Purim for Unitarians?

At Westgate Chapel in Lewes we have been looking at the Gospels in the light of the Jewish year. Bishop John Shelby Spong has recently published another of his books this one entitled “Re-Claiming the Bible for the non religious world.” It seems quite a good title for Unitarians to consider!   Here one of his claims is that probably the Gospels were liturgy to reflect the Jewish year and fit Jesus into those seasonal celebrations, hence his year of ministry is linked to the Jewish year. Much of our heritage comes from the Judo Christian background, so I have been trying to see what still applies to us in a post enlightenment context by looking at concepts of Jewish celebrations.

The Gospels are all a bit different and one in particular is written in a way that is so different it has been seen separately from the others. Johns Gospel. The other three Gospels are no doubt earlier and they reflect the time when “followers of the way” were a sect of Judaism. They then became a separate faith and later became known as Christians. It is to the post Judaist “followers of the way” that Johns Gospel is addressed but also tries to show the continuation of the Jewish year in the light of the life of Jesus.

It is then not surprising to find then that John makes an event happen at the time of Purim that the other gospels don’t. John also has another lesser feast event included in his gospel that of Hanukah again missed in the other Gospels.

In his book Bishop John Shelby Spong makes this statement. “Religion always evolves by transcending the limits of the past and giving birth to a new consciousness.”

This is exactly what we have occurring in Johns Gospel in his message about the life of Jesus.  The reason for our brief reading from John Chapter 5 is this is John placing Jesus at Purim and fulfilling the transcendent message of Purim. None were poorer than the lame that sat around the pool we hear of; the gift to the poor in this picture is that of health given back. The only feast day to fall on a Sabbath between AD 25 and AD 35 was Purim of AD 28 (Faulstich 1986).

It is also about the providence of Jesus happening to pass that way, again showing that gods’ providence works though Jesus. But not only Jesus but also those who follow in his way, as his early followers and all those who have been moved by his life story. In many ways John is also transcending the Sermon on the Mount message, of Mathews Gospel.

Perhaps the hidden message of these gospels is like Purim seeing things in retrospect as part of what the Jews believe was Gods plan.

I seem to hear a lot about Unitarianism being a religion and in many ways this is true as we have transcended past Christian and Jewish ways and you could say have given birth to a new consciousness. But looking to our root religious past can still give us a fresh perspective on key things not to lose. Seeing how perhaps the Jews celebrate things in today’s world can help us to find meaning ourselves. I was quite taken with the Jewish custom of writing the name of Haman (the bad guy in the Esther story) on the soles of your shoes and then stamping to show his annihilation as the bad person. I was severely tempted to write the name David Cameron on my own shoe soles today. Personally I am not a fan of his recent legislation and changes to welfare and the disabled.  Purim is about giving to the poor and that is something David Cameron it seems is determined not to do.  I apologize to anyone who is a fan here, but my politics are integral to my belief in giving to the poor not robbing them of alms. If it was good enough for Jesus to give the gift of health to the poor man at the poolside its good enough for me to do my bit too.  I expect my government to do this not allow bankers huge bonuses and pay 100 million to a medical company to stop disability benefits. Perhaps we should all write his name on our shoe soles and stamp our feet? Well it’s just a suggestion…

Religion always evolves by transcending the limits of the past and giving birth to a new consciousness.”  If Unitarianism is an evolved religion then we need to evolve and find further ways to give to the poor. Is just one message to find from looking at Purim. 

The second one is that of Providence behind events, celebrated by Jews in wearing a mask to symbolize the hidden workings of God. Well we may say Johns gospel s a bit like that too. But can we use this concept ourselves?

I grew up in a Strict Baptist family and the name of many a Strict Baptist Chapel is that of Providence Chapel. Such a concept fits firmly within the Calvinist theology schools that believe in a god that intervenes. I am not all that sure I a supporter of such a school of thinking these days when I have moved theologically into at times an almost atheist school of thinking. Equally I have long felt it was so unfair that one set of people should win over another set of people as depicted if we take literally the accounts of the Old Testament such as the book of Esther upon which the festival of Purim is based. If there is a God how does it work that one nation was or is more favored than another.

