What's Next? 

Always in motion the future is. We're all hoping that better days are ahead. 

The sermon I will be preaching today 

  will be the most political sermon 

    I have ever preached. 

I will be taking sides, 

  but the side I will take 

    need not be controversial. 

I am siding in favor of domestic peace and tranquility 

  and against sedition and insurrection 

    by terrorist attacks.  

I want to begin with a quote from Casey Stengel 

  that I used in my first sermon 

    of this New Year of 2021 on January 3: 

"Never make predictions, 

   especially about the future." 

When I prepared 

  the title and blurb for today's sermon, 

    I had no intention 

      of making any kind of prediction, 

        even by implication. 

If I had intended an implied prediction, 

  my title and blurb would still 

    have made a lot of sense. 

Just to remind us all of the title of today's sermon, 

  it was, simply, "What's Next?" 

Just as a reminder, too, the blurb said, 

"Always in motion the future is. 

  We're all hoping that better days are ahead." 

As we think about the future and its movement, 

  we remember that our choices 

    of thoughts, words, and actions of today

      will have a long term effect 

        on the flow and the direction of the future 

          and the possibilities it will present. 

We all have a number 

  of important decisions and choices

    in the next few weeks and months. 

Our decisions and choices will have 

  a profound effect on the direction of our future. 

We have more power regarding our shared future 

  than we know. 

This is one reason that Yoda was able to say, 

  in typical Yoda fashion, 

    "Always in motion is the future, 

      and many possible futures there are..." 

As individuals, we have relatively little power 

  to affect the possible futures, 

    but as communities, working collectively, 

      our power to shape the future is tremendous. 

Failing to consider 

  the way we are affecting the future every day 

    can lead us to all kinds of surprises, 

      some of them good, some of them not so good. 

Much to the surprise 

  and even amazement of many of us, 

    the U.S. capitol was attacked and breached 

      by domestic terrorists 

        on January 6 of this year of 2021. 

Many people made important choices 

  based on their own beliefs and commitments 

    that led them to have some part in the attack, 

      either defending or trying to destroy 

        the laws and traditions that maintain democracy 

          in the U.S.A. 

I was surprised by my own reaction to the event: 

  more than anything else, 

    I felt overwhelming sadness. 

The attack on the capitol 

  was not in itself a complete surprise, 

    but its extent and degree of success were a shock. 

The meaning of the attack will be the subject 

  of study, historical analysis, 

    and the development of plans 

      to protect our nation's sacred places 

        for many years to come. 

As Yoda said, "Many possible futures there are." 

January 6 was Epiphany of 2021,  

  and Epiphany can serve us all as an awakening. 

Optimism and realism will tell us that 

  awakening is our optimistic hope; 

    reality is continuing divisions. 

Our divisions have now led 

  to threats of domestic terrorism 

    that are a greater threat 

      to our well being as a nation 

        than international threats and dangers. 

In any case, 

  as our meditation from Arundhati Roy told us, 

    our present situation is a portal. 

The pandemic has brought us to a portal, 

  and so has the insurrection at the U.S. capitol. 

A new administration will be inaugurated this week, 

  but it alone is not the path through the portal. 

Our response to the insurrection,  

  to the pandemic, 

    and to the deep divisions in our society 

      will build our path through the portal. 

It is a path we will all have to walk together. 

It will be absolutely necessary that we come 

  to a minimal level of agreement 

    about truth and facts. 

There is too much false information 

  being disguised as facts. 

Part of the danger of false information 

  is that all of us 

    are playing dangerous games. 

The best paradigm I have encountered 

  to understand our games 

    is a way of understanding QAnon. 

If you don't know much 

  about that conspiracy theory, 

    consider yourself lucky. 

In brief, it is a bizarre set of false assumptions 

  claiming that leaders of the U.S. Democratic Party 

    are human traffickers and pedophiles. 

True QAnon believers consider Donald J. Trump 

  a kind of hero and messiah 

    who will deliver the nation and world 

      from all that evil. 

The analysis that I consider a useful paradigm 

  sees the entire QAnon community 

    as some sort of role playing game. 

QAnon is only the most extreme example. 

There have long been conspiracy theories 

  promulgating falsehoods 

    and leading all kinds of people astray. 

Too many of us are playing roles 

  in our own fantasies 

    about our times and our future. 

Role playing games define their own reality 

  and have their own rules. 

They are dangerous when people become confused 

  and unable to distinguish between 

    their favorite game and reality. 

This can be happening on the Left and on the Right. 

Again, the QAnon conspiracy theory  

  believes that Donald J. Trump 

    is a kind of messiah who will save the U.S.A. 

No national leader can redeem the nation 

  or the planet. 

None of us can look anywhere other 

  than our own hearts, minds, and spirits

    to find our way to hope and well being. 

As Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi said, 

  "If we could change ourselves, 

    the tendencies in the world would also change." 

