“THE RICH GET RICHER”
A Sermon by the Rev. Bruce Clear
Sunday,
All
Flipping through the TV channels can be dangerous for your soul. I was reminded of that the other day when I landed on a religious channel with a preacher expounding on what I think of as “prosperity theology.” I’m sure you’ve all heard it before. We are told that if we believe strongly enough and follow what the Bible says, we are guaranteed wealth and prosperity. It is common theological fare on TV and radio. The promise of riches is, of course, usually accompanied by a pitch for donations to the preacher.
The trouble with this kind of theology is not just the obvious – that it is meant to target the vulnerable and naïve. Another problem is that it preaches pretty much the opposite of what the Bible says about wealth. Biblical riches have nothing to do with money, for example. Jesus preached abundance, but it was an abundance of love, an abundance of values, an abundance of wisdom, an abundance of happiness, and abundance of living. He often spoke of the paradox that those with few possessions are often the most blessed. Here are some of his familiar words to that effect:
How blest are those who know that they are poor;
the
How blest are those of a gentle spirit;
they shall have the earth for their possession.
How blest are those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail;
they shall be satisfied.
How blest are they who show mercy;
mercy shall be shown to them.
You are the salt of the world. . . You are light for all the world.
I speak today about richness in the biblical sense of wealth – of being blessed by abundance in life. It is, after all, that kind of wealth which counts the most. All studies have shown that there is no measurable correlation between material wealth and happiness.
It is that kind of richness that I refer to in my sermon title. It is often said in terms of money that “the rich just get richer.” Whether or not that is true, there is some truth to it in the biblical sense of wealth to which I refer.
The first step in expanding the richness of life is to be aware and grateful for all the richness that surrounds us. Poet Anne Sexton referred to that kind of richness in the little things each day. “There is joy in all,” she writes, and goes on to identify the morning eggs frying, the coffee perking, and the familiar kitchen table setting. There is joy in all, she says.
Thornton Wilder said it this way: “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
Isn’t it interesting how many people who face life with joy and confidence, are also full of appreciation for whatever they encounter in life.
Another way those rich in spirit expand their riches is by sharing life with others. They welcome every opportunity to interact with others who have a different perspective, who have a different wisdom. We are blessed when our path crosses that of others who can give us a new way of looking at life, and we can share ours with them. “The joy that isn’t shared,” the poet said, “dies young.”
This is the first Sunday of our new church year. We have gathered together, many of us, for the first time like this since June. While we have filled the summer at All Souls with exciting speakers and programs, we return now to the beginning of our full church year with a lively religious education program, an exciting music program, and committees up and running to make this institution work.
It is my intent on this opening Sunday to remind us of why we gather as we do. When I consider the richness of spirit in this congregation, my task seems easy.
We are abundantly rich in this church. We are wealthy. We are rich in values and in heritage and in diversity and in freedom. Our Unitarian Universalist traditions have given us so much to treasure.
We enjoy the
wealth of a rich religious heritage.
Almost 500 years ago, our Unitarian religious forebears struggled
throughout
Two hundred
years ago, the voices of Unitarians and Universalists in
As Unitarian Universalists, we are rich in our diversity of ideas. From the beginning, we have encouraged adventurous ideas, and have tested the boundaries of thought throughout our history. Today we have no problem accepting within our community Unitarian Universalist pagans as well as Unitarian Universalist Christians, UU Buddhists as well as UU Humanists. Theists, atheists, agnostics, mystics, rationalists, new-age theorists and eco-feminists – all are welcome to contribute to the on-going conversation of our movement. We feel enriched by learning from the wisdom of Eastern religions as well as from Native American traditions. The American transcendentalist movement – the work of Emerson and Thoreau and others – was almost entirely conceived in Unitarian circles.
