Spoken Meditation
Eternal spirit, we witness
bringing green growth throwing out tiny tendrils seeking support;
sprouting thin twigs reaching for the bright golden sun;
guiding new tubers seeking water in dark, sandy soil;
Be in and amongst us this Easter morning.
We gather this morning to celebrate the triumph of life over death.
The body can be killed but the spirit cannot be quenched.
Only yesterday had we given up all hope
of the promise of the coming divine realm
and today we are renewed and inspired as we realize it is now already here.
This morning we remember that pain, suffering and death are not ends
but can be scary underground passageways to more abundant life--
If ... we have the courage to face our fear and crawl through
to be pushed and pulled
by the mind narrowing forces of lust, hate, and confusion.
This morning we renew our dedication to act from our love rather than our fear,
We renew our faith in the inherent dignity and worth of all humanity--
including ourselves-- which cannot be removed from anyone
and seek the nerve to face the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
which may come our way.
In our moments of defeat and surrender,
may we turn away from the paths of revenge, denial, and cynicism.
May we remember the eternal truth spun into the web of life:
our wounds can become sacred incarnational teaching
of the wisdom imbedded in the story of resurrection.
Let us celebrate together this morning,
the one who never gives up even in the darkest night of winter,
our blue green planet earth, resurrected anew each spring.

Sermon
Many Unitarian Universalists don't like the resurrection story told about Jesus. They reject the idea that Jesus physically rose from the dead on the third day after his horrific death by crucifixion. We all know that once the body dies and has been dead long enough to asphyxiate the brain, even if the body is resuscitated, it could have no consciousness. It may be possible that Jesus wasn't completely dead before he was taken down from the cross or his body was stolen or who knows what but dead bodies don't come back to life if your faith is first in the laws of nature.

Whether Jesus rose from the dead or not is a question that can't be settled because independent historical data of the event is missing. Even if one could travel in time to the first century and be present at the tomb while the stone was rolled away, there would still be doubts about what happened. So, for our purposes this morning, let us agree to set aside the historical accuracy question. I claim the voracity of the story, like all great legends, doesn't matter. What is really important is hearing the wisdom the story conveys and allowing that wisdom to comfort and guide us.

Some of us enjoyed watching the special on Jesus and the early church on the PBS program Frontline this past week. It surveyed the results of recent scholarship, archaeological digs and discoveries and looked at how this is causing us to reinterpret the life of Jesus and better understand the early Jesus Movement which later became Christianity. What was particularly enjoyable about the mini-series was listening to some of the best Biblical scholars and archeologists of our time share their insights and discoveries. If you missed it, not to worry, I taped it and will be showing the tapes as an adult education series this fall.

In the series we learned that this almost exclusive focus on Jesus's death and resurrection wasn't his idea but rather his apostle Paul's. Paul's view later won out but not because it was the only view of how to convert the ministry of Jesus into a religion. Paul was able to interpret Jesus in a way that an Hellenic community would understand. Another very strong movement in competition with Paul's view was the Gnostic tradition. They believed that we should pay attention to the life, teaching and wisdom of Jesus.

It is in this Gnostic spirit of seeking the wisdom of the story rather than the facts that I'd like to propose there is a meta message, a hidden story and meaning in the accounts found in the Gospels of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The hidden story and meaning teach us about the process of transformation.

Last Sunday we discussed Jesus' triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. In presenting himself to the people of the city as a savior-king, he invites the people's expectation that he will be a leader who will liberate Israel from bondage to the Romans. The chief priests immediately recognize him as a threat to the status quo. Yet Jesus doesn't incite the people to rebellion, rather he teaches them in the outer courts of the Temple. He saves the people with words and not the sword.

This must have been a shattering disappointment to Judas who is often cast as a Zealot, one dedicated to expelling the Romans from the Jewish holy land. During Passover, Jerusalem would be crammed with people coming to offer their sacrificial lamb for the feast day. Passover was an ideal time to gather people into rebellion. And what does Jesus do? He teaches in parables and predicts the destruction of the Temple rather that instigating insurrection. Judas feels betrayed, wants revenge and for thirty pieces of silver he has it in a beguiling kiss.

Now get ready for some heresy. We Unitarian Universalists believe Jesus was a created human being. If he was divine, his divinity is not different from the way every one of us has within us the same potential for divinity. And at this moment in the story, Jesus is vulnerable. He has made what appears to be a mistake. He has presented himself to the people as something he is not. He is not a savior-king like David. He did not come to conquer with might and muscle. He is a new kind of leader who conquers--with love. And because of this confusion he will be betrayed, suffer and be put to death. Jesus is now thrust into the scary underground passageway with a beguiling kiss.

