First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, NY
"Jesus was a Spiritual Humanist"
Rev Samuel A. Trumbore April 15^th, 2001

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

"You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works ...

21 "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, "You shall not murder'; and "whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council;

38 "You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

"You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; who makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

I get lots of great ideas at our Unitarian Universalist General Assemblies held every year at the end of June. I particularly enjoy going the lectures and programs of my colleagues to hear them talk about what they believe and how it relates to Unitarian Universalism. The Friends of Religious Humanism always put on good intellectually stimulating programs so I try to get to their lectures. The lecture titled "Liberal Religious Humanism: Toward a New Synthesis" caught my attention so I attended it. The moderator and outgoing President, Khoren Arisian, introduced the topic as a passing of the torch from the older Humanists "in advanced stages of dinosaur dotage," to younger humanists.

Several ministers between the ages of 40 and 60 spoke on the theme of "exploring the religious factor in humanism and the humanist factor in religion." One of them, the Rev. Wendy Jerome-Stern, said "It's not necessary to be an atheist to be a humanist." This statement inspired me to think about the connections between Humanism and the life and teachings of Jesus. Realizing that Jesus was far from a secular person, I thought perhaps I could call him a "spiritual humanist." And thus a sermon title was conceived.

Not all sermon titles that are conceived, are born, grow up and reach maturity. The sermon title, "Jesus was a Spiritual Humanist" was still in the gestation stage in March when I made my commitment to it in our monthly publication, Windows. This past week I started having my doubts if I could deliver this title.

Clearly Jesus doesn't fit the definition of Humanism laid out in the Humanist Manifesto. His constant reference to his Father in Heaven doesn't fit with a rejection of supernaturalism and an embrace of the scientific method. The patriarchal view of God is the antithesis of Humanism. Jesus was a faith healer, a tradition that deviates far from "the path of social and mental hygiene that discourages sentimental and unreal hopes and wishful thinking." And if I had any hope of making Jesus a Humanist, it would be crushed by Jesus' focus on the coming of the Kingdom of God, rather than "believing that religion must work increasingly for joy in living" for people here and now.

So, you Capital 'H', Humanists can relax. I will not try to cast Jesus as one of you. I will, however, try to imagine Jesus as a small 'h' humanist, defined as a person who cares about human beings and their values, capacities, and worth. I will modify that understanding of humanism with the word spiritual because his valuing of human beings was directed inwardly rather than outwardly.

The term, "spiritual humanism" comes from the title of a sermon I gave in Port Charlotte, Florida December 14^th, 1997. (It's on my web site if your interested) Conditioning the word humanism with spiritual adds this inward orientation to the term. The scientific orientation of Humanism encourages Humanists to limit their thinking to only what can be proved in the laboratory through repeatable experimentation. The term 'supernatural' is often used by Humanists to reject anything that is not observable and measurable. Most Humanists are highly suspicious of the testimony of personal experience, particularly of the mystical sort.

I would be too if I had not tasted of this kind of non-repeatable, uncontrollable, irrational, and spontaneous experience. It would give me great delight and satisfaction to be able to make these experiences repeatable, observable and measurable. Certainly my calling to ministry is driven by the desire to share what I have learned and experienced with the hope that others will also discover this potentiality within themselves.

The new spiritual humanists I see coming into Unitarian Universalism desire their own personal experience of the true and good as well as receiving it indirectly through proof and textbook. They desire to explore the frontiers of consciousness and experience being changed and transformed by what they find. Like the Literary Humanists of the 1920s and 1930s, they are open to the messages and meaning found in the sacred texts of the world's religions as well as in philosophy, psychology, and scientific journals.

This individualistic inner journey is not without a well known enemy to Humanists: self deception and delusion. Our own experience is tainted by our ignorance, prejudices and preconceptions. America is overrun by the prophets of God doing the Holy Spirit's bidding. A warped understanding of Jihad has Muslim extremists ready to die uselessly for their cause. Without checks and balances, what seem to be inspirations can be nothing more than mirages.

My linkage of the term spiritual and humanist seeks to bring the best of both traditions together to create a new way of doing religion that brings the sciences, religion and the humanities together rather than driving them each into their own separate corner. What unites them all is the word human which they serve, guide, inspire and direct.

Jesus can't be a spiritual humanist if we view him with 21st Century eyes. Jesus is thoroughly embedded in first century Judaism as practiced in Palestine under the domination of Rome. Yet in him we see some of the beginnings of spiritual humanism. Those connections will allow me to claim him as an influence in the development of this religious approach. On a crowded Easter morning, I will not be able to give a rigorous argument so please don't hold me to academic standards of proof. What I can do is suggest that the message of Jesus can speak to a spiritual humanist heart.

