Jesus Christ Superstar: A Unitarian Look at Easter

Opening words:

Our opening words were written by Kathleen Rolenz

Somewhere across the world,
Easter is breaking
not the Easter we may think of,
with arms upraised and "he is risen" echoing from canyons,
but a much quieter, less dramatic Easter.

Somewhere in the world -perhaps not this day, but some day soon,
a woman and a man rise from their beds,
shaking the sleep from their eyes,
and find their children already awake and
preparing for their morning prayers
There has been no gunfire, no drug wars, no yelling or shouting or screaming,
only the quiet of the night and the peace of silence around them.

And somewhere in the world, perhaps not this morning, but soon, very soon
A soldier is packing his duffle bag,
has emptied out all his bullets,
is changing into civilian clothes,
and is coming home, for peace has long been established,
and there is no need for his presence.

And somewhere in the world, Easter dawn breaks over the earth,
not only on this day, but every day,
and the familiar pulse in our veins throbs of "peace, peace, peace."

Chalice Lighting - Call to worship on Easter Morning by Elizabeth M. Strong

Out of the earth
Rises light,
Rises life,
Rises spring.

May we join with the miracle that is springtime, and enter into life with lightness and joy.
Out of the spirit
Rises faith,
Rises hope,
Rises love.

May we join with the miracle that is Easter time, and enter into life with hope and love.
Let us resurrect with spring, let us resurrect with the spirit and enter into renewed life as we gather into our time of worship together this Easter morning.

Deidra:

One of the many comforting things about being a Unitarian is that you don't need to define your beliefs to anyone including yourself. There are many things that I am just not sure of…is there a heaven? Maybe - I definitely don't believe in Hell, but Heaven I could buy into. If there is a Heaven then does that mean there is a God? That I'm not totally sure of either…I'm pretty sure that if there is a God, she isn't that scary old man up in the clouds glaring down at me ever time I have a bad thought that I was taught about it catechism as a child. The jury of my mind and heart is still out on that one…but I am leaning towards, yes, there is a God, I just don't know if I'm comfortable using the word God and I'm not sure what I think of her…or him…or it. Whatever. But it's OK because I am Unitarian.

So that brings us to the man of the hour. Jesus, or Christ, or Jesus Christ if you want to get formal. I prefer ol' JC and the boys when talking about Jesus and his disciples. Which I don't do very often, by the way. Talk about Jesus, that is.

The thing is, I don't know how I feel about Jesus. Was Jesus actually a living man over 2000 years ago, that performed all these miracles and changed the face of Christianity forever? And if there actually was a man named Jesus, was he really the son of God? Was he able to perform miracles, or is this something that made for good reading, for good marketing? Maybe Jesus is a myth, no different from Zeus. Do I think Jesus is, as I have been reminded by members of my family, the path to my salvation? Hell, no! I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be saved from!

But, for arguments sake, in this service we are going to talk about Jesus as the man portrayed in the bible and in the Jesus Seminar (which often oppose each other). His teachings are followed by millions of people throughout the world. So what Hannah and I thought we would do, on this Easter Sunday where so many people celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, is determine whether Jesus and his teachings have anything in common with the Unitarian Universalist principles. The way I look at it, is the Jesus in the bible seemed like a pretty good guy. He preached love, he preached equality. As Betty Smith, a Unitarian Universalist, put it, Jesus 'was outraged at social injustice; he showed compassion and understanding to the socially outcast; he could not abide pomposity and worldly show'. Sounds like a typical Unitarian to me. So Hannah and I decided to dust off our bibles and go searching for Unitarian principles within the teachings of Jesus.

Hannah:

What is usually discussed in churches throughout the world on Easter Sunday, and what most people associate with the holiday, perhaps after chocolates and bunnies, is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On this holy day, Christians gather to acknowledge and celebrate Christ's triumph over death. How can we as a non-creedal church that welcomes those from all faiths celebrate what is so clearly a Christian holy day? We believe that it is possible to celebrate Easter in our own way, with joy and expectation. To reflect upon the teachings of Jesus rather than our salvation through his death; to honour Jesus the man, the lessons and the example. In an effort to embrace our religious heritage, the roots from whence we came, might an examination of Jesus uncover the foundation for many of our beliefs and principles? UUs count among our sources the holy books of other faiths.

