SERMON

March 4, 2007

"Heart Song"

by

Rev. Alicia Roxanne Forde

I believe we have the power to create our own happiness.

I believe the real magic in the world is done by humans.

I believe normal life is extraordinary.

            Words from Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips spoken on NPR’s

This I Believe.

Wayne tells the following story:

I was sitting in my car at a stoplight intersection listening to the radio.

I was, I guess, lost in the moment, thinking how happy I was

to be inside my nice warm car.

It was cold and windy outside, and I thought, "Life is good."

Now, this was a long light.

As I waited, I noticed two people huddled together at the bus stop.

To my eyes, they looked uncomfortable;

they looked cold and they looked poor.

                           .... 

The couple seemed to be doing their best to keep warm.

They were huddled together, and I thought to myself,

"Oh, those poor people in that punishing wind."

But then I saw their faces.

Yes, they were huddling, but they were also laughing.

They looked to be sharing a good joke, and suddenly,

instead of pitying them, I envied them.

I thought, "Huh, what's so funny?"

They didn't notice the wind.

…

They weren't looking at my car thinking, "I wish I had that."

You know when a single moment feels like an hour?

Well, in that moment, I realized I had assumed this couple needed my pity,

but they didn't.

I assumed things were all bad for them, but they weren't.

And I understood we all have the power to make moments of happiness happen.

//

[Feelin’ Good by Nina Simone]

//

We all have the power to make moments of happiness happen.

Sometimes, that seems like an impossible philosophy,

A naïve statement:

            We all have the power to make moments of happiness happen.

It’s true, it’s true and there are times I forget this,

But, and I believe that we do.

//

It’s a new day¹

It’s a new dawn

It’s a new life

It’s a new day

            And how will you be in this new day?
How will you make moments of happiness happen in this new day?

How will you play a significant part in making something extraordinary

Happen out of an ordinary day?

How will you…how will you be a gift, a contribution in this new day?

What would it be like if in our hearts we asked ourselves these questions

at the dawn of every new day?

How will I be a gift, a contribution in this new day?

            What moments of happiness will I help to make happen today?

What if your heart’s song became:

            I am a gift.  I am a contribution. I will make moments of happiness.

There is power in that;

responsibility and…power.

//

If you’re willing,

            Raise your hand if you’ve ever received a thank you note,

A birthday card, an anniversary card – a grateful you’re here card…

            Raise your hand if you’ve ever received the gift of flowers just when you

            Needed it most.

Feels great doesn’t it?

            Feels like someone cared about you enough to slow down and write, send

Flowers, call…reach out in some small but significant way and be a contribution

In your new day.

And, Jean Brabandt was such a person

            Such a gift…such a contributor

I remember when I started here two and a half years ago,

settled down to working with the Caring Team

There was Jean…there were others as well…and there was Jean.

Jean had a niche

            Jean seemed to understand the significance of her ministry

It wasn’t huge

            It wasn’t public

                        It didn’t come with a lot of accolades and kudos

But it came with a deep sense of satisfaction…the satisfaction of

Touching the lives of others with love and care:

Cards for birthdays, appreciation, anniversaries, and flowers…

Jean did that.   

            Maybe she didn’t wake up each day and consciously ask:

How can I be a contribution today

            And she lived her life as a contribution.

At Jean’s memorial service last December, there was story after story told of a woman

Who lived fully

            Who loved…and loved well

Who was willing to listen to her heart’s song…

            Listen to the inner voice that invited her, at age 86, to take a ride with

her grandson on his Harley

            Listen to the inner voice that invited her to live the best

Life she could live…and at the end of it

            Sleep in peace when day is done,

 trusting that all that she was…the gift that she was,

The song her heart sang, will continue to live on in those that she touched.

I miss Jean…

her presence in this community reminded me to live as a gift,

live in possibility,

Live as if every moment, no matter how small, was extraordinary to some body.