I don't know any Humanists who couldn't find something they agreed with in the Sermon on the Mount. The reversal of putting the meek and poor in spirit first rather than last, of offering mercy to the merciful, of affirming the pure in heart and the peacemakers. The commandments are interpreted as more than external rules to be obeyed. They are attitudes that must be internalized. Jesus moved Judaism of his time from legalism toward idealism. And the message of "love thy enemy" is a challenging ideal of the highest order for all of us who would aspire to be peacemakers in this troubled world.

Jesus' ministry was not to serve the high and mighty but rather the lowly and the outcast. "You are the light of the world," he said to the crowd. His disciples were of common stock and lineage. He healed those who were not allowed to enter the Temple because they suffered deformity and disease. He cast his religious message in visual metaphor, parable and story to reach an illiterate audience. He taught all who came under the canopy of the blue sky. He rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey, a man of the people who was honored by them like a king would have been honored. He protested the institution of money changing in the Temple that separated the people from their commanded religious observances.

Jesus did not buttress his assertions with scripture, as the scribes would have done. He spoke with his own authority. "You have heard this, but I say that..." And this wasn't because he was a recognized authority. No one reading the Gospel stories that chronicle in story and parable the life of Jesus of Nazareth could come away with the idea that he was a recognized leader within the Jewish establishment. Just the opposite. He stood alone, even among his disciples, and proclaimed a religious vision that borrowed from the ideas of John the Baptist and went beyond them. Jesus was an original thinker. This comes through loud and clear in the Biblical text. He is constantly challenging everyone he meets with ideas that either cause them to wonder and experience awe, or generate resistance and rejection. When he speaks prophetically interpreting the Jewish law differently than his contemporaries, the Pharisees do not rally around him. The priests in the establishment collaborating with the Romans find him threatening and want to kill him.

Jesus was far from irrational. He would use clever linguistic devices to trap his detractors. The question asked of the chief priests and elders to tell them by what authority he teaches, an entirely reasonable question by the way, shows one of the rhetorical devices he used to catch his critics. He promised to answer one question if they can answer another question -- which will answer their question.

When seen picking grain to eat on the Sabbath, a day when no work was to be done, he countered with scripture that rationally argues his case. Jesus was criticized a number of times for doing healing on the Sabbath. After healing a man with a withered hand, he responded, 'I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to destroy it?' His response is wonderfully summed up in a stinging condemnation of life denying tradition and ritual, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.' Pretty humanist statement if I ever heard one.

For all his self assurance and certainty, Jesus repeatedly turned to prayer. I think of this as a good proof text for Unitarian Christianity. If Jesus was co-equal with God during his lifetime, why does he need to pray? Jesus' need for prayer may have come from his human need to restore his strength, gain clarity and focus his energy. We get a sense of his purpose and method from an analysis of the prayer he recommended his followers use called the Lord's Prayer.

The verbs are very revealing. Note that Jesus didn't give this prayer to one person but rather to a community - not "my father" but "our father." Hear his words: Give us this day our daily bread - a recognition of our dependence on others for our food, even if we grow it ourselves. Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us - relationships are the foundation of a community and an attitude of forgiveness is crucial to negotiating the hurts that happen, caused or uncaused. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil - we are limited in our wisdom and compassion and need help avoiding harming ourselves or others.

The center of this prayer reminds us we need each other for sustenance and support. Healing relationships is an ongoing task of living in community. We need both inner and outer guidance as we grow throughout our lives to protect us from evil.

Yet while the Lord's Prayer is so deeply social, the act of praying that Jesus advocated was so solitary. This makes sense if we consider the need to retreat from the social sphere to restore our strength, gain clarity and focus our energy. Even Jesus needed his batteries charged after dealing with the crowds of followers all day. His prayer didn't take him away from the people, rather it prepared him to return to them. This passionate love of humanity is why I see Jesus as a humanist, a humanist who knows how to draw on spiritual powers in accomplishing his ministry.

And Jesus is far from the only person who ever knew how to do this. The revered figures in the great religious traditions of the world also were spiritual humanists. Were any of them perfect? No. Did any of them leave perfect messages? No. The best we can do is learn to recognize the messenger and the message wherever we find it, be it the Bible, the Quran, the words of Krishna, the songs of Milarepa, the annals of Confucius, or the Dharma of Buddhism. The only way to sort out the human life-affirming message and bypass the spirit denying edits, revisions and mistakes is to develop one's inner and outer guidance.

May this be a place to develop that inner and outer guidance.
May this be a place to celebrate the human as an interdependent part of the web of life on this planet.
May this be a place to practice a life-affirming religious tradition built on love and justice, wisdom and compassion.

So be it.

Copyright © 2001 by Samuel A. Trumbore. All rights reserved.