Sermons

REFLECTIONS FOR THIS DAY

INVOCATION

A TIME FOR CENTERING

I NO LONGER PRAY FOR PEACE by Ann Weems
On the edge of war,
one foot already in,
I no longer pray for peace:
I pray for miracles.
I pray that stone hearts
will turn to tenderheartedness,
and evil intentions
will turn to mercifulness,
and all the soldiers already deployed
will be snatched out of harm's way,
and the whole world
will be astounded onto its knees.
I pray that all the "God talk"
will take bones,
and stand up and shed
its cloak of faithlessness,
and walk again in its powerful truth.

I pray that the whole world
might sit down together
and share its bread and its wine.

Some say there is no hope,
but then I've always applauded
the holy fools
who never seem to give up
on the scandalousness of our faith:
that we are loved by God......
that we can truly love one another.

I no longer pray for peace:
I pray for miracles.

And I add my own prayers to Ann Weems:
We can no longer pray that this war be averted,
so we again must pray for peace.
We pray for peace to be restored.
We pray for a swift end to this war.

Let us take a moment in prayer for all the victims of this tragic war:
-For the children and women and men of Iraq whose homes are being destroyed and whose lives are in grave danger - may there be a future for them.

-For the men and women serving in all of the armies, for no matter whose flag they fight under, they are someone’s beloved sons and daughters, and they are children of God - may they be blessed with courage and hope and deep faith.

-And we pray for the families of those in combat - the husbands and wives, the children, the parents and grandparents who do not know if their loved ones will return, or with what scars if they do - may they be blessed with patience and hope and be comforted in the love of one another.

-For all of us, the world around, we pray for a brighter day and a different way; we pray for a deeper understanding and a new vision of how to be in the world and how to be with one another in conflict.

We pray for the cessation of this war.

And we boldly pray for the extinction of all war, for somewhere in our human psyches, we recognize that there has to be another way.

Help us, someday, somewhere, to find that way. Amen.

READING

Even Now, by Ralph Marston

There is serious conflict and trouble in the world today. Yet as serious as that trouble is, it cannot reach all the way into your heart. The part of you that loves and desires peace is at peace even now -- even now, when there is so much violence and turmoil, even now, when there is so much uncertainty.

Even now, there is far more love than hatred. And there always will be. For hatred quickly consumes itself, while love just keeps on going and growing stronger in your heart, even now. It is wise to be concerned. Yet keep this in mind. Your very concern is proof itself that love abounds, that peace is real and present, even now. Let that peace live in you and be expressed through you, even now -- especially now -- not through anger or blame or retribution, but through love, compassion, and the strength to make a positive difference.

See yourself as moving the world positively forward, and you will, with your thoughts, with your actions, with your love. You feel the urgent need to do something and indeed you can, even now. Give your love and understanding, even now, even to those with whom you disagree. Although you have differences with others, there is much, much more that you have in common. Although there are plenty of excuses for hatred, there are many more reasons for love, even now -- especially now

The need for love and the opportunity for peace have never been greater than they are, even now. For the more we see of the darker side of life, the more we truly and sincerely desire to live in the light, and the more we appreciate the immense and unfathomable love that we've been given, and that we are free to give. Even now.

Sermon: REFLECTIONS FOR THIS DAY

One of the national newspapers carried a story by Michael Paulson about the dilemma of our nation's clergy. We have – at least the mainline and liberal clergy - with near unanimity - opposed this war starting, but now that it has begun, we face the question of how to best address the current situation.

I have struggles these last few days with that question: how do I address this current situation? What can I say to you this morning that makes being here worth your time?

I have been pretty vocal in expressing my opinion that the Bush Doctrine of preemptive, unilateral invasion of Iraq is utterly wrong-headed. I am gravely concerned about the immediate harm, but even more, I fear what it will create for the future. This action may well lead to several generations of horror for the entire world, much of it from terrorist retaliation, but also much of it at the hands of the United States.

But today is not a day in which you need to hear me rail against war from the pulpit. As upset as I know we all are, and as much as we seek to make sense of it, today is not the time to discuss the pros and cons of this war. There are many other times and places for that, and I will raise my voice as we go forward in the weeks to come. But not today.

Many of you share my belief to one degree or another about this war. Others among us feel this war, however terrible, is necessary and right. I affirm the motives and the intelligence and the good heart of all of the members and friends of our church community, whether we agree or not. And I know that all of us are heartsick today. I know that all of us mourn the loss of life, the destruction, the chaos war throws the world into.

So today is about feelings, and searching for hope, not about the pros or cons or facts of the war. How, as people of faith do we face the terrors of this war, whether we think it necessary or not?

This is a day to come together in our grief and our fear and our sadness as sisters and brothers in faith.