That magnificent quote 

  is often shortened and simplified 

    to be the similar quote, 

      "Be the change you want to see in the world." 

That will mean that all of us will have to give up 

  some cherished illusions. 

First and foremost we will have to recognize 

  that our opponents are not all alike. 

Secondly and importantly 

  we will have to hold in our hearts 

    the reality that our opponents 

      are not all evil people. 

Thirdly, there are many reasons 

  why people might disagree, 

    and sometimes there are really good reasons. 

If we can recognize those realities, 

  we may actually get back to honest disagreements 

    that lead to debates and not fights

      and that may lead to better conclusions 

        than any in-group could ever have developed 

          on its own. 

I feel a need to list and expand those realities: 

  1. Our opponents are not all alike, 

        and neither are we. 

  2. Our opponents are not all evil, 

        and neither are we. 

  3. Our opponents may have good reasons 

        to disagree with us, and we may have 

          good reasons to disagree with them. 

In the light of the situation we are in 

  and our need to arrive safely together 

    at the portal that will take us to a better day, 

      it will be a great idea to return 

        to two optimistic sermons given recently...

Connie Johnson on December 13 

  spoke to us about Kindness, 

    and Rachelle Strawther on November 29 

      spoke to us about 

        starting a Dialogue in Just Six Words: 

          how Curiosity and Empathy 

            can Cross the Great Divide. 

Both of those sermons have brought me 

  a lot of hope as well as a sense 

    that better times may really be coming for us all, 

      despite some of the signs that may seem to point 

        in the other direction. 

One final optimistic thought: 

Remember Georgia! 

Even if we only think of the record voter turnout 

  for the most recent two elections in Georgia, 

    November 3, 2020 and January 5, 2021, 

      Georgia gives all of us good reasons 

        for renewed hope. 

I'll repeat one of my often stated positions: 

  I believe that in a democracy, 

    the more people who vote, 

      the better the outcome will be. 

Participation leads to a sense of ownership 

  and the hope that one's needs can 

    and possibly will be 

      addressed by one's government. 

We can all seek to share such a sense of ownership 

  so that it will bring us to and through the portal 

    of a better day for ourselves 

      and for all of our sisters and brothers,  

        including those with whom we disagree. 

So much for my most political sermon ever! 

I have arrived where I want to be, 

  in hope for us all, 

    regardless of opinion and point of view. 

So much for my predictions about the future: 

  I do believe that we will arrive at a much better day. 

May it be soon. 

Amen. 

So let it be. 

Blessed be. 

 

New Year, New Beginning

2020 has ended. The New Year of 2021 has begun. We are hoping for a genuine new beginning in many ways. 

Happy and Merry Tenth Day of Christmas! 

and also - and especially - 

Happy New Year! 

In this festive time 

  our hearts and minds are looking forward 

    to better days, or at least 

      what we hope will be better days. 

While last Friday was the first day of 2021, 

  it was not the first New Year's celebration 

    of recent weeks and months starting last year. 

As far as I'm aware, 

  the first New Year's celebration last year

    was October 31, 2020, Samhain, a.k.a. Halloween. 

On that occasion the Celtic New Year arrives.  

 As the wheel turns from the warm season 

  to the cold season 

    the traditional Celtic New Year begins. 

In the inland PNW 

  we really do experience it that way, 

    with Samhain marking the transition

      from warmer weather to colder weather. 

As I mentioned recently, 

  Beth once told me that the first snowfall 

    in our part of the world 

      often comes around the end of October. 

The second New Year's celebration 

  comes about a month later, 

    with the First Sunday of Advent. 

That occasion marks the beginning 

  of the Western Christian new liturgical year. 

The liturgical calendar was as important to me 

  as the secular calendar 

    for many of the years of my life and career. 

The First Sunday in Advent 

  has often been my first chance

    to wish members of the congregations I've served

      a Happy New Year, 

        even you, my dear friends of the NIUU. 

I wish my dear ones a Happy New Year 

  as early as the evening before, since that's the time 

    at which holy days begin 

      in Jewish and Christian tradition,  

        even if that means that my dear ones wonder 

          if I've lost my mind. 

Anyway... 

On December 21, we passed yet another landmark 

  that marks the start of a new solar year: 

    the Winter Solstice arrived here in the north. 

I said plenty about all that 

  the Solstice means to me last week, 

    and there are always many things to consider 

      from ancient traditions 

        about the world of nature. 

To begin with, the solstices are best understood 

  through mathematics. 

For all of us who are interested in natural science, 

  the solstices and equinoxes 

    are a source of endless fascination. 

They all result from the angle of the axis 

  around which our home planet Earth rotates. 

From ancient times 

  the calculation and prediction 

    of the arrival of the Four Seasons 

      have been sacred tasks. 

One of the first things I will hope for 

  in the coming of the New Year 

    will be the widespread recognition 

      of the sacredness of natural science 

        and mathematics for the well being of us all. 

