goodby...

This will be my last post as Boston Unitarian.  It has been a joy to share with everyone my love for a way of being Unitarian that has meant much to me.  I deeply appreciate everyone who has read and/or commented here and wish all the deepest happiness. 

Many blessings,  BU

home, friends, love...

From James Freeman Clarke's "Messages of Faith, Hope, and Love" for February 5th.  

"I MUST stand still each day, and think of what God has done for me,— how he has blessed me with home, friends, love, opportunity of knowledge, and rich influences of culture. I must consider how he has sent to me wise teachers and generous, loving hearts to stand by me amid the storms of life. I must remember how he has put dear little children in my arms, and wise and holy men and women near me; how he has borne with me in my wilfulness and pride and folly, and restrained me from going into irremediable evil; how, when I have prayed, because I could not do any longer without prayer, he has hastened to meet my ignorant supplication, and answered it, oh, so sweetly! filling my soul down to its very depths with the peace of God passing all understanding."

Amen and Blessings

take heed how ye hear...

My Scripture reading this morning included the passage in Luke concerning how the parables should be heard.  Later I found this list in the January 1861 issuse of "The Monthly Journal of the American Unitarian Association:"

"PARABLES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

[The following list of the parables of the New Testament mny be useful to some of our readers.]

1. Of the Blind lending the Blind Lnko vi.
2. Of the House built on a Rock Matt. vii.; Luke vi
3. Of the Two Debtors Lnke vii.
4. Of the relapsing Demoniac Matt. xii.; Luke xi.
5. Of the Rich Man ami his Vain Hopes Luke xii.
6. Of the Lord returning from a Wedding Luke xii.
7. Of the Barren Fig-tree Luke xiii.
8. Of the Sower Matt, xiii.; Mark iv.; Luke xiii.
9. Of the Tares Matt. xiii.
10. Of the Seed sown Mark iv.
11. Of the Mustard-seed Matt. xiii.; Mark iv.
12. Of the Leaven Mutt. xiii.
13. Of the Hid Treasure Matt. xiii.
14. Of the Merchant seeking Pearls Matt. xiii.
15. Of the Net cast into the Sea Matt. xiii.
16. Of the Good Householder Matt. xiii.
I7. Of the New Cloth and Old Garment, Matt. ix.; Mark ii.; Luke v.
18. Of the New Wine and Old Bottles, Matt, ix.; Mark ii.; Luke v.
19. Of the Plant not planted by God Matt. xv.
20. Of the Lost Sheep Matt . xviii.; Luke xv.
21. Of the Unmerciful Servant Matt, xviii.
22. Of the Shepherd and the Sheep Johu x.
23. Of the Good Samaritan Luke x.
24. Of the Guest choosing the Highest Seat Luke xiv.
25. Of the Great Supper Luke xiv.
26. Of the building a Tower Luke xiv.
27. Of the King preparing for War Luke xiv.
28. Of the Salt Luke xiv.
29. Of the Piece of Silver lost Luke xv.
30. Of the Prodigal Son Luke xv.
31. Of the Unjust Steward Luke xvi.
32. Of the Rich Man and Lazarus Luke xvi.
33. Of the Master commanding his Servant Luke xvii.
34. Of the Unjust Judge and Widow Luke xviii.
35. Of the Pharisee and Publican Luke xviii.
36. Of the Laborers hired at different Hours Matt. xx.
37. Of the Ten Pounds nnd Ten Servants Luke xix.
38. Of the Professing nnd the Repenting Son .... Matt. xxi.
39. Of the Wicked Husbandmen . Matt, xxi.; Mark xii.; Luke xx.
40. Of the Guests bidden and the Wedding Garment . . Matt. xxii.
41. Of the Fip-tree putting forth Leaves, Mat.xxiv.; Markxiii.; Luke xxi.
42. Of the Thief in the Night llntt. xxiv.
43. Of the Man taking a long Journey Murk xiii.
44. Of the Faithful and Unfaithful Servant Matt. xxiv.
45. Of the Ten Virgins Matt. xxv.
46. Of the Talents Matt. xxv.

Perhaps also the following may be added: —

47. Children in the Marketplace Mutt, xi.; Luke vii.
48. The Strong Man keeping his House, Mat. xii. ; Murk iii.; Luke ix."

Blessings

a precocious piety...

