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WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis Oh, What a Wonderful Mess are We Good morning. Are there any drums in the house? Your time is coming, so please be patient, while I start today’s talk with three questions. Could I see the hands of those of you who have never disagreed with anyone about anything? Could I see the hands of those of you who are fairly certain there is at least one other person in this room who disagrees with you on an issue about which you feel strongly? Finally, could I see the hands of those of you who at least once have had one of those epiphanies in which you suddenly realized you were disagreeing with yourself? Oh, what a wonderful mess are we. We know, then, at least this much: the odds of total agreement even among a small group of us is slim to none on a good day. 1 WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis Yet knowing this, and in spite of this, we not only keep coming back to this place we call church, we choose to sit beside those with whom we know we will at least occasionally disagree. Therefore, I can only conclude we’re not here because we need institutional backing to make us feel good about being right while everyone else is wrong. After all, if “right” were the issue, each of us is already “wrong” in the eyes of at least one other person here, and even worse, sometimes we find ourselves on both sides of the same argument at exactly the same time. Who knows? Maybe we’re even more of a mess than I imagined, which naturally begs the question, what kind of mess are we? The Reverend Barbara Wells ten Hove argues that our seven principles “are not dogma or doctrine, but a guide for those of us who choose to join and participate in Unitarian Universalist communities.” 2 WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis I love this sentiment. By rejecting both dogma and doctrine, we also reject the temptation to waste time worrying about being more “right” than others. Still, I don’t think we’re crazy to want at least a little bit of “right” in our lives. Our humanist sources argue that reason applied to evidence is necessary to distinguish truth from falsity. It’s not only important, but a moral obligation to get our facts straight, to draw reasonable conclusions, and to be open to a logical critique of those conclusions. It’s how we make our lives better. And yet, some of us are skeptical of reason at the expense of emotion, of too much head and too little heart. 3 WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis Our Christian sources argue that we should love our neighbors as ourselves, which I’m pretty sure is what my mother meant when she told me to play nice with others. Strange that a church would struggle with its religious roots, but we do. Without this struggle, however, we wouldn’t exist, and struggle we did. Ours was a difficult childbirth, followed by a very loud and boisterous childhood that I imagine was highlighted by several notes home complaining that | we kept running with scissors when we should have been happy we were allowed to walk—but it was that very childhood that allowed us to grow to the point where we could embrace pluralism as we do today. 4 WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis And then there’s the “God/Goddess/Creator/Whatever” thing. Some of us are comfortable with one or more of these words—others not so much. Still, theists and atheists sit side by side in peace—most of the time. Monotheists and polytheists are equally peaceful—though occasionally they forget which one’s which and why. Even those on opposite sides of significant philosophical divides—monism vs. dualism, transcendence vs. immanence, empiricism vs. romanticism, analysis vs. intuition, even art vs. science—we all coexist side by side in peace, or at least with no hitting. Even better, we willingly work side by side for peace | because that which pulls us together is far more powerful than that which pushes us apart. 5 WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis And if words ever become too much of a barrier to understanding, the Buddhists we are smile that wry, Buddha- smile to remind us that what’s left of ourselves can never wake up enough. Or, when we’re so confused we find ourselves wandering around aimlessly, our pagan selves just beat their drums until even the most talky among us—that would be people like me—realize we might as well just shut up and dance. Though as a matter of full disclosure, I would like to point out that this is about as “dancey” as I get. So, yes, were a mess—a most wonderful mess—but a mess nonetheless, and frankly I like it. After all, the human condition isn’t clean and orderly, though it does occasionally demand we impose at least a little cleanliness and order on our lives lest they spiral madly out of control. And to immediately disagree with myself, I’d like to point out that too much order and cleanliness can also lead to outlandish fits of too much control. 6 WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis Or to put a positive spin on it, maybe it’s not that we disagree with ourselves so much as we willingly plumb the paradoxes we are for meaning—and that sounds like some strange mix of Jewish-Sufi-Shaman-thinking, which clearly isn’t messy at all. There are times, then, when I think we’re like that showman who spins plates on sticks. What he does is amazing, but no matter how great his skill, he can only keep multiple plates spinning by himself for a few minutes at a time. Too many plates—or for that matter, the right amount, but for too long—and disaster strikes. 7 WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis We’re at our best, I think, when each one of us focuses on his or her own plate, takes a deep breath, and works to keep it spinning. That way, whenever any of us get tired, we can reach up and pluck our plate out of the air before going off to play or take a nap or have a nice meal or whatever else it might be that we want or need at any given moment. And if each of us takes care of both our self and the plate we’ve chosen to spin, then we can also pay attention to the work and play of others so that there is always more than one plate spinning; thus, our wonderful mess becomes an amazing sight. Still, there are times I’d like to imagine we’re just one thing, regardless of how clearly I know we’re not. It would make questions like “Now, what is a Unitarian Universalist?” so much easier to answer—but truth be told I don’t really want “easy.” I want meaningful, not only for myself, but for everyone else here with me as well. 8 WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis This is why I so often turn to art to help me sort through the meaning questions I encounter. And in our search for meaning today, the art I’d like you to consider with me is music, specifically, a song by Mary Hopkin. Ms. Hopkin is a Welsh folk-singer who broke onto the music scene in the late 60’s. She won a talent show in London, was signed to the Apple label by Paul McCartney, and appeared doomed to slip into a brief career as a teeny bopper—until 1971 when she released Earth Song-Ocean Song and everything changed—especially with the track titled “Water, Paper, and Clay.” The lyrics are in your order of service, and I’d like you to listen as she sings it for us. 9 WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis Now, I’m too old to actually believe in the illusion of my own plans, but for those of you ready to drum or sing your way into happiness at the drop of a hat, please remember to let those of us less gifted than you hear the words as Mary sings them. There will be plenty of time for you to take over later. I give you Mary Hopkin, singing “Water, Paper, and Clay.” So much for teeny-bopper, eh? For me, “Water, Paper, and Clay” touches on everything Unitarian-Universalism is at its best. As I mentioned before, Mary Hopkin is from Wales, and the Welsh know a thing or two about messiness. For example, the landscape of Wales is full of sacred springs. In pagan times, people believed these springs were the places where the land of women and men came into direct contact with the land of the Sidhe (pronounced Shee) or fairies. 10 WHAT A WONDERFUL MESS—Andrew Davis One of their more important goddesses, Brigit (pronounced Bre-hid) daughter of Dagda, is the namesake of at least one spring in Wales—and in Ireland | and in England | and in Scotland | and in just about any other country where Celtic culture once held sway. These springs were so sought after for blessings and healings, that Brigit (Bre-hid) the Pagan Goddess became the Brigit, the Christian saint. Today, pagans and Christians alike still visit her springs for the blessings they believe she will bestow on them.

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