Recent Sermons Posted to UUCSB.com

Since Rev. Chandlers return from sabbatical at the end of December, he has been back in the pulpit with some interesting and thought provoking sermons. If you missed a service, or want to review one or all of those sermons, they’re now posted at http://www.uuchurchsacobiddeford.com/our_minister.html

Let us know what you think by posting a comment.

[Sermon] Pilgrims In the Paradox

by Rev. David W. Chandler

The Hasidic story has been appropriated so much it has become a commonplace. How shall we know, his students ask their rabbi, when the light is sufficient to declare the day has begun and we may commence the religious rituals?

“When you can clearly see,” he replies, “that the one who approaches is your brother or sister.”

There is wisdom here, but also the potential for self-satisfaction. We can feel the soft glow of dawn, picture the dusty street of a village or town, imagine ourselves waking to a profound truth about the people around us – and who we are supposed to be.

[Sermon] Say What? – Part II

by Rev. David W. Chandler

After all the pertinent questions about why I had come into his emergency room on a Saturday night, the triage nurse at Pen Bay Hospital paused to ask me the reason for my visit to the area. He gave a little fist pump when told I was to preach the following morning at the local Unitarian Universalist church.

“The UU,” he said. “That’s the only way to go. The others don’t even come close. Do you know my friend Kate Braestrup?”

The next morning at breakfast we find one of our fellow guests at the B&B is a congregant in Bangor. Monday morning – Sally noted they waited until after my service to break cover – the two innkeepers shared their UU background. One was raised in an Arkansas fellowship.

[Sermon] Say What? – Part I

by Rev. David W. Chandler

In seminary I spent three fascinating years learning how to read the Bible. This was not about what the Bible says, which is easy and obvious enough. It was the delight of chasing down answers to the more challenging, intriguing and provocative question – what does the Bible mean?

Today’s Call to Worship was what we call “The Seven Principles.” They are actually the “Statement of Principles and Purposes” of the Unitarian Universalist Association. They exist as a UUA Bylaw – a legal and mandatory organizational commitment. As every Bylaw must be, they were approved by a two-thirds majority of voting delegates at two consecutive General Assemblies. What they say is easy and obvious enough – but what do they mean?

[Sermon] Eyes on Whose Prize?

by Rev. David W. Chandler

Come this April, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be dead 43 years. It seems important to be more explicit: On April 4, 1968, Dr. King was shot to death. A single bullet from a high-powered rifle blew his throat apart. The man who pulled the trigger was a petty criminal who had stalked his victim for months, who scouted out a sniper’s nest in a bathroom, smuggled the weapon in, fixed his target with a telescopic sight and braced the barrel on the window sill to take lethal aim.

Last week a very disturbed man walked into a shopping center crowd and – in about 15 seconds – fired more than 30 shots from a semi-automatic pistol.

[Sermon] Forgive Us Not

by Rev. David Chandler

Today is Boxing Day, at least in places where the Queen’s English is spoken. I remember reading about it years ago in the Travel Section of the Sunday New York Times. Apparently an American tourist should not plan on anything being open in Great Britain on this day – even among the famously multifarious delights of London. I wonder, is that still true?

In America Dec. 26 is not a highlight of the Christmas season, unless you like stocking up for next year or swapping what you got for what you wanted, or filling in the blanks in your personal list at bargain prices. Of course you could spend the day cleaning up. I imagine most of us do. We get to the pots and pans if we’ve hosted the Christmas feast. We get to the wads of discarded wrapping paper, the used bows and ribbons and tags and plastic packaging. We hunt around for the elusive owner’s manual or the warranty card – or maybe the directions for the damn thing, which we have not been able to get to work.