LDPA address 16th June 2012 Westgate

Westgate Chapel as a religious movement claims its roots stem mainly from the 1662 acts of Uniformity marking the then disorganized dissent from the Church of England. It is true that many of our Unitarian and Free Christian congregations were founded in this period, but they were not grounded on a non-Trinitarian view until much later. Informal links between different protesting congregations of dissent from the Church of England were often due to disagreements over scriptural interpretations. It was the scriptures in the form of the slightly later King James Bible that became the basis of government of congregations.

In Europe different schools of thought were also centered on the biblical interpretation to different levels depending on where and what the main new denomination was. This was always the reason for dissent in the non-conforming congregations often evolving later into denominations. In England in particular many schools of Biblical interpretation gave rise to increasingly different expressions of dissent. All in one way or another claimed to have got it right and opposed the Church of England’s 39 articles of faith and its common book of prayer with selective readings of scripture that became a seasonal expression of the so called Christian calendar.

Onto this foundation of dissent was the growth of denominations that by and large had a perspective that made them distinctive from each other only as time evolved. Perhaps a slight exception to this were Annabaptists mainly on the continent who early on emphasized just the need for believers baptism, but even then splits occur as they developed into more regulated congregations.

Finding Unitarianism was like finding the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle of where I could find a home spiritually. I love this little old chapel and its great heritage and feel it needs to be nurtured and reinterpreted for today without losing its sacred nature, it needs to be a place open to all those who are respectful of the spirituality of themselves and others.  I for one wish it to never be a place where some are more accepted than others who are liberal in spiritual practice of any specific way of doing a religion. Its strength is diversity not procedures and it will only grow from what might be termed grass roots.

As a tradition with its roots in the Christian tradition and the theology of those former congregations such as Baptists and Presbyterians of yesteryear, I as a relative newbie find some things I miss about those who went on to become perhaps more Calvinist and more and more literally Bible based. 

In some ways dispensing with the Bible as a final guide to authority in one or another way has led to a lack of the practice seen in examples in the biblical epistles giving guidance to one another from the learned and practical applications of what is believed the right way to govern. The many instructional letters attributed to the apostle Paul; or though most likely just written in his style; seem at first glance to be largely ignored in the practices of the Unitarians since 1928. But our stained glass window at Westgate for example identifies the heraldic signs of the Gospels and St Peter in his keys to the kingdom along with the Sword of the word of St Paul. This was installed around about the time the General Assembly came into being. It does not however perhaps reflect directly modern Unitarianism, its centrality is Jesus the shepherd.

Historically many from Westgate were very influential in the establishment of congregations who perhaps were not as liberal, but were still supported in love and fellowship, such as the small Countess of Huntingdon Chapel 1780 not that far from here, still in existence today. Crossover between denominations was often a case of tolerance with support rather than intolerance and disconnection as seems to have followed in many locations since.  Ministers also crossed over without hindrances of Qualification from the other denominations on a theological basis of dissent. Many of the predecessors of Westgate came from Anglican, Baptist and other denominations be they catholic or Free Church or reformed.

Three hundred and fifty years later here we their dissenting descendants enjoy the heritage they handed on. Like an Olympic torch handed from one to another their light still shines here in Lewes. Sometimes that vital flame nearly went out and at times the next runner was not evident as one looked to the horizon tired of continuing to run with a torch, heavier and heavier as time progressed.

But with hope a newer runner came into view at just the right time to keep it journeying onwards in time.

Dissent here has over many years been responsible for much in the way of social action, look into our library and the voices of dissent litter its bookshelves and have done since 1711 built onto the back of this sanctuary on stilts a place for study. Thomas Paine was influenced by the contents, as were others in Lewes able for the first time to borrow from the library here long before a public library replaced it in Lewes.  My predecessors were learned men responsible for change in understanding. People like Smith who is quoted by Darwin who wrote about pond algae, going on to be professor of natural history at Cork University. Horsfield who wrote the only complete history of Sussex in our library, still used today it being the only complete history written.

Dissent here resulted in education for children whose families were not able to pay for it before education was the right of every child born in this country. It was also good quality education and some children gained entrance on the basis of their studies here at the dissenting Sunday School. It followed in a line of people linked here to Education such as an early minister Comfort Star whose father was much to do with the starting Harvard in the USA.

Look in the county records office and dissent here provided small grants to the poor for food or shoes, such was the once role of the dissenting ministers work in Lewes. His records still in evidence.

Dissent here gave weight to justice and fairness with dissenting members being sheriff of Lewes. Several members of Westgate held this office,

Dissent here much more recently also gave fair trade a place to be sold and encouraged the town to buy fairly when the commercial outlets did not want to know. That dissent spoke of one-world not rich bits and others used at disadvantage for cheap labor.

Dissent here also in recent times has been keen to support those wishing to mark their rites of passage at a reasonable charge according to individual circumstances in some cases for no charge, believing love should not have a set price to be recognized or celebrated by only the wealthy.

