First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh

  605 Morewood Avenue
  Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2999
  412-621-8008

JESUS AS A LIBERAL RELIGIOUS LEADER

By David Herndon
12 December 2004
First Unitarian Church
Pittsburgh, PA

You might have heard about the new television advertisement for the United Church of Christ. The advertisement shows two rough-and-tough gatekeepers standing outside a church. Two gay men, a Latino man, and an African-American woman are brusquely turned away by the gatekeepers as they try to enter the church, while a well-dressed white heterosexual couple and their two daughters are granted admission to the church. Then this message appears: "Jesus didn't turn anyone away. Neither do we."

This advertisement, which promotes acceptance and inclusion, was intended for broadcast on the three major television networks. It turns out that ABC accepts no religious advertising. But CBS and NBC decided not to air the advertisement from the United Church of Christ because it was too controversial. With the Bush administration promoting a federal constitutional amendment to ban marriage between citizens of the same gender, CBS and NBC did not want to be perceived as taking sides in that political contest.

My topic this morning is "Jesus as a Liberal Religious Leader," and therefore I would like to step aside from the controversy surrounding the United Church of Christ advertisement and focus on the message of the advertisement. It said: "Jesus didn't turn anyone away. Neither do we." This message is really quite remarkable. What does this message say about Jesus? Does this message say that Jesus was God? No. Does this message say that Jesus died to save humanity from its sins? No. Does this message say that Jesus had supernatural powers? No. Does this message say that Jesus was capable of acting in ways that the rest of us could never even hope to match? No. The message simply says that Jesus promoted acceptance and inclusion, and then goes on to say that people in the United Church of Christ seek to practice that same standard of acceptance and inclusion. It's a message that Unitarian Universalists could endorse, and Bill Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, has said: "I spoke with the Rev. John Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ, to offer my personal support and that of the Unitarian Universalist community."

Perhaps it's not surprising that Unitarian Universalists would support this statement from the United Church of Christ, since the United Church of Christ is among the most liberal of the Protestant denominations, and since historically we Unitarian Universalists are more closely related to the United Church of Christ than we are to any other religious group.

Some will question whether the Christian tradition should welcome gay and lesbian people. Many will point to a few isolated texts as evidence that the Bible rejects intimate relationships between people of the same gender. However, my colleague Mark Belletini, a gay man, has suggested that perhaps we have not looked closely enough at the Bible. Recently I heard Mark talk about our first reading, the story of the healing of the centurion's servant, a story that appears both in Matthew and in Luke, and he looked at the text in a new and surprising way. Looking at this text through traditional eyes, we might focus on the image of Jesus performing a miraculous healing. One might interpret this as evidence of the divinity of Jesus, since he showed supernatural ability. Or one might interpret this as evidence of the universality of the mission of Jesus, since he did this healing for someone outside of his own religious tradition.

But if we look at this text through gay eyes-something disallowed throughout most of the years of the Christian tradition-we may see something new. The text tells the story of a centurion and his servant, two men who live in the same household. The text does not mention that any other people live in this household. The text indicates that the relationship between the two men was a relationship of great emotional significance, for the centurion is deeply concerned about the health of his servant. And Jesus offered-what? Disdain? Condemnation? Rejection? A constitutional amendment? No. Jesus offered acceptance and compassion to these two men who dwell together, these two men whose relationship is one of great emotional significance.

One might say that just because the text mentions no other people, we cannot automatically assume that only these two men lived in that household. And one might say that just because two men live in the same household, we cannot automatically assume that they are sexually intimate with one another. And one might say that just because two men are sexually intimate, we cannot automatically assume that their relationship resembles the gay and lesbian relationships of our own time, for in the Hellenistic culture of two thousand years ago, sexual relations between men had quite different cultural meanings than they do nowadays.
On the other hand, are we sure that the text has been adequately translated into English? Perhaps the Greek word that has been translated into English as "servant" had some other meaning, like "companion" or "partner," that was suppressed by the tradition.

"Jesus didn't turn anyone away," says the United Church of Christ television advertisement. "Neither do we."

As Unitarian Universalists, can we claim Jesus as a liberal religious leader? The question takes on special significance at this time of the year, when so much attention centers on the birth of Jesus. Even if we do claim Jesus as a liberal religious leader, do we believe that his birth warrants such grand celebration?
Here a little bumper sticker theology may come in handy. Two people in this religious community, both of whom have considerable appreciation for the Christian tradition, have recently reported to me that they have seen a bumper sticker that says: "Never mind being born again. Just grow up."

Whether or not we place great importance on the birth of Jesus, and whether or not we think that Jesus himself had the experience of being born again, we can admire the fact that he did indeed grow up, demonstrating remarkable spiritual maturity throughout his years of public religious leadership.
People in our religious tradition have sometimes said that as Unitarian Universalists, we seek to follow the religion of Jesus rather than the religion about Jesus. This statement makes a worthwhile distinction. On the one hand, the religion of Jesus understands Jesus as a teacher, as a prophet, as someone who lived an exceptional life, perhaps even as someone in whose life we see especially clearly the radiant result of a deep commitment to love God and to love one's neighbor. On the other hand, the religion about Jesus understands Jesus as a savior, as a divine being whose death and resurrection makes possible the forgiveness of our misdeeds and shortcomings, as someone who rescues us by doing things we could not do for ourselves. It seems to me that if we want to understand Jesus as a religious leader, then we are better off with the religion of Jesus rather than the religion about Jesus, for a religious leader invites others to come along and join in the work, not just to sit back and let the leader do everything for them. Leaders may go first, but they do not go alone.

