The Love People

The Love People

February 16 2014

Rev. Dr. Gaye W. Ortiz

Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta

The other week my mother, who lives at St John Towers, called me because she was planning to do an opening devotion for one of the meetings there, and she couldn’t find an article she’d saved about how Valentine’s Day began. So she asked me for help, and I found it on the Internet…and I told her,  “it says that Valentine’s Day was started by Hallmark!”

That wasn’t the answer she was looking for, but most of us might well have believed that after this past Friday. If you wanted to buy a Valentine’s Day card, you had to wade through a slew of over-the-top, slushy, red-heart-covered cards.

You might have been less than impressed with the rhymes, but here are some maybe you missed:

“I’d give up all my savings, My credit card limit too, If it meant that I could get Some interest from you.” http://www.itsbullfrog.com

“Roses are red violets are blue, I love chocolate more than you!”

“I thought that I could love no other

Until, that is, I met your brother.”

“What inspired this amorous rhyme? Two parts vodka, one part lime.” (funny.com)

There is a Polish proverb that says “The greatest love is a mother’s;

Then comes a dog’s;

Then comes a sweetheart’s.”

We might associate that love for a sweetheart, especially on Valentine’s Day, with one of the six Greek types of love, eros; that’s romantic love, which has an element of desire and sexual passion. Eros is named after the Greek god of fertility. It is the kind of irrational love into which we can fall ‘madly’ – and that apparently scared the Greeks, because that meant a loss of control.

It may surprise you to know that we can find a healthy respect for erotic love and mutual desire in the Bible, as seen in the Song of Solomon, in which, as Marcia Falk says in the Harper’s Bible Commentary, ‘men and women praise each other for their sensuality and their beauty.” Here are just 3 verses from Ch 7:6-9:

How fair and pleasant you are

O loved one, delectable maiden!

You are stately as a palm tree

And your breasts are like its clusters.

I say I will climb the palm tree

And lay hold of its branches.

Oh may your breasts be like

Clusters of the vine,

And the scent of your breath like apples

And your kisses like the best wine

That goes down smoothly

Gliding over lips and teeth. (Song of Sol 7:6-9)

Probably not read in church as much as other verses from the Bible!

The second type of Greek love is still interpersonal in nature; philia is the type of love that is seen in deep friendship and even love for your family, because it involves loyalty and even sacrificing yourself for those you love. It was the type of love that Greek soldiers on the battlefield would develop for each other, as in the term ‘band of brothers.’

The third is ludus, playful affection, the kind of affectionate teasing we have as young children with friends as we play together, or as friends hanging out together.

Pragma is the type of mature love that exists between people who have been together for a long time; an understanding, tolerant, and patient love of the type that psychoanalyst Erich Fromm referred to when he said that “we expend too much energy on ’falling in love’ and need to learn more about how to ‘stand in love’.”

Of course, there is also self-love, the Greek word is philautia. This love of self can be a negative, narcissistic variety, or a version that displays security in one’s own skin, so that, as Aristotle described it, “All friendly feelings for others are an extension of a man’s feelings for himself.” It enhances our own ability to love.

And then the final type of love, agape or selfless love, which is given to strangers as well as loved ones. It has been variously described as universal loving-kindness in Buddhism, or having the meaning ‘charity’ in Latin. It is the highest form of Christian love, called ‘gift love’ by C.S. Lewis.

(http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/the-ancient-greeks-6-words-for-love-and-why-knowing-them-can-change-your-life)

Thinking about these different types of love, we might realize that there is much more love in our lives than we would at first have thought, a consoling thought hopefully. And we might also realize that one person cannot personify all the possible varieties of love, unlike the saccharine sweet romantic ideal of our Valentine; what a burden to place on someone we love, when we expect them to provide all the varieties of love that we need in our lives.

Knowing about these types of love also helps us to think about the natural way our relationships can change, mature, and deepen over time.

And I’d like to go back to agape love, because when we experience agape love, and we join together with such powerful loving energies, we are capable of using that force for good. As Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote, “Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” (http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/2102-love-does-not-consist-of-gazing-at-each-other-but)

And so, we could say that life is a balancing act, and that the more we integrate the six different types of love within our lives, the more whole and healthy we will be emotionally and spiritually. As our reading from Muhyiddin ibn Arabi says, “My heart has become able 
To take on all forms.”

