Doors 

Rev. Ron Sala, September 9, 2001 

 

Many of us are probably familiar with the story of “The Lady, or the Tiger?” by nineteenth century writer Frank R. Stockton. I still remember a movie version our teacher showed us in junior high. The basic premise is that, in an ancient kingdom, a prisoner is brought into an arena and confronted with two doors. Behind one, is waiting a beautiful woman. Should he open this door, the woman is his. (This is obviously a pre-feminist tale.) Behind the other door waits “a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be procured,” prepared to leap forth and devour him! The catch is that he has no idea which door is which until he chooses to open one.

This morning, I would like to take us through a similar test -- but only in our minds’ eyes. The great poet William Blake said, " If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to [us] as it is,

infinite – .”

Therefore, let us picture in our minds, in as much detail as possible, the journey we are about to undertake.

Before us stand three doors. They are strong, red doors -- in need of a bit of paint. There is a little door, so small that we would have to stoop our heads a bit to enter it. There is a medium-size door, big enough to admit two or three people at of time. And there is a big double door that you could lead a small elephant through.

We are hard pressed to choose which door would be best to try first, and so we try the biggest one. To our eyes, it opens into a beautiful cathedral -- or is it a mosque? A zendo? A temple?? People are gathering to pray, to meditate, to hear sermons, to sing, to dance. In fact, it looks a lot like the room we’re in now. The ceiling and walls have been painted, the floor has been carpeted, and brand new chairs decorate the space. There's a feeling of freshness from our surroundings and one of excitement and joy from the faces around us. Since last we met here, there are three new members: Hope Russell and Paul and Eleanor Dennis. There is a new minister and a new director of religious education.

You may have wondered where the banners of the world religions have gone. The answer is that they were taken to the basement during the painting and haven't been returned. A lot of people have asked me if they're going back up. Some have expressed a sincere hope that they would. Others have ventured opinions that they should be cleaned or replaced. There seems to be a broad consensus, and I would agree, that there is a need for some sort of an indication, here in the heart of our sanctuary, of our diversity and inclusivity as Unitarian Universalists.

This society began as a Universalist congregation -- a Christian congregation. That is a long tradition to recognize and respect. But many decades before the consolidation of the Unitarians and the Universalists in 1961, Universalists began to reach out beyond the confines of Christianity alone.

Clarence R. Skinner, one of the great Universalist ministers of the first half of the 20th century, in his book A Religion for Greatness, redefined Universalism beyond its original meaning as a Christian doctrine. He spoke about it as an attitude toward what is universal among us human beings. He wrote:

There are two alternatives, and only two, before us. First, which is unlikely, is that we unscramble our modern interdependent culture, returning to separate and isolationist lives. If we went back to the village state of existence, then we might be partialists to our hearts’ content. Such a world could not demand greatness.

The other alternative is to so expand our spiritual powers that we vastly increase the range of our understanding and sympathy. There is no middle way. It is greatness -- universalism [small “u”] -- or perish.<

[Skinner concludes,] There is no experience which gives to [us] ... so compelling a universalism as this radical religious insight into the unities and universals. 

I believe that it is that attention to the unities and universals that brought each of us here to the Unitarian Universalist Society in Stamford. For here is a place where we find what unites us human beings rather than what divides us into our "small and particular worlds." As to what symbolic representations we use to proclaim our faith in the unities and universals of experience -- whether it be banners, plaques, sculptures, etc. is a conversation worth having. Also, as someone has pointed out, there was never a banner here for Earth centered religions -- and perhaps they were others we overloooked as well. I would encourage you to talk to a board member or myself regarding your opinion. But, without a doubt, this beautiful sanctuary is a place for not only tolerating but celebrating life and meaning-making in all their forms.

Now, step back with me, if you will, through that big door. Two other doors await us. Let's choose the medium door -- the one big enough to admit two or three a time. As we step over its threshold, we see that it is a cell or room of more modest proportions. There are chairs in a circle for eight or a dozen. Many more or many fewer would be an odd fit. A flaming chalice flickers cheerfully in the midst of a ring of faces. The expressions are intent, as people try to capture each other's every word. Now and then, there are shared tears or chuckles spread infectiously around. People talk about their lives. They talk about doing good near or far. There is a warmth and intimacy among those familiar and unfamiliar.