It is a day to offer one another our heart felt support.

It is a day to seek comfort in our faith and in one another.

It is a day to look for some deeper meaning and for a ray of hope.

Someone sent me an e-mail article about a talk given by Dr. Robert Muller, former assistant secretary general of the United Nations, and now Chancellor emeritus of the University of Peace in Costa Rica. Dr. Muller was one of the people who witnessed the founding of the U.N. in 1949. He has worked in support of or inside the U.N. ever since. He was in San Francisco earlier this month to be honored for his service to the world through the U.N. and through his writings and teachings for peace.

At age eighty, Dr. Muller surprised, even stunned, many in the audience that day with his very positive assessment of where the world stands now regarding war and peace.

Lynne Twist was there and was stunned by his remarks. What he said turned her head around and offered her a new way to see what was going on in the world. She wrote an article summarizing his remarks, some of which I want to share with you this morning. This is where I find hope and meaning today:

Dr. Muller said: "I'm so honored to be alive at such a miraculous time in history. I'm so moved by what's going on in our world today."

Lynne Twist was shocked. Where has he been? What has he been reading? Has he seen the newspapers? Is he senile? Has he lost it? What is he talking about? This was before the fighting had started.

Dr. Muller proceeded to say, "Never before in the history of the world has there been a global, public, viable, open dialogue and conversation about the very legitimacy of war".

He continued: "The whole world is in now having this critical and historic dialogue--listening to all kinds of points of view and positions about going to war or not going to war. In a huge global public conversation the world is asking... " Is war legitimate? Is it illegitimate? Is there enough evidence to warrant an attack? Is there not enough evidence to warrant an attack? What will be the consequences? The costs? What will happen after a war? How will this set off other conflicts? What might be peaceful alternatives? What kind of negotiations are we not thinking of? What are the real intentions for declaring war?

All of this, Dr. Muller noted, is taking place in the context of the United Nations Security Council, the body that was established in 1949 for exactly this purpose. He pointed out that it has taken us more than fifty years to realize that function, the real function of the U.N. And at this moment in history-- the United Nations is at the center of the stage. It is the place where these conversations are happening, and it has become in these last months and weeks, the most powerful governing body on earth, the most powerful container for the world's effort to wage peace rather than war. Dr. Muller was almost in tears in recognition of the fulfillment of this dream.

"We are not at war," he kept saying. We, the world community, are WAGING peace. It is difficult, hard work. It is constant and we must not let up.It is working and it is an historic milestone of immense proportions. It has never happened before - never in human history - and it is happening now - every day every hour - waging peace through a global conversation.”

He pointed out that the conversation questioning the validity of going to war has gone on for hours, days, weeks, months and now more than a year, and it may go on and on. "We're in peacetime," he kept saying. "Yes, troops are being moved. Yes, warheads are being lined up. Yes, the aggressor is angry and upset and spending a billion dollars a day preparing to attack. But not one shot has been fired. Not one life has been lost. There is no war. It's all a conversation."

It is tense, it is tough, it is challenging, AND we are in the most significant and potent global conversation and public dialogue in the history of the world. This has not happened before on this scale -- ever before - not before WWI or WWII, not before Vietnam or Korea, this is new and it is a stunning new era of Global listening, speaking, and responsibility.

In the process, he pointed out, new alliances are being formed. That Russia and China are on the same side of an issue is an unprecedented outcome. France and Germany are working together to wake up the world to a new way of seeing the situation. The largest peace demonstrations in the history of the world are taking place -- and we are not at war! Most peace demonstrations in recent history took place when a war was already waging, sometimes for years, as in the case of Vietnam.

"So this," Dr. Muller said, "is a miracle. This is what "waging peace " looks like."

Well, we are now at war. The cynic in my says, yeah, big deal, Dr. Muller. Look how much good “waging peace” did. The U.N. was deemed irrelevant by our great nation. But then the hopeful part of me, the part that looks for and seeks a larger perspective and a deeper meaning and that knows that human life is an ongoing process thinks again.

Dr. Muller went on, (summarized by Lynne Twist) and here is where I find the hope on this day:

No matter what happens, history will record that this is a new era, and that the 21st century has been initiated with the world in a global dialogue looking deeply, profoundly and responsibly as a global community at the legitimacy of the actions of a nation that is desperate to go to war.

Through these global peace-waging efforts, the leaders of that nation are being engaged in further dialogue, forcing them to rethink, and allowing all nations to participate in the serious and horrific decision to go to war or not. Dr. Muller also made reference to a recent New York Times article that pointed out that up until now there has been just one superpower-the United States, and that that has created a kind of blindness in the vision of the U.S. But now, Dr. Muller asserts, there are two superpowers: the United States and the merging, surging voice of the people of the world.

