Jesus Has A Wife?

This is the sermon I gave on Sunday, October 7, 2012. Following the sermon are the two readings I used in the service.

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES – JESUS HAD A WIFE?

So, was there a Mrs. Jesus?

As you probably already know, Jesus has been in the news of late. A few words regarding his marital status and about having a female diciple, has the world of Christian theology, history and archeology in an uproar. People like me, who thoroughly enjoy this kind of upending of Christianity's doctrine and dogma, have been experiencing a strange kind of pleasure regarding this “new” finding. It is very exciting and adds to our knowledge base about the origins of the early Jesus movement. I have to admit that the first time I read about it, I did feel a twinge of vindication. After all, what had I been saying – that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and they probably had a family and here was the rest of the world catching up to what I had figured out long ago. Well, not so fast.

Karen King, professor at Harvard University's Divinity School, historian of early Christianity, and author (translated our Gospel of Mary reading) was given a small piece of parchment, probably cut from a much longer work, by an antiquities collector almost a year ago. The origin of this piece and what it was taken from, is unknown. In the world of archeology and scholarship, this is identified as “unprovenanced”. That is a big deal, and one that can be difficult for one's colleagues to take this seriously in the academic world. It is written in Coptic, an Egyptian language that uses Greek letters. Dr. King is an expert in the Copic language – it's one of the courses she teaches at Harvard Divinity. This small piece of papyrus had some words written on it that were downright earth-shaking: Jesus, while apparently talking to his disiples, says , “My wife” and “Mary is worthy of it”, and, perhaps most amazing, “she will be able to be my disiple”. Does this prove that Jesus was married and that Mary Magdelene was his wife and disciple? No, not at all.

If it proves anything at all, it is this: during the early centuries, there were many different ideas about who Jesus was, what his life was like and what were the important ideas that he taught.

Dr. King translated the fragment. Experts in ancient papyri, Dr. Roger Bagnall of New York University and Dr. AnneMarie Luijendijk of Princeton University examined it and concluded that it was authentic, both for the writing and the papyrus. The judgment of all was that it was written in the 2^nd Century, C.E. A paper, written by Karen King was presented in late September, at the International Conference of Coptic Studies, held in Rome, Italy. Some of her colleagues immediately denounced the findings and called it a forgery.

Just as many indicated their interest in this and were eager to learn more. Others, who didn't call it fake, used different language to describe what Jesus purportedly said. For instance, when he talked about, “My wife”, he was referring to the Church as his bride and he was the bridegroom. I know that those words have been used in the that way, but this was written supposedly before there really was a church as we use the term today. About a week after the headlines in the newspapers,on TV and the interenet, the Roman Catholic Church weighted in calling it all, “fake”. Though I won't comment further on their reaction, I believe it was a lamentable choice of words.

Let's take a look at what we and Biblical scholars know about Jesus – Yeshua's life. We know that he was probably born to a young mother, Mary or Miryam. In those days, in the Jewish community, when a woman became betrothed to a man, it was not unusual for her to become pregnant and even deliver her first-born before she actually got married. During the betrothal, it was considered prudent to make sure that the woman could adequately bear children. So, I believe then, Jesus was concieved in the old fashioned way, with Joseph or Yehoseph as his biological father. In the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, Jesus has four brothers and at least two sisters. They are: James – Yaakov; Joseph – Yose (a nickname actually); Jude – Yehuda; Simon – Shimon; Mary – Miryam; Solome – Shulamit. All of these are extremely common names in Israel in the first century. I know that the Catholic church calls his siblings, “cousins”, but the Greek words, which the earliest versions of the Gospels were translated from, use the word that means biological brothers or sisters.

We don't know what happened from the time Jesus was 12 until he started his teaching, but there are some buried hints. There are a number of scholars, who posit that Jesus was an Essene during part of this time. The Essenes were a break-away Jewish sect (2^nd century B.C.E.) who had gone out into the desert along the Dead Sea to live and worship the way they felt was proper. They had left the Temple in Jerusalem for a number of reasons, among them being that they felt that the priests of the temple had too close a relationship with the occupiers and that the Shekinah, the consort of Yahweh or the Feminine Devine, had been thrown out of the temple. The sect apparently had a few divisions within that followed slightly different ways of life. One followed a completely ascetic way of life and for the most part lived totally apart from the rest of society. Another group had a revolving group of members who lived together for a few years ascetically, then left to re-enter society, marry and have families. The last group apparently were families living together abstaining from most of what society had to offer, but not all, and may have been the ones who occupied Qumran and perhaps were the folks who hid the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Now we come to the very beginning of Jesus life teaching and healing. There are, again, a few hidden clues about what might have been happening. In our second reading by Margaret Starbird, she talks of Jesus being married. The story of the wedding at Cana may very well describe Jesus' own wedding. The wedding is being held in Cana, a village in Gallilee, not far from Nazereth. His mother comes to Jesus to tell him that the wine is running low and that they need more. First of all, this is a clue. Why would his mother come to him to tell him that the wine is running out? Is she the hostess? Why would this be a concern of hers? There has been speculation that if this was Jesus' wedding, she would have been the hostess (based on 1^st century Jewish tradition) and so would have been keenly watching how supplies of food and drink would have been holding out. Also, this wasn't a short little reception after a wedding ceremony, this could have been going on for many hours or even a couple of days. If her husband Joseph was deceased at this point, then very likely she would have been the only one in charge of refreshment at this lively feast.

One other thing: if Jesus was considered a teacher or rabbi in the first century, he would have had to be married. The first of the mitsvah or commandments is to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). This was not taken lightly. If someone was a rabbi, then they were married.