But leaving the theology aside I expect you like I have had times when things coincide in such a way that you wonder if there is more to providence or fate than meets the eye? As we heard in our Purim story sometimes it can seem our needs are answered in ways that seem beyond rational thinking. Reason some times takes away the joy of the things that happen in life. Many years ago now we set off on holiday late one Friday evening from my then home in Kent. We had a caravan and late night traffic was less problematic than in the daytime. We had a red Datsun estate just back from its service at the main dealers and 2 years old. Driving along the M20, M25 and the M4 we made our way west, destination Cornwall and a much beloved holiday spot at Trebarwith Strand. When we were approaching the Bridgewater junction I noticed the temperature gauge go high, so pulled off and stopping at the roundabout off the motorway, the car burst into flames under the bonnet. Getting out quick I grabbed the fire extinguisher, put out the fire successfully and then opened the bonnet. By this time it is 2am. To cut a long story short we ended up in a lay by sleeping in the caravan and next morning unhitched the car and discovered it had a cracked piston, pulling the caravan this had pumped the oil into the air filter and when we stopped this had run out the air filter onto the hot exhaust outlet and caught fire.

Anyway looking at the map the nearest caravan site was at Watchet, we ended up there and the car went in for major repairs and we hired one from the garage to get about in. It was an awful old Ford blowing blue smoke out and these days would not be allowed on the road.

At this time I was looking for a pastorate having been working as an assistant minister of a London church. On the Sunday we looked at what Watchet had in the way of churches to attend, and went to the local Baptist Church. Ironically the service was a good bye to their then minister and a special service to mark his retirement.

Now you could say Moses had a burning bush and I had a burning Datsun, I was then also followed by a pillar of blue smoke, not a pillar of cloud in the desert… because the outcome of all this was I became the next Minister of Watchet Baptist Church.

Incidentally following this the red car was always called “The fire engine”…

Now this at the time was all seen as providence, and in those days something I guess I firmly believed in.  These days I am less sure; rationally you can make all manner of things fit if you want to. Horoscopes are perhaps a less religious way of doing this, fortune telling also. At the end of the day it depends how much significance you want to give to things, certainly when Unitarians started to question the validity of the Catholic Creeds they used a rational approach and dismissed miracles, an intervening god  and so on.

Religion always evolves by transcending the limits of the past and giving birth to a new consciousness.”  Did the new consciousness then as an offshoot of Christianity perhaps dismiss too much? Perhaps some were very keen to dismiss the miracles a little to quickly as Hocus Pokus, akin to something out of Harry Potter.  A lot of total make believe, well away from reality. Is our modern day Unitarian religion a product of total rationality? Some would say it is but miss out on the joy of seeing things as what was once known as providence. If we are a transcending new way of doing religion then perhaps we need to be giving new birth to the concept of providence rather than dismissing it as Hocus Pokus! The one big thing about the Jewish festival of Purim is that it is a time for celebration, in fact the only time of the Jewish year that sanctions a bit more alcoholic beverage to the point of less rationality and being open to the point of less narrow interpretations.  Now here is a little Jewish tradition we could excel at in our modern world.  Whose up for a pub-crawl then?  Is it time to have a few too many and be less closed to rational explanations? Well yes as long as you’re not going to drive afterwards! Perhaps those of us who went to FUSE (Festival of Unitarians in the South East) missed out on trying this one out for size, a drink or two more was needed!

Now please don’t be one of those congregations, who take me out of context, I am not advocating having more than one more than you should.. I remember as a Child my Father preaching to a Strict Baptist chapel (and those of you unfamiliar with them need to know they were very very strictly teetotal) and getting his words mixed up and instead of saying you need the “strong meat” of the word, said you need “strong drink” my brethren. Only my family saw the funny side of this and he never preached there again!

Back to providence in our new evolving religion of Unitarians, from Purim we can perhaps take some rituals and reuse them. Maybe we do not need a drink, just a more open to possibilities mindset. Instead of dismissing the irrational, fate and providence perhaps we need to see it as a way of enjoying our religion. I hope the little stories in my sermon have at least made you smile.   Things do happen in life at times that seem to make us feel they were expected, and that’s the joy Purim can bring to those who observe the Jewish calendar. 

