I gave this sermon at
the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Chico on April 23, 2017. Before I
spoke, we showed this video: “How Wolves Change Rivers”
For the past several years, a group
of UUs has been working to officially change our first principle from “the
inherent worth and dignity of every person” to “the inherent worth and dignity
of every being.” This group formed the First Principle Project and are working
their way through the UUA steps for amending our bylaws. This June at General
Assembly, delegates will vote on whether or not to send this proposal to a 1-2
year study commission.
What does it mean to be human in a
multi-species world? In many ways, this question is at the epicenter of the
First Principle Project. Changing our first principle from “every person” to
“every being” is much more than a shift of one word. This simple change invites
us into a deeper, more complex conversation about what it means to be human,
how we understand the divine, and why we are here.
When I was five, my mother taught
me how to catch butterflies. There were patches clover in the stretch of green
between the apartment buildings where we lived. She said I had to be able to be
very still on the outside and on the inside too. I remember the first time I
caught a butterfly. I was thrilled, feeling the soft flutter of wings on my
palms. I could open my fingers a crack and peek inside. Sitting there in the
sun, smiling at my accomplishment, the soft fluttery touches slowly drew me in
until I was able to really feel the little life between my hands.
And I realized how frightened it
must be! My mother had warned me not to touch its wings or it might not be able
to fly, and not to hold it too long. But once I connected with the butterfly as
a being and not just an entertainment, I could no longer ignore its fear. Then
I understood why I had to let it go. Over the next few weeks I caught a few
more, but eventually the joy I felt in this new skill paled in comparison to
the echo of pain and fear I felt in the desperate flutter of butterfly wings.
I learned some important lessons
about being human that day, beyond realizing that I could feel a connection
with insects as well as with my mother and other humans. I learned what it felt
like to hold the power of life or death in my hands. And I learned that power
comes with responsibility.
We live in a tumultuous time. Many
of us are challenging the system of domination with its reliance on power-over.
Many of us are working to shift away from a world rooted in oppression to a
world where flourishing is nurtured for all—for individual humans, for human
communities, and for the earth and all the many beings that live here with us. Much
of the chaos and crises that explode across the daily headlines are directly
connected to this struggle to birth something new.
Because this something new would
benefit everyone, we have a hard time understanding why anyone would stand
against this ideal. Why would anyone be against flourishing for everyone?
I offer that the difference goes
back to what we believe about human nature. Are we humans basically good or are
we basically bad? How we answer this question leads to very different societys.
If we believe that humans are
basically bad, then things like obedience-based education, and
punishment-rooted criminal justice make sense. In this world view, human nature
needs to be firmly and clearly controlled, and it is a lack of appropriate and adequate
control that results in poverty, drug use, crime, homelessness, and all of the
other problems of our modern world.
If we believe humans are basically
good, then obedience and punishment smothers and harms the divine spark born in
each of us.
My understanding of human nature basically
arises out of a mix of what is called process theology, and science. Process
theology says that we are all a part of divinity and, as such, are co-creators
with God. This means that we all play a part in creating this world every day. Process
theologian Catherine Keller says, “In the image of the creator we are invited
to a creative responsibility—an ability to respond in appreciative relation to
the others, human and nonhuman. To respond not just dutifully but
resourcefully, in the flow of creativity and in the beauty of grace.”
Unitarian Universalists also value
science as one of the sources that informs our understanding humanity. So what
does science say about human nature? From what I have read, on the whole, we
humans are born with the potential for both good and evil. The relationships we
develop and the environment we collectively create plays a large role in
whether we act for the good of others or whether we act in ways that harm and
oppress others.
In Trauma & Evil: Healing the Wounded Soul minister and
psychologist Jeffery Means says, “While the embryonic self is innate and ordinarily
contains the capacity to organize experience, it requires a matrix of
relationships within which to develop and mature to its potential. This means
that the structuralization of the human mind grows out of human relationships…
Relationships and connection with others is more basic and necessary for our
survival and development than is pleasure”.
I learned one beautiful way of
summing this up from Rev. Ben McBride at a PICO training last year. He shared
with us a part of traditional Zulu culture. In greeting each other one would
say “I see you.” And the traditional response is “Because you see me, I exist.”
This understanding of our interdependence is reflected in our seventh UU
principle: “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are
a part.”
Which brings me back to that
butterfly and our first principle. I am called to use the power that I have
responsibly. We are all called to use our power responsibly. Our UU principles
exist as a guide for how we can do this. It is subtle, but the inherent worth
and dignity of every person elevates humanity above other
forms of life.
I see in this an unconscious
reflection of the power-over domination model that permeates our society. This
is the model that gives humans dominion over the world, and we have seen how
well this dominion as fared—it has given us poisoned water in Flint Michigan,
the Tar Sands wastelands in Canada, massive species extinction, and more. This
model is also the model that supports some humans having power-over other
humans which we see in racism, sexism, classism, homophobia. It is a model
rooted in fear and obsessed with control.
Speaker and
writer Winona La Duke says, “One of our people in the Native community said the
difference between white people and Indians is that Indian people know they are
oppressed but don’t feel powerless. White people don’t feel oppressed, but feel
powerless. Deconstruct that disempowerment. Part of the mythology that they’ve
been teaching you is that you have no power. Power is not brute force and
money; power is in your spirit. Power is in your soul. It is what your
ancestors, your old people gave you. Power is in the earth; it is in your
relationship to the earth.”
What would our world look like if
we stopped believing we are powerless? What might we create if we used
power-with to grow a world where everyone’s divine spark was supported and
nurtured? What would our world look like if we saw nature as our partner
instead of our competitor?
First Principle Project Director
Rev. LoraKim Joyner says, “This work of living out our principles is never
easy, for our principles are not an acceptance of the reality under which we
live with imperfect justice and compassion, but a vision for which we ache and
long.”
When we open up and let go of
trying to control the world—that is where co-creation begins. Words matter.
Changing our first principle from “every person” to “every being” would open us
up to a sharing of power—with each other, with the earth and with the divine.
What will you create today?
