Showing posts with label Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalism. Show all posts

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalism - Almsgiving

As a Roman Catholic Unitarian Univeralist I practice almsgiving all year around and especially during the Lent. What do you think about this spiritual practice? Do you engage in it too?


Sunday, February 9, 2020

Sunday Sermon - You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world

Matthew 5: 13-16

Salt and Light

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
As a Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalist I take Jesus' words as reported in Matthew 5 seriously, maybe more seriously than other UUs.
UUs don't like to proselytize. They don't put an emphasis on sharing their faith the way other more evangelical denominations do. Why they prefer to keep their faith to themselves and not make an effort to share it, seems a bit of a puzzle.
One of the primary reasons, perhaps, for the lack of evangelization by UUs is that they don't understand their faith, themselves. Most UUs seem to be in a muddle. They have little conceptual understanding of their faith and so they have difficulty sharing it in a coherent way with others.
Part of this muddle is the result of the lack of training in the basic principles of Unitarian Universalism and an understanding of the six sources. UUs seem more interested in coffee and donuts and social action than a deeper spiritual understanding of their faith.
The salt of Unitarian Universalism has lost its saltiness and so what is it good for other than to be thrown out and trampled under foot? UUs are too worried about being politically correct and not offending anyone that they have  become conflict avoidant until the pressure of disagreement becomes so great that schism occurs. UUs would rather leave the denomination than rectify the errors which often confound and beleagure it. 
Due to the muddle of Unitarian Universalism, there is little light to share among the nations. Occasionally there is a glimmer, but it is quickly extinguished and overcome by darkness. From what can the light of the faith emanate when the faith itself is so murky?
And so, perhaps, it is time for a revitalization of the UU faith when a sense of mission and vision and values are rejuvenated and a fire is created to warm humanity in its glow. Perhaps Unitarian Universalism needs to return to its foundational principles and teach its members what they are and how to share them with the world. Unitarian Universalists believe in the Unconditional Love of God and its inclusion of all humankind and all of life on this planet. UUs need to be more vigorous in sharing their principles with the world.
If the understanding of your faith is clear to you, go forth and share it, and salt the earth, and beam the light.

Friday, January 24, 2020

Use of the death penalty decreasing in the United States



The report by the Death Penalty Information Center, based in Washington, highlighted state actions against the death penalty such as New Hampshire voting to abolish capital punishment, making it the 21st state to do so; California's decision to put all executions on hold; and Indiana's 10-year mark since its last execution.
The report said that all together, 32 states have now either abolished the death penalty or not carried out an execution in more than a decade, and it said this number directly contrasts with the federal government's announcement this year that it would resume executions after a 16-year hiatus.
Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person.
The America Magazine article reads: 
This past June (2019), the U.S. bishops voted to revise the death penalty section of the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults, reflecting an earlier change made by Pope Francis and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2018. The Catechism of the Catholic Church now states that the "death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person."
As a Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalist I believe in the sanctity of human life and the possibility of human redemption. Every person is worth more than their worst act. Join us here at UU A Way Of Life to work for the end of the death penalty.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Sunday Sermon - Jesus teachings are highly recommended.


Jesus teachings are highly recommended.

John 1:29-34 
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Who do you say that Jesus is? What is He to you?

Christians say that He is God, the Second member of the Trinity.

Most Unitarian Universalists say the Jesus is not God and there is no Trinity but only One God. Some UUs might say that Jesus was a prophet and a teacher of God but not God himself.

Whatever you want to believe, John said, in so many words, “This guy is the real deal and you should listen to Him.

Is Jesus a son of God? Yes, as we all are. Perhaps it is easier to consider Him an old brother who guides us, teaches us, shows us by His good example a better way to live.

In A Course of Miracles, Jesus tells us that He is no different from us other than that he has remembered who He is, a child of God. Most of us have forgotten that fact, and believe what we have been taught in the world of the ego. Jesus tells us that the world of the ego is nonsense and has no bearing on who we really are.
Jesus tells us in so many words, “You could have the peace that I have, if you only knew that you are part of God and as such know that God loves you.” The Universalists have taught this, and known this from their religious experience. The Unitarians spend too much time in their heads and have never embraced the idea that what Jesus taught is very rational and makes good sense if you can get past the form of things to their essence, which is love.