We have come finally to Jesus' crucifixion and death. The Gospels of Luke and John place several women at the site of the crucifixion, among them his mother and Mary Magdalene. Jesus body was laid in a tomb as soon as he taken down from the cross. The Jewish people were preparing for Passover and they needed to get this done before nightfall. In Jewish tradition, once the sun went down, it was a new day. That new day would then have been Passover. Handling a dead body made one ritually unclean, and they needed to be ritually clean to celebrate the Passover, so his body was not tended to as normally one would have done. The process for taking care of a dead body in first century Judaism would have been to wash the body, anoint it with fragrant oils and spices and then wrap it in clean linen. The body laid in a stone tomb, usually a family tomb, for a year. After a year had gone by and the flesh had fallen off and distingtigrated, the bones were gathered up and put into a stone bone box or ossuary and re-intered in the family burial tomb. In each of the Gospels a group of women or sometimes just Mary Magdalene is mentioned as coming to take care of Jesus' body after he was put in the tomb. The one very interesting fact, is that her name is always mentioned first. The washing and annointing of a dead body in first century Judaism was always done by women. And they were always women who were closely related to the deceased. In this case, it would have been his wife, his mother and a sister: "And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came to the sepulcher at the rising of the sun" (Mk.16:1-2 KJV). His mother would have been identified as the mother of James, because he was now the eldest son and head of the family.

With this chronology, we see where a wife of Jesus' could have been in his life's story. In the Gospel of Mary, we see where his followers believed that Mary Magdalene was a leader in the early days of the Jesus movement. So where does this put us in looking at whether Jesus had a wife or not? That is for you to decide. We are a free church, with no bishop, hierarchy or doctrine to tell us what to believe. I suspect that many of you are here because you are more comfortable with that. Our Congregational Covenent compells us to respect each other's ideas and beliefs about Jesus, God, and our place in this world. I have experienced criticism about my beliefs: that they are too extreme, that I don't belong in this church, that I don't know what I'm talking about; but repect for one another's beliefs is a two way street. If you want me to respect your beliefs, then you will have to respect mine. The reaction to the, “news” that Jesus had a wife, leads me to believe that there is a hunger out there to know that Jesus might have lived a “normal” life, which makes him more real and reachable.

Are there some of you are now in full panic mode and complaining (whining?) about everyone changing Jesus on you? Look, here's the deal: life is change. New things will always be found regarding one of the most important people in history. But here is what hasn't changed: Jesus' message about love – his most powerful and perhaps most important one coming the night before he died “Love one another as I have loved you.” And caring for others, for “the least of these”, for the hungry, sick, homeless, the widows and orphans. His teaching is still the same. Nothing has changed about that. So, what are you waiting for? There are people to be fed – go fix dinner for the men at Leland House or on Saturday morning help with Food For All downstairs, find an animal shelter or rescue organization that needs some help (yes, those animals especially could be considered the “least of these”) and they always do, help a student in a school near where you live or work to learn to read or do math. And in doing things for others, in helping others we can find what I believe will be our own salvation.

Readings for Oct. 7

Gospel of Mary translated by Karen King
But they were distressed and wept greatly. "How are we going to go out to the rest of the world to announce the good news about the Realm of the child of true Humanity?" they said. "If they did not spare him, how will they spare us?"
Then Mary stood up. She greeted them all, addressing her brothers and sisters, "Do not weep and be distressed nor let your hearts be irresolute. For his grace will be with you all and will shelter you. Rather we should praise his greatness, for he has prepared us and made us true Human beings."
When Mary had said these things, she turned their heart [to]ward the Good, and they began to deba[t]e about the wor[d]s of [the Savior].
Peter said to Mary, "Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than all other women. Tell us the words of the Savior that you remember, the things which you know that we don't because we haven't heard them."
Mary responded, "I will teach you about what is hidden from you."

Excerpt from “The Woman With the Alabaster Jar” by Magaret Starbird

The Fourth Gospel says very clearly that the woman who anointed Jesus at Bethany was Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Mary Magdalen's name is not mentioned in connection with the anointing scene, but it is she who accompanies Jesus to Calvary in the Gospels, standing near the cross; and it is she who goes at dawn on Easter morning to finish the anointing for burial that she began several days before.

A dynastic marriage between Jesus and a royal daughter of the Benjamites would have been perceived as a source of healing to the people of Israel during their time of misery as an occupied nation.

In the novel King Jesus (published in 1946), Robert Graves, the twentieth-century mythographer, suggests that Jesus' lineage and marriage were concealed from all but a select circle of royalist leaders. To protect the royal bloodline, this marriage would have been kept secret from the Romans and the Herodian tetrarchs, and after the crucifixion of Jesus, the protection of his wife and family would have been a sacred trust for those few who knew their identity. All reference to the marriage of Jesus would have been deliberately obscured, edited, or eradicated.

It is probable that the original references to Mary Magdalen in the oral tradition, the "pericopes" of the New Testament, were misunderstood before they were ever committed to writing. I suspect that the epithet "Magdaleri" was meant to be an allusion to the "Magdaleder" found in Micah, the promise of the restoration of Sion following her exile. Perhaps the earliest verbal references attaching the epithet "Magdala" to Mary of Bethany's name had nothing to do with an obscure town in Galilee, as is suggested, but were deliberate references to these lines in Micah, to the "watchtower" or "stronghold" of the Daughter of Sion who was forced into political exile.

It seems obvious that after the crucifixion of Jesus, Mary Magdalen was no longer in Jerusalem. there is no mention of Mary, Martha, or Lazarus in the Book of Acts or in Paul's letters.

It is clear from the four canonical Gospels that Mary Magdalen enjoyed special precedence in the community of believers, since she was the first person to see and speak to Jesus on Easter Sunday, having hurried to his tomb at first light to perform embalming rites for his dead body. There are seven lists in the four Gospels that name the women who accompanied Jesus. In six of the seven, the name of Mary Magdalen is given first--ahead of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and ahead of the other women mentioned. The Gospel writers, beginning with Mark, are most likely reflecting the status of the Magdalen in the Christian community--that of First Lady.

 

Sophia - Lady Wisdom

Today is Friday, August 17th, and it is the feast day of St. Sophia. Ah, but not according your saints calendar?  No matter. It is according to the Gnostics - yeah, those damn heretics are still around.  Let me tell you about this wonderful Lady. She is the representative of the Feminine Divine in the Bible. Her name is all over the Old Testament and occasionally in the New.

