Find a Way to Believe in People Again
(Posted October 31, 2024)
As I write this message on this Halloween morning, it’s perfectly fitting to lead off with a quote from the entertainer (image above) who was renowned for playing not only a monster, but a zombie at that. For all of his personal flaws, Michel’s incisive viewpoint urged us to find a way to believe in people, again.
Halloween Monsters
If you think about it, Halloween is all about characters who are not what they seem. The scariest monsters are those real-life adults who seem to be normal people one moment, until we at first see their “mask” slip a little, and then see the whole disguise fall out. Eventually we’re face-to-face, not with a familiar person we had trusted, but a dangerous, powerful ogre who could hurt us.
Fortunately, the kind of monsters that make their way to our doorbell on Halloween are short and soggy with a sugar overload. But then again, even on this holiday for pint-sized Minions, there was a time I can recall that adults didn’t have to check their children’s candy haul for dangerous things when they got home.
How to Repair Broken Trust
Surely something shifted in our American culture somewhere in the late 20th century, and persists today. We have to ask ourselves, “What happened? Where did our trust go? How did our society change to produce this?”
Trust – how did it get broken, and who can repair it – are the themes of this Sunday’s final sermon that concludes our study of “The Road to Wisdom – On Truth, Science, Faith and Trust,” by Dr. Francis Collins.
In this last segment, Dr. Collins asks us if we recall the first time in our life that our trust in another was broken. He asks us, “How do we decide whom to trust?” This question applies to not only individuals but to institutions. We will then work with the suggestions that Dr. Collins offers for us to discern what individuals and institutions deserve our trust, and even the way we trust God.
How You can Help Restore Trust
Now, you might ask how one single person like yourself could possibly help restore trust among us. Collins asks the following questions and answers them for us. He says:
“How shall we seek to turn this around? How can each of us, by our own actions, contribute to the much-needed transformation of our divided and angry society, into one that regains the ability to seek truth, to listen, to understand, and to love our neighbor? Maybe you don't think you have the power to make this kind of impact? But ultimately the action of individuals are the only way that we can turn this around.”
Honoring All Saints Day
This Sunday, when we traditionally honor those friends and members who in the past year have entered into the loving arms of the Creator, we will recall those who we honored in memorials and in funeral practices. These are, in the parlance of the Congregational Church, our honored Saints. Please join us for a very meaningful All Saints Day Sunday.