Maybe having all those forms of love in our lives makes love ordinary, in the sense of being commonplace…not that we should take love for granted, but that love is a normal state of being, a normal part of being human. Ordinary love – when U2 sing about it, I think the meaning is pretty clear. "We can't fall any further if we can't feel ordinary love. And we can't reach any higher, If we can't deal with ordinary love.” Think about the two extremes of love – self-love, love that is only concerned with ourselves; “We can't fall any further if we can't feel ordinary love.” If we can’t get beyond self-love, how can we truly fall deeper into love with anyone else? “We can't reach any higher, If we can't deal with ordinary love”: and if we don’t love ourselves, we can’t then open ourselves up to loving others, or to use the transforming power of love for others.

"Ordinary Love" was a song written to honor Nelson Mandela and it’s included in the biography film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. After decades in prison, being freed and elected as the president, Mandela wanted to rebuild South Africa, but this couldn’t be possible if all the people of South Africa remained angry and full of hate.

(http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/u2-inspired-by-mandela-on-ordinary-love-20131121#ixzz2swQST500)

So love is vital when it comes to transforming the world. But we know that when we open ourselves to love – loving ourselves, loving another, or loving the world – we pay a price in being vulnerable.

Both daring to love, and receiving love, bring us to a place of vulnerability. That is why it is so difficult to open up to love. But that is also why we come here – because it is a safe place, because here we try to model what it means to love and accept one another and to encourage spiritual growth.

Lisa Friedman writes about how the Standing on the Side of Love campaign began:

It “was born out of the tragic shootings in our sister congregation, the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC) in Knoxville, TN. On July 27, 2008, Jim David Adkisson walked into the church’s sanctuary during the performance of a children’s musical and began firing a shotgun, killing two and injuring six. Among the fatalities were members of TVUUC and Westside Unitarian Universalist Church, also in Knoxville. In a letter later found by police, Adkisson said that he targeted the church because of its liberal values—including its openness to gays and lesbians. He wrote of his beliefs that ‘The UU church is the Fountainhead [sic], the veritable wellspring of anti-American organizations like Moveon.org, Code Pink, and other un-American groups.’

But after the shooting, both Knoxville congregations pledged to remain open and welcoming, and in fact chose to embrace their inclusive and loving spirit even more boldly in the days that followed, supported by their wider community and religious neighbors. In doing so, they also drew on their Unitarian Universalist heritage, which [like Nelson Mandela,] consistently urges us to choose love over hate and fear.

This was the profound and radical insight of our Universalist forbears – that if Love comes from God, then there can be no exceptions. Love cannot be just for one, or some of us. If it is for any of us, it must be for all. Love cannot be just for those with loud voices, but also for the voiceless. Love cannot be just for those with power, but also for those who are marginalized. Love cannot be just for those who still hope, but also for those who despair that help and hope will ever come.”

(Standing on the Side of Love by Lisa Friedman)

Since then, UUs have worn yellow t-shirts whenever they have been involved in public witness. They are the visible sign that we are standing on the side of love.

Some of you have heard me speak about the UUA General Assembly held in Phoenix three years ago, where we had a mass public witness at Sherriff Arpaio’s tent city detention center. When we arrived wearing our t-shirts, there were other protesters there, many of them relatives of those detained, almost every one Latino. They saw our t-shirts and described us as ‘the love people’ – ‘the love people are here’.

And so it is that we UUs are seen, and more importantly how we need to be seen, in a period in American history when the poor and disadvantaged are being targeted for cuts to services they desperately need, in favor of the bottom line of the almighty dollar; where working class people are ignored and ridiculed when they ask for a decent living wage and for states to allow them access to healthcare coverage that truly benefits not only them and their families, but the functioning of a fair and flourishing economy.

We need to be seen at a time when our environment is being threatened, when changes in the climate are being ignored at best and denied at worst; when our earth is being poisoned by Fukushima, our water supply is under serious threat of vanishing in some parts of this country and around the world, and our land is under threat of being ravaged by fracking and by ill-conceived and immoral projects like the XL pipeline.

Maybe people in powerful positions at all levels of government need to be challenged to show a little more love, and not just love for money or power. As Harvey Milk said, “It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions.”

It simply takes love. So in case people ask us why we say we are standing on the side of love, and what possibly could mean, I commend to you the words of Julie-Ann Silberman-Bunn:

         We are standing on the side of love when we seek to house the homeless. We are standing on the side of love when we seek to feed the hungry. We are standing on the          side of love when we seek clean water for those who have none.

