By Tom Hook
February 5, 2023
I appreciate being with you this morning to share some thoughts on the path of love in our lives.
Most of you know that HUU subscribes to a UUA spiritual resource called “Soul Matters”. Each month there is a new resource for communities to reflect on during that month. Hopefully, you have noticed that this theme is featured in the Enews each week with pertinent reflections.
I do hope you enjoy the Enews. I try to keep it informative and relevant to all HUU members and friends. The Worship Committee also strives to incorporate the Soul Matters theme in the speaker’s message either the first or second Sunday of the month.
To that end, I was invited to speak on February’s Theme “The Path of Love”.
My talk is entitled, “The Primacy of Love”. The first part of my talk looks at love as “The very physical structure of the Universe” as a “Cosmic Force” in play since the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago.
The second part will give some examples of how we can love more and reflect on how well we are proceeding in our quest to love.
So…what is Love? I suspect if we had time to hear your definition we would end up with a great many descriptions of this powerful force.
The medieval Platonist would say love is the highest good that goes out to the other for the sake of the other. Love transforms because love unites.
However, for me, there’s a certain emptiness and longing for a deeper meaning than this particular definition.
As I move now into the late afternoon of life, I realized that Blaise Pascal had it right.
“The heart has its reasons, which reason knows nothing of, for the mind can be deceived what the heart does not know. One cannot live on reason alone but on every act of love that flows through the human heart into the world.”
We are Created Out of Love
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881 – 1955), the French Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist – believed, as I do, that Every Thing – reveals an energy that is attracting each to one another – in movement toward an ever greater complexity and diversity, yet ironically, also toward unification at ever deeper levels.
This energy is – quite simply – LOVE – Love under many different forms.
Teilhard was pointing to the fact that the characteristics of human love, such as attraction, irresistibility, and union, can be found on the most fundamental levels of physical life. “Love is a passionate force at the heart of the universe”.
He wrote, “love is the most universal, the most tremendous, the most mysterious of the cosmic forces”. Love is an energy present from the Big-Bang onwards, though indistinguishable from molecular forces”.
This irresistible energy of love, present in the universe, led Teilhard to claim that Love is the Very Physical Structure of The Universe.
The universe is created not only by the interaction of space-time-matter; it is created from the pervasive energy of love embedded in the fabric of the universe. All levels of life are governed by principles of attraction and union. He believed that “Love is a cosmic force, before it was a human force”.
The deepest reality of love dwells deep within us. The entirety of human life is the search for ultimate love that will never fail or fade away. We seek enduring love because love is the gravity of the soul that imprints the cosmos with our unique personhood.
How we love throughout our lives, how we actualize love in our relationships, our failures to love, our ability or inability to forgive, our compassion or hardness of heart, all these choices of love define who we are and what we bestow on the universe.
Even though we are more connected today through technology than any other century, there is a lingering sense of loneliness and isolation. Racial profiling, gender discrimination, white supremacy and oppositional conflict all dominate the news through the Internet and mass media.
We are, as author and MIT professor, Sherry Turkle writes, alone together. “We expect more from our technologies and less from one another because we have lost the will to love. We have rejected the need for interdependent life. The wounds of our aloneness stem from our failure to love in the face of differences. The failure to love is the root of our human energy crisis.”
The physicist David Bohm wrote, “As human beings and societies, we may seem separate, but in our roots, we are part of an indivisible whole” because we share in the same fundamental energies of love.
Teilhard saw the critical need to realign science and religion as windows of knowledge through which we see one world.He realized that science without religion is blind and can lead to idolatry. And religion without science can lead to superstition. He explains, “If we seek a unity between existence and purpose, then science and religion must be reconciled”.
Ilia Delio, Franciscan Sister and theologian writes, the source of this unity is love. Science is a form of love, and so too is religion. The deepest questions of existence are spawned by the desire to know and to love, because the mind and the heart are oriented towards wholeness.
To me, this creates a holistic vision–integrating spirituality, science, and contemplation–and open to all faith traditions. It seeks to extend this vision to all those looking for an innovative spiritual life and a renewed role of religion in the 21st century.”
Talk on the Personal Growth Plan
And now I would like for us to take a look at one of the practices central to Spiritual Direction developed by my mentor and teacher, Msgr. Chester Michael, founder of the Spiritual Direction Institute. It is the Personal Growth Plan.
Fr. Michael explains, “God is pure love and we were created in the image and likeness of God. The whole purpose of our existence on earth is to love. This love will be expressed by six relationships of love: love of God (Creator), love of other human beings, love of self, love of nature, love of enemies, and love of the poor”.
These six relationships of love correlate quite well with the UU Guiding Principles:
- The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
- Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
- Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
- A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
- The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
- The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
- Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part;
Love of The Creator
Head: How can I grow in wisdom and knowledge of the Divine today?
Heart: How can I increase my desires and expectations of the Divine?
Hand: What actions can I do today to express my love for our Creator?
Love of other human beings
What individual persons can I show a special love today?
Thomas Merton OCSO (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist, and scholar of comparative religion. His hermitage was located at the Abby of Gethsemane near Louisville, KY. On a visit to Louisville, Merton had an epiphany on the corner of Fourth and Walnut in Louisville, KY. He writes:
At the Corner of Fourth and Walnut
“In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world. . . .
This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud. . . . I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun!
Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed. . . .
Oh, but if we could all see this way!
Continuing Love of Other Human Beings:
Is there anyone I need to forgive?
Is there anyone I need to ask for forgiveness?
What can I do to reform and help the communities to which I belong?