One of the great strengths of a religious calendar is the festivals all have a meaning, one of the weaknesses is they only seem to remember them once a year religiously. If we as an evolution of old ways of doing things are to be effective then it calls on us to stand for more than token gestures. I think we need to be challenged to regularly think of the poor and needy in the world. As members of this so-called Unitarian religion we perhaps need to look at ways to also celebrate providence. The Jews did it and still do yearly; the gospels give us pictures of Jesus doing it.  Our predecessors also did it. We are still called today to find ways of making these things relevant to our lives.. I leave you with a quote..

Religion is not something separate and apart from ordinary life. It is life—life of every kind viewed from the standpoint of meaning and purpose: life lived in the fuller awareness of its human quality and spiritual significance.

Arthur Powell Davies a notable American Unitarian Minister.

I hope each one of us is able to find meaning and purpose in our lives today, from ancient festivals we can still find meaning and purpose today if we let ourselves..

Let it be so..

The Gospels and the Jewish year Luke and Feb.

Reading Luke chapter 2 verses 40 to 51 

I start with a quote from Christopher Sande a member at John Pounds Unitarian Church he has an interest in following Jewish festivals and has provided me a few notes to work on..

For us this festival  of  the “new year for the trees” is a wonderful opportunity to give thanks for the wide variety of fruit that our world possesses, and to remember that despite the bleakness of the weather and landscape at this point in the year, the spring will come, and the trees will blossom and fruits will once again hang from tree after tree. Likewise when life may seem harsh and empty one can keep hold of the hope that good times, in some form or another, will return.

This festival originally marked the beginning of the agricultural year, for the specific purpose of calculating the tithing of fruit. (Fruit from trees blossoming prior to this date are last year’s harvest, after this date this year’s.) As this is the time of year that almond trees blossom in the Land of Israel, the festival is seen as the harbinger of spring. Over the years many traditions have developed around the day, and today it is primarily observed by eating fruit, especially fruit of the trees that the bible praises the Land of Israel for: Pomegranates, Olives, Grapes and Dates.

But the Torah says, "Man is a tree of the field." We are nurtured by deep roots, as far back as Abraham and Sarah; we reach upwards to the heavens while standing firmly on the ground; and when we do all this right, we produce fruits that benefit the world—namely our good deeds. (So said our reading by Adrian)

When we start to look at Lukes Gospel in line with the then Jewish festivals, Luke is relfecting much of this in his writing about the early life of Jesus. It is a sort of preamble. To the good deeds Jesus did in later life, starting with his pre existance that shows his roots.  So there is a parallel here to the jewish festival, but we have to take on board Luke whoever he was, was not jewish. So his gospel is a gentile interpretation of the life of Jesus and he does not get it accurate to Jewish or hebrew understanding.

If you had a bible to hand the passages surounding the picture given of Jesus being at the temple aged 12 we heard read ,are about Jesus roots and another  odd geneology account is given, different to the one in Matthew. Get to verse 34 of chapter 3 and it states..Son of Abraham and ends that section with son of Adam son of God. Luke is giving us a litergy he is making a case for Jesus being rooted on earth but streaching in time towards the heavens, like a tree.  Claiming his roots are in the divine nature of God himself. Lukes overall purpose is to interpret Jesus in the light of  the hebrew scriptures, so he uses names for people to give his writing a hebrew scriptures root. Names such as Zacheriah for the father of John the Baptist and Sarah as his mother are less about historical accuracy and more about using names from the Hebrew scriptures to interpret Jesus.  Zacheriah is actually one of the last of the minor prophets of the hebrew scriptures. But Luke uses this name for the father of John The Baptist althought this prophet was far to early to have actually been the physical father of John the Baptist.

But actually in the mystical traditions of judaism this festival has another ancient link to being a pre existant hidden thought to the creation of man by a cosmic picture of what may be termed god. The very thought of existance was celebrated in the Jeweish festival now known as the New Year for the trees. Hence come back to this gospel of Luke and we have some clues to this in a write up that this thought of a creation was first seen in a baby, seen by Simeon at the temple who in the baby jesus saw the light of the gentiles in this child..  In order to fully understand how Luke is thinking requires us to know the context of Jewish thinking at the time in relation to hebrew scripture.  Not such an easy task as there were several strands of thinking. What we can say about the Judaistic people of the time is they followed a way  of life. The time of the Gospels are centered on the synagogue life that would consist of a reading of the Torah , prophets and other writings handed down from generation to generation.  Then telling stories that reflect the scripture and interpret them, this is what the gospels try to do.