We are rich in values. From the beginning and up to this day, the Unitarian and Universalist traditions stood solidly on the side of religious freedom. A century and a half ago, in this country, Unitarians and Universalists were prominent in the movement to abolish the institution of slavery. We weren’t unanimous in that voice, but we spoke out more strongly than most other religious groups. In the twentieth century, when it became obvious that abolition of slavery did not solve the problems of institutional and social discrimination, Unitarians and Universalists were deeply involved in the civil rights movement.
At the beginning of the twentieth
century, Unitarians like Susan B. Anthony and Universalists like Mary Livermore
stood together to protest the inequality of women in
Today the struggle for equality of rights has grown to include gay and lesbian citizens who are excluded from enjoying full respect as human beings, and Unitarian Universalists are active in breaking down these walls of discrimination as well.
Many of the progressive movements of American history were formed by Unitarians and Universalists of conscience. The education system promoted by Unitarian Horace Mann, the nursing profession exemplified by Unitarian Clara Barton and Universalist Florence Nightingale, the mental health movement founded primarily by Unitarian Dorothy Dix, and the social justice program of Jane Addams – the Unitarian and Universalist values, so rich and abundant in our story as a movement, have helped shape the conscience of this nation. We are rich in values.
All
Every August, the Board and Council hold a joint retreat to begin their focus on the new church year. Often, that retreat is devoted to the important task of identifying what concerns need attention in the upcoming year.
This year the joint retreat, that was held last month, was different. This retreat was devoted, instead of looking for what needs to be fixed, to highlighting what is going right in the church. The Board and Council members were divided into small groups to discuss and generate lists of what we can affirm about this church. It was interesting when hearing the outcome, how most groups named the same positives. Here are some examples of what was produced by those groups:
When asked to identify how we as a church live our religious values, the groups mentioned the continuing Earth Day celebrations, the Outreach Committee that works with community organizations, the Partner Church connections to struggling Unitarian Churches in Eastern Europe, the Welcoming Congregation program to be formally recognized for our welcoming of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people, our Religious Education program that teaches high quality sexuality education (known as “OWL” for “Our Whole Lives”), our Membership Committee which seeks to welcome all visitors, and our willingness to offer space to struggling churches of other religious traditions (such as the Metropolitan Community Church some years ago and currently the Good Shepherd Missionary Baptist Church).
When asked about achievements or innovations at All Souls, the groups mentioned the successful capital campaign that allowed for our impressive renovated building and grounds, the inauguration of small groups to bring people together with their lives and ideas, the offering of signing interpretation during our Sunday services, making the building handicapped accessible through an elevator and new bathrooms, and a feature article in the Star a couple of years ago.
When asked to name the assets of this congregation, they mentioned our healthy endowment, our library, our youth, the team approach of minister and religious education director, and the new space that can also be used for various celebrations and functions.
When asked about the strengths or traditions that we can build on, the groups mentioned being a major liberal religious voice within the city, the distinguished history as well as the longevity of this congregation, our attracting of interesting and important speakers, such as through the Frontiers of Knowledge, the dignity of our memorial services and the innovation of our Memorial Gardens, our Choir and the great music program, our social hour, baby dedications, the Fall Retreat in Brown County, the artistic abilities of our members, and a congregation that is “diverse, interesting, accomplished, and energetic.”
When asked to
mention specific events that stand out in their minds, various rights of
passage were mentioned, including having a son or daughter join the
church. Our centennial celebration in
2003 remains a highlight for many, when we visited the old church on
This is an impressive list of affirmations about All Souls. This list reveals much of the treasure of this community, the richness abundance of experience and values within this congregation. This congregation is rich in these things, and if we build on our abundance the future holds greater treasure for us.
And how do those rich with the treasure of experience and values become richer? It happens by using your wealth to expand experience even further and explore values even more deeply. To share your joy, as poet Anne Sexton says, so that your joy won’t die young.
Each one of us who is rich from the treasures of All Souls can fairly easily expand those riches. How? It is all around you. There are people in the pews near you – three or four or five people away – who have a treasure of life experiences or ideas you could use. They have ideas you haven’t heard yet that need consideration. They have experiences in life that teach lessons and you will benefit when you hear them.