.

There are quite a few names that are used for her. Some of them you might have heard before, but in reference to someone else: Holy Spirit, Queen of Heaven, Shekinah, Star of the Sea, Creator, Divine Mother, Lady Wisdom, Chochma, Bride of God.  The ancient Jews revered  Holy Wisdom, but they called her Chochma (hock-ma) or Hochma. She was the Divine Companion of YHWH.  Together, they created everything,

When Solomon built the first temple in Jerusalem, She was there. In the Old Testament, She can be found in the Wisdom literature and Proverbs, among other places.

   When God set the heavens in place - I was there.

When God fixed the sea's horizon - I was there.

When God made firm the sky and set the fountains that feed the sea;

When God bound the ocean with shore, and the sand with sea - I was there.

Proverbs 8:27-29

She honors Her noble birth

by living with God who loves Her.

She is an initiate in divine knowledge,

and a partner in all God's works.

Wisdom of Solomon 8:4

Look at the picture above. Yes, it's the one painted by Michaelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It's very famous and has something quite interesting in it if you look at it long enough. God is in the middle with His arm outstretched to Adam's hand. But look at God's other arm. It's draped over the shoulders of a beautiful woman! That is Sophia, Wisdom, Hochma. 

So raise a glass to Sophia and tell Her. "Thank you!". She has always been there, but you just didn't know it.

To be continued.......

                              

It's Sunday. But I Didn't Go to Church

It is Sunday. I did not go to church for services. Why not? There are several reasons. They may not seem like good ones, but they are mine. Here they are in no particular order:

• I am extremely tired of male/patriarchal language when speaking of God. (I believe that God is BOTH male and female. If you happen to believe or just like God being called, "He", I am fine with that, but please realize that not everyone feels the same way. Use inclusive language when speaking in public about God.)
• I like diverse ways of worship, not the same thing every. single. Sunday. (I realize that some folks LIKE services that never change - I'm just not one of them.) Mix things up a bit. Full stompin', Holy Spirit infused, speaking in tongues, yellin', hands waving and clapping, enthusiastic, EMOTIONAL worship, would really get my juices flowing. A poetry service, gospel, drama, just ANYTHING that shows a little ingenuity about worship. 
• Show some EMOTION during worship. Most services are almost completely devoid of intense, sincere, authentic, genuine emotion of any kind. How about some laughter (and I mean REAL laughter), tears, joy, happiness? Is that really too hard to plan and execute worship services that have all of or at least some of those things? I have attended a handful of services in my life that have those things, and I felt so good afterwards. And NONE of those emotions need come with shaming, hateful or damaging words. 
• And speaking of words, if a faith community is going to be following the words and teachings of Jesus, then there is no room for hate, shame or anger toward anyone. God made everyone, so God loves everyone. Period. Jesus didn't talk about hate or people that today we think of as sinful. His words were: "Love others as I have loved you." There is too much hating going on in religion, no matter the denomination or beliefs. People are using the Bible as a vehicle to justify the hate (read: fear) they hold in their hearts toward others. This cannot be tolerated or encouraged. IT is an abomination to hate anyone. 
• Music. Now, I am all for the old hymns, Bach or classical music in church. (Of course the old hymns either should be gender inclusive or re-worded so that they are), but a steady diet of that makes me feel as if I'm stuck in a time warp. How about some jazz, blues, rock, gospel, folk or praise? Why not REALLY mix it up with a little of each? I really like diverse kinds of music when I listen to music on my own and I think that would be fantastic in a church service.
• Let's have some good, thought provoking, burn-the-barn preaching. Yeah, that emotion thing again. Preaching from the heart always beats any other kind in my book. I realize that some really like intellectual, higher thinking kind of stuff, but frankly it leaves me cold. Touch me in some way. Give me something to think about all week. If you, as a preacher, have your hair on fire about something, PREACH it!! If, by the end of the "sermon", and by that I mean, whatever message is to be conveyed in whatever form, the preacher is exhausted, that is a good thing. Don't always have the message done as a sermon. Use other forms to get that message across - drama, poetry, story, 2 or 3 people involved. MIX IT UP.
• And finally,  be friendly to whomever shows up on your doorstep. No, I don't mean just say hello. I mean GENUINE friendliness. Show some warmth. Ask about me, don't just talk about yourself. Introduce me to another person. Introduce me to the entire congregation (without embarrassing me), find out why I am there and maybe even why I might stay. (Or might not.) Follow up. Don't ignore some people, and be friendly to others. Invite me to something that the congregation is doing. Have plenty of things that the people, who make up the faith community, are doing that I can be invited to join. Make me feel welcome and loved. Then I WILL be back. 

Does that make sense to anyone else but me? I'm beginning to think that I am the only one who feels this way. 

Mary Magdalene: Lost in the Jesus Narrative

Today is July 22, the feast day of Mary Magdalene. She was an important person in the Jesus movement, but nearly got lost when "The Boys" started to feel threatened by her.  By that, I mean that she was a leader within the movement, but when the Church started to take control of the Jesus narrative, she began to fade into the mist. That was exactly what they wanted. She had become very powerful. Women were not to have any kind of leadership in the Church and they had to be subjugated.  After all, they could create life and that creative force was a threat to all the men who dreamed of complete rule in every aspect of faith and life. Indeed, they tried to force women to become the meek, unstable, manipulated, cowering in fear beings that were the so-called ideal, but many females just pretended to act like that. Though, of course, some women believed that that was their role in life, many women did not. The Feminine went underground. Deep underground. But, live, it did. Today, that creative life force is beginning to really show its muscle: the nuns of the Catholic Church is only one example. Most women today, take for granted that they can work outside the home, hold political office, be faith community leaders, earn more money than men (though often they don't, even in the same jobs), marry or not, who they wish (though if it's another woman, not likely), live as a single mother head of household, have credit apart from husbands, make choices regarding giving birth, etc. I could go on, but all of these things were not a part of my growing up years. My daughter today knows nothing different. Let us take today to dedicate ourselves to furthering the power of womanhood. We have come a great distance, but there is much further to go to achieve women's fullest potential.

