(NOTE: This is a longer post than normal. It's a rough draft of the sermon I preached on August 26, 2012. As a person of faith, I'm voting NO on both the constitution amendments on the ballot. This sermon explains how my faith informs my thinking.)
Two weeks ago, Jen Crow, our Minister of Program Life, shared
an image of cupped hands in her sermon. She talked about being held in cupped hands – literally, by
the cupped hands of an elder in our congregation, who gently held Jen’s face,
leaned in, and said, “Welcome, we’re so glad you’re here.”
And in that same sermon, Jen talked about how Thomas Potter,
on the shores of New Jersey, over 200 years ago, welcomed the Universalist
preacher John Murray in his own cupped hands, saying to John Murray, “Welcome, I’ve
been waiting for you.”
You see, Thomas Potter believed in Universalism, the idea that
God loves everyone, no exceptions, and he’d built a chapel for such a message
to be preached in; and he was sure that John Murray was that preacher.
I’ve had dozens of conversations with many of you in the
past two weeks, and this image – cupped hands - has resonated deeply.
Cupped hands. Love’s hands: welcoming, holding. If you open these hands wider, and then wider still – then
the cupped hands become Love’s embracing circle. And that – that sense of expanding the embrace - that points
to the heart of our work as people of faith.
What is that work, exactly? The work is becoming Love’s people, of casting a wide
circle, and saying, “Come in; know that you are held by a love that will not
let you go.”This points to the heart of our faith. Indeed, our central religious claim is that we are all
Love’s people. That Love (or God), holds all of us, no exceptions. That’s our religious claim. We are all Love’s people.
As Love’s people, we come together, here, to do holy work:
We welcome, affirm, and protect the light in each human
heart.
We act boldly outside our walls.
We listen with our whole being to where
Love is calling us next.
We’ve been about this work for 153 years, and it is
more important now than ever before. This is the foundation of our faith.
Two weeks ago, Jen Crow spoke about John Murray, one of
the founders of American Universalism. And today, I want to tell you about another
one of our founders – a man named Hosea Ballou. Ballou, like Murray, didn’t start out as a
Universalist. But in his early years, Ballou
had a conversion moment, a turning in his heart. He understood through study
and personal experience, that the God of wrath preached by angry ministers was
a human-made God, a false God. By
removing the false teachings and the flawed, theology, Ballou felt the enduring
God of love. It was a powerful
experience for him.
Once he began to preach and believe that once we know
ourselves fully and deeply loved, then we are able to love, to do good in the
world. Perhaps impossible to believe, but true, insisted Ballou.
To give you a sense of his fervent believe in Universalism, let me tell you a story. One day, he was out riding
on the preaching circuit (preaching Universalism), when he stopped for the
night at a New England farmhouse. The farmer, it turns out, was in deep distress. He confided
to Ballou that his son was a terror who got drunk in the village every night
and who fooled around with women. The farmer was afraid the son would go to
hell.
"All right," said Ballou with a serious face.
"We'll find a place on the path where your son will be coming home drunk,
and we'll build a big fire, and when he comes home, we'll grab him and throw
him into it."
The farmer was shocked: "That's my son and I love him!” Ballou said, "If you, a human and imperfect father,
love your son so much that you wouldn’t throw him in the fire, then how can you
possibly believe that God, a perfect father, would do so!" (as told by the
Rev. Linda Stowell).
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Obviously, we no longer think of God as a father. But this story speaks to the heart of our faith: Hell is
not in the equation. Knowing we are loved, the church, then, becomes a place
where we practice truly becoming Love’s people. Church is where we bring our broken, hurt, and confused
selves, and where we learn to hold each other in cupped hands, where we learn we
can rest in a deep ocean of love.We believe in a God, or a Love, that holds ALL souls, not
just SOME souls.This understanding impacts all we do.
So today, through the lens of our Universalist faith, I want
to speak about the two proposed Amendments to our State Constitution that will
be on the ballot in November.
“But aren’t these political issues?” you might be asking. Yes; and they are clearly religious issues, as well, because
at the heart of both of these amendments, there is a question about inclusion, about
who is worthy of love and dignity, about who can easily participate in our
democracy; in a real sense, these
amendments are about who’s in and who’s out.
And I want to remind you, in case you don’t know, that at
our annual meeting in June, this congregation passed resolutions in opposition
to both these amendments. The first Amendment, as many of you know, is the Marriage Prohibition
Amendment. This Amendment which would
change the State Constitution to prohibit same gender couples from marrying. It
asks, “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union
of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in
Minnesota?"
Before I dig into the religious issues here, this is what
you need to know:
- Should this Amendment pass, it means that the Government is essentially taking religious sides, saying that one particular religious interpretation belongs in our State Constitution.
- Constitutions are about protecting freedoms and rights, not taking them away.
There’s more I could say, but I want to talk about this Amendment
from a faith perspective, not a secular one.
Some of you may have seen on Facebook that I recently joined
150 other clergy, just outside the State Fair Grounds, at a Press Conference. Together, as a people of Faith, we said that
we believe in a God of Love, of inclusion, that love and commitment are sacred
and that all loving people should be able to get married.
This Amendment, if passed, would cast a very tight circle,
that would hold some, but others would be permanently excluded from.
