Making Meaning during the Winter Holy/Holidays Days By Reverend Tom Capo

           Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice and/or Christmas and/or Hanukkah and/or Humanlight holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice to practice religious or secular traditions at all.   Oh what the heck, merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, joyful Solstice, and peaceful Humanlight; may you have a meaningful holiday.

            But how can we possibly have a meaningful holiday with all the chaos, black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, multiple and perplexing traditions, the controversy over red Starbucks cups, multiple seemingly mandatory family gatherings, buying presents, setting up decorations?  And we miss our loved ones who are far away, or who are no longer with us, particularly those who have recently died.  And maybe we have too high expectations of having a wonderful holiday, and those expectations are not met.  Some of us feel hammered by the unrelenting commercialism of the season.  And those of us who don’t celebrate this season at all feel trapped and assaulted by all the noise and lights and ceaseless ho-ho-hoing.  There is no escape from it.  No wonder many people get depressed over the holidays.  Yet this chaotic time of year is “supposed to be” a time of celebration: the winter solstice, burning the Yule Log, the New Year, the birth of the Christ Child, the Maccabees winning freedom for Judah, remembrance of the history and roots of Humanism. 

            This reading from the Old Testament book of Amos speaks to the meaningless ritual. 

“I hate, I despise your religious festivals;

    your assemblies are a stench to me.

Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,

    I will not accept them.

Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,

    I will have no regard for them.

Away with the noise of your songs!

    I will not listen to the music of your harps.

This prophet was speaking to the Hebrew people who were not living righteous lives, not living lives that were moral and ethical—while practicing their religious rituals.  Amos and the other eighth century prophets were clear; don’t just do rote ritual, empty ritual, meaningless ritual; live a moral, ethical, spiritual life and let ritual be an outgrowth of your life.

            Do we do that today?  Well historically, some of the seasonal celebrations seemed a little less than meaningful.  In the England of 1066, celebrations at Christmas got out of hand.  King Henry the 8th and his court tried to outdo each other in outrageous abundance.  It is said he had 600 oxen killed and prepared for a single feast.  And gambling on the altars of the church were a common part of the festivities.  Perhaps we can see from the extremism where celebrating for the sake of celebrating can go—we don’t do that today.  Or do we?  Fighting over gifts at Best Buy or Walmart on Black Friday, and some stores opening at 2 PM on Thanksgiving day, resulting in people not actually having time to gather with loved ones and give thanks, so they can buy the newest best gift on the market.  I do have to admit to partaking in this Black Friday ritual in years past.  I rationalized that I was able to give more gifts by saving more money on each gift.  But the reality was I was caught up in the high, the buzz, the addiction to the chaos and consumerism.  I have come to understand my addiction.  I understand now that there is no meaning in consumption for consumption’s sake.  I have let go of this meaningless ritual.

However, inside each of us, whether instinctive or not, is a desire to light up the night, to celebrate with yule logs and candle lit feasts, when the darkness lasts so long.  As the poem ‘Miracle of Light’ suggests “though the gloom may crowd us still, the light may lift our hearts …”   We Unitarian Universalists often find ourselves wondering what exactly we’re supposed to celebrate, how are we and why are we lighting up the night?  How do we discern which, if any, traditions we find personally meaningful.  I believe most of us don’t want to celebrate meaningless festivals. 

I believe we might start to discern what to do during this season by asking: Am I doing this (whatever “this ritual, tradition, or feast” is) out of habit?  Or as an authentic part of my spiritual or non-spiritual seasonal expression?  I ask you for a moment to reflect on this time of year: what makes it meaningful to you? (pause) Perhaps certain decorations, stories about Santa Claus, music, gatherings, religious stories, childhood memories.  Or maybe this time of year has lost all meaning for you.  And you might be okay with that, and that’s fine.  But if you find yourself wishing you could find more meaning than the Early Bird Sales might offer you, you might consider some meaningful ritual.  A ritual is a set of sequential actions or a ceremony, religious or not, that is supposed to offer an opportunity to make mental and spiritual space to experience something meaningful, whatever that intangible “something” may be.  I talked about ritual at our bread sharing service—we don’t have many specifically Unitarian Universalist rituals—other than lighting our chalice.  Rituals can give us the opportunity to go a little deeper, learn a little more, grow in heart and spirit, if we accept their invitation to do so. 

