected
   by open hands,
      and those open hands are prepared
         to receive more gifts
            for which we can be thankful
                all over again.

The experience of receiving gifts
   is not limited to holidays and birthdays.

Every day is a gift,
 and so we can feel and express gratitude
    every day.

Giving thanks and receiving gifts anew
  is the opposite of a vicious circle.

It is a virtuous circle
   that can help make our lives better.

The spirit of giving is an adult concept of Santa Claus,
   and every reminder of him
      can serve to remind us of the virtuous circle
         of giving thanks and giving and receiving gifts.

So I still believe in the spirit of giving,
  and therefore, I still believe in
    in my mother's definition of Santa Claus.

As we begin the holiday season,
  we remember the myths that go with the holidays.

Santa Claus and the stable in Bethlehem
  are two of the myths associated with Christmas.

I expect to talk more about both of those myths
  and other myths, too,
   in my sermon on December 22.

Thanksgiving in the U.S., this coming Thursday,
  has a myth of its own.

I'm like to call it the myth of the Pilgrims
  and the friendly Indians.

The story of the myth was told
  in our Story for All Ages this morning.

Now, please remember
  that when I refer to a myth,
    I'm not using the word
      the way it is often used colloquially.

Just because a story is a myth
  does not mean that it is untrue.

Myths are often based on true stories.

Usually the stories of myths are embellished,
  but they make a larger point
    than just the details of the story
      and the way it is remembered.

The telling of the myth
   in our story for all ages
      is a way of remembering
         what the coming holiday
              is all about.

Remembering is an important part
       of giving thanks.

For most of us here present,
   there is not much of a threat
      to our ability to obtain nourishment.

The Pilgrims at the First Thanksgiving
   were not so fortunate.

Without the help of the Friendly Native People,
   the nation we know today -
      and even our UU faith as we know it -
         might not have come into being.

There is a direct connection between the Pilgrims
  who were helped by the friendly natives
    and our congregation of the NIUU's.

You see, the congregation that was founded
   by the Pilgrims in 1620
      is now a member of the UUA
        of which we are also a member congregation.

So I can say that we UU's have a direct connection
   to the spiritual forebears of our nation's
      freedom of - and from - religion.

Sadly, the tribe of friendly Native People
   whose help saved the Pilgrim settlement
      was extinct by 1622,
         due to diseases
            (brought by Europeans)
                 for which they had no immunity.

The tribal confederation to which that tribe belonged
   survives to this day.

Although we may not often remember it,
   therefore, our Thanksgiving dinners
      are also a memorial meal
          for the many people of First Nations' heritage
              whose lives have been lost.

The First Nations have long celebrated
  the act of giving thanks,
    and it is fitting that we remember them
      in a national memorial meal
        that remembers them
          and gives thanks
            for all the good things we share.

A memorial meal that is based in giving thanks
   brings to mind the central worship experience
       of Christians.

The liturgy of Holy Communion
   is known as the Great Thanksgiving,
      in Greek, the Eucharist.

I'm aware that many Christians do not think
   of their Holy Communion services
      as memorial meals,
         but the Lord's Supper, as it's sometimes called,
            is exactly that, among other things.

After all, the words instituting Christian Communion,
   starting with Jesus in the N.T. are
      "Do this for the remembrance of me."

Every religious faith
   can claim its own deep relationship
      with the act of giving thanks.

The very name of Judaism is closely related
   to the Hebrew word for giving thanks.

(Jew - Yehudi and giving thanks - hudaya)

Islam can claim thankfulness near its heart, too:

One of the five pillars of Islam is Zakat,
   the giving of charity to the poor,
      offering help to those
         less fortunate than ourselves. 

Giving help to others can be
  - and often is -
    seen in Islam
      as a way of giving thanks.

In many of the texts of Hindu scriptures,
  gratitude, or giving thanks,
    is exalted as one of the most important
      dharmas or virtues.

Wiccans and contemporary pagans
  celebrate three harvest festivals,
    Lammas near summer's end,
      Mabon at the Autumnal Equinox
        and Samhain, also known as Halloween.

