A people who mourn together are also a people who are comforted together. A people who humble themselves around one another are a people who respect and love one another. A people who work as peacemakers, who work for shalom, are people who want that shalom, who want that wholeness for all people…

I’m reminded of the science fiction author, Ursual K. Le Guin’s quote from her 2018 National Book Award speech—“Capitalism’s power seems inescapable—but then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.”

What qualities do we look for in a leader? What convinces us that someone is worthy of praise, that someone is worthy of our time and commitment? King Jr. himself is quoted as saying, “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”

Jesus makes it clear that though he is our savior, fully divine, that he is also fully human, and therefore one of us—that he is not untouchable on some other planet; that this human being, who received royal gifts as a baby, came so that each and every one of us would eventually be loved and respected and safe. Jesus, I believe, would weep at the idea that people shouldn’t think for themselves, that people should accept the world as is. And Jesus would especially weep at the idea that he is too far above us for us to truly feel his presence…

What a giant, beautiful contradiction Christmas is— an alleged miraculous virgin birth, angels relaying messages in other-worldly harmonies, a heavenly star leading the way—juxtaposed with a birth that couldn’t be more humble…a baby born in dangerous conditions; a baby who is the ultimate contradiction—human and divine…

Christmas Pageant 2022!

I think it sometimes takes a fool to have so much conviction in goodness. I think it takes some foolishness to believe so wholeheartedly that this world can actually be good…

So this slogan—no justice, no peace—I wonder if it would be easier for some of us to think of it, not as some kind of threat, but more as a statement of fact— the fact that peace cannot exist without justice. Peace cannot exist without full equality for all people…

…we need to make time in our lives to take a deep breath, to take a break, to slow down, and to get to that relaxed-but-alert feeling. And we can’t get to that point if we don’t make time in our days to stop and just be. If we don’t make time to reconnect with the world and our surroundings, we’ll find ourselves sleepwalking through life…

Two Thanksgiving sermons from our combined Thanksgiving Sunday service with First Universalist Society of Hartland; Rev. Paul Sawyer preaches on the poem “And the Table Will Be Wide” by Jan Richardson; Rev. Amy Davin preaches on Deuteronomy 26:1-11

We have a tendency to get totally overwhelmed with all the myriad problems happening right now, and it’s nearly impossible to see the big picture, nearly impossible to imagine that a world where people actually get along is, indeed, possible…

…we need a cheerleader in our corner—that’s why we need someone like Haggai to remind us: “take courage;” “do not fear;” to remind us that God’s “spirit abides among [us]” no matter where we find ourselves— if we are in our own personal exiles; if we are rebuilding something that feels like it’s beyond repair; if we feel lost and uncertain about the future…

And Habakkuk know that these uncertain, difficult times will not last. He knows that in humankind’s time, goodness will be restored…

I wonder if this was a strange in-between time, a time when people were still trying to hold on to the ideals of old while looking forward to a new, more perfect world, where this fear and shame-based culture would no longer exist…

It’s a hard pill to swallow, for sure—that we can never determine how something will end up, that we can never predict something exactly, that we will only have probabilities to work off of. But really—what freedom there is in this! What freedom there is in realizing that the future is open to so much possibility! What freedom there is in knowing that we are not determined to fail, that we are not doomed, that we can fix what our elders, what those in power have tried to destroy!

I don’t know about you all, but I can’t just think that all will be well and be filled with hope. I can’t just take a deep breath and think that everything is gonna be okay when it sometimes feels like the world is crashing down around us. This, Church, is because hope takes work…

Yes, Jeremiah has faith in God and God’s new covenant, but he also has faith in his people, even during such a frightening and uncertain time…

There’s that old Robert Frost-penned saying, right, that the only way out is through. To quote the poem directly, “He says the best way out is always through. / And I agree to that, or in so far / As that I can see no way out but through.” I love that that saying starts with an attempt at a positive spin, that the best way out his through, as if there are other options. But church, there are no other options…

There’s something really gut-wrenching, but beautiful about living in this crude and bizarre world but seeing glimpses of what’s possible— of understanding that a better, perfect world is possible, and working for that world so that future generations will never have to know the brokenness and the evil that we know…

So yes, this is a Labor Day sermon for Labor Day weekend—but it’s more than that; because giving up our egos and freeing ourselves from selfishness is a crucial command of Jesus.