Unitarian Universalists may be reluctant to embrace Jesus as a liberal religious leader because of our disagreement with some beliefs that have been common within the Christian tradition. One of these is the belief that what happens after death is more important that what happens in this world here and now. Another is the belief that Christianity is the only true religion.

Some individuals who very clearly identify themselves as Christians have also found such beliefs troubling. One of these is Marcus Borg, who is professor of religion at Oregon State University and who has written several popular and controversial books presenting a rather progressive understanding of the Christian tradition. In his recent book The Heart of Christianity, he writes: "If I were to make a list of Christianity's ten worst contributions to religion, on that list would be popular Christianity's emphasis on the afterlife." Borg goes on to say: "I see no way of deciding among . . . different ways of imagining what lies beyond death." Borg also restates what Unitarian Universalists and others have said for quite some time: "[The message of Jesus] was not really about how to get to heaven. It was about a way of transformation in this world and the Kingdom of God on earth." Borg also makes this wonderful comment: "Salvation is personal, but this hardly needs emphasis. . . . What does need emphasis is that salvation in the Bible is also social. . . . Salvation is about life together. Salvation is about peace and justice within community and beyond community. It is about shalom, a word connoting not simply peace as the absence of war, but peace as the wholeness of a community living together in peace and justice. . . . The Bible is not about the saving of individuals for heaven, but about a new social and personal reality in the midst of this life."

With regard to Christian claims of exclusive truth, Borg says: "It is impossible for many of us to believe that only Christians can be in saving relationship to God. . . . Indeed, if I thought I had to believe that Christianity was the only way, I could not be a Christian."

Unitarian Universalists may be reluctant to embrace Jesus as a liberal religious leader because of our disagreement with some beliefs that have been common within the Christian tradition, such as the belief that what happens after death is more important than what happens in this world here and now, or the belief that Christianity is the only true religion. What happens, however, when such bothersome beliefs are set aside? What happens is that it becomes much easier to see a worthwhile message within the Christian tradition.

This worthwhile message has two parts, personal and social. With regard to the personal part of this message, Marcus Borg says something both remarkable and challenging. He suggests that "the path seen in Jesus is the way-the path of death and resurrection, the path of dying to an old identity and way of being and being born into a new identity and way of being that lies at the heart of Christianity and the other religions. This is 'the way' expressed in Christian form. . . . Jesus is the way, even though not the only expression of the way."

Joseph Campbell, among others, has identified this theme of dying and rising again as one found throughout the world's mythologies and religions, which expresses a common human spiritual aspiration through a variety of symbols and stories. It is nice to hear someone so strongly identified with the Christian tradition saying this as well. I happen to have a great deal of appreciation for this message of dying and rising again, this message of growing beyond the limitations of one's current self, and sometimes I think that what I have done throughout my ministry is to present this message, this Christian message, this more-than-Christian message, using non-Christian symbols and stories.

That advertisement from the United Church of Christ offers a fine summary of the second part of message. "Jesus didn't turn anyone away," said the advertisement. Here we have a message of generous acceptance. But the message reaches much further. The central metaphor that Jesus used was the Kingdom of God, which stood in stark contrast to the harsh human kingdoms under which most of the people of his time lived. Yes, it is important for one individual to offer respect and compassion toward another individual. But it is also important for political, economic, and social systems to promote respect and compassion. Another way to say this is that it is important to oppose or correct political, economic, and social systems when they become systems of domination and injustice. I happen to have a great deal of appreciation for this message of social justice, and, again, sometimes I think that what I have done throughout my ministry is to present this message, this Christian message, this more-than-Christian message, using non-Christian symbols and stories.

Can Unitarian Universalists embrace Jesus as a liberal religious leader? In accord with our historic Arian, Socinian, Anti-Trinitarian, Unitarian theology, we can embrace Jesus as an ordinary human being, no more divine than any other human being, who lived an extraordinary life of prophetic religious leadership. We can find in his teachings a deep appreciation for social justice, expressed in his willingness to offer respect and compassion and acceptance toward everyone. And we can find in his life an inspiring example of spiritual maturity expressed as service toward others.

The stories about the birth of Jesus have their own appealing themes: the humble origins of an amazing person, the possibility of new life emerging just when the world is most bleak and dark and cold, the unexpected gift that one receives through no particular merit of one's own. Let us celebrate these wonderful stories and draw from them hope and inspiration and wonder and warmth.

But let us remember that what matters most are not the circumstances of one's birth. What matters most are the fruitful results of one's spiritual maturity. And in the life of Jesus, as for all people, that comes a little later in the story.

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