Any of the three harvest festivals
  could be regarded as giving thanks,
    but the principal neopagan Thanksgiving
      on their sacred calendar is Mabon.

The rituals of Mabon give thanks
  for the fruits of the earth
    and remind the worshippers of the importance
      of sharing those gifts with each other.

The ancient English festival of harvest home
   shares its roots with Mabon. 

The First Noble Truth of Buddhism
  is that all life is suffering.

Yet Buddhism proclaims
  that every day is a good day.

The inherent contradiction
  between those two statements
    makes me think of a Koan,
      the contradictory ideas held as one
        intended to open our minds.

We can see every day - even every moment -
   as good
     when we open our hearts and minds
        with gratitude,
           giving thanks
             even when we may not feel like it.

Giving thanks recognizes
  that everything we are
    and everything we have
      are the result of what has gone before.

Seeing our lives in this way
   is a deeply Buddhist attitude.

Just as our Thanksgiving dinners
  are also memorial meals,
    so remembering
      is an important part of giving thanks.

If we think about what has gone before us,
  our most natural response is gratitude.

It is an attitude of recognition
  that we are not alone.

Our national festival of Thanksgiving
  is a sacred and secular holiday at the same time,
    and as such
      it is tailor made for UU's and humanists.

Whether we are thinking in terms
  of giving thanks to a benevolent Supreme Being
    or simply cultivating an attitude and feeling
      of thankfulness,
        we share the benefits
          of a postive and forward looking
            way of thinking.

Our attitude of gratitude, giving thanks,
  has our hands and arms held open,
    and so we are prepared to receive still more gifts
      for which we can give thanks in turn.

We owe our gratitude ever more widely
  to the people who care about us
    to the world we inhabit
      to the creatures we share the world with,
        especially the plants and animals
          that provide us with the nourishment
            we need in order to live.

So I still believe in Santa Claus,
   the spirit of giving.

Today we are remembering
   the spirit of giving thanks.

On Thanksgiving Day,
  many of us,
    can even think thoughts of gratitude
      for the turkeys
         from whose life energy we are drawing life.

There is a great thought-prayer
  from the brilliant poet - novelist - farmer,
    Wendell Berry.

I will use it for our closing words today.

It's a worthy remembrance after any meal:

I have taken in the light
that quickened eye and leaf.
May my brain be bright with praise
of what I eat, in the brief blaze
of motion and of thought.
May I be worthy of my meat.

- Wendell Berry

Amen
Ameen
Omeyn
So mote it be

Water Remembers Us

Our UU Water Communion celebrates the way we remember water and the times of our lives. Water also remembers us as we leave our mark upon it.


Water is one of the most important realities
     in our lives.

It can also be seen and used as
   a symbol and a metaphor.

For example, water moves along
   from higher to lower places
      as it makes progress
           from its source to its mouth
                 (in the case of rivers).

My last sermon was about progress
    as positive movement in our times and places.

Water's positive movement is downhill,
      so to speak. :-)

Water always seeks the lowest place
   as it is drawn downhill by gravity.

Yet it has the power to wear away mountains
    and dig the deepest canyons
         along the surface of the Earth.

As such, it is a fitting symbol and metaphor
    for the power of humility:
         seeking the lowest place
               and yet exercising
                     some of the greatest power
                           in our world.

Water also has memory in a sense.

As I speak of water's memory,
       I'm not speaking of homeopathy
             (in case you are familiar with that).

I'm also not disparaging homeopathy.

I'm just speaking of something
     much simpler and more verifiable than that.

As water travels
   from its source to its mouth in rivers,
      it picks up material along its way.

The dissolved and carried matter
   is the foundation of water's memory.

We contribute to the matter that water carries.

That's why I can say,
    "Water remembers us."

As the downhill movement of water on its way
   is a metaphor of humility,
      so the dissolved matter in water
          is a metaphor of memory.

Our relationship with water
   has its roots in the very depths of our being.

We are made up mostly of water,
   as is the surface of our planet.

Likewise, our relationship with water
   has a foundation in memory,
      our memory and the memory of the water itself.

We remember significant events related to water.

Baptism is one of those,
   and our UU Water Communion is another.

