Possibilities and Realities 

When we are optimistic, we need a dose of realism. When we are pessimistic, we need to maintain a view of good things that are possible. 

Wishful thinking can be fun, 

  but it can often get in the way

    of accomplishing the things that we need to do, 

      and even doing or getting the things we want. 

Wishful thinking can be caused 

  by inappropriate optimism 

    or by an attempt to escape 

      from inappropriate pessimism. 

We can be enabled or disabled 

  by pessimism or optimism, either one. 

When pessimism points us 

  toward thinking realistically, 

    it can enable us. 

When it discourages us from taking action, 

  by leading us to ask, "What's the use?" 

    it can disable us. 

The latter, asking, "What's the use?" 

  would be a form of inappropriate pessimism. 

When optimism encourages us to take action, 

  by leading us to believe 

    that our actions will do some good, 

      it can enable us. 

When optimism devolves, 

  when it winds down, into wishful thinking, 

    leading us to believe that all will be well 

      without anyone's effort, 

        it disables us. 

Believing that all will be well without anyone's effort 

  would be a form of inappropriate optism. 

One way to understand optimism versus pessimism 

  would be an approach to healthy relationships. 

All relationships involve 

  being together and being apart. 

Optimism refers to the boundaries 

  which we all need. 

Pessimism refers to the territories 

  which we all may feel that we need to defend. 

The reality is, as the song by Chicago says, 

  "Even lovers need some time 

      away from each other." 

There is nothing wrong with that need, 

  and mutual respect brings us the realism 

    that will enable us 

      to accept each other 

        and our needs as we are. 

The antidote for too much optimism 

  or too much pessimism 

    is a healthy dose of realism. 

When we are realistic, 

  we are willing to take a clear-eyed look 

    at the realities around us. 

Sometimes we try to hide from those realities 

  because of the realities are just too scary, 

    because of fear, 

      but a saying that has helped me 

        many times in my life 

          is, "Perfect love casts out fear." 

            [1 John 4:18 and ACIM]

Realistically, there is no such thing as perfect love, 

  but it can be a goal. 

Love is stronger even than death, 

  so surely it is stronger than fear. 

    [Song of Solomon 8:6] 

As I spoke of it a couple of weeks ago, 

  love is not just a feeling. 

Love is action, caring for one another 

  as well as for ourselves. 

The arc of the moral universe 

  will bend toward justice

    so long as we continue to bend it by our actions. 

Participating in moving toward justice 

  can help us avoid the extreme ends 

    of optimism or pessimism. 

Right actions will always bend the arc 

  of the moral universe 

    toward justice. 

The good side of religious life 

  encourages us to do what we can 

    to move ourselves, our communities, 

      our nations and our world 

        toward justice. 

Sadly, too much of religious life involves dogmatism 

  rather than moral or right action. 

Dogmatism without right action has enabled 

  many of the problems 

    we have lived with for generations. 

People can justify all kinds of evil actions 

  in the name of promoting their own religions, 

    some sincere individuals believing 

      that the doctrines of their faith 

        are more important 

          than anyone's personal morality, 

            including their own. 

We are faced with some important choices 

  in the world of religion in our time. 

Will we move toward doctrines 

  as the most important expression of faith, 

or will we move toward actions that care for others 

  as the most important expression of faith? 

The answer remains to be seen 

  in a lot of collective thoughts, words, and deeds. 

I'm quite certain of the direction 

  we as UU's hope we will move, 

    that is, toward positive, moral action 

      as the expression of our faith. 

It's one of the reasons, I believe, 

  that we have associated ourselves 

    with the Unitarian Universalists. 

As a Lutheran minister, 

  I have grappled with the evangelical tradition 

    that we are justified entirely by grace 

      without any consideration of works of the law, 

        without concern for the things that we can do. 

The Lutheran faith tradition would seem 

  to work against the importance of right action 

    as the most important expression of faith, 

      but in reality it doesn't often happen that way. 

The question at the heart of the matter 

  involves what we mean by the word, "faith." 

My experience, both personally 

  and in community with others, 

    has been that faith means grappling 

      with the issues of life, 

        especially the issues of right and wrong, 

          regardless of the conclusions we reach. 

In other words, people of faith can (and often do) 

  come to different conclusions about 

    the important social and personal questions 

      of the time in which we live. 

I am pessimistic about the idea 

  that we will come to agreement 

    about the right actions we all need to take. 

I'm optimistic about the possibilities for the future 

  when people do work together 

    for the common good. 

