The Moon and Other Ways We Phase
Wendy Dennis (lay led)
UU Church of Wakefield
February 27, 2005

Opening Words:

Under the harvest moon,
When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers. 
Under the summer roses
When the flagrant crimson
Lurks in the dusk
Of the wild red leaves,
Love, with little hands,
Comes and touches you
With a thousand memories,
And asks you
Beautiful, unanswerable questions.

Sometimes, it seems easier to write a sermon than to think up a catchy title for it!  I had considered "Musings on the Moon" as a title, but by last week I had actually come up with an angle from which to use the Moon as a starting point for this sermon, so I opted for a less vague title.  And, from this angle and title, I picked the hymns so Janine could get them into the Order of Service.   All this before writing the sermon, of course!  

So, why the Moon?  Well, about a month ago, Jeff Workman (wearing his Worship Committee hat and searching for guest speakers) asked me if I could present a sermon about the Moon this Sunday.  "I even have a book about the Moon I can lend you," he told me.  Of course, since we recently had started learning the choir anthem about the Moon that you heard earlier in the service, I suspected that Jeff's role of choir director had something to do with the subject choice!

Jeff did indeed lend me a book about the Moon (a yard sale bargain – that goes without saying to those of you who know Jeff well), so I was all set… Except…after browsing through the book I was a bit leery about using the book's thesis as a sermon topic.  Called Moon Time, the Art of Harmony with Nature and Lunar Cycles, it is basically a guide to living out every aspect of our lives based on the phases of the moon, along with a number of other theories based on very specific interpretations of the world and our place in it.  Now, I know that entire cultures have evolved around the Moon, and that, to this day, people plant by the moon, pay attention to the phases of the moon as they make certain decisions, and create meaningful rituals to celebrate, for example, the new and full moons each month.  But…my first take on this particular book was that it presents a predefined way to understand and live one's life – a credo, in fact. 

This made me even surer that Jeff just happened upon this book about the moon that he lent me, since he is not a "credo sort of guy." 

But, you know what?  I do think that the universe works in mysterious ways.   The Moon presents endless ideas from which to base a sermon.  This particular book that Jeff lent me got me thinking about the human desire to understand the world around us.  And it got me thinking about the all too common tendency we all have to search for, and often latch onto, a worldview that will answer all the "BIG" questions and enable us to just relax part of our brains and follow a set of guidelines or rules.  Thank you, Jeff, for providing me with a starting point for this sermon.

As I contemplated the ideas in the Moon Time book, I thought about all the lore surrounding the moon, as well as what I thought were documented facts about the moon's effect on human behavior.  You know – more arrests during a full moon, more psychiatric intakes in emergency rooms, and even more babies being born.  The general explanation is that, since the human body contains such a high percentage of water, it can be affected by the moon's gravitational pull, as are bodies of water.  

I so assumed that there were statistics backing up these beliefs that, when Jeff asked me, last week, for ideas for lyrics as he composed the song he wrote and was performed by the Jr. Choir Ensemble this morning, I mentioned how the moon affects human behavior because of the water thing.  WELL….It made for a delightful song, but I think I lead Jeff astray.  

I learned a few things after doing some research.  I don't know about you, but somehow I assumed (apparently after forgetting the basic biology facts I must have learned in high school) that the percentage of water in the human body was around 85%, or even more. 

In fact, I found that it is less than that, although, still a substantial percentage:  On average, human body weight is 50 to 75 percent water. The specific percentage of water varies from person to person—affected by body composition, age and gender, among other factors. And, this is a very small amount of water – 10-12 gallons.  While the moon affects the tides in the ocean and other large bodies of water, the effect is minuscule in small bodies of water and life forms that contain water.  Researchers have calculated that a mother holding her baby exerts 12 million times the tide-raising force on the child that the moon does, simply by virtue of being closer.

And, although it has become "common knowledge" that there is more volatile behavior when the moon is full, I could not find any studies that prove that this is true.  Not for lack of studies.  There have been many such studies of data hoping to prove that the full moon has a defined effect on human behavior. And, there are not any that I could find that prove a direct causation, or even a significant correlation.   And, skeptics say, if the full moon causes such activity, then the new moon's gravitational pull should have the same sort of effect, and you don't generally hear police officers and emergency room staff mentioning anything going on when the moon is new. 