I read the ‘Cajun Night Before Christmas’ because reading this story is part of my family’s ritual celebration during this time of year.  We decided on our traditions as a family.  When our kids were growing up, our Christmas ritual went like this; we went to our local Unitarian Universalist Church on Christmas Eve; we especially enjoyed singing Silent Night by candle light.  Then we went home, put on our Santa hats and read the Christmas Story from Christian Gospel of Luke, ‘A Night Before Christmas’ and ‘The Cajun Night Before Christmas’.  The kids liked the ‘The Cajun Night Before Christmas’ best.  We would then open one gift each and go to bed; usually the boys wanted to open the gift they got each other, a small but always thoughtful gift.  My wife and I would set up for Christmas morning—presents under the tree and building whatever toys that needed to be assembled.  I still remember the trouble I had putting that Little Tykes fort with a slide together; I was supposed to hold one of the feet of the fort while holding onto the base of the fort, while hammering the foot and providing pressure on the base so the hammering actually resulted in the foot setting firmly into the base.  I needed four hands to do this.  It took me most of the night.  Then many Christmas Eves, Martha and I would take a little time, with some hot chocolate, to look at the lights on the Christmas Tree.  The next morning we’d wake up and open presents together; packages and wrapping paper strewn everywhere.  We then went to my parents’ house to have a family celebration and a feast.

            Why are rituals important to humans?  Well, I can tell you these traditions were important to my children.  They made sure that each year we followed these traditions to the letter, even reading the story from Luke, which they pretty much only tolerated.  Being a psychotherapist, I know that routine helps children feel safe and secure.  They can feel trust in their parents, and in their world.  And while small children may not be able to understand the abstract concepts of sacred, spirit, holy, or even understand the meaning of the ritual and traditions this time of year, they see their parents practicing their faith, and they participate in traditions that are given importance by their parents.  Our children understand what faith, belief, and values are by seeing their parents live their faith, beliefs, and values.  And they, in turn, do the same in their time, and so the generations go forward.

Lots of people have told me Christmas is just for children.  Well, at the very least there is a child inside of many of us who wants to participate in the traditions and celebrations this time of year.  But also, the rituals and celebrations we choose to participate in this time of the year are important external expressions of our faith, beliefs, and values.  We share our love for our family, friends and church community this time of year.  We express traditions that have meaning to us.

            Perhaps you think, “I don’t believe in Santa Claus or Jesus.  I don’t care about Maccabees or famous Humanists.  I don’t want to burn a yule log, or join in a Solstice celebration.  And I don’t like giving gifts, decorating my house, or singing Christmas carols.  I don’t have any children.  I am not going to celebrate or participate in any rituals this time of year.”  Bah, Humbug!   Well I encourage you to stop, and take time to reflect on the meaning of this time of year for yourself before you decide not to do anything.  Consider what connects you with your faith, beliefs, and values.  Perhaps there is a way to affirm, remember, promote your faith, beliefs or values during this season.

Recently, I have been trying to consider the meaning of the gifts that I give.  I intentionally buy gifts that are locally made or gifts that support far-away oppressed groups, like Fair Trade items made by individual crafters, usually women.  A couple of years ago I gave my mother a herd of geese.  When she opened the card saying that I had bought a herd of geese for her, she was not sure what to make of it.  But then I told her it was from Heifer international and the geese would be given to a group of people somewhere in the world who could use them to be more self-sufficient.  Well, she got it and appreciated the meaning of the gift.  This year I am giving all my nieces and nephews water bottle holders made by the Guatemalan artisans from A Thread of Hope, supporting their fund for scholarships for young Maya and helping to fund ergonomic chairs for backstrap loom weavers.  It’s a way I can honor and express my Humanist values while participating in the Christmas Ritual of gift-giving, and doing this opens opportunities for conversations about income inequality and fair trade economics. 