So, John, in today’s gospel tells us that Jesus has come and He’s worth listening to. I have listened to Jesus my whole life and have learned a lot. Like John, I highly recommend Jesus’ teachings to you. We will hear and study more about Jesus taught in word and deed in weeks to come.



Sunday, December 29, 2019

Sunday Sermon - The slaughter of innocents goes on today in our name

12/29/19 First Sunday after Christmas


Matthew 2:13-23 The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,
 weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

This story is sometimes called the slaughter of the innocents. It is a story similar to what is happening under the Trump administration at the Mexico/US border when children are being separated from their parents, put in detention, and several of them have died. This policy is being implemented for political reasons even though it is inhumane and inflicts trauma on children, parents, and probably the people charged with enforcing this policy.

What is the effect of this behavior on the rest of the country, and the world, and especially for the people who support this policy by voting for the people who create and enact these policies?

The spirit of Jesus has been recognized again as being born among us at this time of year as we remember His birth. Jesus, being protected and cared for by his step-father, Joseph, was removed from danger and wasn’t among the other male children killed because of the threat that Herod believed Jesus posed to his power and rule. Currently in the U.S.  there are many children who have been removed from their protectors and placed in institutional custody. These innocent children have no idea about U.S. politics and the lengths to which Trump administration officials and their supporters will go to inflict harm on them and their families.

What are we, as a people of faith, to do when such ugliness is perpetrated in our name? In a democracy, we, the people, have the power to remove such people from office and to work to change the minds and hearts for those who support them. We have a moral imperative as Unitarian Univeralists to do our best to make sure that all human beings are treated with dignity and respect and that justice, equity, and compassion are generated in our human relations.

It is sad to realize that things haven’t changed much in 2,000 years in our moral lives as human beings. Atrocities continue to be committed by ruling powers, and in the face of this horror and ugliness has come a Spirit from God encouraging us to find a better way and choose again.
           


Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Evidence Based Social Policy Advocacy, Criminal Justice, Wrongful Convictions, Will Florida execute an innocent man based on informant testimony?



Editor's note:

I am a Roman Catholic Unitarian Univeralist. The Roman Catholic church has come against the death penalty as has the Unitarian Univeralist Association. Where does your congregation stand? Where do you stand? Where do the UU churches in Florida Stand?

As we have seen in our study of the 367 exonerations from DNA evidence obtained by the Innocence Project since 1989, 17% of wrongful convictions were due to incentivized informant testimony. Could this be such a case where there will be a miscarriage of justice?

The state of Florida has an unusually high number of exonerations. This raises questions about the criminal justice system in Florida.

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Sunday Sermon, Third Sunday of Advent, Waiting For The Awakening. Love Is In The Air.

12/15/19 Third Sunday of Advent
Waiting for the awakening. Love is in the air.




Matthew 11:2-11 New International Version (NIV)

2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’[b]
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

What was John doing in prison? The gospel doesn’t say and you get the sense from the story that John didn't really care nor did anyone else. All John wanted to know was whether Jesus was the promised one. Is Jesus the real deal that everyone has been waiting for?
            When Jesus is told about John’s question about whether he is the promised one, the Messiah, Jesus, true to his teachings, doesn’t say one way or the other, he says to the messengers simply tell John what you’ve seen. As Jesus has said at other times,“By their fruit you will know them.”
Have Jesus’ teachingshealed? Yes, and there are plenty of examples. It’s the healings that have occurred, not who I am. Jesus communicates that John is asking the wrong question, it is not about identity, but about the healing shift in perception from the things of the world of the ego to the things of the world of Spirit.
After the messengers leave to go back to John to report on what they’ve seen in their interactions with Jesus, Jesus tells the people around Him that John is a great guy. John is wise in many ways and some might say one of the wisest but even at his wisest John isn’t any more important than they are.
The third Sunday of Advent is known as “Gaudete Sunday” which means “Rejoice Sunday.” We are taking time to rejoice that the symbol of our holiness is about to be born among us. We can sense it in the air. We don’t normally think of Phil Collins’ song In The Air Tonight as a Christmas song, but it should be added to the discography of the Christmas season.
John could sense the awareness of Love was increasing in the air and this is cause for great rejoicing.


