Coincidence or Holy Synergy?

Coincidence or Holy Synergy?

A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Randy Hammer, September 19, 2021

Romans 8:26-28; reading from Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way

  Some 13 ½ years ago, when Mary Lou and I were looking to leave New York and return to Tennessee, I happened to read an ad in the Christian Century magazine placed by a liberal Christian church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, that was looking for a new minister.  I showed the ad to Mary Lou, and we decided that I should apply.  Well, Mary Lou began thinking about a new position for herself in the Knoxville area, in light of the chance that I might actually get an interview with the United Church.  Being interested in pastoral care and hospital chaplaincy, she happened to find a Clinical Pastoral Education Residency Program at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.  This was exactly the type of position she was interested in.  And so, she completed all the applications and paperwork to apply. 

Pete Cohan (who was the Pulpit Search Committee Chair) and I engaged in numerous communications over the next few weeks.  I was invited down in February 2008 for an interview with the Pastoral Search Committee, and then we were invited back in April for a trial sermon.  Shortly thereafter, the Pastoral Search Committee made a recommendation to the Church Board, and the Church Board voted to recommend that the congregation call me as your new minister.  On the appointed Sunday, there was a congregational meeting to vote on the Board’s recommendation.  George Mathews, the Board Chair at the time, called me to let me know that the vote had been taken and the vote was in the affirmative. 

But here is the point to the whole story:  One hour earlier, on the exact same day that George called me to share the good news, Mary Lou had gotten an e-mail from the Pastoral Care Department of the University of Tennessee Medical Center telling her that she was being invited to enroll in the Clinical Pastoral Education Program.  Both of us received the news we were hoping for within one hour.  Now, what are the chances of that?  Granted, a husband and wife both applying for positions in the same part of the country and getting those positions is not such a miracle; it happens all the time, I guess.  But what are the chances of a husband and wife applying for two different positions in the same area of the country and receiving word on those positions not only on the same day, but within one hour?  Coincidence?  Maybe. Or was it evidence of some type of spiritual synergy that we don’t fully understand?  Mary Lou and I interpreted the events of that day as a sign that we were supposed to come here.

Holy Synergy is a topic that has been of interest to me and an ongoing area of contemplation for some time.  That is, the possibility that events or happenings in our lives that most people might write off as coincidence might not be coincidental at all.  Is there a possibility that there is some Divinely-related rhyme and reason to at least some of the good things that happen in our lives?

Such is sort of what Julia Cameron talks about in her book, The Artist’s Way, from which I gleaned today’s responsive reading and also read a passage from earlier.  Julia is an artist, author, and film maker, among other successful endeavors and achievements.  Her book was assigned reading for one of my Doctor of Ministry courses, Religion and the Arts.  Cameron contends that there is a link between spirituality and creativity and that “the higher power,” as she terms it, “connects human creativity with the creative energies of the universe.”  Cameron talks about a “spiritual synergy” in the universe that is available to inspire us and assist us in making creative endeavors and dreams become reality.  Some writers or artists might refer to it as the Muse—that unseen, indescribable spirit of inspiration that can inspire one to be creative on the canvas or write words you never dreamed you could write.  “Take a small step in the direction of a dream,” Cameron says, “and watch the synchronous doors flying open” (66).

But I am one who leans toward the idea that this same unseen, mysterious spiritual energy of the universe that inspires creativity may seek to assist us, inspire us, and guide us in all areas of our lives where we are pursuing worthy goals, following worthy dreams, and seeking to make ourselves and the world a better place. 

As our Scripture reading points out, the Apostle Paul was of the belief that God or the Spirit seeks to work in our lives so that all things can be worked into something good.  Some of us have had experiences when we felt inspired in a way we could not explain.  For instance:

· A strong feeling comes upon us that we need to call or go by to check on someone or take a minute to offer a prayer for someone, which we do, only to learn that there is something significant going on in that person’s life such that they need us and the help or support we have to offer at that moment.  As Paul points out in Romans, sometimes we don’t know how or why we ought to pray, but we feel moved to do it. 

· Numerous times I have felt moved to take a certain book off the shelf out of the blue, and I didn’t know why.  But after opening it and being drawn to a certain passage, it became very clear why I was moved to do so.  It contained a passage that was exactly along the train of thought that I was pursuing in a sermon or other piece I was working on.

· On a number of occasions I have felt inspired to take out a piece of paper and a pen to write with, but I didn’t know why.  Surprisingly, unthought-of words began to come that quickly developed into a poem, article or sermon. 

· I am sometimes amazed at how different elements of a worship service come together in a synchronized way so that the same words or themes show up in hymns or other special music that correlates to the scripture or sermon topic or overall theme of the day, in ways that are not always consciously planned.  It happened yesterday, in fact, in Jessemae Noritake’s memorial service.  Such has happened more times than I could count, but it sort of reassures me that something happens in worship that is greater than all of us and our best-laid plans.

While some rationally-minded people may find it uncomfortable to entertain the idea that there might be some “spirit” that we don’t understand, or to even use the term “Spirit” at all, I find it interesting that the most liberal of our country are beginning to talk about the Spirit in ways that we might never have imagined.  In a conversation I had once with Jake Morrill, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Ridge, Jake shared that at that time there was a new wave of energy in the Unitarian Universalist denominational gatherings that was being fueled by the Unitarian Universalist Christians who were emphasizing the movement of “the Spirit.”  Long known for being dominated by Humanists, the UUA, Jake said, was seeing a new day where the Humanist element was waning and the UU Christian element and emphasis on the movement of the Spirit was gaining strength.  Interesting, isn’t it?

But I think this idea that there is a spiritual element in the universe that does seek to inspire us and work for good is one of the things that makes the church different from any other organization in the world.  Such an idea doesn’t mean we completely understand it or can explain it or that we become fanatical about it.  Rather, it just means that we are open to it, revere it, and seek to live in harmony with it.  Some would choose to call it the Holy Spirit, others just the Spirit, others the Higher Power, others the Muse, and still others by some other name. 

Even though I don’t understand all that goes on in the world, I do lean toward the belief that many so-called “coincidences” may not be coincidental at all, but they may have an element of grace or the Sacred attached to them.  Recently I discovered the writings of May Sarton, and I just finished her book, Journal of a Solitude a few days ago.  One of the Sarton quotes that I love, and that is relevant to the topic at hand and worth pondering is this: “We have to live as close as possible to all that leaves the door open to . . . the ‘Holy’” (p. 117).

Well, 13 ½  years ago I believed that we were meant to come to the United Church of Oak Ridge and the University of Tennessee Pastoral Care Program.  I believe that there was a bit of “Holy Synergy” at work.  And I am just as convinced of that fact today.  Coming here was one of the best things that has ever happened to us.  And the older I get, the more I try to be open to inspiration and the possibility of positive, Divine energy in our universe that just might manifest itself in our lives, if we are open to it.  To paraphrase Sarton, I try to leave the door open to Holy Synergy.  Amen.