Widening the Sacred Circle by Rev.Julie Lombard
Sermon | August 2, 2020 | Rev. Julie Lombard
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I’ve also had a full week driving across country and moving into a new apartment. Thanks to my family, it went smoothly. It’s been a plate-full of life and I want to thank y’all for your warm welcome and hospitality. I hoped to preach about widening the sacred circle, but perhaps I ought to be letting you tell me all about it.
We know the circle as an ancient symbol of eternity. Life is full of circles and cycles- beginnings and endings, birth and death, seasons, sun and moon. Even our blood goes through a cyclical journey from the heart through the body passing through the lungs and brain only to return again to the heart. Our breath creates another cycle; we nourish our lungs with air as we inhale and then breathe out what no longer serves us.
We also have circular tools, such as the compass, to guide us through life. It displays the directions, each exerting its own energy and influence on us. And as we come together, you will feel the influence of the northeast in me as I get acquainted with your south-western energy.
Today, I turn to an ancient revered blessing ritual that uses the directions to ground us as we move onward. The unifying idea of rituals is a circle, better known to some as a wheel used to illustrate the cyclical nature of life.
Understanding and applying the relationship of the wheel to our lives offers us more awareness of the circular energy in our lives as well as this place we call home. As we do this ritual, we incorporate the four sacred aspects of life- direction, element, energy, and symbol. They help us to understand our lives more clearly. The symbols of the earth harmonize with the many cycles of life like a symphony. By playing its song, it allows us to tune into our natural mystical nature.
The circle or wheel possesses neither beginning nor end like it’s opposite, the line. The circle rolls and spins, it rotates, it can have the movement of the line, yet it always returns to where it began. A circle feels complete, unified, secure, stable, continuous, and reassuring which is in contrast to the line which can leave one feeling uncertain, lonely, adventurous, and forever new.
Our ritual celebrates the new church year and welcomes all from every direction. It welcomes the energy of all things new and makes room for the heaviness of what has been and is no longer. This is the first new church year starting during a pandemic where our worship is done in all new and creative ways. Let us open our spirit and our hearts wide enough for all the changes that may come.
We are here to contemplate the mystery of transformation, like the symbol of the phoenix rising from the ashes, a symbol y’all know well. We honor this mystery and ourselves, for as it is in the great whole, so is it in the individual. Are you ready to do your part in this transformation so that the great mystery may prove itself to you? If you are, please say “I am”.
We are about to rise up as Persephone rose from the realm of the dead. We retell her story because her story is our story. Hades snatched her up to take her as his queen. She journeyed with the heroes of antiquity and so do we when we examine the depths of our own subconscious to gain the power that comes from self-knowledge. The life in us is ready to leap into new endeavors with the increased energy that comes with a fresh start. We imagine Persephone breaking through the surface, not dropping off from the chariot that once carried her to another realm, but shot up through a crevice in the earth like a gushing spring. She arrives with a leap into her mother’s arms and so we arrive together, here.
This beautiful morning carries with it the collective consciousness of our ancestors. They believed in the hope that comes with the new church year. In celebrating Persephone’s journey, we honor the heroes’ journey which we have also been on. We may not have come out of the earth, yet we will honor every direction from which we come that our compass has to offer. In doing so, I will light a yellow candle for the east, a red one for the south, a blue one for the west, and a white one for the north. After each candle is lit we will pause to warmly welcome the energy that comes from that direction. We will make space for all those who journey for all who covenant with us are welcome here.
First, I light the yellow candle of the east. The direction of youth and self- reliance. May we hold in our minds eye the symbol of feathers, streamers and flags waving in the air. May we hear the sounds of bells as their ring flows through the air. Welcome East, we celebrate your offering of new beginnings, let us be inspired and breathe in deeply. We know you to heal any limited thoughts. Now, in a brief silence, we offer you all that is in our hearts.
The next candle I light is a red one for the south. The direction of love, passion, creativity, family, and high energy. May we hold in our minds eye the symbol of fire, blood, a life force, and transformation. May we feel the beat of our hearts and feel the warmth of this beloved community. Welcome South, we celebrate your offering for us to live out our passions, our mission and vision, and our shared values. Let us have the courage to step into your fire. We know you to heal low energy. Now, in a brief silence, we offer you all that is in our hearts.
Next, I light the blue candle of the west. This direction invites us to turn within. This is the direction of completion and the deep satisfaction that comes with the end of a job well done. It is the direction of our emotions; our joys, sorrows, and everything in between. May we hold in our minds eye the symbol of a chalice and of water. May we feel the waves of water wash over like a blessing. Welcome West, we celebrate your offering for us to turn within. We feel you. We heal with you and we give thanks for your blessing. We rejoice our completion. Now, in a brief silence, we offer you all that is in our hearts.
Finally, I light the white candle of the north. The direction of mystery of transition. It is where the old hag dies and becomes an infant, where Father Time transforms into the New Year’s baby. It is the direction of our ancestors and the white bones that remain after the spirit has left the body for another experience. May we hold in our minds eye the symbol of earth, stones, and bones. May we be in awe of the light as it emerges in a field of darkness. Welcome North, we celebrate the mystery of life. We know you to heal the body and the earth. We welcome your power to transform and make all things new again. Now, in a brief silence, we offer you all that is in our hearts.
And thus, we have come full circle in our ritual receiving blessing from every directions grounding us for the heroes’ journey. May we find the courage we need to boldly move onward in this new shared ministry. May we give thanks that we are not alone and for the many who guided us on our way. Let us rejoice that we have one another. Blessed are we, the inhabitants of this house of hope, the courageous who are willing to try again and again on a journey to love and justice for all. (1375)
May it be so. Amen.