Universalism Against Fear

Upon further reflection, I realize that I may have let us off the hook a bit too easily this past Sunday. Undoubtedly, it was important to emphasize the Universalist Gospel of our inherent savedness. But if we are to spiritually overthrow the pervasive fear that grips our nation, we must recognize the necessity of working together, and above all, holding one another accountable. 


On Sunday, I used the wilderness story of Exodus (16:13-20) as a touchstone, recalling the stench that proceeded nightfall and the Israelite decision to hoard food:

My beloved religious companions: do you smell something in the air? Now that night is retreating; now that the stock market is once again sputtering; do you smell something in the air? As the rubble of earthquakes and oil spills and armed uprisings is cleared away, do you smell something in the air of these United States of America? Because I do. I can smell the stench of fear. I can smell the stench of selfishness. And like Moses, I’m getting angry.

I’m angry that the persistence of the American Dream depends on the perpetuation of the American Nightmare. Some enjoy the best healthcare in the world because others have none. Some enjoy generous corporate bonuses year after year because others work three jobs just to survive. Some enjoy top schooling and safe neighborhoods and large homes because others have been pushed to the further side of the Avenue.

Our aching souls are the symptoms of a system at its breaking point. I hear the world crying out for us to stop: ‘Stop living for yourselves at the expense of others. Stop being so selfish. Let go of what is not yours to take.’ [...]

Broken systems reflect broken spirits. And I have to believe that underneath the abuses of self-interest lurk the wounds of self-doubt. Between nightfall and daybreak, fear set in. We have become distrustful of ourselves.

I then invoked our Universalist heritage as a powerful spiritual antidote to self-fear and self-hatred:

So here’s the short of it: I want you to know that you are outloved.

In the face of self-fear, Universalism has the audacity to declare that each and every one of us is already loved beyond measure. Each and every one of us is worthy of salvation. Just by being you, you have already passed the test. You see: our ancestors knew that you will experience more love in your lifetime than you can possibly author with the pen of your own heart. Even in the longest hours of loneliness, the Source of your soul rejoices within your breast. You are outloved. What a terribly beautiful truth. Overwhelming in fact. Hard to believe. Taken on faith. Even in the longest hours of loneliness, when the world feels like it’s falling apart, you are being held in a greater love. The Divine believes in you. [...]

To be saved, I think, is to be oriented towards what is Ultimate. To be rooted. To be seen. It’s finding your place in the world, knowing your purpose, answering the call to deliver the bread of life. To be saved is to be lovely. And to be loveable. And to be loving.

The message is an important one to hear over and over again. It reminds us that individually, we are worthy. What was missing was the reminder that collectively, we are responsible. Even when scared, even in the thick of darkness, we have to call one another to our better selves. And we have to name the times we fall short of the salvation at hand. 

In the wilderness, we may need someone to step in - someone to call us out on our hoarding and call us back to the Good News of our collective fate. What if, instead of retreating to their private tents, the Israelites had drawn together in the commons, listening deeply and supporting one another amidst the onset of fear? 

Please: continue the conversation. 

Churching

This past Sunday, Parisa reminded us that living Good News does not always equate to enjoying good times. Being in community is both wondrously fulfilling and deeply challenging. It asks us to step forward and lead, as well as to step back and follow; to privilege the common need over the personal want; to risk failure and be willing to grant forgiveness. Doing church is truly counter-cultural.


When announcing the offering, I hazarded: what would it mean to think of church as a verb, not a noun? Together we are churching. Church is not a place we go or an institution to which we contribute, separate from our own lives. Rather, church is an active movement towards the realm of God that beckons. It is indistinguishable from the coins we drop in a homeless person's hat, the prayer of gratitude we whisper before turning off the lights, the meal we cook for a fellow parishioner who recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. We church in our daily lives. Even though we may not all be gathered in a meetinghouse or committee meeting, we nevertheless carry the values and connections of our togetherness into the many spaces of our individual lives.


In a letter to Jane Tuckerman dated 1838, Margaret Fuller describes a powerful religious experience that transformed living into churching: “In the evening I went into the church-yard: the moon sailed above the rosy clouds. That crescent moon rose above the heavenward-pointing spire. At that hour a vision came upon my soul, whose final scene last month interpreted. The rosy clouds of illusion are all vanished, the moon has waxed to full. May my life be a church, full of devout thoughts, and solemn music.”


What does it mean to you to church?


Please: continue the conversation.

The Universalist Bell Tolls

As the buzz over the Rev. Rob Bell's (apparently blasphemous) universalism grows louder, I thought I might devote this week's reflection to measuring the noise. Admittedly, I have not been able to get my hands on a copy of his controversial tract. So I must proceed with great caution. However, there are a number of early reviews that shed light on Bell's theological positioning.


Here's what I have been able to ascertain to date:


1) Bell's approach to theology is question-driven. In fact, it sounds like most of the book consists of unanswered, rhetorical questions. An interesting way to do theology (and one, I imagine, many Unitarian Universalists would endorse). To my mind, one especially compelling string of inquiry reads: If salvation is a free gift that "we cannot earn by our own efforts, works, or good deeds - and all we have to do is accept and confess and believe, aren’t those verbs? And aren’t verbs actions? Accepting, confessing, believing-those are things we do. Does that mean, then, that going to heaven is dependent on something I do? How is any of that grace? How is that a gift? How is that good news?" As evident here, Bell digs below the popular Evangelical speak to uncover, and then investigate, hidden commitments and assumptions.