Is it a conviction to help others that drives this torch onwards as history proceeds its way? Looking at the distinguished part of our social action history here at Westgate Chapel did people past and present come here just to do what they could for their fellow members of the human race? No but it was an aspect of their faiths and beliefs that gave rise to it. The word that perhaps sums up much of what we are looking at is compassion, and it has to be said that it is not just other humans that have benefited from our dissent here, but also other issues have made us think and act in a One World ethos of compassion and concern. Such an ethos has seen links with other local Churches and good will with support of initiatives run here over the many years.

But dissent is not driven by compassion and good works alone, it is driven by far more than that, it is also driven past the point of mere humanities recognition of need. It is driven by another thing and that is to be a community who work at grass roots to do what can be done. But why does dissent promote community and a one-world vision, why does it work to do what it can in its little bit of the world.

I think it is because in dissent here humanity looks for hope; it looks for hope because so many certainties have gone in past generations. It looks to try and understand the hopes of those who went before us and to continue this wonderful legacy of a conviction of not hope for ourselves, but hope for the world in which we exist.

The centrality of Jesus in our stained glass window here shows his image as a shepherd caring for his sheep that is the beacon of hope those of us here seek to also reflect. It was never put there for us to worship Jesus as the Son of God; it was there to emphasis his life’s example here on earth. It was never put there to say Jesus is the only spiritual guru to follow, but it was there to say this congregation sees his life as a role model.

Unitarians in this country were so often looking to see the Jesus in one another, following that role model who is reported to have said so much about giving hope to those needing hope in their generation. Hope that was the same hope we have today inspiring us to do acts of loving kindness, because we believe In that torch of hope being passed on. In many ways looking at Lewes there is far less hopelessness for people today than in past generations of people living here. Lewes is a fairly affluent place and social need is low but much of that is because this beacon of hope did its work in past years. It has been hugely effective in this place and affected the lives of all who live here now.

It is in many ways the hidden gem in the crown of Lewes historically and it still is, because our way of doing dissent is still here and still going. We punch a weight in Lewes area far beyond our size. We are a congregation supporting issues surrounding those excluded from other places of worship over human sexuality or because they seek to express their own spirituality in rites of passage. Needing a place where there is no dogma and where there is a loving acceptance of others, not a place saying you must comply.

Dissent here is evidenced in our congregation working with others who are a part of the One world center like Amnesty and Lewes Group in Support of Refugees and Asylum Seekers who are a part of our community, although not a direct part of our congregation. Working with the Oyster Project a self-help organization for people with disabilities in Lewes. Being a place that seeks to support their organization in any ways it can, but also by coming alongside and seeking solidarity with other faiths and humanity not superiority. 

Small as we may be here numerically we are still here, our doors open to those who find us and seek to be in fellowship. Dissent allows a freedom here that we cherish, but we are like an ancient olive tree, we do not bear fruit where we did before, instead a new branch is needed, sometimes grafted in to produce fruit. But our ancient roots will only support branches that are a strain of olive tree not a different variety of tree.

Implicit in this congregation is a dissenting liberal Christian way of doing things, that is our roots and that is what we stand for, and the torch of hope we sustain and carry onwards is one of hope that others will find here a place to feel at home regardless of their background and loving the way we are and who we are and reflecting that sacredness for today’s generation as I hope we do here for many years yet still to come.

Our roots sustain us and we see fruit on our branches, and we welcome those who like us find a spiritual home and a way of doing things here that is a comfort and a feeling of belonging.  In fellowship with other congregations we seek to find in their ways of being dissenters a place where we also belong in an association of those who are seeking to be places carrying a similar torch of hope in a world where there is still need for hope.

That larger fellowship is a vital link to small congregations like ourselves, empowering us and encouraging us forward, carrying our torch from generation to generation as it has been passed to us. At those times when a replacement runner is not evident on the horizon it is then we need the fellowship of others to encourage us to continue. Such is the vital role of the LDPA to small weak congregations like ourselves!  Thank you for coming here today and encouraging us to keep going. Encouraging us to keep carrying the torch of hope that has sustained generations before.

Amen…

On the subject of Faith!

Reading   Hebrews 11 verses 1 to 10

Where do we all fit in?

In life we often need to discover faith in something to carry us forward on our journey. We need to have confidence that someone or something is there that others have discovered and tapped into, some thing that is enlightening to our lives.

I wonder if you have seen the rather silly advert with a donkey following a carrot on a stick on television lately? It depicts a rather old shriveled up little carrot much prized by the donkey until a mole makes a comment implying that it is rather dried up and just an old carrot. The donkey then loses faith in its value. He finally sees it as just a dried up shriveled old carrot. Eats the carrot and becomes depressed.

I wonder what this advert tells us about faith? For some of us the faith we follow might be a shriveled up old thing that is no longer providing sustenance? Perhaps we like the donkey have forgotten the point of the carrot in the first place. We equally may have even like the donkey seems to have done gone off solo without an owner and so no longer have a provider of fresh carrots?

