---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rodret69@aol.com <Rodret69@aol.com >
Date: Jan 13, 2007 8:09 PM
FINDING A SENSE OF SACRED PURPOSE
Rev. Dr. Rodney R. Romney
January 14, 2007
Many of us, as we were growing up, were encouraged to make resolutions at the beginning of each year. I suspect that the purpose of that practice was to help us live better, more responsible lives. While I no longer make New Year's resolutions as such, from time to time I do take a kind of inner inventory of my life as a means of trying to decide what I need to let go and what I still want to accomplish in my life. In that process, I have come to realize that finding a sense of sacred purpose is probably the most important task we ever undertake.
The desire of most persons is to find answers to the following questions: Who am I? What did I come here to do? What is the ultimate meaning of life? What must I do to find that meaning? What do I really believe? These questions represent the search for a sacred purpose in life, a search that is always with us.
A minister friend, recently retired, wrote this to me recently: "I am not sure anymore what I believe." I wrote back applauding him for his honesty and assuring him I was going through a similar process. I told him that I had experienced retirement as a time to look honestly at all my beliefs. It became an ongoing and inner process of modification and change.
After retirement ministers find themselves totally free from the critical observations and strict expectations of a congregation. At that point they are independent, perhaps for the first time since entering the ministry, so they can explore their theology and other faith systems more critically than ever before, discarding what doesn't work for them and perhaps seeking in new directions. In that respect, I am grateful to have come to a place in my life where I can test out what I do or don't believe, while continuing to seek the sacred purpose of my life.
Every person is on this earth for a special purpose, and that purpose is essentially spiritual. That spiritual purpose remains and defines the main reason for being here on earth. It represents the work we have come here to do.
A writer, whose name I have temporarily lost, once said, "We are not on this earth as physical beings having a spiritual experience, we are here as spiritual beings having a physical experience." In other words, we are here to explore and to acknowledge the spiritual aspect of our being, which we brought with us. That spiritual aspect is different for all of us, but at its highest it is always rooted and grounded in a love that is supreme and all-inclusive.
Author Stephen Levine once wrote, "If you had one hour to live and could make only one call, to whom would it be, what would you say, and why are you waiting?" Under-lying his question was the assumption that the one we most need to get in touch with is our own soul. That raises an even more penetrating question, "What is the soul?"
I remember many years ago asking that question of one of my seminary professors. I can still hear his answer: "Each of us is a trinity: a body, a mind, and a spirit. If we disregard this trinity of being, and focus only on the body and mind, we fall into the trap of an ego-centered life, where we concentrate primarily on our own wants, needs and accomplishments. But if we accept and cultivate the spiritual dimension that lives in all of us, we will then become who we came here to be, and we will focus on the wants and needs of others, not just our own." That professor obviously equated soul with spirit. He went on to say to me, "In seminary you will be offered many challenges to stimulate your mind. Make sure that in the process you also nourish your soul. It will be the most important thing you can do." That professor is no longer living. I hope he knows how important his answer has been to me through the years.
Fundamentalist Christianity teaches that we are all born sinners and at some point we have to repent of our sins or we will spend eternity burning in a fiery place called hell. I long ago abandoned that kind of theology. What I have embraced instead is a belief in the sacred quality of all life, a belief that extends to each of us a deeper sense of meaning and purpose, and which inspires us to work for the good of each other and for this earth which we all share.
I have learned over the years that every life circumstance, even tragedies and crises, can nourish my soul, if I will allow it. They help me discover something about myself, and they enrich my life. Through the death of one of my older brothers a few years ago, the recent illness of a second older brother, and the death this past week of a dear and close friend in Seattle--through all of these recent losses I have learned that one of the most important relationships in my life is not with my family or friends, dear as they may be. It is with my own soul. My soul teaches me to be loving and forgiving, rather than resentful or harsh. It teaches me to give thanks for those who have blessed and enriched my life and to let them go when the time comes. It encourages me to believe that behind every mistake and tragedy a divine purpose is at work bringing good out of whatever has happened. It is often in our darkest times that we learn the most. Nurturing the soul is what helps us get through those dark times.
In my darkest hours, I have eventually been able to see what an incredible journey I am on and how lovingly I am cared for as I journey.
Generally in religious thought when we speak of the soul, we are talking about the immaterial essence of a person that precedes one's earthly existence and which continues after the body has died. But I think soul is more than that. I like the definition given by Robert Fulghum, who wrote: "Soul is found in the quality of what I am doing. If my activities have a sense of truth and integrity, if they are deep in meaning, then they are rich in soul, and so am I."
To his statement I would add this, "If what I do comes from a sincere sense of love, love for myself and love for everyone and everything, then I am working from the level of my soul." When unconditional love and acceptance emerge from within me I equate that with soul work. That work brings me to a sense of sacred purpose.
A striking example of a person working from a sense of sacred purpose would be Martin Luther King, Jr. He saw beyond the boundaries and hostilities of race, beyond the limitations of violence and vengeance, and found his way to a vision of universal peace and love. That vision (or dream, as he expressed it) defined his work, and because what he did was a gift to everyone, his sacred purpose lives on for all future generations. The civil rights movement that he started laid the groundwork for many subsequent movements of a similar nature. I still can hear him say, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." I heard Martin Luther King speak at an American Baptist Convention in the Midwest a few years before his assassination in 1968. What I did not know immediately was that I was sitting beside his father. Later when Martin Luther King, Sr. introduced and identified himself, he said to me, "My son has found his sacred purpose, and we are all blessed because he has." Indeed we are.
Several years after Martin's death, his widow, Coretta Scott King, was asked what he would have said about the gay/lesbian struggle for equality and acceptance. She replied, "He would have given it his full support, because he ardently believed we need to work against all injustice and discrimination."
