Today's service is the first of a series this month exploring the spiritual quest. The very words "spiritual quest" evoke dramatic images from the world's religions: Moses and the Hebrews wandering in the desert, Buddhist monks with shaved heads sitting for hours of silent meditation, Christians in search of the holy grail, Muslims on pilgrimage to Mecca, Native Americans on a vision quest through the woods, and thousands of Hindus bathing in the River Ganges. Although each of those experiences offer profound opportunities for awakening to a deeper connection with one's faith, this is not the type of spiritual quest that I will be exploring. What I mean by spiritual quest is the search for meaning in everyday life.

At the heart of the spiritual quest is a longing for a sense of both intimacy and ultimacy. Intimacy is familiarity or being closely connected. Ultimacy is a consciousness that we are a part of something much greater than self that extends into the most remote reaches of space and time. There are many different aspects of the spiritual quest. Today I will examine, God in Nature as one pathway for encountering the sacredness of life.

The poem that Lisa just read, "Each In His Own Tongue" beautifully expresses that no matter what words we use to describe the immanent and transcending wonder of life, we as human beings are held within its embrace. Whether you ascribe to the Genesis story of the Hebrew Scriptures or the Big Bang theory of Science, it is truly amazing that we are here on this spinning ball called Earth.

On Monday, fifty-five pilot whales beached themselves on the shore of a Dennis beach. These beautiful black sleek creatures measuring from eight to twenty-five feet long and some weighing as much as two tons, piled up on each other reportedly "looking like big black rocks". As you know, Monday was a sweltering hot day. A dozen trained rescuers arrived, some from the New England Aquarium. At low tide, the beached whales were left exposed to the heat of the air and sun so much different from the cool depths of their ocean home. Cape Cod residents and tourists abandoned their planned activities to rush to the assistance of these large mammals. Buckets of water were used to douse the whales, wet blankets and towels were draped in an effort to protect their sensitive skin. It was truly inspiring to see on the evening news, people of all ages and walks of life, guiding the whales back to sea. As human hands touched the whales, the huge creatures made whistling and clicking noises.

Pilot whales travel in groups or pods following one or two mature females so once the tide rose, the rescuers pushed two female whales out to sea and the forty-four whales who had survived seemed eager to follow with the assistance of almost one hundred human volunteers. The Tuesday paper reported that through their heroic efforts only nine whales had died and forty-six otherwise stranded whales were saved.

You probably already heard the rest of this story. My heart sank when I found out that the forty-six whales that had been supposedly rescued swam out a distance and then turned, only to beach themselves further up Cape in Eastham. Although people tried to shoo them away, the rescuers soon abandoned hope as the whales once again stranded themselves upon the shore.

I was outraged at first thinking that the death of these whales must be due to modern technology. Perhaps the whales ran aground because their own navigation and communication was confused by sonar. Then I learned that there have been pilot whale strandings reported on the Cape as far back as the year 1620. Although this is the largest beaching in a decade, there was a bar graph in the Boston Globe showing that since 1980, as many as 500 whales have come ashore on Cape Cod and Nantucket. Two of the largest strandings on record occurred back in 1916 and then again in 1926, when as many as five hundred pilot whales at once beached themselves on Cape Cod.

Even though beaching is a common phenomenon, scientists are still puzzled as to why the pilot whales all strand themselves together and come back to shore despite rescue efforts. One theory is that because they are social creatures, they simply follow the leader wherever she is headed. Perhaps the lead whale was confused by sonar or fell ill. One theory supposes that the shifting landscape of the Cape is to blame as whales are following genetically programmed instincts. It is also possible that the initial beaching was due to error but the whales' bodies were then too sun-blistered and traumatized to swim back into the depths of the sea. Pilot whales are not an endangered species although their numbers are decreasing in part due to the depletion of their food supply.

