Sermons

The season of Lent is a time Christians are meant to imagine and embody Jesus’ journey of 40 days in a wilderness full of temptation, fasting, and danger, leading to resurrection and his subsequent ministry. The lesson for Christians it that Jesus trusted God even on this harsh journey. Harsh wilderness feels like an appropriate analogy for the dangerous times we have entered in this country. As Unitarian Universalists, many of whom are not Christians or believers of any sort, who or what can we trust on this journey?

In the Mishneh Torah, a book of Jewish oral law compiled by the twelfth-century Spanish philosopher, Moses Maimonides, there is a step-by-step process of repentance. The process includes naming and owning the harm done, starting to change, restitution and accepting consequences, apology, and making different choices. Rabbi Dayna Ruttenberg’s book On Repentance and Repair, last year’s UU Common Read, analyzes these steps and transposes them into the context of 21st-century Western culture. Let’s consider both texts to think about what it really means to work toward regaining trust. One thing is for sure about getting some much-needed R&R…repentance and repair is hardly rest and relaxation.

Spring, or Vernal Equinox, is celebrated as Easter, Passover, Ramadan, Ostara, Beltane, and probably more rituals and holidays. This time of year is often known as the Season of Turning because this sacred time is a fulcrum of sorts. We are celebrating not just turning toward a new season but also turning from bondage to freedom, physically, emotionally, and mentally. We also turn toward a deeper connection to what liberates, nourishes, and sustains our spirits.

Our guest speaker will be Dr. Lisa Klein from LA’s Gender Center.

In these weeks following the inauguration of a regime that values wealth over lives, we need one another, and we need a religious community more than ever. What can we learn from our own time spent in the Pacific Ocean and our own experiences of community resilience that can make us wiser, more connected, and more capable in this moment? And what does this mean for us as we embark on ministry with Rev. Joshua? Join us for a reflection on spiritual resilience in this tumultuous time.

Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh is the Pacific Unitarian Universalist Church’s primary contact on the regional staff of the Unitarian Universalist Association. A lifelong UU and with a background in congregational ministry, sexuality education, lifespan religious education, and justice work, Sarah is about to celebrate her 20th anniversary of ordination.

– Rev. Sarah Millspaugh