Solstice and Christmas

The reasons for the Season are the rebirth of the sun and the birth of the holy child. The two reasons are compatible for us.

Last night at 8:19 p.m
  the sun appeared to be as far away from us
    to our south
      as it ever goes.

Now it appears to be returning to us.

Those are just appearances, as we now know,
  but the reality,
    based on the tilt of Earth's axis
      (23.5 degrees from the plane of Earth's orbit),
      makes a huge difference in our lives.

Officially this solstice event marks the start of winter,
  and it also marks the start of our seasonal journey
    toward Spring.

As such it's a hopeful new beginning.

Likewise, Christians celebrate December 25,
  this coming Wednesday, as the birthday of Jesus,
    believed to be the Son of God,
      even though He customarily referred to Himself
        as the Son of Man.

There are many connections
  between Solstice and Christmas.

The rebirth of the Sun
  and the birth of the Son of God
    at least seem to be related.

The truth of both matters is
  often expressed in mythology
    so that we can understand it
      either more or less
        according to our use of the myths. 

As we begin to think of myths and our use of them,
  it's important to remember that a myth
    is not a falsehood.

Sometimes myths can represent deeper truths
  than our usual way of speaking of familiar things. 

Solstice affects our lives with the change of seasons.

The sun is the bringer of life and heat,
  both essential for life on our planet.

If it were to vanish from our sight,
  our lives would not last long.

We who live in the north retain
  a deep and ancient tendency toward anxiety
    as the sunlight diminishes
      in the days before solstice.

One of the most ancient myths
  used to represent that anxiety
    is the story of a giant serpent or dragon
      that tries to swallow the sun.

Apparently the Genesis story is not the only one
  to use a serpent as a representative of evil.

Each year the serpent is defeated
  and the sun is reborn to bring us light and warmth
    once again.

Likewise, myths like the story of Raven
  returning light to the people
    can bring comfort
      to our deep feelings around this time of year.

One version of the Myth of Raven was told
  in Episode 25
    of Northern Exposure, among my personal favorite
      farcical television series.

“A long time ago,
  the raven looked down from the sky
    and saw that the people of the world
      were living in darkness.

The ball of light was kept hidden
  by a selfish old chief.

So the raven turned himself into a spruce needle
  and floated on the river
    where the chief’s daughter came for water.

She drank the spruce needle.

She became pregnant and gave birth to a boy,
  who was the raven in disguise.

The boy cried and cried
  until the chief gave him the ball of light
    to play with.

As soon as the raven had the light,
    the raven turned back into himself.

The raven carried the light into the sky.

From then on, we no longer lived in darkness.”

Those words, "We no longer lived in darkness,"
  echo the ancient words of the prophet Isaiah,
    "The people who walked in darkness
        have seen a great light."

The light shining in the darkness
  is a theme of this time of year
    for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere.

The shining lights we use to decorate
  can refocus our thoughts and feelings
    away from darkness and cold
      and toward light and warmth.

The stories around the birth of the Savior
  are also myths associated with this time of year.

The purpose of the myth is often lost
  in both the sacred and secular celebrations.

You see, the celebration of the birth of the holy child
  is intended to teach us to celebrate the birth
    of every child as a sacred event.

My own faith as a Christian
  includes the belief in Jesus as the Son of God.

My personal take on the meaning of that belief
  may be somewhat different from many others.

I believe that Christians believe in Jesus
  as the Son of God
    at least in part
      in order to remind us
        that we are all children of God
          and so brothers and sisters to each other.

No matter the language or beliefs we use about God,
  the understanding
    that we are all a part of each other,
      that is, sisters and brothers,
        can teach us all compassion.

The telling of the Christmas story
  can remind us all of the struggles of parents
    to provide
      for the needs and well being of their children
        even as the day to day work of parenting
          can obscure the sacred nature of their task.

From the understanding that every birth is sacred
  can flow something better
    than the thoughts and feelings
      we sometimes refer to as family values.

The emphasis on the birth of Christ at Christmas
  can serve as a corrective
    for many misconceptions in our culture.

It's no accident
  that the myth of the birth of Christ
    portrays him and his holy family
      as refugees,
        fleeing a violent political leader (Herod)
          just a few days after his birth.

