Those attending worship services I've led recently may have noticed the incorporation of some magic tricks: pulling a red tissue heart out of mid-air, tearing it into pieces, then causing it to reappear whole and linked to another heart through a string of smaller ones; pulling flowers out of “thin air”; etc.
These effects (if well-rendered) are intriguing to many because they appear to be “true”. And yet, of course, they are “illusions”! In my own efforts to learn and share such illusions appropriately, I found myself awe-struck by:
1. their ability to illustrate truths (such as the love that connect us to one another and the power of the unexpected to take our breath away);
2. the human tendency to equate reality with that which is visually perceived. And, if it’s not visually perceived, to consider it something other-worldly...along the lines of a “miracle”.
All of this makes me wonder how much of reality we are unable to perceive. For example, what “special effects” are being employed in the media to shape our view of and response to reality? What is factual? What is true? What’s the difference between those terms, and does it matter? What does all of this have to do with a value-driven religious identity?
The 4th UU Principle our congregations covenant to affirm and promote is: a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. As we round out this year’s theme based ministry, shifting into congregational focus on “truth”, I encourage you to consider what truths have been handed to you? Which have been rejected; which were hard-won? How do you know when something is true? What significance does truth-telling have in your life? What truths, if any, need to lie dormant, and which need to be told? And, can you give as good as you get?