Tag Archives: christian

04/8/10

The Ascension Season – 40 Days of Faith, Hope, Love

[An earlier version of this homily was published here in 2008]

The post-Easter season leading up to Ascension Thursday is a time to celebrate the complementary virtues that are reconciled in the wholeness of the Divine Word.

There are many ways to speak of these complementary virtues: as knowledge and life represented by the Trees of Paradise, or as the serpent and the dove of Jesus’ admonition in the Gospel of Matthew 10:16.  Their absence can also be seen in the Beast and Babylon of the Apocalypse of John.

But one of the most familiar ways to talk about these complementary virtues are as Faith and Hope, which were paired together by Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians (13:13) under divine Love, or agape.

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03/11/10

A Homily on Homosexuality

In America’s capital, gay marriage is now legal, highlighting the role of religion in the struggle for homosexual rights.

AUR’s official stance is that the push for gay marriage is well-intentioned but misguided: although we do believe in equal rights and dignity for gays and straights before the law, we also believe that the government should not discriminate based on relationship status and should not be involved in anything that is — in the overwhelming majority of cases — a religious institution.

The truly progressive position is that the institution of marriage belongs to churches and cultural organizations, and therefore has no place in legislatures and courtrooms.  Still, the legalization of gay marriage reaches toward social justice, even if it falls short of achieving it.

The larger issue of homosexuality in society remains in play, and forces opposed to gay rights will certainly fight to have gay marriage in DC (and elsewhere) repealed, renamed, or outright banned.  The governor of Virginia has recently declared anti-gay discrimination in state government acceptable, and the ability of homosexuals to serve openly in the American military continues to be obstructed by the infamous “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

Although there are many arguments against homosexuality, the anti-gay movement draws key inspiration from religion, specifically Christian scripture.  It is this inspiration that is the subject of this Thursday’s homily.

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03/4/10

Reform Unitarian Symbols – The Chalice

During this Lenten season leading up to Garden Thursday, let’s discuss one of our key symbols in Unitarian Reform: the chalice.

Now, the flaming chalice is known as a symbolism of post-Christian “Unitarianism” (absent the Unitarian meaning) with origins in the oil-burning lamps in Greek and Roman ritual.

For AUR, however, the chalice is the Cup of Gethsemane: the image Jesus used to symbolize the suffering of material existence, the worst of which he was about to suffer himself.

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02/25/10

Pietist or Liturgical?

One of the primary divisions in the Christian religion is the chasm separating the pietist approach, emphasizing a rigorous Christian lifestyle, from the liturgical approach, emphasizing ritualized public worship.

It may be most appropriate to address this issue a week after celebrating Ash Wednesday with liturgical churches, as American Unitarianism arose from the pietist tradition of Protestant Christianity, which has been very critical and even suspicious of ritual and ceremony.

However, the tide has been turning in favor of liturgical forms recently, and we have learned much in the centuries since the beginnings of American Unitarianism about the important role that social ceremony plays in reinforcing personal lifestyle.

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02/23/10

The Death of Polycarp

Although not an official AUR holiday, today we honor St. Polycarp, who was martyred at the age of 86 or older on February 23rd at some point in the mid-2nd Century for refusing to light incense to the Roman Emperor.  He was first set on fire, then stabbed to death.

Polycarp is important to Reform Unitarianism as he was disciple to St. John, and transmitted John’s teaching to his own disciple, St. Irenaeus.  Connecting Irenaeus with the John the Apostle lends great credence to his description of the Son and Spirit as “the hands of God,” God here being the Father.  This is significant to Unitarian Christianity as it establishes the subordinate relationship between God the Father and His Son and Spirit.

Polycarp himself left us writing only in the form of a letter which consists largely of scriptural quotes, but his courage under persecution and tutelary legacy nevertheless make him a key character in the story of Taproot Christianity.

 

02/17/10

Ash Wednesday, Lent, and the Cross

ashcrossTypically, Reform Unitarianism avoids the veneration of the cross, so it may seem strange for RU’s to join the rest of Christianity in the Ash Wednesday ritual.

Still, the cross does have meaning for Unitarian Reform, in that spiritual commitment must accept the suffering of material existence.  From dust we come and to dust we return.

Even so, there are good reasons that the mark of the cross on Ash Wednesday is the exception rather than the rule in Reform Unitarianism.

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02/11/10

Music Thursday – Celebrate in Song!

Today is Music Thursday, the 8th Day of Carnival, a day for celebrating life in song!   Music has a strong role in Carnival traditions, particularly in the Americas.

But, that music, and Carnival celebrations in general, often have sexually aggressive content that might make some uncomfortable, or be inappropriate for family Carnival parties with children present.

Sexual expression is a touchy issue at any time, but during holidays when sex tends to come out in to the open, it creates unnecessary tensions between folks who might otherwise get along nicely.

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02/5/10

Notional American Unitarian Reform Church No. 9

This is the ninth in a series of light-hearted signs for hypothetical American Unitarian Reform churches, created using an online image generator. We hope to show a range of attitudes and ideas all possible within the scope of AUR.

Today’s notional church is the Reformed Unitarian Church of the Apocalyptic Saints, appropriately promising a homily on the spiritual perils of partisanship.

02/2/10

Candlemas and Carnival

As happens roughly once every four years or so in Reform Unitarianism, Candlemas is falling on Carnival Thursday.

In most Christian churches, Candlemas celebrates only the presentation of Jesus at the Temple as a baby by Mary and Joseph.  However, AUR also celebrates another Temple-related event on this day: the Disputation, when a 12-year-old Jesus debated the Torah with Jewish elders.

In this way, both biblical narratives of the life of Jesus between the Nativity and Ministry are brought together on one day, the first Thursday in February.  Candlemas is a special day for celebrating children and childhood, and particularly for recognizing the maturation from helpless infancy to the assertive character of youth.

Carnival, on the other hand, has traditionally been for revelry of a more exuberant and adolescent nature, and in AUR a moment of respite between the Winterval fast starting on Resolution Day and the Lenten fast beginning Ash Wednesday.

Candlemas-Carnival Conjunct!

From the canonical scriptures, we know nothing of Jesus’ youth after the Disputation.*  But, there are clues in his later ministry as to how he spent his youth, clues that bring Christian meaning to Carnival … and a little Carnival spirit to an often-staid and dry Christianity.

In the Gospel of Matthew (11:18-19), Jesus is recorded as saying:

John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet Wisdom is vindicated by Her deeds.

Jesus clearly liked good drink, good food, and interesting company!

This is, of course, not to endorse the vicious extremes of drunkenness or alcoholism, but as part of a general celebration of the pleasures of God’s Creation, including food, music, and the company of our neighbors, Carnival certainly has Christian meaning with a liturgical connection to the life of Jesus himself.

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NOTE: Carnival celebrations for Reform Unitarians should not start (or continue, in years when Carnival begins before Candlemas) until after 6 p.m. that on Candlemas Thursday.

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* Non-canonical “infancy” Gospels, however, contain some interesting (if dubious) tales.

02/1/10

Notional American Unitarian Reform Church No. 8

This is the eighth in a series of light-hearted signs for hypothetical American Unitarian Reform churches, created using an online image generator. We hope to show a range of attitudes and ideas all possible within the scope of AUR.

The sign for today’s notional church, St. Arius of Africa, presents an interesting take on the martyr Arius, likely a Berber, and thus of North African descent.  The hypothetical sermon refers to Isaac Newton, who wrote a treatise in defense of Arius and indicting his persecutors.  Unfortunately, Newton had some very harsh things to say about Catholics, and honoring him is therefore a tricky matter for Reform Unitarians.