We remember occasions
   where water played an important part
       in our experiences.

Maybe we went swimming or boating with friends.

Maybe we crossed a waterway on a ferry or bridge.

There are so many possibilities
   that I won't even attempt to list them.

Likewise, memory, in terms of carried particles of us,
    is a way of thinking of water
        as it relates to us.

I find the concept useful
    because it's a way to picture
        what we do with water.

We cannot avoid leaving our mark upon it.

It's so much a part of us and our world,
     and we're so much a part of the worlds of water
         that we can't help creating a relationship.

As the saying goes, and it's a true one,
   "Someday you will be a memory
          to the people around you.
              Do your best to make that memory
                    a good one!"

Likewise with the water
    that is essential to our lives.

The water will carry away a memory of us.

We can do our best
     to make that memory a good one.

We can send the water on its way
    in healthier condition for other living things
        than it was when it first came to us.

Or ... we can leave it in worse condition.

Lake Coeur D'Alene carries significant memories
   of the mining that was an important part
      of the economy of North Idaho
          in years past.

Its condition is getting worse rather than better.

There are people in our part of the world, 
      who are working to improve our relationships
         with the waters of Lake Coeur D'Alene.

We can share in those efforts.

The Governor of Idaho has ordered a review
    of the science around the Lake's condition
       and the cleanup.

Our Lake is part of
     the federal Superfund cleanup site,
         but at present its cleanup
             does not receive Superfund money.

(Thanks to Turns East for calling my attention
     to this highly relevant information
          as reported last Thursday 
               in the Spokesman Review.)

Another of the important memories of us
    in the waters of our world
          is the plastics in the ocean.

Already there is so much
     of the plastics we have made
          present in the waters of the sea
               that they are poisoning sea creatures.

Enterprising people have begun to clean up
                  the waters of the sea.

Cleaning the waters that carry bad memories of us
     requires a lot of thought and energy.

First and foremost, we have to care about it!

Not caring about the water
   upon which we all depend
       is suicidal behavior
           on the part of any human being.

Likewise, caring about the water
    in effective, forward moving ways
        is life preserving for us all
             and for all the creatures
                  on land and in the sea
                      with whom we share our Earth.

Caring for the water upon which we all depend
    will be more and more costly as time goes by.

But not caring for it will be even more costly.

Too much horrible stewardship has been done
     and continues to be done
          in our relationship with water.

There is a lot of bad memory of water
     in our own hearts and minds
          as the result of bad stewardship
              in the past and the present
                 for there to be any hope
                     of our evading its consequences.

It's not too late,
    but we can see the endgame ahead of us
        from where we are now.

For a number of years,
    futurists have made the prediction
         that water will be the oil
               of the 21st Century
                   and times beyond.

In other words,
    as oil was the resource we sought
       and fought for
           in the previous century,
                so will water be in the future.

As such, we are being called
     to consider the future availability of water
           for all living things.

We will have to avoid the kind of thinking
    that led the former CEO of Nestle
        (a company that bottles and sells water)
             to say that the idea that
                  water is a human right
                       is an extreme position.

That kind of attitude would likely reinforce
     the great extinction of life on our planet
           that is already underway.

The outcry against such an attitude
   has already made a difference
       as Nestle has tried to clarify their position
           and to be much less extreme themselves.

We can still counteract such attitudes,
     but we will have to do so by actions
          as well as words.

We will have to think about
     the water we depend on,
         the way we use it
            and the way we send it on its way.

We cannot consider only our own needs and desires.

We have to think of each other
     and of all life
          if we are to survive together.

In terms of water
    as in terms of all other things
           we can never again look
                only to the meeting  of our own needs.

Thinking in terms of today's metaphor
     of water remembering us
            can help us to look beyond our own needs.

If we think of the water itself
      as carrying a memory of us with it,

If we consider whether we make it
        a good memory or a bad one,

We can help ourselves account for
     our own relationship to the water we depend on
           along with every living thing in the world.

Water remembers us,
     and we can remember it
          in everything we do
              in our relationship with it.

Amen
So Mote it Be
Blessed Be!