            What can you do that might bring some personal meaning to this season?  Maybe you could put out evergreens as a symbol of life like the Celts, or put out holly berries that live through winter and symbolize life in the face of death, like some Christians.  Maybe you put out a crèche scene, a tradition that St. Francis of Assisi started in 1224, considering the meaning of the Christian birth narrative.   Maybe you have a feast this time of year, a tradition that goes back to the Sumerians and Old Babylonians, to light up the darkness of the earth and lighten up our hearts with celebrations.  Maybe you choose to give gifts, a tradition that dates back to Saturn’s triumph over Jupiter in the Golden Age of Rome, to express your love to those that you share your life with.  Maybe you light candles to ritualistically ward off evil spirits, or light the darkness in remembrance of the sun’s return or to send your prayers to heaven.  Maybe you celebrate and express humanist-oriented values and ideals in a positive manner, choosing gifts that reflect your ethics and that better the worldwide human condition. 

            Perhaps a place to start is to reflect on what memories of this time of year are meaningful to you?  What calls to you from your deepest self this time of year that wants expression?  Look within for what you remember, celebrate, for why and how you decorate, what you participate in, what you teach your children about this time of year.  I would suggest that filling this time of year with people you love is not a bad idea for anybody.  But you are the one who has to make the decisions about what rituals and traditions are important to you, your family, friends and church; especially in this Unitarian Universalist Church for we celebrate what you as a community want to celebrate.   This year we have a Haunnaka meal, two Christmas Eve services, two Solstice celebrations and a Humanlight gathering. 

           The best way to search for what is “right” for you this time of year is through silent reflection, prayer or meditation.  As Unitarian James Martineau says of silence, it is “the great storehouse of our spiritual dynamics, where divine energies lie hid for any enterprise.”  While in that time of silence, ask yourself not only what traditions feel right for you, also ask “What traditions from my childhood, my faith, beliefs, and values are important or meaningful to me?”  Ask yourself “Why are they important or meaningful?” You might also ask “Am I willing to put in the time and effort needed for this to truly be an individual, family or church tradition?  Something that I will carry forward for years to come.” These seasonal rituals are spiritual practices.  A lot of people keep meaning to get around to a spiritual practice, but never find the time, energy or resources.  Find a tradition that you can put into practice, one that is meaningful to you.  And perhaps even more important, take the bold step of dropping a holiday practice that isn’t feeding you, no longer brings you joy, and then use the time and energy you used to spend on that to create a moment of silence in the seasonal chaos or create a spirit space to reflect on the meaning of the season for you, or create a heart space for yourself to affirm the love you have for those you share this life with.  Just give yourself the gift of time during this season; this can be the beginning of a deeply meaningful spiritual practice. 

              Bring the spiritual and ethical into this time of year--express your beliefs, your spirituality, your values in this season of celebration—not only to model for your kids, if you have them, but also to feel the light of the spirit in your own heart during this dark time of year.

Let us now turn inward in the spirit of meditation:

Let us remember those times over the years that we spent with our loved ones during holiday seasons past,

And as we reflect, let us explore our hearts and souls, to help us find the significance that speaks to us about this time of year.

And let us find ways in the present, in this holiday season, to let our spirits and values show.        Let them show, let them show, let them show.

Amen, Blessed Be, Shalom               

Sunday Service: Modern Judaism - June 14th, 2015

Modern Judaism

By Reverend Tom Capo

06/14/2015

From the Babylonian Talmud, comes these words:  

 “In the hour when an individual is brought before the heavenly court for judgment, the person is asked:  Did you conduct your [business] affairs honestly?  Did you set aside regular time for Torah study?  Did you work at having children?  Did you look forward to the world’s redemption?”  

Please note that “Did you believe in God?” and “Did you observe all the rituals?” are not considered as the first questions to be asked of a Jewish person when they are reunited with God, according to this Rabbinic text.

