2910 East Morgan Evansville, IN  47711 (812) 474-1704

This morning we heard tell of a  dragon who terrorized a town and the brave young girl who freed them.

Dragons are the symbol of all things dangerous and frightening

They represent the fear outside and the fear inside.  That is why there are so many stories and legends about them.

When fearful, human beings are at their worst and I think most easy to control.

I think it is probably part of our nature to be easily frightened.

When we get frightened our bodies become uncomfortable places to and we want to relieve those feelings. My cat Abby will run off when frightened.  My dog Doodle will bite.

We have all been taught about our fight or flight reflexes. And we have experienced them ourselves. 

If it is the unknown which causes us fear we try to flee to the known. Knowing why something happened makes us feel more comfortable. It makes us feel more comfortable even if it is not true.

Perhaps that is why rumors spread so fast. We don’t need the truth – we need an answer.

Anxiety may be our worst societal enemy. And yet some people seem addicted to it. For it also brings a rush – reminds us that we are alive.

Since 9/11 citizens of the US have been afraid. Where there used to be small things in life to be afraid of like missing your plane, a flat tire, losing your job, what your neighbors would think of you. Now we are globally afraid. Fear is in the air. It is on the airwaves, it comes to us through our televisions, radios and newspapers.

We are periodically reminded that terrorists might strike. That the stock market is shaky. That the air and water and food we consume is polluted.  We are constantly reminded that there are things to be afraid of.

But is this anything new?

No – my friends it is not.

Down through the ages people have been afraid. Afraid of being eaten by animals, bitten by snakes, killed by other human beings. Afraid of dying.  And afraid of living.

I think being afraid must be a universal human experience.

We are all born vulnerable, mortal and relational. Some of us remain physically vulnerable we are just smaller or weaker than others. Some of us are vulnerable because of difference. Difference in skin color, gender, sexuality, physical and mental ability are just a few of the things which can make us vulnerable.

Sometimes we are not physically vulnerable but rather emotionally vulnerable. Again that is often because of differences between ourselves and others.

Sometimes there is nothing to fear in a given situation but we bring the fear with us.

Audre Lorde speaks of fear and her antidote in her poem ”We Were Never Meant to Survive:

For those of us who live at the shoreline

standing upon the constant edges of decision

crucial and alone

For those of us who cannot

indulge

the passing dreams of choice

For those of us who were

imprinted with fear like a faint

line in the center of our

foreheads learning to be afraid

with our mother’s milk.

For by this weapon,

this illusion of some safety

to be found ---

the heavy footed hoped to

silence us.

For all of us

this instant and this triumph-

we were never meant to survive.

And when the sun rises we are

afraid

it might not remain

When the sun sets we are afraid

it might not rise in the morning.

And when we speak we are afraid

our words will not be heard

nor welcomed.

But when we are silent

we are still afraid.

So it is better to speak

remembering

We were never

meant to survive.

What would it be like to live unafraid?

Do you know?

Can you imagine it?

Sometimes just for a moment - I think I get a taste of it – and it is wonderful.

Audre Lorde was a black lesbian poet. Who lived her life as an outsider. Her work was not included in white anthologies of poetry because she was black. Her work was not included in black anthologies of poetry because she was a lesbian.

We are social creatures. Relational creatures. And our separation from each other and even the threat of separation causes us pain. And yet Audre Lorde was able to stand up and speak out no matter what the risk.

The poetry of Audre Lorde has been an inspiration to me.

I find I am a person who needs to stand up and speak when I see something I think is wrong and yet I am forever conscious of my discomfort of saying something that will put me outside of the group because I want to be accepted.

Lorde’s poem speaks of people like us and different from us.

People who have to make choices.

Two weeks ago I visited the Freedom Center in Cincinnati. It is primarily a center dedicated to telling the story of slavery and the underground railroad. It also speaks of freedom and unfreedom today and the way the struggle continues in our world.

I am awed by the tenacity of the men and women who strove to retain their humanity in spite of their enslavement. I marvel at the bravery of slaves who fled for freedom and the people who risked their status in the community and sometimes their very lives to help slaves get free. I ache for the choices people had to make - like leaving family behind.

I wonder about where we find the courage to go on in spite of fear neither running away nor fighting but creatively seeking out a new way to be free.

Many have found it in their religion. For some it is a belief in God. For others perhaps it is the connection to life or the lure of love that they name as that which urges them forward and directs their life.  For many it has been the universalist teaching that God loves everyone.

As a child I was taught in my religious education classes that God loved everyone, that we were to love our neighbors as ourselves and that it was all right to disobey our parents if they told us to do something that was wrong. Our conscience was to be our guide.

As a young person with concrete beliefs who divided everything into right and wrong those messages were enough to cause me to challenge my parents and my teachers when I believed them to be unjust.

For those of you who believe in a God or higher power – I urge you to take seriously your beliefs and let them strengthen you.

For those who don’t have such beliefs perhaps here in this congregation you will find others who can provide you with strength and renew your courage. Many humanists have stood against injustice because they believed that if there was no god to take care of things then they were responsible to do it.

Some people are lucky enough to have family members who have supported them in their justice efforts. Providing them with both a moral compass and encouragement.

Some have sought support from friends. When I was in seminary – I took on homophobia at Teachers College. Each bout was draining but I would return to a group of friends at seminary and I would tell the story of what had happened and they would offer comfort support and encouragement.

Mark Morrison Reed writes that it is the church that lets us know that we are not struggling for justice on our own. And that is one of the many comforts that a religious community can offer. People who can strengthen our resolve and renew our courage.

My hope this morning is that this church will provide each of us and each of our children with a moral compass which points to what is right and the moral fortitude to follow it.

Amen and may it be so.

(play “Lay Down Your Burden”)

This sermon was inspired by the music “Lay Down Your Burden” written by Colleen Crangie and sung by Susan Osborn

Lay down your burden

Lay it all down

Pass the glass between you

Drink it up

Place the light before you

Come through the door

The dragon doesn’t live here anymore

Sing with the choirs that surround you

Dance to the music in your soul

Look into the eyes that really see you

Place all that you have into that bowl

Lay down your burden

Lay it all down

Pass the glass between you

Drink it up

Place the light before you

Come through the door

The dragon doesn’t live here anymore