Francis Greenwood Peabody was the son of Ephraim Peabody, Minister at Kings Chapel from 1846 until just before his death in 1856. Francis was six years old when his father died and in his "Reminiscences of Present Day Saints" he bemoans the lack of memories he has of the "gaunt figure in the high pulpit of King's Chapel. This memory remains:

"The only vivid recollection which survives of worship during my childhood in the beautiful old church is of so frivolous a nature that it should perhaps be resolutely forgotten; yet it persists in recurring whenever, after seventy years, I glance upward to the noble Corinthian columns and their ornate capitals. Round the ceiling of the chancel are ranged a series of projecting and decorated brackets, know, I believe, in the language of Greek architecture, as modillions; and the intervening spaces seemed to the discerning eyes of a little boy created to serve as stalls where one might keep a stud of imaginary horses. Perched on a high cricket and propped against my mother's knees, my eyes looked upward with a fixity and rapture of gaze which may have indicated a precocious piety, but which was in fact watching my chariots, as they emerged from their little stalls and raced round the track laid out on the ceiling of the entire church. In so entrancing and exhilarating an occupation no sermon seemed too long, and my only apprehension was that the closing hymn might be announced before I had safely stabled my panting steeds."
Blessings

let your speech be always with grace...

 A devout Catholic friend of mine visited our church yesterday morning because I was preaching and then, before church, a woman who is fairly new to our community pulled me aside and said, "I really like this church, and I wonder, do Unitarians believe in God?, because I do sometimes."  We had a good talk and it got me thinking about true "Catholicity" in a worship service.  That, in turn, put me in mind of this description of John A. Andrew's (who became the Civil War time Gov. of Mass.) first exposure to James Freeman Clarke, who would become his minister...

John A. Andrew, after hearing him  (JFC) preach for the first time, in 1841, wrote to a friend : —

" I have forgotten to give you my impressions of Rev. J. F. Clarke. In the first place I liked the flavor of the man. He carried his service as though he felt it a good thing to worship God and wanted the people to feel the same. I liked his sermon thoroughly. It was upon well-seasoned speech. ' Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.' And the sermon was itself a good illustration of the theme. Its spirit was Christian to the core, and did not disturb my Orthodox conscience in the least. I think I felt the catholicity of the man : he did not say a word that could be fairly understood to touch any man's honest convictions uugeutly. The whole service I enjoyed heartily ; and not the least agreeable experience was the being invited to seats at least half-a-dozen times while I was waiting for my friend at the entrance."

Blessings

a day worth ten thousand...

This Sabbath morning prayer from the collection, "The Alter at Home: Prayers for the Family and the Closet by Clergymen in and near Boston."  Compiled by Henry A. Miles, it was published by the American Unitarian Association (Google books has the 14th edition, 1866)

"Our Father who art in heaven, again the sun has risen at thy command. Through thine unsleeping providence, refreshed by slumber, we stand upon the threshold of another day,—a day of rest, of meditation, of worship, and of prayer. May it be sanctified in the outward observance, and in spirit, and in truth. Let that holy light, of which the sun shining in the firmament is but a dim symbol, dawn upon our souls, dispelling unhallowed thoughts, revealing thy glorious presence, and leading us onward to that better life upon which, through thy grace, may we enter. May this day, by the use which we make of its opportunities, by the answers of peace which it brings to our prayers, by the cleansing influences which it dispenses, prove a day never to be forgotten, a day worth ten thousand spent in the ways of the world.

0 God, our Maker, who alone canst give us the light we need, unseal our spiritual vision. Make us to discern the greatness which this day commemorates. It speaks of thine abundant mercy ; of that best gift of thine, thy holy child Jesus, who appeared among men in the power of thy Spirit, and in the fulness of thy divinity, and in whom the world saw the glory as of thy only-begotten Son. Glad tidings of great joy he brought from heaven to earth. Teach us the value of those gracious messages, that we may know how to thank thee, and that the hymns and praises that we sing this day may be the prompting and tho tribute of our souls.

0 God, let our faith be not in word only, but in power. May the spirit of thy Son be our spirit, the spring of our conduct, giving us strength to avoid every form of evil, and to cleave, amidst all temptations, to thy law. Thus open to us the gates of righteousness, that we may enter therein and praise the Lord. Then shall we know its priceless worth, when we have once tasted, by personal experience, of the heavenly gift. Then shall we bring no dead offering, but a living sacrifice, and our praises shall rise like incense up to the throne of God, and thou, ever more ready to give than we are to ask, wilt delight to pour down upon us more abundant measures of truth and holiness. So by true spiritual worship, by the private meditations and the public services of this day, may we go from grace to grace, and from strength to strength, until we stand forever in thy presence.