To us today looking from outside of the Jewish tradition we perhaps fail to see that much of this way of living a life was a reasoned approach at the time. It was all about the use of nature as a teaching method to pass on the observations about the roots of the people.  It was a community way of life marked by the seasons and times, every year a little growth of thinking is added.  Gospel writers like Luke at this point are trying to add to this reasoned way of thinking. But their problem is the main authroities of the time disagree.. Eventually these (sect) “followers of the way” such as Luke are excommuuicated from the synagogues and the Jewish community went on without these writings being accepted. Now if you know any rabbis today, youll know they are a very studious people who know their scriptures very well. Hardly suprising that a plaguist like Luke  who pulls names out of hebrew scripture not understanding their significance, led to the birth of christianity away from its jewish roots.  These litergies as they were had to stand away from Jewish thinking from this point on, and lost their significance as related to the Jewish litergical year. At this point the early church is no longer a sect of judaism.  Instead it becomes something else, but the jewish way of life continues to this day..

It's a funny way of inhabiting time, this Jewish calendar of ours. Every seventh day a holiday. Every new moon a holiday. And then, studding the year like jewels in a crown, the festivals, each with its own music, its own flavor, both literally and metaphorically. Writes the Velveteen Rabbi online in her blog.

What is perhaps even more funny is that people later on the readers of what became the New Testament were trying to reinterpret a way of life as being found in one life that of Jesus. But they often removed from context these early gospels and made claims and alliances with other ways of life. These did not always reflect the gospels.  Often later generations have taken completely out of context these writings. Some have often missed the need to do good deads… This is at the root of the gospels.

This week I have been particularly mindful of the fact that some 200 years ago another writer was born, in Portsmouth. His works were and are still are considered great writings. I am of course talking here of Charles Dickens. For much of his adult life he identified with some powerful USA Unitarians, such as Channing who he maintained a long friendship with. In London he attended Essex Street and Little Portland Street Unitarian Chapels, but in later years moved to Rochester to be with family and returned nominally to the Church of England because there was no Unitarian Chapel in the area. At this time the Church of England also became a broader Church. Separated by distance he remained friends with Unitarians all his life.

Dickens's religious beliefs were those of most 19th century British Unitarians. In his will he urged his children to adopt a liberal, tolerant, and non-sectarian interpretation of Christianity, "the teaching of the New Testament in its broad spirit." He recommended they "put no faith in any man's narrow construction" of isolated passages. In The Life of Our Lord, written for his children and not published until 1934, Dickens summarized his faith as "to do good always." He believed humanity, created in the image of the divine, retained a seed of good. He preached the gospel of the second chance. The world would be a better place if, with a change of heart, people were to treat others with kindness and generosity. (Taken from web site UUA on Dickens)

Unitarians these days still sometimes look at our roots, looking at the Festivals of the Jewish year, and looking at the context of gospels once held as sacred can reassure us that we are still growing from our ancient roots. Others have been a part of what we are today, people like Charles Dickens have been a part of our past growth, and he too found strength and inspiration from Unitarian roots. Reason tolerance and freedom of religion are how we allow growth.

Those roots we still feed from now they can help us to produce good fruit. When I think about this old meeting place I often see it as an old olive tree. Those who have been around a long time may remember I spoke of the olive tree once before. Some olive trees have roots a couple of thousand years old, new growth can come to old stumps and trees can re-grow. We have started to see new growth.  Perhaps we stand more firmly on the ground than other ways of doing religion, we have allowed ourselves to evolve in our understanding and not to stick to one perception of any given religion. Our organized kindness does benefit the world already and there is no shortage of need to be satisfied. May we grow to do more good deeds as we stretch out our branches in the year ahead…

Let it be so..

The Jewish year and the Gospels Introduction Dec

Readings used..

