“All who surrender to the love of The Great Mystery, Whose hearts are merciful and kind, Will go in beauty and walk with grace; And all who reverence Love’s Eternal Flame, Will know Love’s Companioning Presence.” – from Psalm 50, poetic interpretation by Nan Merrill

The activation of souls is our purpose, the stirring awake of the true depths of our being where our gifts and potential dwell, the rediscovery of our hidden wholeness born from our belonging to the Divine power that gives rise to the very universe. 

The practice of prayer, the practice of worship, the practice of service, the practice of shared life in a community of faith, can be ways into the activation of our souls. Sometimes that takes healing. Sometimes that takes encouraging. Sometimes that takes humbling. Sometimes that takes challenging. But if we dare to say “Yes,” even just a little, the Holy Spirit has a way of setting us up to be presented with what we need when we need it, whether or not we recognize it, for our souls to stir awake. 

Now, as the Psalm we just heard makes clear, this kind of soul activation that comes when we reorient ourselves around the cosmic reality of the Creator, this kind of soul activation that comes when we say “Yes” to the Love Supreme that births each moment of the universe, this kind of soul activation is in defiance – dramatic defiance – of all the forces of violence and domination, greed and selfishness, neglect, deceit and dehumanization – all the forces that constrict the soul, that deny the sacred in our midst, that dare to play god. 

Part of our spiritual journeys is becoming more and more aware of how those forces play out in ourselves in our lives together, ways we’ve suffered, ways we’ve caused suffering, ways our souls are constricted. 

Now, all these forces find their most appalling expression in acts of war, which I need to acknowledge is on a lot of our hearts these days. And, if we are paying attention to all the violent conflicts around the world, it could be on our hearts almost relentlessly. This could lead to a classic spiritual crisis of, “My God! Why is humanity so messed up?” 

Now, one of the gifts and challenges of the Christian teaching about sin and salvation, is that it when it comes to what can be so messed up about humanity, we don’t get to indulge too much in self-righteousness. Believe it, or not, and based on the behavior of a lot of Christians, you may not – but authentic Christian teaching is very humbling, as well as ennobling. It is both sobering and liberating. We are challenged to own our own participation in violence and injustice, our own capacity for it, our own captivity to it, in the process of finding liberation and soul activation. This is part of the power and mystery of a crucified savior. 

In the words of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” 

         This is from someone who very famously a victim of monstrous collective insanity. He wasn’t willing to only blame others for it.  

         “Men have forgotten God,” Solzhenitsyn said, “that’s why all this has happened.”

         That’s what Psalm 50 is trying to get across. And in the tradition of the prophets, it’s also very clear that those who forget God so severely are so often those who evoke God so dramatically. 

         So we who seek and enjoy soul activation through Christian community in a generally privileged context in a wealthy and militarily powerful nation, must be especially self-aware. 

         In order to become free enough from these forces to enjoy some soul activation, we need to admit that we need help, and that our soul’s liberation does not come from our own doing. It is by Grace, God’s Grace, as free and abundant a gift as being itself, that we are set free to be fully as we are created to be.  

The good news is, all these forces, when brought before the reality of what is truly real, God of all Creation, they are exposed to be so tragically self-defeating, that it can help us allow God’s love to be like a consuming fire that burns away all that constricts our souls. 

And God’s Grace constantly rains upon us to cool and sooth and heal and restore. 

The reality of this Grace is so evident in the purpose we place before ourselves in the United Church of Christ: 

“To love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves.”

And the vision we place before ourselves:

“United in Christ’s love, a just world for all.”

And the mission we place before ourselves:

“United in Spirit and inspired by God’s grace, we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all.”

But it’s inspiring. It’s motiving. It’s challenging. It’s humbling. It’s healing. 

It’s our shared ministry, which is about the activation of souls, by the power of God and the reality of Grace.

“All who surrender to the love of

The Great Mystery, 

Whose hearts are merciful and kind,

Will go in beauty and walk with grace;

And all who reverence Love’s Eternal Flame, 

Will know Love’s Companioning Presence.”Thanks be to God.