So, how do we know that Mary Magdalene got lost? First, we know almost nothing about her. There are only fragments of her existence in the Gospels, basically our only source of information. There are other, non-canonical gospels that talk about her, the best known is the Gospel of Mary. The Gospel of Thomas tells a narrative about the relationship between her and Jesus. You can read it and figure out what it was. I am of the opinion that she and Jesus were married. The Wedding at Cana may well be a story about Jesus' wedding, instead of someone elses. Based on the Gospel of Mary, we can surmise that she was a leader in the Jesus Movement. Though this information may not be totally accurate, again, you can make up your own mind. For me, it indicates that she was a leader. In many of the authentic letters of Paul, other women are portrayed as leaders of their faith communities. Later this was a major cause of concern to the male Church leaders. But at the time, this was not considered a problem. In the Gospels, on Easter morning, she is consistently the first one at the tomb and discovers something quite unusual. In the Orthodox Christian Church's tradition, she is named the Apostle to the Apostles. To me that says it all. I hold her in great esteem among those that followed Jesus.

The Boys in Rome

I've been thinking a lot lately about the conflagration that has recently surfaced regarding the conduct of American nuns in the Catholic Church. I've been trying to figure out how to write this without sounding as if I don't like Catholics. That is not what I mean. I do have issues with the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. Now, I'm sure you know that I'm not Catholic, so all of my viewpoints come from the perspective of someone who is outside, looking in.

It seems that the boys in Rome are objecting to a group of womyn who have opinions of their own, can make decisions and are following Jesus' teaching. The rest of the world doesn't see anything wrong with that. But the Catholic church has a problem with all of it. One of the major criticisms is that they are caring for the poor and hungry and not getting all upset with same-sex marriage and abortions. In fact some of the nuns actually care for people who are gay and have had abortions.  Why is this such a point of contention? What century are they living in? Obviously, the nuns are living in the 21st century and the boys in Rome are stuck back in the Dark Ages. It was called that for a reason. To me, it proves what I have thought for a long time - that the Roman Catholic Church cannot handle being in the modern age, where people are accepted just for who they are and the teachings of Jesus are taken seriously. Remember what Jesus said? "Love others as I have loved you. Love your neighbor as yourself" Yeah, those teachings. Oh, and, "Take care of the least of these." That means the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the ones on the fringe of society. THOSE people. If you are going to call yourself a Jesus following or a Christian, those are the kinds of things that one must do. The nuns are doing that, but their church is rebuking them because they aren't paying any attention to the social issues that the (male) bishops have decided need to be addressed, and that are very much out of step with the rest of society. The boys in Rome just nailed the their coffin shut. They have no relevancy in today's world and it is no wonder that their churches are loosing members rapidly.

One of the most controversial topics that nuns in the United States has been talking about and exploring is the ordination of womyn to the Roman Catholic priesthood. The boys in Rome won't have any of that kind of talk. That is is blasphemous and heretical. The problem is that scholarship and archaeology have made their viewpoints on womyn in the priesthood obsolete. It is well documented, both in the Bible and in non-canonical literature that womyn were very active in the ministry, both when Jesus was alive and after his crucifixion..There have been archaeological sites that have uncovered the names of womyn as leaders of churches in the Middle East.  Many of the very earliest people involved in establishing churches were womyn. Up until the fourth century (and even perhaps later in some parts of the world) womyn were priests, bishops and they were also married. Yes, clergy was married, both men and womyn. It is historical fact that womyn were priests and that can't be swept under the rug anymore.

The other interesting fact is that the Church organization that is rebuking the American nuns is the Office of the Doctrine of the Faith. That used to be called the Inquisition. How ironic it is that this is the Office in the Roman Catholic Church that would censure American nuns. For several years this Office has been running an "inquiry" into the womyn who serve the Church here in the U.S.A. In case the boys in Rome didn't get the memo: In the United States there is freedom of religion, the right to think differently about many things including religion, politics and government. Not everyone is going to think exactly like you do. That includes those who are devoted followers of the Roman Catholic Church.

Easter

I have issues with Easter. I don't believe that Jesus bodily rose from the grave. I don't believe that he walked the earth as a human being before ascending to "heaven". I believe that his "resurrection" was not what many Christians believe happened. So, there is a reason I was hesitant to write about Easter. It makes me uncomfortable. But I do have a few (probably heretical) ideas about what might of happened.

I think that Jesus was seen "in spirit". What people saw was a full bodied apparition. I have seen one of those and I believe it was entirely possible that he appeared to his followers in that form. Jesus' soul or spirit was what was walking on earth, not his body.  It was Jesus' ghost that was being seen. And yes, ghosts can "speak", though its not in the same way a live human can speak. I believe that Jesus had a very strong, vibrant soul and it would have survived his crucifixion. I also believe that since his death was so traumatic that his soul stayed on earth for awhile and eventually it went to the light which is God.

That is not say some kind of resurrection didn't happen. It just wasn't a bodily resurrection. When Jesus' soul left his body and later ascended to God, he wouldn't have taken his bones with him. They (the bones) would have been laid in a family tomb for a year - the flesh would have disintegrated - and then a gathering of family and friends would have put the bones that were left in an ossuary (bone box). It would have been then put into a niche inside the family tomb and it would have lain there for centuries. Or perhaps it's still laying somewhere. What I just described was the way that most Jews were buried in the first century C. E. (Common Era). Though most people who were crucified were just left on the cross after they died, Jesus probably was taken down, because some of his followers were either in the priest class in Judaism or were Roman citizens.