We need to examine, when did a carrot become something to follow? In the great scheme of evolution at some point donkeys discovered it seems a love of carrots. Then along came humans who discovered that dangling a lush carrot on a string in front of a donkey all day got the donkey to follow and do things. This it seems dates back to the 1700s. But the donkey in the hay day (ops bad pun) got its carrot replaced because it got to eat it at the end of the day and a new one was on a string the next day to follow.  The donkey had faith in the carrot as a reward for endeavor. 

Faith is like that carrot; we discovered a love of having faith in our evolution of life, humanity found it sustained. Refreshed daily it enabled humanity to work and to achieve great things. But like the donkey in the advert some times humanity starts to just follow and not to consume its carrot. Keeping the drying up little carrot as a trophy rather than as sustenance for daily energy.

Now before we go on I want to ask does it have to be a carrot? How about a parsnip? Or an Onion? Well actually I discovered donkeys as a whole dislike parsnips and onions are unadvisable. The ideal treat is apparently the Carrot closely followed by apples, bananas, pears, turnips and swedes are all safe and usually popular with donkeys!

So it is not surprising that the carrot donkey story Is well known being based upon proven fact not fiction. It is not the main feed of a donkey, but a supplement to its diet that gives revitalization.  The best treat for a donkey is a carrot, and other than perhaps a banana is the easiest to simply tie on a string.

Is our faith like the carrot on a string? If we accept the analogy we need to ask where are we getting our supply of carrots from or are we holding onto a dried up shriveled trophy rather than having a refreshed carrot. Maybe we have no carrots and are being enticed to keep going with a banana or another vegetable or fruit perhaps not a native one to our location. You see the analogy I am trying to picture is one built up of a culture and experience in our native land of England. Now were I addressing a country where bananas were plentiful the analogy might not work. But there is something about the humble carrot story in our culture and climate that allows the story to make sense.

We do not particularly know where carrots originated but we know they are certainly cultivated here, we know they have different strains or varieties. We know they grow in our climate and are a plentiful source of food good for not just donkeys but humans and other creatures all can derive nutrition and indeed life is itself sustained by them.

A recent tweet from Bank St Unitarians states.. We are called "Unitarian" because of our historical insistence on divine unity, the oneness of God. This is our carrot!!

This is our historical incentive, which we have been following and others have come to accept as the strain of food that will encourage and sustain us. Our carrot has been farmed and grown for centuries and may be considered a derivative of other strains of carrot but it has never been a banana. It has never been an apple. It is intrinsically different to a parsnip although it shares many similarities it is a different colour and consistency. The question we need to ask ourselves is not should we change our ancient traditional treat of a daily carrot, but how to get fresh carrots to sustain and encourage us in our journeys of life.

Now I don’t want to insult anyone, but for myself I have no problem with identifying as a donkey. I can be stubborn; I will doggedly keep going when others stop. It is even rumored I carry a cross on my back. I enjoy a good carrot or two as well. Some rather rude people might say I have big ears as well; I shall leave that for you to consider. I am also not exactly built for speed either. OK stop laughing enough of comparisons.. There are some pretty noble things about associating myself with a donkey. Of all the equine species from Shetland pony’s to zebras and so on, perhaps there is much to be said by associating the Historical strain of Unitarians whose insistence is on divine unity and the oneness of God, with Donkeys.

We are not a plentiful breed here; but we still exist. Historically we have diminished in numbers and perhaps others consider us less noble than bigger cousins like horses. We are less easily led than some animals and ways of getting a donkey to work are harder because of our stubborn nature! Had we not had a stubborn nature our congregations would have closed long ago. Our carrot has kept us going and yet in some ways we have been tempted to include bananas and apples and so on as substitutes when our carrot supply ran short. But our carrot is our ideal treat and reinstated we would soon enjoy what works best for us again.

In terms of our Object as Unitarians “To promote a free and inquiring religion through the worship of God and the celebration of life; the service of humanity and respect for all creation and the upholding of the liberal Christian tradition. 

The bit I see as the carrot is the last six words of our Object.

“Upholding of the liberal Christian tradition” is to my mind where my carrot analogy fits best. In Unitarian circles recently it has almost become unfashionable to feed on the tradition of a liberal Christianity.  There are those who no longer want us to look to our past evolved theology, our carrot and want us to have a different perspective. They see us having a shriveled up old trophy of no real value such as depicted in the advert. The reason for this is simply that they do not see the carrot as the best incentive. Perhaps they have not been carried on by it on a string slightly out of reach and perhaps we have stopped renewing the carrot? Perhaps they are used to a banana or another faith perspective.

