Four days ago orchestrated teams of terrorists rocked the world with their brilliant and evil acts of horror. The echoing shock waves still tip the world and I struggle for balance. The blows have disrupted life around the globe and call into question my faith. My aching heart wonders what my tradition offers in this moment.

My religion reminds me to seek love in all things, but I cannot find a trace of love in the deeds of these men. Instead I see amid the ruin a rampaging idolatry, a most unholy obsession with a narrow slice of a much broader religious spectrum. How could they ignore so much? The same religion that was a source of justification for the bombers has given us incredibly loving works of art and priceless gifts of science. Since Europe's Middle Ages our histories have intertwined in deep and profound ways. We share much, but a common heritage is of little interest to people who mistake their passions for love.

Passion is part of our history too. In the middle 1700's, the colonies were swept up in a religious frenzy. Across the eastern seaboard, people were so rapt by the spirit, that social chaos began to set in. The Rev. Charles Chauncey, an ancestor of modern Unitarian Universalism preached against the rising "enthusiasms" calling for the heart to be held in respectful balance with the head. He urged his listeners to pay more attention to their neglected relationships than their intoxicating moods. Advice I strive to heed as I deal with the feelings blown loose within me.

The sustaining of love of all truly religious people is not demonstrated in singularly dramatic moments. It emerges slowly as we honor the powers of the heart and mind in a sweet harmony. We will be at our best when we, as U.U.s and Americans, consult equally with our hearts, our minds, and our neighbors as we move through the painful days ahead. We cannot intellectualize ourselves to some safe plain of higher knowing. We cannot give free reign to our emotions and call that justice. We can reach out one to another and embrace the fullness of our humanity. This is the soul's way and our path to true peace. In this, my heart takes comfort.

Peace,
Rev. Keith Goheen
Unitarian Universalists of S. Delaware
September 14, 2001