Now we get to how it was that Mary Magdalene was the first one at the tomb after three days (well, actually more like 2 1/2). The people who prepared the bodies for burial in the tombs were the immediate family of the deceased. Women were usually the ones to do the preparation, because they didn't have to worry about being ritually unclean. In Judaism, touching a dead body made one unclean. One would have to go through a specific set of rituals to cleanse oneself, so they were no longer unclean. So, the women of the family would have gone back to the tomb to wash, anoint, and wrap the body in a clean linen cloth. In some of the Gospels there are a group of women who go to the tomb to do that, in others there's just one. But, you must remember it has to be members of the family. There is always one woman mentioned in all the Gospels who is there: Mary Magdalene. But why would she be there? She's not a member of his family. There is only one explanation for who she really was - Jesus' wife. The wife was a member of the immediate family of the one who had died. Wait a minute - it doesn't say in the Gospels that Jesus was married. Yes, that is true. That information could have been in there, but later taken out when it was decided that Jesus was celibate. Non-canonical gospels hinted at their relationship, but it was never spelled out. But only family members prepared the body, so otherwise why would she have been there?

It is always hard to describe what happened to Jesus after he was crucified, but I hope I have given you some food for thought.

Good Friday

So what is 'good' about Good Friday? Are we any better off than we were on Thursday? What is the purpose of Good Friday in Jesus' life? Let me answer the last question first - it is the last day of Jesus' life and some extraordinary things happen. First he is arrested, talks to Pontius Pilate, one of the bloodiest prefects of Judea. He was recalled to Rome a few years after Jesus' crucifixion because he seemed to really enjoy killing people. And this directive coming from one of the bloodiest Empires ever on the face of the earth. Then Jesus is flogged. Flogging in Roman times meant that a leather rope that has several "arms" on it is tied all together. At the end of each of these arms is a piece of metal. Finally he has to carry the cross beam that he will be tied to or nailed to (depending on which Biblical scholar you read) through the streets of Jerusalem to Golgotha. There Jesus is hoisted up onto the stake in the ground and left to die. He dies in a matter of hours, rather than days, which apparently most people had to endure who were crucified. So he has died and is carried to a newly carved out tomb and laid to rest there, but without the usual burial customs because it is nearly sundown and Passover is about to begin.

Are we better off than on Thursday? I don't know. But we have to go through Good Friday in order to get to Easter. We have to acknowledge that we are mortal and we will die someday. Not a really pleasant thought for most people. But it is a part of life. Death happens to everyone, i.e. that we have all experienced the death of a loved one or a good friend. Sometimes death isn't necessarily personal, but we feel its pangs nonetheless, if it happens to someone that we admire. So it is a big part of every one's life. It is a sad part of life, but we know that, for those on this side of the veil of death, we always have the memories of good times together and sometimes through thick and thin and the love that we gave and received in that relationship. None of these things ever die. As hard as it may be to live without someone, we do have to move on and keep on living our life.

Now, why is it called "Good" Friday? It seems that in English, it is the only "Good Friday".  In German it is Sorrowful or Mourning Friday and in other traditions Holy Friday. But it could have come from having  been originally called, "God's Friday".  That being the day when God took back one of his/her own. It eventually evolved into being called, "Good Friday".

So the point of this day appears to be this: that in order for us to have new life, we must discard the old one. We must lose something in order to fully regain it, but in a new way.

Maundy Thursday

The Thursday before Easter is called Maundy Thursday because Jesus told his followers of a mandate (in Latin it is mandatum) - something they HAD to do: Love one another. How simple is that? Okay, so lets take that mandate into contemporary life - love your noisy-in-the-wee-hours-in-the-morning neighbor; love your uncle who thinks that cracking jokes about people of color and/or sexual orientation different from his are funny; love the political commentator who loudly talks about some idea you think is absolutely crazy; love the person who cuts in front of you on the highway in rush hour traffic and you have to slam on your brakes and come within inches of rear-ending them; love the little old lady who seems so sweet, but elbows you out of the way so she can snap up the last bag of dark chocolate M&M's. Do you see what I mean? I could go on. But these are just a few examples of people we are supposed to love, but we are having a hard time figuring out how.

This was also the night that Jesus instituted communion by breaking bread and drinking a sip of wine (or grape juice depending on one's tradition). It was during a Jewish Passover Seder that he did these things in front of his followers, disciples, friends and family. Yes, I think that the Last Supper had more than just men in attendance. Jesus' family, friends and followers of both sexes were there. Children were probably running around and making a lot of noise. It was like any friends and family celebration that any of us have attended. There was plenty of food, good conversation and drink. It was nothing out of the ordinary, except that it was extraordinary. Jesus probably had a suspicion that he might be arrested and possibly crucified. He had to have known that his teachings were so radical that the Roman occupiers had taken notice. He talked of a kingdom (or realm) that wasn't about Caesar and Rome.

The most striking teaching that Jesus talked about was his mandate to love one another. If we follow Jesus or call ourselves Christian, then we have to follow that mandate. It seems that some people who profess to be Christians have a hard time following it. Fear gets in their way. People who have a different religion, lifestyle, sexual orientation, food habits or believe in things they don't understand are "the Others". People who are different from them are automatically categorized as fear-factors. How sad. It doesn't take much to begin to understand someone else if you just take the time, but for them, fear gets in the way. Basically, Jesus' message is, "don't let fear get in your way, just accept people who are different from you and find common ground." You would think that that would be easy, but for some it isn't.

And let us not forget that Jesus did not set out to found a new religion. He was trying to reform or influence Judaism - the religion he was born into, lived on a daily basis and was crucified for. He was a good Jewish boy, period. He felt very strongly about the beliefs he had been taught since he was a baby. Passover this year begins at sun down on Friday, April 6, 2012.  That is also the day Jesus followers commemorate the day he was crucified - Good Friday. It is good to remember that Jesus was always an Other.