Reality calls me to look for things we can agree on 

  so that we can work together, 

    even if the areas of agreement are small. 

Sometimes we have to start small 

  before we can accomplish anything at all. 

Our faiths give us a starting place 

  for working together, 

    and I find what I believe is a realistic hope 

      in the starting place of our faiths. 

Orthodoxy in religion 

  is concerned with getting all the ideas right. 

A corresponding word, orthopraxy, 

  is concerned with engaging in the actions 

    that will lead to more justice, 

      to better conditions of life for everyone. 

Faith can be summarized, to describe it again, as 

  Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy - dogma vs. principle 

    doctrine vs. action 

      religious law vs. personal morality. 

Personal morality, as I understand it, 

  refers to the commandment to love our neighbor.  

A pessimistic approach would warn us of 

  the conflict between works righteousness 

    and faith alone, 

      justification by faith vs. justification by works. 

A simple summary of reality says that 

  we need faith AND works. 

Consider St. James, who said in his epistle, 

  "Tell me of your faith, 

    and I by my works will SHOW you my faith." 

      [James 2:18] 

Not limited by denominational lines, 

  these differences are deep within religious groups. 

The contrast is between hard liners and progressives 

  in any denomination or religion. 

Optimism says principle is on the rise. 

Pessimism says dogmatism will always prevail. 

Realism says it will be a struggle, 

  but the arc of the moral universe 

    will continue to bend 

      toward justice, toward principle 

        rather than toward dogma. 

The bend toward justice will not happen 

  without effort. 

It isn't automatic. 

It's natural, but we will have to work toward it. 

Part of the hard work will be looking clearly 

  on what has happened and what is happening. 

Good government will be able to help. 

There can be 

  a Truth and Reconciliation Commission 

    like those in use in other countries 

      that have gone through trauma and danger 

        resulting from bad government. 

Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, 

  with his close ally, Nelson Mandela, 

    established the Truth and 

      Reconciliation Commission in the 1990's 

        to enable the newly fully democratic 

          Republic of South Africa 

            to move on from the horrors of apartheid. 

Nancy Pelosi recently promised a commission 

  like the one that investigated 9/11 

    to look into the events around the attempt 

      at sedition and insurrection against 

        the U.S. capitol on January 6. 

Pessimism would claim that such commissions 

  make no difference at all in the unfolding of history.

Optimism would claim 

  that they provide complete resolution. 

The reality is that such commissions 

  are not final answers, 

    but they are at least the beginning 

      of a process of healing. 

The healing that we need as a nation 

  is not just wishful thinking. 

It can be a new beginning for us all, 

  an opportunity for transformation. 

I HAVE to believe at least in the possibility. 

Amen. 

So let it be. 

Blessed be. 

 

Peace and Love 

As signs of Spring begin to be seen, our thoughts turn toward hope for ourselves, each other, and our world. 

Many of my friends and family 

  who have received communications from me 

    have noticed that I often 

      close my correspondence with the words, 

        "Peace and Love." 

This is not just to remember my years 

  in the 1960's, 

    nor is it only to remind myself 

      that I'm an aging hippie. 

It has more to do with an expression 

  of my deeply held values. 

I do truly believe in my heart 

  that this world would be a much better place 

    if we all practiced and shared 

      more peace and love. 

I'm not speaking of either peace or love 

  in a sentimental sense, 

    even though feelings 

      are deeply involved with both. 

Peace is far more than the absence of conflict. 

Deeply involved with the reality of peace 

  is our acceptance of each other as human beings, 

    sometimes in spite of and sometimes because of  

      deep differences between us. 

Peace is a powerful force, 

  stronger than its opposite in every ultimate sense. 

A sense of peace between people 

  enables us to appreciate 

    the things we can learn from each other. 

Without that sense of peace, 

  we may think of those who are different from us 

    or who think differently 

      as our enemies 

        or even as a different kind of person, 

          maybe not really human beings. 

I'm thinking of the opposite of peace 

  as disorder - chaos, and conflict. 

Certainly thinking of other people as enemies 

  can easily and quickly lead 

    to disorder, chaos, and conflict. 

At its heart, peace means well being, 

  and so it is something we can work 

    - even struggle - to acheive, 

      for ourselves, for our loved ones, 

        for our neighbors, 

          for members of our community, 

            and even for people who might be 

              in deep disagreement with us. 

Like peace, 

  love is certainly involved with our feelings, 

    but it is also much more at its heart and center. 

Love means caring, and so its opposite is not hate. 

The opposite of love is apathy, 

  and apathy means not caring. 