Sunday, December 8, 2019

Sunday Sermons - Get your stuff together because the Prince of Peace is coming


Matthew 3:1-12 New International Version (NIV)

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”[a]
John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with[b] water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
On this second Sunday of Advent, Matthew lets it rip with this fiery story about John the Baptist who told people that they need to get their stuff together because the Kingdom of God is at hand.
Then Matthew goes off dissing the Pharisees and the Sadducees saying that their teaching falls flat without actions and it is by their fruit that you will know them.
Matthew seems to threaten people saying that if you do good you will find the kingdom and if you do bad you will "burn in unquenchable fire." Matthew is teaching with a metaphor relating the suffering that comes from doing bad or being wrong minded to burning in flames like wheat chaff after the threshing.
What Matthew is talking about sounds a lot like karma. You reap what you sow.
The point of the story is that John the Baptist was trying to help people find their way. In Unitarian Univeralism we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and where to search? John the Baptist is telling people that the search is not in the external world but an inward search for the coming awareness of the Divine presence in our lives.
Our awareness of the Divine presence is within our reach but we have to look for Love in the right places and a being is coming who will help us find the way. However first, we must tune in to the right channel or we won't be able to hear the Divine song. So clean up your act by eschewing the things of the ego and make way for the awareness of the Divine.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Sunday Sermon - Jesus sees the inherent worth and dignity in very person.

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Have you noticed that Jesus is a Universalist? He includes everyone in his ministry even people who are stigmatized and despised by their society. Jesus acts in such a way that He demonstrates His recognition and acknowledgement of the inherent worth and dignity of every person, the first principle of the Unitarian Universalist covenant.
Jesus not only sees Zacchaeus up in the tree, He calls him down to him and then invites himself to stay with him at his house.
Is this presumptuous on Jesus' part? Zacchaeus seems overjoyed for some reason. When is the last time that the Spirit of the Lord has spoken to you? God is speaking to us all the time, but we don't hear Him. God whispers and we don't hear if we don't tune in on the same frequency. It seems that Zacchaeus was tuned in and there was a connection as Jesus passed under the tree.
Zacchaeus not only responds to Jesus' invitation but he joins the ministry and decides that he will share what he has with others. Zacchaeus implements the Unitarian Univeralist second principle of affirming and promoting justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.
How do you suppose the evening went between Zacchaeus and Jesus when they went back to Zacchaeus' house? I would guess they shared a meal and conversation and together, Jesus and Zacchaeus would have engaged in a free and responsible search for truth and meaning enacting the fourth principle of Unitarian Univeralism.
What is delightful about this story is not only that Zacchaeus expressed an intention to share his wealth and rectify any injustice he might have done, but that he and Jesus had a meeting of the minds and engaged in an acceptance of one another which involved an encouragement to spiritual growth which is the third principle of Unitarian Univeralism.
The story of Jesus and Zacchaeus is a simple story but one by which we have been blessed for almost 2.000 years.
As a Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalist I enjoy integrating the stories of the ministry of Jesus as told in the New Testament with our Unitarian Universalist's covenantal principles.
Join us every week at UU A Way Of Life for our Sunday Sermons. If you are so inclined share them with others.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Sunday Sermon - path of the ego or path of the spirit?

As a Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalist I find it hard to find sermons and teachings which combine my two faith traditions. So I have decided to make up my own. I hope you will join me on Sundays for what I have tagged "Sunday Sermon."

