I'm a Universalist, Universalist; I Believe in Universal Universalism

Just as I had completed writing the sermon, from which this "blogspot" is based and was about to print it off I thought I’d take a look at Facebook to see what folk were talking about. The first thing I saw was the following Meme published by the Unitarian Publicity Officer Rory Castle-Jones. So I thought I’d add it as way of introduction.

We love Jesus.
We love Buddha too.
And Muhammad and Krishna and Moses and Guru Nanak and Julian of Norwich. And lots of other folks.
We find that when you look for it,
you find spiritual wisdom in lots of places.
And why should wisdom only come from one place?
Why should God only care about one religion?
What if God's love is bigger than any one religion?
What if God speaks in a thousand different voices?
Shouldn't we listen?
We believe that truth is bigger than any one religion.
We believe that love is bigger than any one belief.

We are Unitarians.

...Seemed like a perfect introduction to this piece, so thank you for that Universal Spirit of Life...

I was talking with someone the other day. It’s the kind of conversation I often find myself in when people discover who I am and more importantly what I do. Assumptions are made, some of those by me by the way. The person was struggling with life in many ways and they told me that nothing I could do or say would help. I believed them, I could see I could not help them. So I did the best thing I could do, I listened. They described how nothing is real and that life is merely an illusion and that we need to truly embrace and experience this nothingness. That there is no self. I listened and tried to identify. I even shared about transcendent moments of my own, ones I have heard others attempt to describe, moments when I have experienced what it is to melt into the ground of all being, to know the oneness of everything to feel held in the loving embrace of what I would call God.  The person looked at me as if I was mad and I sensed powerfully that they felt utterly disconnected from everything in that moment. Oh how I wished I could have helped, maybe I did in some small way. As I left then I remembered moments in my life when I had felt utterly disconnected from everything and everyone, much like the prodigal son. The only difference being that the person I was listening to felt that there was no one and nothing to return to, that life is merely an illusion. Thankfully I see clearly that this is not the case. I have found a place to return to. I have found a home in life, in reality. Life is many things, but an illusion it is not.

I believe in everything and that little bit more than everything that is at the core of it all, connecting it all. I believe utterly in this Universal Love.

A little later that day I found myself in another conversation with someone who has recently awoken spiritually. They are fascinated by spiritual matters. Again I found myself mainly listening to them and remembering similar experiences. And then it happened, they came out with the ultimate cliché, one I have said myself over the years. Again they knew what I do for a living and began telling me all that is wrong with religion. They said “Religion is for people who are afraid to go to Hell where as spirituality is for people who have already been there.” We talked for some time and I spoke of my own Unitarian tradition and tried to explain that what they say of religion is not true of all forms of religion. I spoke a little of the need for community and how this enhances ones personal spirituality and that this can be achieved without dogma. I spoke specifically about Universalism and how they were even known as “The No Hellers”. They were not in the least bit interested. So we left and went about our business.

It got me thinking about the free religious tradition I am a part of and also my feelings of faith etc, how I identify my own beliefs. For I know that those who I congregate with do not all believe and disbelieve the same. Now within our free religious tradition each congregation is linked through a wider denomination named “The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches”. There is no ruling body and no one has authority over anyone else. Each congregation is self governing and each member of the congregation is free to believe as their conscience dictates. We are closely connected to other similar denominations throughout the world. In America the denomination is called Unitarian Universalists. Which is essentially two denominations that came together as one in the early 1960’s. They each have their own history. I have over the years read much by many Unitarians and Universalist and have found that I actually seem to connect, spiritually at least, more with Universalist than the Unitarians. So much so that a few years ago I declared myself as a Universalist. A Unitarian friend asked me “What kind of Universalist I was?” I paused and thought for a moment and then I answered “I am a Universalist, Universalist”. They were another who looked at me as if I was mad and so I explained that I was a Universalist in the old sense. I do not believe in hell and damnation. That the God of my limited understanding would never condemn anyone to an eternity in Hell; I do not believe that some are saved and others are unsaved. I believe that God has an intimate love for all, that if there is a hell it is a state of being that can be experienced within life. I talked about the "Prodigal Son" parable and I also spoke of my belief that this love is always there waiting for us. I also said that I was a universalist in a more modern understanding too in that I see truth in so many other traditions. That none can reveal the whole truth, that they are windows that let some of the light through. I also talked of a belief in the interconnectedness of all life and that all that happens and does not happen matters. That divinity is present within everything, a kind of Universal Love I suppose.

I remember a few years ago hearing a joke about the difference between the nineteenth century Unitarians and the Universalist. It is said that the Unitarians believed that humanity was too good to be rejected by God where as the Universalists believed that God was too good to ever reject humanity.

I am definitely a Universalist. In fact I am a "Universalist, Universalist, Universalist!"

I believe in and experience a God of Love who accepts all and rejects none; is present in all life and yet is greater than the entirety of it all. I also believe that there are many ways to understand and experience this Universal Love; it makes no sense to me to think that there can be only one way. Universalism has given me a code of hopefulness that I can live by. It sustains me through the vicissitudes of life and it connects me to the whole of reality. I have come to believe in what I have come to call Universalist Universalism.

Universalism speaks to my head, my heart and above all my soul. It has enabled me to observe and  fully participate in life, to bare witness to what we do to each other and ourselves. It helps me come to terms with my past and my present and look forward to the future. It helps me connect to the people I have and currently share my life with. It enables to live fully alive.

Universalism is a hope filled faith, but that does not make it an easy path. It is not about sitting back and waiting to be rescued by the God of love it promotes. Instead it declares that salvation, in this life, can only be achieved by facing up to the suffering present in all our lives and dealing directly with the despair that accompanies it. It's also about bringing hope to those in despair and to truly singing the joy of living.

As one of the founding fathers of Universalism, John Murray, so beautifully put it in the eighteenth century

“You may possess only a small light, but uncover it, let it shine, use it in order to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and minds of men and women. Give them not Hell, but hope and courage. Do not push them deeper into their theological despair, but preach the kindness and everlasting love of God.”

John Murray

Whenever I feel despair both with myself or with the rest of humanity, which I do from time to time, I try to remember these words by the Universalist preacher John Murray. I feel a deep connection and purpose in life and through life. In so doing I experience the truth that everything matters, every thought, every feeling, every word and every deed. For love is both eternal and universal.

As we live our lives in this our shared world it is important to remember to widen our views and deepen our experiences, increasing our awareness that all life touches way beyond our horizons, not just directly those that we come into contact with, but with so many others also, often indirectly. In so doing we can welcome the wanderer to find their way back home and we will begin to repair the fragmentations of life and develop deeper intimacy. In so doing may we find our place among the family of things. May we all find ourselves safe and in love and here at home.