Our Commitment to Each Other
Preached 3/7/2021 at SouthWest UU in N. Royalton OH
By Rev. Meg Mathieson
Let’s continue to sit with open hearts in this moment, a spiritual moment of meditation and peace.
When your heart is open, it is open to receive love, the infinite creative force of the universe can reach into that open heart and heal. Everything that is in your heart, everything that is you, is holy, and when your heart is open, you allow healing to happen.
An open heart is a vulnerable heart and this is why we don’t remain open and receptive all the time. Our hearts were born open, this is what I believe. We were born with beautiful open, vulnerable hearts, letting the world in, letting love in, and eventually in our lives, perhaps as children, we began to feel pain and fear seeping in as well. Perhaps you were a child or a teen when you began closing your heart. You had to, it’s not your fault.
Writer Anne Lamott has said that “an open, merciful heart is a setup for pain, shame, and being mocked.” She goes on to say that when we do close our hearts, when callouses begin to form around our tough, closed heart, “Love reaches out and reaches out and reaches out.”
Love, that supremely holy thing, never waivers. When I am at the peak of my agnosticism, when I cannot bring myself to believe in the inherent worth and dignity of those around me, when I feel disconnected from that web of mutuality of which we are a part, I don’t know if there is a god or an afterlife, or if anything matters at all, in those moments, love is still reaching out. Available, persistent, holy, sacred, safe love.
It is the one thing I can’t help but believe in. Love exists. It is real. And I don’t know what it is and I don't understand how anything can be so -- everything! -- so I call it holy. This is my faith. This is our faith.
In the past year, our open hearts have been tested and hurt.
They say that neglect is the most damaging form of abuse. We are a social species, our hearts thrive on nourishing togetherness, touch, community, communion.
It is easy to do things that are easy. You know that. But it’s the hard things that make us grow. This is the awful truth of life! It’s unfair.
Have you ever watched the TV show The Good Place? Well, this is a spoiler, but when the characters finally make it to “the good place” or heaven, it is dull and the souls there have turned into useless zombies due to lack of challenge. How many of us have wondered if heaven might be just a bit boring? Yeah, a few million years of eating what you want without getting fat, beautiful sunny days, everything is perfect all the time…
The opposite of neglect is nurturing. This is what we have brought, through our pain, through our suffering, to this space. This virtual space which we truly make holy by our presence. I’m not just saying that. Over the past year, a miracle has occurred. I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes, with my own heart.
We, you and I, have brought, through our pain and our fear, a holy love and a nurturing to this space. Our Beloved SWUU Community has thrived over the past year in miraculous ways. Despite a global pandemic, we have remained in Beloved Community. Every one of our committees and teams has thrived online. New groups have formed, new opportunities for socializing have popped up.
We have gathered, and gathered, and gathered. The love has just kept coming. It reaches out and reaches out and reaches out and that is us. If you would like to know more, I invite you to head over to SWUU.org and click on calendar. It is full of events. We haven’t let this year slow us down!
In a time of unprecedented upheaval and financial worry, members and friends have stepped forward with generous financial contributions that have enabled us to keep our beautiful sanctuary in tact, keep our staff’s paychecks uninterrupted, and allowing us to all do the important work that this holy community does.
The Social Justice team has continued helping the disadvantaged through supporting Urban Hope. A wholly new grassroots Anti-Racism team has appeared. Our auction is happening!
As we think about commitment this month, we should be proud when we reflect on our commitments to ourselves and how we have chosen to turn a time of uncertainty, isolation and pain into a time of opportunity and growth.
It is in these times of difficulty that we truly recognize how much we need each other. So I will end this message by mentioning a reminder that we are now entering into stewardship season. Please continue to think about what you can do for SWUU, because SWUU does so much for you.
Preached 3/7/2021 at SouthWest UU in N. Royalton OH
By Rev. Meg Mathieson
Let’s continue to sit with open hearts in this moment, a spiritual moment of meditation and peace.
When your heart is open, it is open to receive love, the infinite creative force of the universe can reach into that open heart and heal. Everything that is in your heart, everything that is you, is holy, and when your heart is open, you allow healing to happen.
An open heart is a vulnerable heart and this is why we don’t remain open and receptive all the time. Our hearts were born open, this is what I believe. We were born with beautiful open, vulnerable hearts, letting the world in, letting love in, and eventually in our lives, perhaps as children, we began to feel pain and fear seeping in as well. Perhaps you were a child or a teen when you began closing your heart. You had to, it’s not your fault.
Writer Anne Lamott has said that “an open, merciful heart is a setup for pain, shame, and being mocked.” She goes on to say that when we do close our hearts, when callouses begin to form around our tough, closed heart, “Love reaches out and reaches out and reaches out.”
Love, that supremely holy thing, never waivers. When I am at the peak of my agnosticism, when I cannot bring myself to believe in the inherent worth and dignity of those around me, when I feel disconnected from that web of mutuality of which we are a part, I don’t know if there is a god or an afterlife, or if anything matters at all, in those moments, love is still reaching out. Available, persistent, holy, sacred, safe love.
It is the one thing I can’t help but believe in. Love exists. It is real. And I don’t know what it is and I don't understand how anything can be so -- everything! -- so I call it holy. This is my faith. This is our faith.
In the past year, our open hearts have been tested and hurt.
They say that neglect is the most damaging form of abuse. We are a social species, our hearts thrive on nourishing togetherness, touch, community, communion.
It is easy to do things that are easy. You know that. But it’s the hard things that make us grow. This is the awful truth of life! It’s unfair.
Have you ever watched the TV show The Good Place? Well, this is a spoiler, but when the characters finally make it to “the good place” or heaven, it is dull and the souls there have turned into useless zombies due to lack of challenge. How many of us have wondered if heaven might be just a bit boring? Yeah, a few million years of eating what you want without getting fat, beautiful sunny days, everything is perfect all the time…
The opposite of neglect is nurturing. This is what we have brought, through our pain, through our suffering, to this space. This virtual space which we truly make holy by our presence. I’m not just saying that. Over the past year, a miracle has occurred. I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes, with my own heart.
We, you and I, have brought, through our pain and our fear, a holy love and a nurturing to this space. Our Beloved SWUU Community has thrived over the past year in miraculous ways. Despite a global pandemic, we have remained in Beloved Community. Every one of our committees and teams has thrived online. New groups have formed, new opportunities for socializing have popped up.
We have gathered, and gathered, and gathered. The love has just kept coming. It reaches out and reaches out and reaches out and that is us. If you would like to know more, I invite you to head over to SWUU.org and click on calendar. It is full of events. We haven’t let this year slow us down!
In a time of unprecedented upheaval and financial worry, members and friends have stepped forward with generous financial contributions that have enabled us to keep our beautiful sanctuary in tact, keep our staff’s paychecks uninterrupted, and allowing us to all do the important work that this holy community does.
The Social Justice team has continued helping the disadvantaged through supporting Urban Hope. A wholly new grassroots Anti-Racism team has appeared. Our auction is happening!
As we think about commitment this month, we should be proud when we reflect on our commitments to ourselves and how we have chosen to turn a time of uncertainty, isolation and pain into a time of opportunity and growth.
It is in these times of difficulty that we truly recognize how much we need each other. So I will end this message by mentioning a reminder that we are now entering into stewardship season. Please continue to think about what you can do for SWUU, because SWUU does so much for you.