| Today’s sermon is about love and money. In the past
year our congregation has been going through a financial crisis.
While we give our energies generously to support many worthwhile
causes, we don’t seem to have enough money to support our
aspirations as a congregation. I have been a spiritual seeker of
sorts for most of my life. What originally drew me to this
congregation 15 years ago was hearing that we teach our children
about all the religions of the world. That sounded like the church
for me, a place that is open to many sources of inspiration. We
teach our children to think for themselves and to find answers about
the meaning of life and the mystery of creation from their own
experience and inspiration. We love our children and we support them
by nurturing them and hopefully providing them with the tools they
will need to live fulfilling lives.
In order to nurture our children we put our energy into providing
for them. Our physical, emotional and mental energies and our money.
And what is money but just another form of energy. Jacob Needleman
in his book "Money and the Meaning of Life", talks about money as
potential energy. It represents the energies we put into our work to
earn it. Money is full of potential as it also represents what we
will create when we spend it.
I came to this congregation looking for a spiritual home, a
community, a sense of belonging. At the time I was going through a
crisis of sorts, having recently lost a friend who had died
suddenly. His death shook my foundations. It seemed such a waste and
I found myself looking for meaning and reconnection to life. When I
discovered this place that was open to the wisdom of all traditions,
that sounded like a place I would like to be. It was then and it
continues to be today. In the past 15 years I have learned to build
my own religion, a religion that has meaning for me. It is an
ongoing process as I find that I continually need to renew my place
in this mysterious creation in which we live. This is what we teach
our children and also what we teach and support in each other.
Many years before I became a member of this congregation I
learned that life is a choice. Over the years I have also discovered
that what we choose to do needs to be done with love. It is through
love that our spirits grow. It is also through service given with
love that we make a difference in the lives of others.
For me, money is just another form of energy which we put to
service. What we do with our money is our choice but a very
important choice. We provide food and shelter for our children, our
families and ourselves. We provide for others who are in need. By
supporting this congregation, we provide nourishment to our spirits:
the spirits of our children and the spirits of each other. These are
all possible choices for how we spend our money. The key for me is
to look at money the same way I look at my other energies and to
give the best I am able with love and generosity of spirit without
asking for anything in return.
The money we have is full of great potential. In the same way as
I aspire to live my life with meaning and a sense of spiritual
purpose, I also aspire to put my money toward that same meaning and
purpose. For me, our financial crisis is a spiritual crisis and the
solution will be a spiritual solution. A solution which inspires us
to live fulfilling, meaningful lives in service and with love.
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