The obligation of caring for refugees,
  for the poor and vulnerable,
    is a theme through the whole Bible,
      both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

It may not be a popular idea
  as we celebrate Christmas,
    but according to the story in the Bible,
      the Christ child was born in a time and place
        of social and political turmoil.

As Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus flee into Egypt,
  they represent all the people
    who are having to leave one place
      and flee to another
        simply to survive.

This is especially important in our time.

All over the world, people are being uprooted
  and going to places where they hope to find
    welcome and a better life.

Sometimes they find it,
  and sometimes they do not.

Yet the Christmas story is a reminder for everyone
  of the importance of compassion
    in all our human relationships.

Even the story of the birth in a stable
  is a picture of compassion.

The innkeeper had
  no more room for them in the inn,
    but still he provided a safe place in the stable
      for Mary to give birth.

A manger may not have been an ideal cradle,
  but it was clean and warm for the newborn baby.

The story is not told to provide details
  about what did or did not happen in history.

It's told as a sign of compassion and hope.

We can see there
  in the manger scene
    an opportunity to understand our lives
      in new ways.

We can all say that in one way one way or another,
  things in our lives did not go as expected!

I feel sure that Mary and Joseph
  would have said the same.

Yet even so, as for them, so for us,
  there is hope for joy and well being
    in the midst of circumstances
      we never thought we would face.

Treating each other with compassion and kindness
  can go a long way
    toward transforming difficult situations
      into times and places of peace and light.

The rebirth of the sun at the Solstice
  and the birth of the Child at Christmas
    can be that kind of reminder for us all.

New beginnings are always possible.

We need each other to help us find them,
  to recognize them when they come
    and to seize the moment
      for the sake of the good things
        as we become aware of them around us.

Amen.
So Let It Be.
Blessed Be.

The Power of Serendipity

Unexpected and sometimes mysterious connections often enable the best directions in our lives.

The word serendipity represents
  one of my favorite concepts.

It actually enables me to get out of bed
  on many mornings.

It's a source of my incurable optimism.

The word refers to events that develop
  in a beneficial way
    for no reason that we can see.

We don't know why serendipity happens,
   but it happens for all of us
      in unexpected times
         and unexpected ways.

For years I have believed that serendipity
   was a word coined by the hippies of my youth.

It turns out that it dates from the 18th Century.

It's derived from an attempt to transliterate
   the Arabic form
      of the Sanskrit name for Sri Lanka
         the island  south of India
             formerly known as Ceylon.

I won't try to chase those developments,
  even though I love etymology,
    but I will say that the word
      was first seen in literature
        in a letter written in 1754.

There was a reference in the letter
   to the Three Princes of Serendip (Sri Lanka).

The original serendipity
  was the finding of a famous painting
    in an unexpected place.

The word unexpected is a key to the meaning.

Another way of thinking about serendipity
  is that it often involves
    unintended consequences
      with an unexpectedly positive result.

We don't know where serendipity comes from.

That's why it's serendipity!

It is an important part of our story,
  yours and mine,
    right here in the North Idaho UU congregation.

My presence here this morning,
   and even my relationship with this congregation
      as minister
          are the results of serendipity -
             or serendipities -
                since there were more than one. 

When I was a teenager,
  like many young people,
    I went through a period of questioning
      many of the things I was taught,
        including the teachings of my Lutheran faith.

During my time of exploration,
  one of the places I visited was a UU church.

I was intrigued, to say the least.

By then I was already interested in ministry,
  but my Texas German Lutheran Stepfather
    could not and would not condone
      any interest I might have had in the UU faith.

So I ended up as a Lutheran pastor,
  and I spent my years of parish ministry in Texas.

Visiting my children at the University of Idaho
  which they were attending
    (interesting story there, too),
      I fell in love with the Palouse.

With four mild seasons (most of the time)
  I found great relief from the two seasons of Texas:
    hot and hotter.

When it came time for me to retire,
  the Paradise called the Palouse
    was the place for me.

My spiritual serendipity
  was discovering that
    my favorite faith community there
      was the UU Church of the Palouse
        in Moscow, Idaho.

I felt right at home there,
  and that church is the place where I met Beth.

(Talk about a serendipity!)

Meanwhile, my daughter, Karen,
  was doing internship as a school psychologist
    in Rathdrum, Idaho.

When her college work was completed,
  she moved to Coeur D'Alene
    and worked for the school district here.

Sorensen Elementary was one of the schools
  assigned to her.