What sustains us is not just what I see as the carrot. “To promote a free and inquiring religion through the worship of God and the celebration of life; the service of humanity and respect for all-“ for we do not live by carrot alone. It is as I say the best treat for a donkey. It may well be that we are not all donkeys as I seem to find most that sustains my interest and perseverance in fresh insights of old traditions. Maybe In a now mixed stable I am the donkey who has the carrot in sight, while other companions are only looking at apples or have developed a liking for parsnips or are busy eating hay. 

But upholding of the liberal Christian tradition is where I find my faith encouraged. You know our predecessors in the Unitarian past found the carrot their means of faith as well. Perhaps we have been to ready to remove the need for theology at depth from Unitarian study, for it is here that I find fresh carrots to keep me going. I see in our old meetinghouses and chapels a theology is there in the very structures.  We are the privileged inheritors of generations of those who sought to be liberal in their evaluations of scriptures they cherished. They took a pride in doing theology rather than blatantly using scripture at face value.  It coloured their outlook on life, it nourished their souls and drove them on to the service and betterment of all humanity. I for one am still feeding on that carrot. For that is the basis of the faith that sustains me!

How we view our tradition is rather like the donkey advert I mentioned, there are those who just see a shriveled up old carrot. There are those who have stopped looking for a fresh carrot and wandered away from upholding a liberal Christian tradition in a deeper sense, they have stopped being refreshed by that sense of excitement at being connected to our historical past. A past that is a proven sustenance of faith to keep us going!

What ever we might see God as, and that includes those who are atheist. What ever language we may use, It is in the oneness that we find unity. It is in seeing that which previous generations termed the divine that something; beyond our humanity is identified. It is an assurance found In our generation that others followed this path of life with faith. Their treat and ours is that carrot called faith. A faith that speaks to us today from the past legacy provided and one that can be stored up to be passed on, one that we can also pass on to other generations yet to come.

It is a unique factor of Unitarians that we value many expressions of faith, and that is quite right. While for me my carrot is that upholding of the liberal Christian tradition, I can see how others whose life experience is not to follow a carrot can find paths of ways to spirituality without my carrot. But my carrot is important to me and going back to the advert to lose faith in shall we say carrot farming and grow other crops will not be my ideal. I believe my job is to make others see in my carrot that which I value for it sustains my journey of life. Teaching a liberal Christian tradition is what I do best. Implicit within much of our Unitarian ways of doing things is that upholding of the liberal Christian tradition. I see it like a carrot as the ideal and it spurs me on. The question I want to leave you with is do you see value in my carrot?  

It is my faith, it is wonder it is connection with past generations who for generations were spurred on by it. In my innermost self I feel comforted by upholding a liberal Christian Tradition. In this country those are our roots and should we sever them then we will lose our continuity and the wealth of nutrition that has sustained Unitarians for generations.

Amen..

13th May Readings and Sermon

Reading from Christopher Sande thoughts on Jewish Festivals of today..

Lag B’Omer (30^th day of counting the Omer) May 10

This minor but very joyful festival has grown over the last few decades, under the influence of the Hassidic and Sephardi populations in Israel, into quite a big occasion. The day primarily marks the anniversary of the death of the first century Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who is credited with a revelation that brought to the Jewish people much of the mystical tradition which eventually ended up in the book: The Zohar, and in the birth of Kabbalah. Indeed it is commonly believed in Orthodox circles that the Zohar was revealed to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and written down by him.

Within Israel there are pilgrimages to the grave of the Rabbi, in the Galilean town of Meron and all over the world bonfires are lit to symbolise the light that his teachings brought into the world. The period of counting the Omer between Passover and Lag B’Omer has become quite sombre, in commemoration of a period in which thousands of the disciples of the first/second century Rabbi Akiva died, and Lag B’Omer is the date, which tradition holds as marking the end of that tragic period, thereby adding to the festivity of the day.

This festival dates from after the life and death of Jesus.

Story time..

