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By John T. Crestwell, Jr.
December 8, 2002
Good morning. I am always thankful for another opportunity to share
from this free pulpit before a very intelligent people who
appreciate thinking and dialogue. As I have said on a number of
occasions, I came this morning and, as John Spong says, “I did not
have to leave my brain at the door (. I need your help today. I need
your participation very shortly. This morning, I want to share with
you, for a few moments, on a very interesting topic and then I’m
going to open the floor for feedback, as is our tradition. So
participate as your heart moves you to.
The topic this morning fits our time and place very well… The topic
is, WHO DO YOU SAY WE ARE? WHO DO YOU SAY WE ARE?
Our readings, which set the tone for the message, come from the
Gospel of Matthew, and give us a clear indication of who Jesus was
and what he demanded. I want to read a few texts…
Matthew 16: 13-18
Jesus says, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they
said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still
others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But
who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the
Messiah, † the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you,
you are Peter, † and on this rock † I will build my church, and the
gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
Matthew 28: 18-20
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that
I have commanded you.
Matthew 25: 34-40
34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you
that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave
me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a
stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me
clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and
you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when
was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave
you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a
stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And
when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40
And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it
to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did
it to me.’
For many of us these passages take us back a few years or even many
years. Then for some here, the language is comforting or even
perhaps strange and uncomfortable. But no matter how you see it, the
dictate is clear. Christianity understands its mission. At least it
has an authoritative place to go (the Bible) for answers. In the
first reading, the words attributed to Jesus here, say, “…On this
rock I will build my church.” This statement has historic precedence
for millions, and Catholics and Protestants have used it as
justification for the existence of the church universal. “Hey. Jesus
said it and that’s why we do what we do,” one might say.
Then in the second passage, much of the same language is there. We
have what is known as the “Great Commission”. “Go and convert the
world” is basically the theme. “You are empowered, you have the
power, the mind, and ability because you have my spirit,” Jesus says
in essence. And the last scripture I read says that if one is a good
Christian they are socially responsible. We are politically active.
We assist the poor and disenfranchised. In fact, from a
Christological perspective, our salvation rests on whether we help
others or not. Later in Matthew’s passage, the “wicked” are sent to
eternal damnation for not being socially responsible. So, if I am
Christian, I know what I am to do spiritually and socially because
my identity and authority rests in Christ and I have a book that
tells me specifically what to do. As a Christian, I am to feed the
hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the blind to see, in the name
of Jesus Christ.
But we are Unitarian-Universalists, so where do we derive our power
and authority? I have been told that our power rests within us as
individuals—rather within our ability as people to think and act
responsibly; our ability as individuals to speak freely and do those
things our conscience calls us to responsibly. We don’t need a
teacher to do that for us. Our power rests, not in a MAN, per se,
but in our own consciousness. One might say, “It is the Christ in
you. You are a Buddha, a Christ—an enlightened and anointed person.”
This idea is very Eastern and Oriental, very Gnostic, very
Enlightenment-like in its conception of the SELF as the highest form
of actualization. A Unitarian Universalist could be likely heard
saying: “I don’t come to church, John, to be saved or to save souls
or to change the world, rather I come to be who I am. I come to
fellowship. I come to be nurtured. I come to find solace. This is my
sanctuary. I do not come here to be made to feel guilty about being
human. I come to feel whole within a community of, not like-minded,
but open-minded freethinkers. If someone is moved by what I
do—great! If not, that’s okay too. Jesus went to Gethsemane to rest,
think and pray. I go to my church as my refuge in the time of storm.
I commission myself. I don’t need to be commissioned to live. I am
my own rock. I am the ‘master of my fate the captain of my soul’. I
help others as my conscience dictates.”
