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WHO
DO YOU SAY WE ARE?
by John Crestwell
12/8/2002
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!”
Challenging stuff here… I pose to YOU several questions… WHO
DO YOU SAY WE ARE? Are we a social club with, as King says “a thin
veneer of religiosity”? Or are we a sanctuary, a place of nurture,
spirituality and fellowship? Or are we somehow both? WHO DO YOU SAY WE
ARE as Unitarian Universalists who trace our roots back to the Christian
Protestant Radical Reformation movement? WHO DO YOU SAY WE ARE as post-modern
humanists who idealistically want to save the world? WHO DO YOU SAY WE
ARE as Atheists, Theists, Buddhists, and Muslims, and countless other
faiths and ideas, that do not have ties that bind them to Christianity?
WHO DO YOU SAY WE ARE as scientists who reject creationism? WHO DO YOU
SAY WE ARE today as a Unitarian Universalists? Are we confused? Do we
have an identity crisis? Are we attempting to be too many things? Or are
we a most profound polyphony of evolution poised to be an example for
the world, religiously, in the 21st century? Think about it.
Think about it…
Discussion Question: WHO DO YOU SAY WE ARE? As UU’s are
we a social justice agency, or spiritual community, or both, or perhaps
something else? WHO DO YOU SAY WE ARE?
See John Crestwell's
review of the book "BLACK PIONEERS
IN A WHITE DENOMINATION"
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