"Right As Rain" by Rev. Barbara Merritt

Thanks to Oprah, and her narration of a new series on TV about animal life, I am learning about the myriad survival strategies that living beings have adopted, in order to avoid being eaten. I was especially intrigued by the creative adaptations of some tiny frogs in South America. Both suffer from what, in a frog, appears to be a fatal flaw. Neither has developed the capacity to hop. So how are they to evade their predatory enemies?

The one species that lives in the canopy of the rain forest has sticky, grasping hands. When a snake or a bird swoops down upon this little creature, he simply steps off his branch/platform into the open air. As he free falls through the tree limbs and leaves, he stretches out his hands on his way down, eventually able to grab hold of a branch. The other frog, who is also about the size of a postage stamp, lives on top of some rocky formations on some isolated buttes in Venezuela. When a tarantula approaches with the intention of having a frog dinner, this “non-hopper” rolls herself into a stiff ball, and hurls herself over the side of the cliff. Because she is so light, and her skin is so tough, she merely bounces down the rocks and boulders until she arrives at the bottom. Then she uncurls, dusts herself off, and gets back to the business of being a frog.

The infinite number of strategies found in the animal kingdom that promote physical survival is awesome. But the same observation can be made about the numberless spiritual practices that human beings have selected, to help them make their way in the world. The extraordinary range of possibilities was strongly illustrated to me last Saturday, when I sat in worship at a Trappestine Abbey in Wrentham. I led a workshop at a retreat for UU Harvard Divinity students, (who had chosen this Abbey for their meetings). After my work was completed, I wandered over to attend the noon worship services at the Church.

In attendance were about 50 nuns; all chanting songs from the Bible, all living apart from society, all engaged in corporate, and individual prayer throughout the day. They made candy, to support their monastery. These women had dedicated their lives to God, as they understood God within the context of the Catholic Church. I was impressed with the focus and the discipline they brought to their practice. And I was astonished to see how profoundly different their path was from mine.

Even with the same ultimate goal, to dedicate your life to the highest truth you have experienced, or can imagine, we human beings come up with an infinite variety of ways to proceed. Some believe their focus should be on service. Some conclude that only financial security, and/or power and influence will result in a good life. Others are convinced that the highest achievement is creativity. Some seek pleasure, and some the denial of pleasure through asceticism. Some want to protect the planet. Some want to alleviate suffering. Sadly, far too many conclude that only they know the only right way to serve God, or humanity. They suppose that their adaptations, insights and rituals are not simply self-evidently true; they also believe that God has given to them the exclusive franchise that guarantees salvation and human happiness. As far as the self-righteous are concerned, their answers are as “right as rain”: obvious, authentic and trustworthy.

“Right as rain” is an idiom that has a lovely, alliterative quality. It’s origin can be traced back to the turn of the 20th century. According to author Michael Quinion, the expression originally referred to what was “satisfying, safe, secure and comfortable.” Some etymologists believes that it is a reference to rain falling straight down, and is therefore admiring of the straightforward qualities of rain. Others suggest that in an agrarian culture, nothing was more obvious that the blessings and the necessity of rainfall. Still others believe that rain is a symbol for what is pure and wholesome, and falls as a free gift from the heavens. (Here in New England, in the last few weeks, we are not so quick to idealize the rain that floods our streets, our basements and our Sunday School.)

“What is right?” and What is wrong?” are two core questions that humanity tries to answer. There are clearly right answers in mathematics, and science and even in moral decision-making. But when it comes to how people find the resources to spiritually survive, I am a committed pluralist. There are many, many, many creative and adaptive spiritual practices. As individuals search for a vision of earth and heaven that strikes them as “satisfactory, safe, secure and comfortable”, some will make their home in orthodox traditions. Some of us will want all of our doubts and skepticism out in the open. Some will want to meditate alone in their closet. Some will worship in cathedrals.

Wherever your path takes you, I hope that the stories that guide your steps are transformative. The Passover story, that is commemorated this week, reminds us of the redeeming journey from slavery, into liberation and freedom. The Easter story tells us that there is new life, after pain and death. As the light increases, as the rains come and go, may we find our own way to sing the songs of joy.