By Yerachmiel Tilles

About two and a half centuries ago, there lived in Kosov a wealthy textile merchant named Reb Moshe. He lived in the best section of the city, in a luxurious mansion on a huge estate, on which grassy lawns, lush gardens, and orchards of fruit trees all flourished. Basically a simple person, his innate humility seemed to remain unaffected even as his wealth grew from year to year. But then, one day, an unusual idea entered his mind and took hold of his heart. Moshe had become possessed by the desire to experience a revelation of Elijah the Prophet. Not that he was under the illusion that because of his wealth he was entitled, at present, to see Elijah. He knew better than that. So to become "worthy" of attaining his objective, he undertook a series of fasts and other forms of deprivations and self-afflictions, hoping that would enable him to fulfill his wish. But to no avail. He started to keep company with the chasidim and the other strictly religious people in the community, emulating their ways. He hoped that their superior spiritual attainments would rub off on him and his resultant elevation would allow him to attain his goal. That also didn't work. Your task is to perform acts of kindness and charity…. Unsure what to try next, he decided to consult the local tzadik, Rabbi Boruch of Kosov. TheRebbe listened intently, but, to Moshe's dismay, then said, "Reb Moshe, why are you trying to pursue such lofty matters? Your task is to perform acts of kindness and charity - that's what your soul requires for its rectification." Moshe left the Rebbe's room, frustrated. He still felt sure that he knew what he really needed. From that day on, Moshe the merchant's behavior changed radically. He abandoned his business for hours at a time in order to be in the BeitMidrash. He no longer paid much attention to his personal appearance or the upkeep of his estate, abandoning almost completely the aristocratic lifestyle he had adapted over the years. After some time, he went to visit the tzadik again. Eyes downcast, the dark shadow of depression on his face, it was clear he was deeply troubled. His desire to see the prophet left him no peace. As he told the rebbe of his frustrations, he involuntarily emitted a deep sigh. The rebbe repeated his advice that the proper path for Moshe was that of kindness and good deeds. This time, however, he seemed to accept Moshe's sincerity, and advised him to greatly increase his distribution oftzedaka. Then, after a pause, the Rebbe added mysteriously, "If a poor man should approach you and request even a thousand gold pieces, don't refrain from granting his request." A pathetic-looking, poverty-stricken man had knocked on the door of the house, begging for help…. Moshe, once again, felt belittled by the Rebbe's reply. Nevertheless, he decided to adhere closely to his counsel. Any poor person that crossed Moshe's path was immediately endowed with a generous contribution, without any delay to check the recipient's worthiness. For several years, Moshe conducted himself in this manner, but still there was no revelation of Elijah. His frustration gave him no rest. One day, while he was busy at work with a number of different customers, a messenger arrived from his house telling him that a pathetic-looking, poverty-stricken man had knocked on the door of the house, begging for help. The pauper, however, had refused to accept the food that a servant had brought. Instead, the pauper had insisted that he be invited into the dining hall so he could sit and eat there. Reb Moshe's wife wasn't sure how to handle the situation, so she had sent to ask her husband's advice. At first Moshe was outraged by the needy man's chutzpah. But then, remembering the Rebbe's counsel, he instructed the messenger simply to tell his wife that he would come home as soon as he could, and that in the meantime she should fulfill the stranger's unusual request and invite him in. When he arrived about an hour later, he found his wife pacing near the entrance, exasperated, impatiently awaiting him. As soon as she saw him she burst out bitterly, "Not even sitting in our dining hall satisfies this beggar; he demanded to take a nap in our bedroom!" …How about a little donation? Moshe dashed upstairs to the master bedroom. He could barely believe the sight that greeted him: a disheveled crude-looking person, wearing what seemed to be more rags and patches than actual clothing, sprawled across his bed, with the stains and remains of his meal spread all over himself - on the hitherto fresh linens. As Moshe stood there with bulging eyes and mouth opened wide, the "guest" looked up at him and drawled, "Nu? So how about a little donation? A modest, insignificant sum - only a measly thousand gold pieces." Moshe wasn't sure whether to erupt in anger or burst into laughter. He was so taken aback, he felt powerless to move or speak; he could only stand there in stunned silence. "If you won't give me right now one thousand cash, I won't leave!" announced the strange beggar defiantly. Moshe calmed down a bit from his initial shock. Deciding to ignore the insult to his honor, he simply offered the man a lesser sum. "Fifty...a hundred...one hundred fifty...." Eventually he offered him 200 gulden - hardly a small sum. It was as if the man on his bed had sealed his ears. He kept arrogantly asserting he would take 1000 gulden and not a penny less. Moshe finally lost all patience with this rude boor and signaled his servants to remove the impudent pest from his presence. But the target was much too quick. Before they could lay a hand on him, he climbed out of the window and disappeared. Elijah…appears to people according to the root of their souls and the level of their deeds…. All this occurred just a few hours before Lag b'Omer. That night all the chasidim gathered at the tzadik's table in honor of the occasion. Moshe was among them. Rebbe Boruch spoke about the divine revelations that are manifest on this special day, but that not everyone merits to recognize them. Moshe decided that this must certainly be an auspicious moment to mention his burning request. The Rebbe's response shocked him like an icy hand squeezing his heart: "But didn't you already meet a poor person who requested from you one thousand gold pieces?" Moshe quickly told the tzadik about the impudent beggar who had so crudely pushed his way into his house earlier in the day. "Ach. What a pity!" the Rebbe sighed softly. "You saw Elijah the Prophet but didn't recognize him." "That vagrant was Elijah the Prophet?!!" Moshe screamed in dismay. "Yes," explained the Rebbe. "He appears to people according to the root of their souls and the level of their deeds." Moshe was truly broken-hearted. He and his wife decided to move to the Holy Land. They settled in the holy city of Safed, where a change came over him almost immediately. He no longer sought greatness or extraordinary revelations. He served G-d simply and whole-heartedly. Before Lag b'Omer he would go to Meron and devote himself to serving the myriads of attendees that crowded in to the tomb area around the clock. He rubbed shoulders with the masses of simple Jews that came to honor Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, taking pleasure from their company and helping to take care of their needs. Several years later, in Meron on Lag b'Omer, as Moshe was hurrying to and fro to help serve the many guests, he suddenly saw in front of him a face that was burned into his memory: it was the "beggar" who had appeared at his house so many years ago! Moshe froze in his tracks. He stared in amazement at the person in his path. This time the eyes that looked back at him were no longer outraged and challenging; they were bright and shiny in the midst of a smiling face....