All around the world, people are waging peace. To Robert Muller, one of the great advocates of the United Nations, it is nothing short of a miracle.

The larger meaning I see in this, and the hope I take is that although we’ve missed the boat this time, although we have once again resorted to war, this conversation won’t go away. It is too big. And it isn’t just happening in the U.N, Security Council. Ordinary people are using the Internet to weigh in on this and they are having an impact.

There are just too many people saying “wait a minute! Let’s think this through. What are we doing here?” This global conversation has begin and it won’t go away.

There is a poem in our hymnal written by Marge Piercy sometime before 1982. I’ve read this poem on many occasions as a hope, a vision, a dream to be wished for. Let’s read it together this morning. Please turn to reading #585 in your hymnal and read responsively with me:

Councils by Marge Piercy

We must sit down and reason together.
Perhaps we should sit in the dark. In the dark we could utter our feelings In the dark we could propose and describe and suggest.
In the dark we could not see who speaks and only the words would say what they say.
No one would speak more than twice. No one would speak less than once.
Thus saying what we feel and what we want,
what we fear for ourselves and each other into the dark,
perhaps we could begin to begin to listen.
The women must learn to dare to speak. The men must learn to bother to listen.
The women must learn to say “I think this is so.”
The men must learn to stop dancing solos on the ceiling.
After each speaks, she or he will say a ritual phrase:
It is not I who speaks but the wind.
Wind blows through me.
Long after me, is the wind.

In the conversation the world has been having -- among the world’s leaders through the United Nations and in the conversation among ordinary folks like you and me through the Internet -- what has been said matters. This conversation makes Marge Piercy’s hope at least the beginnings of a reality. We have been siting down together, in the dark, reasoning with one another. Only the words say what they say. Race, gender, creed, nationality, class do not matter. We all have the opportunity to participate. And what is said has been carried on the wind and blows through us. And it changes us. And it will not stop just because war has begun.

It continues even now, at this very minute. This is a new thing and it is as stunning as Gutenberg’s press. The hope I offer you today is to echo Dr. Robert Muller’s contention that the world has changed, even if we did miss the boat this time. We are on the edge of a profound change in the human enterprise. It isn’t clear how it will work itself out. The forces of vested interest in the status quo are threatened and they know how to use this technology very well. But people of good will and vision are talking to each other like never before. This is where I find meaning and hope today.

What scares and saddens me, however, is seeing Americans fight among ourselves because that, more than anything else, has the potential to turn back the progress that has been made as we’ve conducted this global conversation. Those who feel that this war was inevitable and that we must now support it and get through it and those who still rail against it are beginning to take their fears and frustrations out on each other. People are beginning to shout at one other from separate sides of the street as they both exercise their democratic right to assemble and speak out. If you are against President Bush’s actions, you must be for Saddam Hussein. If you are against waging war, you must not care about the Iraqi people and the horror they have suffered.

The really sad thing is that it just isn’t that simple. This is a situation of both/and, not either/or. President Bush and Saddam Hussein are both on the wrong side. Their motivations are both national interest too narrowly defined . The oppression of the Iraqi people has been perpetrated by their own leader AND by our foreign policy. In my humble opinion, there are no good guys in white hats leading the charge on either side of this mess. That is what the global conversation has been about. And it has been stunning. And I hope and pray that it will not be silenced in our country by us turning our attention to fighting among ourselves.

The part of us that loves peace can be at peace, even now, as our earlier reading said. We have to know, not just in our heads but deep in our hearts, that there is more love than hatred and that we can each participate in moving the world positively forward with our thoughts, our actions and most of all, with our love.

The present danger and the need for love -- AND -- the possibility to wage peace have never been greater. This is a both/and time. Let’s keep our eyes on that prize and treat those we disagree with with respect and love, knowing that no matter what their thinking is, they hurt at this time just as we do. It isn’t easy, but I believe that is what our faith calls us to do.

May the Spirit of Life be with you and comfort you and guide you through these dark days. Amen.

BENEDICTION

Wage Peace by Judyth Hill
(wrongly attributed to Mary Oliver on the Internet)

Wage peace with your breath.
Breathe in firemen and rubble,
breathe out whole buildings
and flocks of redwing blackbirds.

Breathe in terrorists and breathe out
sleeping children and freshly mown fields.

Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.

Breathe in the fallen
and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.

Wage peace with your listening:
hearing sirens, pray loud.

Remember your tools:
flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.

Make soup.

Play music,
Learn the word for thank you in three languages.

Learn to knit, and make a hat.

Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,
Imagine grief as the out-breath of beauty
or the gesture of fish.

Swim for the other side.

Wage peace.

Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious.
have a cup of tea and rejoice.

Act as if armistice has already arrived.

Don't wait another minute.
Celebrate today!

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