My Universalist faith compels me to vote “No” on the Marriage
Prohibition Amendment.” My Universalist faith says, “When I take my faith in to
the voting booth, I want to expand the circle of inclusion, of the circle Love,
not shrink it.”
And when I go into the voting booth, I’m thinking of so many
of you, and so many on our staff, that are in committed, loving relationships
with a same gender partners. You raise
children, you take care of your neighbors, you contribute to our community - and
your love and commitment is real and holy. I will vote “No,” on this Amendment.
And the only way we’ll defeat this Amendment is if
we talk with others to share how we, as people of faith, believe in a God of
inclusion and love, and how we believe marriage is a sacred covenant between
two loving people.
You might be thinking: “I don’t know who to talk to?”
Well, have you talked to your neighbors? Your co-workers? Have
you talked to the barista you see every day, or the parents you know from your
children’s classes? If you’re feeling stuck, try this: when someone at the
grocery checkout, or anywhere else says, “How you doing?” You can say, “Well, as
a person of faith, I’ve been thinking about why I’m voting NO on the Marriage Amendment.” Bam - there you go, conversation started!
There are undecided religious people out there, torn between
what they have been told the Bible says, and their lived experience of knowing
and loving a gay or lesbian person. Your conversation might move them to vote
“No.”
This is Love’s work in the world.
The second Amendment on the Ballot is the Voter ID
Amendment, which is in many ways, perhaps worse the Marriage Amendment. While
this Amendment might seem sensible on the surface, it’s actually terrible for
our democracy and election participation.
Some quick background on this Amendment: The Voter ID Amendment claims to be about
stopping voter fraud, and thus would require that everyone to show a government
issued photo-id before they vote.
Seems harmless, right? Proponents of this Amendment claim
that’s it’s about preventing Voter Fraud. But voter fraud is not a problem is
MN, or the rest of the country.
Here’s what true: Since 2000, in Minnesota there have been
10 total cases of reported fraud, and no cases of voter impersonation. Nationally, since 2000, there have ten cases of voter impersonation. That’s out
of 150,000,000 registered voters. One impersonation out of 15 million
prospective voters. In the 2008 U.S. Senate election recount, lawyers for
both Norm Coleman and Al Franken looked for fraud in the election – looked hard
for fraud - and, they found none.
Voter fraud and voter impersonation is not a problem in MN
or in the country. Maybe some of you have seen the Jon Stewart piece, on the
Daily Show, about all of this concern about voter fraud and these Voter ID
amendments that are being passed in other states.
There are no dragons, and there is no voter fraud.
That’s not what this Amendment is about. This Amendment is
about putting barriers in place to make it harder to vote for certain people.
It would prevent balance access for Minnesotans without a current address on
their ID.
Here’s what that looks like according to the League of WomenVoters: This would have a significant impact on elderly citizens. On
college age student. On eligible African American citizens. On people with housing instability, men and
women serving overseas, and many others do not currently have a government
issued photo ID with their current name and address. This could impact 500,000 people in MN. And if
passed, this Amendment would essentially eliminate same day registration and
voting – an incredible strength of our current system.
If passed, the Government would be required to issue free
IDs (we’d pay for those through increased property taxes) – but citizens would have
to pay for the documents they need to get an ID, such as a certified birth
certificate. For many, this would, in essence, be a 21st century poll tax – the
price you pay to vote.
In light of the suffrage movement and the civil rights
movement, and the steps we’ve taken as a country to eliminated barriers to
voting, this is a huge step backwards. Our democracy and hundreds of thousands
of citizens would pay a huge price as we solved a “problem” that doesn’t even exist.
There are no dragons. There is no voter fraud. That’s the
background.
And here’s why this is a faith issue for me: when I walk
into the voting booth, as a person of faith, I want to stand on the Side of
Love. As a person of faith,
I ask myself, if this Amendment passes, does the circle of inclusion shrink,
and push people out, for no good reason, or does it expand? If we’re called to be Love’s people in the world, then I think
we have to say, “We stand with all people, and every vote and voice matters - nothing
is broken, so leave it alone!” Love’s people draw a circle that takes everyone in. Love’s
people say, “We’re making room at the Welcome Table, and at the voting table.”
And for those of you who are interested, we have a chance to
act on this issue. Members of the Community and the Kingfield Neighborhood will
be gathering between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Sabathani Center at 3rd Ave South
38th Street, just a few miles from here. We’ll gather to march to Martin Luther King
Park at 40th and Nicollet, where we’re hear speakers and rally together to say
NO to Photo ID.
I’ll be there, wearing my yellow standing on the side of
love t-shirt. I hope some of you will join me as well.
Let me end with another story about Hosea Ballou.
He was riding his horse on the preaching circuit in the New
Hampshire hills one afternoon with a Baptist preacher.They argued theology as they traveled. At one point, the
Baptist looked over and said, "Brother Ballou, if I were a Universalist
and feared not the fires of hell, I could hit you over the head, steal your
horse and saddle, and ride away, and I'd still go to heaven."
Hosea Ballou, quick on his feet, looked over at him and
said, "If you were a Universalist, the idea would never occur to
you." (As told by the Rev. Elizabeth Strong.)
We’re Universalists. And love is our guide.
And we’re here to say: There is no hell. There are no
dragons and there is no voter problem. And
there is no reason to amend our constitution to limit the freedom to marry.
Amen.
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