“You are in fact built for great things. . .”
Further exploring the ideas that come to mind when someone asks, “What is Unitarian Universalism, anyway?” I came across this snippet from a sermon by the Rev. Tony Johnson. Many people look to religion as a source of comfort, of solace, and even of escape from the “real” world. Rev. Johnson, I think, hits the nail on the head when he says that while our Unitarian Universalist churches do provide such comfort, the goal is not to draw people into our communities and keep them sheltered, but to prepare them to go back out into the world and do the work that must be done.
Rev. Johnson served the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County, in Orange, NJ for nine years, and is now affiliated with the Community Church of New York, Unitarian Universalist.
Shelter from the Storm: Unitarian Universalism as a Safe Harbor
by Rev. Tony Johnson
I would suggest to you this morning that Unitarian Universalism is a religion for people who do not want too much safety in their religion. Maybe that’s not the best way to put it. How’s this? Unitarian Universalism is a religion for people who realize that life is just too complicated to make sense of with a single explanation, or that individuals and the world can be saved - whatever that means - by only one faith or path. We want shelter from the storm, but we know the truth of the words of the late mathematician and naval officer, Grace Murray Hopper: A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.
The image of the church as shelter from the storm in a manner similar to that of a harbor where we can tie up for a while is positive and powerful.It is positive because it affirms the reality that we all need replenishment at times - and that we can be replenished. We need to get spiritually re-rigged and restocked, maybe even scrape off a few barnacles. But we can leave the harbor stronger and better equipped than when we entered.
It is also powerful in as much as religion can be a safe place when a person hurts or is in danger. We were all been hurt in some way by the events of September 11th. On that very day, many gathered here in the evening because this church can be a shelter from the storm. But it is not only when everyone hurts that shelter matters. There are storms in individual lives and family lives from which persons need shelter. There are storms in society from which persons need shelter.
There is no doubt someone here this morning who at this moment needs shelter, from pain in a marriage, from trouble at work, from difficulty at school, from illness. Coming here will not fix your marital problems, improve your job performance, raise your grades, or cure your health problems. But this religion will help you to give these realities meaning within your life, help you find the strength to face the challenges, help you have the discipline to endure the pain while you work on what is causing you to hurt.
Unitarian Universalism is a religion that believes in you and does not ask you to believe in things you cannot believe in. And it does not ask you to do things you cannot do. It does not ask you to believe that God will at some point step into the world and either save or destroy it by one action. Nor does it demand that by one specific action you save yourself or the world. Rather, it says to you: Even as you go out into the larger world, you will need to come back to the safe harbor for shelter. But you will not stay in the harbor, because that is not what you are built for. You are in fact built for great things - in your own life and in the world. They may not be easy things. They may not attract much attention or praise. But they are important and possible — and you can do them.
As much as you or I may want to change the world, we each remain engaged even when our best efforts fail. We do not tie our hands behind our backs with the belief that only God can make things happen. We may not be able to end the storm, but we can ride it out. And we also know that - in Shakespeare’s words - not every cloud engenders a storm.
Some of us actually enjoy the storm. We may have to come back to the harbor from time to time, but Dorothy Parker’s words speak to some of us: They sicken of the calm who love the storm.
Whether you prefer the storm or the calm, you are the kind of person who can face the storm. Your religion can give you shelter when you need shelter and strength when you are ready to face the storm again.
Try to imagine a place where it’s always safe and warm.
“Come in,” we say.
“We’ll give you shelter from the storm.”
Source: excerpt from “Shelter from the Storm: Unitarian Universalism as a Safe Harbor,” by Rev. Tony Johnson during his service at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County, in Orange, NJ.
Tags: comfort, community, faith, religion, shelter, spirit, strength, Tony Johnson
