Sermon

INTRODUCTION: Andrew Lloyd Weber’s first big hit was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. And if there was any doubt about his religious inclinations it was resolved Jesus Christ Superstar. His next smash was Evita followed by one of the most unlikely, named Cats. It was lightly related to the 1939 poems of T. S. Eliot, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. But the most beloved song of the production, Memory, had to be constructed from another poem of Eliot’s, Rhapsody from a Windy Night, written back in 1917.

As you know, Cats has broken all records for a Broadway play – long past 50 million people and $2 billion. Shortly after its opening in New York in 1981, a group of us went from Fort Worth, Texas to New York City, to see Cats it on Broadway. Betty Buckley was starring in it then, and she was also from Ft. Worth. One of the couples we were with knew her quite well and arranged for us to have fourth row seats, and to visit with Ms Buckley after the play.

One of the wonderful memories I have is of Betty Buckley singing her beautiful rendition of “Memory.” Please listen now as Dan sings it for us:

Of all the gifts that we humans possess, perhaps none is more treasured than our memory. It connects us to our past, anchors us in the present, and positions us for the future.

If you think about it for a moment, “memory” is the basis of much that we identify with traditional faith. In fact, in the Christian religion, remembering the death of Christ is a crucial and explicit part of faith. The four canonical gospels of the Christian New Testament are the collected memories of followers of Jesus. Their memories were first told orally, repeated time and again by themselves and others, and finally written as fragments and stories, then collected and edited by writers whom we know as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The epistles of Paul, which comprise most of the New Testament, are his memory of what he had been told about others’ memories of Jesus and Paul’s interpretation of those memories, since Paul never knew Jesus.

Many of us Christians were led to believe that the Bible must be thought of as the infallible recollection of people’s memories. But the truth is that none of us has an infallible memory. Like any ancient work, Christian scripture has to be interpreted and reinterpreted because it is the memories of people of faith. And memories are different.

The tragedy is, though, that many who grew up initially believing the New Testament was filled with infallible memories of Jesus, rejected it in toto when they discovered it wasn’t.

I’m convinced though, that not to be conversant with the literature of the dominant faith of our culture and society is not only to be limited in one’s education, but it is also a spiritual loss. There are some parts of the New Testament that are lofty and powerful; there are others that are irrelevant and reflective of the constraints of life 2,000 years ago. But that’s true of any book, especially one so old. Nonetheless, the Christian New Testament is a repository of the memory of Christian faith.

The same is true of Jewish scripture. The first 12 chapters of Genesis are among the richest mythic memories of Western civilization. The two creation accounts, the story of the Garden of Eden, Noah and the Flood, the Tower of Babel, the story of Abraham and Isaac, have been incorporated into our collective memories, many times without our even knowing it.

In fact, there’s no way fully to appreciate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I have a dream sermon without knowing he’s taking it straight from Jewish scripture and the story of Moses on the mountaintop. The exodus of the children of Egypt from slavery to freedom in the Promised Land, the transmission of the law of Moses, which includes the majestic Ten Commandments – these are collective memories in the truest sense.

Though different, the same is also true of Islam and the Qur’an. The prophet Muhammad, whom faithful Muslims follow the pronunciation of his name with the phrase, “Peace be upon him,” is said to have been illiterate. And yet traditional Muslims credit him with being the vehicle through which every word of the Qur’an was revealed – directly from God. Muhammad (PBUH), faithful traditional Muslims would say, was actually taking the dictation of God word for word. The combination of the prophet’s illiteracy and the magnificence of the Qur’an are some would say miraculous proof positive that every word of the Qur’an is holy. And since it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Arabic, then reading or hearing it in its original language is critical to insuring that we understand it in its purity. Which is why those who memorize the Qur’an but have no comprehension of Arabic are still singled out for affirmation. Connecting their memory with the original disclosure that took place almost 1,400 years ago is an act that is honored throughout Islam.

Our memories are critical to our sense of self. They give unique context to the present.

In that connection, I recently read of feminist Carolyn Heilbrun’s book, The Last Gift of Time: Life Beyond 60. She had made known her vow to commit suicide when she reached the biblical three-score and ten of 70. But when it happened, she had a change of heart. (More and more, that seems like a really smart decision to me!)

What she had failed to consider when she was younger was that growing older might have its own rewards. There might be new friendships that would be as rich or richer than those of earlier times. And how different the relationship with adult children is from the years of rearing them when they were little kids. She also discovered the pleasure of grandchildren, of her long-term relationship to her husband, and the pure joy of reading. Her memories of life were rich and full, and fueled her new attitudes towards the future.

And now that she’s in her 70s, she thinks of life as "borrowed time" – a very special gift! She chooses what she does with her life more earnestly, because it is a gift. She’s learned not to be trapped in old habits. She sees her older years as a time to discover new choices and to act upon them. The truth is the memories of her past years have given her a freedom unlike any other time in life.

Let me repeat that, and then give you an example from our congregation of what that means: Ms Heilbrun said, the memories of her past years have given her a freedom unlike any other time in life.