The Bible, although a wealth of positive advice and uplifting messages, poses many challenges to the reader; especially if I'm the reader, in terms of divine authorship and historical accuracy. If we are to study the teachings of Jesus, how does one learn from a text that condones genocide, violence towards women and slavery? How does one entertain the notion that such a figure even existed?

First, I do not presume to stand before you and say with any authority that a visionary named Jesus existed between 0 and 33 Common Era, and he had many erudite and powerful messages. Before recently, I hadn't really delved into my beliefs about an 'historical Jesus'. I have, however, recently read a number of books about Quests throughout the past two centuries for such an historical Jesus and have personally accepted a few scholars' propositions about the topic, some of which we accept for the premise of this discussion:

I believe that a man named Jesus existed during a time in the Roman world when the vast majority of the empire lived at subsistence level, and supported the elite minority.

I believe Jesus was an agitator; a social reformer who challenged this wildly unjust hierarchy; while proclaiming a utopia on Earth was attainable, which he referred to as the Kingdom of God. I believe he was put to death because the powers that be recognized him as a dangerous subversive, and wanted to crush his movement. While I don't share the faith of this person, I do find value in many of the words attributed to him; a call to look beyond my needs and concerns to those of others, to be a better person, a better Unitarian.

The Jesus seminar is the most recent quest in the search for an historical Jesus. Historians and scholars attempted to determine which words and acts could be directly attributed to Jesus through comparative evidence, using hundreds of sources, many authored by non-Christians. As we compare aphorisms and parables attributed to Jesus to our Unitarian principles, we will use accounts maintained by members of the Jesus Seminar, and from the Bible. It is useful to be able to reference biblical words of Jesus, as this text is so widely used, and parallels that can be drawn between ourselves and followers of a sister religion can only foster a deeper understanding between the two.

Some of you may find an exploration of Jesus' teachings easy to digest. For others; pretend you're about to enter the theater for the fast-paced tale of hijinx where a man who spends more time in the gym than sleeping will save the world using his wits and extensive knowledge of nuclear physics. Suspension of disbelief is what I'm referring to. Certain facts are to be accepted in order to move forward as we explore our topic.

Our first teaching is a well known parable, if you were paying attention during the children's story we can avoid a retelling. In chapter 10 of the gospel of Luke, verses 30 to 35 the Good Samaritan is a tale which, when taken at face value clearly follows our first two principles. Compassion is the order of the day, and justice for those treated unfairly is clearly illustrated. The inherent worth and dignity of every person is clearly reinforced, as the priority is to care for the helpless. The worth of the Samaritan also figures greatly in this story, especially when we learn about the subtext of the tale. When one learns Samaritans belonged to a group that was socially and religiously despised by many Judeans, the emphasis of the story shifts somewhat. Jesus' audience would have balked at the idea of a Samaritan as the hero of this tale. It was tantamount to telling an Israeli audience the tale of the Good Palestinian, or vice versa. Robert Funk of the Jesus Seminar suggests this parable is an exaggeration, a fantasy where all things are backwards, used to introduce the setting as God's domain. He proposes we are invited to cross over to this domain, to discover ourselves as helpless, to invite this vulnerability before the divine. It is up to us to accept help or deny it, regardless of who is offering.

Deidra: A second teaching of Jesus that we would like to share with you is the story of the Widow's Offering, from the book of Mark chapter 12 verses 41 through 44.

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasure than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on."

Does this story fit into our principles? The story paints a picture of charity. Charity is defined as "the voluntary giving of money or other help to those in need". While there is no specific UU principle guiding us towards acting in charity, I think, giving, both in terms of money and in terms of volunteering our time, is an important and vital aspect of any Unitarian congregation. The goal of world community, which is part of our sixth principle ties into this. When we are a part of loving and supportive community, we take care of one another. Being a supportive aspect of a community is essentially acting in charity.