Reading from the Bible..Matthew Chapter one..verses 15 – 25

Reading Genesis Chapter 36 verse 40 to Chapter 37 verse 11.

In the Jewish calendar we are in the month of Kislev and this particular period is about being in the midst of Winter. It is sometimes known as the month of dreams.  The name of the month could have several meanings, but all of them are reflective of hope positive ness and expectation. At the end of this period comes the festival of Chanukah as it is known today, but go back in time to the time of Jesus and this was known as a festival of Dedication. It celebrated the rededicating of the Temple in the period of around 200 BCE.

At the time when the synoptic gospels were written Matthew Mark & Luke that Temple had been completely destroyed by the Romans in CE70, It is from Mathew and Luke that we get what has become known as the Christmas Story.  These were not written as historical accounts, and in a recent book by Bishop John Spong I have been reading fresh insight is gained. He points to the fact that at the time of their writing Christianity was a sect in Judaism. At the time in Synagogues these so called gospels were commentaries on the Jewish readings of the time of the year. But synagogues like Churches had different views and associations; hence we have different accounts in the Gospels.

The much later Gospel of John, has none of the Christmas Story, this is because this gospel is written after the Christians were expelled from the synagogues as heretics.

Come back to the gospel of Mark and we have no Virgin birth, Shepherds, wise men and so on. Mark is clearly the oldest of the three Gospels here and some 90% of it is included in Matthew and some 50% in Luke. What is interesting is that both more or less follow the same narrative but add embellishments along the way. These Gospels are also written in Greek, something alien to the synagogues who used spoken Aramaic or Hebrew texts.

The synoptic Gospels as they are known actually reflect the Jewish year celebrations and are probably the way early Christians reflected on the then Torah read to the people. Once the selected passages of the law prophets and so on had been read to people in synagogues, people were asked to give reflection on those passages. The Synoptic’s are these reflections. In order to understand why we have different accounts we need to look at the Jewish calendar and try to see what these commentaries were trying to say in relation to the readings of the Torah at the time.

Look at the original Hebrew words for “Behold a virgin shall bear a child” that we have as the Greek synoptic’s have things, and you’ll find a different meaning in the Torah these Greek gentile writers try to reflect from the commentaries they record. It is in the Old Testament.. Behold a woman, not behold a virgin.  I could go on and detail every misconception made by these Gentile readers: But to what point?

We know there were no camels, no wise men, the dates for Herod and so on and so forth do not tally.  Look with fresh eyes at these synoptic gospels however and we do find parallels between the life of Jesus and things known to the Jewish people. Trips to Egypt, first son killed and so on and so forth. The year of Jesus Ministry reflects the year of festival readings of the Torah in the synagogues. Not the history of the times.

Go back to the season and the time of the year and we have stories and dreams in the wise men, the shepherds the angels. The synoptics are giving us Hope in Jesus, hence we have stories that reflect this. They continued to be stated in synagogues for a few more years, they were trying to show that this person Jesus was now the meeting place of God with his people. Until CE 70 the Jews believed for the most part that this was what the Temple in Jerusalem represented. Here the shekinah glory of God radiated to his chosen people Israel. Now that very temple was destroyed forever and Israel was no more, wiped from every map. Those who were “followers of the way” as they were known, who in CE 88 were excluded from the synagogues were saying that the shekinah glory was found in the life of a man who had been the messenger of the way.

The festival of dedication of the temple (now Chanukah)  was reflective of hope positive ness and expectation. It was an annual celebration one that featured how central to Judaism was that God had chosen this people to be a light to the nations. Just about everything in the synoptics is a story reflecting the background understanding of the Jewish people. Think in particular abut our two readings, one the end of the genealogy written by Matthew culminating in the earthly father of Joseph, who was a son of a Jacob.. What did he do? He had dreams..  Then look at our other reading from the time of the patriacs, we have another son of Jacob, following and genealogy in Geneses and what do we find, another dreamer called Joseph, son of another Jacob.. Interestingly these are huge similarities, but this is because what Matthew is trying to do is give continuity to a line of thinking ..Jewish thinking… The living Talmund.  Tradition passes from generation of how God revealed himself to his people.