There are people physically within your sight who can expand your horizons. Everyone around you is different from you in some significant way, and that is a treasure. They have learned life lessons that you haven’t needed to learn yet.
This is how the rich get richer – meaning those rich in experience and values. They reach out to connect with others, and share ideas and life learning. To stay rigid and content with your beliefs and values, to talk only to people who are like you and agree with you, is like hiding your fortune under a mattress and just letting it shrink in value as time goes by.
That’s a good reason to meet those you don’t know in the Social Hall and to greet those you don’t recognize in the hallway.
I love when I hear from visitors who say they feel welcome here. Essayist Parker Palmer once said that “the essence of hospitality. . . is that we let our differences our mutual strangeness, be as they are, while still acknowledging the unity that lies beneath them.” It is always a good idea to be welcoming to others because it is a wonderful way to show respect.
Share your joy, as the poet said, or else your joy will die young. Share your values and beliefs and experiences, and accept those who share theirs with you. That is how the rich in spirit get richer.
I’ll close with a little story that I offer for amusement more than anything else. Some years ago, a cover story of Fortune magazine profiled the multibillionaire Warren Buffet. The story included an anecdote from Buffet’s childhood saying that as a child he sat in his Presbyterian church examining the hymnal and calculating the lifespan of the hymn writers. According to the article, he wanted to see “whether their religious calling had rewarded them with extra years of life. He concluded it didn’t. “So,” the article continued, “at age 11, Buffet and a friend moved into more secular pursuits.”
That article
came out about the same time as a book by David Robinson which offered biographical
sketches of about 100 famous Unitarians and Universalists. My religion professor at the
Unitarian Historian Earl Morse Wilbur lived to 90, and theologian Henry Nelson Wieman lived to 91 (Marty, who knew Wieman commented, “I always thought he was going to be immortal). Theologian James Luther Adams lived to 93 and religious historian Sidney Mead lived to 95. Religious Educator Sophia Lyon Fahs, who was 82 when she was ordained a Unitarian minister, lived to 102. And just recently, process philosopher Charles Hartshorne died at age 103.
So Marty comments: "Buffet dealt with the angst-ridden Presbyterians who were saved, redeemed, ready for outcomes in heaven. The Unitarian Universalists for the most part, says the Robinson book, do not believe in a life to come. They stick around as long as possible studying their projects and enjoying temporal outcomes. And by and large they don't take risks by making hymn-writing their profession."
I do not leave you today by promising longevity as a reward for remaining true to our faith any more than I would promise material wealth. Being a Unitarian Universalist guarantees neither prosperity nor long life. What I do promise, though, is a full life, rich in heritage, rich in diversity, rich in values, and a community to share your ongoing search and questioning – and your joy, so that your joy won’t die young.
“WELCOME MORNING”
by Anne Sexton
There is joy
in all:
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the chapel of eggs I cook
each morning,
in the outcry from the kettle
that heats my coffee
each morning,
in the spoon and the chair
that cry “hello there, Anne”
each morning, in the godhead of the table
that I set my silver, plate, cup upon
each morning.
All this is God,
right here in my pea-green house
each morning
and I mean,
though often forget,
to give thanks,
to faint down by the kitchen table
in a prayer for rejoicing
as the holy birds at the kitchen window
peck into their marriage of seeds.
So while I think of it,
let me paint a thank-you on my palm
for this God, this laughter of the morning,
lest it go unspoken.
The Joy that isn’t shared, I’ve heard,
dies young.
from Kenneth Patton
We arrive out of many singular rooms, walking over the branching streets.
We come to be assured that brothers and sisters surround us, to restore their images on our eyes.
We enlarge our voices in common speaking and singing.
We try again that solitude found in the midst of those who with us sek their hidden reckonings.
Our eyes reclaim the remembered faces, their voices stir the surrounding air.
The warmth of their hads assures us, and the gladness of our spoken names.
This is the reason of cities, of homes, of assemblies in the houses of worship.
It is good to be with one another.