GOD’S IN HIS HEAVEN, ALL’S RIGHT WITH THE WORLD
June 13, 2004 The Reverend Anne Felton Hines
The year’s at the Spring
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hillside’s dew-pearled,
The lark’s on the wing,
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in His Heaven,
All’s right with the world.
A friend of mine heard the last two lines of that Robert Browning poem delivered at the beginning of every Sunday’s worship service during her childhood. The words reminded her that no matter what, God was watching over her and the entire world; that nothing too terrible could go wrong, for God was in Heaven and in control. The thought was comforting to an 8-year-old; she could relax and be at peace. “God’s in His Heaven, all’s right with the world.”
But of course, as my friend and the rest of us now know, God may be in His Heaven, but all is definitely not right with the world! I don’t have to rattle off statistics to convince you of the terrible poverty, violence, disease, injustice and just plain suffering which abounds in our world – some of it even here in this paradise called California. The inequities between the rich and the poor; the damage to our Earth; the violence both between individuals and between nations; and the political doublespeak that goes on daily, in all political parties. It would be laughable if it weren’t so real.
No; somewhere along the way God seems to have abandoned us; or perhaps, as some theologians would contend, the Creator of the Universe gave us Free Will to do with our world what we would do. And the results have been pretty disastrous.
The poet Macrina Wiederkehr writes: “I’ve never been very good at feasting on the daily newspaper. It turns bitter in my mouth. And yet, this is my world….I clasp the newspaper to my heart and ask once again in the stillness of the night, ‘What are we doing to the image of God in one another?’”
I wish I could tell you that “God’s in His Heaven and all’s right with the world;” but I cannot. The morning newspaper is proof of that. On the other hand, Unitarian Universalism is a religion of hope, not despair, and as a minister of this faith, I must keep before us that glimmer of hope. I must remind us that, unlike the Calvinists, we don’t believe in Hell, or the inherent depravity of human beings. Instead, we affirm “the inherent worth and dignity” of all people, and understand that we are an integral part of the “interdependent web of all Creation.” Our foremothers and forefathers steadfastly preached the perfectability of humanity – the idea that human beings strive toward goodness, and that with the help of a loving and forgiving God, we can create Heaven here on earth.
But Unitarian Universalism also acknowledges that we aren’t there yet, and that God – or the Creative Force in the Universe – has given us the minds, hearts and hands to make the world “right.” We do not believe it’s up to God to heal the brokenness we see in the world – or in our lives. We believe it is up to us.
I had the opportunity recently to teach that concept to my 6-year-old grandson, Joshua. We had walked up to the Blockbuster near my house to rent a Playstation 2 game for him. We then walked next door to the RiteAid to buy some odds and ends. Sitting on the sidewalk in front was a woman with a sign asking for money, so I reached into my wallet and pulled out a couple of dollars for her. As we walked away, Joshua scolded me for giving her money. “She should have her own money, Grandma,” he said.
I told him that lots of people don’t have enough money, and that it’s up to us to help when we can. I suggested we could buy her some food in the store. He again argued that we shouldn’t do that; that she should get a job and buy her own food. (I truly don’t know where he got these ideas; I know his mother and other grandparents don’t feel that way!) I told him that lots of people didn’t have jobs, and that it’s not always their fault; wouldn’t he want someone to help him if he had no money?
So we found her some granola bars and bottled water – the selection is pretty slim in a drug store! – paid for them along with our other things, and gave the woman her food on our way out. She was incredibly grateful, despite our meager offerings. I only regret, in retrospect, that I didn’t ask her her name, and tell her ours. It would have more fully acknowledged her “inherent worth and dignity;” it would have created a stronger connection between her and us. But I didn’t.
Perhaps what is important, however, is that this woman was able to be reminded that she isn’t alone, that she isn’t “invisible” to everyone, that there are people in the community who care about her well-being. Perhaps what is important is that I was reminded of my connection to her, instead of simply ignoring her as I sometimes have done. And finally, perhaps what is important is that a six-year-old child was reminded that he is connected to everyone, and that he can do something, no matter how small, to help; he can make a difference. This is an integral part of the “good news” of Unitarian Universalism.
Ours is a message of hope – of salvation, if you will – proclaiming that the Spirit of Life works through us; that we hold the seeds of both good and evil, and that we have the ability to choose goodness, to “choose life.” I’d like to think that if the woman in the seed store had been a Unitarian Universalist, she would have gladly bought all the seeds in the store!
