February 15, 2026: In Search of Truth and Wisdom

Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray
Truth can denote something factual, but it can also point to the deeper meaning of things. Truth in this sense can actually draw us to confront some of life’s most difficult realities. However, it also means that the search for truth can help us grow in wisdom.

View the video archive of this service here:

Sermon Text

In Search of Truth and Wisdom

Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray

UU Church of Bloomington

February 15, 2026

READING

Our reading is from William Ellery Channing, sometimes referred to as the father of Unitarianism, because he first gave the name, “Unitarian,” to the liberal religious theology emerging in reaction to Calvinist orthodoxy in early 1800s New England.

This is called “The Great End in Religious Instruction” and it is from a speech William Channing gave to the Sunday School Society in 1837.

“The great end in religious instruction is not to stamp our minds upon the young, but to stir up their own; Not to make them see with our eyes, but to look inquiringly and steadily with their own;

Not to give them a definite amount of knowledge, but to inspire a fervent love of truth;

Not to form an outward regularity, but to touch inward springs;

Not to bind them by ineradicable prejudices to our particular sect or peculiar notions, but to prepare them for impartial, conscientious judging of whatever subjects may be offered to their decision;

Not to burden the memory, but to quicken and strengthen the power of thought;

Not to impose religion upon them in the form of arbitrary rules, but to awaken the conscience, the moral discernment.

In a word, the great end is to awaken the soul, to excite and cherish [the] spiritual life.”


SERMON In Search of Truth and Wisdom

Last week, in reflecting on Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, we looked at the relationship of truth to justice. Lee’s novel makes plain that systems and cultures of racism and oppression require mass numbers of people to accept fallacies and deceit, or at least resign themselves to the untruths, in order to maintain injustice. Given this, speaking truth, boldly, clearly, courageously, again and again, in the midst of lies, until the truth is finally heard and recognized, is necessary to bring change to systems of injustice. Change is not immediate nor guaranteed; but truth is essential, for falsehood persists when truth is silenced.

We remember this lesson, while expanding our exploration of truth to the spiritual and religious understandings of truth.

The word “truth” can mean a number of things. It can be another word for fact. It can mean an accurate description of what is or what was - a true account, a true history, or a true measurement. Truth or truths can also describe belief systems or values that may not be measurable in the same way as facts, but which often have even more bearing on our lives and perspectives than facts.

This kind of truth lives as a bedrock or a north star in our lives. It articulates what we hold most dear, most precious, what matters to us at the highest or deepest level. These truths become the foundation for creating lives of meaning, and for growing wisdom through the challenges and burdens that every life brings. The Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron shares, “I used to have a sign pinned up on my wall that read: ‘Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.’”

When we speak of “capital T truth” - or at least the closest we can get to it from the impermanence and imperfection of our humanity - it is this indestructible bedrock that so often we find only through reckoning with challenge and the erosion of softer truths that fall away when times get tough. One of the greatest gifts that religion can give us is the freedom, the inspiration, and the tools to seek and find that truth for ourselves.

Almost two hundred years ago, William Ellery Channing, was giving voice to early Unitarianism. Emerging from hundreds of years of strict Calvinism and Puritanism - a liberalism began to emerge that rejected the orthodoxy of pre-destination and the belief in the depravity of the human spirit. In contrast to practices of fear and indoctrination as the methods of handing down religion, the early Unitarians valued human reason, the findings of science, the spiritual lessons of nature, and they sought to encourage the human spirit rather than control it. This tradition - our tradition - is not perfect. And a very fair critique is that we don’t sufficiently grapple with evil. That is a sermon for another day.

For now, we highlight the liberating shift from a view of religion and religious teaching as a set of precepts and knowledge to be stamped on the mind, to a movement that believed the real work of religious teaching should be, in Channing’s words, “to inspire a fervent love of truth, to quicken and strengthen the power of thought; [and] to awaken the conscience, the moral discernment.”

This is a valuable frame not just for the religious education of children, but also adults. In fact, Stephanie Kimball, our Director of Lifespan Religious Education has been thinking about renaming our religious education program - Religious Exploration, because that more accurately describes our aims. And she hears from some newer members especially that they do not feel they can teach Religious Education; for fear of not knowing enough of this tradition to teach it to kids. But the goal is not to to stamp our minds on the young, nor to burden the memory, but rather, as Channing says, “to stir up their own [minds]; to touch inward springs [of knowing]; Not to make them see with our eyes, but to look inquiringly and steadily with their own; in a word, to awaken the soul and cherish the spiritual life.”

In the end, we hope to nurture in our children and in all of us a life long love of learning, and openness always to deeper understandings, the search for truth and meaning in our lives and in our world. This is the foundation we need to navigate life’s beauty, wonder, and its tumult and tempest - not forgetting who we are, what we love, and what really matters.

And we cannot just give this meaning to someone else. When Pema Chodron talks about finding what is indestructible in ourselves - that is not something just handed or told to us. Others may share with us their own bedrock of truth. This is helpful; but, for it to be something we can hold onto in the midst of storms - internal and external - we have to discover it ourselves.

