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Unity Church of Castro Valley

Sunday Message for November 26, 2006

Unity of Life

I would like to start today’s talk about the Unity of Life by telling you a little story: A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.  "What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered.  He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"  The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me.  I can’t be bothered by it"

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"  The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.  Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"  The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.  The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.  In the darkness, she didn’t see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.  The snake bit the farmer's wife. 

The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.  Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. 

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well; she died.  So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.  The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. 

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't  concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.  We are all involved in this journey called life.  We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.  Let people know how important they are.  Remember, each of us is a vital thread in another person's tapestry; our lives are woven together for a reason.

It says in (Ephesians 4:1-3) “I therefore beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

You and I are intimately linked in so many ways.  We may never know the long reaching effect of our words and actions.  When you do a kind deed or say a kind word to another person – you may never see the total effect on that person, their family, or their friends.  Conversely, when you lash out in word or deed out of anger – you may never see how that will destroy that person, their kids, or their friends.

We are all members of the one body of God.  We need to be aware of our oneness with God and with all people.  We need to speak to others from that knowing.  We need to let our actions be in accordance with that knowing.

THE UNITY OF ALL LIFE

There is a wonderful piece that was first published in the newsletter Phenomena entitled Thoughts while Contemplating Teilhard de Chardin. It was written by Evelyn G. Mulford and is now referred to as The Unity of All Life.

It is such a great piece that I would like you to really make it a part of you.  So close your eyes and go within.  Let your physical body relax, let all the tension go out of your muscles. Then let your emotional body relax.  Let go of any doubts, fears or worry for just this one minute.  Now let your intellectual body relax.  Notice that there are all kinds of thoughts vying for your attention, but just step back, notice them, but don’t connect to them and let your intellectual body relax.

Now go deeper within and just allow yourself to embody this as if it were your own words

“The carbon atoms that whirl and dance in me came from South Africa, and were the ones which chose to be me instead of a diamond.

My iron atoms lay for aeons in their bed in Minnesota, and the copper dancers within me came from Montana.

The salt in my tears and blood washed upon the shores of earth for billions of years, and prehistoric fish swam in my water.

My atoms were in one of the first flying creatures that dared to overcome the law of gravity. Even now they whisper, “Freedom.”

I was part of the fire that consumed sacrifices. My atoms were in the blood of wounded feet at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, in Vietnam, Lebanon and Israel.

My atoms were in the hand that placed the “crown of thorns” on the Rabbi Jesus.

I was part of John’s eyes when he saw the vision of Patmos.

I was part of a plank in the Mayflower and in the hearts of John Alden and Priscilla.

I thought of new worlds to conquer in the brain of Alexander, and was part of a heavy sword that slew enemies of the Israelites.

I was in the stone slung by David that killed the giant Philistine. I was part of many weapons that killed in the name of love and peace of God Almighty.

My atoms danced on Shakespeare’s pen, and whirled in the blind Milton’s eyes.

I was part of the lameness of Lord Byron and the gluttony of Henry the Eighth.

I am the woman-man-child of the universe, the All in All, the One out of many, the many out of One. I have always been and always will be. I am and I know I am, and I will always know I am.

I was part of the filth in the slave galley, and part of the perfume of the sweetest rose.

I am the greenness of living plants; the whiteness of snow; the purpleness of dawn; the blackness of midnight.

I am atoms of generations long ago transformed and countless creations yet to emerge. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the circle which has no end. I am infinity. Sometimes I am part of Andromeda, then the Milky Way, then human. I am dust – star dust, man dust.

I am part of the acorn that became a tree; part of the leaf eaten by the caterpillar, part of the caterpillar, then part of the cocoon – part of the butterfly, part of the nectar sipped by butterfly and bee. I was part of the flower, part of the sunflower seed, part of the rain cloud, part of the water.

The atoms of hydrogen in me make their cycle from raindrop to earth, through human, plant and animal to brook, to river, to ocean to be lovingly drawn up to begin again.

Out of death of my mother came I, part of the salmon roe.

The dinosaur is not dead nor extinct. Part of its mighty strength dances in my primal nature.

I am the dust of the comet which frightened primitive man. I came from far reaches of infinity to become a part of humanness.

I am sperm and ova yet unjoined – a seed and a pearl, a thought and an idea – a vision taking form.

My own grandeur is more than I can contemplate. I am part of all that is or ever will be.

I was in the burning eyes of Blake’s tiger and in the vocal chords of Emerson as he rejected the ministry of his church. I was part of the paper at Augsburg on which Luther wrote his 95 theses.

My atoms were part of the color of caveman drawings found in Lascaux, and the lyre of David that fascinated Saul. I was part of the hemlock that poisoned Socrates.

I change from mineral to plant to animal to man. I am dust and water, air, salt, manganese, wood, sulphur, gold, silver, iron. I have been all these things – now these things are me. I am the dance of life – the whirling atoms.

And when I become so saturated with all that I AM and the total consciousness of Oneness, I will vibrate faster and faster and my atoms will whirl at speeds incomprehensible and I will become invisible – but I will still be. I will know that I AM.

Now, here I stand: Should I be humble? I have always existed, yet I bow in awe. Should I be fearful? Why? I am a part of all that is. Should I be grateful? Yes! Yes! Oh, be joyful!

I am the highest expression of God yet. I have survived! Fire? I was part of the fire! Flood? I was part of the flood! Earthquake? I was part of the earth.

I am matter. If you destroy me, I become energy. If you think me, I become! I am thoughts made manifest. I whirl and dance and sing the song of the universe. I am the dance of life. There is no death. Nothing dies. I never die – I change. I am the One verse.

My cells have consciousness; they contemplate me. They know their oneness, and I know my oneness with the One. The unity of all life is one of my basic laws. I shall always be separate, yet always part of the One.

You are part of me and I of you, and there is only one Presence and one Power.

I AM – your joy – your pain – the light and the dark – the Alpha and the Omega. I am the Dance of Life.

Put your hand over your heart and feel the rhythm of life – every beat of your heart is saying Yes – Yes – Yes!”

UNITY

Ernest Holmes wrote, “The furtherance of evolution depends upon our ability to sense a unity with Nature and her forces.  When the knowledge of this unity comes alike to all, the tread of armies will cease and the bugle call will echo the soft notes of brotherly love.”

When we pray we should always have a recognition of the absolute Unity of God and man; the Oneness, Inseparability, Indivisibility, Changelessness.  Man is in God and God is man, just as a drop of water is in the ocean, while the ocean is the drop of water. This is the recognition which Jesus had when he said, (John 10:30) “The Father and I are one."  There is a perfect Union, and to the degree that we are conscious of this Union, we incorporate this consciousness in our word; and our word has just as much power as we put into it, no more and no less.

I would like to close with a scripture reading from (1 Peter 3:8) “Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”

REFERENCE: The Unity of All Life by Evelyn G. Mulford (originally published as
           Thoughts while Contemplating Teilhard de Chardin in the newsletter Phenomena);
           The Science of Mind test by Ernest Holmes

SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4:1-3; 1 Peter 3:8; John 10:30

Last updated December 8, 2006