I like the passage from Isaiah who said in the 40th chapter of his book, "Those that return to God shall have their strength renewed." When we work from a soul level, in essence we return our life and our work to the guidance and renewal of God, whoever or whatever God may be to us. While today I no longer view God as a Person, I do see God as a mysterious and loving presence that inhabits all life and links us together in mysterious but undeniable ways. I would like to suggest the following ways as means by which we might find the sacred purpose for our own lives.
1. Pay attention. The Buddha calls it being mindful. Look around you and take note of what's going on in the world. Look within and see how you are reacting or responding. Look for meaning and purpose in everything, no matter how evil or mundane it seems. Remember the aphorism: As within, so without. As we learn to pay attention to life and what goes on around us, we may discover ways by which we can help make the world a better place.
2. Look at everyone and everything with love, including yourself, thus eliminating your need to judge. Make a conscious effort to be gentle with others. Perform acts of loving kindness wherever possible, with no expectation of being repaid. Listen to what is going on in the world, and allow your soul to speak to you about what you need to be doing. You cannot do this all at once, but as you practice it, you will find yourself climbing a little higher on the spiritual ladder each day that you live.
You may ask, how can I love the rapist, the child molester, the murderer, when what they do is so incredibly horrible? Loving does not mean ignoring the evil that is committed. It means looking beneath the scarring and hurt that has created the dysfunction in the person creating the crime. It means knowing that those we label as sinners are also those who in many ways have been sinned against. They have been terribly hurt, and sometimes the only way they can deal with that hurt is to hurt others.
Look at them with love and understanding, as best you can.
3. Look for the deeper reality in everyone and everything. There is a spark of divinity and a core of goodness in everything that is. That goodness may be hidden and unrealized, thus unexpressed. But nevertheless, it is still there, waiting to be recognized and called forth. Someone in your life--a parent, a teacher, a minister, a friend, a mate-saw that divinity in you and silently called it forth. Our greatest work is to do that for others. Do this for all forms of life. Everything on this earth has a divine purpose. Do what you can to encourage rather than deter that purpose.
4. Learn what it means to be forgiving, both towards yourself and others. This does not mean that we approve stupid or evil behavior in ourselves or in others. But as we learn to forgive, the good as well as the bad, we will gradually lift ourselves to a higher and more compassionate level. We are all learners and students in this venture called Life, and we all make mistakes from time to time, for which we need to be forgiven. Forgiving ourselves and others is an act of redemption in and of itself, because it has the capability of bringing about freedom and hope.
5. Be an explorer, rather than a settler. Keep studying and exploring new avenues of thought. Allow each day to direct you to new experiences, new concepts and even to new friends. Use your unique and marvelous gift of creativity in such ways that you will leave this world a kinder, more beautiful place just because you have been here.
6. Honor your past and anticipate your future, but always know that your life is not your own. Each of us has been influenced and directed by others, and we have the capability and power to influence and direct others. Our lives are mysteriously linked together and to a higher creative source which some may call God. Whoever or whatever this source may be called, no matter the name we give it, it is an eternal and loving force that inhabits and unites all life, wanting only the highest and the best for each of us.
7. Finally, in all things and in all ways give thanks. To be grateful for everything, the good as well as the bad, is the greatest act of all, for true gratitude springs from a loving heart and emerges from a wisdom that is able to see all life as precious and sacred. Yes, people sometimes behave in foolish and destructive ways, and sometimes that behavior needs to be restrained. But in clear but almost indefinable ways we are all linked together and parts of one another. Give thanks for this invisible connection, for it means we are never alone. Give thanks for the fact that together we can always do more than we can do alone.
The one who has inspired me most to live in this manner is Jesus. He was as fully human as you and I, yet his life is a clear example of one who found his spiritual purpose and dared to live it out, even though it brought about his death. Loving everyone and everything unconditionally, as he did, is the most difficult task we ever undertake. It is also dangerous, as assassinations historically have proved. Yet love is the most important and the most powerful thing we ever do. Love is the only way we will ever find the sacred purpose of life and the only way we will ever achieve world peace.
Our country is now involved in a violent sectarian civil war in Iraq. The United States has had 3000 U.S. military deaths in that war, and thousands have been sent home injured for life. Greater numbers of Iraqi soldiers and civilians are being killed and maimed each day. And now President Bush is calling for a gigantic increase of American troops in Iraq. This war will probably go down as one of the worst cases of bungling in American history. We need to change our direction in Iraq, and we need to do it now. We need to find a way to bring our troops home. Thomas Paine, writing more than two-hundred years ago about the American crisis of his time, said, "These are the times that try men's souls." It is true for us today. The crisis in Iraq is trying the soul of this country, as well as the souls of all of us.
In spite of our present predicament and our lack of competent leadership, we live in a wonderful country with magnificent people. Let's do what we can to bring an end to this war and ensure that future generations will be able to live in peace and enjoy the quality of life that everyone wants.
That is why we need spiritual communities. It is in community that we test out the precepts of love and peace. It is in community that we stretch our vision and learn to accept and share the sacred work we came here to do. Together we can recommit ourselves to being expressions of love, generosity, open-heartedness, and ethical and ecological sensitivity. Together we can work for peace-peace in our lives, in our country, and in the world. Together we can express love and acceptance of all people, regardless of sexual orientation, the issue that today is tearing churches and denominations apart in this country. Together we can continue to be catalysts for religious freedom, for social justice, and for a responsible stewardship of the earth. Together we can be peacemakers in this time of conflict. Together we can help the world find its own sacred purpose.
This is our calling, our work, our sacred purpose. Don't turn back. Don't give up. We're on our way.
--
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
-- Sinclair Lewis
"We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate."
-- Thomas Jefferson