Quotes and miss quotes from books such as the psalms and Isaiah and the minor prophets all end up these synoptics according to the times of the Jewish calendar when they would be read for consideration in synagogues.

This month is a time for hope and a time to be looking for our dreams to be good and a time to be looking forwards. But in terms of this congregation what are our expectations for the year to come?  Would like to say we are hopeful of continuing to build something here for the generations to come. Are we looking to the stars for signs? Interestingly the Orion constellation shines more brightly this time of the year and may have had a bearing on the reasons for the original seasons that are reflected in the Jewish calendar.

Looking to the stars is all well and good, but understanding them is not something I excel at, but looking at scripture I can claim a bit more knowledge. As we look forward to 2012 we agreed to consider becoming a more progressive Christian community.  I think this is looking forward with hope and a positive ness that reflects this season. While we may never look to scripture as some do, we do look to it to inspire our thoughts, to guide us as we glean more from its messages.

Each one of us will have slightly different hopes and expectations, that is a good thing and exactly what the Synoptic Gospels were written for. To say as we are saying, this is not the end. I suspect many found in the humanity of Jesus things that continued the story of the Children of Israel in a new way. That is what Johns gospel is about, a joyful retaliatory claim to the Jews from whom exile had taken place for Christians.. This is the story now, Jesus is the new covenant he is the Logos, the word, he is the Spirit, the manifestation of God on earth.. We have Gods shekinah glory now that the Temple is no more. 

In our lives we all reflect Gods glory, we all reflect that love told in stories about a man who lived called Jesus. Our expectation is to promote that and do those things that speak of love, to find for ourselves a little bit of knowing God that heartens our consciousness and lifts our spirits. Following the seasons, recalling the old stories and making each gathering a time to share in fellowship. Fellowship that is about being the Christ light, not preaching him at people, sharing hope positive ness and expectation for all humanity, and to all the earth that we may term creation. Many need that message at this time, in a world still full of uncertainty, greed and wrong doing to one another, our little bits of trying to get it right for all humanity count.. That’s the star we must follow this Christmas time.  This is the reason for ancient ways of viewing the season.. Stories that bring hope and expectation for the year still to come to birth..

Let it be so…

A Gander reflects on his sermon...

I am a bit of a leading Gander now myself, like the ugly duckling I spent years trying to be a duck I went to duck school, duck university but today ill be a Goose and stick with this flock I am trying to get going again. 

What I started with was a few older very independent geese who were tired wounded and did not understand how a flock should fly together or want to be a flock, they did however want to see a flock grow but only as independent geese as they had been. They fly off to other flocks occasionally to feed on the edges but do not like the biggest flock close to them. They are also fiercely protective of who joins the flock and see me as a young upstart to be tolerated not followed at times. Some times they follow my lead, other times think they know better than this new goose who escaped like an ugly duckling to be a goose.

Other birds in Lewes have got involved in running Westgate who do not see what (Unitarians) Geese have to offer spiritually, and just see an old nesting site and try to find a different main use for it. They got together with a farm goose who was around some years ago, he left these other birds in charge of the nest. Decided he was an African goose strain not a British/American strain goose and started shooing off younger geese so they set up a new nesting site. It is hidden away and part used as these American geese fly back to the USA part of the year and join a flock there they came from. I hear about their little nesting site, closed to other than American geese. I do  hope one day they come back but at the moment too many other birds are in power they are afraid.

Sadly more like a cuckoo these other birds have used the old geese and nearly all the food for a flock of geese. Mainly they have taken food not meant for them and given it away to visiting birds of all sorts who have gorged themselves on the food at times and then flown away. None of them actually put much food back. Then I came along, younger and stronger and started to bring new fledgeling s and a few stray geese into the nesting site, I upset the cuckoos who had taken up residence as part owners of the nest, questioned how the foods were to be used and tried to say save some. Tried to tell them how geese live and because they were mainly cuckoo minded ignored me and flew around Lewes saying that Gander is not to be trusted ignore him and fight him off.  The older geese are so often away from the flock they still think like independent geese and think at least the nesting site has something in it like geese in some ways. They even peck at fledglings without meaning to and see them as rivals to be tolerated not encouraged as the gander does, sadly some of these try to be a part of the flock but when the ganders not about they feel bullied so fly away from the nesting site. I wish I could stop this as we have lost 4 geese.