Palm Sunday and Moving Into Holy Week

I would suppose that most people don't know that there was another triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, other than Jesus on what became Palm Sunday. It was a contingent of the Imperial Roman army who had marched from Ceasarea on the Mediterranean. A bit of a hike, you could say. They would be patrolling Jerusalem during the days leading up to Passover. The Romans did not want those Jews getting too unruly. There were enormous numbers of Jews in the city to celebrate Passover. It is one of the most important holy days in Judaism, that of liberation from slavery  under the Pharaoh in Egypt. The celebration reminded the Jewish people that they were again under a foreign powers' authority. For the Romans it all made them very nervous. The priests serving in the Temple were nervous, too. They didn't want to have any trouble from their own people. It would upset the delicate balance of power they had with the Roman occupiers . So when Jesus came into Jerusalem riding a donkey, as was told by the Prophet Zachariah, and the people were waving palms and singing, "Hosanna", the priests knew they were most likely going to have to do something. When Jesus went up to the Temple in the heart of Jerusalem to teach, early in the week, the priests were surreptitiously listening to him. There were key words that they dreaded to hear, "kingdom" or "realm" being one of them. There was only one "king" or ruler: Cesaer. And there was only one kingdom or realm: Rome. Any deviation from that, would mean that the priests would have to explain to Rome what Jesus was talking about. They didn't want to have to do that. There was only one way to deal with this problem, but it had to be done carefully. They would have to wait for the right moment. Meanwhile, they were cultivating their inside contacts to see when they could take care of this "problem".

Revival 2012 - Day 3

Last day of Revival was awesome. We began with Dr. Amy Oden, who is dean of Wesley Seminary in Washington, DC. She talked about three women not very well known within Christianity.M acrina from 4th century Turkey. She was the oldest of 4 children and was the mentor to two of her brothers, Gregory of Nyssa and Basil the Great. These three people were also the earliest Universalists. She was well educated, especially in science and math, which was quite unusual for women in the 4th century.  Macrina's ideas about theology were very forward thinking. When her brother Basil died, her other brother Gregory of Nyssa had a crises of faith. Her words were written down by her brother Gregory.
Then she talked about Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz. She was a nun in 17th century Mexico.She was the daughter of a Conquistador and a native woman, i.e. illegitimate.  She was not educated fully until she decided to become a nun as she really didn't want to marry someone her father would pick out. She was a poet, playwright and architect. The description of her writing indicates she was very bright. Her thoughts and ideas were not excepted in the Catholic church and she was demoted in her religious community.
The last woman talked about was Jarena Lee. She was an African-American woman born of free parents in 1783 in New Jersey. She had no formal education, but memorized Scripture. She tried to become a licensed African Methodist Episcopal minister, but she was rejected because of her sex. But, nonetheless, she still went out and preached the Good News. She believed that there are essentially two ways of perceiving God - cognitive and experiential. Faith is a process.
Our last speaker of the day was Mary Hunt, who laid out the situation of women in today's religious and secular worlds. It's looks a bit bleak right now. However there is much that is going on that can give one hope that our society will become a better place for women as a whole. Women in the religious realm are still striving to keep their place within it and to expand it, though there seems to be some contraction in their influence at the moment.
After Ms. Hunt spoke, I had my workshop on "Symbols of the Feminine Divine". The technology didn't work, though it did when I had set it up. Oh, well. It was not quite as dynamic as I had hoped, but I hope that the attendees got something out of it.
Finally, we had the closing service, which is the regular Saturday afternoon service at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax. It was wonderful. The whole three days were fabulous and I gained some insight into some baggage I carry. Now, I hope to really work on these issues and find a way to leave them behind.

Revival 2012 - Day 2

What a day! Started out with contemplative matins (morning) service. Lovely way to start a day - any day. Communion service also this morning. Good bread! Lots of singing, praying and wonderful homily. Once lunch was over, the afternoon was launched. The President of the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship was up first. I got the shock of my life. He very highly praised the work I had done to get the Revival organized and obtain speakers. He alluded to issues that had come up during the early planning process and how I had worked to resolve them. Wow! Didn't know I had done all that! Then I got up to introduce our speaker for the afternoon, Margaret Starbird. I had been so excited to meet her and hear her speak, because she has had such an influence on my quest to find out who Jesus was. She talked about Mary Magdalene and Jesus and how she discovered that part of the story had been left out of Christianity. It was the Feminine force that was missing. Mary Magdalene, as Jesus' wife, soul mate and foremost apostle, was the embodiment of that startling (for some, not me) discovery. We saw art from the Renaissance period, that showed the heresy of the Grail. That heresy is that Jesus was married, and that Mary Magdalene was the one who carried on his work, not Peter or Paul. The art was not only beautiful, but showed red x's in the paintings. This was the sign of the heresy in many well known pieces. Instead of the +, which was the sign of the Roman church, but of the x, which was the sign of the heresy. The totally unique part of the presentation was at the end, when she introduced some of the things that I plan to talk about extensively at my workshop tomorrow on the Symbols of the Feminine Divine. Ms. Starbird has written 7 books, all of which I own.  In the evening we had a baptism and healing service. It was very moving. There were 5 people who were baptised. and many people went up for anointment and prayer to be healed. I was one of them. More tomorrow, the last day of the Revival.

Revival 2012 - Day 2

What a day! Started out with contemplative matins (morning) service. Lovely way to start a day - any day. Communion service also this morning. Good bread! Lots of singing, praying and wonderful homily. Once lunch was over, the afternoon was launched. The President of the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship was up first. I got the shock of my life. He very highly praised the work I had done to get the Revival organized and obtain speakers. He alluded to issues that had come up during the early planning process and how I had worked to resolve them. Wow! Didn't know I had done all that! Then I got up to introduce our speaker for the afternoon, Margaret Starbird. I had been so excited to meet her and hear her speak, because she has had such an influence on my quest to find out who Jesus was. She talked about Mary Magdalene and Jesus and how she discovered that part of the story had been left out of Christianity. It was the Feminine force that was missing. Mary Magdalene, as Jesus' wife, soul mate and foremost apostle, was the embodiment of that startling (for some, not me) discovery. We saw art from the Renaissance period, that showed the heresy of the Grail. That heresy is that Jesus was married, and that Mary Magdalene was the one who carried on his work, not Peter or Paul. The art was not only beautiful, but showed red x's in the paintings. This was the sign of the heresy in many well known pieces. Instead of the +, which was the sign of the Roman church, but of the x, which was the sign of the heresy. The totally unique part of the presentation was at the end, when she introduced some of the things that I plan to talk about extensively at my workshop tomorrow on the Symbols of the Feminine Divine. Ms. Starbird has written 7 books, all of which I own.  In the evening we had a baptism and healing service. It was very moving. There were 5 people who were baptised. and many people went up for anointment and prayer to be healed. I was one of them. More tomorrow, the last day of the Revival.