These are the many groups in UUSIS. From the board to committees to the newly revived Women's Association to UU Men Eating Out to adult education classes to the new youth group -- and many more. These groups all through the week are just as important as Sunday worship. For it is here that we look into each other's hearts and souls and minds in a way that is not possible in a larger assembly. As our congregation grows -- and I am convinced that the will and ability for growth is abundant here -- as we grow, these smaller groups will ppreserve our intimacy.

I especially would like to thank one of those groups, the strategic planning committee, for all its hard work during the interim year. That group has decided to call an end to its labors, after much success, to make room for future planning efforts and so that its members may devote themselves to other tasks in the congregation.

In addition to the many small group offerings already available, there is the opportunity to form a type of group that would be new to this congregation. Often called “covenant groups,” these assemblies of ten or fewer people are beginning to be used in UU congregations around the continent. Covenant groups help their members to be more intentional about spiritual and personal growth. They show us that none of us need be alone on this journey. They make a space for mutual guidance and support. Whether the covenant groups idea is right for this congregation is something that will be decided in the months ahead. Just like in the Welcoming Congregation program, in which we will decide whether to ask for an official denominational designation as a congregation welcoming to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, it is part of our tradition of congregational polity that we decide such things together. I would only ask for your thoughtful attention to such matters as the year progresses.

Finally, I ask you to step out with me in your mind one last time. Step away from the circle of people we just saw, out through the medium-sized door, and face with me that final entryway. Little more than a hatch, it could certainly not fit more than one person at a time. Is this where the tiger waits? As we bend down and look inside, we see that what's behind the door is little more than a closet. Inside, there is a woman serenely situated in the lotus position. So absorbed is she in her meditation, that she does not seem to notice us. So as not to disturb her, we quietly close the door. No sooner have we shut it, though, than we hear the sound of singing. We reopen the door a crack and see a man inside singing a hymn remembered from childhood. We close the door and, out of sheer curiosity, open it a third time. Inside, someone is curled up with a paperback of The Upanishads.

This last, small door is the closet of our individual hearts. You might be familiar with the responsive reading from our hymnal "We arrive out of many singular rooms" by the late Rev. Kenneth Patton. Here, in our mind’s eye, we see those many rooms. I know there is much diversity among us in the way we connect with our deepest selves and the universal spirit -- whatever we conceive that spirit to be. Some of us pray, others divine, some paint, others journal. Sometimes, nothing helps my own spiritual life so much as a jog by moonlight listening to the Beatles on my Walkman….

This Society should be a place of encouraging, sharing, and supporting the many individual disciplines, which sustain us. That might happen through Sunday worship, religious education, coffee hour conversation, News and Views, or other ways. We must not be afraid that our particular way is odd or that someone else won't understand. Rather, we should take to heart our second Unitarian Universalist Principle: "Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations” and remember as well the final line from Rev. Patton’s reading, “It is good to be with one another.”

And so, we have explored the three doors, leading us in turn to a proverbial cathedral, cell, and closet -- our experiences, respectively, of the congregation, the small group, and the individual spiritual life. They are all the Unitarian Universalist Society in Stamford -- and that society is us. None of these spaces could exist without the others, and we could not exist without each other.

None of these doors contained tigers -- only the beautiful women, men, and children that we are.

I sometimes wonder why the doors of this building are red. I'm sure there must be a simple, historical reason for this. (And Dot will probably tell me after the service.) But I like to imagine anyway. In many parts of the world, red is the color of life. In the Bible, the first person, Adam, has a name which is related to the Hebrew word for "red." In Italy, a red thread is sewn into the sheets of a newly wed couple to give them magical protection for their new life together. These red doors also call to mind for me the Jewish story of the deliverance from slavery, in which the doors of the Hebrews were smeared with blood to signify a people set apart. These red doors reminded me, too, of the blood our forebears gave for being true to their faith. Finally, these red doors suggest to me the passion of a congregation set on fire to change the world.

In our mind’s eye, we have entered three doors. Now, in reality, let us exit these doors, refreshed, renewed, and ready to make a difference wherever we go.

Amen.

Let it be!