As Unitarian Universalists, our tradition - our faith - is not organized around a single, unchanging truth. We have not a creed to memorize or which we must all adhere to. Ours is a tradition that knows that life always has more to teach us - a tradition that knows that revelation is not stagnant, not sealed, and that the wonders can continue to inspire, unsettle, surprise, and deepen our knowledge and knowing if we keep our hearts and minds open to learning more. Being open to new learnings and insight - being open to the world and life teaching us more - is the path of developing wisdom.

There is a famous quote on wisdom by the 11th century Jewish poet and philosopher, Solomon ibn Gariol, who wrote, “We are wise only while in search of wisdom; when we imagine we have attained it, we are fools.”

The same might be said of truth. This is not to say there are not deep, everlasting truths. I offer a few from my own learning - the fundamental interdependence of life, that all life is connected. The centrality of Love as a motive force for good in the world. The impermanence of everything. These may be “capital T” enduring truths. But, what they mean for how we live our lives, how they call us to respond to the world and to loss and to age - these always offer new learnings.

In the end, it is clear that a key ingredient in the search for truth and wisdom is … freedom. This is the liberating message in Channing’s words. This is the liberating spirit of all religious and social traditions that both share learnings and knowledge while also encouraging ongoing exploration and discovery.

One of the greatest gifts of our tradition for our people young and old,when done well, is the encouragement of confidence and curiosity - to trust yourself, to explore your world - to learn all you can - to kindle a love of truth and knowledge ever unfolding and expanding. And this requires freedom to learn and explore.

I offer this reflection in praise of liberal religion - and how vitally important it is in the context of rising Christian White Nationalism - so prevalent in our state and in our country. To be clear, Christian White Nationalism is not a reflection of all of Christianity or all Christians. Indeed, it is progressive Christians who have been so clear and bold in denouncing Christian Nationalism as an aberration and distorted Christian faith. But, it is holding power these days - and seeking to grow that power. And it is important to be clear that the theology of Christian White Nationalism is not one that teaches or encourages freedom. It is rooted in patriarchy and the demanded obedience and subservience of women and people of color and non-Christians to white Christian men. It is a religion that does not tolerate deviation or freedom - except freedom for those in charge.

To that I echo Channing’s words - of the great end in religious instruction:

“Not to bind them by ineradicable prejudices to our particular sect or peculiar notions, but to prepare them for impartial, conscientious judging of whatever subjects may be offered to their decision;

Not to burden the memory, but to quicken and strengthen the power of thought;

Not to impose religion upon them in the form of arbitrary rules, but to awaken the conscience, the moral discernment.

In a word, the great end is to awaken the soul, to excite and cherish [the] spiritual life.”

For us, as a people whose faith inspires curiosity, welcomes questioning and doubt, and celebrates the divine spark in every person, the beauty of human diversity, we are a people who know that truth is not one thing, unchanging handed down, forced on us - rather truth is freedom. And embracing a search for truth as a principle of our tradition is an embrace of freedom.

And this matters not just in the context of religion - but in society too. It is February 2026. February is Black History Month in the United States - an intentional time to focus on the history of Black Americans - necessary because the United States has repeatedly, both prioritized the history of white Americans as the key through line of American history and also intentionally sought to erase Black history. And we see this happening again, before our very eyes.

It’s also 2026 - the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and what we consider the founding of the United States. And right in this very moment, we see history again being intentionally silenced. After decades of organizing and advocacy to more fully tell the history of the U.S. - and all of its inhabitants - Native, Black, Asian, LGBTQ, Latino, Immigrants - historical displays featuring a more inclusive and complicated telling of our history are being removed from national monuments and parks and museums.

A white washing of history. An attempted erasure of history. An attempt to move away from a practice of continually learning - of sharing a broad and growing spectrum of histories and experiences so that we might inspire in our country and its people (young and old) - a growing curiosity, a love of learning, critical thinking and strength of thought, and an enduring love of truth.

Decades of advocacy have helped us as a nation develop a stronger practice of seeking to tell the fullness of our history - its pride and its shame, its diversity and its beauty, its hopes and aspirations, as well as its shortcomings - recognizing that only in seeking to understand its fullness can we continue to grow as a people and society where everyone is included, has agency, and is free. The truth must be spoken, must be known, if we are to ever create more justice, ever to create a more perfect union.

Instead, the effort today is to replace the work toward telling a full history with monolithic perspectives that discourage questioning. To replace history and truth with propaganda and indoctrination.

It is an important reminder - whether we are discussing religion or society or governments - truth and freedom need one another to thrive. For those who seek to silence the truth also seek to deny freedom. And as freedom loving people, we must understand that only through truth can freedom prevail.

Next Sunday, as we continue to explore what it means to be a Community of Truth, we dive further into this relationship of truth and freedom - and why truth is so important to protecting freedom. For now, let us celebrate and honor our own UU tradition and our many siblings in faith that embrace freedom, diversity, and pluralism in the search for truth and wisdom.