What are the needs of the community which are not being fulfilled?
What talents do I have that might help fulfill these needs?
Martin Luther King, Jr., from his Feb. 4, 1968 sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, exactly two months before his death:
“If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school.
“I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody – that I tried to be right on the war question – that I did try to feed the hungry – that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. When everything is said and done, only love is real, only love endures. Outside of love, there is nothing, nothing at all”.
Love of Myself
What can I do to develop my inner self today?
What part of my unconscious shadow do I need to make conscious?
How can I maintain a good balance today in all my activities?
What can I do to take good care of my body today?
“Self-care (and self-love) is never a selfish act — it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to our true self and give it the care it requires, we do so not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch”.
– Parker Palmer
Love of Nature
How can I show love for all creation today?
How can I make a wider distribution of food among the have-nots of the world?
How can I do a better job of preserving the natural resources of earth?
What beauties of creation can I enjoy today?
Love of Enemies
Who are my enemies? How can I love them?
(Martin Luther King) – Another way that you love your enemy is this: When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time which you must not do it. There will come a time, in many instances, when the person who hates you most, the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumors about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person. It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life. That’s the time you must [help them]. That is the meaning of love. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It’s not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for everyone. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to this level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system.
Love of the Poor
How do I care for the poor?
Who are the “poor” in my environment?
Conclusion
Given the primacy of love, If we have only one choice to make today, let us choose to love, let us seek love in all aspects of our lives.
If love really is the truth of our existence and the truth of the Creator, then may we not aim to meet the minimum requirements of love: Rather, let us love to the point of tears.
Let us breathe in the pain of the world and breathe out the goodness of love, letting go in love, from the simplest acts of gratitude, to caring for another, or perhaps risking our lives for stranger – Or harder yet – loving our enemy.
In the Christian Lectionary for this Sunday is Matthew 5:15-16
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
We’ve been surrounded by darkness these last several years — whether covered by dank thunderheads of political storms, the pall of a global pandemic, ideological tunnel-vision, or a thick tapestry of populist (and popular) lies.
Perhaps the simplest lesson amidst these many metaphors is that we should be generous with whatever light we can muster because everybody needs it and even the tiniest of sparks can be seen from farther away than we might imagine when someone is trying to feel their way through the dark.
So shine your light!
The light of kindness. The light of generosity. The light of neighborliness. The light of anti-racism. The light of radical inclusion. The light of creating art. The light of making music. The light of listening without talking. The light of calling people by the name they choose. The light of holding space for people until they’re ready to move into it. The light of deep breaths. The light of being a non-anxious presence in the world. The light of hope. The light of courage.
The light of love.
Whatever light you have, let your light so shine.
Namaste
The Primacy of Love Readings
Chalice Lighting
Know only that you are loved, Rev. Gretchen Haley*
Permission Secured by Soul Matters
For this one moment
Know only that you are loved
That you are safe, and whole and loved
Know that you belong here
Here among us, here upon this earth
In your body
However tired, or broken
Your heart may be
Whatever fear, disappointment, anger
you carry
For this hour know you are not alone
Feel the presence of others
Surrounding you,
Breathing beside you, and with you,
Discovering together the way our voices rise, and fall together
In harmony, in hope
Claim here a resilient freedom
The choice for love, for light, to live with joy
and gratitude and praise
as a form of resistance
Already we are organizing
Come, let us worship, together
Reading: Psalm 23 for This Moment
By Kevin Tarsa
A small bird’s nest is held in a human hand
May I remember
in this tender moment
that Love is my guide,
always,
shepherding me toward ways of openness and compassion.
I have what I need, really,
with Love at my side,
above me, below me, in front of me, behind me,
inside every cell of me,
Love infused everywhere!
Just when the weight of the world I inhabit
threatens to drop me in place
and press my hope down into the ground beneath me
Love invites me to rest for a gentle while,
and leads the center of my soul to the quiet, still,
restoring waters nearby that,
somehow,
I had not noticed.
And so, Love,
quietly,
sets me once again on its tender and demanding path.
Even when the walls close around me
and the cries of death echo through untold corners,
gripping my heart with fear and sadness,
I know…
I know
that all will be well,
that I will be well,
when Love whispers
near to me,
glints at the corner of my eye,
rests with gentle and persistent invitation upon my shoulders.
Yes, Love blesses me,
Even as the sources and symbols of my pain look on.
Love blesses me from its infinite well,
And I turn
and notice…
that goodness and kindness and grace,
follow me everywhere,
everywhere I go.
I live in a house of Love,
Love that will not let me go.
I live in a house of love,
And always will.
Note: this prayer, Psalm 23 re-cast in the language of Love, was written for the 2017 GA memorial service in honor of former UUA Moderator, Jim Key. Used with Permission UUA.
Reading: Love Abundant
By Alicia R. Forde
I lift my eyes up to the hills
from where will my help come?
My help comes from Love abundant.
my help comes from the hills
my help—my help, it comes from
ancient Mothers whose hearts beat in mine.
It comes from the trees that sway and the breeze that sways them . . .
my help comes from all that was and is and will ever be . . .
I lift my eyes . . . ?hushed by the soothing touch of waves
caressing wounded shores
wounded souls
I lift my eyes . . . ?to the horizon bathed by
the hum of mothers and mothers’ mothers
cradling—gently rocking
I lift my voice—call of the sea trees sister moon mother earth
my soul weeping—a symphony of life overflowing
I give myself
I too hum through every pore
with every breath
I give myself—
an extension
of all that is, was, and ever will be.
Used With Permission UUA