2) Bell advocates a Restorationist Universalism. In other words, God may temporarily punish individuals after death for the sin of disbelief, but will not condemn anyone to eternal torment. This strand of Universalism can be traced back to James Relly, John Murray and, most notably, Edward Turner. It contrasts with the Ultra-Universalism of Caleb Rich and Hosea Ballou, according to which punishment is immediately imposed at the moment of sinning in the form of alienation from God and the righteous life. Again, Bell seems to land in the former camp: "No matter how painful, brutal, oppresive, no matter how far people find themselves from home because of their sin, indifference, and rejection, there’s always the assurance that it won’t be this way forever." Elsewhere, Bell takes up the unsettling verse from Matthew: "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life"(25:36). Bell analyzes the Greek (aion) to show that "Jesus isn’t talking about forever as we think of forever."


3) Bell's Universalism remains Christocentric. He won't let go of Jesus, to the point of sounding a lot like Karl Rahner's "Anonymous Christianity." Drawing on the portrayal of Jesus in Colossians as being "before all things" (1:17), Bell insists that Jesus is "bigger than any one religion. He didn’t come to start a new religion, and he continually disrupted whatever conventions or systems or establishments that existed in his day. He will always transcend whatever cages and labels are created to contain and name him, especially the one called ‘Christianity.’" Has Bell expanded the concept of Universalism to include the universal scope of Jesus as well? It sure sounds like it: "Jesus is supracultural. He is present within all cultures, and yet outside of all cultures. He is for all people, and yet he refuses to be co-opted or owned by any one culture." For Bell, Jesus remains the only key to the Kingdom, but a key (often unknowingly) hanging on everyone's keychain: "whatever God is doing in the world to know and redeem and love and restore the world is happening through him [i.e. Jesus]." Put differently: “he, and he alone is saving everybody.”


I want to close by diffusing any rigidity implied by the aforementioned categorization. From what we know of Bell, theological descriptors are of less importance than theological discussion. I don't think Bell is trying to box himself into a particular school of thought as much as he is attempting to step back from and gain perspective on such boxes. All the same, it is helpful to have a sense of Bell's own commitments vis-a-vis larger soteriological debates.


It's an exciting time to be a Unitarian Universalist. After all, our denomination's very nomenclature testifies to the relevancy of this media-blitzed theological exchange. How might we respond?


I pray we will:


1) Come to appreciate the unique significance of our own religious heritage. In so doing, we will hopefully reconnect with our history and summon the guidance of our Universalist cloud of witnesses.


2) Recognize the power of Jewish and Christian scriptures. Bell and his critics rely heavily on biblical prooftexting. While I have great reservations about this approach, I also acknowledge that a level of biblical fluency is required for us to compellingly engage ongoing conversation. Besides, as the Rev. David Parke reminds us: "So diverse is Scripture, so apt, so vivid, so profound, so consoling, that those who deny themselves its benefits diminish only themselves."


3) Leverage our denominational track record. One of the most popular critiques leveled against Universalism during its formative years was that the belief promoted moral laxity. If you're guaranteed salvation, why do good? I wager that the last two centuries, while far from spotless, nevertheless testify to the good works accomplished by faith communities gathered in the name of a universally loving God.


4) Speak up for silenced theological voices. How much richer this conversation would be with Ultra-Universalists. And for that matter, with theocentrics (as opposed to Christocentrics). In my opinion, Bell's arguments brush uncomfortably close to hoisting Jesus onto an altar he never claimed. Is Jesus the destination, or is Jesus the direction? Can we imagine a religion that holds true to Love's ultimate triumph without cloaking that Love in specific garb? Might Unitarian Universalism occupy that important religious space?


5) Reimagine Universalism for contemporary Unitarian Universalists. This conversation opens up a pregnant opportunity to take up the theological heavy lifting we have ignored for so long. The late Rev. Forrest Church leaves us with a compelling gesture towards reconceiving Universalism in our time. More must be done. Let's respond to his invitation.  


Please: continue the conversation.

Giving Up

My grandfather recently passed along the aphorism: "Many people want to serve God, but only as advisors." Parisa's sermon this past Sunday exposed the hubris of this popular position, which often takes the shape of our stubborn insistence on things working out exactly the way we envision. Success looks like this. Happiness like that. Everything else amounts to failure. Sound familiar? 

Sohan Qadri: #2076

When we let go of what we think life should look like, we are better able to see what life really is, and find therein an abundance. In Parisa's words: "We look to one another for help in letting go of what we think things should be like in order to let the good, to let God, work through us." The good life has as much to do with receiving gratefully as it does with producing tirelessly. Often, leaning into reality requires more courage and resolve than unceasingly building fantasy.


Last week, Punjabi artist and poet Sohan Singh Barhing, popularly known as Sohan Qadri, passed away. Both his spiritual and artistic temperament typified the "let go, let God" way of being in the world. When asked about his painting technique, Qadri responded: "For me to paint a picture is more of a ritual, it reaches somewhat further than mere painting. It is a way to call forth the powers that are hidden in the emptiness of the canvas...[I]f you don’t feed this canvas with something, then you will never get a picture painted. You are the food, the artist is the food, He must let himself be completely swallowed." For Qadri, the first step towards creation is the destruction of assumed or perceived form. As we read in the Rig Veda: "Break the form and reach the essential."


How, then, do we strike the balance between letting go and giving up? Or perhaps more accurately, what do we need to proximately give up so that we don't ultimately give up, or give in?


Please: continue the conversation.