Her doctor was Jessie Lorion,
  and as is easy to imagine,
    they became friends
      as well as doctor - patient.

At one point, they were discussing churches.

Karen mentioned
  that her Dad was a retired Lutheran pastor
    and a member of the UUCP
      a Luthertarian, if you will.

Jessie was glad to hear that
  and asked if Karen thought
    I might be willing to come up
      and speak here sometimes.

Karen thought I just might,
   and she was right!

The rest of that serendipity
  is our story together.

Over time, we have come to love one another
  in ways that are continuing to unfold today.

  There are a number of serendipities
    that have brought us
      to the point where we are today.

I want to mention just a few of them.

It may be the greatest serendipity
  involving this congregation
    for Beth and me during her illness and treatment
      were many members who opened their homes,
        providing us a place to stay
          and wonderful meals
            just when we needed that kind of care.

Michael Henry and Sue Greenberg
  are involved with another serendipity.

Mike and I were friends online for a number of years
  before we met in real life.

He was a great help to me with my online church.

On the day before Beth's chemotherapy began
  he contacted me online,
    and we talked about the fact that our homes
      were only a few miles apart in real life.

He and Sue with their friendship
  were a vital source of support to Beth and me
    in the time of her treatment.

After her death Mike was more help to me
  than I can begin to describe.

He came with me to the memorial service
  offered by our NIUU congregation,
    and he saw to it that I was not alone afterwards.

He got me to the worship service here the next day,
  and he has been a true friend to me.

The serendipity of Mike in my life
   came to me exactly when I needed him.

Those of you
  who remember Beth's memorial service
    with our congregation
      will probably remember Paul Barber,
        the Hospice Chaplain
          who was a great support to me
            by helping Sue Hansen-Barber
              lead the service.

It was a wonderful serendipity last week
  when I received
    a video chat call from him via Facebook
      last week
        from his new home in Bolivia.

The most recent serendipity for us with the NIUU
  brought you and me together
    as minister and congregation.

The UUA General Assembly
     came to Spokane in 2019.

Our congregation's leaders
  gained a new understanding
    of the meaning of the independence
      of congregations in our UUA.

There are standards which the UUA provides
  for ministers and congregations
    as we develop our relationships.

At the same time, a small congregation like ours
  can go rogue, calling a minister
    who is not necessarily a life-long UU
      or even a recent official convert.

That means that I can be your minister today,
  and our relationship is not prevented
    by any official rules that would keep us apart.

Serendipity has brought us together,
  and there will be new experiences
    of unexpected benefits among us
      to enable us to serve our community
        and each other.

Serendipity may help in other areas of our lives
  including our best hope
    in our struggles with climate change.

There have already been unexpected opportunities.

Sustainable energy today
  is creating more jobs in electricity production
    than traditional sources of energy
      like fossil fuels.

Serendipity will bring us new opportunities,
  and we may be brought to notice them
    by the urgency of our need for them.

Many kinds of inventions have come to be
  because of serendipity.

One of my favorites is Velcro.

When George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer,
  was on a hiking trip through the woods,
    he found burrs clinging to his pants
      and also to his dog's fur.

He looked at the burrs under a microscope,
  and he discovered that the burr's hooks
    would cling to anything loop-shaped.

So a serendipity resulted in a new, useful product.

Again, unintended consequences
  that bring about a positive result
    are serendipities.

Some of those are highly beneficial,
  much greater than convenience.

A kind of bacterium that eats petroleum 
  because of the exploration
    of the deepest place in the ocean,
      the Marianas Trench.

Soon, exactly when we need it most,
   someone may find a microbe
      that sequesters carbon in a stable form.

If so, we may be saved by serendipity once again.

There are many forms and occasions
  of unexpected benefits
   from seemingly unrelated sources.

We benefit from them more than we know.

This truth is one of my personal sources of hope.

As I said at the start of this sermon,
  it gets me out of bed many mornings.

It's one of life's mysteries.

We can benefit from it every day,
  but I doubt that we will ever fully understand
    what causes serendipity.

Maybe it's the quarks!

Those are the subatomic particles
  that bring about unexpected connections
    in our daily lives.

So the quarks would be a good candidate
  for causing serendipity, right?

In any case,
  I'm grateful for serendipity,
    and I'll be looking forward to good surprises
      that will make all our lives better.

Amen
So mote it be
Blessed be