Revival 2012 - Day 1

It was just half a day today, but packed a punch. First we had a workshop on contemplative prayer. This is something that I do, though not on a regular basis. The meditative part has always been the most appealing aspect of this practice for me, but something I have always found difficult to do on my own. A major insight during this workshop for me, was that I get the most out of it when I do it in a group setting. So I am going to find a group that practices contemplative prayer near me.
The second thing that really hit me was when the Rev. Mary Katherine Morn commented at the opening service this evening on the theme of our Revival, which is honoring the Feminine in Christianity. When she first heard it, she thought, "How 20th century!" Then events took over and now she thinks it's a fantastic topic! More tomorrow.

Jesus' Core Message

In the Gospels, Jesus tells us to, "Love one another" or "Love your neighbor as yourself". The emphasis is on the the word, 'Love'.  There are no caveats. He does not say, "Love one another, but if your cousin is gay, don't love them." "Love your neighbor, but if your neighbor is another religion than you, don't love them." No, Jesus only says that we are to love. It is the most powerful message in the world.. This message from Jesus is a very simple one. Those who consider themselves followers of Jesus, have no business overlaying their own biases on his words. Then there's the part about loving yourself. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke and in the letters of Paul to the Romans and Galatians, and in the the Book of James this same teaching is quoted with very little change in words. I believe that before you can love anyone else, you must love yourself and Jesus knew that. All of the talk these days and in times previous, we have not even liked ourselves, or we wouldn't be saying the things we do about other people.  Self hate turns into hatred for others. How sad that is. We cannot say we love Jesus and his teachings, but hate certain kinds of people. Even if we don't use the word, "hate" but a euphemism, it still is the same emotion. I realize that learning to love yourself is not an easy task, yet it is what is needed to even begin to love others. I'm not even talking about a boy/girlfriend, a spouse, a lover. I'm just talking about loving those around you: family, neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc. They all have their quirks, indeed. Peel off the layers and find the part of them that is kind, loving, funny or just decent. That is what Jesus is talking about. You don't have to love every thing they do or say or even like them. But what is it within their humanity that touches you? That is what love is - the kind of feeling that reaches out and finds the good in every human being no matter who they are. Now, I'm not saying that there are some folks in this world who try your patience and make you want to abandon that feeling, i.e. Rush Limbaugh this past week. But we can at least pray for those misguided individuals and groups and that will at least make us all better people!

Lenten Practice

For Lent this year I am praying for various groups of people or individuals. I started out by praying for individuals who I know, then moving on to groups that I know, such as my children. I have prayed for those who lost lives and were wounded  in the school shootings in Chadron, Ohio.  That in itself could take up the entire Lenten Season. But I moved on to praying for those affected by the tornados, having lost their homes, loved ones, life as they knew it. I feel it is important to put things INTO myself during Lent, instead of taking them out or giving something up. I did that one year - gave up chocolate, which for me, is an entire food group. It was horrible! I didn't know then that I could have HAD chocolate on Sundays because supposedly you can take Sunday off. It was a very hard Lenten Season. My kids were young then and around me more often. They checked up on me (dang!!), so I had to be diligent. I managed to pretty much avoid chocolate for 40 days and 40 nights until Easter Sunday. Then, my children's Easter baskets were not safe! Little did they know.......That is one reason I don't give things up. I guess I feel as if I have given enough up over the years, so want to put something back IN. My soul hungers for honest food....well, yes it still hungers for chocolate, but I feel called to offer myself up for greater things. Such as praying for people who are in need,. I like the Celtic way of "watching" during Lent. I am watching for people or places that need some prayers. What are you doing for Lent?

Here is the sermon I preached this past Sunday, March 4, 2012. I have included some of the other things I wrote for that service. It is for the 2nd Sunday of Lent.

INVOCATION

We come to this place, God, because somewhere in our lives, faintly or distinctly, we have heard you call to us.

We come – some sleepily, some alert, some tired, some energized – to share in your presence.

We come to say thanks that we are your people. We come to worship, to know better what your call upon us means.

PASTORAL PRAYER

O God, this has been a hard week to live through. We have seen so much blood and desctructiion that we feel numb. We pray for those who have lost loved ones this week, whether by violence, war or Mother Nature. We pray for the sick and wounded and their faimilies. Though we may find it hard, we also pray for those who have caused the violence and war. Our prayers go to those who find it hard to put one foot in front of the other, to go about normal activities, who feel lost. We pray for the community of Chadron, Ohio, whose children no longer feel safe at school, for the families whose children were killed and wounded and for the young man who caused the violence. Our hearts go out to all of them. Dear God, the destruction caused by tornadoes this week has been devastating to many areas in this country. Be with those who lost loved ones, homes, everything. We pray for the Syrian people as they struggle to bring a new way of being, to life. Their leaders have lost all respect, not only from their own people, but from around the world. They have taken to killing their own people to serve their own needs. Let us pray for those who sow dissidence between genders and attack the one's who speak truth to power. When one gender is assailed, both suffer. We pray for those who stand up for justice and righteousness. Lastly, Loving God, bless us, your people here in this church, as they continue to spread your Good News. Amen

BENEDICTION

Go now from this church and these friends to places God will show you. God will make of you a great & righteous people. God will guide you and make your name great and righteous for the sake of Jesus the Christ, and by you all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed. Amen & Blessed Be.