         We are standing on the side of love when we make health care available to those in need of preventative medicine and medicine to heal their bodies. We are standing on the          side of love when we offer education to those who have gone without knowing the joys of learning. We are standing on the side of love when we reunite families separated by war and government policies. We are standing on the side of love when we give all people the choice of marrying their partner in a civil ceremony. We are standing on the side of love when we recognize that love makes a family. We are standing on the side of love when we open our hearts to all people as they are accepting one another and encouraging each other’s spiritual growth. (Standing on the Side of Love: Re-imagining Valentines Day by Julie-Ann Silberman-Bunn)

Love is that radical. Love is that simple. Our hearts are big enough to give love and to stand on the side of love. We can stand together and say,

“I believe in the religion


Of Love


Whatever direction its caravans may take,


For love is my religion and my faith.”

May we be the ones who make it so, Blessed Be, Amen.

G. Ortiz

Leader of the Pack and Other Fables

Leader of the Pack and Other Fables

Rev. Dr. Gaye Ortiz

Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta

February 2, 2014

Introduction

I was conscious when I was writing this sermon that this was the week of the State of the Union address.

President Obama said during his speech that as the country’s executive he will lead by example. I was reminded that sometimes for ministers, leading by example is a pretty high bar to set for ourselves.

The Reverend Billy Graham tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. He wanted to mail a letter, and so he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, "If you'll come to the Church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to Heaven."

The boy said. ""I don't think I'll be there, you don't even know your way to the post office."

So it is my contention this morning that we are all leaders. Do you think that is so? Well, here’s how we’re going to find out:

THE QUIZ

The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and tells whether you are qualified to be a “leader.” The questions are not that difficult.

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?


The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe and close the door.


--This question tests whether you overthink – that is, tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?


Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant and close the refrigerator.


Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door.


--This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference, all the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?


Correct Answer: The Elephant. The Elephant is in the refrigerator.


--This tests your memory.

Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?


Correct Answer: You swim across. All the Crocodiles are attending the Animal Conference!


--This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

According to Andersen Consulting World wide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong.  http://www.rare-leadership.org/humor_on_work-business-leadership-success.html

Leadership Models

But there is no magic set of questions that can tell us who would make a good leader. So how do we know what a good leader is? We most likely rely on the images or stereotypes that we are most familiar with in our culture; many of them come from the stories or fables we know from childhood that we have never really critically examined.

There are several types of leaders that we find in our fables of leadership, all involving the dynamic of leader-follower:

Leader of the Pack – I know you’re thinking I am really too young to remember the original song by the Shangri-las but the story is a tragic one, about a girl who falls for the leader of the motorcycle pack: think Marlon Brando in The Wild One: leathers, testosterone, perched on a Triumph Thunderbird with a cigarette hanging from his lips. This is the kind of leader who defends his status, and who seeks to defeat the enemy with the help of a loyal band: Peter Pan has his own pack, lovable but ready to defend him to the death, like TinkerBelle, before she is saved by the chorus of voices of those who believe. Robin Hood is another noble leader of the pack, whose roguish behavior is virtuous because he robs the rich to give to the poor. His followers swear allegiance to him and fight on his behalf against the men of the sheriff of Nottingham.

Me Tarzan, You Jane – this image drips with machismo: remember Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O’Sulivan in the old black and white Tarzan movies? It is odd how a perfectly capable, independent western woman comes under the spell of the ‘ape-man’ who lives with the great apes of Africa, and becomes his feisty but loyal mate.

Snow White and Cinderella suffer from the “Some day my prince will come” complex of helplessness, in which they are rescued from oppression and even for Snow White, death, by the prince of their dreams. And the creepy tale of Beauty and the Beast – a monster who holds a young woman against her will, resulting in a Stockhold syndrome plot twist when she falls in love with her captor. This model is so bound up with our deeply ingrained cultural notions of gender, we could be here all day discussing it…

Father Knows Best – this is a model of leadership originating in a patronizing, yet benevolent, patriarchal dictatorship. We can recall Biblical patriarchs, such as Noah, who in the face of ridicule and disbelief builds an ark because God tells him to; Abraham, who is within inches of sacrificing his young son Isaac because God tells him to; even some secular dictatorships, like that of Stalin, portray the leader as a father-figure who is doing what is best for his subjects (even if it means the deaths of millions).