The reason we know Jesus hasn't got it all figured out and in control of what will happen is revealed in the story of the events in the garden of Gethsemane. He pleads with God to have the bitter cup pass from him, yet at the same time accepting this outcome. Clearly, he doesn't want to suffer and die. Just as clearly, he is devoted to serving what he understands to be God's will. In the process, the world begins to crumble around him.

There are moments in life, whether it is the result of our own initiative or not, when we are thrust into the garden alone to contemplate a fearsome future. The death of a child, an injury or illness, a business reversal or the loss of a job, a defeat, a betrayal of trust, a false accusation, shatters our view of reality and ourselves and forces us to confront choices we'd rather not make. These moments for me have arisen when I was confronted with poor health and injury. I have distinct memory of feeling like I was in the garden with Jesus before I had exploratory surgery in my teenage years. I remember the crisis at the age of 23 when I discovered my broken leg had not healed correctly and had to decide what course of action to take next. At times, intense pain has put me in the garden with Jesus at meditation retreats as I would strive to keep up my practice with aching knees and shoulders. In these moments there is fear, regret and the urge to flee while also feeling a sense of dedication and commitment to the course of action ahead.

Jesus is tortured, mocked, abused and sentenced to death. On the cross he cries out, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" This image of his suffering such torment I find very moving. Jesus isn't a divine being who is going through the motions. He is a human being just like you and me. While in the middle of this dark, underground passageway, it is not uncommon to feel abandoned and hopeless. The mind is clouded with doubt as we cannot see ahead where the passageway might lead. I expect we have all experienced this moment as our tiny heads were forced by contractions into the birth canal. We were squeezed, our face smashed and our head sloped as we left the pleasant yet now cramped experience of floating in amniotic fluid and forced into an unknown future existence. Birth and death share this mysterious journey into the unknown.

Now let us wrestle with the resurrection. I don't particularly like the story of the empty tomb. On the third day after his death, the large stone in front of the place he has been buried has been rolled away and his body is missing. There are no answers here, only mysterious questions.

For me the resurrection story I find most meaningful is found in the Gospel of Luke. Two disciples of Jesus are walking along the road to Emmaus. Jesus draws near to them and walks with them but they do not recognize him. The stranger asks the two disciples what they are discussing as they walk and they tell him about the awful crucifixion of their leader who they were sure would redeem all Israel. The stranger chastises them for their lack of faith and teaches them. Still the two disciples do not recognize him. It is only when they break bread together that they recognize who he is. It is only then they recognize the stirring in their heart that his teaching on the road kindled. As soon as they recognize him, he slips away.

The fact that the two disciples don't recognize him is crucial to understanding the transformation of Jesus. The disciples were looking for a savior-king, a flesh and blood leader who would save them. Now they realize as their heart stirs listening to him that it is his words not his flesh which were the carriers of salvation. It will be the message not the person of Jesus which will eventually convert the Roman Empire into the Holy Roman Empire of Christianity which will then rebuild Jerusalem. Before this Jesus could only work with the people he had personal contact with. Now his message could be spread across the whole world. What message? Make love not war. Follow the golden rule. Judge not lest ye be judged. Love thine enemies. Care for the poor and the sick. Turn the other cheek. The dark underground passageway has an end which is greater than the beginning.

The message of the resurrection I'd like to lift up for you this morning, is this teaching about transformation. We get only half the story when we hear on the news about the tragedies in people's lives. We get a glimpse into the suffering and usually not their transformation which follows. While the suffering and losses we experience are never erased, they can facilitate a transformation of our spirit to more abundant life. I know my chronic illness and physical injuries created the preconditions for the experience which opened my life to ministry. I look out on this congregation and I see the faces of those who have suffered much in their lives and have come out the other end of the scary underground passageway into richer and more blessed lives. It is usually through our suffering we grow bigger hearts. The resurrection teaches that even the worst experiences of living can have within them the seeds of new more abundant life.

This teaching of transformation cannot be proven but can only be validated in our own personal experience. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus don't get it either even while Jesus' words light a fire in their hearts until they break bread together. It is in the experience of religious community that we are able to put things together and gain new insights. You cannot fully participate in the teaching of transformation at home Sunday morning reading the New York Times. It is in our ritual act of meeting together each week, sharing our lives and our love, that the teaching is recognized, we wake up to our true nature, and see the light at the end of the passageway.

Today is a day of celebration! The victory over death is assured because the continuity of life is affirmed. The principle which covered this planet with life cannot be extinguished as it existed before we were and will continue long after we are gone. Not only the continuity of life is affirmed but also the principle of creativity. Life doesn't just continue, it evolves into more abundant and splendid forms.

So let us rejoice and be glad today and accept the teachings of transformation in our own lives as passageways to more abundant life. No matter where we are on the continuum from birth to death, the light of love shines forth to guide us home.

Copyright (c) 1998 by Rev. Samuel A. Trumbore. All rights reserved.