Title:     For Righteousness' SakeAuthor: John Greenleaf Whittier

Inscribed to friends under arrest for treason against the slave power.

Writen in 1855

THE age is dull and mean. Men creep,
Not walk; with blood too pale and tame
To pay the debt they owe to shame;
Buy cheap, sell dear; eat, drink, and sleep
Down-pillowed, deaf to moaning want;
Pay tithes for soul-insurance; keep
Six days to Mammon, one to Cant.

In such a time, give thanks to God,
That somewhat of the holy rage
With which the prophets in their age
On all its decent seemings trod,
Has set your feet upon the lie,
That man and ox and soul and clod
Are market stock to sell and buy!

The hot words from your lips, my own,
To caution trained, might not repeat;
But if some tares among the wheat
Of generous thought and deed were sown,
No common wrong provoked your zeal;
The silken gauntlet that is thrown
In such a quarrel rings like steel.

The brave old strife the fathers saw
For Freedom calls for men again
Like those who battled not in vain
For England's Charter, Alfred's law;
And right of speech and trial just
Wage in your name their ancient war
With venal courts and perjured trust.

God's ways seem dark, but, soon or late,
They touch the shining hills of day;
The evil cannot brook delay,
The good can well afford to wait.
Give ermined knaves their hour of crime;
Ye have the future grand and great,
The safe appeal of Truth to Time!

SERMON – MARCH 4, 2012: RIGHTEOUS FAITH

I have always wanted to preach a sermon on the word, 'righteous', because it is such a misunderstood word. In the past couple of years, it seems to have gathered more baggage, with it now being used in the political arena. I t is time to take back the word and to drop all of its external body parts. When I was asked to preach today, I looked at the readings in the Lectionary to see what inspiration I could get from them, to figure out what to to speak about. The reading from Roman's jumped out at me. Here, in this authentic letter from Paul, Abraham and Sarah are written about as “righteous in their faith.” But what do these two words, 'righteous faith' , really mean?

Let's start with, 'righteous'. According to the dictionary, it means: meeting the standards of what is right and just; morally right; acting in an upright or moral way; virtuous. Synonyms are: philanthropic, conscientious, meritorious, trustworthy, and scrupulous. I did a very unscientific survey on my Face Book page, asking my “friends” to leave a comment as to what first popped into their minds when they saw that word. Most people thought of the word in the pejorative. In actuality, it has a REALLY positive meaning. Perhaps they were thinking about the word self-righteous - which means: confident of one's righteousness, especially when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others. Some of it's synonyms are: sanctimonious, hypocritical, pharisaic, holier-than-thou, preachy. So, righteous means something very positive, self-righteous – not so much.

Abraham and Sarah, in the reading in Romans, are rewarded for their righteousness, by becoming parents. Ultimately, they are the mother and father of many nations and three religions. In our Psalm, which was the responsive reading, we heard about Jacob, Rachel and Leah, descendents of Abraham & Sarah giving praise to YHWH or God. They would also be considered righteous in their faith. Why? Take Jacob, he was deceitfully married to Leah, while he really loved Rachel. He served 7 more years so that he could marry Rachel. He proved that he was trustworthy, conscientious, perhaps even meritorious. Rachel, who has to wait to be married to the one she loves, proves herself to be patient, at the least, but also virtuous, conscientious; then there is Leah. Now, I believe Leah must be the most righteous, because she knows she is not the beloved of Jacob. Her marriage to Jacob was duplicitous. But Jacob treats her respectfully, despite the way she became his wife. He is just in his treatment of her. She is morally upright, conscientious, and tolerent, totally the opposite of self-righteous.

How do we become righteous people? Jesus has given us all of the guidence we need in order to become righteous human beings. He taught us that we must care for the sick, clothe the naked and feed the hungry. AND perhaps most importantly, we must love each other. We must love our fellow human beings. All of these things seem easy and simple, until you actually start trying to do them. The sick may exhibit behaviors we literally can't stomach, the naked may smell bad and the hungry may demand “too much”. Jesus told us to, “Love one another.” We have to love people who make us uncomfortable, angry and uncharitable? Yes, that is what we have to do. God forgive us, because we find this all too much to manage equitably. But if we call ourselves followers of Jesus or Christians, we are compelled to do this.

What about faith? How can we be people of 'righteous faith'? We are called by Jesus to have a faith that is 'inclusive' not 'exclusive'. He did not exclude people because they smelled, were sick or had different ideas from him. He included women, as followers and who 'ministered to him', which was unheard of in the 1^st century. His beliefs were that all people were children of God: men, women, tax collectors, the sick, the mentally ill and Pharisees. Are we to be less inclusive than Jesus in our faith?

What does the word, 'faith' mean? The dictionary tells us it means a confident belief in the truth, value, trustworthyiness of a person, idea, or thing. That belief is not based on proof. Can you prove the exsistance of God? No, not really. Certainly not to someone who doesn't believe in God's existance. Do we trust that Jesus taught us what is the right thing to do? Yes. But can that faith make us into a righteous person? Good question. That has to be answered by each one of us. God gave us the ability to decide that. It's called, “will”. If we have the will to do what is right, then our faith will push us

in the right direction. Jesus often used parables to teach about faith. The parable of the mustard seed is a good example. This seed is so small we can barely see it. But it can grow to be quite big so that “birds nest in it.”.

There is something else about faith, that I believe is quite important. It is the issue of deeds. Jesus' brother James says it best – this is from the Book of James, Chapter 2, verses 14-17: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if people claim to have faith but have no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Let me say that again: faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

So, despite was Paul says, faith ONLY, will not make you righteous. It has to be attended by good deeds for others.

During this time of Lent, as we prepare for the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made, we are reminded that our work is continuing – that of making ourselves better people. You don't have to believe in God, you don't have to follow Jesus, but our mission here on earth, every single person's mission, is to care and love others as we have been loved. We can be righteous people individually, but our greatest strength is in being together, to make this, right now, a righteous community of faith.

.