For many, this seems grossly individualist and egocentric, even
narcissistic, but this is, in a rough way, the idea behind being a
Unitarian Universalist. It is our covenant with one another to
respect our uniqueness. And I would say this is the thought when
Jesus says to Simon, “Who do YOU say I am?” The point is that what
is important as a UU is our INDIVIDUAL BELIEF—not necessarily the
corporate command or dictate.
This brings me to my point… If MY church is the place of MY
sanctuary where I develop MY own creed for life, then should social
justice issues bombard me on a weekly basis? Directly, is the church
the place for getting involved in civic or political matters? Sure
it is, if you are a Christian church, but we are not a Christian
church. We are not bound by our theology are we?
Retired UU preacher Paul Beattie says, “No!” He feels the church is
not a place for social justice. He believes a UU church, that is
active in social justice issues, violates three of our basic
principles: The creedless church, the healing, loving, redemptive
community, and the free search for truth. Now, Beattie was a
humanitarian and involved in many things outside the church, he did
what he could to make a difference, but inside the parish, he felt
this was personal time. This was sanctuary. Listen to what he says,
“An individual who has come to church because it is pluralistic
often cannot accept institutional action.” He continues to say that
there are countless specialized agencies for social action, like the
NAACP, Urban League, Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, etc.
He continues, “Social action can often weaken the healing ministry
of the church. The church as an open, accepting, redemptive
community can heal people by accepting them where they are…
Significant value changes occur in people when they are not
threatened or angered (or made to feel guilty—I added that) and when
they are free to explore, without fear of censure, all of their
feelings and attitudes.”
Lastly, Beattie wrote, “Social action can destroy the search for
truth. The pursuit of truth in community involves a certain
distance, or at least moments of objectivity and detachment. Society
needs, most of all, neutral place, true sanctuaries, where
individuals are free to search for truth—free to hold problems in
mind without being forced to premature decisions.”
If you are hearing this, the way I’m hearing it, there is a conflict
here potentially. Our history as UU’s brings us from the Reformation
through the Radical Reformation & anti-trinitarian movement. In
other words, we are from the protest movement. We are the offspring
of Protestantism. We are a part of the world of Christendom. We have
come over a way where the spiritual and social worked hand and hand.
As a Christian the very meaning of church means faith and works. If
we are following our true UU heritage, the two are one. But, if
Beattie is right, and he has a point, then we have to separate faith
and works in praxis, and thus separate ourselves from our Christian
heritage. A heritage defined by politically oriented prophets who
spoke truth to power socially; who saw ills in society and said with
boldness, “This is not right!” and worked to change it. We must
separate ourselves from a long line of change-makers who, through
Christian religious convictions, helped pave the road for justice on
many levels. From Emerson, to Channing, to Theodore Parker, to A.
Powell Davies, to Martin King, Jr., there are many, all were moved
by a strong social ethic guided by Christian principles. This is our
heritage. Our very name Unitarian-Universalists is derived from
Christian origins. And so it seems we MUST be socially active!
I can hear a voice saying, “Reverend Beattie you so wrong in your
assessment. I am the sum total of what I think, and what is breathed
in me daily. I am what I am. Therefore, you cannot separate, ‘the
church and state within me’ so to speak. My beliefs compel me to
action. What I do is the direct result of what I believe. If I am
fundamentally changed in some profound way in my UU congregation,
then that is the place I will go first to exact change in society—
inward then outward, not the other way around. My church, sir, has a
very similar pulse on life as I do, and if they want to help the
needy and give food to the pantry and develop affordable housing for
the poor, then I’m going to help and I’m asking others in the church
to help too, because, to me, it is right!”
Then someone supporting Beattie says, “What you want to do can be
done in your community, not in the church. Who says it’s right? It’s
right for you. But right for you is not right for me!” Don’t pull me
in to your ideology! I am not your scientific experiment! Don’t
infringe on my basic UU rights that tell me I am entitled to a free
and responsible search for my own truth! Let me be emancipated, in
this place, to feel the way I want to feel because that’s exactly
why I come here!”
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