Reading from John Chapter 21 veses 1 to 14

“Old wisdom clad in raiment new fresh insight found in ancient lore”

At first glance we may not see the mystic influences on the Gospel writers or on the experiences given of the early disciples. Some may wish to take at face value the stories of the Gospels. In our reading today of Johns Gospel and in particular this last chapter we have an account that is steeped with a mystical revelation of seeing Jesus set after his death. But hang on there are many similarities with this final passage set in a different place in the accounts of other Gospel writers. In particular this passage chapter 21 we had read was added later to the Gospel of John and so we must ask why?  Look at the final verse of Chapter 20 and it is a concluding verse. I quote.

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing you may have life in his name.”

A pretty concluding verse wouldn’t you say?

So why does this chapter get added here? A question that has puzzled many a scholar? Clearly this is set nowhere near Jerusalem and is a much later resurrection experience on the face of it, the disciples had returned to fishing as a way of life. Obviously it is set at Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  So why add it?

I think to understand this needs us to consider the mystic beliefs of the time.

Interestingly there are parallels between what becomes mainline belief and the mystic tradition celebrated by Jewish Festivals today and the beliefs that are evident in the Gospels.

Interestingly the Jews go on to celebrate in the festival Christopher wrote of a Rabbi who lived in the region of Galilee. His teachings became adopted by the Jewish community and had been discussed and debated in the synagogues and his followers after his death had their belief in his mystic teaching adopted into Judaism.

Those who have been following this series will see the similarity, the Gospels were written to show the teachings about the Rabbi Jesus from Galilee in the expectation that his “followers of the way” would be accepted as followers of a teaching to be added to the Jewish understanding of things. Except they were not and ended up expelled from Judaism and instead Christianity was the result. 

Johns Gospel in particular is probably written post the exclusion of the followers of the way from the synagogues of mainstay Judaism. It is then less a liturgy to include Jesus as a part of Judaism and more a declaration to say this Jesus is bigger than Judaism.  Jesus is also the way of seeing the mystical nature of God for everyone Jews Greeks and Gentiles.

So when we look at this passage we see not just a Jewish influence but also a more mystical influence.  That’s not to say some of this influenced Judaism as well. Perhaps strongest is the concept adopted into Judaism in the book of Zohar of the doctrine of the soul. Now I got really bogged down trying to find an example of what all this means in simple terms. I did not want you all falling asleep as I expounded on the Judaic doctrine of the soul and compared this teaching to Plato and the teachings of Philio then written about by CH Dodd in his long and very academic book about the mysticism in the Johanine writings. I can see some of you nodding off already..

In a nutshell.. as concise as I can get without you all switching off.. here goes the basics.

The soul not the body is reincarnated. In Judaism in particular this is evidenced in the visions of Elijah. Got the significance of our Jewish story. The mystical teaching of Judaism is the expectations of the reincarnation of the prophets. In particular Elijah appears.

In Greek mysticism the soul is able to recognize the divine but the body is not able to cope with it hence in life the glimpse of enlightenment is all that is available. Still awake??????

Lets start by asking if you have ever had a mystic experience? In writings that are about the mysticism we are looking at, but a Greek view of the divine we have this definition for the soul. “Beholding the beauty of the good”. When the soul beholds this it rises to be with the Gods. Without getting to deeply into the complexities of Ancient Greek philosophy God is always light, but humans are both body and soul and so can only see glimpses of light not the fullness, for to see the fullness is the souls life after leaving the body behind.

Now think about our story of the man seeking to see Elijah we had from the mystic traditions of Judaism and I am sure you will see similarities. He longs to see Elijah and when he allows his soul to rule his life and shows charity and compassion he is eventually so blessed in seeing Elijah. He sees this vision of bright and shiny eyes and a realization of “beholding the beauty of the good” is his.

So what is it we have in our Reading from the Gospel of John? Well it is a bit longer reach but essentially it asks is this the bodily resurrection of Jesus or a soul reincarnation of Jesus. The account says they dared not ask who he was, so he obviously did not look the same but they had an expectation of their prophet being reincarnated. Is this what this passage added is about; long after the two other resurrection experiences we have this third one.

Now the other thing to accompany a meeting with a reincarnated prophet is often a form of mystical miracle. Put your nets the other side, and they mysteriously fill to overflowing with fish and do not break. Did these followers of the way suddenly “behold the beauty of the good”? Is this what made them realize they saw the light shall we say? “They knew it was the Lord” says the account. But clearly he looked different in his bodily form.

