A sermon delivered by The Rev. Kathy Schmitz on December 30, 2007
At Pathways Church, A Unitarian Universalist Community in Southlake, Texas
We stand at a threshold, the new year something truly new, still unformed,
leaving a stunning power in our hands:
What shall we do with the great gift of Time, this year?
UU Minister, The Rev. Kathleen McTigue
Reading before the sermon: Footsteps Leading My Own Path (by Mario Castillo)
The Role I Play (by Mario Castillo)
Meditation: A Ritual of Reflection
Have you ever had one of those holidays… when your strongest memory is that of having survived extended family members? Fortunately, not all of us have had that experience, but most of us have heard the stories. In November of 2004, in the weeks before Thanksgiving, I spent lots of time talking with people who were dreading holidays… why… because they would be spending them with people who had significantly different political opinions. The recent national election had heightened everyone’s sensitivity and increased the chances that political discussion might occur in the course of celebration.
It took real work for some people to consider trying to “find faith and common ground.”
But many of them did… “the best that they were able.”
Throughout our lives, our relationship, whether the ones we are born into or the ones we choose, will offer us challenges. And, truth be told, sometimes it is we, ourselves, who will bring the challenges to our relationships.
We have many reactions when we encounter the challenges that our differences bring. In the song just shared with us (The Christians and the Pagans by Dar Williams), the family members visited by Amber and Jane have a variety of reactions.
Timmy is full of curiosity, asking questions, ready to jump right in.
"Is it true that you're a witch?" he asks Amber.
"Can I be a Pagan?" he asks his dad.
Timmy’s mother on the other hand would like to avoid the whole situation. There had clearly been discussion about Amber and Jane in the household before their arrival. When Timmy names the elephant in the living room and asks his questions…his mom “jumps up and says, ‘The pies are burning,’ and she hits the kitchen.” Later, she will decline Amber’s offer to help with the dishes, perhaps to avoid any of that potentially uncomfortable chit-chat that takes place when peopleare working side by side.
And then there is Amber’s uncle. Hesitant but not completely resistant. Challenged by the goings-on, he is none the less open to his niece. For his openness, he is a rewarded with a change of heart. We don’t know the full story of this family’s tension, but we do know that after their dinner together…
Amber's uncle saw how Amber looked like Tim and like her father
He thought about his brother, how they hadn't spoken in a year
He thought he'd call him up and say, "It's Christmas and your daughter's here"
Amber’s uncle realizes… realizes what?
Perhaps that he does not have to change his beliefs to welcome Amber to his table.
Perhaps he realizes that the faith needed in the search for common ground isn’t the faith of a specific religious belief.
Rather this faith is the confidence, the trust, the commitment, that we have we when we know that we are strong enough to be together in our diversity.
Perhaps this is one of the accidental blessings of the way our calendar and holidays are arranged. That the occasions for connecting come at the end of the year – a time of reminding us, before we begin again, of our connections, our unity, our common ground.
We may also be reminded of our differences, and those differences are not unimportant. They can be very important. The question is, how much common ground can we find in spite of our differences?
How can we ensure that “now when Christians sit with Pagans only pumpkin pies are burning” and, also, that no one is being fed to the lions?
As we look forward to a whole new year, how can we help to make it holy new year?
The song leaves the family
lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old, and
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.
This is what we are called to do.
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.
This is what Mario (reference to the morning’s readings) did when he allowed the chill of his brother’s death to help him find the warmth that he had to offer his younger siblings as he stepped in the role of big brother.
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.
This is what Mario (reference to the morning’s readings) did when he looked honestly at where he has come from, and squarely in the mirror, and chose his own path into the future.
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.
This is what we are called to do.
Each of us, as we approach the new year before us.
The songs from earlier this morning also urge us on.
As we enter this new year, full of possibilities, we may not know exactly where we are going. We may not know how we will get there. It will be hard. The road will be muddy and rough. And yet, we will get there. We know we will.
That’s the kind of faith we need.
On our journey we are reminded that there is strength, power, and hope in the spirit of love.
And we are blessed when we move forward in a spirit of love.
It is that transforming spirit of love that can give us the strength, power, and hope we need to move forward into an unknown future with confidence, with trust, with commitment… with faith.
So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
lighting tress in darkness, learning new ways from the old, and
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.
This is what we are called to do.
Each of us, as we approach the new year before us.
Not to ignore our differences, but to honor them, to find faith and common ground the best that we are able.
Not to ignore the past, but to learn from it, to make sense of it, to draw our own warmth out of the cold.