Mapping a Life
On October 16, we began a 5-week sermon series called Mapping a Life, that explored the differences between a Consumer Map and a Spiritual Map.
November 13: Rev. Justin Schroeder concluded the series with "Greed, or Gratitude?," (podcast here) when we were reminded that we are not self-made... that we need to pay attention to everyone and everything that has helped us get where we are... that, in fact, the world doesn't owe us ANYTHING. We were given miracles and now, it's our turn -- "you show me." The reading was a poem, "Inventing Sin," that resonated with many congregants, and is reprinted here. He reminded us that everything we have is on loan, and encouraged us with two next steps: 1) keep a daily gratitude journal, of three things each day that we have been blessed with; 2) every day tell those we are in deep relationship with what we appreciate about them. By cultivating gratitude as a daily practice -- even by remembering the worst moments in our lives and looking to see where we are today and giving thanks -- we show our appreciation of and gratitude for the miracle that is every day. Read here our Director of Congregational Life blog from Heidi Mastrud about how this sermon impacted her. Here is Rev. Schroeder's blog on the topic.
November 6: Guilt, or Forgiveness? (podcast here) -- with Intern Minister Ralph Krog
October 30: Ego gratification, or Compassion? (podcast here) -- with Rev. Kate Tucker
October 23: Fear, or Love? (podcast here) -- Rev. Justin Schroeder talked about how fear tends to make us act like things are fine when they are not. Fear makes us keep our true emotions hidden, so it looks like we are in control, we're keep it together, as the Consumer Culture Map encourages us to do in so many ways. The goal of fear is to not show weakness or vulnerability. On the other hand, he said, when we live our life with the Spiritual Map, with Love, we are willing to risk more, to participate in new truth-telling about what is happening in our world, to have honest and authentic relationships. The goal becomes: be not afraid of taking off the mask...we are enough...our truly Loving relationships will hold us. Love is about the willingness to Be true to who we are...vulnerable and Not Perfect. He left us with these words from John O'Donohue's poem, "A Morning Offering:"
may my mind come alive today
to the invisible geography
that invites me to new frontiers
to break the dead shell of yesterdays
to risk being disturbed and changed
may I have the courage today
to live the life that I would love
to postpone my dream no longer
but do at last what I came here for
and waste my heart on fear no more
After the second service, congregants gathered to create their own spiritual maps.
October 16: "Exclusivity, or Hospitality?" (podcast here) -- Rev. Justin Schroeder reminded us that exclusivity is about "who is welcome? who is seen? who is acceptable? -- and who is not?" He urged us to think of this time as an apocalyptic time -- a revelatory opportunity to orient our world by a different map, one with a set of principles that is NOT about exclusivity, fear, egoism, guilt or greed. He talked about his experiences at Occupy Minnesota in recent weeks, where people are witnessing for a different set of values. When we become hospitable we recognize that all people are amazing miracles. When we welcome strangers -- perhaps remembering how much it matters when people reach out to us when we are lost or disoriented -- it is a magical, powerful encounter with the divine... authentic kinship... a holy engagement. When we collapse walls that divide us, we build holy places, where everyone is seen and heard. Read more about his sermon in his "Wells We Did Not Dig" blog. And in this blog, he asks us to reflect on what sacred spaces we are creating in our own lives.
In a different vein, Heidi Mastrud, our Director of Congregational Life, wrote in her "Not Hell But Hope" blog about how we can practice radical hospitality at First Universalist.
The purpose of the series is to explore the tensions between the different “maps” that we encounter in life: The consumer culture map, which offers a particular set of values to guide and orient us, versus a spiritual or faith map, which lifts up a different set of values and an entirely different way of being. It is unpacking the idea that it is not surprising that we feel disoriented, lost, confused or bewildered at times, because today's cultural map can't sustain us or truly nurture our spirits. We are creating a new map together in this series!