What can we find in these ancient writings is accounts that point to ancient lore, the mysticism is clearly evident to me in the Gospel accounts in particular this passage of John. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

More important is the question I asked of you, hopefully before you fell asleep as I went on. That question was have you had a mystic experience?  Simply put this asks have you had a time when “beholding the beauty of the good” has affected your life. I think we can all affirm this in one way or another. We may have all had a Elijah moment not literally but perhaps some have, but in terms of the fact that mysticism is about a recognizing of that which is good. It can be when you hold a newborn baby; it can be when you see the beauty of the world in springtime as new life is reincarnated. It can be when you recognize in someone else the love that speaks to you of the divine nature evidencing it self.

In our Gospel reading we have this story of a mystical meeting with Jesus after his death. How we can find our Elijah is to be the best that we can be, to know our place on earth. To do for others what we are best equipped to do as we heard of the merchant in our Jewish story whose comfort was found not in some ritualistic way but by being there to give to others of his wealth.

As we look at the Gospels we cannot take them at face value easily, but we can try to understand the worldview of the time of their writing. Our point in doing so is to find fresh insight that helps us to live our lives with respect for the divine. In simple terms we can behold the beauty of the good, it raises our spirits to see more than the mundane in life. It gives us hope and it strengthens us if we let it. 

The last added Chapter of the Gospel is also about Jesus reportedly telling his disciples to follow him. I still consider following the teachings of the Man they called Jesus of Nazareth are a good way to “behold the beauty of the good”.

Let it be so.

Easter Morning Service..

Jesus worked to bring people together: Samaritan and Jew, Greek and Roman. He practiced an open table, rich and poor, male and female. He challenged unjust boundaries and rules.  That is what got him killed!

The Empty Tomb

20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb

There has been a particular question that has always been there since the first “followers of the way” started to become a new way of viewing the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. That question must be “is it true”?  It relates to the Easter story as it has become known of an empty grave. The other issue is how does this relate to the Passover period of the Jewish calendar to which the three gospel writers point in their varying liturgy’s of who Jesus was and how he related to Jewish traditions.

With regards to the first question that one I will leave you to decide for yourself, as a title in the most recent inquirer says “does it matter if Jesus was raised from the dead or not?” To some extent the truth behind the resurrection is not the issue, as I started to think of a message for today I was interested to note however that all four writers of the Gospels agree one thing and that is Women and the most named on of these is Mary Magdalene went to the tomb with intent to administer spices to the body.

 In a study by Craig Evans on Jewish burial customs at the time of the Gospels, he writes-

“It is further concluded that it is very probable that some of Jesus’ followers

(such as the women mentioned in the Gospel accounts) knew where Jesus’ body had been

placed and intended to mark the location, perfume his body, and mourn, in keeping with

Jewish customs. The intention was to take possession of Jesus’ remains, at some point in

the future, and transfer them to his family burial place”

This then would confirm Mary the Mother of Jesus being present as consistent with the custom of moving Jesus to the family grave later.

Did they find and empty grave as the liturgies of the gospels record? That question presents itself again. I am still not going to attempt to answer it, that’s your choice.

But I want to turn to the backdrop to the Easter Story and that is that it is said to have occurred at the time of the Passover according to three gospels. Now to put the life of Jesus in context we must remember his gospel recorded year of ministry is related to the Jewish calendar, and the Gospels especially Matthew Mark and Luke are written as liturgical statements to explain how the early “followers of the way” of Jesus fitted his way in with the observances of the Jewish calendar of major festivals. So it is not automatically an actual account of time and day, but a way of viewing the festivals on reflection. The gospels are all written at least some 60 years after the events, and are centered probably on the time of the destruction of the Temple CE 70 in Jerusalem. The three gospels who put Jesus in a place of a Passover celebration are written before the “followers of the way” are excluded from being a sect among Judaism while the Gospel of John is written later and so has less relation to the Judaist teachings sensitivities.

Now the point of all this preamble is that when Jesus partook of the seder meal or Passover meal with his disciples it is sometimes lost how significantly different it was to a traditional Jewish Passover meal. The clue to this is found not in the Gospels we have mentioned but in the Gospel of John clarified by the Letter to the Corinthians, in John we have the Cup God has given me and in Corinthians the words and After Supper he took the cup. 

The significance of this clarification in the letter to the Corinthians helps us to see more in the Gospels about the Seder meal. In a Seder meal there are actually 5 cups of wine, the first four are consumed during supper and relate to the order (in fact the word seder means order) of the Torah or Old Testament teachings about the laws of Jewish people.

In practice, the fifth cup has come to be seen as a celebration of future redemption. The cup that is not drunk of after Supper is that of the cup of Elijah who is said to return and drink the cup when the Messiah comes to redeem his people.