Now, all of these models rely on leaders and followers; even a couple of culturally inappropriate terms for leadership, like ‘low man on the totem pole’ and ‘too many chiefs and not enough Indians’ are predicated on the subordination of some to the authority of others.

Leadership as Service

If we look in the Gospels at the story of Jesus and the 12 Disciples, it starts basically the same way as the other fables of leadership: one man who calls others to be in his band of followers. It is implied that belonging to this group, however, is a step up from their current occupations – instead of being fishermen, which most were, they would become ‘fishers of men.’ And then Jesus proceeds to confound the disciples’ ideas of what it means to follow him. One example is the famous washing of the feet that is the climax of the final Passover meal he shares with them, found in the 13^th chapter of the Gospel of John; this is the story as told in The Voice translation of the Bible:

[Jesus] stood up from dinner and removed His outer garments. He then wrapped Himself in a towel, 5 poured water in a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with His towel.

Simon Peter (as Jesus approaches): 6 Lord, are You going to wash my feet?

Jesus: 7 Peter, you don’t realize what I am doing, but you will understand later.

Peter: 8 You will not wash my feet, now or ever!

Jesus: If I don’t wash you, you will have nothing to do with Me.

Peter: 9 Then wash me but don’t stop with my feet. Cleanse my hands and head as well.

“After Jesus finishes washing their feet, he puts his outer garment back on and returns to his place, asking, Do you understand what I have done for you? (v. 12).” It seems that the disciples “can at least grasp his act as an example of humility. Jesus' understanding of the characteristics of a teacher and a [leader] are quite different from those of the disciples and their culture.

One Bible commentary says that “While they are reeling from this embarrassing event, Jesus spells out the implications for their own lives of what he has done: Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you (vv. 14-15). What does Jesus have in mind?  The community Jesus has brought into being is to manifest the love of God that he has revealed through serving one another with no vestige of pride or position. There will be recognized positions of leadership within the new community, but the exercise of leadership is to follow this model of servanthood.” http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/John/Jesus-Washes-Disciples-Feet

Jesus then says: 15 I am your example; keep doing what I do.

And he concludes: 17 If you know these things, and if you put them into practice, you will find happiness.

So in making the disciples ‘fishers of men,’ Jesus passes on to them the meaning of their calling; and that meaning is service. No jockeying for position or status – when that does occur between the disciples, he stops it and draws them back again to the mission he has set for them: whatever you did to the least of my brothers and sisters, so you did to Me.

Democracy depends on those same concepts of being called and being of service. John Buehrens writes, “Blessed are you who know that the work of the church is transformation of society, who have a vision of Beloved Community transcending the present, and who do not shrink from controversy, sacrifice, or change. Blessed are you indeed.” (O-T, IX)

In November I was at the Ministers’ retreat at The Mountain with the theologian Matthew Fox, who spoke to us about the training of prophets. Prophets are called and many times they resist, because they know that answering the call might lead them out of a safe place and into the unknown. But Fox said the way to discern your calling is to ask yourself honestly: What brings you alive? What breaks your heart? What do you want to do? What keeps you from doing it?

When we answer those questions truthfully then we find, perhaps surprisingly, what leads us to be of service to the greater good. Tom Owen-Towle says that “each of our chosen congregations is a potentially mighty group, full of power and purpose” (Growing a Beloved Community: Twelve Hallmarks of a Healthy Congregation, Apr 2004, 24). We are surprised just as the disciples were, to find out that using that power and purpose turns us all into leaders of one sort or another.

And we go back to the question, how do we know what a good leader is? When we are identifying our gifts, which ones stand out as being qualities we need in the leadership of this congregation?

Well, there is a story about the abolitionist preacher Henry Ward Beecher – one day a person went to him and said, “Mr. Beecher, I have a good horse to sell. He’s a good family horse, works double or alone, is gentle, intelligent, not easily frightened, will stand without hitching and is thoroughly sound and reliable.” Mr. Beecher replied, “ I can’t buy your horse, sir, but I’d like to have it as a member of my congregation.” (Owen-Towle 75)

The Generosity of Leadership

I would say that the quality most needed from leaders is generosity; just as Jesus made the extravagant gesture of washing feet, so generous that it embarrassed the disciples, a leader who can give of oneself to others is of most benefit.

