The worship theme for the month of February this year is "Love."  Last week I was given the honor of delivering a paper to the Fraters of the Wayside Inn, a Universalist Fraternal Organization of which I am a member, that was started in the early 1900's by two Universalist ministers, one of whom is the "grand ghost" of UUCW, Rev. Vincent Thomlinson who was our minister from 1900-1937, still the longest pastorate in the history of our congregation.  My topic was to consider a quotation from the 1790 Articles of Faith, written for the Philadelphia Convention of Universalists, probably by Benjamin Rush, "We believe in one God, infinite in all his perfections; and that these perfections are all modifications of infinite, adorable, incomprehensible and unchangeable love."  As a part of that paper I included the following autobiographical note.

The sermon preached at my ordination in June 1991 at the First Parish in Brookline, Massachusetts, by my former internship supervisor, mentor and now dearest friend and colleague, Rev. David Johnson was entitled, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God."  As I remember it, the sermon spoke to the nature of humility and courage in forging a worthwhile ministry.  And while the particulars of the sermon elude me, I do remember that his words took me back to a childhood memory of intense affection with the Ultimate.  

There were times in my childhood when the world weighed heavy and I felt overcome with worry or anxiety; laboring for 3 years with a hip disease that caused me to wear a brace and then to spend the better part of a year in casts, crutches and a wheel-chair, often to be looked upon by peers as damaged, years too that my father's health was threatened by coronary disease, when I imagined myself reposed on a cool blanket of blush, aromatic grass on a sunny Spring day with breezes gently a-blow and my head held in the lap of a kindly soul whose hand caressed my hair and who spoke to me saying, "You are alright.  I love you. You will never be abandoned.  This will pass.  You are alright."  This, to me was and is God.  It is the first theological truth I remember embracing.  Whatever happens, . . . I am loved and I am not alone.  

Throughout the years, this deep intimacy with the Divine has been a source of profound comfort, humility and courage.    And I credit my parents, who, though they were as gloriously imperfect as anyone else, reflected the unconditional nature of this sentiment with every fiber of their being. Which is why I prefer the words of, parental affirmation contained in the Gospel of Mark, "And there came a voice from heaven, saying, you are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mark 1:11) over the public proclamation of other Gospel accounts,   And I understand as one entering mid-life that this experience is a gift not everyone has had the fortune to receive so straight-forwardly, which also makes it a responsibility and has been my primary impetus for my ministry these many years-to be a reflection of that love and a spiritual companion to those I am called to serve.

I do not take as coincidence that this experience of Divine affection and affirmation should again present itself so forcefully as I contemplated the subject of this paper, for it is this sentiment which calls to me from the pages of our history and has, since I first encounter our historical record, beckoned me to return often to its recollections.

I returned to this memory at the end of the paper. 

The progression [of Professions of Faith] is thus from "God is Love" to "God is one and unique whose nature is love," to "God is universal Father" to "God is eternal, all-conquering love."  Perhaps it is worth noting that the most vigorous descriptions of God as love occur during periods of intense change, and in the case of both Philadelphia and Washington, these statements come from generations that had experienced the realities of war and its aftermath.  This I would suggest is a mime that continues today, as a generation of children in this country and in many parts of the world awakens to the reality that they cannot remember a day when their country was not at war. Which makes the existential question about God, posited by Rebecca Parker in her book with John Buerhens, A House of Hope, even more poignant and relevant.

The fundamental question then is an existential question, not merely an intellectual exercise.  Do you believe in God? Is a relatively meaningless question, compared to the inquiry of the heart:  is there reason to trust that there is any help available?  And believing in the possibility of god is only a tentative first step.  Beyond that is a matter of trusting that there is something or someone beyond us that desires that we be free, whole, and joyful; that desires the thriving of life in its beautiful diversity and abundance; and that has the power, or connection with us, to heal, transform, liberate and enliven our existence. 

And it is here that I find myself back in the lap of Divinity once again, only now with a deeper appreciation for the triumphs and tribulations of generations of those who came before me, who crafted a movement that continues to keep alive the spirit of that Article back in 1790.  Is it surprising to anyone now that in the current era we are invited to "Stand on the Side of Love"?

Aaron

February is fiction month and we will meet on February 11 in the Lounge at 7 pm to discuss The Invention of Wings  by Sue Monk Kidd.

We always welcome new readers-our discussions are interesting, lively, and very welcoming.  For more information, contact Deb Selkow at debselkow@gmail.com.

Book Group Reading Schedule 2014-2015

• February--The Invention of Wings: With Notes (Oprah's Book Club 2.0 3) by Sue Monk Kidd
• March--Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Oprah's Book Club 2.0 1) by Cheryl Strayed
• April--The Goldfinch: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) by Donna Tartt
• May--The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord by Ray Raphael
• June--  The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Novelby Rachel Joyce
• July--The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel
• August--Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Deb Selkow