First UU Principle:
"What Would it Look Like If We Really Honored the Worth and Dignity of Every Person?"
Margo McKenna --October 14, 2001
I would like to start my sermon this afternoon by introducing, or
re-introducing, you to the "seven principles" of Unitarian Universalism. I
have requested several people to hand out bookmarks with the 7 principles listed
on one side, and with the sources of inspiration for UU's listed on the other
side.
From the formation of first the Universalists, then the Unitarians, into a
loose association of congregations, there has been the almost unbending
commitment to remaining a religious organization without a creed. Though
historically there have been moves in both groups to outline a statement of
beliefs that one must adhere to in order to be called either Unitarian or
Universalist, such moves have never held any authority for long. In this
century, no such move has taken place and UU's have been long known as a
"non-creedal" association of congregations.
Though some UU's continue to debate whether our principles constitute a form
of creedalism, most accept that the principles are fluid, open to change, and
can be individually interpreted, and thus do not constitute a creed. Most
UU's, if questioned on this, point out that our core practices are referred to
as "principles" rather than beliefs, or doctrines, in order to avoid the
rigidity that often follows a set of beliefs or doctrines. In fact, the
number of principles has changed over the years, depending on the will of the
delegates chosen from individual congregations as they meet yearly for General
Assembly. So, our current core practices are referred to, at present, as
"the 7 principles."
You may already know, or you may see from the bookmark in your hand, the
first of the seven principles. This is the principle upon which I am
going to focus this afternoon. It is a short, and apparently simple,
principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person. The
historical background of these words are from the Humanist strand of UUism,
which believes that every human is born good, with the potential to live an
ethical and moral life, just given the right circumstances. This is the
optimistic part of our religious practice. We believe that people are
inherently good, and it is the environment, or the effects of the environment
after many generations, that causes the evil to overcome the inherent good in any human being.
But I digress, so back to the present practice of our first principle.
When we say we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of each person, we see
that the words are few, the idea is clear, and the practice is unbelievably
difficult. If you don't think so, I would like to hear what you would do
to any of the men aboard the planes who participated in the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11 if you could get a hold of them now.Of course that is an obvious
example of our dilemma in living out the first principle. A less obvious
example is how we honor this principle in our everyday life, at work, at home,
at play, and at church.
I am particularly interested in what this principle might look like lived out
here in this congregation. I would obviously like to see us live out of
this principle at home, at work, in our political life, etc., but I am primarily
going to address this principle for our life together as a religious and ethical
community, a community called Chalice UU Congregation.
As I shared with you earlier, our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of
each person arises out of a commitment to honoring the value of every person.
It is a principle that calls for us to, as one person in this congregation put
it, "believe that every person with whom we interact has good intention toward
us." Now, none of us is naïve enough to believe that every person, all
over the world, at all times, has only good intention toward us. The
events of the past month make that clear. But, what about those with whom
we worship here at Chalice. When we come here, do we believe that our
interactions with one another are with good intention? Do we arrive here,
planning to practice our first principle with all those we meet here on Sunday?
Do we arrive here, believing that the people of Chalice will practice the first
principle toward us?
We may all answer, "Well, yes, I practice the 1st principle toward others
here, and I believe they will practice the 1st principle toward me." But,
if we are really honest with ourselves, we must admit we do not always practice
the 1st principle toward others here, and that we each have had others interact
with us in ways that did not fulfill the 1st principle. Some of us may
have come to the conclusion that this principle is an ideal we will never reach,
or it is an abstract concept with which we agree in theory. Some of us
might become discouraged, believing that we are not capable of treating others
with the dignity they deserve, or believing that we will not receive the dignity
we deserve. And it may seem overwhelming to others with the realization
that if it is difficult to practice this 1st principle with those in this
congregation, how can I expect to practice this principle in the other areas of
my life?
I believe the answer lies in taking small steps toward this goal. I
believe that we all fail to live this principle fully, and I also believe none
of us should give up trying! So, I challenge us to look at taking small
steps to move toward treating one another with the inherent worth and dignity
each one of us is entitled to.
When I am overwhelmed with a task or a goal, I have found it less daunting
when I break the components into small parts. For example, when I prepare
a sermon, I always feel like it will never get done, there is just too much
preparation and not enough time!! So, I am on a constant lookout for
quotes, readings, books, and etc. that deal with a topic on which I know I will
eventually speak. Then, the week of the sermon, I spend a couple of days
processing (in my head) where I would like the sermon to go, then I try to make
sure I have at least 1 day for writing, then on another day I take at least
several hours to rewrite and tighten up the sermon, then I take another hour on
another day to read and practice the sermon, and finally, I preach it. The
whole task seems overwhelming at the beginning of the week, but if I take it in
small pieces through the week, it is ready by Sunday.
So, I would like to encourage us to take the practice of living out of our
1st principle in small steps. These steps may be ones that you already
practice in your life, if so, ignore the rest of the sermon. If not, I am
going to be practical and I am going to borrow these steps from someone far
wiser than I. These are loosely adapted from a therapist who has done
comparison studies of families and the ways in which we take our family history
into our interactions at work, at play, and in particular, into our churches.