I titled this sermon Modern Judaism, but that is not an entirely accurate title.  I am actually going to talk about Rabbinic Judaism, the Judaism that all sects of the Jewish people recognize as their faith.  What is Rabbinic Judaism?  We will need to consider a little Jewish history to answer that question.

In the fourth year of his reign, around 833 BCE, the Jewish King Solomon found himself at peace with his neighbors and began the construction of the Temple, a place where the Jewish peoples could come to ground themselves in the practices and rituals of their faith. The site chosen by King David was the top of Mount Moriah, where Abraham had once proved his readiness to offer up his dearly beloved son in obedience to G d's command.  The practices and rituals of the temple were led by Jewish priests.  Now many of the Jewish people made regular pilgrimages to the Temple--the temple and the priests were in Jerusalem--but for most of the Jewish people that was a very long way to go.  They needed people to teach the children Hebrew and to hold a recognition ceremony when a child became an adult, a Bar Mitzvah, and to help the Jewish people in the towns and villages remember, practice, and interpret the basic tenets of their faith, and those were the Rabbis.  Rabbis were and are Jewish scholars, people trained in Jewish law, ritual, and tradition, discerning what is lawful in Judaism and performing Jewish ceremonies.   It was during the first destruction of the Temple, when Israel was defeated and the Jewish people were exiled to Babylonia, that the role of the Rabbi increased in significance.  

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, we also wept, when we remembered Zion. We hung our lyres on the willows in its midst. For there those who carried us away captive required of us a song; and those who tormented us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. (Psalms 137:1-6)

While the people of Israel grieved the loss of their country and their Temple, they still practiced their faith.  The Rabbis, rather than the Temple or the priests, were called upon to ground the people in their faith.  It is also believed by many scholars that during this exile the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, was written.  This text contains commentaries and stories written by Rabbis to help the Jewish people interpret the Jewish Bible, its laws and traditions.

The story that Jo Linsley shared with us today is an allegoric Rabbinic story of the final sacking and destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE by the Romans.  The jewels are the tenets of the Jewish faith, G-d’s teachings.  The Jewish people are the pigeons.  The castle was the State of Israel or the Temple in Jerusalem.  Rabbi Tzvi Freeman writes of this story: “In our history, the pattern of destruction and exile has repeated itself many times. We began in exile, in the land of Egypt. Then there was the destruction of the first Holy Temple and exile to Babylonia, and then the second destruction and a very lengthy exile, which we still endure. There is no other nation that has been spread so far apart, yet retained identity as a single whole, always with hope to return. And all of it was part of G-d’s divine plan, to retrieve all the sparks of holiness. Which is what we did, because wherever we go, we use the materials, the foods, the music, the customs of that place in a Torah way.”  

“But now has come the time for us to all return home” is how the story ends.  This can mean the country of Israel; the spiritual home of the Jewish people has returned.  Or it could mean that the Jewish people have created new homes for their faith wherever they live in community with one another.  The latter meaning is closer to a Rabbinical vision of the Jewish faith.  This tradition, with all its destructions and exiles, had to find a new home, a home wherever they were.  The Jewish people carry their faith in their hearts and through their lives, not in a Temple or even in a country.  Those externals are fragile and can be taken away.  Only when a faith lives within the person and through the way they live their lives can it never be taken away. 

Sunday Service: Native American Spirituality - January 25, 2015

Native American Spirituality

Reverend Tom Capo

Preached on January 25, 2015

Evan T. Prichard, a descendant of the Algonquin people, founder of The Center for Algonquin Culture, and currently Professor of Native American history at Marist College, wrote in the introduction to his book, Native American Stories of the Sacred:  “A religion—whatever its origin—is more than a spiritual path; it also invariably contains philosophy, numerous folk customs, and a wealth of stories or teaching tales.  The spirituality of a given religion, including meditation practices and revealed teachings, arises out of the depths of the illuminated soul; the philosophy behind the spiritual message arises from the clarity of mind that a true religious experience produces; the traditions, folk customs, health practices, and artifacts that affect the physical body arise from the religious culture; and the wealth of stories, teaching tales, myths, and legends, not to mention the poetry and songs that each religion preserves come from the heart of the faithful.  Each Native American subculture has all of these, so Native American spirituality in each of its forms could be compared with every world religion point for point.”