The afternoon after Jean’s Internment service,

            I took a walk around Golden Pond’s in Longmont,

The sky was just this brilliant blue, at one point looking up into it…

I saw her face; I saw her warm blue eyes…

And one line from this chant I knew wove itself into my thoughts:

            Listen Listen Listen to my heart’s song

            Listen Listen Listen to my heart’s song

It wasn’t an epiphany, or a swift conversion.

I didn’t decide then and there to change my life

To change the way I think about life, or the way I live my life.

It wasn’t an epiphany at all…

            It was more like (it was more like) a series of unconnected events

That led me back to a seemingly random thought that appeared to have

Nothing to do with Jean Brabandt or being a gift.

And that thought was this:

            I want to be a part of an A+ community of faith.

Just like that, out of the blue.

            Out of the blue – there was that thought:

I want to be a part of an A+ community of faith.

I want to be part of an A+ community of faith that invites us

To live full lives, be dynamic contributors.  Be the gifts that we are.

That’s what I want – and that’s what Jean did so effortlessly.

It was as if she was led by the spirit of generosity

Everyday…and shared that spirit without much hesitation.

//

I believe the real magic in the world is done by humans.

I believe normal life is extraordinary.

I believe it’s extraordinary because we make it so…

What if our heart’s song became:

            I am a gift.  I am a contribution. I will make moments of happiness.

What if, being an A+ community of faith meant that the community’s

Heart song was:

            We are gifts.  We are contributions. We will make moments of happiness.

There is power in that.

            Responsibility and power.

When I say A+ I’m not thinking about a ranking system…about perfection.

            And I’m not thinking about getting home every night,

Crawling into bed wondering: now, did I live up to being an A+ today or

Was I more like a B, C…or F?

I am thinking of what it would be like to live in, what a dear friend of

Mine calls the

            Present moment, wonderful moment…as our best selves.

Now, sometimes that may mean having to say: I’m sorry…we’re not perfect.

Sometimes it may mean stepping back, remaining quiet while you figure out

What being your best self means in a particular moment and then sharing it

And it always means living from a generosity of spirit…

            Living from a generosity of spirit.

 //

And that’s what I want…an A+ community of faith, that lives from

A generosity of spirit.

            I want a community that looks around and says:

How can we be a gift in the lives of our members and in the lives

Of the wider community?

            How can we be a contribution?

I want a community of faith that reaches into every new day feelin’ good

Making normal life extraordinary because that is its ministry.

That is its vision

That is its dream

            To be the gift of real magic…wouldn’t that be something?

Wouldn’t that be something…

To host and plan the MLK Jr. Day events and then take the year to

Work with schools on dismantling racism

To reach out to young adults through profound action in the community,

meaning making, vibrant music and insightful theological praxis

To elevate our already outstanding Religious Education program,

Touching the lives of more and more families

            Shaping the future of progressive thought, of standing on the side of love

Thought right here in the Loveland/Berthoud area.

To expand our circle…expand our circle asking questions about immigration

And how it affects those in our immediate community

            How can we be a gift there…how can we create a coalition

And be a contribution.

That’s what I want.

I want to know that we are a gift to the peace makers in our midst

The people who work tirelessly for social change

And I want to know that we are a gift to the spiritual seekers in our midst

The contemplatives who lift us up in prayer
…I want to know we do live from generosity of spirit in a pluralistic

Community, with open arms and an open heart for everyone – even if we share

Different beliefs

…I want to know that we are a contribution to the weary in our midst

Who come with heartache, tired, sad, seeking

…I want to know we are a contribution to those who struggle

Financially, with health, with depression, with loss…

We are all here, in each others lives…interconnected.

            And we all want similar things.

Listen.

Listen.

Listen.

To our heart song…to live as a gift, with and from a

Generosity of spirit.  To live in a community where everything extraordinary

Is possible…because we made it so.

//

Can you imagine Wayne Coyne from the opening story,

Sitting in his warm car…creating a story and projecting it on to

Those two people?

How poor and miserable they must be in the cold.

