I don’t have access to an ounce more wisdom or truth than you do. I don’t know what happens when we die, I don’t know why we are here, and I don’t know if anything matters. But sometimes things feel true, or sometimes I hear something that I really want to be true, and so I believe it. And maybe I stand up and talk about these things, the things that feel true to me. But I am not that certain. I just invested my life in a few beliefs that might give it meaning, and for the sake of my investment, for the sake of feeling like something more than an empty passing occurrence on this earth, I hold on to my beliefs. But I don’t really know. And that is why I am Interfaith, I believe in the equality of the beliefs we choose to give ourselves meaning. I believe in the equal ability of all people to access what truth is for themselves.
I don’t need to be here. You don’t need me here to tell you what my truth is. You have truth of your own, go find that and you stand here. My truth is equal to yours. You don’t need a stole, and if you do, you can borrow mine. A stole doesn’t make you a minister. If you want to be a minister, speak your truth and get out of the way for other people to find and speak theirs. The history of the world is not a one woman show. Each of us says a few things, does a few things then lets someone else take the stage. Speak what you believe, the real truth of yourself as clearly as you can, then make room. God(dess) speaks through everything. Me speaking my truth can only be useful to you if it helps you to find your own truth.
The thing about truth, when you hear real truth, you feel it, it clarifies things, it clears the fog out of the room and you are left there, seeing what is really there and what is really there is you. You recognize yourself in truth, you feel truth in your body, it feels like there is more room for you to live. I am trying to make room for all of myself, and for you, room for all the ugly and the beautiful parts of you.
We have felt contracted for too long. We have lived on ideals and shoulds for so long that we have forgotten ourselves. We have felt like we have had to be something or do something. We have to be good people, we have to give to charity, we have to love and forgive everyone. You don’t have to be or do anything that isn’t true to you, and as a minister, I don’t have to be or do anything that isn’t true to me. I do not love everyone, it is hard for me to love even myself sometimes, I hold grudges and I give grudgingly. That’s my truth. You can judge me, but you will be judging yourself too because I know I am not the only one.
I just made room for that in me, and I am making room for that in you. I believe we have practiced so long at believing what isn’t there, at having faith in the unseen that we forgot to see and accept what is right in front of us, or in our bodies. Truth lets us make room for ourselves and when we make room for ourselves we make room for others too. Before you believe in the God that isn’t there, look for the God that is; the God of your body and the God manifesting as the person beside you. Close the bible and listen to the God reveling herself through another’s truth. Speak your truth like scripture. Your truth is equal to the truth that anyone has ever said or written. Your truth can set us free as much as the truth of Jesus or the Buddha. But don’t find the truth for us, find your truth for yourself.
We don’t need to learn something from someone else to survive. We have access to everything we need to know. We don’t need anyone else to tell us what is true, we know truth when we feel it. And when we have some truth, well that’s a gift that you can choose to share or keep to yourself. You don’t owe your truth to anybody, and you don’t need to hide your truth from anybody. I choose now to share my truth and pray that this truth leads forward the discovery and revelation of still more truth in each of you.
Let it be. Amen.
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