This brings me back to the poem by Mary Oliver: "I think this is the prettiest world---so long as you do not mind a little dying". Mary Oliver reflects on the kingfisher as he swoops down into the ocean to catch his dinner with such grace and skill: "hunger is the only story in his life that he could believe." After swallowing the silver fish, the kingfisher tosses back his head with a rough and easy cry. Oliver reflects "I couldn't rouse [such a sound] out of my thoughtful body if my life depended on it, [the kingfisher] swings back over the bright sea to do the same thing, to do it, (as I long to do something, anything) perfectly."

I recognize the same longing for perfection in myself. My spirit soared as I saw the volunteers rescuing the whales on the evening news. I thought that people had made a difference in saving those poor creatures! Even if we could not understand why they came ashore, at least we helped them to return to the depths of the sea. I was awed by the image of human hands touching these large mammals usually so far removed from our lives on dry land. I imagined that the strange sounds that the whales made might be their way of expressing gratitude.

When I heard of the dramatic turn of events, my heart fell. Since things did not turn out the way I thought was right, I longed for answers. Why did the pilot whales beach themselves? What was the cause? How could this be avoided in the future? Despite human efforts, the course of nature could not be changed and even with scientific investigation the mystery remains.

This is a part of the spiritual quest. Human beings are meaning makers. We long for perfection and we long for answers. We want to know why life unfolds in the way that it does because we want to learn from experience. However, we cannot tie up life in a neat package. Sometimes experience does not provide answers, only questions and mystery remain.

I believe in a natural order- that the beauty and workings of creation are sacred. No matter how human beings yearn to own or control Nature, there is a power that is greater than our efforts. As human beings, we have free will. We can make choices that effect some of the outcomes. However, beyond self or human desires, is a sense of ultimacy, some call it Nature, others call it God.

The story by Gary Kowalski is another example of this sense of God in Nature. The bereaved father finds some comfort from the otters in the river. The area is showing signs of renewed health as the animals and fish return to what had been polluted. The natural surroundings "do not take away the pain" but it strengthens his faith in life that like the river continues to flow on.

As Unitarian Universalists, we trace our religious roots in part to the New England Transcendentalists. In fact, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Theodore Parker, Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller were all inspired by William Ellery Channing for whom this church was dedicated. For the Transcendentalists, God, Nature, and Humanity, are all part of a greater unity. Emerson described this mystical unity as the Oversoul. He asserted that each person is essentially a spiritual being and part and parcel of God. The world is a mirror of the soul. The beauty and power of Nature is a reflection of our own innate goodness and capability. So, the modern technology that separates us from the rhythms of Nature can also divorce us from our own true nature. Whether or not you believe in Emerson's mystical ideas, all of us have at one time or another had an experience of oneness, unity with the natural world.

Summertime affords many opportunities for reconnecting to the miracle of living. Even though we may fall short of perfection, despite the losses and grief that we carry with us, we are held and supported by this earth. Here are some of life's richest gifts:

Through our eyes we receive the gift of sight: the variety and color of a garden, a night-sky filled with stars, sunlight filtering through the leaves of a tree, an expanse of beach,

Through our mouths we receive the gift of taste: the burst of a cherry tomato, cool watermelon, sugary corn on the cob, nourishing pure water,

Through our skin we receive the gift of touch: sand between our toes, the warmth of sunshine, floating in an ocean wave, the soft fur of a cat or dog.

Through our ears we receive the gift of sound: surf crashing on the shore, birdsongs, crickets, raindrops falling to the earth.

Through our nose we receive the gift of smell: the fragrance of a rose, a salty ocean breeze, fresh cut grass and autumn leaves.

Mary Oliver's words again, "how could there be a day in your whole life that does not have a splash of happiness?"

At the heart of the spiritual quest is a longing for a sense of both intimacy and ultimacy. Intimacy is familiarity or being closely connected. Ultimacy is a consciousness that we are a part of something much greater than self that extends into the most remote reaches of space and time. God in Nature is one pathway for encountering the sacredness of life. Next Sunday, we will explore the role of Love in the spiritual quest.