This man, a Ph.D. named Edwin Friedman, who wrote the book From Generation to
Generation, has pointed out these steps in assessing your ability to treat your
church family with the dignity they deserve.
1. To respect yourself, and then respect others.
Do I respect myself? Do I respect others? Am I able to affirm others
and avoid uncaring criticism? Am I able work out my anger in the
appropriate setting? Am I able to stop hateful words when I am most
embarrassed and vulnerable?
2. Be
willing to learn how to communicate better.
What would it take to learn how to communicate better? Am I willing to do
whatever it takes? Am I willing to share my feelings honestly, in a
setting that is safe for me and for others, as I share those feelings? Am
I able to acknowledge my anger, and step back from that anger long enough to
learn whether the anger is from a present event, past events from my
history, or even other life events that are present and are leaking out into my
church life? Am I willing to work for a peaceful solution? And am I
willing to live at peace even with those to whom there seems to be no peaceful
solution?
3. Learn
how to listen.
Am I willing to listen? Even when I am hurt, or feel unheard, am I willing
to model listening to the other person? Especially those with whom I
disagree? Am I willing to consider how someone else might be feeling?
Am I needing to insist on having my own way because of needs in my life that
have nothing to do with church, or those with whom I am worshipping?
4. Learn to practice forgiveness, both for yourself and others.
Am I willing to forgive? Am I willing to apologize? Am I willing to
make amends to those I have hurt, or have treated disrespectfully? Am I
willing to set aside being right in order to have a relationship? Am I
willing to let go of my grudges?
5. Model
courage and integrity.
Am I able to be courageous? To challenge my own lack of ability to honor
the worth and dignity of each person here? To gently challenge others who
seem unable to honor the worth and dignity of others here? To continue the
journey toward living the 1st principle with all the members of this
congregation?
These five questions are the basis for living out the principle of honoring
the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This first principle is
not as easy as it might appear, in fact, it is often a difficult principle in
practice. I do not live this principle at all times with all people.
But, it is the ideal toward which I strive. It is the principle most of us
were drawn toward in our lives even before we may have heard of Unitarian
Universalists. And, it is the ideal toward which we are called to strive when we
take on the religious/philosophical label of Unitarian Universalist. May
we ever live to honor "the inherent worth and dignity of each person" here this
afternoon.
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My meditation this afternoon is for us to take a look at this 1st principle
in light of the events of this past month. The events that continue to
unfold even as we sit here. I do not know how to live out this principle
with people who steer planes into buildings, killing thousands. I do not
know how to challenge such individuals, who hold such narrow beliefs, to adopt
such a principle. I do not know how to encourage our own government to
live out of this principle as we "wage war on terrorism."
I do know I fear the loss of freedom in this country as we try to stay
secure. I fear that we will lose respect for the worth and dignity of each
person with whom we interact whose faces, beliefs, dress, and practices, seem
closer to those of terrorists than those of "Americans".
I know I fear for my life, and I fear for the lives of others. We do
not yet know whether other attacks are already being implemented through the use
of biological terrorism. And we do not know what other acts of terror may
occur in the next few days or weeks. This kind of fear, this kind of
unknowing, makes it difficult to remember our 1st principle. How can I
think about the worth and dignity of people who believe their holy calling is to
destroy me, and all that I love?
As I worked on the sermon this week, I have wanted to be able to provide you
with answers on how to respect the worth and dignity of every person in this
congregation. I have wanted, even more, to provide you with answers on how
to respect the worth and dignity of every person on earth, including terrorists.
I realize I do not have any idea how to answer the larger question.
Yet, I would like to conclude with the belief that I, and each one of us, is
called to honor the worth and dignity of every person, even terrorists.
What that might look like, I cannot say. It might mean we believe the
terrorists must live with the consequences of their actions - including death;
it might mean living at peace with ourselves even in the face of our fear and
grief; it might mean we speak to our public officials about addressing the core
issues that give rise to extremism; it might mean we march for peace, or we
march for war; and there might be ways to honor the worth and dignity of even
terrorists in ways I cannot imagine.
My own personal choice is to recognize that these people are filled with hate
I cannot even understand. I do not agree with them, I do not believe that
any issue they may have with others allows them to kill, and I will continue to
live with the commitment that I am willing to die for my beliefs, but I am never
willing to kill for them. I will smile, do business, and maintain contact
with all human beings, even those who hate me. This is the manner in which
I choose to live out the 1st principle as a Unitarian Universalist. I
would like to invite you to sit silently, honor the losses of this past month,
recognize the possible losses ahead of us, and most importantly, I invite you to
sit in silence and ask how you might live out the 1st principle in the world at
large. In particular, I invite you to look at how you might even respect
the worth and dignity of terrorists.
"The reason we come to together and worship is not to see our friends, but
rather to learn to love our enemies." Anna Lamott
