A Homily for Ordination

I was raised a Southern Baptist, and as those of you who have heard me preach before know, there’s still a lot about this tradition that I love and embody—like an appreciation for scripture, and my tendency to pound the pulpit! Another cherished part of my tradition of origin is the giving of testimonies, and I intend to give my testimony today. 

The scientific evidence is overwhelming and unambiguous: all human beings dream, whether they recall these nightly adventures upon awakening or not. The phenomenon of involuntary “rapid eye motion” (also called “REM”), in sleep and its association with dreaming, is readily observable and demonstrable in all people—and in all complex, warm-blooded animals as well.

In its most straightforward definition, a paradigm is a pattern or example. I wish to speak of both of these connotations as they relate to Interfaith Spirituality: "A New Paradigm for Our Times."

It is helpful to view a paradigm in its broadest sense, as well as in its most detailed manifestations. As an example, consider the natural world. What are the patterns of the universe? There are laws that govern the most infinitesimal particles (these are basic to quantum physics), as well as laws of relativity (laws that govern the universe at large.)