Let Silence Speak
Preached 5/31/2020 at SouthWest UU in N. Royalton OH
By Rev. Meg Mathieson
Rise up this mornin'
Smiled with the risin' sun
Three little birds
By my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true
Saying', (this is my message to you)
Singing' don't worry 'bout a thing
'Cause every little thing gonna be alright
Singing' don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing
'Cause every little thing gonna be alright
On this last Sunday of May, the last Sunday that we are thinking about how to apply Sabbath to our lives, how to live with this Sabbath that has been imposed upon us, struggling with the restrictions and also struggling with decisions to make now that some of the restrictions have lifted. As we focus on, not just any Sabbath, but this Sabbath, in this holy hour that we choose to spend together, may you find some peace.
Because the worry isn’t going away. We can only take a break from the anger, the fear, the worry. We can take a break for this hour and hold one another in love. And then we turn back to a world where 100,000 US citizens have died of a disease that, a few months ago none of us had heard of.
We turn back to a country where people still can’t simply agree that black lives matter, where Martin Luther King Jr is crying in his grave because children ARE judged by the color of their skin, not only judged, but judged to not be worthy, to not matter, to not deserve life.
We turn back to a reality where we recognize that this community has seen six memorial services in less than 12 months. An uncertain future, where we can be certain that it will remain uncertain for a very long time.
Many of us are struggling. With physical pain, with looming surgeries, with psychological pain, with mental health issues, with family issues. Many of us are struggling. And we take this moment, this hour together to breathe. To say to ourselves and one another these things:
You are inherently divine.
You are loved.
You do not deserve to suffer.
I am thinking of you and you are thinking of each other. If you can, please do me a favor and take a look at the names on your screen. Can you see any other names besides your own and mine? Can you see the name of someone you know? Someone you haven’t talked to in a while?
Let’s take a moment to pause and reflect. Let’s reflect and connect.
Bring to mind that name or those names that you see on the screen. If you do not see other people, then the universe is asking you to think of yourself right now.
Bring to mind the people you know well or the people you do not know at all. Bring to mind yourself. And repeat these words to those that you are thinking of:
You are inherently divine.
You are loved.
You do not deserve to suffer.
We are connecting now. We suffer from feeling disconnected and we worry about our community, but it is a strong and enduring thing. This is our faith: our faith in each other and in our bond to each other. Our faith that connection runs deeply and we cannot be severed from one another.
When we focus on each other, we connect. When you are thinking of others, they are thinking of you. Listen. Listen. Do you hear your beloved SWUU friends telling you these very words?
You are inherently divine.
You are loved.
You do not deserve to suffer.
Our bond is real and our connection is powerful. We are resilient. We are there for each other.
How can we live with joy and loving-kindness in our souls if we know that once this Worship service is over we will return to a painful and suffering world? Because we have each other.
Because I believe Julian of Norwich when she said, “All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.”
Because I believe Rebecca Parker when she says that there is a love holding us, and there is a love holding all that we love.
Because I believe in us. I believe in SWUU. And I know that you do too.
For our final hymn today, I’d like us to learn an easy Taize hymn to sing together. Taize is about a calm, meditative understanding of these very things. That we are held. We are safe. Even in a meditation that uses the words Lord and Jesus. We are safe. We are held.
Preached 5/31/2020 at SouthWest UU in N. Royalton OH
By Rev. Meg Mathieson
Rise up this mornin'
Smiled with the risin' sun
Three little birds
By my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true
Saying', (this is my message to you)
Singing' don't worry 'bout a thing
'Cause every little thing gonna be alright
Singing' don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing
'Cause every little thing gonna be alright
On this last Sunday of May, the last Sunday that we are thinking about how to apply Sabbath to our lives, how to live with this Sabbath that has been imposed upon us, struggling with the restrictions and also struggling with decisions to make now that some of the restrictions have lifted. As we focus on, not just any Sabbath, but this Sabbath, in this holy hour that we choose to spend together, may you find some peace.
Because the worry isn’t going away. We can only take a break from the anger, the fear, the worry. We can take a break for this hour and hold one another in love. And then we turn back to a world where 100,000 US citizens have died of a disease that, a few months ago none of us had heard of.
We turn back to a country where people still can’t simply agree that black lives matter, where Martin Luther King Jr is crying in his grave because children ARE judged by the color of their skin, not only judged, but judged to not be worthy, to not matter, to not deserve life.
We turn back to a reality where we recognize that this community has seen six memorial services in less than 12 months. An uncertain future, where we can be certain that it will remain uncertain for a very long time.
Many of us are struggling. With physical pain, with looming surgeries, with psychological pain, with mental health issues, with family issues. Many of us are struggling. And we take this moment, this hour together to breathe. To say to ourselves and one another these things:
You are inherently divine.
You are loved.
You do not deserve to suffer.
I am thinking of you and you are thinking of each other. If you can, please do me a favor and take a look at the names on your screen. Can you see any other names besides your own and mine? Can you see the name of someone you know? Someone you haven’t talked to in a while?
Let’s take a moment to pause and reflect. Let’s reflect and connect.
Bring to mind that name or those names that you see on the screen. If you do not see other people, then the universe is asking you to think of yourself right now.
Bring to mind the people you know well or the people you do not know at all. Bring to mind yourself. And repeat these words to those that you are thinking of:
You are inherently divine.
You are loved.
You do not deserve to suffer.
We are connecting now. We suffer from feeling disconnected and we worry about our community, but it is a strong and enduring thing. This is our faith: our faith in each other and in our bond to each other. Our faith that connection runs deeply and we cannot be severed from one another.
When we focus on each other, we connect. When you are thinking of others, they are thinking of you. Listen. Listen. Do you hear your beloved SWUU friends telling you these very words?
You are inherently divine.
You are loved.
You do not deserve to suffer.
Our bond is real and our connection is powerful. We are resilient. We are there for each other.
How can we live with joy and loving-kindness in our souls if we know that once this Worship service is over we will return to a painful and suffering world? Because we have each other.
Because I believe Julian of Norwich when she said, “All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.”
Because I believe Rebecca Parker when she says that there is a love holding us, and there is a love holding all that we love.
Because I believe in us. I believe in SWUU. And I know that you do too.
For our final hymn today, I’d like us to learn an easy Taize hymn to sing together. Taize is about a calm, meditative understanding of these very things. That we are held. We are safe. Even in a meditation that uses the words Lord and Jesus. We are safe. We are held.