How sad…and then, he saw them laughing.  He saw them feeling good,

Flying high right there in the wind with each other;

He saw them inviting happiness into their lives and consequently his life.

In that moment, we could only imagine that they were being gifts to each other…

and in so doing they were a gift to Wayne.

Do you believe you’re a gift? A contribution?

Practice saying it with me:

            I am a gift

            I am a contribution

            I will make moments of happiness

I am a gift

            I am a contribution

            I will make moments of happiness

And maybe your neighbor needs a little help getting

His/her heart song out, so turn to your neighbor and say:

            You are a gift

            You are a contribution

            You will make moments of happiness

Get close to this person now, and look them in the eyes…

And take turns telling each other softly with heart:

            You are a gift

            You are a contribution

            You will make moments of happiness

Now say it out into this gathered community, into the Universe (using we):

            We are a gift

            We are a contribution

            We will make moments of happiness

And to do that it takes living from a framework of generosity.

It takes a willingness to trust that everyone has something

Some worthy gift, big and small, to contribute to the greater whole

It takes trusting that alone we don’t have all the answers

But together, every one of us has a small piece of truth that we can

Contribute.

It takes listening to our heart’s song: I am a gift.

And well, if I am a gift – then you are…and we are… and

By gosh, we will make a difference,

            Our lives will make a difference

The way we are at work, with our families and friends, in working

For justice…with each other here at church,

in the wider world will make a difference

This year’s stewardship committee will soon be

Asking you to make a particular kind of gift / contribution

To the community…financial in nature…

            And I believe that if they share their goal with you,

            if they share with you the hopes of this community – hopes that

you’ve expressed…,

            that you will work with them to reach that goal, make those hopes

            a reality because

            I believe in our generosity of spirit

            I believe in our desire to make moments of happiness happen

In this community: expanding R.E. through fair compensation, more comprehensive

Outreach into the wider community, enhancing worship through the liturgical arts, like

Music, more space for adult and young adult religious education and social action

I believe in our generosity of spirit and our willingness to

Respond to this year’s canvass from a place of abundance.

And as we are here today,

            I want to ask, I want to know – because you’ve heard a lot from me

This morning, I want to hear from you…I want to know

Do you want to be a contribution to an A+ community?

            A place where you and those around you could practice and

live out an expression of the values that you all hold

a place where you, the people are the ones who make the magic happen

a place where, even if initially your needs appear to differ, relationships

of trust are nurtured, and the divine has an opportunity to flourish

where we bring ourselves and make room for others to do the same

inviting partnership and dialogue, and a chorus of heart songs.

Do you want to be a contribution to an A+ community?

We all have varying ideas of what that might mean, and

            In truth we all want similar things:

Listen.

Listen.

Listen.

To our heart song…to live as a gift, with and from a

Generosity of spirit.  To live in a community where everything extraordinary

Is possible…because we made it so.

//

I want to close with a story…maybe you’ve heard it before,

And, it’s one that I find myself wanting to hear again and again

Strolling along the edge of the sea,

a man catches sight of a young woman

who appears to be engaged in a ritual dance.

She stoops down, then straightens to her full height,

casting her arm out in an arc.

Drawing closer, he sees that the beach around her is littered with starfish,

and she is throwing them one by one into the sea.

He lightly mocks her:

"There are stranded starfish as far as the eye can see, for miles up the beach.

What difference can saving a few of them possibly make?"

Smiling, she bends down and once more tosses a starfish out over the water,

saying serenely, "It certainly makes a difference to this one."

Smiling, she bends down and once more tosses a starfish out over the water,

saying serenely, "It certainly makes a difference to this one."

            She made moments of happiness for each star fish she threw back

            She was a gift to each star fish she threw back

            She – in that moment – was being her best self, being a contribution,

Living an A+ life…

You’ve said yes to wanting to be a contribution to in A+ community

            Then, this community, this NUUC world we’ve known

This old world, can be a new world, a bold world

For us all…

This is the moment we have…and with it, we are committed to

creating an A+ community

let’s make it so.