 |
|
| Back to the Annual Sermon Menu | |
|
|
The Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven, Massachusetts "The Redemption Factor" Rev. Ann C. Fox |
|
More than two thousand years ago, there was a joyful parade when Jesus of Nazareth rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. People who knew of Jesus' teachings or had heard of them lined the streets and shouted Hosanna (or hurray). We know this story from the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. Jesus had journeyed to Jerusalem with his disciples to celebrate the feast of Passover in the city of the Temple of Solomon, as was the custom for Jews in those days. The joyful entrance was to change to sorrow five days later when Jesus was tried as a troublemaker and condemned to die on a cross. To be crucified was a shameful death in the ancient world. Only low class criminals were crucified. Jesus must have struck a deep chord in an ancient people since more followers gathered around his teachings after his death. They continued those teachings in the Jerusalem temple and in other temples scattered over the Greco-Roman world. (By Greco-Roman world, I mean the territories that were colonized first by the ancient Greeks and then taken over by the ancient Romans. All the people who lived in the Middle East and North Africa were enamoured of the Greek and Roman cultures. Jesus' life certainly struck one of my friends deeply since he sent me proof that Jesus was many things to many people. This is the proof: THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS PUERTO-RICAN: 1. His first name was Jesus. 2. He was bilingual. 3. He was always being harassed by the authorities. THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS BLACK AMERICAN: 1. He called everybody "Brother." 2. He Liked Gospel. 3. He couldn't get a fair trial. THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS JEWISH: 1. He went into his father's business. 2. He lived at home until he was 33. 3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin, and she was sure he was God. THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS ITALIAN: 1. He talked with his hands. 2. He had wine with every meal. 3. He worked in the building trades. THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS A CALIFORNIAN: 1. He never cut his hair. 2. He walked around barefoot. 3. He started a new religion. THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS IRISH: 1. He never got married. 2. He was always telling stories. 3. He loved green pastures. And finally, the most compelling evidence: THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS A WOMAN: 1. He had to feed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food. 2. He kept trying to get the message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it. 3. Even when he was dead, he had to get up because there was more work for him to do! Modern scholars believe that the stories of the resurrection were added on to the life of Jesus to gloss over the fact of the shameful death. This became particularly important when it was clear that the people who would listen to the teachings of Jesus were those of the Greco-Roman world where noble blood might well determine whether a person would be worth listening to. Since Jesus was of lowly birth and a shameful death, how could he be marketed to people who needed to look up to an admirable hero? What is more admirable than a man whose father was God and whose death was redeemed by becoming himself a Redeemer. Let us recall that there are four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I was taught that the Gospels were the work of the four disciples. Modern scholars say that there is no evidence that the Gospels were written by any of the disciples. Scholars believe that all four Gospels were written by writers, men of great talent and a great belief in Jesus. It was the custom in the Greco-Roman world to write in the name of a famous person. All four Gospels tell somewhat differing accounts of the life, teachings, and resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel of Mark is the shortest and earliest Gospel and is thought to have been a source for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Mark tells us that a young man, dressed in a white robe, tells Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Salome, to say to the disciples "Jesus will go before them in Galilee." It was a simple ending with no mention of a bodily resurrection. The gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John add a fantastic story of the physical Jesus appearing and preaching to the disciples, having beach barbecues, and inviting them to touch him, touch his wounds to verify his physical body. These three Gospels and St. Paul's Letters tell us that the people who follow Jesus' teachings and who accept him as God's son will be judged by him on Judgment day to be worthy of joining him and the Father in heaven. The Gospels say that Jesus also asked the disciples to spread his word over the 70 nations of the world so that everyone would have a chance to go to the Father through Jesus, the son. It is important to remember that the early Christians were lived in an unstable and violent world and were convinced that the world would end in the lifetime following Jesus' death so it was important to guarantee people a Savior so that there was a way to get to heaven. Let us also remember that Jews generally had no belief in an afterlife, but the Greco-Roman world did. Conservative Christians today believe that we cannot possibly be a Christian or be saved from Hell unless we believe in Jesus' physical resurrection, his divinity, and his ability to direct us to the Father. Many, if not most, Unitarian Universalists consider themselves saved by character. Being saved means that we live life with a clear conscience after expressing sorrow for harming another person and putting right in this life to our best ability whatever wrong we might have done. Many of us consider ourselves "christian" with a small "c" and find the teachings of Jesus worthy of an exemplar but we usually do not believe in the fantastic miracle birth and physical resurrection. But we do find the teachings and example of Jesus, valuable---they are saving teachings for our life, and our character, on this earth. We interpret the nativity scene in the famous large window at the front of this church metaphorically as a special person bringing wisdom to live by into the world. And at the back of the church that special person, Jesus of Nazareth, invites us to listen to his teachings and to the possibilities they hold and to wake up to what is and what might be. Famous biblical scholar and Episcopal bishop, John Shelby Spong, says that western thinkers need to get beyond the actual stories to the symbolic truth. What then can we make of the reading from the Gospel of John that I read earlier when Mary Magdalene encounters Jesus in the Garden? Bishop Spong thinks that Mary Magdalene was mentioned because she was a respected leader in the early Jewish Jesus movement that was growing. He also thinks that although Jesus died in Jerusalem, he appeared in some fashion to Mary and the disciples. In the Gospel of John, the Disciples, who had returned to Galilee, were out in their fishing boat. Peter was sure he saw Jesus on the beach. Peter jumped out of the boat and swam to shore. He found Jesus roasting fish for them-having a barbecue if you like. Bishop Spong thinks that the disciples were so distraught and guilt ridden over their abandonment of Jesus at the cross that they headed for home, in Galilee, and tried to pick up the pieces of their lives by returning to their livelihood as fishermen. Peter appears to be the one closest to Jesus and was the most affected by Jesus' death. Spong says that while on the shore, perhaps Peter, in his extreme grief, experienced an ecstatic state where he finally understood Jesus' "presence" and what Jesus meant to him. In other words, Peter got enlightenment! The other disciples observed Peter's state and thought he was communing with Jesus. They all entered into this transformation. They were transformed by their understanding of who Jesus was and their relationship with him. This transformation was the impetus for them to begin spreading the word of their understanding. Jesus did appear to them---in their mind's eye, just as Mary thought she saw Jesus in the Garden. Have you ever lost someone you dearly loved and you were so grieved that all your days were filled with the thoughts of that person and what they meant to you? This grieving state can go on for days, months, even years. Many people I have known have handled their grief by keeping busy. This is a way of filling empty, depressing days. And some people have described to me appearances of their lost loved ones. Unitarian scholar, Rev. Jack Kent, says that Jesus said nothing about being an intermediary between humankind and God or a Redeemer and that the story around the Resurrection is a mistaken belief. In his book The Psychological Origins of the Resurrection Myth, Rev. Kent says that modern grief studies confirm that fifty five percent of people in serious grief will experience one or more of the following five grief-related experiences. 1. They may see an appearance of the deceased and, sometimes, have a conversation with that appearance. 2. They may feel that the deceased is within them. 3. They may feel that the deceased is just around them in their daily life, perhaps in the home and garden. 4. They may hear the presence of the deceased in the house or at other places. 5. They may feel that they have touched the deceased or been touched by the deceased. (Kent) In all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Mary Magdalene sees Jesus. It makes sense that she would see Jesus for she was probably the one closest to him. (Kent) Having said all this, however, we do not know whether apparitions of deceased persons are hallucinations or whether they actually appear. Perhaps a grieved person is especially open to psychic experiences (the veil between the worlds is lifted) because of the grief. If the soul indeed survives, perhaps love would cause the soul of the deceased to try to comfort those left behind. And regarding the appearances of Jesus, you must make up your own mind. In April, Lisa Elliott and I will be offering a four-session seminar on Grief and Loss (of all kinds, not just bereavement). I hope many of you will be able to attend. The children in our Religious Education will also be studying grief issues. This is Holy Week. Those of us who think that although Jesus was certainly a gifted and divinely inspired teacher, bodily resurrection and redeeming errant individuals just by belief is a bit too much of a stretch for many of us. If Jesus' teachings are dear to us and worth studying, this is a good week to become familiar with them or read them for the first time. If you haven't yet got a Bible, I recommend the Harper's Study Bible or the New Revised Standard Version. The responsive reading this morning spoke metaphorically of the tomb and darkness as a cocoon for us to reflect deeply on our life challenges. It ends: In this season where light and dark balance the day, We seek balance for ourselves. Grateful for the darkness that has nourished us, we push Away the stone and invite the light to awaken us to the Possibilities within us and among us---possibilities for New life in ourselves and in our world. Know that as Unitarian Universalists Grace is always available to us through prayer or meditation. Redemption is in the freedom to struggle with life's challenges, supported by our religious community. We decide for ourselves what is true. So may it be. May Holy Week afford us the opportunity to reflect on what we truly believe about resurrection and redemption. And may we come a little closer to discovering the truth that will keep us free.
References
Kent, Jack A. The Psychological Origins of the Resurrection Myth, London, England: Open Gate Press, 1999. |
| Return to the beginning of the sermon |