As of now we have arrived 

  at another major celebration, 

    especially with the start of this New Year. 

Last Friday was New Year's Day, 

  and today, two days later, 

    we are still at the start of a new beginning. 

At least that's what many of us are hoping for. 

As we enter a new year, 

  we also remember the new millenium, 

    the new century, 

      and the new decade 

        we are in and have been moving 

          into and through. 

As a remarkable sign of all of these new beginnings, 

  a sign occurred in the skies 

    on the Winter Solstice this year. 

I've been hearing many people 

  refer to the celestial event 

    that coincided with the Solstice this year 

      as the Star of Bethlehem.

Many astrologers and astronomers theorize 

  that the Star of Bethlehem of the Magi, 

    the Three Wise Men, or the Three Kings 

      was none other than the convergence 

        of Jupiter and Saturn, 

          as happened last December 21. 

We are in the first years 

  of a new millenium of the Common Era. 

Around the transition 

  of the millenia and the calendar 

    from "Before the Common Era" (B.C.E.) 

      to the Common Era (C.E.) 

        the convergence of Jupiter and Saturn 

          was in the constellation of Pisces (the Fish). 

(I've learned to appreciate the designation of years 

  as B.C.E. and C.E. instead of B.C. and A.D. 

    because, to say the least, not all people 

      who use the secular calendar are Christian. 

It's easy to understand why many 

  might not appreciate the designation 

    of any given year, "Before Christ" 

      as B.C. represents

        or, "Year of our Lord," 

          as Anno Domini or A.D. represents.)  

At any rate, the world and its calendar moved into 

  the Age of Pisces, the fish, and the Fish

    became a sign of Christianity (ichthus). 

      with the transition into the Common Era. 

In our time the convergence took place 

  in the constellation of Aquarius. 

So truly this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius,

  and it has been so for about a generation. 

(My apologies if I have just given you an earworm,

  that is, a tune you can't get out of your head! LOL) 

Before you start to be concerned 

  that I'm promoting astrology and the study of it, 

    I simply believe that it's a useful way 

      of marking the times and the seasons, 

        and it's a wonderful collection of metaphors. 

It's useless for making predictions. 

(There's a fun quote from Casey Stengel 

  that I plan to use for my next sermon on January 17, 

    "Never make predictions, 

      especially about the future.") 

If we tried to use Astrology 

  to make predictions about the future, 

    it would be a pseudo-science, or a false science. 

Yet most of us use the names of the constellations, 

  at least as mnemonics, 

    to help us locate stars 

      and the movement of planets. 

In any case, 

  the current events 

    that include a planetary convergence

      provide us with an important metaphor 

        of a hopeful new beginning. 

The year of 2020 has not been all bad, 

  but most of us will not remember it 

    with undiluted pleasure 

      as Queen Elizabeth II said 

        of her annus horribilis, 

          for her the horrible year of 1992, 

            the year of a fire in Buckingham Palace 

              and the separation of Charles and Diana 

                among other calamities.  

At least one important good thing that happened 

  in 2020 was the awakening 

    of many people in the U.S. 

      to the horrible experiences 

        of those who are victims of racism. 

One symbolic event of the awakening 

  was the naming 

    of Black Lives Matter Plaza 

      in Washington, D.C. 

Major transitions in this world 

  are almost always accompanied by 

    a measure of chaos. 

That statement alone could explain 

  a lot of the things we have experienced in 2020. 

Many people all over the world 

  are trying to take refuge in an excess of order. 

And yet, law and order is not a phrase 

  that generally leads to greater civic safety. 

Quite the contrary, 

  too much order leads to rebellion, conflict, 

    and far too much chaos for anyone's safety. 

In terms of mathematics as well as social order, 

  there is a place between order and chaos. 

That place is known as complexity. 

It is a good place, 

  a place of balance, 

    a place of hope. 

If we can learn to accept the complexity of our lives, 

  we can find a place for each other 

    where we appreciate our differences 

      and learn from each other 

        even - and maybe especially - 

          in the midst of disagreements. 

As individuals and as communities we face a choice 

  even as we learn to accept 

    the complexity of our lives: 

We can choose to embrace community and sharing 

  or we can emphasize our individuality 

    and our own personal priorities. 

Those two possibilities may seem too subtle, 

  but they will be increasingly important 

    for our own well being 

      and the well being of others. 

It becomes a question of stewardship vs. greed. 

If we choose to uphold stewardship, 

  we will emphasize abundance and generosity. 

If we choose to uphold greed, 

  we will emphasize scarcity and selfishness. 

As we move forward into this New Year of 2021, 

  I'm holding out hope 

    for a sense of good stewardship, 

      an emphasis on the abundance of what we have, 

        and the generosity that will help all of us 

          find our share in all good things. 

Happy New Year, 2021! 

Amen. 

So Mote it Be. 

So Let it Be. 

Blessed Be!