There is a lovely story about a man who stood before God, weeping because of the pain and injustice he saw all around him. “Dear God,” he cried, “look at all the suffering, the anguish and distress in your world. Why don’t you send help?” And God answered gently, “I did; I sent you.” God has sent us – and we have the great opportunity, in large ways and in small, to make a difference.
But this can become a great burden, as you know. Our lives are so filled with demands – be it our jobs, our families, our volunteer activities at church and elsewhere; how can we be expected to “heal the world” as well?! From time to time during the 20 years of my ministry, I have been told that people do not come to church to hear about the ills of the world; they come to find healing for the “ills” of their spirits.
Must we always keep in mind the poor of the world, and the atrocities going on, I have been asked? Can we not “savor” the world for a while first?
Well, yes and no.
What we need in our lives, if we are to make any movement toward healing the world or healing our souls, is some balance. In order to truly care for our souls, we must care for the world. But in order to care for the world, we must also care for our souls. As the Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, suggests, in order to be compassionate to others, we must first show compassion toward ourselves.
If we could study the lives of the true spiritual teachers and the most effective activists, I think we would see that they lived a life more in balance than we often do today. After all, Jesus wasn’t preaching and healing the sick 24 hours a day; he also took time to wander alone in the desert for reflection; he even spent time simply hanging out with his friends at lively parties!
When Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn’t working hard for civil rights or sitting in jail, he could often be found playing with his children, or simply sitting alone in prayer.
We all deserve some pleasure in life; we all deserve stillness and comfort. More than that, if we don’t get it, we won’t be any good to those who need our compassion and commitment. To stand in solidarity with others, we must also stand in solidarity with ourselves, and with the Eternal.
Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that “Life is filled with suffering, but it’s also filled with many wonders. Each day,” he reminds us, “40,000 children die of hunger. Yet the sunrise is still beautiful, and the rose that bloomed this morning is a miracle.” He says that the world “needs people who can sit still and be able to smile; who can walk peacefully.”
I learned long ago in my ministry that if I didn’t find some time every day to “sit still and smile,” I would not be effective in my ministry. And so I have become very possessive of my early morning time, when I sit alone in my backyard, save for my coffee, my journal, the morning newspaper, and sometimes a meditative book. I watch the squirrels scamper through the trees, and the birds at my bird-feeder. This is my “prayer time,” during which I can open myself to the Presence of the Holy, and remember that I am part of it. At such moments, all does feel right with the world.
It is this time with myself and with Nature that reminds me that the Holy resides in everything: In the tree outside my window; in the hills surrounding our Valley; in the cold of Winter and the intense heat of Summer; in each of you; in the woman outside the drug store; and yes, even in those difficult people who stand across from our interfaith Peace Vigil every week, shouting insults at us. The Holy is everywhere – softening us, strengthening us, lifting us up when we grow weary, and reminding us of our goodness – of how much each of us blesses the world without even knowing it.
In the story about the catalogue store owned by Jesus, I would add some other packets of seeds. In addition to seeds for world peace, and clean air, and an end to poverty and injustice, I would offer seeds labeled ”self-care” – seeds for quiet, for play, for family time, and for laughter. And I’d advise the customer to intersperse these seeds with the others, so that her garden of dreams would be a weaving of care for herself and care for the world.
And finally, I’d insist she take a packet of seeds labeled “Affirmation of the Small Steps” – seeds that would blossom into reminders for her of all the small, ordinary acts she does every day which help to heal the world – her smiles, her kindnesses, and her efforts to live more consciously and responsibly. I would want her to be reminded of what Joan Chittister tells us:
…When we grow radishes in a small container…, we participate in creation. When we sweep the street in front of a home, we bring new order to the universe. We make God’s world new again. When we repair what has been broken or paint what is old or give away what we have earned that is above and beyond our own sustenance, we stoop down and scoop up the earth and breathe into it new life again….When we wrap garbage and recycle cans, when we care for everything we touch and touch it reverently, we become the creators of a new universe….We put the autograph of our souls on the development of the world.
May we, through our daily being and acting, “put the autograph of our Souls” in the healing of Creation. May we, through our small and large acts, continue to walk toward wholeness for our world and for ourselves, so that one day the children might hear each Sabbath: “God’s Heaven is here on earth, and all is right with the world.”
© 2004 Anne Felton Hines. All rights reserved.