Here’s an example of that kind of freedom from one of our own founding members. He is one of the most physically and intellectually active participants we have. He is deeply committed to taking seriously the upcoming Nov. 7^th General Election. So how to do that?

He lives at Shell Point Retirement Community, which is the largest retirement center of its kind in Florida. So what should he do to reach out to his community about the seriousness of Nov. 7^th? Here’s what he’s doing as an expression of both his political and religious self-understanding:

He personally secured voter guides from Sojourners, an outstanding evangelical Christian magazine, which I subscribe to as well. These guides are not the typical right wing guide we’ve read about, even though it’s entitled “Voting God’s Politics.”

To start with, it talks about the importance of registering and voting, informing ourselves, etc. But inside it has paragraphs on things like “Global poverty must end.” “Bring peace to Iraq.” “Eliminate nuclear weapons.” “End capital punishment.” “End environmental racism.” “End torture worldwide.” “Strengthen marriage and families” without scapegoating gays and lesbians for the breakdown of the family.” “Reverse global climate change.” You get the drift despite the religiosity of the title.

So how to distribute them to his fellow residents? In the middle of the night, our past 70s participant went to every mailbox in Shell Point and left one of these Voters Guides (the mailboxes are not U.S. postal boxes). While doing so, he was careful to avoid the security guards throughout Shell Point.

The next day, the uproar was huge. The president of the Shell Point corporation denounced the brochures, and emphasized that the church in Shell Point had nothing to do with it, even though at first glance it looked similar to the kind of materials that their Christian Missionary Alliance Church might distribute. But certainly not inside. Some talked about not so nice things to do to whoever distributed the guides.

So did the participant who did distribute it learn a lesson? Is he going to play it safe? Is he concerned that some disagreed…that some were angered? Or does he feel it’s critically important to do something to shake his community out of its slumber?

Evidently, because yesterday when I visited with him over the phone, he was in the process of addressing 300 more guides to send out through the mail to those who are in assisted living or the Pavillion and don’t have boxes he can reach physically.

When he finishes this mailing, guess how many voters guides to stimulate thinking and caring religious at Shell Point he will have sent out: 1,700!

Naturally, there’s a huge effort to find out who he is, so he’s staying low. But you know what? According to Carolyn Heilbrun whose book I mentioned earlier, when you reach 70 or more: Why worry? You have the memories of a lifetime behind you, so why not make some more to enjoy even later?

We certainly don’t want to be living like that little ditty Richard Armour wrote about the couple who waited late to marry:

The bride, white of hair, is stooped over her cane
Her faltering footsteps need guiding.
While down the church aisle, with wan toothless smile,
The groom in a wheelchair comes riding.
And who is this elderly couple you ask?
You'll find, when you've closely explored it,
That here is that rare, most conservative pair,
Who waited 'til they could afford it.

That refers not only to financial ability, but living life itself. Don’t continue to postpone living. There’s a wonderful freedom that comes with age.

“Live Dangerously” read a sign on Friedrich Nietzsche’s wall. He maintained that power over oneself is necessary for creativity. As role models he cited Socrates, Jesus, Leonardo de Vinci, Michelangelo and Shakespeare. Nietzsche advocated “letting go” and living life as a great adventure.

1. Always let your last words over the phone and as you leave the house, and before going to sleep, be the memory that you said, “I love you.”

One of the most heart- warming stories to come out of the tragedy of 9-11 involved Stuart Meltzer. He was on the 105^th floor of the first of the Twin Towers when it was hit. He called home and got the answering machine. He left this message, "Honey, something terrible is happening. I don't think I am going to make it. I love you. Take care of the children."

I learned years ago that when I talk to my children, I always want to end the conversation with, “I love you.” If anything happens, I want those words to be the last memory they have of their Dad.

2. Painful recollections don’t last. There’s a wonderful Native American saying that goes like this: “The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.”

Pain doesn’t last always. In the novel Cold Mountain, one of the characters refers to the pain being experienced and says, “Our minds aren't made to hold on to the particulars of pain the way we do bliss. It's a gift God gives us.” We remember the good, much longer than the bad. Bliss is better.

Rabbi Harold Kushner once wrote, “Religion isn't a series of beliefs and rituals. It is the community through which we learn to be human.”

I continue to be amazed at how much of a sense of community we have been able to build at All Faiths. There’s always more to be done, and that is up to each of us to work on and build. But in the process it is a reality present for all to see and be part of.

I heard it and observed it when Maggie Mullins went home this week after a complication from her breast surgery treatment. I saw it when Nathalie Hahn went home from rehab treatment for her replaced hit.

It was community at work…friends caring about friends…people remembering people with a call, a card, or a visit, and many times filling in, in places of need. If you’re not a part of it, I invite you to join. Amen and may it be.

[1] Fourth in a series on “The Gospel of Broadway,” by the Rev. Dr. Wayne Robinson, Minister, All Faiths Unitarian Congregation, meeting at the Crestwell School, 1901 Park Meadows, Ft. Myers, FL. Ph. 239.226.0900; E-mail: allfaithsuc@earthlink,net; Web page: allfaiths-uc.org.