If Corinthians is correct then Jesus took the cup of Elijah and in so doing proclaimed him-self to be the incarnation of this Old Testament prophet and the Messiah. Looking at the three Gospels written as liturgical statements to accompany the Jewish year such a detail concerning tradition is a little lost, but let us also remember such Gospels were written down by gentile authors in Greek not Aramaic or Hebrew. Translation is not always clear, and subsequent re writes and translations often miss points made originally. Bit like Chinese wispers..

Further parallels with this mythical figure of Elijah follow as the Story of Jesus is told, and some connections with John the Baptist are also involved in the fulfillments of the expectations of this character of the Old Testament. These are however not a literalism of Elijah but a similarity of the spirit of Elijah to be seen in the coming of the man that some ascribe as the messiah of the Jews.

Now the interesting thing about this character Elijah is that he is important in a lot of other religions not just Judaism, he features in ancient Paganism, he is extolled in Islam, he is part of Eastern folk law and the founder of the Bah’I faith the Bab was said to be his reincarnation and is buried on Mount Carmel where Elijah is said to have had a confrontation in ancient literature. This character Elijah ends up in all manner of later religions, from Rastafarianism to orthodoxy. He has had more returns than just about anyone else.

Sometimes I rather wonder at people of faith who actually expect some character to turn up from the past in a literalism. Just as that person was they think they will be when they return. I don’t know how many of you remember the Film those magnificent men in their flying machines?. If you do. Think about those hilarious Germans trying to do everything by the book and you have a comic picture of literalism in faith. The actual joy of flying is lost to them as they struggle to find the right page in the book. Then without the book they crash.

Remove literalism from your mind and look at the Gospel of John and you will then see this particular Gospel as a narrative that seeks to show a spiritual aspect of the Jesus portrayed.  It is not like the other gospels constrained to traditional Judaism and paints a picture of an emerging new church, not a “people of the way” still a part of the old Jewish synagogue in the synoptics.

Johns Gospel is the new Church flying free of the constraints of Judaism, it maps out a spiritualization of how the faith becomes Universal not only a “way of doing Judaism”.

“The new faith must be built upon the old, It can not be born except out the old. Religion always evolves by transcending the limits if the past and giving birth to a new consciousness.” Says Bishop John Spong in his book “Re-claiming the bible for the non religious world.”

The Easter message is this a celebration of the birth of a new consciousness, seen in the Gospel of John as the story of the evolution of Christianity, from an old religion that of “Judaism” to “the people of the way” who after exile from the synagogues at the same time as the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem become the early church.

It s in Johns Gospel that the Physical resurrection is strongest, but hang on this is not a book to be taken literally. Unlike the other Gospels this book is written after the “followers of the way” of Jesus had been expelled from the synagogues of the Jews. This is a book about flying free from the constraints of the Old order, post seder you could say, for when Jesus took of the cup of Elijah he ends the reign of an order of legalism.

This is a book about the new consciousness not the old traditions, it gives a fresh insight into the misconstrued thoughts of the old ways and brings to life the new. No wonder such symbolism as Eggs and new life surround the Easter traditions that follow on from here on, in many ways they reflect the old but in a new consciousness.

The problem is they become a tradition in themselves, shortly after the “followers of the way” become bogged down in fresh legalism. Read the epistles and you see this time and time again, look at the unholy rows surrounding the establishment of Christianity as the state religion and it becomes bogged down more and more.    

The point about the resurrection is not did it happen but does it happen in the lives of those people who seek to be a new consciousness of a spirituality that promotes humanity to be compassionate, to promote justice, to seek peace not retaliation and to care for one another and to put others before yourself. These are just some of the things that the sermon of the mount much loved by Unitarians is about. It is the life of Jesus reflected in the gospels and the epistles, not the traditions of old interpretations that count.

Any religion that is to be effective in doing good is not at war with another one, it is no good being like those Germans in the film those magnificent men in their flying machines, following every letter of the instruction manual if you do not find yourself exhilarated by flight itself.

The Gospels and the Jewish festivals are great when put into practice and flying. But we do not all have to follow these to be working together for the good of humanity. Looking at instruction manuals for flying an early bi plane will not help you to fly a modern airbus. Thank goodness that is not the case,, can you imagine heathrow with planes being piloted by people reading an old manual on flying a bi plane. Id rather not, it’s a ridiculous scenario.

Equally ridiculous to my mind is following to the letter what worked in ancient times. We need to be able to step forwards. We are an evolved people we need an evolved interpretation and most of all we need to fly, not literally but spiritually. “To step beyond traditional religious thinking into a new consciousness”. This is what the old traditions were doing once, but we need to be doing it now. The message of Easter, the message of the Passover,  is to put into practice the love of humanity. A humanity that is joining together to promote the things that are needed in this world for our generation and those yet to come, grounded on the messages of tolerance peace justice and so on. Sadly this world needs those things still today and we need to be a new consciousness of this.

Let us be the resurrection and the life, Let us be a new consciousness of the gift of life,  Let us be all that is needed to usher in more love peace and joy, with a compassion that brings wholeness to all not just to some.

May it be so… 

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…