And this makes sense, although it might not be the quality you were thinking of; without generosity, love can’t be given fully; justice is acted out only according to law and not compassion; and how can a leader give much in the way of her time and talent without generosity? The little artist in our story this morning (Dot, Peter H. Reynolds) creates a dot; that’s all she thinks she can do, but it becomes a masterpiece. And through her encouragement and generous spirit, others discover their talents.

Generosity means an open heart, and it also means flexibility, which is what we need in navigating the tensions of leadership  … “like surfing on a wave, we always need to be reading the conditions of these tensions and adjusting our leadership to try to achieve the perfect balance” ("7 leadership tensions in growing churches,” Rich Birch, unSeminary blog, January 2014):

One of these tensions is balancing an inward focus on the people who are already connected to our church with being outwardly focused on who we haven’t reached yet.

Another is the tension between relationships vs system; as much as we love each other and feel like a family we realize that families and churches and all organizations function as systems.

It is interesting to read the Book of Acts in the New Testament because we see the ancient Christian church dealing with the dawning reality that someone had to develop a system for serving people. In this church we all take a lead in this through our covenant, in which we spell out how we intend to be together. And we have a system of a board of trustees and committees that spreads the work among us.

The modern church is made up of a core of paid and volunteer leadership. The “professionals” amongst us in the church can’t do everything, but at the same time … paid staff help the ministry move forward in a way that totally volunteer driven organizations just can’t do.

Another tension for leaders arises from the fact that we’re called human ‘beings’ … not human ‘doings’. As leaders we are called to “do” even when we don’t feel like it – as the song says, You gotta do when the Spirit says ‘do’ – sometimes that means doing things that will lead to internal transformation in us that will then allow us to lead others there. Some times we have to act before we become. That is why our leadership workshop is so important: if you don’t feel like you are a leader yet, you can do some soulwork in order to become one.

And finally, the energy and activity that is happening in our church is a good thing … but we need to worry about how we’re reaching the people who aren’t here yet. We need to be content on the inside with what we’ve done while, at the same time, feel the pull to look beyond where we are today. 

Stepping Up to Leadership

Our opening hymn is what was known as a ‘map song’, back during the days of slavery and the underground railroad. It was announcing an attempt to escape and an invitation to join. What was it we sang: I asked my brothers to come and go with me, I asked my sisters to come and go with me, If they say no I’ll go anyhow…

Unitarian Universalists have led in the struggle for civil rights and equal rights; many other faith communities have been reluctant to join us but we’ve gone anyhow. And this determination to lead into the future can be seen on a small scale too – in fact, this is what the leaders of UUCA are doing with the focus on technology this year, because we know that many of our visitors are not walking in blindly not knowing anything about us; they’ve already checked us out on our website. Keeping up that website, which is our map for those seeking a new religious home, is vital. Leaders have to make decisions about things that they might not necessarily need themselves, but recognize that in order to engage new or potential members – including the children of this congregation – we need to step up our technological know-how.

Leaders in this church are busy and inspired, and the Board executive committee wants to meet with you at 12:30 to tell you about the work they’ve been doing. Specifically, the board has been working with me on our developmental goals – and leadership development is the primary one.

The workshop next Saturday could go a long way towards helping us reach that goal, but only if our members turn out to support it. You don’t even have to pay to come! But it is important to inspire the members of this congregation to step up as new leaders. We all admire the long-term leaders who we have grown to trust and to rely on – but the flipside of that is burnout, people who are relied upon for too long simply need a break; and in a democratic organization everyone steps up to take a turn. The Unitarian preacher Theodore Parker says - ours is a faith of the people, by the people, for the people – that was such a meaningful phrase that Abraham Lincoln borrowed it.

The 19^th-century Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard said that “most parishioners think that God is the director of this play called ‘Life’; that the minister is a lead actor, and that the congregation is the audience.” But in his own analysis: “the congregation are the actors, God is the audience, and ministers are the prompters, supplying forgotten lines.”

Owen-Towle concludes that “the job of a minister is to lift up the duties and destinies – the lines – that a church tends to forget or lose sight of.” (24) That description is especially appropriate for my role as developmental minister; it is the congregation through the board who have set these goals, and I am here to help you keep sight of them.