Peace and Love work hand in hand, 

  each needing the other to achieve 

    its own optimal state of being. 

The calm that peace can bring 

  is needed to allow love to care for the other. 

On the other hand, 

  peace sometimes brings so much calm 

    that nothing can be accomplished. 

Love is active, 

  and it can bring about many accomplishments 

    to fulfill the possibilities that peace enables. 

Loving our sisters and brothers 

  means actively caring for them, 

    seeking to be sure 

      that their basic needs can be met. 

It may not be easy, 

  but we can desire and work 

    for basic needs to be met 

      for people who are on the other side 

        of some of the conflicts of our time. 

It would be much easier to do 

  after the conflicts have ended, 

    but it can be even more important 

      while some of the conflicts are still going on. 

The form of love that can allow us 

  to seek the best for our enemies 

    is often called forgiveness. 

This form of love is a way of letting go. 

If we hold on to anger or hurt, 

  we harm ourselves, 

    not those who have hurt us. 

In the immediate future, 

  we will need to show compassion, 

    not condemnation, for those 

      who have been led astray into extremism. 

In the United States today, 

  there is an urgent need of forgiveness 

    to enable the healing 

      of the deep divisions among us. 

In our case as in all cases, 

  forgiveness does not mean 

    permission to do wrong to us or others again, 

      and it does not mean escape 

        from the consequences of one's actions. 

So there is nothing against forgiveness 

  in prosecution or other kinds of  accountablity 

    for harm done or threatened against other people. 

Forgiveness means that love can overcome hate, 

  and past wrongs do not have to control 

    the present or the future. 

Forgiveness is one of the greatest forms of love 

  that can help bring about peace, 

    not only for the person who is forgiven, 

      but often even more for the person who forgives. 

As a way of understanding how forgiveness can work 

  for peace and love in the life 

    of a nation and its people, 

      we need only think of the possibility of 

        a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 

Such an official opportunity for forgiveness 

  helped in the healing and rebuilding 

    of South African society 

      in the years after the dismantling of apartheid. 

In the United States today 

  we are in deep need of healing and rebuilding, 

    so the consideration of the establishment 

      of our own version 

        of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission 

          may be an idea whose time has come. 

When some of the members 

  of the House of Representatives 

    and the Senate of the U.S. 

      do not feel safe in doing their work, 

        there is urgent need for a time of healing 

          to help restore peace and love in our land. 

We have been called 

  to just such a time of healing 

    by a voice that may have been surprising 

      to some of us, 

        but whose words came as a clarion call 

          in the poetry proclaimed at the Inauguration 

            of President Biden and Vice President Harris. 

Amanda Gorman spoke words 

  that I will never forget hearing, 

    and that I hope to hear over and over, 

      just as we heard them again today. 

I have long loved poetry 

  because of the power of the words to move us. 

Like most of us, I had to study the analysis of poetry 

  in school. 

The analysis was not one of my favorite things, 

  but I want to do just a little bit of it today. 

*** Some brief analysis of the poem: ***

As Amanda Gorman said in her magnificent poem, 

  "We've learned that quiet isn't always peace." 

In that phrase, 

  we find a summary of the relationship of the poem 

    to this week's theme. 

From the structure of the poem, 

  we learn some important balance of the ideas, 

    from the beginning of the poem to its end: 

The context of  the words, "quiet and peace" 

  can be seen in the beginning of the poem:  

When day comes we ask ourselves,

where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry,

a sea we must wade

We've braved the belly of the beast

We've learned that quiet isn't always peace

And the norms and notions

of what just is

Isn’t always justice

And yet the dawn is ours

before we knew it

Somehow we do it

Somehow we've weathered and witnessed

a nation that isn’t broken

but simply unfinished 

So we see the power of this poetry: 

"Quiet isn't always peace." 

"What just is 

  isn't always justice." 

Then comes the conclusion, 

  moving us from the shade 

    into the ever-present light 

      with which we can choose to unite: 

When day comes we step out of the shade,

aflame and unafraid

The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light,

if only we’re brave enough to see it

If only we’re brave enough to be it.

------------------------------------------------------------

In the peace and light of a young woman's poem, 

  we can catch a new vision of peace and love 

    for our present and future. 

It's not only feelings. 

It's great power, ultimately the most powerful Force 

  in the universe. 

In the end, peace and love will prevail. 

We can see the peace and love 

  in the light of the present, 

    if only we are brave enough to see it, 

      if only we are brave enough to be it. 

Amen. 

So let it be. 

Blessed be.