Shenandoah<\/em>, Jimmy Stewart portrayed Charlie Anderson, a Virginia farmer who tries to keep his farm and his family out of the Civil War. Early in the film, Charlie sits down at the table with his family and says grace before dinner.<\/p>\n\u201cLord,\u201d he says, \u201cwe cleared this land, we plowed it, sowed it, and harvested. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn\u2019t be here, we wouldn\u2019t be eatin\u2019 it if we hadn\u2019t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you just the same anyway, Lord, for this food we\u2019re about to eat. Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n
You think Charlie Anderson might have been a Unitarian?<\/p>\n
Despite his litany of labors, Charlie Anderson still paused to offer thanks. Perhaps this classic American character was simply following rote custom, but I like to think at some level he knew there was more to his dinner than the work he and his family had done. They cleared the land but they didn\u2019t make the soil fertile. They sowed the seed but they didn\u2019t make the seed. They didn\u2019t make the sunshine that fed the plants or the rain that watered them; they may have shooed the birds off but they didn\u2019t keep the hail and damaging winds at bay.<\/p>\n
So much of our lives depends on things we do not control \u2013 that we cannot control. So much that we enjoy comes to us by grace. Gratitude reminds us to be humble.<\/p>\n
Gratitude also fuels cooperation. In an essay titled \u201cThe Moral Instinct,\u201d Harvard psychology and linguistics professor Steven Pinker makes a strong case that fairness \u2013 reciprocity \u2013 is one of the instinctive morals that developed through the evolutionary process. Pinker says \u201cSympathy prompts a person to offer the first favor, particularly to someone in need for whom it would go the furthest \u2026 Gratitude impels a beneficiary to reward those who helped him in the past.\u201d This builds a virtuous cycle of giving and gratitude, each of us doing a kindness that isn\u2019t in our immediate self-interest but over the long term provides us all with far more benefits than we could ever generate on our own.<\/p>\n
It is generally assumed that our ancient pagan ancestors made offerings to their gods in fear and trembling, hoping that giving a portion of their crops and herds would appease and propitiate the forces of Nature. Certainly that practice existed. But there is also clear evidence that many of these offerings were reciprocal acts of thanksgiving \u2013 the gods blessed us with a fine harvest, so we give back to the gods.<\/p>\n
How can we reciprocate when Nature provides a bountiful harvest? How can we reciprocate when soldiers give their lives in defense of their country? How can we reciprocate when a mother gives birth or when a stranger gives blood? We can\u2019t, but our instincts urge us to do something. And so we simply say \u201cthank you.\u201d We acknowledge the gift and the good intent behind it; and we acknowledge that as we receive, we take on an obligation to give, to reciprocate, to continue this evolutionary urge and sacred tradition.<\/p>\n
While thanksgiving is part of a reciprocal transaction, praise is a one-way decision, an attitude we choose to take. We UUs tend to be skeptical of the idea of praise, but at its core praise is a declaration of optimism, a statement of faith in the essential goodness of life.<\/p>\n
There are times when even the most cynical among us are moved to praise: watching a sunrise, the first flower of Spring, those rare days when everything seems to go our way. But what about those times when things don\u2019t go our way, when life is hard or even cruel? Praise is still an attitude we can choose.<\/p>\n
The Book of Job is generally thought to be the oldest book in the Bible, and it deals with the very old question of why bad things happen to good people. In this book God doesn\u2019t come across as a very sympathetic character. He allows Satan to torment Job, he uses Job\u2019s family as pawns, and when Job asks \u201cwhy?\u201d God\u2019s response is \u201cWhere were you when I laid the earth\u2019s foundation?\u201d Who are you to question me?<\/p>\n
Many religious liberals find that an unacceptable answer. But we can\u2019t do much better in explaining why bad things happen. We can\u2019t control what happens, and we can\u2019t explain it. All we can control is our response. Job says \u201cThough he slay me, yet will I trust in him.\u201d No matter what, Life is good.<\/p>\n
Some of you may remember Rev. Michael Dowd, who preached here in 2006 as part of his ministry of evolutionary evangelism. His last book was titled Thank God For Evolution<\/em>, and he\u2019s perhaps the best I\u2019ve heard at explaining how and why religion and science aren\u2019t opposed to each other. A few months ago Michael was diagnosed with cancer \u2013 he has only a 50% chance of living more than three years. He and his partner Connie Barlow have had to leave the road and stay with friends; his life\u2019s work is on hold and may be over. In a recent blog posting, here\u2019s what he had to say:<\/p>\n\u201cLife is good! Lots of gratitude, trust, passionate resolve, and the support of others \u2026 I don\u2019t have to wait to die to experience the \u2018peace that passes all understanding\u2019. By grace, it\u2019s mine now, thanks to living in integrity \u2026 Evolutionary spirituality \u2026 provides more trust, gratitude, inspiration, comfort, and a sense of belonging than the biblical writers with their \u2026 supernatural interpretations of the private revelations of their day could have possibly experienced. What a glorious, amazing time to be alive!\u201d<\/p>\n
Thanksgiving is a bargain. Praise is a choice.<\/p>\n
And so we come to the centerpiece of this morning\u2019s service. Vocal Magic has prepared a selection of songs on the theme of gratitude, thanksgiving, and praise. May the beauty of their music inspire us all to declare that despite the hardships and heartbreaks, Life is good.<\/p>\n
*************************<\/p>\n
We weren\u2019t able to record this service, but here\u2019s a link to Vocal Magic\u2019s Facebook page<\/a>, which includes some videos.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This morning\u2019s service at DUUF featured the music of Vocal Magic. Here\u2019s my introductory reflection: *************************** In the 1965 film Shenandoah, Jimmy Stewart portrayed Charlie Anderson, a Virginia farmer who tries to keep his farm and his family out of the Civil War. Early in the film, Charlie sits down at the table with his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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