One thing we can do right now is to realize the vision of our interim minister from a few years ago, Rev. Roy Reynolds. He asked us to revamp our Nominating Committee so that it would become the Leadership Development Committee. In doing that we will make it easier to create a culture of service and leadership. The job of identifying leaders for the next church year will begin soon: and we need your help. So please take a copy of a short questionnaire as you go out, fill it in over coffee and then return it to the basket on the front table before you leave today. This congregation needs all hands on deck; let it never be said of you what one minister declared in the course of delivering a long tribute at a memorial service: pointing to the casket, he said solemnly, “ladies and gentlemen, this member was a corpse in our church for 20 years!” (O-T, 30)

To those who have recently begun attending, and to those who have been with us a while longer but who have never gotten around to joining the church: Pathway to membership is a way you can begin to think about how you can contribute to the mission of this church.

We take our mission seriously – we read it this morning and it’s always printed on the back of the order of service. Next Sunday is the first Pathway to Membership class, UU Heritage, followed on Mar. 2nd by Community and Connection.

Ours is a faith tradition that should make us proud to be of service to it, and Unitarian Universalism has produced many notable leaders in this history of this country. The insert section of the Order of Service mentions just 3 of these: the Sharps and Adlai Stevenson were shining stars during a dark period of history, the 2^nd World War. They put their UU values to work to preserve freedom and democracy. The first verse of the closing hymn we will sing this morning could have been written about them:

With heart and mind and voice and hand

may we this time and place transcend

to make our purpose understood:

a mortal search for mortal good,

a firm commitment to the goal

of justice, freedom, peace for all.

Two more notable UU leaders from a more recent period of history, the civil rights struggle, the Rev. James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo, gave their lives while working to build the Beloved Community, answering the call from Dr. Martin Luther King to come to Selma. Listen to the second verse that we will sing, and think of them:

A mind that’s free to seek the truth;

a mind that’s free in age and youth

to choose a path no threat impedes,

wherever light of conscience leads.

Our martyrs died so we could be

a church where every mind is free.

And for me, the third and final verse is talking about – us, each and every one of us, where each of our gifts are spirit-filled and can be used to open the door to all those who need us, who need our free liberal religion.

A heart that’s kind, a heart whose search

makes Love the spirit of our church,

where we can grow and each one’s gift

is sanctified, and spirits lift,

where every door is open wide

for all who choose to step inside.

(With Heart and Mind, #300 in Singing the Living Tradition)

We are all called; we are all called to serve; and we are all called to lead.  That is what I believe.

May we be the ones who make it so, blessed be, Amen.

Gaye W. Ortiz

Art and Spirituality: To Satisfy the Hungry Eye

Art and Spirituality: To Satisfy the Hungry Eye

Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta

January 5, 2014

It could be said that each of our lives at the start of a New Year is a blank canvas. As we heard in the Time for All Ages, we can be open at this time of year to new experiences, new possibilities. A quote by the Zen Buddhist teacher Shunryu Suzuki is worth sharing: "In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few." Lynn Ungar, editor of the Church of the Larger Fellowship’s Quest newsletter, says, “when we are experts at something, we know how it is supposed to be done. We are ready to judge whether we, or anyone else, are doing it the ‘right’ way. But with Beginner’s Mind there is the possibility that the ‘right’ way could turn out to be entirely different than what the experts had imagined.” (‘Resources for Living,’ Quest, Jan 2014, 7)

Grown-ups usually say they can’t paint or draw, they don’t know the right way to do it…but our children have no such inhibitions!

I first began painting in the late 1970s when we lived in England as a very young military family; I taught framing and crafts at the base arts and crafts center. Then when we moved to San Antonio I decided I wanted to work on a degree, and one of my classes was an art class. I was really hoping to learn the ‘right’ way to paint, since I had been self-taught, and I enjoyed the class. One day because our daughter Molly wasn’t in school I took her with me to class; to my chagrin the instructor totally ignored my work but obviously enjoyed seeing Molly paint!

Sometimes our creativity is stifled because we are too concerned with being seen to know what we are doing…but the creative impulse actually thrives on the experience of not knowing! The first stroke of the paintbrush is a commitment, but not to what you’re ‘supposed’ to do. It’s a commitment to opening yourself up to something new, to many possibilities – including the possibility that actually you might not be really good at it, but enjoying it anyhow – it’s what Suzuki describes as Beginner’s Mind, a state in Buddhism that is considered creative and optimistic. Shoshin is the state of being open, of being without assumptions or preconceptions.