The last selection that we'd like to share comes from the Book of Luke, chapter 4, verses 16 through 19

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.

This was read by Jesus from a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. I am going to again refer to our sixth principle, only the last part of it - 'peace, liberty, and justice for all'. Jesus cared deeply for those who were marginalized.

Hannah: We were expecting that we would easily find more examples of how Jesus' teachings corresponded with our principles. Did Jesus preach the Unitarian principles? We'd have to say no. Not that we could find. And while his teachings don't contradict our principles, they don't really line up. In terms of language and syntax we found it difficult to compare our principles to his teachings. The words of Jesus challenge followers to live by a very specific set of values with the ultimate goal as the realization of the Kingdom of God. Jesus' teachings follow a repetitive refrain: we are challenged to sacrifice for others, to ask and grant forgiveness, we are to act out of charity and spread love to all. All practices valued by each Unitarian congregation, but not addressed in the language of our principles. Whether or not they are hidden in the spirit of them is perhaps up to each of us to interpret.

Deidra: Would Jesus be a Unitarian? Probably not, but if he were he would definitely be on the Social Justice Committee. Jesus championed the rights of the marginalized, and walked among the oppressed and the poor. He fought for equality. Rev Gretchen Woods says 'Jesus called upon all the people who would listen, of whatever background, to question the assumed mores and norms of his age, including speaking passionately for social justice. He moved among those considered pariahs in society as easily as he did among those who wielded power, challenging all to think for themselves, rather than living by limiting laws.'

During this season when our Christian cousins celebrate the last living days of their most important figure we too can to look for Jesus for inspiration. David Doel, a Unitarian, says: "I admire his example in speaking out for the poor and despised, the underprivileged and socially unacceptable people of his day; his liberal, open attitudes towards women; his compassion; and his single-minded courage in risking his life for a new way of understanding our relationship with God and creation." Surely this is an example to strive for; this spirit of love and acceptance that has endured for centuries.

Silent & Musical Meditation

Where do the image and teachings of Jesus fit into your values as Unitarians? We will now have a moment of silent reflection. This will be followed by a musical interlude.

Extinguishing of Candles and Closing Words: A Prayer by Ruth Gibson

Spirit of life, we come together this Easter morning to rejoice in your ongoing creation around us and within us.
We come to rejoice, but we come with burdens of sorrow and pain, of shame and fear, of false obligation and false pride.
On this Easter morning may we discover a joyous and courageous faith enabling us to set these burdens down.
We would remember the teachings of Jesus, whose words and example embodied your outreaching and unconditional love.
And we acknowledge that we yearn to be touched by such love, but that we are not always ready to receive it or to give it.
Our fears get in the way, we have hardened our hearts, and busied our lives with cares.
On this Easter morning, we pray that the heavy stones which burden us and separate us from you may be rolled away, releasing our spirits to love and to new life.
Spirit of life, we confess that too often we have not taken time to search for the beauty of your creation hidden around us.
As we allow such beauty to go unnoticed we have deprived ourselves of occasions for joy and delight.
On this Easter morning we pray that our senses may come alive, ready to respond to all the beauty, the harmony, the fragrance, taste and texture of life around us.
It is the season of renewal and all around us everything is bursting into bloom or song.
The hidden beauty of nature is preparing to unfold.
On this Easter morning we would be assured that we too have a hidden inner beauty ready to unfold, reflecting the image of your creative power.
Spirit of life, we pray for the courage to open ourselves to your touch, knowing that as we do, we will be changed.
We will grow, but in so doing we must leave behind the outgrown coverings which have hidden our true and most beautiful selves.
Spirit of life, as we feel you flowing and pulsing within, we pray for a courageous and joyous faith, empowering us to become our finest and truest selves, empowering us to see your image in our brothers and sisters, empowering us to participate with you in the creation of a new time of life, in which love, justice, beauty and peace are abundantly available to all.

Hymns in this service included
#61 'Lo, the Earth Awakes Again'
#131 'Love Will Guide Us'
#27 'I Am That Great & Fiery Force'

Interested in worship resources? The complete script for this service is also available here.

Last update October 20, 2008.