Yet… does the lack of "scientific" studies proving such mean that the moon has no effect on us?  What about the origin of the word Lunatic?  

Etymology: Middle English lunatik, from Old French or Late Latin; Old French lunatique, from Late Latin lunaticus, from Latin luna; from the belief that lunacy fluctuated with the phases of the moon.

Actually, some of the studies I reviewed did acknowledge the possibility that the brightness of the full moon could affect human behavior by causing sleep disruption, as well as by providing extra light for those seeking nocturnal adventures.  In the days before artificial lighting, a full moon would certainly create a very pronounced effect at night.

But, scientific studies or not, I know that I have experienced things and then later realized that the moon was in a certain phase and that what happened made sense once I had that context. Although, I don’t know for sure that the moon really causes events or causes me to respond a certain way. Perhaps I am just fitting my experience into a system of thought so as to find meaning in what may actually be random occurrences….

Personally, I like Dante's belief put forth in Canto XVI of his Divine Comedy's Purgatorio: In this portion of his journey, Dante learns from Marco Lombardo that, while the “Heavens” influence our fate, we are also entrusted with the power of reason, with free will. Basically, in response to Dante’s question as to whether our fate is predetermined or guided by our ability to reason, the answer he gets is:  Both.  

As I said earlier, my first take on the book about the moon was that it presented a credo – a set way to interpret and live one's life. And that makes me uncomfortable.  That is not to say that that I totally dismiss the entire book.  I don't dismiss any experiential or spiritual knowledge.  However, I do take issue with books and teachings that present a “definitive guide to life;” systems of thought that, however complex, ultimately present simplistic explanations of the intricacies of human life.  

We are all searching for our “Star of Truth.” However, I tend to agree with what John Andrew Storey says in verse two of our opening hymn: 

“The certainty for which we crave no mortal ones can ever know; uncharted waters we must brave, and face what ever winds may blow.”  

This line of thought is also reflected in our sermon hymn, which features the words of William Blake: 

Every night and every morn some to misery are born; 
every morn and every night some are born to sweet delight.
Joy and woe are woven fine, clothing for the soul divine:
Under every grief and pine runs a joy with silken twine.
It is right and should be so: we are made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know, safely through the world we go

But it is difficult to live with no definite answers, with no way to explain why things happen as they do.  

…we are made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know, safely through the world we go

How can such words make us feel safe?  It is much more comforting to believe that things happen because the moon is in a certain phase, or that we are being rewarded or punished for our actions, or that a literal answer to our questions can be found, if only we can discover or learn the TRUE interpretation of a scriptural text.  Or, for a secular example: if we follow the advice of this lifestyle counselor or that career specialist, we will succeed in life.

As the sermon title implies, we don’t have to follow the moon to “phase” our lives.  There are innumerable belief systems, and guidelines from which to choose, or we can create or interpret a new way to find meaning in, or give meaning to our lives.  The possibilities are endless.

I don’t think that there is anything inherently wrong with considering examples from nature, scriptural texts, or even the latest self-help book as we struggle to find meaning in our lives.  In fact, many systems that may not make rational sense if taken literally can inspire a greater understanding of our lives.  And, a set of rules or interpretive guidelines by which to live does not need be restrictive.  Like rituals, rules can provide a consistency that can ultimately enable us to expand our vision.  As Sophia Lyon Fahs says in today’s responsive reading:

Some beliefs are like blinders, shutting off the power to choose one’s own direction.
Other beliefs are like gateways opening wide vistas for exploration. 

Perhaps I should take another look at Moon Time…Perhaps, as today’s anthem says “Only the Moon has Secrets”…And, if not secrets, then certainly the ability to inspire both a sense of mystery AND give us, as it circles through its phases, a pattern from which we can learn as we experience all the beginnings and endings that make up the journey of our lives.

And perhaps there is an answer, some Truth, somewhere.  And, perhaps not…

Morning star comes out at night, without dark there is no light. If nothing’s wrong, then nothing’s right.  Let it be a dance.

Amen