Sermon Archives : Earlier Sermons
Youth Sunday : Why Are We Here?
May 4, 2003
Elizabeth Leiserson (Part I)
When I was first given the topic "why are we here on earth" a few things came to mind. The first thing was panic at the thought of explaining the meaning of life in three minutes or less. The second was much more helpful--a memory of studying Greek philosophy and culture in my world history class. My teacher was going around the room assigning projects, and when he got to me, he said "Elizabeth--What is the nature of reality? What is the purpose of human existence? What is the meaning of life?" After I sat there for a moment in rather stunned silence, I realized that I was supposed to study the beliefs of various Greek philosophers. I discovered this: Aristotle believed that the goal of human beings and human life is happiness, which is achieved by fulfilling our function. Because the human being is the "rational animal," our function is to reason. Plato more or less agreed, saying that while people sometimes do not seek to be virtuous, it is only because they do not realize that virtue produces happiness. According to Epicurus, when a person is freed from anxieties over death and deities, he or she can live the good life by seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. All of these philosophies emphasize the goal of happiness, whether it is produced by reason, virtue, or some other means. Happiness is all well and good, but Socrates, the Father of Greek philosophy has been quoted as saying "the unexamined life is not worth living." To find perfect happiness in this world, one must accept many things without examining them and their purpose. If my entire life consisted only of happiness, I could not also be examining my purpose and my way of life; I would simply accept.
I would argue that the goal of human life is to experience the joys of life but also to appreciate that for the blessing it is. Life is short, and no one has ever been able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there is an afterlife at all. That gives you and I, average people, a span of 80 or so years in which to experience everything, all life's good and evil. Those years are the only time anyone can be sure they will ever experience happiness--so how will you recognize that happiness for what it is if you have not both examined the reason for that happiness and experienced its opposite, tragedy. Without experiencing that sadness, there is little purpose in happiness. As light cannot exist without dark, neither can life exist without death.
My final goal for human life is preservation. If we are Aristotle's rational animals, we are the animal that is capable of deep thought, of comprehension of abstract concepts. We are also the animal that is capable of both creation and destruction on a grand scale. Any being, any animal, can create happiness for themselves, but seeing that happiness for the blessing it is and preserving it for others is an ability unique (as far as I know) to humans. Realize the beauty of your own potential; do not abuse it. Examine the beauty both within you and in the world surrounding you. Only that beauty can produce meaning and bring with it the chance for true happiness.
Andrew Thompson (Part II)
Why am I a UU?
This, for me, is a question that is too easy to answer. Why become a UU? Why not? Why not join a group of open-minded, good-hearted folk who will love and support me? Why not, in some of my most curious and vulnerable years, seek out a band of fellow questioners with whom to search? Where, in all the bake sales and youth trips and RE classes and volunteer work, where do I find a reason to be anywhere but where I am now?
There is no doubt that this is a rather unique path of faith. Not every church celebrates the birth of Jesus and the blooming of the flowers, and honors the teachings of the Torah as highly as intimate conversations over coffee. This is not a faith for everyone. Sometimes, it is ephemeral, appearing briefly before vanishing like a morning fog. It is hard to define. It does not lend itself to rules, to dogma, to adherence to Holy Scripture.
I am a UU because I have looked, and I have considered, and I have chosen. I am a UU not because of what I am not, but because of what I am. Not because my faith fails to fall into a category, but because it falls into exactly the one we all share here. I am a UU because, when I am here, I feel like I have arrived. I feel as though there is a common bond, not a chain or a rope but some sort of gentle spirit in the air we all breathe that is binding us together tighter than physical bonds ever could. Because when I look around the room, I can see people who are here for the same reason I am. Because, deep down inside, I want someone to hold my hand as I search for my faith. I want someone to share my ideas with. I want guidance- and I want to guide. I want a community to listen to, and to hear me. Why am I a UU? Because you are, and you are, and Jamie is, and so on!
Because when I breathe here, the air is sweeter, and richer, and I know beyond a doubt that I am home.
Jean Lynch-Thomason (Part III)
And if the church is my home, the youth group is my family. But, why are we here in youth group anyway? Well, first off, because we choose to be. But why do we choose being with this community instead of watching TV? Why do we choose volunteering our service instead of catching up on sleep or going shopping? Why do we choose the worship here instead of trying to find our own way to, as Lindsay puts it, “The Higher Whatever”? We are not here because there is nothing else to do, but because there is an infinite amount of things to do, and we have chosen this one. Why? Why are we here at youth group? Because here is a unique place that we can be together in times of need and in times of joy. Here is a place that we can speak and discuss and not be judged. Here is a place where we can serve our community. Here is a place where we can grow in our spirituality. And here is a place where we can discover ourselves. We are fortunate that this church has such a wonderful youth group for us to be a part of, but really it is us that make the youth group so wonderful. This group is unique. We are certain people that have worked to form a certain group. We choose to be here because we have created this place the way we want it to be. This place is ours. When we choose to come here, we choose to participate in a unique coming together of ideas and emotions and energies. We choose to be that occurrence. I have tried to find a word for this coming together in youth group, and the closest word I can find is “love,” and that is why we are in youth group.