There are a few stronger geese joined the flock, eager to understand the nesting site and more prepared to listen and of a suitable pedigree for the older geese to allow in. this year we might even get off the ground and start to fly a bit. We have had a few small fly pasts last year and may achieve stronger ones this year.  I have managed to get a few more experienced ganders to police the old nesting site, as other birds left the nest I have got experienced strong ganders in to replace them, all waiting for a few more geese to join before we finally get control of the nest away from a cuckoo mentality. Get the flock to fly more and who knows what possibilities this might bring in the years ahead? If we started to work with other flocks they may lend a few geese now and then to swell our nesting site and eggs might start to hatch again. We got one fledgeling this week, he may find us a few more in time. I hope he does not get frightened away like the 4 who started coming along before. For five years now I have been trying to get the flock to grow again and learn how to fly trying to lead by example as best I can. We even have a computerised goose honker now (organ) as the swan who was lending aid has had to go look after the swans nest honking machine. 

I am a bit of a disabled goose, but I do honk goose like and I love to do short flights in formation. I don't often get the chance, but the district will be having a honk party near by soon and ill do a bit of formation flying with them soon. (FUSE) I can't wait to meet some of the geese I have met in cyber-world who have inspired me and given a bit of help to the old nesting site.. Honk Honk for now!!!

Sermon of the day...

As we start a new year here at Westgate this Sunday I hope that the year ahead will see us grow and flourish as a congregation. The very reason for our existence as a congregation is that we continue something given many years ago and entrusted to those who follow on to continue: While year succeeds to year and our understanding evolves as we as humans also evolve we do not change into buffalo or into goats.  Greater understanding and evolution does not lead to a change of species. We are still a congregation of those who are followers of a way of doing religion. That way has evolved into being a Unitarian and Free Christian Church here at Westgate Chapel, although historically we have evolved from free Christian Independent, English Presbyterians, Baptist and so on or indeed we may claim as once members of the Church of England and further back Old English Catholic.

A congregation has been meeting here for many, many generations and all of those generations have evolved to different theologies and teachings as the years progressed. The theme of all the former congregation members has been one of worship of that which is beyond humanity, a higher state of consciousness or a power that may or may not be called God. In our evolved Unitarian thinking we no longer have a singular interpretation of what the word God means.  As the Minister of Seven Oaks Dan Costly puts this..

Now, for Unitarians, that G word can be tricky.  For some it might be personal, for others the interconnectedness of all people.  Or it may be a notion that really doesn’t work for you.  But however it gets you, this notion of living for others, of living for the sake of compassionate acceptance of all, of living your life for the sake of others.  That, I believe, is what Jesus meant by living every day with God.

Equally we no longer hold a singular interpretation of what it means to be a Unitarian for what was once a gathering of those who only saw one God rather than a Trinitarian God we now days are quite happy for a Unitarian to be a Trinitarian.  Alongside of this we no longer expect people to be Christians in order to be members of what was once a radical way of doing Christianity following primarily the humanity of Jesus of Nazareth as opposed to the divinity attributed by those other Christians they stood out from.

As we start another year here at Westgate we are a congregation made up of those who identify as not Christian and those who identify as Christian. In a post enlightenment world we have opened the door here to all who seek a spiritual home and find more important perhaps statements such as this one by Sue Wooley a Unitarian Minister friend of mine on Facebook. She states..

I guess the ultimate question is – what do we care most about? Rejecting Trinitarian Christianity, or being open and inclusive and tolerant and loving? Surely there is room for all of us in our wonderful, uncommon denomination, our faith without a creed. Surely we can agree to differ on our theology, and get on with the important stuff, which is making ourselves “welcoming, inclusive and a blessing to the wider world.” A lot of instinctive gut reactions will have to be consciously overcome, but if Unitarianism comes to be seen as a haven not only for free thinkers and spiritual seekers, but also for disillusioned liberal Christians, and we can spread the word about it, this might even help to reverse the decline in our numbers that is so worrying everybody at the moment.

