Commentary on Freedom
For Music Sunday
Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church
June 3, 2018
by The Rev. Craig M. Nowak
When this church was gathered in 1717, just over 300 years ago, the United states had not yet been founded. There was no Constitution. No Bill of Rights. Brookfield was part of the Province of Massachusetts, a colony of Great Britain. And, in 1717, there was no formally organized Unitarian or Universalist Churches. Both our nation and our faith would later emerge from an idea long residing within the hearts and minds of men…and women. The idea of freedom.
Now, when many present day Americans and indeed many present day Unitarian Universalists, speak of freedom, we tend to emphasize “external liberty”, that is the freedom to go and do and buy and say what we want with little constraint. Yet, as Krista Tippett, host of On Being, a weekly radio program on religion and spirituality, reminds us, “It is easy to forget…how much trial and error went into the creation of American democracy; how much of what Americans now take for granted wasn’t fully formed for decades after 1776.”
Referencing the work of the contemporary philosopher Jacob Needleman, Tippett notes, “every iconic institution, every political value, had "inward work" of conscience behind it. Every hard-won right had a corresponding responsibility.”
This “inward work” is of concern to Needleman, who cautions, “We certainly need external liberty. But without the inner meaning of freedom and liberty, we have to ask, "Well, what is this freedom for?”
Much of the same observations can be made about our Unitarian Universalist faith. It did not emerge fully formed. Indeed it is the product of much trial and error, the deeply committed “inward work” of its adherents past and present. People whose names are familiar to us and those scarcely known. And its freedom is only truly secured by acceptance of the responsibility that accompanies it. And so, while we prize the external freedom of our faith…and often evangelize - or at least tout it- as THE “selling point” of Unitarian Universalism to others, particularly those disenchanted with their childhood faith or religion in general, we’d do well to give greater attention to the inner meaning of this free faith, to ask, “What is this freedom for?”
We live in a country and practice a faith rooted in the idea of freedom, which is beyond the exercise of personal will. One, finds expression of this idea in the founding documents of this nation and further articulation in the Bill of Rights. The other, our faith, finds expression of this idea in our principles and further articulation in our congregational covenant.
Observing, “A democratic citizen is not a citizen who can do anything he/she wants; it's a citizen who has an obligation at the same time.”, Needleman suggests we begin to explore the inward meaning and purpose of our freedom by engaging the question, “What are the duties implied by our rights?”
And so, I invite you to keep that question with you today as the choir sings “The Bill of Rights” and hold it ever close to your heart… living in this land of the free… and living into this free faith.
Amen and Blessed Be
For Music Sunday
Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church
June 3, 2018
by The Rev. Craig M. Nowak
When this church was gathered in 1717, just over 300 years ago, the United states had not yet been founded. There was no Constitution. No Bill of Rights. Brookfield was part of the Province of Massachusetts, a colony of Great Britain. And, in 1717, there was no formally organized Unitarian or Universalist Churches. Both our nation and our faith would later emerge from an idea long residing within the hearts and minds of men…and women. The idea of freedom.
Now, when many present day Americans and indeed many present day Unitarian Universalists, speak of freedom, we tend to emphasize “external liberty”, that is the freedom to go and do and buy and say what we want with little constraint. Yet, as Krista Tippett, host of On Being, a weekly radio program on religion and spirituality, reminds us, “It is easy to forget…how much trial and error went into the creation of American democracy; how much of what Americans now take for granted wasn’t fully formed for decades after 1776.”
Referencing the work of the contemporary philosopher Jacob Needleman, Tippett notes, “every iconic institution, every political value, had "inward work" of conscience behind it. Every hard-won right had a corresponding responsibility.”
This “inward work” is of concern to Needleman, who cautions, “We certainly need external liberty. But without the inner meaning of freedom and liberty, we have to ask, "Well, what is this freedom for?”
Much of the same observations can be made about our Unitarian Universalist faith. It did not emerge fully formed. Indeed it is the product of much trial and error, the deeply committed “inward work” of its adherents past and present. People whose names are familiar to us and those scarcely known. And its freedom is only truly secured by acceptance of the responsibility that accompanies it. And so, while we prize the external freedom of our faith…and often evangelize - or at least tout it- as THE “selling point” of Unitarian Universalism to others, particularly those disenchanted with their childhood faith or religion in general, we’d do well to give greater attention to the inner meaning of this free faith, to ask, “What is this freedom for?”
We live in a country and practice a faith rooted in the idea of freedom, which is beyond the exercise of personal will. One, finds expression of this idea in the founding documents of this nation and further articulation in the Bill of Rights. The other, our faith, finds expression of this idea in our principles and further articulation in our congregational covenant.
Observing, “A democratic citizen is not a citizen who can do anything he/she wants; it's a citizen who has an obligation at the same time.”, Needleman suggests we begin to explore the inward meaning and purpose of our freedom by engaging the question, “What are the duties implied by our rights?”
And so, I invite you to keep that question with you today as the choir sings “The Bill of Rights” and hold it ever close to your heart… living in this land of the free… and living into this free faith.
Amen and Blessed Be
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