Another concept in Buddhism that I associate with this openness to creativity is the phrase, ‘heart and hand are one’. It comes from Carol Ring, who reflects on beauty and the calligraphy of Chinese Buddhists in the Spring 2013 issue of Parabola magazine. Ring writes that the innermost secret of calligraphy is oneness, which “like all secrets, has to be revealed. A revelation that both comes of itself and takes years to attain. So often it is my disconnectedness that I become aware of. So many efforts are necessary before this effortless unity appears. For a moment, heart and hand unite and there is a brief taste of being completely engaged: at one within myself and with the practice.” (Ring, "Shodo: the Way of the Brush," Parabola, Spring 2013, 65).

This must be what the artist Cezanne meant when he said, “A minute in the world’s life passes! To paint it in its reality, and forget everything for that! To become that minute, to be the sensitive plate…give the image of what we see, forgetting everything that has appeared before our time.” (John Berger, Ways of Seeing,1972, 31)

As with other opposites - body and spirit, being and doing, center and extremity –we live our daily lives within these creative tensions. “Heart moving the hand, spirit and body reunited and whole,” Ring says this engagement is a “returning to original unity”.

And this is what, in a very different context, John O’Donohue was talking about when he wrote the blessing we heard earlier, for “the artist at the start of day” (from To Bless the Space Between Us) – the artist as a vessel for what wants to ascend from silence, ‘the gift within you’ that is beyond imitation, ‘something original…grow[ing] stronger in your heart.’ I love the image that he creates with the phrase ‘to surprise the hungry eye’ and I want to explore it a bit more in depth. Why do we feel the urge to create? Is it a real hunger that drives artists to create something new out of the stillness?

Using the term to “surprise” the hungry eye is to make a statement about the unpredictable impact of the visual image. The theologian William Lynch says, “the images that a person perceives can carry a profound impact in a person’s life. But he then goes on to argue that “People not only perceive, but they perceive according to a pattern, a paradigm, an imagination or according to a faith.” (Gerald Bednar, Faith as Imagination, 1996, 140). 

So even though an artist may be open to the possibilities of creativity, our reaction to art as observers is driven by how it conforms to our paradigm or confounds it. It sounds strange to us now, but Edvard Munch’s artwork entitled The Scream, done in an early Expressionist style that portrayed emotions through distorting form and color, caused such an uproar when it was first exhibited that the Berlin exhibit of 1892 was closed. Munch, on the other hand, was quoted as saying, “I want to paint pictures that will make people take off their hats in awe, the way they do in church." (Munch, The Scream, http://www.thecaveonline.com/APEH/scream.html)

I must say that when we were hanging these beautiful pieces of art yesterday I stopped frequently in awe – if I’d had on a hat maybe I would have taken it off!

It was then that I understood what the writer and broadcaster John Berger means when he writes that “every image embodies a way of seeing…the more imaginative the work, the more profoundly it allows us to share the artist’s experience of the visible.” (Ways of Seeing, 10)

So there are two different perspectives in any piece of art, the way the artist sees it, and the way another person sees it. And even within those perspectives, Berger reminds us that we employ assumptions, or to use Lynch’s term, a paradigm, based on beauty, truth, genius, status, and taste, to name a few cultural norms. We can be awestruck, or we can be let down, even offended, by what we see – the ‘surprise’ for the hungry eye. People use the term ‘taste’, as in ‘it’s not my taste in art’, but there is really so much more going on than that.

I come back again to the hunger that is articulated by John O’Donohue, because we may have a spiritual hunger that can be expressed or satisfied by the act of creating. And the creativity of an artist can spark a spiritual connection in us.

The composer Aaron Copeland said that

“a masterwork awakens in us reactions of a spiritual order that are already in us, only waiting to be aroused. When Beethoven’s music exhorts us to be noble, be compassionate be strong, he awakens moral ideas that are already within us. His music cannot persuade; it makes evident…A concert is not a sermon. It is a performance – a reincarnation of a series of ideas implicit in the work of art.” (Bednar, 138)

And since we have called this our month of art and spirituality, for those who need to know more about what that means, I like the description by Veronica Brady: “Genuine spirituality, like art, is open and dynamic...both are the hope of a world so badly in need of transformation” (http://www.ru.org/81brady.html). She goes on to say, “Art reminds us that life is stranger, more beautiful, demanding, joyous and painful than common sense knows.  The holy then, is mysterious.  It underlies the vision of tragedy and, indeed, of any good novel which gives us a glimpse into the mysteries of the human condition.  Far from being unworldly or abstract, this mystery exists in the midst of our lives.”