I found myself having some difficulty with this sermon.  My great grandmother was full blood Cherokee; my grandfather never told us of his Native American roots because he feared persecution.  And some of my ancestors were immigrants to the United States took advantage of and abused the Native American population.  Non-natives moved Native Americans off their land; they killed them when they resisted; and they took their sacred objects.  Immigrants educated Native American children in their ways, indoctrinating them into the Christian religion.  Many Native American traditions and rituals, artifacts and stories were lost.  What I wish to share with you is some of what has survived.  The rituals and traditions and stories that have survived are being used within different Native American communities.  

Sunday Service: The Complexity & Simplicity of Hinduism - Sunday January 4, 2015

The Complexity and Simplicity of Hinduism

Preached on 1/04/2015

By Reverend Tom Capo

First let me share a few interesting facts about Hinduism. (Hindu.BZ.com and hindu facebook)

1. More than 10,000 years ago the institution of marriage was founded and put forth in practice by Hindus.

2. The Rigveda, one of Hindu's holy scriptures, is the oldest literature known to humanity.

3. According to the Vedas, lending money on interest is a bad Karma.  We will talk about Karma later. 

4. According to the Vedas, Om, Hinduism's most sacred sound, is the sound which was present at the time of creation of universe.

5. Parents, teachers, and food are considered next to God.  That makes sense to me somehow.

6. Because of the usefulness of rivers, they are highly revered in Hinduism. People call them mother. 

7. Hindus believe that we get the human body when our soul passes through 8,400,000 species of plants and animals.

I could go on with interesting facts or tell you about the gods and goddesses of Hinduism, or the social caste system--the societal level that each person is assigned based on their birth; or I could talk about the various ways that people practice their faith, or all the religious texts and their meaning to various sects of Hinduism; or I could talk about the various rituals, holidays, and pilgrimages.  If I chose to talk about even one of these in detail, we would be here for a very very long time.  You see Hinduism is a collective term applied to the many philosophical and religious traditions native to India.  In a strict sense there was no 'Hinduism' before modern times, although the sources of Hindu traditions are very ancient.  And Hinduism has no definite starting point that anyone has been able to discover. The traditions which flow into Hinduism may go back several thousand years and some practitioners claim that revelation in Hinduism is eternal; sound familiar?

Sunday Service: Spiritual Practices - November 9th, 2014

Spiritual Practices  

By Reverend Tom Capo  

11/9/2014

 

As one of my spiritual practices, I read and reflect on a number of passages from different religious traditions.  Many of the passages I receive by email each day.  On October 26, I received this passage from Eknath Easwaran, the founder of the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation: “Without a tank full of gas, no car can drive very far. The mind, too, needs a full tank of vitality to draw on for patience, resilience, and creativity. Filling that tank every morning is one of the most practical purposes of meditation. The test of your meditation is: How long can you be patient with those around you? In the beginning, you should aim to make it at least to noon acting like the proverbial angel.  Most of us, however, even if we start with a full tank, have little control over the thousand and one little pinpricks that drain vitality as we go along: worry, vacillation, irritation, daydreaming. By lunchtime the indicator may be hovering around empty.  Then it is that you have to be acutely vigilant. The tank is nearly empty, but by sheer effort and deft defensive driving, and using the mantram, you manage to coast through to the end of the day without any serious accidents.  The more effort you make, the more endurance you gain. The next day you may find the tank itself a little larger; you start the next day with a greater capacity for love and patience than before.” A spiritual practice, at least from my perspective, serves a number of purposes:  filling our vitality tank, grounding us in the truest part of ourselves, opening us up for enlightenment or deeper understanding of ourselves and the world, and connecting us to something greater than our own desires, needs, and feelings.

Ok, so, those are some purposes, but what the heck is a spiritual practice?  Well, let’s start with characteristics and then consider a definition that might be useful, that might help us to decide what spiritual practice we could incorporate into our lives or what characteristics we might add to our current practices.