Merciful Father, we mourn that these our best desires are so faint; that we are so fondly attached to the things that perish, to the lust of the eyes and the pride of life; so seldom and so faintly impressed with the guilt of our ingratitude and disobedience, and that we live so willingly without God and a true hope. Increase our sorrow for our unworthiness, and make it that godly sorrow which will quicken us to instant and thorough amendment. Encompass our minds this day with thoughts of heaven. Give thine angels charge concerning us, that our feet may never more stumble, that we may run with patience the race that is set before us, in the straight and narrow way, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. 0 come, thou Spirit of truth, come and take up thine abode evermore in our souls! Be the life of our lives, a fountain springing up within us to everlasting life, that we may never thirst again, and that these waste places, our hearts, may become like the garden of the Lord!

Almighty God, may thy kingdom be advanced in all hearts this day. We pray for our brethren of every order and denomination. Dwell in the midst of all worshipping people. Let not this day be abused into an occasion of selfish indulgence, but may men hearken to the strong cries of their immortal souls, and be fed this day with bread from heaven. May the truth as it is in Jesus be everywhere faithfully proclaimed and received into honest and good minds, where it shall spring up and bring forth the immortal fruits of holy living. Send its blessed consolations into afflicted souls; let it bind up the broken-hearted, and give liberty to the captive. May it be like a sword to pierce the hearts of the thoughtless and rebellious; and let all who profess and call themselves Christians depart from iniquity, and lead godly and peaceable lives, glorifying thy Son, and thee the God and Father of all. To thee shall be the praise for ever and ever. Amen."

Have a blessed Sabbath

members of one another...

PolityWonk had nice words to say about this blog yesterday (which I appreciate) and very thoughtful words about Charles Timothy Brooks and his engagement with the Trinity, a subject that is, to the degree it is spoken of at all, a bit bewildering.  Growing up Lutheran, and then spending some years as an Episcopalian, I remember many Trinity Sunday sermons that began, "I know I should talk about the Trinity but..."   Today, one more on the Unity of God from Rev. Brooks, the conclusion of his sermon, "The Unitarian Idea":

"Finally, there is one aspect of the text to which before leaving the whole subject with you, I must briefly allude. The doctrine of the Divine Unity is the doctrine of the oneness of humanity. The expression, " To us there is One God, the Father," means not merely to each of us, but to all of us, one and the same Father. Sectarian or social influences may make us feel or live as if we really had different origins and destinies, but reason and revelation assure us with combined utterance, that we are all the offspring of one and the same Being, " of whom and through whom and to whom are all things."

God, the Father, is one, and in Him we are one, members one of another. The loss or gain, the degradation or elevation, the distress or deliverance of one, is the affair of all. In a thousand ways men ignore this profound fact, judging instead of helping each other; coldly and sternly they go on their way, serving their several private gods, Chance, Power, or whatever the idol may be they darkly worship, but they only punish themselves by thus banishing themselves from the presence of the all-loving Father into the wintry land of selfishness; and daily one sees the curse written on many a hard and haggard brow, in many a stolid, stony eye, on many a sullen, envious lip.

I have given you a glimpse, an impression, perhaps, of what I call the great Christian revelation of the Unities, of the Unitarian idea, in a word, concerning the highest matters of religion. It gives us unity in our theology; unity between theology and humanity; unity in the upper world ; unity between that world and this lower and preparatory one, — the unity realized in the true Church-life.

To-day again we confess One who invites men to come to Him and find rest for their souls, — rest from the confusion of self-contradictory speculations ; rest from the heavy burdens thus laid upon the mind; rest from the heavier burdens the dreary and desperate demands of self-idolizing passion lay upon the heart; rest in the bosom of the Father whose love he images, — the rest of conscious and confiding oneness with the " great Parent-mind " that made and governs the universe, — that rest which remaineth for the people of God, who through faith and patience seek to inherit the promises. Let us come to Him and partake in the great atonement I have endeavored to describe and commend."

I would encourage everyone's  thoughts about their engagement with the Trinity over at PolityWonk...and

Blessings