Each of us have our own personal interpretation of what we identify as, for myself I am at heart a radical follower of the Judaic Christian traditions.  I find it hard to identify with a lot of things perhaps commonly attributed to Jesus for I see him as a unique leader of reform of understanding in his time.  I want to quote a summing up about what we actually know as fact about Jesus from Dan Costly’s sermon..

The real Jesus, or as real as we can deduce, was not meek and mild.  He could be impatient and angry.  He displayed strength, iron character and determination. He loved children, welcomed women, felt pity for the sick and miserable.  He looked out for the pariahs of Jewish society.

Personally I find in this quote the sort of Jesus I can relate to rather than the meek and mild suffering servant model so popular with more mainline churches.  I also find myself relating to one or two other biblical characters. I see no exclusivity needed about following one or another particular avatar represented in one religion or another. I am happy to reflect the teachings passed down by Hindu, Muslim, Toaists or any way of reflecting on matters spiritual, but I do perhaps understand more about reforming Judaic and Christian thoughts and teachings.  These are our roots historically and culturally.

Where we go as a congregation I believe has to be in line with our roots so you will not find me advocating we change into buffalos or goats, stop having worship as our priority and become a secular debating society. Equally we shall not become a Mosque or a Buddhist Temple, or just a humanist association. We are a Unitarian church lets not try and be something else.  If we are not a Church then we are not inline with our roots.

I believe we are here to reflect what has gone before and continue to meet for worship.  How we worship can be in a variety of ways such as meditation, sharing about our spirituality, readings from things that reflect spirituality, telling the stories of faith and Singing hymns and songs of faith. Dancing in the aisles even. All these things are constituent parts of being a congregation who continue the tradition of worship.

What we call ourselves after identifying as a Unitarian Church can be Christian or Progressive Christian, equally we could call ourselves Unitarian humanists or Unitarian Pagans, but our roots here are more Christian and our governance is probably best served by continuing a non conformist understanding of the Bible; because that is where this congregation started from. The culture of which we are all a part is mainly shaped from the biblical exegesis of times past. 

More important than joining this or that association is that we work together, that we support the initiatives of one another and we meet together for worship and be a community.  We have faith hope and ideas, but we need to concentrate on coming together for more than just our worship service. No matter what we call ourselves Christian or otherwise if we do not have commitment to being a Unitarian community here at Westgate we will not grow.  We are at the start of a new year, traditionally a time when we make resolutions for the year ahead.  Reflecting on the year past we did well with events like the late night shop here at Westgate. We have forged links with another Unitarian Church in Manila, we have raised money for two children’s charitable needs.

We have said we will do special events in 2012 and meet once a month for worship. I have invited you all to come and have lunch together and to meet with people from other Unitarian churches, having a bit of fun learning some new hymns. These events help build that community, without a community we shall not grow.  Joining associations will not build a community of those who worship and are a blessing to the world. 

Danny Crosby another Unitarian Minister likes to use the model of a flock of geese. He points out that a flock of geese fly in a V formation following a given leader. But as the flock continue on their long journey the leader changes, the leader moves down the formation and another goose takes on the lead.  They do not change direction but follow ancient paths of flocks of geese over generations.  Congregations are like flocks of geese to Danny. 

I am not sure we as a congregation are reflecting his analogy, although I wish we did in many ways, instead we have not flocked together. We have tended to let one goose fly off on its own to get shot down and wounded. We need to rediscover the art of flying in formation again, following sometimes rather than going off at a tangent. If we cannot do that then the chance of a flock carrying on its journey from generation to generation will end.  Will you make a resolution to be a part of the flock of Unitarians at Westgate Chapel who continue to journey, so others can see us and join our flock?

To me a Unitarian is a way of making a journey together some are Christian some are not some may find us from other more regulated flocks, the question is not where we started our journey, but when we will journey together. If we can do that then we have a chance of growing. I hope and pray 2012 sees us journeying together, not going off alone to find a different flock to join or living in isolation.  Westgate Unitarian Chapel is for those who for a variety of reasons find worshiping here and being a part of it is where they are called to be. That is what is most important to me and I continue to work towards that objective.  I hope that is also your objective for 2012, that together we make a resolution to be more like a flock of geese perhaps?

Let it be so..