Today's gospel is from Luke 18: 9-14

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Today's parable makes me laugh. The pharisee thinks that by following the rules on the path of the ego he will remember his holiness. The tax collector already knows that the path of the ego is nonsense and so he isn't buying into the ingratiating baloney of the pharisee.
Unitarian Universalists know that rules don't get you home. Following rules to appease and aggrandise the ego is not the path of love but the path of righteousness.
Francis David said that we need not think alike to love alike. Creeds and rituals and obedience to rules is not necessarily the way to remember one's holiness and thereby to sanctify the world. The way to remember one's holiness is to look within, not without, and to engage in a free and responsible search for truth and meaning which ultimately will bring you to love. The tax collector knows this while the pharisee does not so Jesus tells us that the tax collector, in spite of following the way of the ego, will be left behind while the tax collector is more likely to find contentment and peace.
"Exalted" seems to be the wrong word here, because it implies the uplifting of the ego which is not what Jesus is saying. It is not exaltation we are looking for but getting ourselves on the right track, getting our shit together. The pharisee doesn't have his shit together while the tax collector, knowing what is what, does. This knowing "what is what" is not exaltation but wisdom. I think what Jesus is getting at is that the tax collector is wise while the pharisee while he thinks is is doing what is expected and what is right, is a lost soul. In A Course in Miracles, it asks us "Would you rather be right or be happy?" The pharisee would rather be right while the tax collector just wants to be happy. Most Unitarian Univeralists have chosen the way of the tax collector.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalism - If the body is chained, what about the mind?

2 Timothy 2:8-15

 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David--that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. 
Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.
This is today's epistle in the lectionary. It is a letter from Paul to Timothy. Paul writes some interesting things that deserve further consideration beyond a cursory reading.
First, Paul tells Timothy that the body can be chained but the mind is not chained. We can always chose how we will think and feel about external circumstances. Paul is telling Timothy not to think like a victim. He is not a victim, but a child of God and a brother with Jesus.
Second, Paul tells Timothy that in addition to having a mind of his own and not thinking and feeling like a victim, he is attempting to demonstrate this ability so that others may learn what he knows: his power to decide how he understands and sees himself.
Third, Paul tells Timothy that if he gives up the path of the ego and embarks on the path of the spirit he can enjoy the peace that Jesus has enjoyed. If we persist on the path of the spirit we will join with Jesus, and if we deny the opporunity to walk with Jesus on the path of the spirit, Jesus still does not abandon us but waits patiently for as long as it takes for us to realize the falsity of the ego and the Truth of the Spirit.
Fourth, Paul tells Timothy what the Unitarian pioneer Francis David said 1500 years later, to "avoid wrangling over words" or as David said, "We need not think alike to love alike."
Overall this section of Paul's letter to Timothy is encouraging and educational pointing out that peace and well being is not depdendent on the body but on the mind. The body can be chained, but the mind is free. We can choose what we want to attend to and focus on. Jesus showed us a way pointing out that the path of the spirit is more fulfilling than the path of the ego. This is a foundational principle in Unitarian Universalism when we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Paul tells Timothy that truth and meaning is not to found in the chained body but in the free and beautiful mind.

How does this distinction between the mind and the body apply in your life? To what extent do you feel victimized by external circumstances over which you have little or no control? What do you think of Paul's idea that we can follow Jesus' example that the mind is more powerful than the body and that we can always choose another way? To what extent has the UU principle of the free and responsible search for truth and meaning helped you embark on a spiritual path and turn from the tricks and ways of the ego?

To what extent do you find the application of Christian scripture to the living tradition of Unitarian Universalism helpful?

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Why does God not listen to our complaints in this day and age?


I was reading the scripture passages for the Roman Catholic liturgy for last Sunday, October 6, 2019, and the first reading is from the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, and it is:

Habakkuk’s Complaint

How long, Lord, must I call for help,
    but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
    but you do not save?
Why do you make me look at injustice?
    Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
    there is strife, and conflict abounds.
Therefore the law is paralyzed,
    and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
    so that justice is perverted.

The Lord’s Answer

“Look at the nations and watch—
    and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told.
Is anyone else blown away by the parallels in Habakkuk's days and ours with Donald Trump's criminal behavior in the White House and what's going on in Syria?

There is no reflection going on like this in my UU church. Should I go back to the Roman Catholic church which is much more nourishing of the soul in our contemporary times?
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