We may hear during this month about the way in which our artists seek to make meaning, or paint to express the feelings or desires they have. And even when they know what it is they want to see on the canvas, the resulting image still may surprise, delight, or horrify them. There is something unleashed and mysterious that they cannot control, sometimes a completely different image results…and this creative space can be where they confront the transcendent and transforming power of art. The artistic impulse creates something that escapes control, surprising the artist whose hand is responsible for that very creation.

Henri Matisse said that ‘creativity takes courage’; I would suggest that the artist who accepts the wild nature of her art, in the sense that it is untamed and unanswerable even to her, paints as much with courage as with color. This courageous attitude is expressed by artist Terry Lee Getz this way: “I will risk plumbing unknown depths that release and fulfill my spirit, and I’ve arrived at a point in my life, creative or otherwise, where the ‘unknown’ is my preferred orientation.” (“Embracing the Unknown” in Siminaitis, Kaleidoscope, 2007, 126)

As I was writing this sermon the other evening, our daughter Molly sent a message on Facebook, a quote from Gilda Radner, that wonderful and much-missed comedian: “Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.....Delicious Ambiguity.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that every artist was once an amateur. Rather than use the common definition, which is someone who is not very good at what they are doing, I go back to the root word, which is Latin for ‘to love.’ An ‘amateur’ does something out of love and not for gain.

But amateurs as well as established professional artists need to keep their creative juices flowing - love may not be enough! Writer and artist Jill Jones identifies seven concepts that are at the heart of any creative project (“Keeping Your Creative Spirit Alive” in Kaleidoscope 2007, 122-3), and I thought I would conclude my message this morning by listing them for you. If this month of art and spirituality has inspired you to try your hand at some kind of artistic endeavor, then this list might be very handy.

First, Jones suggests that we find ‘religion’ by establishing the habit of working regularly on the creative plane; if we consistently, ‘religiously’ carve out designated time in our calendar and treat it as ‘sacred time,’ we are more likely to go to that space and create.

Second, a way to start off the morning right might be with some sort of ritual to situate ourselves in that creative space; Jones says this can take many different forms, from reciting mantras, lighting candles, to ‘singing four songs in the shower’. The action we decide to take, she says, is not as significant as the meaning we grant to it.

Third, talk back to your self-talk. Never mind the way others can be judgmental, your own self-talk can be negative and even abusive, so be proactive and think of ways to get rid of the trash-talk in your head, even perhaps by writing down answers to your negative self-talk and practicing them out loud.

‘Work with what you have’ is her 4^th piece of advice. We have limitations and some of them might be financial, so if we can’t afford top-notch materials, then recycled materials from the kitchen can make good art. But Jones says, “The more important elements needed in the equation are passion, courage, focus, motivation, desire and follow-through. If we think we have to wait until all the stars are aligned and all our ideal conditions are met, we will never move any closer to our goals.” (123)

Fifth, begin again: if you have a day when things don’t go well, it doesn’t mean all is lost – rather, there is another day to begin again. Jones says, “Learn to work in the middle of things and not wait for inspiration or a magical burst of energy. The muse will visit more often if you are working on a regular basis.” (123)

The sixth piece of advice follows on from the fifth one, and it is ‘do whatever it takes’. Keep moving forward and “stay open to opportunities to learn about yourself and the world. Love your creative expressions, and do whatever it takes to keep at it.” (123)

Finally, establish a supportive network. Jones says that we need to find others who enjoy working together and learning, people who will be positive influences and who will cheer you on in your creative endeavors. She says we need to weed out those negative people who discourage you; who form, in the words of John O’Donohue, “the sticky web of the personal with its hurt and its hauntings and fixed fortress corners.”

With these seven concepts, the artist can hope to maintain a positive and creative approach. Come to think of it, just like the blank canvas of life that we spoke about earlier, those seven points can also apply to our lives. If we get into the habit, start the morning right, end negative self-talk, work with what we have, have the courage to begin again and do whatever it takes to move forward, supporting our creativity by establishing a supportive network, then we too can create what O’Donohue calls ‘a rhythm not yet heard’ – that rhythm that is our own life’s unique work of art.

May each of us find the courage to accept the mystery of existence and the lack of control over our lives, and yet, in the face of it, resolve to make the best of what we’ve been given… and as we reach to put the brush to the blank canvas, may our possibilities continue to be many.

Blessed be, Amen.

Rev. Dr. Gaye Ortiz

1/5/2014